Baldur's Gate + Tales of the Sword Coast (Expansion)

Baldur's Gate was the first game in the Baldur's Gate series. It was immediately followed by the expansion pack Tales of the Sword Coast (1999) Awesome D&D styled RPG! :)



Description:

Baldur's Gate is a fantasy role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published in 1998 by Interplay Entertainment. It is the first game in the Baldur's Gate series, and takes place in the Forgotten Realms, a high fantasy campaign setting, using a modified version of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) 2nd edition rules. Receiving critical acclaim, the game was credited for revitalizing the computer role-playing game genre. The game allows development of the player character through choice of companions, dialogue choice, exploration, and battle. Featuring a reputation system, Baldur's Gate rewards the player depending on the choices made in the game.

Gameplay:

Baldur's Gate takes place in the fictional world of Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms setting. The mechanics of the gameplay were coded to conform to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition role-playing rules, though various elements from the ruleset were modified to allow the game to be executed in pausable real-time mode. Hence, although each character is in constant action, the game allows the player to pause the activity at any time, or set the game to automatically pause at preset points in combat. The game features a top-down isometric perspective and real-time third-person combat system on pre-rendered backgrounds. It is also possible to script combat behavior for characters, such that they are able to act and respond to changing situations without explicit guidance from the player.



Character creation involves selecting various characteristics, such as class, race, alignment, abilities, and skills. During the game, past and present events are related to the player through dialogue, written text, journal entries, or cut scenes. Dialogue is initiated when the player clicks on computer controlled characters. This generates written and sometimes spoken dialogue with a short list of responses from which the player can select. Such interactions can lead to quests or missions.



The game is separated into seven chapters interspersed with segments of spoken dialogue. Free exploration of the world map is allowed in every chapter, though some areas are not unlocked until the player's character (PC) advances to a certain point in the game. The PC begins as a weak character, poorly equipped and without allies. As the game progresses, the player discovers new and more powerful equipment and magic, and can recruit a party of up to six characters, including the PC. Experience points are gained through completing quests and killing monsters; at predetermined point thresholds the characters' levels increase, resulting in improved abilities and skills. Characters are limited to a maximum amount of 89,000 experience points. The game includes over one hundred side quests.



The flow of time during the game is expressed by changes in lighting and the opening and closing of most shops, with an increased likelihood of combat encounters during the night. Taverns are open during the night, but there are no changes in the presence of customers or the barkeeper to reflect the flow of time. The troupe of characters controlled by the player will become fatigued after traveling for a full day, and require rest to recover.Setting:

The western shore of Faerûn along the Sea of Swords, called the Sword Coast, contains a multitude of ecologies and terrains, including mountains, forests, plains, cities, and ruins. The region encompassed by the game is bordered to the south by the Cloud Peaks, the east by the Wood of Sharp Teeth, the west by the Sea of Swords, and the north by Baldur's Gate, which is the largest and most affluent city in the region. The characters travel the countryside, exploring the various towns, dungeons, mines, forests, castle ruins, and Baldur's Gate itself, confronting the clandestine plots of organizations like the Zhentarim, the Red Wizards of Thay, The Iron Throne, the Flaming Fist, The Chill, The Black Talons, and the Harpers, investigating a conspiracy between the groups, and finding out the main character's own ancestry and history.



Characters:

Baldur's Gate includes several canon characters from the official Forgotten Realms campaign setting, such as Cadderly Bonaduce, Drizzt Do'Urden, Volothamp Geddarm, and Elminster.



Story:

The protagonist PC and his or her friend Imoen have grown up together since childhood under the tutelage of their guardian, the mage Gorion. As orphans, they were raised in Candlekeep, an ancient fortress-turned-library in the rural Sword Coast region south of Baldur's Gate. At the beginning of the game, the Sword Coast has entered a difficult time: iron production has virtually halted, metal already produced quickly 'rots', tools and weapons break easily (even the player's own, except for magical weapons) and bandits scour the countryside seeking iron over any other treasure. There are mercenaries with designs on the main character's life, beginning inside the once-secure walls of Candlekeep. Gorion knows the source of the trouble, but will not tell the protagonist, and instead decides to leave Candlekeep and journey with the PC to a hiding place. The night after leaving Candlekeep, the pair are ambushed by a group of bandits led by a mysterious armored figure. When Gorion refuses to hand over the PC, he is attacked by the bandits; Gorion defeats them but dies in doing so. Escaping capture, the PC soon encounters Imoen, who has been following in secret after reading a note about the journey on Gorion's desk. She too sees Gorion's murder, and now insists on accompanying the character. The player can allow her to come, or leave her behind, though regardless of the player's decision she will join the party anyway. The player then has the option of traveling North, to the Friendly Arm Inn to enlist further aid, as was suggested by Gorion prior to his death.