My party was just slain by a band of petty kobolds, should my game be this hard?

[berelinde]

Here's a helpful little tactic: make use of the "fog of war," or the area just beyond your line of sight. When you explore an area, you reveal it bit by bit. If you can't see your enemies, they can't see you. Move slowly, carefully, revealing a small area at a time, and pick off your enemies one by one.

 

My time honored tactic for defeating overwhelming odds: send in a couple of heavily armored tanks. They don't have to have good THACOs, they just need a lot of hitpoints. Buff them first, if you can, with things like Boon of Lathander and Draw Upon Holy Might, or the paladinic equivalent, and a good chant spell. Have them wade in, and draw the enemy attacks. They will be overrun, but that's all right. Let them kill as many as they can, but don't sweat it if they have to chug a couple healing potions, because they are your meat shield. Meanwhile, have your mages put as many foes as possible to sleep, and have your archers pick off the rest. Your killer battle just got a whole lot easier. If you need your fighters for something else, you can always send in summonses instead of human meat shields.

[Loké]

Yes, summons are always good. Unlike in Baldur's Gate II, where they're but a momentary distraction, a pack of ogres from a monster summoning wand can really turn the tide.

[Guest Guest]

Guys, guys, guys. And girls.

 

You are missing the point.

 

The case is not me not being able to play the game and advance, it is rather:

 

Should the game be like this? So difficult to start with?

 

I do not need tactics on how to survive, although I thank you for your advice, I have played BG before

[Downs Duck]

Forgot to log in, been struggling with my ISP as of late.

 

Downs Duck is the name for the above poster, not Guest, Unregistered.

[berelinde]

Should the game be this hard? Depends on your definition of hard. I think it's about right.

[BigRob]

Guys, guys, guys. And girls.

 

You are missing the point.

 

The case is not me not being able to play the game and advance, it is rather:

 

Should the game be like this? So difficult to start with?

 

 

For a level 1 character in AD&D? Yes, I'm afraid so. Your THAC0s are just as awful as the monsters, you're lucky to get an AC better than 4, only the fighters and clerics have much hope of being able to survive more than a single hit at a time and your spell options are very limited.

 

In starting BG1, unmodded, my characters get slaughtered all the time. Hell, those little buggers in the Nashkel mines usually wipe my party quite bit too. I'm normally down there for days with all the resting between battles.

[Caedwyr]

Yes, starting off weak, and growing to incredible power is one of the fun things about the BG series games. Taking the same character all the way from candle keep to the final Ascension battle at the Throne of Bhaal really shows how much you have grown (especially as a monk)

[Downs Duck]

Yeah, I have gotten the impression that monks are puny, little girls before the advance to level 10-12 I think?

 

EDIT:

Provoking language removed

[Smoketest]

The default ARROWKC.ITM that kobold commandos use in vanilla BG1(TSC) is a powerful arrow, and potentially one-shot death for all level 1 characters. It is enchanted at +2 so it provides a THAC0 bonus of +2, does 1d6+2 missile damage with an additional 1d6 fire damage (save vs. breath to avoid). If you fail the save, the fire damage bypasses any resistance your character may have. A kobold commando can get a solid hit of up to 14 points of combined damage (not counting critical hit). At the very least, assuming he hits, you'll take 3 damage. Now compare that to your level 1 characters' hit points; 14 is likely death for anyone, and 3 is dangerous for wizards, thieves, and wounded characters.

 

These are the guys that spawn in the Firewine dungeon, among other places.

 

A regular kobold with a short bow and normal arrows can still do 1d6 damage (not counting critical hit), so level 1 characters aren't that safe with them either, especially if anyone's injured.

 

BG2's default spawned kobolds shoot two +1 fire arrows (the kind you can buy) and then switch to regular arrows.

[Miloch]

Was it on this map?

No, on this one: http://www.dudleyville.com/bg1/ar2800.htm

Well there shouldn't be kobolds there according to Dudley, and I've never seen them. Maybe some mod adds them but none that I know of. Were they kobold commandos as Smoketest suggests? Those arrows they have are probably a bit overpowered for kobolds (and not true to their descriptions either - I think this is an existing entry in the BG1 Fixpack we're working on). Screen shot next time?

