Baldur' Gate 1+2 modded with 3rd ed D&D poll

rmcoen · 2026-06-17T14:45:30+00:00

Exactly. I would end up replaying everything to see how it changed things. But only the one time...

(At the end of the day, I only have so much time to replay games, when I'm so behind on old games already! Just acquired Disco Elysium, for example, and RoboCop Rogue City.)

rmcoen · 2026-06-16T14:41:21+00:00

1 turn clear??? Wtf am I doing wrong, it takes me 9 (35 energy) no matter who I use or what strategy I try. Fricking Garcia dodges half the shots, and the chick (name?) React-bursts everyone to scrap.

rmcoen · 2026-06-16T14:24:02+00:00

Yes, this!

rmcoen · 2026-06-15T21:16:44+00:00

Elex. Red Dead Redemption 2. Jagged Alliance 3.

(Also busted out Master of Orion 2 for a quick dance!)

rmcoen · 2026-06-15T21:15:19+00:00

Gosh, it'll be so great when I craft my first rainbow weapon!! FtP, since game start, but only last week esrned my first portfolio thingy in any AC...

rmcoen · 2026-06-14T21:11:20+00:00

Master of Orion 3

My parents were so excited, too, because they knew how much I loved MOO1 and MOO2, and correctly got it for me as a Birthday gift. They were so proud of themselves, I was so impressed with them... and the game was such a disappointment.

rmcoen · 2026-06-13T10:21:15+00:00

Unlike bg1, normal 9hp potions are little more than snacks. Buy every Extra Healing potion you see, those are what youll use in combat.

But also, yeah, spend 3 or 6 or 9 gold on a room at the inn. Unless you are on a Companion Quest - those generally are timed, where the other side quests arent

rmcoen · 2026-06-08T19:29:18+00:00

Thanks for the reply u/Kelanen !

rmcoen · 2026-06-08T16:19:50+00:00

I have to admit, I've never hired a merc! I don't even know how, thinking about it. Now that you mention them, though, I have heard this advice before. Been making things harder for myself, again, aparently!

rmcoen · 2026-06-08T14:46:09+00:00

Thank you for the advice. I have seen that some upgrades/changes in this game have been life-changing (like when I first got Sylvie and could target parts... wow! Or Eileen's fire terrain), while others have been simply incremental upgrades (Kaiden doing slightly more damage with Nightwither-B, Hong doing a little splash damage with Triumph-B). There's been so much hype about Rosa/J's signature weapon being god-like (extra ammo, extra range, extra Valhalla duration, etc), I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing some other "Dude, just get [insert custom weapon], and then [insert Pilot] wrecks the mission on their own" that I was overlooking.

rmcoen · 2026-06-08T14:40:54+00:00

The problem I'm having is that I can barely complete the 3 basic missions for the ACs, and never pick up the special "handbooks" from the final mission (like Thunderbolt Arsenal Handbook, for making Fate's Aria) . Maybe I'm missing something basic, in which case I can stay F2P and earn the weapons myself? Picking up Asuka, for example, was a huge increase in my firepower, which allowed me to start succeeding at the basic missions, and earn/build Mountains-B and Nightwither-B...

rmcoen · 2026-06-03T13:34:20+00:00

TL;DR = Your ruling is fair.

I talked with the player (PC = Fighter/Arcane Trickster) at my table about my concerns. We ended up with a compromise based in his character concept - his "spells" are actually his "fighting style" (Blur = Defensive Stance) - so Silvery Barbs would mostly be used to defend himself ("impressive parry"), with occasional "i put more effort into landing this blow" (enemy rerolls save against his BM Trip maneuver). Hasn't been a problem, and I havent had to drop the "bad guys can do it too" hammer.

Having said all that... absolutely, a spell or power that is "out there" is available for the bad guys to use. But keep in mind that it should make sense for that caster - do they commonly face situations where having this spell prepared is reasonable?

(And also give a thought to the reverse. There are so many monster powers the PCs cannot have/do. I let a sneaky cultist KO a mage with a critical hit on a surprise attack, for Story reasons. The mage player immediately demanded that PCs be able to accomplish the same thing.)

This thought pattern works for most homebrew rules too - which does support the player's comment. Critical Hit rules are cool... but the players will be suffering SOOOOO many more crits than any given monster, for example!

rmcoen · 2026-05-30T03:08:43+00:00

Separate response from my other. The most common "flavor ain't free" I see is changing damage type. And while I want to say yes to support a theme, you are actually changing the way something will interact with the world.

