Happy holidays!

Curious about the origins of Minsc, Boo, and many other characters met over the course of Baldur's Gate? We've republished an interview from the Familiar which explains how some fan-favorite characters came to be.

Read on for justice! http://blog.beamdog.com/2017/12/six-siders-space-hamsters.html

The more I play each of these games, the more I realize that having all maxed stats isn't the end all. Now, in my eyes a bit of leeway is given in Baldur's Gate, where your main character is the bastion of your party and admittedly

Still, I think something can be said about making stat adjustments that make sense for what you feel a character is. In a game like Icewind Dale, where you build a full party of six, I think being balanced rings even more true.

I suppose this might be more prevalent the more you get into the character(s) - writing biographies, portrait hunting, etc. - really fleshing them out as individuals (if you go that route). Why would your Gnome have such a high strength? Does your lean, charismatic mage really need x3 18s in his physical stats? Wouldn't your strong, bulky half-orc lack a bit in the Dexterity department?

Creative aspects aside, for me such concepts make the games, already not incredibly challenging, a bit more so. A spell like Strength has that much more meaning - maybe you memorize a couple more each day? Cat's Grace is a godsend for your low dex, but high strength fighter. What items in the game might off-set your stat limitations? What spells? It kind of makes some planning and foresight a bit more meaningful as well (if you've played the game a few times).

Just some thoughts I had as I rolled up a new party, of non-power gaming, but incredibly capable adventurers. To each their own though. Some folks like to "Play it Hardcore" (Triple Classed Everything, Max Stats, etc.) and I get the fun in that too.

Heya, everyone!

Since yesterday (or so ... my sleeping rythmn is way off) I have been trying to fill some gaps and correct errors in the Baldur's Gate Wiki. Well, the Wiki at this point has more holes than a swiss cheese and even though I do love me some swiss cheese, there is only so many holes without ... you get my point.

I know that a lot of folks here on the forums have an astoundingly detailed knowledge on all things BG, so it would be really awesome if you could take all that knowledge and put it over into the wiki.
Check for errors in old articles, make new ones, fill red links, expand stubs.
I know we can turn the wiki into a useful resource for the fandom again.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Also, speaking of which, the Icewind Dale Wiki is in an even worse state ...

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.


What's that noise? Is it a clamor, a clang? A bang or a bloop? No, issue 7 of the Wild Surge thuds onto the scene, and it's stuffed with the sounds of gaming (and all the other onomatopoeia you might hope for)!

This month, hear from Jacob Burgess, the voice actor behind everyone's favorite gnome (or 2nd favorite, depending on your feelings toward Jan Jansen), Glint Gardnersonson. (Glint was written by @AndrewFoley don'tcha know!)

Explore the scores that accompany us through the Infinity Engine games. Cut through the noise of code and learn how to integrate sound into your mod.

Pine for the days of past tunes, discover a different way to enjoy your favorite book, and check out some of the newest tactical D&D games.

Finally, a foreign voice howls in the Corpse's Corner. Shandaxx has taken over and shares centuries-old wisdom on the songs that provide the best soundtrack to your evil deeds.

This marks the 7th issue of Wild Surge and also the 1 year mark for the magazine! The magazine has come a long way since its 1st issue and we've got a lot in the works for the next year!

A big thanks to all contributors of this issue! @Anduin, @argent77, @ashafetov, @deltago, @Fandraxx, @LavaDelVortel, @mlnevese, @semiticgod, @SFisch, @Shandaxx, @typo_tilly. Special thanks to @Jacob Burgess for letting us pick his brain! Thanks also to everyone who contributed this year!

The next issue will be in February on Neverwinter. If you want to contribute (with game reviews, book reviews, art, or something else) send an email to the.wild.surge@gmail.ca or send a message to @deltago or @typo_tilly. Previous issues can be found at https://www.wildsurge.ca/archive. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or would like to get involved with the Wild Surge, please email us at the.wild.surge@gmail.ca.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!

I want to play an old mage who is incredibly intelligent, incredibly wise, but nuttier than squirrel droppings.

I got a portrait ready which goes really well with either an invoker or diviner:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

I got my sound file ready:

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

I came up with a name that sounds good, and is harmonious seeing as how he's a disciple of Gorion:

Gideon.

So I create the character, roll a 94 (hard to do even for specialist mages), and set the stats:

10
18
16
18
18
14

I go into the biography to create Gideon's backstory:

Aw crap, that's right.

20 years.

And adding a "1" before the 20 makes no difference because the opening narration states the protagonist's age as being 20 years old.

Is there some kind of lore-friendly, D&D-friendly justification why a human wizard would be 20 but look 80? Now of course I know I could make him a wild mage, seeing as how in PnP 2nd Edition wild surges can change one's age. But this is NOT true of an invoker. Yes, haste can artificially age a character, but I see no reason why he would've used haste, considering it doesn't effect spell casting and he would have expeditious retreat for increased movement speed.

So what do I do with this character concept? Scrap it?

I really wish the Baldur's Gate team would've allowed the player to set their character's age. I see no reason why it would necessarily have to be set at 20 in all circumstances. For instance, sometimes a wizard apprentice will remain in their master's tower for decades upon decades before striking out on their own.

What a bummer.

NEW GAME:

Which original game portrait is you?
BG, BG2, IWD, with expansions and EEs and SOD.
PST:EE, too, I guess, though it might get a little weird.

Nowadays, very much to my surprise, this is a fair rendition of me, though I pack much, much less beefcake, oh, and less sparkly earring.

(I think the Old Age Truck might be a Tesla - I never heard it coming)


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.


Find yourself in the portrait gallery:
http://baldursgate.wikia.com/wiki/Portraits

In BG 1 in the northeast corner of the BG northwest district is a mini-area, similar to the ones in BG NE and BG W.
It should be accessible from BG N's northwest corner, where a plaquet says the name "Black Dragon's Gate".
But whatever I do, I always end up in the main area.
Maybe in BG:EE they restored this?

Inspired by @lolien 's thread https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/32748/irenicus-vs-sarevok-who-won-you-decide

I started making this years ago but it was long forgotten in my documents. However, I just put the finishing touches on it and its ready for your consumption.