 

Point is though, as everyone else has been saying, this is pretty much expected for level 1 characters even in unmodded BG1. I don't think it's something Tutu makes harder - they seem about the same in that category. Overall, Tutu might be easier as time goes on, hence the advent of 'harder' mods like SCS.

Yeah, I have gotten the impression that monks are puny, little bitches before the advance to level 10-12 I think?

Pretty much, though there are at least a couple mods that change that.

[Downs Duck]

Well there shouldn't be kobolds there according to Dudley, and I've never seen them.

My point excactly!

 

Maybe some mod adds them but none that I know of.

I am quite sure I did not install anyhing related to harder kobolds in my install. Can't see anything even remotely suggested like that in my WeiDU log either.

 

Were they kobold commandos as Smoketest suggests? Those arrows they have are probably a bit overpowered for kobolds (and not true to their descriptions either - I think this is an existing entry in the BG1 Fixpack we're working on). Screen shot next time?

No, these were approx 4-5 regular kobolds.

 

Point is though, as everyone else has been saying, this is pretty much expected for level 1 characters even in unmodded BG1. I don't think it's something Tutu makes harder - they seem about the same in that category. Overall, Tutu might be easier as time goes on, hence the advent of 'harder' mods like SCS.

Yeah I get that impression. It is just that I can't/couldn't remember those kobolds being there in BG vanilla.

[Loké]

Well, in that case, you just got unlucky. Spare a thought for my group when I went to pick up ajantis right away. Walking along with monty, xar, imoen kahlid and jaheira minding our buisiness only to have an ankheg pop up in front of us.

[Downs Duck]

Well, in that case, you just got unlucky. Spare a thought for my group when I went to pick up ajantis right away. Walking along with monty, xar, imoen kahlid and jaheira minding our buisiness only to have an ankheg pop up in front of us.

 

Oh dear! How is that even possible?

 

How 'bout dropping in a dragon too? For "fun" sake.

 

EDIT:

Provoking language removed

[seanas]

well, that's pretty simple, and well withiin standard game behaviour: Ajantis is in the Ankheg area; there's one (or more) possible spawn points between wehre you enter that area and Ajantis; one of the more common spawns in that area (unsurprisingly...) is the Ankheg: thus, dead party. to be expected if you try and take on the Ankhegs at low levels.

 

the Kobolds killing you is as Smoketest describes: they're not doing anything unusual or illegal; they're just plugging you with arrows, and you've got no HP to resist (or AC to avoid being hit). it's possible that the default script they use in Tutu (being a bG2 script) is not as useless as the old default BG1 script; but really, it's just a case of being lulled into a false sense of security from not having played BG1 for a while, and being used to Kobolds in BG2, where they are easy to ignore

[Downs Duck]

well, that's pretty simple, and well withiin standard game behaviour: Ajantis is in the Ankheg area; there's one (or more) possible spawn points between wehre you enter that area and Ajantis; one of the more common spawns in that area (unsurprisingly...) is the Ankheg: thus, dead party. to be expected if you try and take on the Ankhegs at low levels.

 

The Kobolds killing you is as Smoketest describes: they're not doing anything unusual or illegal; they're just plugging you with arrows, and you've got no HP to resist (or AC to avoid being hit). it's possible that the default script they use in Tutu (being a bG2 script) is not as useless as the old default BG1 script; but really, it's just a case of being lulled into a false sense of security from not having played BG1 for a while, and being used to Kobolds in BG2, where they are easy to ignore

I see, I blurted out for nothing then. Ajantis was never my favourite person so I forgot he was in that area.

Serves you right Loké

 

This makes sense, but I still do not think the kobolds makes sense.

 

Because:

The Ankhegs Area and Ajantis would probably not be visited by a newbie, before after a while. One visits there because one knows from before that there is a Ogre SPAM-Can to be recruited there.

 

The road between FAI and Beregost on the other hand, would be right accordingly to the story, and excactly where a newbie would like to go. The game leads him that way for pitys sake

 

As with the Ankheg Area, I wouldn't visit the Bandit Camp with a level one party either, and the game would not let me (obviously because that would be a difficult encounter).

 

As a side note: Why do you think that the Bandit camp and Cloakwood areas, as Baldurs Gate are off-limits from the start?

 

Not to be rude, but I believe it is to limit the frustration of killed people who were wandering where they ought not to.

And as such one shouldn't be punished to follow the games leads as to where to go in the beginning.