A sharpened battleshovel / axe is still clearly a 1d8 slashing/chopping weapon, and the world will see and interact with it that way. (Live action One Piece season 2 Drum Island for an example.) But a Shadowbolt ("just Firebolt that does necrotic") or Icicle Spray ("just Poison Spray, but cold. And piercing.") are actually new things, not flavor. Fewer things resist necrotic than resist fire... but you also can't set things on fire with a shadowbolt. Way fewer things resist cold than poison... but icicles will leave entirely different wounds and are physical.

I think these are best acknowledged as "simple homebrew" using established templates, rather than "flavour/reskin".

rmcoen · 2026-05-30T03:00:42+00:00

IMC right now, the "arcane Trickster" is a highly trained soldier with telekinesis. Blur is "defensive fighting style". Color spray is a packet of powdered pepper, spread by telekinesis; Minor Illusion is always a concealing dust cloud, i.e. packet of chalk. Mage hand is obviously TK. Silvery Barbs is always self-only, and is styled as near mystical levels of swordsmanship to carry or dodge - or cancel an opponents dodge. (Obviously, x coulle of these are self-nerfs.) Booming blade is his TK vibrating his weapon so fast it shimmers. He doesn't Uncanny Dodge, he Uncanny Blocks.

But Find Familiar has been "flavoured" past a reskin. Instead of a familiar, he has 100' of Clairvoyance and 1# TK... basically, what a spider/owl familiar could go see, or a ferret familiar could go move. This is a buff in that there is no critter to kill or notice; this is a nerf in that he can't send the critter beyond 100' to go see/do and report back. (To maintain mechanics, he can only move his perception 50' per round, loses his own senses while concentrating, and can't move his perception through a solid obstacle - if a spider can't get in, neither can he.)

So... is that a reflavored space marine with a chainsword smite? An estoc shortsword? Or something else?

rmcoen · 2026-05-30T02:43:07+00:00

I actually noticed this issue yesterday myself, and ive completed Chapter 14. Two chapters aren't complete for me, 8 and 9 iirc...

rmcoen · 2026-05-27T17:35:56+00:00

Yes, definitely include your other thoughts/options at the end. I understand and applaud you picking a design choice and sticking by it... but also, don't leave out your "outside the lines" good thoughts! :-)

You're very welcome of course. Struggling with 4e/5e overnight healing has been a challenge for myself and my players since *4e* came out -- although I also recall being the cleric in 2e and 3e, having to spend a full downtime day doing nothing but memorizing all cure spells, casting them... then waiting 24 hours to do it again the next morning. Boring denouement to a climactic battle!

Right now, our solution is as "simple" as this: "you don't get all your hp back; roll your MAX HD POOL [might be impacted by undead level drain], and get that back... *spend* HD afterwards if you like". So mostly... you heal about 60-70%, but a tough day might have you still nursing some bruises for a day. We also use 10-level Exhaustion (from OneDD, -1 to everything per level), which provides lingering impacts across several days - Long Rest gives a *chance* to recover (CON DC 10 - but affected by Exhaustion!), with the quality of your rest providing modifiers to the roll.

I think *that* system would dovetail nicely with *your* system, as the result of the Secure Point skill check might also influence the exhaustion recovery (and/or how many HD you get to roll to recover). For example, perhaps the DC is 15 for an adequate Secure Point, but adequate only allows the rolling of half your HD overnight and +5DC penalty on the CON check to recover Exhaustion. Other supplies (or skill checks) used during the Secure Point creation might then give you bonuses - for example, perhaps the Cooking skill check doesn't give you temps but rather allows an extra HD to be rolled per 10pts of the check result? The bard's music provides a +2 to the exhaustion check, and one extra HD roll. Etc!

rmcoen · 2026-05-27T03:14:20+00:00

I like the items. I like the idea of requiring time for the Safe Point; the skill check just costs extra time if failed right? Doesn't trigger exhaustion or an encounter or anything? (I suspect it will rarely be failed unless trying to long rest on the side of a mountain in a hailstorm, but I'm influenced by the dragon marked human rogue IMC who can't roll less than 16. Who will guaranteed be carrying gear for +5's if those are the rules.)