Done in the mold of Epic Rap Battles of History. Which classic BG villain won this rap battle? You decide! And feel free to respond with a Melissan verse if you wish Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

EPIC RAP BATTLES OF FAERUN
IRENICUS
versus
MC KOVERAS
BEGIN

Irenicus:
Ah, the child is awake, its time for my experiment,
Let's see how I can combine rhymes with disparagement.

Sarevok:
I will be last, and you will rap first,
You opened up this battle but I’ll drop the last verse.

Irenicus:

What is wrong with your voice? Did you come down with a cold?
Must be tough getting killed, when CHARNAME was like 15 years old,
You roar like a lion, but you barely beat Gorion,
And lost to this kid I captured while barely even tryin’?
I don’t listen to the babble of adolescents,
I don’t have a soul, don’t have a conscience,
I’ll take your Bhaal essence, teach you a little lesson,
On soul repossession, prepare for my ascension.
So I hear you have this thing that you call the Iron Throne,
Well you better take a seat, since you just got owned,
You thought you could take Bhaals’ throne, thought you could ascend?
Your pathetic raps are useless. Let this end!

Sarevok:
* Yo, Tazok, turn the base up in these headphones*
You don’t like my voice? Well, death comes for you. Feel its icy breath!
I sound like Vin Diesel, you sound like a high school production of Macbeth,
I’m so savage they made me a Deathbringer.
You cried when Elliseme left you, why not go on Jerry Springer?
I am the God’s son,
Watch the Sword Coast run,
Red with blood, yes.
Ain’t even a contest,
I manipulated Amn and Baldur’s Gate,
The Cowled Wizards made you look second rate,
Just ask Alaundo, you know my fate,
You’re destined for the Abyss, I’m destined to be great

Irenicus:
You dare to attack me here? Do you even KNOW whom you face?
I will put you in your place then steal your divine grace.
Let me understand, you thought you were destined to bring murder to the land?
Silence dog! You have no purpose but to die by my hand!
I cannot be caged! I cannot be controlled!
You could barely beat Gorion when he was 90 years old.
Do you cling to the past or can you see through the pain?
Why battle me with words, you have nothing to gain.
Don’t be a little bitch,
Come to the Abyss,
Come face Irenicus,
Just to end… like this?

Sarevok:
I... live! Flesh and blood and bone!
Listen up close cuz you’re about to get owned,
To see a grown man cry over a Elliseme, such a pity,
Throwing a tantrum, try and destroy her whole city.
I had a b#@$ too, her name was Tomoko,
But by Throne of Bhaal you wouldn’t even know,
Any girl in Amn, I don’t ask I just take,
Might even introduce Bodhi... to my wooden stake.
All in Baldur’s Gate feared my unholy wrath,
You live in a dungeon, you should probably take a bath.
I spit the baddest rhymes, I always spit true,
If you come at me you better bring your whole crew,
But remember… if you gaze long into the abyss, it gazes back at you.



WHO WON? YOU DECIDE!

Silence, child. Allow the fool to make his judgement.

Spoiler warning for ending SoA in this post.

At the end of SoA, we see how with the goading of Irenicus, the drow of Ust Natha start an attack on the surface. I am wondering, how is this reconciled with the light sensitivity that drow suffer from? From what I understand, even the moonlight should cause pain and sun should be positively blinding. I find it hard to reconcile FR's drow background of wishing to wipe out surface elves and their light sensitivity - how do the two work out?

I am especially interested in this right now as I have started writing a drow fanfic partially inspired by my CHARNAME's time in Ust Natha and would love to hear your thoughts. CHARNAME is going to go in for a rescue operation of one of Eilistraee's faithful (not Solaufein though, hahah) as well as err... a couple of murders. How to deal with the eventual blinding and pain effects of the surface? I have some ideas brewing, but would love some input from you if you have any!

Ive bien trying to replicate the success reported in this thread https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/37339/the-wonders-of-sneak-attack/p1 but cant seem to do it. I have a level 6 assassin in BG 1, my idea was that, since sneak Attack doesnt require stealth, he could be the party thief, open locks and all that. Just for a little variation in play. But boy, he cant hit ANYTHING and monsters are smart enough to turn around and target the fragile guy poking at them. Has anyone tried sneak Attack? Pointers? Tips?. Also typing this in my phone was painful.

Whether it's just another interesting playthrough of the BG Saga, or it's your first playthrough of an RPG that is completely new to you, there are certain aspects which we find more enjoyable and "rewarding" than others, which we always look forward to in our adventure. It may be the joy of finding new, powerful weapons, fighting new monsters, or simply exploring the storyline, the various decisions and their consequences.

So, which particular aspect motivates you the most to keep on playing and enjoying the game? Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

If you were to make Montaron a single-classed thief, do you envision him (his lines, his personality, his motivation) as an Assassin or a Bounty Hunter - and why?

Contemplating a party modelled after heroes from the Marvel Universe. Some options have obvious parallels: Hawkeye would be a human archer using longbows, Ironfist would be a human monk, Gambit strikes me as a teifling fighter/theif with staves and throwing weapons, Wolverine as a dwarven berserker dual wielding daggers or katanas. Oh and Doctor Strange, Earth's Sorcerer Supreme? A no brainer.

Captain America would be a paladin, but since I couldn't seem to find a way to weaponize shields I'm thinking I wont use him. Can't think of many good options for priests though. I could jusify Storm as a druid or shaman with her control of the weather, anyone got other ideas?

So I'm thinking of running a pally, because I hardly ever have the nutters in my party, because I really don't like paladins much. Then I thought hey if I made a pally and made him a half-elf or elf "I use tweaks/SCS, so shhh" and RP'd him as not lawful stupid most of the time, it could be pretty cool. A high dex pally that never wore anything heavier than chain, because he valued mobility over defense."and I value the chain mail elf sprite over the horrible plate mail elf sprite."

Now I'm just trying to figure out which kit to run, I'm leaning toward a Undead Hunter or a Cavalier, because you get enough dispel out of Carsomyr and party mages take care of all the real debuffing anyways. So Inquisitor is not looking so great, True sight is not really worth it, rogues detect illusions is just better.

