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Shouldn't characters know their own armor restrictions??

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In my most recent playthrough of BG1:EE, my barbarian charname boasted that she would "look ferocious in" the set of ankheg armor that Taerom was preparing for her.

image

The problem? - BARBARIANS CAN'T WEAR ANKHEG!!!

The moral of the story?
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It's been ten years, it's time to play Baldur's Gate again. What's changed since 2005?

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It's been ten years, it's time to play Baldur's Gate again. What's changed since 2005?

I remember there was a Baldur's Gate mod floating around back then that let you play BG1 but using the more modern BG2 engine. Whatever happened with that? There were also "fix packs" you could download and unzip to overwrite original game files with corrected, up-to-date information.

I remember there were problems with the computer controlled PCs being dumb. They had scripts to control them "ATTACK", "SHOOT ARROWS", etc. but these sucked for doing anything other than charging straight at the enemy.

Did they fix the evil adventuring party issue? I remember it was really hard to have an evil party due to the way the game was constructed. I want to do an evil run-through this time.

How about mods? I like low-level adventures the best (hence BG1 is my favorite). Are there any good single-player adventure modules in the vein of BG1 or Keep on the Borderlands or other classic low-level styles?

How about add-ons that make things better? I always wanted to see more of the game's internals. Stuff like how reputation affects you and so on, just things that aren't usually visible. I know you can see the attack rolls if you change a setting, but I'm not talking about that. Like an improved HUD in Skyrim that lets you know when the sun sets and rises.

What else? Anything else anyone can think of? I just want to play BG1 again, it's been a long time and hopefully I've forgotten everything. But, I want to have the best experience available in 2015. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to reply!

BG vs tablets with windows 8 full

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some of the new tablets working on full windows 8 can run BG pretty easily i would think so AND my question is. How is playing baldur's gate with your fingers?

I am actually asking about no keyboard no mouse windows 8 tables THE GAME

I would really love to know

Dungeons & Dragons Legends of Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate: The Original Saga box content question

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I recently decided to get one of these, since I am quite fond of big boxes. The only problem is that I don't know what the content is and I want to have a perfect version.
As far as I understand it should contain:
3 game CDs
1 soundtrack CD
ToSC reference card
1 two-sided map
Big picture of Sarevok with number
Some kind of yellow paper

So what else?

Did you know?

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So this is just a thread for interesting things that people have picked up over the years. While most of the information has been freely available for some time, the game is big enough that you might find something you missed. If not, it's still fun to see just how much detail the developers put in.

Did you know that if you are playing an elf named Drizzt, and your reputation is under 12, Drizzt will attack you? Did you also know that if you kill the three mages guarding the skyship devices in Baldur's Gate, then Shandalar skips the 'asking' part of sending you to the Ice Island? Not surprising, given that they were his daughters. Guy is probably a bit angry at you.

Save game help please

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Hi all,
I'm playing on my phone, with uScript on most of my characters. However, I have found that my sorcerer, Delia, keeps casting invisibility 10' radius in the heat of battle. Not great, as it means all my enemies suddenly disappear.

Sadly, I can't edit from my phone, so could someone with EEKeeper remove that and put something else in instead - probably skull trap, but happy to take suggestions.

Thanks.

Considering a Walk on the Dark Side?

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If you don't mind me asking, do any D&D video games, campaigns or mods exist that put the player in a position to be genuinely evil?

And when I say that, I don't mean wandering around a village murdering random villagers and law enforcement or picking pockets or any of that kick the dog stuff. I don't mean playing through a basically benevolent campaign as a blackguard or Dark Moon monk or cleric of Umberlee, doing the right thing for the wrong reasons (money, cover up your evil nature etc) or anything small-time like that. No chance.

I'm talking about a game that puts the player in the role of the villain. We're the bad guys, but we triumph anyway because we're the player character(s). We may go after the servants of good deities. We may go to the occasional village and enslave its enhabitants to sell for cash (or to build a statue of ourselves). Maybe we have selfish or evil motives from the outset, and the only measurement of "morality" or "karma" is whether we become bona fide Evil with a capital E or an evil, but with motivations/limits type.

I've gone looking around for an answer, but I seem to be coming up short. I mean, not for nothing, but the only time I ever feel like I'm genuinely pursuing an evil agenda is when I'm doing Dorn's sidequests. Going up against crusaders, celestial beings, good-aligned dragons - and our motives are definitely selfish or evil. Other than that, I feel like evil isn't generally in action - or encouraged. Evil characters are a lot more specialised than Good or Neutral, but actually being evil gets you nowhere fast. Choosing evil doesn't even feel worth it - in BG, unless you're like me and ruthlessly exploit the opportunities to cheat your ass off, you're stuck maintaining a good reputation if you want to actually get anywhere.

So I'm asking you, are there any D&D games that let me play baddie and put my back into it, aside from NwN2 (which I already have)? And on an unrelated note, are there any that make use of the warlord class?

The Tale of the Totemic Druid

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Inspired by this tread and thanks to @bbear here I’m going to tell a story about Karasu no Yoru, a totemic druid raised in the Candlekeep and destined to become a major figure in the history of the Sword Coast.

The name of the character is in Japanese and means his name actually is Yoru (night) and he comes from the Karasu (crow) clan known for shamans and spirits.

Here's the character sheet at the start of the game.

[spoiler]image[/spoiler]

The main incentive is to find out what it takes to successfully solo the whole game (from the start of BG:EE to the end of BG2:EE) with the totemic druid. There’s a discussion about which class is the hardest for a solo run in that thread and it seems many people vote for a druid. So I’ve decided to test it and will gladly write about it for those who are interested in the concept.

I’m playing on the Core difficulty and here’s my weiDU log:

[spoiler]// Log of Currently Installed WeiDU Mods
// The top of the file is the 'oldest' mod
// ~TP2_File~ #language_number #component_number // [Subcomponent Name -> ] Component Name [ : Version]
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #1000 // Initialise mod (all other components require this): v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #1910 // Protection from Normal Missiles also blocks Arrows of Fire/Cold/Acid and similar projectiles without pluses: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2010 // More consistent Breach spell (always affects liches and rakshasas; doesn't penetrate Spell Turning): v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2020 // Antimagic attacks penetrate improved invisibility: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2030 // Iron Skins behaves like Stoneskin (can be brought down by Breach): v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #2120 // Slightly weaken insect plague spells, and let fire shields block them: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4000 // Faster Bears: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4010 // Grant large, flying, non-solid or similar creatures protection from Web and Entangle: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4020 // More realistic wolves and wild dogs: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4030 // Improved shapeshifting: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4110 // Allow NPC pairs to separate: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4120 // NPCs go to inns: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #4130 // Move NPCs to more convenient locations: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5060 // Ensure Shar-Teel doesn't die in the original challenge: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #5900 // Initialise AI components (required for all tactical and AI components): v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6000 // Smarter general AI: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6010 // Better calls for help: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6030 // Smarter Mages -> Mages cast some short-duration spells instantly at start of combat, to simulate pre-battle casting: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6040 // Smarter Priests -> Priests cast some short-duration spells instantly at start of combat, to simulate pre-battle casting: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6200 // Improved Spiders: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6300 // Smarter sirines and dryads: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6310 // Slightly harder carrion crawlers: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #6320 // Smarter basilisks: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7000 // Improved doppelgangers: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7010 // Tougher Black Talons and Iron Throne guards: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7020 // Improved deployment for parties of assassins: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7030 // Dark Side-based kobold upgrade: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7040 // Relocated bounty hunters: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7050 // Improved Ulcaster: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7060 // Improved Balduran's Isle: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7070 // Improved Durlag's Tower: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7080 // Improved Demon Cultists: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7090 // Improved Cloakwood Druids: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7100 // Improved Bassilus: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7110 // Improved Drasus party: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7130 // Improved Red Wizards: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7140 // Improved Undercity party: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7200 // Tougher chapter-two end battle: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7210 // Tougher chapter-three end battle: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7220 // Tougher chapter-four end battle: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7230 // Tougher chapter-five end battle: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7250 // Improved final battle: v28
~STRATAGEMS/SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ #0 #7900 // Improved minor encounters: v28[/spoiler]

I consider myself an experienced player, had different playthroughs in the past but have never tried the totemic druid. This kit seems interesting to me because it shows the true, from my point of view, nature of a druid – a summoner. In the past I played as an Avenger and liked it much but the Avenger feels more like a druid/mage, while a Shapeshifter obviously feels more like a fighter/druid. A vanilla druid is fine as well but I just like using a kit and not a vanilla version (if it’s not a dual- or multi-class). So, the totemic druid it is.

I understand the problems that can arise because of the SCS but I hope that my knowledge of the game will help to overcome these difficulties. I seriously think that with some meta-gaming even the power of SCS can be not so dangerous. I think than so bad (yeah) thing as the meta-gaming needs serious countermeasures such as not OP class, not min-maxed stats, smarter AI and so on.

As a rule, I try to role-play my character and his party as much as I can but this time it will be different. And I’m so excited – it’s a challenge, and a good one. I’ll try to play a no-reload run with an option for minimal reloads if the character will be killed but I will feel myself attached to it. Also, your reactions, ideas and just a general discussion is much appreciated ;)))

UI issue

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Hey, probably not the most appropriate place to put this but I'm nearly tearing my hair out. Just wondering if anyone has had this issue in the past or knows how I may go about fixing it.

This applies to the standard BGII, unmodded (although no mods fix it). When I click on the "special abilities" or the spells slot, it will usually show the special ability before switching back to the ordinary view, I am then unable to click any quick slots and soon after the quickslot bar will flash violently back and fourth between different click slot views, only stopping when I go into the character inventory screen and exit back to the game, seemingly resetting it.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled the game about three times now, but the issue persists. I've never had the issue in the past 2 years since I've owned the game, it has started now and was working fine last month, no hardware changes or major OS changes or anti-virus changes at all to the PC. (GTX770, i7-4770k)

Feel free to delete this if it is too irrelevant, thank you for your time.

Overpowered, but not quite

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The cannon for overpowered builds is well known - ken-sage, beserker-mage, and sometimes fighter/thief duals (oh, and of course, the solo sorc). I'm looking for some of our favorite builds that don't quite elevate to the cannon, and an analysis of why this might be.

My own favorite, thanks to the EE releases, is a half-orc cleric/thief. This build assumes some time min-maxing a 90+ point roll ;)

This character is brutal at the start of BGEE, with a 19 Str, a 19 Con, and a wisdom that will boost to 21. 19 Str just out of Candlekeep is about as powerful as it gets, Sanctuary is the ultimate assist for a thief scouting for traps, and when you get the Con book, regen on traveling between maps is a huge assist (and there is a buckler at the Friendly Arm Inn to tide you over in the meantime).

As we look to the end of the series, the Cleric/Thief earns more HLAs than any other character, as both Cleric and Thief cap xp early for level 39, pushing out over a million xp for that final level 40. As you will earn HLAs from both classes, which has low xp requirements per level, and splitting xp will never hit that level 39 cap, this leads to more HLAs than any single class, or any other multi.

Looking ahead to BG2, you will probably be wielding the favorite weapon of cheese, the flail. While some now bemoan that haste no longer stack with the max power version, we are limited to one attack/round anyway so get minimal improvement from Improved Haste, so the haste issue is greatly mitigated, while keeping the upside.

So where does the class fall down?

Ultimately, 20 Str is not THAT much better than 19 Str (unlike 19 > 18). If we are looking at taking a front liner through BGEE, we know we are grabbing a Tome that will give 19 Str, so one big half-orc bonus is mitigated around the middle of the first game.

While it is nice to look forward to the flail, combat options for the cleric/thief are surprisingly compromised. While we have the full range of cleric weapons available, we can use only two with the thief backstab - staff and club. There are not that many great clubs for this class either, which probably means running a 2-handed staff, which feels odd. Especially if we want to switch from 1H/shield to sling/shield, which with this character's beastly STR is something we actually quite like.

One minor concern is that I don't know if that Sanctuary trick carries into BG2EE, or if enemies learn to see through it. Another of the really neat cleric spells that sets you up for combat is Draw Upon Holy Might, which really gets the stat bonuses pumping. However, not only do we start with significant stats that don't need pumping, for much of the game this is a standard Bhaalspawn power, so everyone gets to play.

Which brings us to the rub of the matter. The cleric is not a spell caster of great power, like the end of game mages. Nor do they get the many attacks necessary for a front line fighter at the end of the game. While we can wear full fighter armor, that compromises our thieving, so we are probably running around in light armor anyway - this character, for all his might, is not a true front liner. So if we're not a front liner, nor a spell slinger who can take an encounter or two on their own, we are essentially just a thief who can buff a little, and can't backstab with their favorite weapons. We can't even take a thief kit. So although unmistakably potent, ultimately not the game breaker I hoped it would be.

So what are your favorite near-miss builds, and why?

Help on targeting mobs during combat?

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Sorry if this has been asked before (can't really find a search these forums feature? but did try Google.)

I haven't played BG on my Mac, but have started it on my Android table (nvidia shield), so not sure if there is a difference here between the puter version vs tablet... One thing I'm having a bit of trouble with is making sure the correct mob is selected. There really is no feedback in the UI at all, so when they're all bunched together I'm having to 'hope' that I selected the correct one I intended to select (which usually when zoomed all the way in, and without a large group of mobs, is not too difficult.)

Is there any way to have the selected target's ring just highlight for a second to make sure you know you got the right one? Sometimes I'll see the four arrows surrounding a target so I know that's what the AI picked as the target, but once I start manually trying to select them it's frustrating that there is no feedback? Seems like such a simple thing to implement that I'm wondering if there is something I'm doing wrong?

Also what do most people set as their auto-pause settings? I'm using enemy sighted, weapon unusable, character injured, and character's target destroyed.

Improved Shapeshifter

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I wonder what people think of my improved Shapeshifter Druid idea.

I want to run the whole trilogy as a Druid in a small party of two or three, but I find the druid class and kits lacking.

I was thinking about modding the Shapeshifter kit so that it's more diverse and interesting and fun, without being overpowered at any point through the series, so I came up with this:

Since single class druids have a major issue with thac0, I was thinking about EE Keepering a Fighter/Shapeshifter Multiclass, with some self imposed restrictions, like only being able to place proficiency points into the weapon styles that improve shifted forms, and maybe a single point into staves and spears. The point is that the Fighter part of the class only supplements the druid forms and allows a decent thac0 progression.

Then, since I don't like small amounts of forms per day, and having to rest to regain them (I don't want to have to feel I have to conserve them) I was thinking about modding my shapeshifts with the Mage forms, so that when I gain them, I can use them at any time. Here's how I'd do it to maintain balance:

Level 2: Wolf
Level 4: Brown Bear
Level 6: Ogre
Level 8: Flind
Level 10: Spider
Level 12: Giant Troll
Level 14: Earth Elemental

What do you guys think about the balance of this? surely Fighter/Mages, Fighter/Thieves, Fighter(Ranger)/Clerics both dual and multi have the similar, if not more tricks up their sleeves, power wise?

Creating a Swashbuckler/Mage using EEKeeper

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Hi,

I know there have been a few threads on this topic in the past, but I have not been able to get this to work. I am trying to create a multiclassed Swashbuckler Mage to use throughout the saga. However, whenever I fiddle with EEKeeper the character just defaults to a normal Mage/Thief multiclass on level up. Is there a way to set up the character in EEKeeper so that he levels up as a Swashbuckler for its Thief levels normally without having to manually change stats at each level up? Thanks for the help!

An Amnian Conspiracy...


Would it be too much to ask for one more adventure before the departing the Infinity Engine?

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We all know that Adventure Y is coming and im super excited, but at the same time i feel there should be one more game. Before they retire the infinity engine.
I always felt that there needed to be a adventure set between SoA and ToB. To me Throne of Bhaal went by too quick... even though i really enjoyed the deep campaign.

So... Do you guys agree? Or do you feel we had enough Baldurs Gate Infinity Games?

"Advertise" Your Written Play-through(s)!

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So as I'm sure we all know, there are a lot of really cool written play-throughs of the BG saga on these forums. Some of them are very challenge based, while others are more for the role-play. There are several prominent writers of these as well as a few who have just started and only have one or two of their play-throughs up. Sometimes one of the more well known writers will make a new play-through, (example: @Blackraven‌) but someone who reads all of their work will miss it and only find it a week or two later. (example: me) The idea behind this thread is that writers of these "play-throughs" can "advertise" their play-throughs, thus making for easy access for others, as well as a visible and concise back catalogue for new members of the forums. I'm not going to include my own writings in the main post, but I'll place them in the comments, same as you all. The "format" for these would be...

[Title of the thread/character's name/what kind of challenge it is/however else you'd want to title it] [release status i.e complete/BG1 complete/on break/on hiatus/ongoing/etc.]

[Link to first page of the thread]

[short description of the thread]

Any extra details or notes you might want to add beyond the description is up to you, though I don't know what you'd put in that section.

Now, I'm not sure whether to leave this in General Discussion or Challenges and Playthroughs. I think I'll leave it in General Discussion for at least a week, just so it can garner attention. Once that's done I'll toss it into C&P, since it definitely belongs in there.

With all that done, I'm going to tag a few people who I know have written play-throughs on the forums, since they'll hopefully be interested. @Lemernis@Heindrich@lolien@bengoshi@meagloth@MacHurto@BelgarathMTH@SionIV@Aurorus@Gotural@SharGuidesMyHand‌ and Blackraven (previously tagged)

Assassin vs. Stalker

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Which class do you prefer when backstabbing enemies?

Clicking on the shroud to explore?

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It's been a long time since I played BG1, but my muscle memory tells me that I used to be able to explore the shroud by right-clicking on it. If any enemies are sighted it'll auto-pause so no problems there. Now, my cursor won't tell characters to go anywhere but where I've already explored. This obviously makes movement a pain as I can only click a half screen length away, then click again, and again, etc. Very tiresome. I also remember giving movement orders by right-clicking from the local map screen. How do I get this feature back, or am I mis-remembering? Is there a mod or something?

My One Request

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Honestly, I know that Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance doesn't get much respect on these forums because many don't see it as worthy of the Baldur's Gate just because it shares a different name. Here is the thing, though, I love Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, but the only reason I ever purchased it was because the first two games I got for my PlayStation 2, my first ever video game experience, were Virtua Fighter 4 and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. Down to the fact that the graphics for that game were the best the PS2 would see for years and the fact that it had literally one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard, I was so glad when I played Enhanced Edition and it turned out to be the way it was, different, but reminiscent. Dark Alliance II I actually played after Enhanced Edition, given that the first time I saw a copy of it was ten years after I played the original, and I saw that Black Isle Studios was edging to create the first official "Baldur's Gate" experience on a PS2. Had they gotten the chance to create the third game, I have no doubt it would have been like the original games. Here is the thing, though, they never did get to. I was reading Trent Oster's Twitter one day and it turned out that they do not have access to Dark Alliance files. Looking more into this, it turned out that while Atari got the entire Baldur's Gate brand name back as well as the entire story rights, Interplay got to keep the name and they share joint rights of the music (although Craig Stuart Garfinkle owns music he helped produce and can distribute it how he likes). So what is my request? Well, honestly, it's not make a Dark Alliance III or finish the story through sidequests or anything like that. I do want closure, and that's it. I hate it when a series does not get closure. For instance, The Amazing Spider-Man series is something I detest, but the fact of the matter is, I want Sony to get the chance to finish their series before handing the rights off to Marvel because leaving a series open ended like that? I just don't like it. And that was only last year, imagine something I've been staving off for twelve years now? So, yeah, I just want closure. My one request is Overhaul, in Adventure Y, include one line of dialogue, it can be implicit or explicit, vague or specific, like "I heard something happened with a Tower back in Baldur's Gate" or "At least some guy didn't come flying with a Sun-Barge like in Baldur's Gate", just something a random AI says if you talk to them. One line to give me twelve years worth of closure is all I request. I know, I'm a sad person.
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