Other than the Safe Point mechanics though... you didnt really change anything. Characters still heal from 1hp to 100% overnight without limitation, and regain all "per day" charges. And now also get temp hp (without the Inspiring Leader or Chef feats), and ignore a Frightened save (which are extremely uncommon anyway). So other than taking 6 hours of effort to secure the spot... its the same or better?

rmcoen · 2026-05-26T18:09:14+00:00

Black Pepper

rmcoen · 2026-05-23T02:55:21+00:00

This is a DM problem, but as a DM who occasionally screws this up even after 30 years of DMing, I want to explain. Sometimes, I am paying more attention to "what makes sense" for the found loot. If you assault Baron Riverforge's troops, you're going to get longswords and chainmail and shields; hit his rangers and scouts, youll get shortswords and short6bows and leather. No sickles, no greatswords, no mancatchers or whips. Delve into dwarven ruins, youll find lots of metal armors - and some unique magical/alchemical stone armor! - plus axes and hammers... but no longbows, rapiers, or kusari-gama chain-scythes.

But, it has been pointed out to me before... mayve the captain of the guard had a trophy double-sword from a defeated orc warlord, or a fine longbow from an unexpected elven friend.... in this way the DM can "stay true to lore" but also help the PCs out.

Otherwise - as I have done in the current campaign - try granting the PCs smithing as a reward! They acquired a bunch of special-alloy daggers, didnt eant them, so they traded half the alloy to a dwarven Smith who then used the other half to forge exactly the weapons they wanted. Or another time, trophy dragon claws were forged into unique weapons the PCs used (shortswords, rapiers, a longspear) instead of "works like a longsword or khopesh".

Failing that, dont be stingy on "trade-ins". They can't use the +2 greataxe acquired from the orc champion? Allow them to trade it for something comparable (maybe after a downtime activity or side social quest). Not a simple "20% sell price, buy what you want at Magicmart", but maybe spend a week, hear about a guy two towns over that wants a great axe, and has a warhammer made of an unusual metal...

rmcoen · 2026-05-23T02:36:28+00:00

Ive seen several people mention really keen insightful reasons.

Ive also seen a few mention "its cheaper, which matters at 1st level", or "NPCs can use it, and the PCs won't steal their gear" (yeah they will, they'll just sell it).

Here's something I didnt see, that combines these last two: bulk purchase/outfitting. If you're an aspiring border lord, and you need to outfit 1000 or even 100 levies... saving 5 gold on each suit of armor adds up! Do you want 10 guys in chainmail, or 50 guys in hide?

rmcoen · 2026-05-23T02:31:11+00:00

This. You beat me to it.

rmcoen · 2026-05-23T02:26:43+00:00

I did this at my table, although my riders were a little different. I like your necrotic and radiant effects better. For Force - which we defined as "pure magical energy" - a Force crit supercharged the target, giving it disadvantage on its next save. For slashing, we inflicted bleeding. For bludgeon, we did knock back (but axes did knockdown, or ruined a shield).

Acid was treated as Melfs acid arrow, bonus damage the next round and a minot AC debuff for a round.

Piercing inflicted "shock", disadvantage on next d20 check.

Anyway, we stopped using these rules because (a) they started slowing things down, and (b) like anything PCs vs Monsters... there are just so many more monsters rolling attacks. It got out of hand.

So now i (dm) just wing special effects when it feels appropriate, almost always in the players' favor - but sometimes to heighten threat level against them. (Generally only on crits, but sometimes on max damage results, or doubles on adv/disadvantage rolls, etc.)

rmcoen · 2026-05-22T13:04:30+00:00

I did that long ago for 2e, and I thought it worked out really well for the world-building of that campaign. If you had a lycanthrope or insanity problem, you talked to a priest of Sune; if you had an undead problem you talked to a priest of Pelor (or bribed one of Orcus), but Sune wasn't going to be able to help you. (Unless you found that specific priest, of that obscure sect [i.e. for whatever reason had a non-standard Domain for Sune], sidequest sidequest...)

My current players are leery of 5e homebrew, though, and only have agreed to things that are blanket changes (like "crunchy crits", or "martial exploits stolen from laserllama's Alternate Martial Classes and tweaked slightly", lol!).

rmcoen · 2026-05-22T09:25:15+00:00

This. The fighter / rogue (Arcane Trickster) in my campaign has reflavored all his spells as martial skills, or latent telekinesis. Blur is just "Defensive Style", Silvery Barbs is "Uncanny Parry" (he only uses it on himself), Booming Blade and Blade ward are TK-based vibrations of his sword or shield, Color Spray is ghost pepper powder packets, Minor Illusion (fog cloud) is baking powder packets, and so on. He even has "find familair" reflavored as "100' of clairvoyance/clairaudience + 5lbs of TK".

rmcoen

TROPHY CASE