Hello there! Welcome to the guide. As you may have noticed, this guide is lacking quite a lot of material at the moment; I just wanted to let you all know that I'm definitely interested in keeping on working, and that I'm in the process of making changes and adding new sections (as of August 2020).

Updates:

1st of January, Anno 2025

* Added content (Regeneration) to section 'Concepts'
* Added content (Constitution) to section 'Attribute: Tables'

21st of September, Anno 2022

* Added content (Open Doors, Stealth) to section 'Concepts'
* Fixed some mistakes in section 'Gameplay: Battle Prep.'

12th of August, Anno 2020

* Added a new section: Incantations

In this section I will outline some of the concepts commonly referred to in Combat; Gameplay; Character Generation and Levelling; and Item Management

Armour Class

Armour Class determines how difficult it is for enemies to hit you, but has nothing to do with negating damage. Moreover, the lower the number, the better the effect. AC begins at 10 for all characters, and can be lowered by wearing amour or receiving AC bonuses. A piece of Full Plate armour will set one's AC to 1. Having a Dexterity score of 18, will further decrease the AC attribute by 4 points, resulting in an AC of −3.

Backstab

Backstab is an ability specific to the Thief (and also usable by the Stalker variant of the Ranger, but with reduced effectiveness).

Backstab allows damage to be applied to a target with the use of a damage multiplier. Backstab may be attempted automatically during an attack if the perpetrator of the attack has had a Stealth effect activated. While a character doesn't need to be behind his victim to Backstab, he does need to have a Stealth effect applied beforehand. (A Stealth effect may be activated by using the Hide-in-shadows ability, or by quaffing an Invisibility Potion.)

Note: There is a window of opportunity of 1 Round (6 seconds) in which the Backstab may be performed (it opens once the first Hit attempt by a Stealthed character is made), after which Stealth is deactivated. Once a Backstab is performed, the previously Stealthed character is brought out of Stealth mode.

Dual Class

When Dual-classing; instead of having two active Classes, one has a secondary Class which is Levelled up to the desired Level, and then put on hold; and a primary Class which is henceforth Levelled up continually. The first Class the Human begins Levelling up (the secondary Class) is temporarily disabled when the Human switches over to his new (primary) Class. He keeps the same Hitpoints, however. When both Classes are at equal level, the secondary Class is reactivated, but ceases to Level up any more.

A few things to consider:

* Because your other Class is temporarily disabled when Dual-classing, you can spend a significant amount of time without the Ablities and/or Skills assosiated with the Class (though you still keep the Hitpoints from the other class if they would be higher). You need to decide a reasonable Level to achieve in your first Class before Dual-classing. Some people Dual immediately at the start of the game; and others wait until Level 9, 13, or even 15, in some cases.

* Your Thac0 value is picked from the Class with the most favourable Thac0 value, but only after you have finished Dual-classing. To finish Dual-Classing, one must achieve 1 Level more in the second class

Identification

Some items (most notably unique items and magic items) require identification before you can learn anything about their properties. Note: while you may not be able to determine anything about a magic item, you can still equip/wield said item. (Because some items can be cursed, it is generally advisable to identify an item before equipping it.)

Item Status: Cursed

There are a few cursed items that can be found in Baldur's Gate 2. While a cursed item will generally provide some negative effect, only in a few rare cases will there be any benefit. Because magic items usually need identifying before you can learn anything about them, there is no outward indication of an item's cursed status; it is advisable to cast Identify on an item before using it, or to use a character's Lore attribute to identify the item.

Lore

The Lore attribute can be used by any character to identify items. One's Lore attribute must meet a particular threshold before an item can be identified; if an item requires 50 Lore to identify, and you only have 45, you will not be able to identify the item. Bards gain a significant Lore advantage over other classes. Note: Lore can be increased with both Intelligence and Wisdom.

Multi Class

Open Doors

This oddly named skill permits the character – with points in it – to bash open containers and doors. (This only works on containers and doors that are not protected with magic wards.)

Note: Having a high Strength attribute is necessary to have any reasonable chance of success when activating this contextual skill.

Reaction Adjustment

Regeneration

Regeneration is a status effect that grants a restoration of some portion of the Hit Points of the character every six seconds (turn). Regeneration can be a temporary or permanent effect, and can be gained by achieving twenty points of Constitution, or by casting the appropriate Spell; in the latter case, upon casting the Spell, the recipient will gain the Regeneration effect until the Spell wears off.

Resistance

Saving Throw

Spell Memorization

Stealth

The Hide-in-shadows skill permits a character to make his or herself unseen for an indefinite period. Note: Upon successfully activating this skill, the character will be effectively invisible to other characters that do not have some means of detecting invisibility/stealth. Moreover, the skill must be automatically reactivated once per turn, resulting in a small chance of failure every 6 seconds.

(It is generally advisable to focus your Thief's skill points on Detect Traps and Open Locks, rather than Hide-in-shadows due to how unreliable this skill can be at low levels, or in general.)