Also I like the idea of CHARNAME being a hunter of something, undead, demons, dragons it matters not.

I don't want to play a Blackguard, because I'm almost finished a Assassin run and using the OPness that is poison weapon again just doesn't seem fair. Plus I don't feel like doing a evil run.

But all of this is beside the point. So which paladin do you think is best overall?

After playing exclusively as half orc as my default race due to the 19 str 18 dex 19 con and loving the paperdoll of the half orc fighter I am on the brink of switching all my admiration to the Dwarf.
I got over the revulsion of my sprite being so small. And its all because of the saving bonus. After reading @Grum adventures of his Dwarven Defender I rolled one up and did a full playthrough. And like him I solo'd Drizzt and Sarevok. And after weighing the pros and cons of extra damage versus better saving throws I think better saves win out.
Anyways convince me to jump ship from Half Orc to Dwarf.

After many years Im willing to play a pure thief class again. Last time I did it was a Bounty Hunter, and while I didn't complete the whole saga, it was fun. He was pretty straightfoward: my party would bump on a bunch of enemies, retreat a bit and I would lay some traps. He also had enough points to do every other thief thing.
Now, I want to give the shadowdancer a run. I've been reading a lot of threads but I still haven't been able to understand the class.
What exactly is he good at? running away? hiding while the rest do the fighting?. In P&P such a role would be ok, but the BG saga is very combat centric. He can't lay traps, his backstab multiplier is low, he needs a lot of points to HiPS reliably -so that kind of leaves the other thief skills outside the equation for a while- his other innate skill is all about running the hell away. He seems like a resilient bhaalspawn but not a dangerous one. His HLAs seem to pale in comparison to what a normal thief gets. And yet I want to give it a try, try something different. Am I to understand that his whole purpose is to escape and stay alive?.
Can anyone provide some insight on the class?.

alright after so many solo runs I have to ask behind-the-scene folks about these things in IE games. I used to think it was just randomness but there's just no way.

- Why do enemy casters only get interrupted when they feel like it? I understand why scripted casts work that way however many opponents still use "standard casting" - yet a enemy caster can either never get interrupted by anything until you reload, THEN they will randomly decide to be work as expected and get interrupted on any damage

- Why do PCs critical miss all the time whilst monsters very very VERY rarely critical miss? I know all about more APR = more opportunities to miss and yet the results aren't adding up. No matter how I try to justify it (ah just bad luck) there's just no way. This makes me want to pull my hair out on low APR classes / game progress.

- Why do 3/2 attacks is 90% of the time 1 on round 1, then 2 on round 2? It's ALWAYS this. No matter how often I pay attention to it, it's very very ever rarely the opposite. It's supposed to be random, no?

- Are we actually certain opponents don't have secret increased crit rate? It too just happens so often it makes Single Weapon Style look like a joke.

- Although I'm aware of ranged weapons having a -4 penalty at pointblank, why isn't it mentionned anywhere that there's also like 20% increased critical miss chance? I figure that's important info. Just test it by yourself

Despite all of this, the irony is that Saving Throws actually have very believable results and I got no problem with those, unlike many other roll mechanics.

So I got to thinking, while I often have general questions about various aspects of the game, it's rather bothersome to clutter up the activity page with random questions, especially when I have as many as I do. So I came up with this idea. This is a general questions thread that anyone can contribute to, both with questions and answers. Ask a question, hopefully it'll be answered. (and with the efficiency of the community here, I wouldn't be surprised if it's answered rapidly.) I doubt things will become too cluttered, so it'll be a nice way for us to help each other out. Now, I don't THINK this has been done before, but if so, then do what needs to be done, dear mods, as you generally know best. Without further explanation, here's the first question I have.

If I were to complete Anomen's quest line, would he retain the stat boost if I teleport him to me in ToB? The character I'm working with would be unlikely to take him through all of SoA, but due to Aerie's... "problems" in ToB, my main character would want to leave her where she's safe, but that leaves a clerical gap in the party. Obviously Anomen would fill that hole nicely, but I don't know if he'll keep all of his bonuses from me completing his quest. In theory, I will be taking only five characters through the end of SoA, so if I have to bring Anomen along it's not a deal breaker, but for RP reasons it makes more sense to simply bring him to me when I need him.

Here is Part 2 of the list of licensed Forgotten Realms novels, comic books, video games and tabletop games that have a confirmed time frame, and where they fit in the continuity of the Forgotten Realms. Last time I began way back in the beginning, at -30000 DR to 1368 DR. Now, I am going to start from 1369 DR and end somewhere in the 1400's.


Here is a link back to part 1 if you missed it and want to find it

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/60662/the-complete-fr-novel-comic-and-game-timeline-part-1#latest

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"Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear" ends in early 1369 DR

Chapters 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33 and the epilogue of "Cormyr: A Novel" (1369 DR)

"Fire is Fire", in Ches (Best of the Realms, Book III Story X) (1369 DR)

The story of the novel "Star of Cursrah" ends in 1369 DR, including "The Shadow Stone" and "The Spine of the World"

"Into The Nest Of Vipers" (Dungeon Magazine #75 Adventure) (By Matthew G. Adkins, artwork by Fred Rawles, cartography by Craig Zipse) (1369 DR) This adventure is set in the Vast.

"Sea of Swords" of the Paths of Darkness (By R.A. Salvatore) (begins in 1369 DR) fun fact: In the first Baldur's Gate game, if Gorion's Ward meets Drizzt and no hostilities are made between them, he tells Gorion's Ward that he is on his way to Icewind Dale. In this novel, Drizzt's opening monologue expresses how happy he is to be back in Icewind Dale, neatly tying in his brief appearance in the Baldur's Gate game.

