Hello everybody! I'm finally getting to play the Baldur's Gate series! That's why I' already doing some research on Mods and Character creation etc., but it's quite alot to take in. So I also wanted to make a thread to get some feedback on some of my ideas.

1. Mods

There are enough guides around, so not much need for advice here, at least not about the technical stuff.
I'm still unsure if I should get Tutu or BGT. Is there a big balancing difference with the characters keeping their stats from BG1 when installing BGT? I don't really care about having too much of a challenge combat-wise, so it wouldn't be a problem for me if it was easier. And is any of the mods more stable than the other?

I guess I should leave out the Unfinished Business packs for my first playthrough. Or are there quests which have been only restored and not added to by the modders? I want to experience as much as possible, but no original content by modders (for now, at least).

The Tweak Packs seem to be useful for some things at least. Will just follow the guides.

2. Character Creation

So, as I said, I don't particularly like combat to be too challenging. It's not beneath me to lower the difficulty or cheat if I have to (I could say I don't have the time to be stuck on a fight for 5 hours anymore, but I've never liked that to be honest).

So, I usually play mages. I know mages are supposed to be powerful in the game, but apparently a Kensai/Mage is one of the best builds around. And with either Tutu or BGT one can already play one in BG1, right?

Anyway, a fighting Mage sounds about right for me. Can someone give me some tips or link me to some good guides (I've already bookmarked some things, but I think you guys are more experienced).
Or is a Fighter/Mage better? I'Ve heard about the Berserker/Mage too, but I like to keep it simple. Almost no experience at all with DnD rules, so a guide about spells would be great too (again: I'm searching on my own as well).

And what race to go along with the class? (as long as it's something romanceable...as I'm saying further below, I want to experience as much as possible)

3. Playing the game

Since I have no idea if I'll be able to get back to playing the game again (hehe, I haven't even started it yet), I want to make sure not to miss any (important) stuff. There are a few spoiler-free guides around, but is there any particular advice to follow?

Hope a few of you can chime in, thanks! =)

P.S.: Just wanted to make it clear that I'm talking about the classic games!

You can, but if you're planning on taking the character into BG2 then you may not want to. The way dual-classing works (multi-classing not being possible for a kensai), once you take up your second class you can never advance again in your first one; also your first class becomes inactive and you lose all its abilities until you reach one level higher in your second class than you did in your first. This means that if you dual to a mage early enough to re-activate your kensai class within the BG1 experience cap, you'll only get to 7th level as a kensai. This wouldn't be terrible, but if you can live with being a pure kensai throughout BG1 (which is perfectly viable) then I'd recommend waiting until 9th level and dual-classing in BG2 - that way you get the maximum full fighter hit dice and another every-three-levels kensai attack and damage bonus. (Some would say wait until 13th level so you get the maximum attacks per round, but that way you'd spend much longer with your kensai class inactive before you catch up in mage levels and re-activate it).

N. B. Siege of Dragonspear would add another layer to the XP cap issue, but your post seems to imply that you're playing the classic rather than the Enhanced editions, in which case SoD isn't an option.

One more important thing about dual-classing: if you're going to do it from a fighter (including kensai) to a mage, you must have at least 15 Strength and 17 Intelligence, otherwise the rules won't let you. The good old GameFAQs is as good a place as any: https://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/258273-baldurs-gate-ii-shadows-of-amn/faqs - I particularly suggest Haeravon's walkthrough and DSimpson's class FAQ. It depends whether you mean a multi- or dual-class fighter/mage. If it's dual-class then similar considerations apply as above, except obviously you don't have the kensai's extra abilities and restrictions - though if you're going to dual to a mage then the kensai's ban on armour won't matter once you've done so because mages can't wear armour anyway (this is one of the reasons people like the kensai/mage build).

Multi-classing is quite different. It means you have both your classes and all their abilities right from the start, with certain restrictions where their abilities are incompatible, which for a fighter/mage means no armour. It's more straightforward than dual-classing, which can be confusing at first for someone not familiar with the system. The disadvantage of multi-classing is that you gain levels more slowly, because your experience points are divided between your two classes. The game's experience cap also applies to the total of the two. Thus in BG1 you can reach 8th level as a fighter or 9th as a mage, but only 7th/7th as a multi-class fighter/mage. In BG2 you theoretically could (but won't unless you do a ridiculous amount of grinding) reach 40th as a fighter or 31 as a mage, but only 24th/20th as a figher/mage (and realistically more like 19th/17th).

So which is "better" depends on what matters to you - multi-classing gives you both classes' abilities from the start and is more straightforward, but the versatility comes at the expense of power and ultimate potential. See the above comments on the dual-class kensai/mage and fighter/mage (a berserker is closer to a standard fighter than a kensai is). Again, you can't be multi-class as a berserker as it's a kit. This is useful: http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/SpellsReference/Main.htm
Though some people disagree with its assessments of certain spells, so you may want to look elsewhere for other perspectives - some of the GameFAQs guides (whether general or specifically about spells) may be worth a look. If you're going to dual-class you have to be human. If you want to be a multi-class fighter/mage you have to be an elf or half-elf, or a gnome can be a fighter/illusionist. All the romances in the classic editions are open to humans and half-elves, all but one are open to elves, and only one is open to a male gnome (none to female gnomes). It depends how you define "important". Anything absolutely crucial will be hard to miss because you won't be able to progress without it! But really, while I can understand taking advice on character creation (especially if you're not familiar with the AD&D rules), when it comes to actually playing the game I'd recommend relying on your own exploration to discover things. One thing I will say is save very often and keep saves from various points, so you'll be able to go back if you mess something up or suspect you've missed something.

Thanks for your reply, ydobemos! I'll take what you said into consideration. I'll do some more reading and digging around and then I guess I'll decide.

I'm inclined to go the dual-classing route though. Since I want to play BG2 too, it wouldn't bother me to play as just one class for the time being (though I take it Kensai plays more like a fighter than a mage? Will look it into it. But even so, should be alright). Even if it's for the whole of BG1 - as long as my party can make it through the game. And yes, I found a few threads where it was kensai 13/mage x - but if you say that 9 levels would suffice, it's alright. Not planning on soloing the game, anyway.

If anyone else wants to add to the above post, be my guests =)

You can read the various guides at gamefaqs, they were very helpful for me. I prefer fighter/mage multiclass by the way.

Definitely. The kensai is a kit (i.e. class variation) of the fighter, it's not in itself any sort of fighter-mage hybrid - the latter will only come when you dual-class.

Basically a kit gives you certain bonuses or extra abilities in return for certain penalties or restrictions relative to the standard version of the class. Some kits change their class more radically than others. In the kensai's case, you can't use ranged weapons (except throwing weapons), can't wear armour and can't wear gauntlets or bracers. In return, you get bonuses to attack rolls, damage and attack speed that increase as you level up, a small flat bonus to armour class (equivalent to leather armour) and a special ability that briefly makes all your attacks do maximum damage. In short, you're deadlier than a standard fighter but also more vulnerable if your enemies live long enough to hit back.

Note that if you dual-class, your second class can only be the standard version of the class, not a kit (your first one can be a kit), so you couldn't become e.g. a kensai/transmuter. Multi-class characters also can only take combinations of standard classes, not kits (with the exception of gnome illusionists).

Incidentally, the reason I didn't answer your question about Tutu or BGT is that I've never actually used them - I've only played BG1 vanilla. I'm afraid you'll need to wait for someone else to answer that one or research it yourself. One further note in that regard - vanilla BG1 treats the various wizard specialisms as distinct classes, not kits (because kits don't exist in vanilla BG1), so you can dual-class to a specialist wizard, which you can't in BG2, Tutu or BGT or (I'm pretty sure) BG1:EE. (But note that wild mages don't exist in vanilla BG1.)

Actually, you can wear armor as a fighter/mage; you just can't cast spells while wearing armor. (At least one exception exists, however.) Giving up spellcasting in favor of armor might sound like a bad idea, but in the early stages of BG1, when you're a low level, it might actually be a good idea; having a good (low) AC is more useful than getting a single spell between rests. (This is especially true if you have already used your spell for the day; if you can't or don't want to rest, just put on armor as soon as the game lets you.)

I strongly advise against playing a kensai > mage. The idea of this class is exploiting an imbalance (kensais are supposed not to wear armor but can still wear robes if they dual to mage) but in the end you're only hurting yourself. Either you'll have to dual so early that there are barely any benefits from the first class or most of both games will be over until dualing is completed.

Kensai is a kit balanced for BG2 with the full disadvantages from the start while the advantages improve with levels. But you won't have those levels before playing some parts of BG2 so you'll have a crippled character for more than one of two games followed by a long dualing period where your character will still be crippled.

Most important for melee in BG is getting AC so low that enemies need to roll very high to hit you which will be hard to reach with only +2 AC bonus for your kensai while normal fighters get effectively +7 for splint mail and later +12 to AC by putting on non-magical full plate with the bonuses, it does make a huge difference whether enemies hit you with 2 of 20 or 12 of 20 attacks.

I played a fighter myself in BG who became a kensai on importing into BG2 and switched to mage later. In BG2 the kensai hid behind other party members with proper armor because I was tired of having to heal him again and again after fighting weak standard trash mob monsters.

A level 1 normal fighter with non-magical bow and arrows gets 2.5 attacks per round for 5-10 damage each from the distance and can switch to melee easily when enemies get close, a kensai does less damage, can't attack before he gets closer and will be hit a lot without armor.

A fighter/mage multiclass (gnome fighter illusionist is even better because of the extra spellcasting) is far superior to the kensai/mage during the course of the games, superior from the beginning and superior even at the end since both classes keep on improving and get high level abilities.

Sorcerers are most fun to play since they don't have to know one day before what they'll cast on the next, their flexible spontaneous casting will let you test and experience more spells than wizards who can learn many spells but memorize only few. I recommend the following stats:

Str: 18 (combat and carrying capacity)
Dex: 18 (AC and ranged)
Con: 16+ (HP)
Int: 9+ for reading scrolls
Wis: almost useless, even minimum works
Cha: 18 (dialogue, shop prices and quest rewards)

Thanks for all the new feedback, everybody!

kmonster, you're making it more difficult for me to decide :D
I mean, there are so many people saying Kensai/Mage is good that I reckon even with those disadvantages you wrote about, it's still pretty good. Or they played the class differently, dunno. As I said, I don't care if I'm taking advantage of the system when it comes to combat.

But my main problem with the kensai/mage build is that I'm going to be a fighter kit during the whole of BG1.
Sorceror I had in mind too before. Is it relatively easy to master even for a newbie? And I gather I won't have any problems with combat encounters?
Also, is the build you posted meant for a Sorceror?

Unless you're planning on taking either Limited Wish or Wish.

-The only thing I'll note about the mods, is that you can play BG1 and then import your character to BG2; you'll be able to select a kit (if desired) during the import process. You won't have the BG2 kits available in BG1 using this method, but you don't need a kit to get through BG1. I haven't used any mods myself, so I don't have first hand experience in that area.

-To make life (and combat) easier, max Str and Dex (regardless of class). You can max Con, though non-Fighter classes will see no benefit for a Con greater than 16 and less than 20. 16 gives the highest HP bonus for non-Fighters, while 20+ con gives any character (slow) innate regeneration. If you have fighter levels in your build, then max Con too. Put a number of points into Int to make certain BG2 fights easier.

-While a Kensai/Mage may be the more powerful combination in the end game, a Fighter/Mage will have a much smoother power curve and be a lot easier for a newbie to play. The Kensai will take a huge hit in ability when they start their dual class, and their power will jump back up when the mage levels finally catch up. The Fighter/Mage will simply keep building on their starting power.

-Be wary of the Kensai disadvantages in the early game! The Kensai seems like a class that loads up in power on the backend, while taking all the disadvantages on the front end. You'll have a melee character with low hp (because of their low level) who is easily hit (no armor); a glass cannon without the cannon.

