Question thats been puzzlin' me for years

[Lemernis]

No, as was the case with with Tales, Dark Side doesn't change the basic plot at all. It only adds new quests, monsters, items, spells, NPCs. It expands the game. Team BG likes to call it an "add-in" because it implements so many new things into the existing game, eg, as in the way Tales makes scrimitars available right from the getgo in Winthorp's inn.

They have added new monsters to the game and enhanced the familiar ones. In some cases I know they tweaked the difficulty in existing major battles, as in one case my level 5 party got dessimated with level 8 spells.

Re: balancing more difficult opponents with the more powerful spells and items the results are somewhat mixed, however. Spells don't seem to to give an unreasonable advantage but some of the items are simply too powerful, I think.

So far I haven't gotten beyond level 5 spells so I can't tell you how having level 6-9 spells affects the game. The level 1-5 spells DS adds merely expands your spell selection. The new spells were well conceived and fun to use. As with the non-DS selection, I have my own personal favorites, and some that I never use, but I haven't found any lame ones. If you enjoy spellcasting they will make the game more fun. Because I really love the challenge of using mostly magic I wouldn't dream of playing the game without DS now.

I will say that there is at least one item that I have found that is unbalancing in a big way and therefore I simply don't use it. But I was already taking an approach like that without Dark Side by not using the wand of monster summoning, for example.

Without DS the garden variety encounter when 'lawnmowing' a map, eg, a band of hobgoblins, becomes ridiculously easy once your party is well equipped and around level 5. With the exception of Durlag's the only challenges left in the game from then on are the big battles. Same thing with Dark Side only moreso because your party will acquire equipment that is arguably overpowered.

[Micah Foehammer]

Thanks for the info Lemernis. Getting an accurate report on the teambg mods is *sigh* difficult to say the least.

Bottom line: would you recommend downloading it?

[Lemernis]

Yeah, I definitely recommend it. Just be aware that it is buggy. Experience seems to vary on that--some people claim to have no problems at all. Myself, I experience fairly routine freezes and crashes when I enter a new map area and enemies approach. Oddly, if I stealth immediately upon enetering a new map and scout, then approach the enemy from another angle, the problem is solved. So it is merely an annoyance and the game is otherwise very stable. Worth it for all those great spells IMO.