Thac0

When attacking an enemy, a Thac0 roll is performed to determine if the attack is successful

Thac0 stands for 'To Hit Armour Class Zero' and represents a threshold for a successful roll of a twenty sided die (Icosahedron from Dungeons and Dragons); To make a successful Thac0 roll, one must roll the same number as the Thac0 value, or higher. For example: if you had a Thac0 score of 11, you would need to roll 11 or higher to hit the target

All of this assumes the enemy target has an Armour Class of zero. The target's Armour Class is subtracted from the Thac0 value when rolling. As such, if the Armour Class of the enemy target is non zero and positive, rolling will be easier; and if the Armour Class of the enemy target is negative, rolling will be harder

Turn Undead

Weapon Proficiency

Baldur's Gate uses three inverse numerical attributes. In general, as a numerical attribute increases, the attribute becomes qualitatively better. But for the following three attributes, the opposite is true: these three become better as the value decreases

It's important to choose appropriate attributes when creating your main character. Once you've created your character, there aren't many options to improve attributes later on. The one exception to this rule applies when you are role playing a character that specifically has poor attributes.

Strength:

Strength affects extra Damage, adjusts Thac0, increases or decreases the character's carry weight, and alters the 'Open Doors' ability. It's important for Warriors. The main bonuses begin at 16 points (therefore setting lower than 16 is a waste of points usually).

Dexterity:

Dexterity adjusts Thac0 with ranged weapons, provides a bonus to your Armor Class, and alters your Reaction Adjustment. The AC bonus begins at 15 points (therefore setting lower than 15 is a waste of points usually).

Constitution:

Constitution affects bonus Hitpoints, but the bonus only begins at 15 points (therefore setting lower than 15 is a waste of points usually). The Regeneration bonus starts at 20 points. Warrior classes can benefit from 18 points of Constitution, but all others can benefit from 16 points only.

Intelligence:

Intelligence effects the amount of scrolls that can be scribed into the spell book, determines the maximum spell level one can scribe*, and the chance one has to scribe a scroll. Due to changes from the original game it is recommended that a Mage character have 18 Intelligence (Intelligence is not relevant to Sorcerors). For non-Mage characters a minimum of 11 Intelligence (to protect against Mind Flayer Intelligence drain) is recommended.

A minimum of 8 Intelligence is needed to use wands.

Wisdom:

Wisdom doesn't affect much in Baldur's Gate. Wisdom's main use is to provide bonus spells for Druids and Priests. It can also affect the use of the Mage spell 'Wish'. Lastly, it can provide a bonus to one's Lore attribute.

Recommended & Minimum Attributes:


* Wisdom has *no* effect on Saving Throws

** Attributes in parentheses are the minimum required value. Whilst Charisma has no effect on spell casting ability, the Sorcerer is required to have 9 points

Charisma:


Constitution:


* per Level up to a maximum of ten Levels
** non-Warrior classes only gain 2 points (thus, it is usually not necessary to spend more than sixteen points on Constitution)

Class Grouping:


* For the first 9 levels only

Class Group Hitpoint Outline (with 16 Constitution):


Benefits and Penalties:




* ++ for all usable weapons types (+++ for Two-weapon Fighting Style)

** The Sorcerer doesn't memorize spells before use like the Mage. Instead, the Sorcerer may choose to use any spell from his repertoire; there is a limit to the number of times he may cast a spell per day, but the limit differs for each spell level. When levelling up, the Sorcerer is given the opportunity to pick a few new spells to add to his repertoire. Whilst the Sorcerer may cast spells more often, per day, than the Mage, he has access to a smaller repertoire of spells.

Allowable Race and Class combinations:


Allowable Race and Multi-class combinations:

It's important to understand the difference between these class modes, because they have significant consequences in game play.

A multi-class character can be any non human, and uses two classes simultaneously which the character spends equal effort upon. Any experience that said character receives is divided between both classes. Single and multi-class characters begin on a similar footing, with the multi-class character only falling behind by one level. As your party levels up, the gap increases significantly. In a fighter's case, at level forty, his multi-class fighter brethren will only have twenty-four of those levels. Twenty-four levels of fighter costs four million experience, and each party member can only collect around eight million.

An important fact to keep in mind is that all classes gain most their abilities in the first twenty levels. More than half the hit-points for any class are gained by level twenty. Any class party member will have reached his final thac0 score by level twenty (give or take a level or two for some classes). The only other attribute that increases after level twenty is weapon proficiency. With this in mind it seems safe to assume that multi-class party members would be more useful than single-class members. One caveat is that multi-class members level up more slowly, and receive fewer high-level special abilities (the abilities added with the Throne of Bhaal expansion pack).

