I bought the whole collection (With BG 1+2, ID 1+2, ToEE, PT, D&D:Demon Stone, Dragonshard, etc) and I was just curious to get some insight on which game in the series you guys think would be the easiest, or best, for me to get into the D&D universe. I do have some knowledge of D&D (such as the different rulesets, and that they exist, I know how spells work, etc), but I never really played a game deep enough to understand D&D to the fullest extent.

I also played a little BG1 & ToEE, if that helps. I want to get the EotB collection, but that's a whole different ballpark for another day :)

My suggestion would be play BG1 +BG2 first by using the BGT mod. I think the vanilla BG1 engine is very annoying and with BGT mod you can play BG1 with BG2 engine.

Then Planescape Torment. You might play this game first but I believe BG series is easier.

Then Icewind Dale series. More of the infinity engine.

I dont care about the rest really. ToEE is a good but buggy game. I couldnt finish it. Demon stone is more of an action game while Dragonshard is a strategy game. I found both clanky to play.

Also some quick tips about Baldur's gate,

STR 18/00 means STR 18/100 which is better than 18/99,
AC means Armor Class. Smaller the better.
Thac0 means to hit armor Class Zero. Smaller the better. If it is 20, that means you have to roll 20 (aka maximum) to be able to hit an opponent with an AC of 0.
While creating a character, you will roll ability scores. A total of 85-88 is good enough for any class.
Ability bonuses are not linear. There is no difference between 7 Constitution and 14 Constitution.
If you are not a fighter class (fighter, Ranger, Paladin), there is no need to go over 16 constitution.
Wizards need 18 intelligence. Clerics need 18 Wisdom. (ofcourse you may do whatever you want but this is highly recommended).
Also, High Dexterity is beneficial for ALL classes. Make it 18 if you can.
1 round is 6 seconds.
Playing as a mage on lower levels (as in BG1) can be insanely hard. Prepare to die often.
Q is quicksave. Use it often.
Often save in different slots. Just incase something goes wrong and you have to go back to previous save.

Have fun :)

1. Don't ask other people what *you* would like or what would be easiest for *you*.
2. Pick a game and have fun.

My recommendation is BG1 + BG2 as well, with either BGT or Tutu, so you can play BG1 in BG2's engine. It does change a few things gameplay-wise, but it also means better graphics and better 'features', like item highlighting and scrolling, so I recommend to do it anyway. Don't think I could play through the original BG1 (but then I never played it back in the day, so I am perhaps spoilt).

In addition to what Engerek01 mentioned (and you may know this), it's worth to keep in mind that 10 rounds = 1 turn. The length of spells will typically be in x rounds or x turns.

This is a good spoiler-free guide if you want some info to get started: http://www.pocketplane.net/volothamp/bgguide.htm

Hope you have fun, whether you start with Baldur's Gate or something else.

I have to disagree about BGT and other mods changing the BG1 engine. For someone, who has not played through the game yet it's better to experience it as it was intended to play, without mods. There are quite a few big differences and BG2 engine in general messes up with the balance (graphics are subjective and character animations in BG2 are ugly in my opinion). After that you can play around with mods etc. You don't have to create over-powered character, just make it so that you'll enjoy it, no matter what race and class combination you'll choose.

Thanks everyone for the input! Especially for explaining some of the acronyms Engerek01. for the guide Pangaea666, and Tuthrick's opinion. :)

So now I know to start with BG for sure. Whether I'll play it modded or not, I don't know yet. Any other mechanics/key D&D things I should be aware of? Or would it be better to just dive into it and learn them as I see them?

*Shakes head*

I really don't see your problem with me asking on how to get into a series like D&D. That's why the forums exist, to chat and get advice/opinions from other players. I'd appreciate it if you stopped acting rude to me for no defined reason.

I don't have a problem with you personally, and I haven't been rude -- that's just your oversensitive perception. I simply find people who can't make up their own mind in simple matters to be baffling.

It's due to posts like that others find you rude and condescending. The forum is there for people to get advice and opinions, which is what (s)he wanted. I don't see the problem with that. It's great that even now, so many years after release, people are playing these marvellous games for the first time.

A little tip on early gameplay btw, which will basically serve you well throughout the whole of BG1, is that Ranged weapons are King. Early on you are weak as piss, and one hit can kill you (especially if you are a HP-poor class like mage). Going toe to toe with foes can kill you early on, but if you drop them before they reach you...

I also find it's a good routine to make a manual save at the start of a new area. You never know what's in there, and nasty stuff can happen that can't be undone. Then it's nice to go back a little bit instead of two hours, or worse. Also make a quicksave (or manual save) when transferring areas. Can also be a good idea to make a quicksave (Q) before talking to 'important' characters.

You're in for one hell of a ride :) I played these games myself for the first time a few years ago, and they are great. It can be frustrating too, and you WILL die often, because some battle is pretty tough (at least when you don't know what to do, what spells to choose, etc). I didn't call it Baldur's Reload for no reason! :D

Planescape Torment is a fantastic game too -- if you like story-based games. Lots of reading in that one, but it's a wonderful game, and perhaps THE game I've ever played I'd love to play again without any knowledge.

Typically the description of these Black Isle games is
Planescape Torment : Story focused
Icewind Dale : Heavy combat focus
Baldur's Gate : More balance between story and combat

Enjoy the ride =)



Oh yes, one more thing that I find *essential*. Go into game options and set auto-pause to trap found and enemy sighted. Especially the former can save you some damage as it's easy to walk over a trap. Also keep in mind that trap-finding isn't a passive skill, so your thief must have that enabled if you want to locate them.

(Not sure if both these options is present in vanilla BG1, but they are in easyTutu and BGTrilogy)

Folks here are examples of the interesting characters you meet in D&D.

Also, note that the Sleep spell is overpowered at low levels: It is basically an "I Win" button and should be chosen at character creation if you are playing a mage.

(Note that this spell is less useful in Icewind Dale, which throws a huge dungeon with nothing but undead at you early, or in Baldur's Gate 2, where you start at a level high enough for Sleep to be useless in any nontrivial encounter.)

There was nothing rude or condescending about my post, save as viewed by those of a delicate disposition. There absolutely was no intent. I have helped countless people out in these forums over the years, and I'm not looking for approval or Brownie points -- I call a spade a spade; some people don't like that. I get it. but people who get upset by harmless comments... they are the ones with a problem. That's just it. There isn't, and neither did I say that there is.

I think another great reason to start with BG is that it gives a great context for when you play Torment. They're both set in the same universe, but in different planes of existence. The setting of BG and IWD is pretty much your typical Tolkien-inspired fantasy setting. Torment is mainly set in a kind of dimensional crossroad between all other dimensions, one of which is where the BG and IWD games are set. It's meant to be very strange and otherworldly, in stark contrast to the quite familiar Forgotten Realms setting of BG and IWD.

For that reason, I'd probably recommend playing IWD before Torment as well. One thing to bear in mind is that IWD is really light on plot, it's more of a straight forward dungeon crawl. On the other hand, Torment is incredibly plot based, more so than any of the other games you've mentioned. So you can choose based on what mood you're in, a very dense and atmospheric story or a very combat-oriented adventure. I don't have any experience with the other games you mentioned (I've been meaning to play ToEE for about a decade, though. I should really get around to that...)

Well, if you plan on playing all of them, perhaps just go through them chronologically, at least the crpg ones. That's what I'm doing. I've already finished BG1, Planescape Torment and IWD. Next I plan to start with BG2 (the biggest game of them all) and then move onto on Black Isle's PC swansong, IWD2.
After that I'm planning on moving onto ToEE, and after that the recently released Pillars of Eternity.

This is quite the D&D crpg undertaking, but the awesome thing about it is that there are cool D&D games you can use as a breather between the crpg titles, such as Dragonshard and Neverwinter Nights.