"Rising Tide" of The Threat from the Sea Trilogy (By Mel Odom) (1369 DR)

"Under Fallen Stars" of The Threat from the Sea Trilogy (By Mel Odom) (1369 DR)

"The Sea Devil's Eye" of The Threat from the Sea Trilogy (By Mel Odom) (story begins in 1369 DR)

"Silverfall: Stories of the Seven Sisters" (By Ed Greenwood) (1369 DR)

"The Glass Prison" (By Monte Cook) (1369 DR)

"Pool of Radiance: The Ruins of Myth Drannor" video game and novel (The game was developed by Stormfront Studios, playable on PC Windows) (Novel version written by Carrie Bebris) (1369 DR)

"The Black Pits 2: Gladiators of Thay" (A side game in BG2:EE developed by Beamdog) (1369 DR, many months after The Black Pits) The story will not make any sense if you are using a completely different group from the ones you used in the prequel

"Crucible: The Trial of Cyric the Mad" of The Avatar Series (By Troy Denning) (1369 DR)

"Master of Chains" (By Jess Lebow) (1369 DR)

"Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn" the game and novel (The game was originally developed by BioWare, the Enhanced Edition version is developed by Overhaul Games of Beamdog) (Novel version written by Philip Athans) (1369 DR) In the game version, Drizzt and his companions appear close to the game's final chapter, which is problematic canonically because in 1369 DR, they are going through the "Sea of Swords" novel's story, they are nowhere near Amn in this year, the only way Drizzt and his companions come to Amn and meet Gorion's Ward is if the final half of SoA and all of ToB takes place in 1370 DR, after Sea of Swords ends and before The Hunter's Blades Trilogy begins since SoA begins on Mirtul of 1369 DR, and there are tons of side quests to kill time on until the year ends and locations like Athkatla and Trademeet are further apart than the game depicts, so it is possible.

"Scream of Stone" of The Watercourse Trilogy (By Philip Athans) (story begins in 1369 DR)

"Hard Choices" (Realms of the Deep Story I) (1369 DR)

"Fire is Fire" (Realms of the Deep Story II) (1369 DR)

"Messenger to Serôs" (Realms of the Deep Story III) (1369 DR)

"The Place Where Guards Snore at their Posts" (Realms of the Deep Story IV; The Best of the Realms, Book II Story XIII) (1369 DR)

"Lost Cause" (Realms of the Deep Story V) (1369 DR)

"Forged in Fire" (Realms of the Deep Story VI) (1369 DR)

"One who Swims with Sekolah" (Realms of the Deep Story VII) (1369 DR)

"The Crystal Reef" (Realms of the Deep Story VIII) (1369 DR)

"The Patrol" (Realms of the Deep Story IX) (1369 DR)

"The Star of Tethyr" (Realms of the Deep Story X) (1369 DR)

"Persana's Blade" (Realms of the Deep Story XI) (1369 DR)

"And the Dark Tide Rises" (Realms of the Deep Story XII) (1369 DR)

"How Burlmarr Saved the Unseen Protector", in Uktar (Realms of the Dragons II Story V) (1369 DR)

"Changing Tides" (Realms of War Story IX) (By Mel Odom) (Flamerule 1369 DR)

"The Burning Chalice" (Halls of Stormweather Story I) ends. (1369 DR)

"Honest and True": A Ruha and Malik story (Dragon magazine issue # 245) (1369 DR)

"Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor" tabletop adventure game (By Sean K. Reynolds) (1369 DR) This game takes place after "Pool of Radiance: The Ruins of Myth Drannor", but it can be taken as a stand alone or tie-in story.

"The Honor of Two Swords" (Dragon magazine issue # 260) (1369 DR)

"The Innkeeper's Secret" (Dragon magazine issue # 266) (1369 DR)

"The Shadow Stone" ends in 1369 DR

"Sword of the Dales" of the Randal Morn Trilogy (a tabletop adventure game) (By Jim Butler) (1369 DR)

"The Secret of Spiderhaunt" of the Randal Morn Trilogy (a tabletop adventure game) (By Jim Butler) (1369 DR)

"The Return of Randal Morn" of the Randal Morn Trilogy (a tabletop adventure game) (By Jim Butler) (1369 DR)

"Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal" game and novel (The game was developed by BioWare as an expansion story to Shadows of Amn, the Enhanced Edition version is made by Overhaul Games of Beamdog) (Novel version written by Drew Karpyshyn) (Game: 1369 or 1370 DR, Novel: 1368 DR???)
Confusing, isn't it? Why is the novel version set in 1368 DR? I'll explain, because I've read it. The prologue of the ToB book is set in 1368 DR, but after the prologue ends, the author somehow forgot to make it clear that the rest of the story takes place in the "present day", therefore the continuity of the novel version Baldur's Gate series is seriously thrown out of order, Throne of Bhaal is before Shadows of Amn even though it should be the other way around, because Jaheira gets killed off by Abazigal, and Imoen gets killed off by Sendai, and in SoA, Jaheira and Imoen are alive, except for Jaheira, she had been recently revived from getting killed by Sarevok towards the end of the BG1 novel.
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"The Magehound" 1st book of the Counselors & Kings Trilogy (Written by Elaine Cunningham) (1370 DR)

"The Wizardwar" 3rd book of the Counselors & Kings Trilogy (story begins after "The Magehound" in 1370 DR)

"Sea of Swords" of the Paths of Darkness series ends in 1370 DR

"The Sea Devil's Eye" of The Threat from the Sea Trilogy also ends in 1370 DR

"Sea of Fallen Stars" (a tabletop game campaign expansion) (By Steven E. Schend) (1370 DR) The events of this tabletop game include and overlap some of the events from "Under Fallen Stars" and "The Sea Devil's Eye", this game is set after those novels, revealing some spoilers of plot elements from those novels, so before playing this game, read the novels first.

"The City of Ravens" (Written by Richard Baker) (1370 DR)

"Beyond the High Road" (Written by Troy Denning) (1370 DR)

"The Thousand Orcs" of The Hunter's Blades Trilogy (Written by R.A. Salvatore) (1370 DR)

"The Lone Drow" of The Hunter's Blades Trilogy (1370 DR)

"The Two Swords" of The Hunter's Blades Trilogy (starts in 1370 DR after "The Lone Drow" ends)

"The Jewel of Turmish" (Written by Mel Odom) (1370 DR)

"The City of Splendors: A Waterdeep Story" (Written by Elaine Cunningham and Ed Greenwood) (story begins in 1370 DR)

"For Duty & Deity" (tabletop adventure game) (By Dale Donovan) (Marpenoth 1370 DR)

"Living Forever" (The Best of the Realms, Book II Story XIV) (1370 DR)

"A Tall Tale" (Realms of the Dragons II Story VI) (1370 DR)

"Chase the Dark" (Realms of War Story X) (By Jaleigh Johnson) (1370 DR during the Sothillisian War)

"Bones and Stones" (Realms of War Story XI) (By R.A. Salvatore) (1370 DR)

"Song of Chaos" (Halls of Stormweather Story II) ends. (1370 DR)

"Night School" (Halls of Stormweather Story III) (begins in 1370 DR)

"The Price" (Halls of Stormweather Story IV) (begins in 1370 DR)

"Thirty Days" (Halls of Stormweather Story V) (begins in 1370 DR)

"Resurrection" (Halls of Stormweather Story VI) (begins in 1370 DR)

"Skin Deep" (Halls of Stormweather Story VII) (begins in 1370 DR)

"Twilight Falling", "Dawn of Night" and "Midnight's Mask" of the Erevis Cale Trilogy (By Paul S. Kemp) (1370 DR)
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"The Floodgate", 2nd book of the Counselors & Kings Trilogy (By Elaine Cunningham) (1371 DR)

"The Wizardwar" and "The Two Swords" end in 1371 DR

"Comrades at Odds" (Realms of the Elves Story V and The Collected Stories: The Legend Of Drizzt) (1371 DR)

"Evermeet: Island of Elves" ends in 1371 DR

"Death of the Dragon" (Written by Ed Greenwood and Troy Denning) (1371 DR)

"Night School" (Halls of Stormweather Story III) (ends in 1371 DR)

"The Price" (Halls of Stormweather Story IV) (ends in 1371 DR)

"Thirty Days" (Halls of Stormweather Story V) (ends in 1371 DR)

"Waylaid" (Realms of the Dragons Story VIII) (By Thomas M. Reid) (Marpenoth 1371 DR)

"Resurrection" (Halls of Stormweather Story VI) (ends in 1371 DR)

"Skin Deep" (Halls of Stormweather Story VII) (ends in 1371 DR)

"Shadow's Witness" (Written by Paul S. Kemp) (1371 DR)

"The Summoning" of the Return of the Archwizards Trilogy (Written by Troy Denning) (story starts in 1371 DR)

"Black Wolf" (Written by Dave Gross) (story begins in 1371 DR)

"City of Splendors: A Waterdeep Novel" ends in 1371 DR)

"The Long Road Home" (The Best of the Realms, Book II Story XV) (1371 DR)
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"Into the Dragon's Lair" 3rd edition tabletop adventure game (By Sean K. Reynolds and Steve Miller) (1372 DR) This adventure takes place after The Goblin War of 1370-1371 DR, so Cormyr in this game is still in bad shape after the war

"Pool of Twilight" (Written by James M. Ward and Anne K. Brown) (1372 DR)

"The Summoning" ends in 1372 DR

"The Siege" of the Return of the Archwizards Trilogy (By Troy Denning) (1372 DR)

"Elminster in Hell" (By Ed Greenwood) (1372 DR)

"The Shattered Mask" (By Richard Lee Byers) (1372 DR)

"The Fallen Lands" (Realms of Shadow Story IX) (By Murray J.D. Leeder) (19 Ches 1372 DR)

"The Twilight Tomb" tabletop adventure game (written by Greg A. Vaughan) (1372 DR)

"Neverwinter Nights" (A PC game developed by BioWare, playable on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Enhanced Edition developed by Overhaul Games of Beamdog) (Tarsakh 1372 DR)

"Black Wolf" ends in the month Mirtul.

"The Sorcerer" of the Return of the Archwizards Trilogy (By Troy Denning) (Flamerule 1372 DR) This book likely is set two months after Neverwinter Nights because the ruler of Neverwinter, Nasher Alagondar is in this book, and the Wailing Death plague began in Neverwinter on Tarsakh, two months before the story of this novel

"Dissolution" (By Richard Lee Byers), "Insurrection" (By Thomas M. Reid), "Condemnation" (By Richard Baker), "Annihilation" (By Philip Athans), "Extinction" (By Lisa Smedman) and "Resurrection" (By Paul S. Kemp) of the War of the Spider Queen series (all begin and end in 1372 DR)

"City of the Spider Queen" (Tabletop Adventure module game) (Created by James Wyatt) (1372 DR)

"Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide" (An expansion of NWN developed by Floodgate Entertainment and BioWare, Enhanced Edition developed by Overhaul Games of Beamdog) (1372 DR) (For story continuity purposes, the main character of this story should not be the one from the main campaign)

"Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark" (The third expansion for NWN developed by BioWare, Enhanced Edition developed by Overhaul Games of Beamdog) (1372 DR) (For story continuity purposes, the main character in this expansion should be the same one from SoU, and this expansion's story takes place sometime during or possibly after the War of the Spider Queen novels since the Silence of Lolth period was still in effect)

"Sons of Gruumsh" tabletop adventure game (By Christopher Perkins) (1372 DR)

"Heirs of Prophecy" (Written by Lisa Smedman) (starts in the month Kythorn, 1372 DR)

"Sands of the Soul" (Written by Voronica Whitney-Robinson) (starts in the month Marpenoth 1372 DR)

"Bladesinger" ends in 1372 DR

"Sacrifice of the Widow" of The Lady Penitent Trilogy (By Lisa Smedman) (1372 DR)

"The Orc King" of the Transitions Trilogy (By R.A. Salvatore) (The chapters between the prologue and epilogue are set in 1372 DR)

"A Little Knowledge" (Realms of Shadow Story VII, The Best of the Realms, Book III Story XII) (By Elaine Cunningham) (19 Marpenoth 1372 DR)

"Astride the Wind" (Realms of Shadow Story VIII) (By Philip Athans) (7 Alturiak 1372 DR)

"When Shadows come seeking a Throne" (Realms of Shadow Story X) (By Ed Greenwood) (1 Kythorn 1372 DR)

"King Shadow" (Realms of Shadow Story XI) (By Richard Lee Byers) (11 Kythorn 1372 DR)

"The Shifting Sands" (Realms of Shadow Story XII) (By Peter Archer) (13 Kythorn 1372 DR)

"Standard Delving Procedure" (Realms of the Dragons Story IX) (By Lisa Smedman) (7 Eleint, 1372 DR)

"The Book Dragon", in Mid Hammer (Realms of the Dragons II Story VII) (1372 DR)

"Freedom's Promise", in Kythorn (Realms of the Dragons II Story VIII) (1372 DR)

"Possessions", in Flamerule (Realms of the Dragons II Story IX) (1372 DR)

"Queen of the Mountain" (Realms of the Dragons II Story X) (Entry isn't dated, possibly takes place in 1372 DR or 1373 DR)

"And All the Sinners, Saints" (Dragon magazine issue # 297) (1372 DR)

"Haunted, A Tale of Sembia" (Dragon magazine issue # 304) ends in 1372 DR
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"Demon Stone" (Developed by Stormfront Studios and Zono Inc., story written by R.A. Salvatore, playable on Windows PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox) (1373 DR) Although this game's realm year isn't exactly confirmed, this game likely takes place sometime after The Hunter's Blades Trilogy and "The Orc King"'s prologue and epilogue and sometime before "The Pirate King" novel's story, and I have fairly strong evidence to believe this. Rannek, one of the main characters in this game, was briefly mentioned in "The Two Swords" as a member of the Riders of Nesmé, and the city Nesmé was overrun by an army of trolls in 1370 DR during the book's story, and Rannek was the only survivor of the Riders of Nesmé. In this game during the stand at Mithral Hall with Zhai, Illius, Thibbledorf and Drizzt against the troll army, Rannek found the chance to avenge Nesmé and his fallen friends who was members of the Riders of Nesmé by slaying the troll king.

"Lord of Stormweather" (By Dave Gross) (1373 DR)

"Twilight Falling", Dawn of Night" and "Midnight's Mask" of The Erevis Cale Trilogy (By Paul S. Kemp) (1373 DR)

"The Sapphire Crescent" of The Scions of Arrabar Trilogy ends in 1373 DR

"The Alabaster Staff" ends in 1373 DR

"Mysteries of the Moonsea" (table top game) (By Thomas M. Reid, Sean K. Reynolds, Darrin Drader and Wil Upchurch) (1373 DR)

"The Yellow Silk" (By Don Bassingthwaite) (Hammer of 1373 DR)

"The Crimson Gold" (By Voronica Whitney-Robinson) (1373 DR)

"The Black Bouquet" (By Richard Lee Byers) (1373 DR)

"Son of Thunder" (the full story) (By Murray J.D. Leeder) (1373 DR)

"Lady of Poison" (By Bruce R. Cordell) (1373 DR)

"Penitential Rites" (Realms of the Dragons Story XI) (By Keith Frances Strohm) (6 Ches 1373 DR)

"How Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth" (Realms of the Dragons Story XII) (By Dave Gross) (25 Ches 1373 DR)

"The Prisoner of Hulburg" (Realms of the Dragons Story XIV) (By Richard Lee Byers) (1st and 2nd Mirtul 1373 DR)

"Mistress of the Night" (By Dave Gross and Don Bassingthwaite) (1373 DR)

"Maiden of Pain" (By Kameron M. Franklin) (No date entry given, possibly 1373 DR)

"Queen of the Depths" (By Richard Lee Byers) (1373 DR)

"The Rage" story ends in 1373 DR

"The Rite" (By Richard Lee Byers) (1373 DR after "The Rage" ends)

"The Ruin" (By Richard Lee Byers) (1373 DR after "The Rite" ends)

"The Ruby Guardian" of The Scions of Arrabar Trilogy (By Thomas M. Reid) (1373 DR)

"The Emerald Sceptre" of The Scions of Arrabar Trilogy (By Thomas M. Reid) (1373 DR)

"The Gossamer Plain" of The Empyrean Odyssey Trilogy (By Thomas M. Reid) (starts in 1373 DR)

"Venom's Taste" of the House of Serpents Trilogy (By Lisa Smedman) (1373 DR)

"Viper's Kiss" of the House of Serpents Trilogy (By Lisa Smedman) (1373 DR)

"Elminster's Daughter" (By Ed Greenwood) (1373 DR)

"An Icy Heart" (Realms of the Dragons Story X) (By Voronica Whitney-Robinson) (16 Alturiak 1373 DR)

"Beer with a Fat Dragon" (Realms of the Dragons Story XIII) (By Don Bassingthwaite) (Late Tarsakh 1373 DR)

"The Strength of the Jester", in Mirtul (Realms of the Dragons II Story XI) (1373 DR)

"Tribute" (Best of the Realms, Book III Story XIV) (1373 DR)
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"Ghostwalker" ends on Greengrass of 1374 DR

"Forsaken House" ends in 1374 DR

"Farthest Reach" ends in 1374 DR

"Blackstaff" continues and ends in 1374 DR

"Bloodwalk" (By James P. Davis) (1374 DR)

"Darkvision" (By Bruce R. Cordell) (1374 DR)

"Frostfell" (By Mark Sehestedt) (1374 DR)

"Sentinelspire" ends in 1374 DR

"Neverwinter Nights 2" (A PC game developed by Obsidian Entertainment, playable on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X) (1374 DR)

"Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer" (An expansion for NWN 2 developed by Obsidian Entertainment) (1374 DR) (For story continuity purposes, the hero character must be the same one from the main campaign, and the hero character must be either good or neutral aligned, or at least an evil rebel who has no intention of becoming an ally or servant of the King of Shadows so that the story can canonically progress to MotB)

"Shadowbred" of The Twilight War Trilogy (By Paul S. Kemp) (1374 DR)

"Shadowstorm" of The Twilight War Trilogy (By Paul S. Kemp) (1374 DR)

"Shadowrealm" of The Twilight War Trilogy (By Paul S. Kemp) (begins in 1374 DR after "Shadowstorm" ends)

"The Howling Delve" ends in 1374 DR

"The Depths of Madness" (By Erik Scott de Bie) (starts in 1374 and continues on to the next year)

"Vanity's Brood" of the House of Serpents Trilogy (By Lisa Smedman) (1374 DR)

"Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir" (An expansion for NWN 2 developed by Obsidian Entertainment) (1374 DR)

"Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate" (The final expansion for NWN 2 developed by Ossian Studios) (1374 DR)

"Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance" (A video game developed by Snowblind Studios, playable on the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Game Boy Advance) (1374 DR) This was the very first D&D game I ever played. on the PS2, years before I even grew interested in D&D

"Cormyr: The Tearing of the Weave" tabletop adventure game (By Richard Baker, David Noonan, Bruce R. Cordell, James Wyatt, and Matthew Sernett) (Autumn 1374 DR)

"Tears So White" (Realms of the Elves Story VI) (Written by Ed Greenwood) (in 12 Alturiak 1374 DR)

"The Bladesinger's Lesson" (Realms of the Elves Story VII) (Written by Richard Baker) (in Flamerule 1374 DR)

"Continuum" ends in 1374 DR (Realms of War Story I)

"The Knights of Samular" (Best of the Realms, Book III Story I) ends in 1374 DR

"Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2" (A sequel game developed by Black Isle Studios, playable on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox) (Begins in 1374 DR)
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"Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2" ends sometime in 1375 DR

"Unclean" of The Haunted Lands Trilogy (Written by Richard Lee Byers) (story begins in 1375 DR)

"The Depths of Madness" ends in 1375 DR

"Stardeep" (Written by Bruce R. Cordell) (1375 DR)

"Shadowdale: The Scouring of the Land" tabletop adventure game (By Richard Baker, Eric L. Boyd and Thomas M. Reid) (1375 DR)

"Anauroch: The Empire of Shade" tabletop adventure game (By Greg A. Vaughan, Thomas M. Reid and Skip Williams) (possibly 1375 DR)

"Sacrifice of the Widow" ends in 1375 DR

"Scream of Stone" ends in 1375 DR

"Second Chance" (Realms of War Story XII) (By Richard Lee Byers) (29 Flamerule 1375 DR)

"Stardeep" (By Bruce R. Cordell) (1375 DR)

"Expedition to Undermountain" (3rd edition tabletop adventure game) (By Eric L. Boyd, Ed Greenwood, Christopher Lindsay and Sean K. Reynolds) (1375 DR)

"Fall of Frostsilver" (Role-Playing Games Association module) (By Matthew Sernett) (1375 DR) This game was made on the 20th anniversary in honor of the creation of the character Drizzt Do'Urden
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"Storm of the Dead" of The Lady Penitent Trilogy (By Lisa Smedman) (Begins in 1376 DR)

"The Shield of Weeping Ghosts" ends in 1376 DR

"The Pirate King" of the Transitions (By R.A. Salvatore) (story begins in 1376 DR)

"Stardeep" of The Dungeons series (By Bruce R. Cordell) (possibly 1376 DR) This story likely takes place after Kiril, the main character of the story helped Raidon Kane and Delphe stop a traitorous Keeper of the Cerulean Sign, Telarian. The synopsis of Stardeep claims Kiril lost everything to stop the traitor. I'm not sure if the traitor is the same one Kiril helped Raidon and Delphe defeat yet, but it is possible.
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"Double Diamond Triangle Saga: ("The Abduction" (By Robert J. King), "The Paladins" (By James M. Ward and David Wise), "The Mercenaries" (By Ed Greenwood), "Errand of Mercy" (By Roger E. Moore), "An Opportunity for Profit" (By Dave Gross), "Conspiracy" (By J. Robert King), "Uneasy Alliances" (By David Cook and Peter Archer), "Easy Betrayals" (By Richard Baker) and "The Diamond" (By J. Robert King and Ed Greenwood) (All take place in 1377 DR)

"The Fall of Highwatch" of the Chosen of Nendawen Trilogy (By Mark Sehestedt) (possibly 1377 DR)

"Storm of the Dead" and "The Pirate King" ends in 1377 DR
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"Crypt of the Moaning Diamond" (By Rosemary Jones) (1378 DR)
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"Ascendancy of the Last" of The Lady Penitent Trilogy (By Lisa Smedman) (story begins in 1378 DR and ends in 1379 DR)
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"Final Gate" ends in 1380 DR
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"The Fractured Sky" of The Empyrean Odyssey (By Thomas M. Reid) (story begins in 1384 DR)
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"Undead" of The Haunted Lands Trilogy (By Richard Lee Byers) (begins in Ches of 1385 DR)

"The Gossamer Plain" ends in 1385 DR

"The Fractured Sky" ends in 1385 DR

"Sandstorm" continues in 1385 DR in Calimshan when the Second Era of Skyfire begins

"The Crystal Mountain" of The Empyrean Odyssey (By Thomas M. Reid) No realm year revealed, but it is likely in 1385 DR since the main character tried but failed to prevent Mystra's death

"Plague of Spells" of the Abolethic Sovereignty Trilogy (By Bruce R. Cordell) (begins in 1385 DR) I love the main character's name! Raidon Kane! Makes him sound hardcore!
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Realms of Infamy Story II "The More Things Change..." ends in 1390 DR

"Iruladoon" (Realms of the Dead and The Collected Stories: The Legend Of Drizzt) (1390 DR)
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"Plague of Spells" ends in 1396 DR

"City of Torment" of the Abolethic Sovereignty Trilogy (By Bruce R. Cordell) (1396 DR)

"Key of Stars" of the Abolethic Sovereignty Trilogy (By Bruce R. Cordell) (1396 DR)
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"Wrath of the Blue Lady" (By Mel Odom) (begins in 1399 DR)

"Hand of the Hunter" of the Chosen of Nendawen Trilogy (By Mark Sehestedt) (possibly 1399 DR)
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And so ends Part 2 of the list! And here is the link to part 3!


https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/60747/the-complete-fr-novel-comic-and-game-timeline-part-3#latest

This mini article discusses luck in the games. Most of the information here has been provided by @semiticgod.