Let's compare a pure fighter with a fighter-druid. The max-level pure fighter's attributes would be as follows:


The max-level fighter-druid's attributes would be as follows:

Dual-class (assuming an immediate dual at the start of the game):


Multi-class:

It's possible to create up to six characters at the start of the game, instead of one. To do this you need to start a multilayer game, create the characters, save the game, and then copy that save game over to the single player folder. It should be noted that you will lose out on a lot of fun aspects of the game if you do this.

Unarmed Penalty

When engaging in combat with no weapon equipped, enemy targets will receive a bonus to their Thac0 and Damage

Penalty: enemy target's Thac0 is modified by –4


Weapon Proficiency

Penalties applied when using a weapon in which you are not proficient:

(Note: Penalties to Thac0 are applied in positive amounts. See section on Thac0 for more information)



Fighting Style

When no points have been spent in Two-weapon Fighting Style, and when you are using two weapons simultaneously in combat, a penalty is applied to your Thac0 score; minus 4 for the main hand, and minus 8 for the off hand.

(SaSS = Sword and Shield Style)
(SWS = Single Weapon Style)
(ThWS = Two-handed Weapon Style)
(TwS = Two-weapon Style)


* Lower is better

The game can be played in real time or in turn based mode. Even in real time, the game uses turn based timing concepts which are outlined here:

Here's a list of spells commonly cast before major battles (to help in casting the spells in an efficient order):

Pickpocketing is a worthwhile activity to engage in. Occasionally civilians and guards will have valuable Items on their person, such as spell scrolls (up to and including level 9 scrolls) and jewels.

Suggestion: Don't forget to save your game before pilfering people's possessions

Selling Goods

Most shop keepers will buy a wide range of Items from you. Ribald, the owner of the Adventurer's Mart in the Promenade (starting area) will buy almost any item. On the other hand, Ribald's shop can't be burgled.

Suggestion: Avoid selling unwanted Items to Ribald, as you won't be able to steal these Items back later.

Burgling Shops and Selling Stolen Goods

Most shops can be burgled (with the exception of Ribald's shop and a few others). If you have stolen Items you want to sell, you'll need to locate a fence.

MR = Magic Resistance

* +2 damage against humanoids

Against Dragons:


Against Evil Creatures:


Against Golems:


Against Undead:

In Shadows of Amn segment of game:

In Throne of Bhaal segment of game:


* per Round (6 seconds)

* Optional Quest

** Crafted by Cespenar, from the Bladesinger Chain +4 and a Protection from Normal Weapons Scroll

Note that the Horn of Valhalla can be crafted by a craftsman in the Promenade

You can enjoy these items for a significant time spent in the Underdark; however, you can't remove them from the Underdark without cheating.

* Causes undead to ignore you
** This grants full magic resistance (100%)

Here's a list of items to stock up on when you have the gold:

The party leader's charisma has more of an effect on shop prices than reputation, in general. There are a few extreme cases where a very low reputation score will drastically alter prices, but the score would have to be very low (i.e., 1 or 2 points).

Nevertheless, you should aim for a minimum of 10 reputation, even for an evil party.

The shop price reduction bonus is capped at 20 Charisma. Whichever party member has the highest charisma should be given the +2 Cloak of Charisma, and should be temporarily made leader whenever you are shopping. This can be done by dragging the character's icon into the leader position.

If you have created some dual-class characters, you may be looking for a way to level them up quickly without starting any seriously hard fights. You might consider keeping any redundant spell scrolls you find, and using them to boost your experience. You're allowed to unscribe spells from your spell book and rescribe them as you see fit. You may also cast Flesh to Stone and then Stone to Flesh on a creature repeatedly since this gives you experience every time they're turned to stone.

Here's a list of quests that don't require much, if any, combat:

It's possible to inadvertently prevent yourself from being able to reach an area due to choosing a certain option in dialogue.

This list contains all the quest lines available before you leave for Spellhold.

* It would be advisable to bring some poison antidote potions with you for this activity

** This target has an Imprison ability that can bypass Magic Resistance. Due to the lack of Freedom scrolls early game, it's recommended to leave this battle until you return to the city late game

In Baldur's Gate and Shadows of Amn the spell-casting vocalisations are derived from real world Latin words. This is quite unusual, in that many games simply use gibberish for both names of people, places, etc, and gibberish for incantations or made-up languages. The Latin incantations add a distinct quaintness to the game world.

The following table describes several divination spells and the spells they counter.

* This spell can potentially destroy valuable loot

(More Information coming soon...)

Familiars can be summoned by a Wizard or a Beastmaster (but only when such a character is the main character in a party).

Familiars are useful, but can be a problem as well. On the one hand they offer a much needed hitpoint boost to your main character; on the other hand, they are quite squishy and not really suitable for battle. Nevertheless, it's possible to store your familiar in the inventory so it never has to engage in any battles.

The available familiars in Shadows of Amn:


* Mass Invisibility for your party. Very useful for avoiding monsters or encounters

The Machine of Lum the Mad provides +1 to all Primary Attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma.

(More Information coming soon...)

Tears of Bhaal (Shadows of Amn finale) choices: