Hi everyone, I have a quick question concerning characters being made in BG1 and playing right through to the end of BG2: Throne of Bhaal. Luckily for me I will have a large amount of free time this coming winter and am preparing ahead of time for my grand adventure in Faerun. This will be my first time playing through both games and expansions.

So here's my questions:

1. Which classes don't work very well going from BG1 to BG2?

2. Should I import my character into BG2 or should I just start a new character instead?

3. A character from BG1 who finishes Tales of the Sword Coast can move into BG2 and continue leveling? I figure if I start a mage, by the time I get a good ways into BG2, the mage should be powerful.

That's it for now. I'm not decided on what class I will be but I'm thinking cleric or mage at the moment. Suggestions?

Thanks, hope to hear from you!

This should be an exciting winter!

All of the classes transfer well. Some are weaker in BG1 or don't get as strong as others in BG2, but just pick a class that you like. If you install Baldur's Gate Trilogy, you can also select BG2-only classes for use in BG1. (edit: though I don't personally recommend using mods when playing games for the first time, and some classes are very very underpowered in BG1 when using a BG2 class kit)

I never did import my character. I remade him. He decided that the life of a mage would be more fun as a bard. :) But there are some benefits to keeping your character. Assuming you roll and make your character well (read all the charts in the back of the manual to see where to stick points), then you could have an impossibly-good-rolled character for BG2 if you import. But that said, you don't need it to finish.

And finally, yes, you keep your XP from BG1 and keep on going through BG2.

I hope that answers all of your questions. Enjoy the adventure!

As a rule of thumb, fighters are stronger in BG1 but weaker in BG2. Mages are weaker in BG1 but stronger in BG2.

Clerics are fine in both games, but work much better as a fighter/cleric dual or multi-class. (or a variety thereof. Because of a bug giving them a wider spell selection, ranger/clerics are popular. This is because cleric magic is very support-oriented, and so more useful to cast before or after a battle than during. A cleric who can also fight can contribute a lot more.

Thieves (again, possibly multi-classed with fighters in some way for increased utility) are also a lot of fun. The backstab and stealth abilities are very powerful and fun to use, imo. But this pretty much comes down to your preferred playstyle.

For a long playthrough like this, multi-class characters (i.e. non-human characters who level in two classes at once) are better than dual-class characters. (i.e. human characters who start out as one class, but then stop leveling in that one and pick a new one.) In a long game, either the first class will fall behind so far it becomes less useful, or you'll have to wait for all of BG1 before you even get the second class. There are exceptions to this: you could play a fighter throughout BG1 that you then dual into a mage at the start of BG2 and so get a very strong character in both games.

The advantages of importing are that you can get a slightly stronger character. With Tales of the Sword Coast, you'll have about twice as much experience points. (Not as big a deal as it sounds like, since XP gains and requirements go up exponentially in this game. 2x the XP = 1 level more. Give or take a few levels based on class, since different classes level at wildly varying rate. Weird rules. Anyway, this is also why multi-class characters are so good. Both classes will be only a level or two behind your single-class guys.)
There are also some nifty stat-boosting magic books in BG1. If you import a character that used them, you can have higher stats than the maximum. For example, you could get a thief or a cleric with 19 strength. (Which, again for reasons of weird AD&D rules, gives you a giant boost over having 18 strength.) This is not a huge deal, especially since BG2 has a good few stat-boosting items anyway, but it can really help some classes.
Finally, some of the items you find in BG1 transfer over if you import in BG2. This is very minor: you still start out BG2 with nothing, but you'll find some of your old gear instead of a standard magic item in the first dungeon.

All in all, the advantages of importing are minor but noticeable. Personally, I never bothered except when I really liked a character and did it for RP reasons. But I've also done that the other way around: create a character in BG2 first, and then later play BG1 with another version of that character like a prequel.

2 words. Either

1) Berserker dual to Mage, 13 fighter level dual 28 mage level. And make sure he/she learns the GOOD planetar (not evil).

OR. You start a

2) Ranger in 1, lower reputation BARELY enough to learn evil Bhaalspawn powers WITHOUT loosing your class (in 2 this gets you Fear instead of Ghoul Touch), find the Helmet of Opposite Alignment, import over to 2, turn him into a Beastmaster, raise him/her up to level 12 (maximum kit bonus of summon animals), then dual over to cleric, at high levels wear the Help of Opposite Alignment, and learn the EVIL deva (better than the good blue one). You can remove helm with remove curse, and this results into a cleric ranger, of Good Alignment, with evil powers and the evil ultimate summon. Just take care when you level up, which priest ring you receive; you want the good alignment one, so you can have your helmet slot free. Also, he/she can summon evil familiar while wearing that helm. Ideal alignment is Chaotic good. Fairy Dragon is the most useful one, and with the reverse alignment trick, you get lawful evil, and an imp familiar, which is what most probably what our late old pops Bhaal actually was; had been...

Those two are the most powerful characters in game. You can easily solo everything with no other group member, if you so much as wish for it. The fighter should roll a total of 90 stats (not difficult in 1 original), put 15 str (you can wear plate), 18 dex, 18 con, 18 int, 18 wis, 3 (dump) charisma. You NEED 18 wisdom for casting wish and greater wish in 2 with good success rates, and both are invaluable. Or you can leave 15 to wisdom, with 87 total roll, and read all wisdom books in 1 (3).

For Ranger, you need: 18/00 str, 18 dex, 18 con, 9 int (for using scrolls and wands), 18 wisdom and dump (3) charisma. A total of 84 roll, not very hard in and by itself, but quite so with the 18/00 in the picture (unless you plan to read the book of strength, so you can leave strength as low as 18/01, but certainly not below).