By contrast, the Fighter/Mage can focus on using his fighter abilities at the start, then transition to using more mage gear when/as the mage half starts to come into its own. The mage spell slots can be used for Identify or other utility (or spells that can be cast out of combat and be expected to last through the next fight) until the character is ready to stop using armor and start using spells in combat.

A berserker doesn't have the same end game power of the Kensai, but it also doesn't have the same drawbacks; as previously mentioned, it is much closer to being a typical fighter.

-A sorcerer is actually a decent choice for a newbie, since you don't have to know in advance which (and how many) of your spells you want to have ready. You'll have a smaller selection, but they are available on-demand. Pick mostly damage spells with different damage types, with a few buffs and debuffs sprinkled in, and you should be good to go.

Thanks for the tips, Bookwyrm!

I think I'm going to choose between a Fighter/Mage and a Sorceror. Decisions, decisions. Will take a bit more time to read stuff.

Keep them tips coming, people (if you're bored)!

A big part of that decision will probably come from answering this question: How much do you want to be wading into a fight physically (whether melee or ranged), versus how much do you prefer to be standing back and hurling spells (and/or sling stones/darts)?

The F/M will mostly be fighting early (melee or ranged, depending on your preferences), with the option to continue in mid/late game or switch more and more to flinging spells. Early spell usage will likely veer toward utility spells like Identify; you don't need to cast it in combat, so you can take off your armor and let your other caster(s) use more slots on combat spells.

The Sorcerer will be staying right the boop off the front line for the whole game in favor of flinging spells (or rocks). They can still do utility, but their combat focus will be offensive magic. Once they run out of spells, they're probably not going to be particularly useful until they can rest.

A sorcerer will get much better at the magic much faster than the F/M. In exchange, the F/M has a wider range of choices in making things dead.

Been reading for the past hour and it looks like any Fighter/Mage combo would have me fight more in front at the beginning of the game, at least. And as I said, I prefer playing a Mage type and killing stuff while staying behind.

There are lots of build and skill guides for Sorcerors, too. It's not like I can go wrong with spellcasters, right? But then again, should I really stick to a Sorceror, or go with a Mage or Mage kit? Nah, too much thinking. Think I'll just stick with a Sorceror for the time being.

Should I get the cat as a familiar (since I read it's the most useful)? One has to be chaotic neutral or something then, would that affect a good two-shoes playthrough?

If you want to fight from the back, you could have your F/M equip a bow and shoot arrows. Not every fighter needs to be tanking or in melee, just one or two (or three) depending on enemy placement. However, if you mostly just want to sling spells, then sorcerer is an excellent choice.

You'll have to be a little discriminating in choosing what spells you know, since a sorcerer can't learn new spells from scrolls. However, you don't have to pick which spells you have memorized, just cast from whatever you know at a given spell level up to how ever many spells you can cast of that level. Bring along an NPC Mage an they can learn and cast whatever you might need only occasionally.

For first level, I suggest magic missile as an easy choice. Sleep is strong in BG1, but will become worthless by around BG2. Chromatic Orb is kind of the opposite; it isn't great early on, but can become quite strong in the later stages of BG2. Identify is almost a necessity early, but as the game progresses, you should have someone who's lore gets high enough to reliably identify anything you find, so you might not want to take it on your sorcerer. Shield is a decent choice. Don't take Find Familiar, since you should only be casting it once; just find a scroll and cast from that.

For second level spells, I highly recommend Melf's Acid Arrow. It can DoT mages and it can finish off trolls. Agganazzer's Scorcher is another decent spell, but I don't remember if it is level two. Invisibility is also a decent choice. So is Mirror Image, though again, I can't remember its exact spell level.

You can be Chaotic Neutral and (eventually) have the reputation of a saint without any problems. CN starts with a lower rep than some of the other alignments, but that isn't a big deal.

Which familiar is 'best' depends on what you want the familiar to do. Keep in mind that none of them are going to be very good combatants. I think the weasel (or was it a ferret?) has the best pick pocket, and I read about a solo wizard walkthrough that used it for that purpose. Some of the others can help find traps, but a thief character can do either one of those tasks.