The confusion

The concept of luck is never explained in the game or the manuals, and most of the information they provide about luck is either wrong or misleading. This mini article tries to clarify the confusion.
The source of confusion is a number of inconsistencies in the manuals and the games:

• Luck is the name of a spell, but it’s also the name of an effect, like the blinded effect or the confused effect. So far, so good. Intuitively, you would expect that the Luck spell would simply improve somebody’s luck. However, that’s not the case. The Luck spell does improve luck, but it also gives several other bonuses (to saving throws and thieving skills) which are unrelated to luck (the luck state, that is).
  
• Both the luck effect and the Luck spell work differently in IWD2 and the rest of the games.
  
• There are two kinds of luck effects, one which stacks and one which doesn’t. The luck obtained from the Luck spell, Chant, and the Lucky Scimitar in IWD does not stack. However, the luck obtained from other sources does. So…
  

What is luck?

Luck is an effect that affects a character's performance in combat. Positive luck means better performance, negative luck means worse performance.

What does it do?

As stated above, it does different things in different games:

All games bar IWD2

Luck affects to-hit rolls, spell damage taken and physical damage dealt.

A lucky character hits more often, deals more damage with weapons, and takes less magical damage. By magical damage I mean all effects outside a weapon's base damage. That includes damage from spells, wands, abilities, weapon elemental damage, etc.

Luck bonuses are added to each to-hit roll and physical damage roll, and substracted from each magical damage roll. Luck penalties work the other way around. But remember, this is AD&D, it’s always more complicated. Just adding a bonus to your roll would be too “simple”. And who wants something simple when you can have exactly the same thing, but twice as complicated? Well, you, me, the rest of the world… but not the AD&D creators, for sure. So this is the whole story:

Each time a die is rolled and a luck modification applies, the modification is added or substracted from the roll, but without exceeding the roll natural limits. What? You didn’t understand that? Don’t worry, neither did I the first 200 times. Let's see: The "natural limits" of a roll are its maximum and minimum values. For instance, the natural limits of a d20 roll are 1 and 20. An example might help:

Flint the warrior has a +2 luck bonus. He attacks twice with his long sword (1d6 damage). The first time he attacks he rolls a 15. Adding the luck bonus, his effective attack roll is 17 (hit). He rolls a 3 in his damage roll. The luck bonus means he actually inflicts 5 damage (we assume there aren’t other bonuses/penalties).

The second time he rolls a 19 in his attack roll. The luck bonus would make that a 21, but since 21 is outside the natural limits of a d20 roll (1-20), it actually makes it a 20 (hit). By the way, he does NOT get a critical hit (unless he already had a critical with 19, of course). Then he rolls a 6 in his damage roll. Again, the luck bonus would make that an 8, but since 8 is outside the natural limits of a d6 (1-6), the result stays at 6, i.e., he only inflicts 6 points of damage.

Now a 5th level mage casts a Fire Ball on our poor Flint. That’s 5d6 points of damage. The rolls of those 5 dice are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Without his luck bonus, Flint would take 1+2+3+4+5 = 15 points of damage. However, the luck bonus reduces the damage he takes. The 5 becomes a 3, the 4 becomes a 2, the 3 becomes a 1. But again, the luck effect cannot modify a roll beyond its natural limits (1-6 in this case), so the the 2 just becomes a 1 and the 1 remains unchanged. The result is that he takes 1+1+1+2+3 = 8 points of damage.

IWD2

Apart from the effects listed for the other games, in IWD2 luck also affects critical hit and critical miss chances (so in our previous example our warrior does make a critical when he rolls 19). That's especially useful because (1) nothing is immune to critical hits in IWD2, and (2) hammers, halberds, spears, arrows, and axes deal triple damage rather than double damage on critical hits.

How do you get lucky (or unlucky)?

This is a list of the sources of luck (positive or negative) in all the games (except Planescape:Torment, I don't have information about that one). Some of these sources only affect luck itself, others create other effects as well.

All games

Fatigue: -1 luck when the character becomes fatigued. An extra -1 for every extra four hours without resting.
Intoxication: Penalty to luck and bonus to morale. The penalty goes from -2 to -12 and the bonus from +2 to +12, both depending on the amount of drink taken and the constitution of the character. The negative effects of the penalty always outweigh the benefits of the bonus. Slow Poison and Heal cure it.

All games bar IWD2 (i.e.: BG1, BG2, SoD and IWD)

Luck spell: +1 luck, +1 to saves, +5% thief skills.
Chant: +1 luck, +1 to saves, +1 to healing rolls (Staff of Curing, Mass Cure spell, etc.)

BG series: BG1, BG2 and SoD

Bard Song (unkitted): +1 luck at level 1, +2 at level 15, +3 at level 20.
Blade song: +1 luck (doesn't scale with level).

Baldur's Gate

Rabbit's Foot (Alora): +2 luck, +2 AC, +10% thief skills.

Baldur's Gate II

Wish spell: Two of its effects affect luck: One intoxicates enemies, giving them a -12 luck penalty for 200 rounds. It bypasses magic resistance and offers no saving throw. It is dispellable and can be blocked by Spell Immunity: Enchantment and possibly Minor Globe of Invulnerability, as it is a level 3 Enchantment spell. Slow Poison and Heal cure it.
The other effect gives -5 luck for 60 seconds party-wide.

Icewind Dale

Lucky Scimitar: +1 luck.
Tymora's Melody: +1 luck, +3 to saving throws, +5% thief skills.

Icewind Dale 2

Luck spell: +1 luck.
Tymora's Melody: +1 luck, +3 to saving throws, +2 to thief skills, Alchemy, and Knowledge (Arcana).
Tymora's Loop (extremely rare random drop): +3 luck.
Breaking the mirror in the Ice Temple: -20 luck.
Chant: Unknown.

Note: Originally this post was a set of questions about luck. I include the original post in the spoiler for reference: