Bauldur's Gate to Icewind Dale

[I wish my name was Baggins]

Since the two games run off of the same gaming engine is it possible to export a character from BG to IWD?

[Keraptisdm]

This is what it says in the Q&A section on Icewind Dale here on Ironworks main website.

Q: Will we be able to use our characters or NPCs from Baldur's Gate?
A: No, you'll be creating a new party of six characters with which to explore Icewind Dale.

I tried to confirm this in the Icewind Dale manual, but my quick review came up empty. I have read in many places that you cannot bring your BG character into Icewind Dale, but perhaps someone has been able to do it????

[I wish my name was Baggins]

I guess that is a little disappointing...Oh well just wanted to find out before I drop the cash...How does Icewind Dale compare to Baldur's Gate?

[Ar-Cunin]

IWD is more like dungeon-crawl with many monsters on each lvl and has a very linear storyline which dictates where the party goes next.

[Lord Brass]

It's refreshingly similar to the original idea Gygax had for D&D/AD&D in the PnP version. As such, it lacks NPCs and vastly more intricate interaction with the people around you. Having said that, it has a nice quality of being relatively kinder on the brain with so little sidequests to complete and things to remember. It's a good game, but don't expect BG that's all.

As you make all of your characters up it is good for the purposes of experimentation if you want to play around with various party combinations. ('Course, you could just edit the NPCs, but what would be the fun of that?)

Anyway, it's out quite cheaply so give it a go.

[Telchar of Nogrod]

The one thing you may want to remember is that Bioware took the expansion to IWD, Heart of Winter, out of circulation prior to the release of IWD2. You are going to have to look around a bit to find it. There was also a free download expansion to the expansion from Bioware called Tales From the Luremaster. I have no idea on the status of that one. You may want to go to the Bioware site to find out.

[pritchke]

I liked both IWD and BG they are similiar but different enough so you don't really get board beteen the two. IWD is fairly a straight story but I am going through a third time and I keep running across a few quest that I have never encountered before, or end up solving quest a little differently. For example having a bard at the front of your party as an interesting effect when talking to certain people.

I like BG because of the NPC's the different story lines but IWD is a great game because it lacks these things. So I like to play both depending on what I feel like

[Hayashi]

Originally posted by Telchar of Nogrod: The one thing you may want to remember is that Bioware took the expansion to IWD, Heart of Winter, out of circulation prior to the release of IWD2. You are going to have to look around a bit to find it. There was also a free download expansion to the expansion from Bioware called Tales From the Luremaster. I have no idea on the status of that one. You may want to go to the Bioware site to find out.

You will need HoW in order to install ToLM.

IWD is more combat-intensive than BG. But then I didn't have as hard a time finding my way around in IWD as I did in BG (especially the city of Baldur's Gate, lol).

[Keraptisdm]

Originally posted by Lord Brass: It's refreshingly similar to the original idea Gygax had for D&D/AD&D in the PnP version. As such, it lacks NPCs and vastly more intricate interaction with the people around you. Having said that, it has a nice quality of being relatively kinder on the brain with so little sidequests to complete and things to remember. It's a good game, but don't expect BG that's all. As you make all of your characters up it is good for the purposes of experimentation if you want to play around with various party combinations. ('Course, you could just edit the NPCs, but what would be the fun of that?) Anyway, it's out quite cheaply so give it a go.

Lord Brass has said it all quite well. I've enjoyed both, for the very reasons he stated. IWD - Shut the brain off for an evening, and go dungeon trolling. I ordered IWD and HoW online from a place called: dealdealdeal.com and have had really good service from them. Great prices too.

I didn't think anyone even knew who Gary Gygax was here on the boards!! My forum name is based on the name of a monster in one of Gygax's modules, Keraptis. This villian, Keraptis, was terrorizing a local town, and the heros had to stop him. Gygax left it open for the DM (me) to determine who/what Keraptis was. So, I made him a Lich that terrorized my brother's cleric (Richard Blackmore). I became known as Keraptis' DM, shortened to Keraptisdm. Sorry, a bit off topic there.

[Telchar of Nogrod]

Ah! It is refreshing to hear and talk about real D+D. I've been playing for 25 years and am still loving it.