Ranger in 1 can wear Drizzt's equippment, which is very gamebreaking, but hard to get. One of his scimitars with a +2 shield works wonders, as well as his mithril chainmail. Being a beastmaster is tricky, but ultimately, he/she can wear dragon scale crafted armor...

Honestly, whilst those characters may be strong, I very much doubt it will be much fun playing the games for the first time like that.

Endless stat-rolling... meh. Dual-classing at high levels and therefore waiting until halfway through BG2 before you can even play your classes as intended... meh. Having to use strange alignment tricks and micro-managing your reputation instead of roleplaying your character the way you want to... meh.

For a second or later playthrough where you want to squeeze every bit of power out of a character, if that's your thing, by all means try something like this. But the first time around I bet you'll have a lot more fun if you just play the game without worrying about keeping your reputation at 8 points and your alignment flip-flopping between good and evil.

I might recreate my ranger/cleric from Icewind Dale because she was easily my favourite party member. I'll turn her into a male this time around though for RP purposes.

Thanks everyone.

Cleric/ranger is awesome. Even as a dualclass. Nice choice. And gets ALL weapon masteries it can get. Also, if you have gender issues (of playable character), you can always try wearing on the cursed girdle of sex-change, you find in Baldur's Gate 1.

One more thing: regardless of whether you are fighter/cleric or ranger/cleric, you are still bound by the divine law of clerics abstaining from edged weapons right? So you could use swords and axes up until you dual over then you must use blunt weapons only right?

What about bows as a fighter/cleric as a secondary weapon to go along side a mace?

You could, but that would be a complete waste of proficiency points. No go. Any cleric combination is restricted to cleric weapons only.

If you use a human to dual class, in 1, starting as a ranger, you can choose ANY weapon you like. Fancy that magic 2 handed swords? Or the deadly longbows? Yes, you can. And if you play 1 without mods, the weapon proficiency system gives you proficiency in many different weapon types at once, by raising just one choice. Going in 2, you can choose a kit of course (keep in mind that only BEASTMASTERS can dual), and later change into cleric. But worry not, by importing over to 2, you get to choose your weapon proficiencies ANEW! Because 2 has different system anyway. I proposed beastmaster, because the staffs are among (if not downright) the most powerful weapons, plus lore friendly (ex. guards in candlekeep carry those, not swords).

If you fancy a normal ranger dual to cleric, though, by all means, go for it! He/she can even wield WARHAMMERS and FLAILS, or MACES! There are so exceptional weapons on these categories, that you aren't even going to NOTICE the absence of bladed weapons for your player, let alone grief over it!

Finally, prefer cleric/ranger instead of fighter/cleric. Cleric ranger gets ALL divine spells, both druid's and cleric's. Thing is broken. Try and see...

And both cases are restricted to cleric's weapon range. Which isn't bad in the least bit. Sling are overkill (heard also they get bonus from strength), and you can find +5 ones even from the beginning of 2, from special merchant (Joluv or Deidre (i cannot remember which though, but one of them is not present in GoG version, you have to download his data file seperately; those in game merchants serve as a promotion for icewind dale and planescape torment, sell special in game items for BG2 that are overpowered at least up and until mid to late game, and originally were available for preordering and getting collector's edition of Shadows of Amn back in the day).

Slings do not add bonus damage from strength, normally.

There -is- a magic sling for sale early on in BG2 that does. It's quite cheap and makes for a great missile weapon for fighter/clerics or ranger/clerics with high strength.

It may be that the collector's edition sling you describe also adds strength. At least I've heard some people say so, though I cannot personally verify since I never bought it. If so, it's a bug that may or may not be fixed by some of the fixpacks out there. Or an undocumented feature, if you will.

Normal slings, in any case, do not add the strength bonus. Certainly, no sling in Baldur's Gate 1 does. Though if you play the non-extended non-tutu edition, you can indeed reassign weapon proficiencies on import and get around this.

A multi-class ranger-cleric works almost as well as a dual-class version, though. Not as powerful, especially in BG1, though it may well come out ahead by the time you hit the Throne of Bhaal expansion in BG2. (Since unlike the dual class, you'll get the special high level abilities for both classes, not just the cleric.) Personally, I like multi-class characters more in a long game like this since you'll get the whole package of abilities such as spellcasting right form the start, without having to wait until BG2.

It's not a bug. The sling (Erinne Sling +4 and +5[ToB]) are special cases, added with the bonus merchants.

The Sling of Seeking also adds a strength bonus, and states so in the description. Not so. The sling found in Durlag's Tower (Arla's Dragonbane) adds a strength bonus.

Yeah, I was talking about the Sling of Seeking.

Those other slings do not mention the strength bonus in their descriptions, so I'm not sure it was intended. Still, there are other such undocumented features, like Kundane's Shortsword (I think) giving +1 attack.

I didn't know about the sling in Durlag's Tower. I'll remember that.

Kundane's sword is meant to have +1 to attack. It is called 'Sword of Quickness'. The usual way that items get incorrect, or 'undocumented', features is when they are copied and edited from another template. In this case though, there is not another single shortsword with +1 to attacks per round. The only other sword that does so is a scimitar (Belm +2). In both cases, this is intended.

Another thing I just want to address is weapon damage.

1D6 means 1 roll of a 6 sided die which would be 1-6 pts of dmg but then STR is added to the equation as DEX for your chance to hit right?

So then 2D4 would be 2 rolls of a 4 die which would be 2-8.

I have trouble understanding sometimes whether a particular weapon is just as good or better than the one I may be using. I have activated the break down of die rolls in the dialog Window and added certain conditions to make combat autopause.

My character uses a mace which is 1D6 but a warhammer is better at 2D4, correct?