I'm still pretty new to BG, so I'm wondering:

Is it normal that any enemy at the beginning of the game is able to kill any party member with 1-2 hits? On my way to the Friendly Arms Inn I encountered some Hobgoblins which I was only able to defeat by running away with my main character (Paladin-Chevalier) and killing them from distance with Imoen. Well, after I died 5-6 in a frontal combat...

Anyway, I'm now at the Friendly Arms Inn and now some damn mage is trying to kill me. Or well, he ALWAYS manages to do so. Even with the guards attacking and me running away he kills any party member with one spell.

I the game really supposed to be that hard on normal difficulty?

I started today and I'm getting my butt kicked too. I'm a dual FIghter/Mage and plan on going Kensai/Mage in 2. Dire Wolfs totally rape me. Hard. Managed to get to the Friendly Arm and then into the next city and am doing some sidequests.

Yeah, it's hard as hell.I feel like I can't explore at all without dying which is really frustrating.

I'm just asking myself: am I missing some strategy? I mean, anywhere I go that guy kills me, following me everywhere.

The early stages can be very tough due to your low HP. This is why later BioWare games such as Neverwinter Nights would start you at a higher level so you'd have a better chance of survival once the game really begins.

That mage at the Friendly Arm Inn can be a pain - whether you win or not basically comes down to if you interrupt his first spell or not.

I suggest using potions and just trying to rush the guy.

No chance, any magic missile causes instant death. :( One by one he slaughters anyone, even all the guards.

Yeah, that's normal for AD&D (and BG). Low level characters are weak and extremely vulnerable. As you found out, your best strategy is to snipe with ranged weapons until you gain a level or two. Even then, ranged weapons rule. But if you kit out your tank with the best gear you find, you'll be fine.

As for that mage, he's very powerful compared to your characters at that point and that's an extremely challenging encounter for the level you meet him at. I suggest picking up Xzar and Montaron (you should have met them on the road just outside Candlekeep) if they're available. Xzar can cast Larloch's Minor Drain or Magic Missile (maybe even Sleep), which screws with that mage's spellchucking. Pelt him with missile weapons with yourother characters.

If you can't get them, you'll have a rough go. Try interrupting the mage's spellcasting with missile fire and the Wand of Missiles (Imoen should have it). If you sill have issues, you may need to explore a bit to gain a level before trying to get by him.

Oh, totally forgot about the staff. Well with the help of a guard and and the staff I managed to kill that guy without suffering any damage. Guess I was a bit lucky, too. Thanks for the help!

BGT and EasyTutu both alter the monster spawns in bg1 to something other than what they were in the original game. From what I've read, this is the price you must pay in order to play bg1 in the newer engine. I haven't been able to try it yet, but I think there are options you can tweak during the installs of both related to the way monsters spawn. Check it out. I'm stuck in the same boat; just waiting to get off work to try it myself.

Remember the wand of magic missile you get from imoen when you first start. That will be your mage sniping weapon. Make sure you cast that right before they initiate dialog and while your tanks are close. Once they cast it, bum rush the mage with melee and maybe even some ranged. Works for me most of the time. Baldurs gate 1 is a brutal game. I've played the game since 2006 and i still die sometimes. Skill has nothing to do with staying alive, but it helps.

I went through this a couple of days ago with my first foray into BG.

Going to the Friendly Arms Inn I just ran the whole way, and came back to search the bodies after gathering a party with some HP. Imoen has both low HP and no AC to speak of so she's pretty useless when first starting out. With the mage I guess I got lucky and the guards took care of him pretty quickly. Once I got past those two hurdles and recruited some more folks into my party, I was able to manage most subsequent encounters successfully, at least so far. I think it's important to use formations and arrange your party so that your fighters and other characters with more armor and HP are able to take the brunt of the attacks, while using missile weapons from the other guys in the back to concentrate the attack on one enemy at a time.

The only exceptionally difficult enemy I've run into since were some vampiric wolves that seem to be immune to any weapons I've got in my party. After reloading several times trying different strategies I finally gave up and decided to come back to them when my party is higher level and has better equipment. Also, so far I still don't have a mage or a cleric in my party...

While you can get by without a mage or cleric, your life will be much, much easier if you pick one up.

As for the vampiric wolves, if memory serves, you need a +1 or better weapon to hit them.

Trust me, as soon as a mage or cleric offers to join my party, they're in! I do have Joehim (sp?) who is a fighter/druid, so I do get the healing, but no turn undead, protection from evil, etc.

Also I am pretty sure my fighter has a +1 sword but it was useless. Could be I was doing that encounter before I picked it up, though.

Another thing to keep in mind is that, early on, the wilderness areas are generally a lot more challenging to survive than the main quest-related tasks. Once you've gained two-three XP levels or so (by recruiting at least two additional party members besides Imoen, doing a few minor side quests in Friendly Arms Inn/Beregost, engaging only in the easiest of random encounters and resting after each battle), it should be a lot easier to deal with, say, Nashkel Mines or the Gnoll Stronghold than it is to struggle with hard-hitting ogres and damage-resistant vampiric wolves in the areas immediately surrounding these and other early locations in the game.

Try getting greywolves sword below the iron mines where prism is working. Causes Ice damage I believe should kill the vampire wolves.