User:AD/BG

"'Well, there's a lesson in there somewhere, I suppose. Never whip a sick ogre? Never tell someone twice your size to pick something up? Never boss someone around unless you can run faster than they can? Aha! If you're going to hire ogres, give them sick days and benefits or they will kill you. Yes... that about sums it up, I think.' - Jan Jansen, gnome thief"

This note is partly for my own convenience, and partly for newbies to the Baldur's Gate trilogy, the best set of games ever made. I will try to explain matters, but if you have any questions or are curious, just leave me a message and I will be happy to help.

The Baldur's Gate trilogy is a set of two games and two expansions created more than a decade ago. It's a game based on the rules of Dungeons and Dragons' 3rd edition, set in the Forgotten Realms, a land of magic and intrigue, peopled with diverse and wondrous creatures. While the interface and graphics are now quite dated, the elements of the games that make them amazing can always endure: the astonishing plot and amazing characters. Baldur's Gate was one of the first games that gave the player freedom to choose their own path. More than just good or evil, the player can forge a thousand different destinies, accompanied by any of dozens of voice-acted, well-scripted non-player characters (NPCs). Further, the wide variety of tactical options and the clever design of the dungeons and enemies provide infinite variety in combat.

With all of this praise, though, it has to be admitted that there are some flaws. Most prominent is that the original Baldur's Gate is much clunkier than its sequel, and that there is a lot of potential in both games that goes unused. Thankfully, these flaws are completely eliminated thanks to the miracle of modifications. There is an extensive and fanatical modding community that remains very active even now, a decade later.

Installation
"Well, it would seem the leader of our little group has impregnated the impressionable circus child. And here I thought she was merely getting chubby without the ring master's whip to keep her in shape. - Edwin Odesseiron, human conjurer" If you are interested, you can buy Baldur's Gate (including the expansion Tales of the Sword Coast) and the sequel Baldur's Gate 2 (including the huge expansion Throne of Bhaal) for ten dollars each (or you can probably also illegally download it, if you absolutely must). Then you can follow the modding guide below for my preferred, stable version of the game. It is highly recommended you follow the order below.

Note on mod selection: I have not chosen any mods that alter the possible NPC romances or other similar dialogs. Mods of that sort all use incremental variables in their coding, and the game just can't handle that very well: it leads to an annoying and ineradicable stutter every second when playing. Fortunately, these mods are not very good, anyway. I have also chosen not to include some of the famous "big" mods, like Tales of the Deep Garden, the Darkest Day, or the like. While these can increase the size of the game and have a lot of material, frankly, I don't think they're written very well, and they disturb the dramatic arc of the plot. Also, they tend to break the game. Remember when choosing which options to install, err on the side of less. The more things you change, the more things can go wrong. The mods most likely to cause problems are the highly complex and impressive Sword Coast Strategies mods - if you have any issues, then omit them. They are really cool, but strain the engine to its limits with their detailed and intelligent AI changes.

How to install mods: These mods are all "WEIDU" mods. The WEIDU format for mods, created by Westley Weimer, is the nearly universally accepted standard for mod installation with the Infinity Engine, the game engine used by the Baldur's Gate games. Download each file into your "BGII - SoA" folder. They're all zip files, some of which are self-executing .exe files and some of which need to be manually unzipped into your "BGII - SoA" folder. The self-executing files will then start installation, but the ones you have manually unzipped must then be manually installed (i.e. after unzipping UnfinishedBusiness-v19.zip, you execute the newly extracted UnfinishedBusiness-v19.exe). The process will generate a text file called WEIDU.txt, which will contain a list of all installed modifications made by all mods. My own WEIDU is here, if you want to see what options I chose with each mod:
 * 1) Install Baldur's Gate.
 * 2) Install Tales of the Sword Coast. Not necessary if using GOG.com's versions, which automatically do this.
 * 3) Install Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn. Note: Do NOT install it to the default directory chosen by either the standard installer or the GOG.com's installer.  Install it somewhere outside of Program Files, such as on your C drive, and you must make sure the directory choice ends with "BGII - SoA."  For example, I install the game at "C:\baldur\BGII - SoA"
 * 4) Install Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal. Not necessary if using GOG.com's versions, which automatically do this.
 * 5) Install the official patches. Not necessary if using GOG.com's versions, which automatically do this.
 * 6) Run Baldur's Gate, and create a game. It doesn't matter what character you make - just start a new game and save it once, then quit.
 * 7) Run Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn, and create a game. It doesn't matter what character you make - just start a new game and save it once, then quit.
 * 8) Install BG2 Fixpack. This is a set of near-mandatory fixes for the game.
 * 9) Install BGT-WeiDu. This is the most important mod.  It takes Baldur's Gate and enfolds it into Baldur's Gate 2, creating one amazing and epic experience.  It also allows you to escape Baldur's Gate's clumsy user interface, and experience that game in the better UI of Baldur's Gate 2.
 * 10) Install BG2 Tweaks. A set of fun and useful changes.  I pick and choose among the options, not installing most of them (you definitely want to remove the experience point cap and add true grandmastery, at minimum).  Note: do NOT install the option to curtail the cutscenes and dream sequences, as this destabilizes the set-up, and do NOT install the Icewind Dale spell animations, as this can cause graphical artifacts.
 * 11) Install Mini Quests and Encounters. A few well-designed additional quests for the first game.
 * 12) Install BG1 Unfinished Business. Some more quests.  As with other quest mods I chose, these are all well-written and interesting.
 * 13) Install Unfinished Business. Again, just like its counterpart for the first game.
 * 14) Install BGT Tweakpack. A few tweaks.  I only use a few of these.
 * 15) Install Divine Remix. A complete revamp and improvement of divine magic in the game (clerics and druids).  It implements the proper D&D system of spheres, and adds different sorts of clerics for specific gods.
 * 16) Install Sword Coast Stratagems. Newbies to the game should skip this mod, which raises the difficulty level by vastly improving the artificial intelligence.  Monsters can't be easily picked off using gimmicks, mages will cast intelligently, and monsters will use their abilities with some sense.  Note: do NOT install the more intelligent wolves and dogs component, which breaks the Melicamp quest.
 * 17) Install Sword Coast Strategems II. Just like the first SCS, only for Baldur's Gate 2.
 * 18) Play the game!

Known Bugs
There are a handful of bugs with the above installation. None of them break the game, but you might want to know how to bypass them easily.
 * In the second quest Scar gives you in Baldur's Gate, you are supposed to defeat an ogre mage who is menacing the city. Thereafter, BG1 Unfinished Business adds a short quest to retrieve a body.  You can find the body, but it's an item from BG2 instead, and accordingly useless (it's "Raissa's Skin" from the second part of the Skinner quest in BG2; the item happens to share the same item code as the BG1 item).  Bypass this by using the console to create the correct item in your inventory: CLUAConsole:CreateItem("EBFEBODY")
 * In Durlag's Tower, the fourth basement's scheme is broken. After defeating the four elemental rooms, you are supposed to be teleported to a chessboard battle, but this does not happen.  You can bypass this problem by defeating the rooms and then using the console to send your party to the chess area: CLUAConsole:MovetoArea("ARD006")
 * If you cheese when you fight Sarevok by using potions of explosions on him from out of sight, then he won't summon Angelo or Diarmid. Create them manually: CLUAConsole:CreateCreature("galdor") and CLUAConsole:CreateCreature("dw#diarm")
 * If you have other problems with Sarevok, then just set his allies as dead manually: SetGlobal("SPRITE_IS_DEADTAZOK","GLOBAL",1) and SetGlobal("SPRITE_IS_DEADSEMAJ","GLOBAL",1) and SetGlobal("SPRITE_IS_DEADDIARMI","GLOBAL",1) and SetGlobal("SPRITE_IS_DEADGALDOR","GLOBAL",1)


 * The Greater Werewolf form of the Shapeshifter druid kit is not compatible with Adalon's illusion in the Underdark. Do not shapeshift for the duration of your time in the drow city.

Character and Party
Viconia, drow cleric: "Korgan, I'm interested in whether your clan has ever had interaction with House DeVir? It seems to me, if memory serves, that our sphere of influence was quite close to your Bloodaxe clan's stronghold near Talthalra Wern'nt Szithla Har'oloth." Korgan, dwarven berserker: "Nay speak that vile tongue to me, blackskin. If it moves I've killed it, but if it be drow, I've tortured it fer days, first. As fer that house of yers, I burned it and relieved meself on the embers and the dead. And the necklace of darkelf ears fetched me a king's ransom in Waterdeep." There are dozens of NPCs to choose from, scattered in different places throughout the game. Some are definitely superior to others in their stats and class, but your choice is limited by their availability and their alignment. If you're a good character, then evil NPCs will eventually get fed up and leave the party - and vice-versa. Further, you want your main character to be one that will be useful and interesting at every point in the game, from the first level right out of Candlekeep to dragonslaying titan hitting level thirty-five in the endgame.

I have played through Baldur's Gate dozens of times. I have played through as a sorcerer, mage, cleric, thief, kensai, kensai/mage, solo fighter/mage/thief (no NPC help), barbarian, monk, paladin, solo thief, and druid. You can beat the game with any class, and near the endgame they all become very powerful. So don't worry too much about what you pick - choose something that seems cool to you. That said, I don't recommend choosing a complicated kit character when you play for the first time.

When you first start out, don't worry too much about your choice of NPCs. You really just need a big crowd to absorb some damage and deal some hurt. There are a lot of fun characters out there. And in BG2, if you miss the chance to take Jan in your party, you are missing some of the best dialog in the game.

Note that for general gameplay help, important walkthroughs, and other information, your best resource is Dan Simpson and his FAQs. His walkthroughs for Baldur's Gate are universally lauded.

D&D
Most terms and mechanics of the game will be familiar to anyone who's every played a roleplaying game before - I don't think I have to explain "HP" to anyone. But some things are oddities from Dungeons and Dragons, the system in which the game is based. The way the game calculates things like damage, for example, appears in a format like this: 1d6+2. This means, simply enough, that a 6-sided die is rolled and then 2 is added to the result - e.g. the damage of that weapon would be 3-8 points. For 2d10+4, it's two 10-sided dice and an added 4 - e.g. 6-24 points of damage.

The other concept that might appear strange is Armor Class (AC). This number essentially measures how well-armored the character is. An unarmored character has an AC of 10, whereas a heavily-armored character in full plate armor has an AC of 0. In other words, a lower AC is better. Bonuses from the DEX stat, from a spell, or from a shield can easily drive AC below 0. By the end of the game, many characters will have ACs of -14 or -15, signifying their ability to shrug off or dodge blows without worry.

To track how accurate your characters are with their own attacks, each one also has a stat called To Hit Armor Class 0, or THAC0. Without bothering to explain, suffice to say that this is another number that you want to be as low as possible. Oddly though, a weapon with "+1 to THAC0" is still good - this means that it reduces your THAC0.

The last strange concept is the saving throw. This is a set of numbers that reflects your characters' ability to avoid magical attacks. A wave of magical fog or a fireball come shooting their way, and they flatten themselves to the wall or tuck and roll, and they manage to minimize or avoid the damage. There are different types of saving throws, and different classes are better at various kinds. You don't need to worry about it too much.

Attributes

 * STR - All warriors should have a high STR, because it dictates how much weight you can carry and can affect the weapons you can use. For example, to even carry a Heavy Shield, you need a STR of 14.  Further, 17+ STR gives you a bonus for your THAC0.  Other classes might want to keep their STR at a minimum of 8, just for the sake of being able to carry basic equipment.  Fortunately, STR-enhancing items and spells are relatively common.
 * DEX - This is the most important stat for thieves, because it provides a small bonus to thieving skills and affects your THAC0 for ranged weapons (which many thieves use). But it's also very important to just about every other character, because 15+ DEX provides a bonus to your AC.
 * CON - Somewhat important to warriors, and barely important at all to anyone else. A very high CON does provide bonuses to your HP, though.
 * INT - All mages should have an 18 INT. Everyone else can keep it relatively low without worry.
 * WIS - All clerics should have an 18 WIS. Everyone else can keep it relatively low without worry.
 * CHA - When a character talks to NPCs, their CHA is a big factor in how they're received. This affects merchant prices and quest rewards.  At least one character in your party should have a decent (16+) CHA and should do all the talking.

Strategies
"'Make way, villainy! Hero coming through!' - Minsc, human ranger" These general tips apply to any relevant character and many NPCs.

Fighters
Fighters have a big advantage over other warriors, because grandmastery is huge. Unfortunately, it also locks them into a specific set of weapons and style. If you make the unfortunate decision to use bastard swords, you'll find out soon what a mistake like that can cost you. Certain weapons just have seriously better magical instances than others. There're only a handful of magical spears and halberds, for example. You can't go wrong with axes, long swords, long bows, or two-handed swords, though. You should consider two-weapon style - the increase in damage is worth the loss of AC from a shield, because your damage will continue to increase, while AC bonuses and magical shields are rare and sporadic. Make sure the weapon in your off hand is lighter than the one in your main hand, though. You'd also be well-advised to consider a berserker rather than a vanilla fighter. Berserk is only occasionally useful and has its downside, but when you need it, it will be a lifesaver. Casters can't confuse you, sirens can't charm you, and demons can't fear you, etc.

Bards
Pick another class.

Clerics
Clerics make good tanks for the front lines at all stages of the game, because they can wear the heaviest armor. They will never do much damage with their weapon, though, so it's usually wise to give them a shield to maximize their utility.

For spells, obviously healing spells are going to be the most important. After that, control spells like Hold Person and Mental Domination are very useful, as are some interesting spells like Cloak of Fear. But the spell my clerics use more than any other is Summon Undead. Undead are the best summoned creatures: they're immune to poison and mind control (including Confusion and Dire Charm) and they stick around for many hours. By the endgame, though, your best undead aren't going to be very good. At that point, clerics become very diverse, calling up devas and the like.

Druids
Again, not my favorite class. Much the same as clerics, druids unfortunately lack their ability to wear armor or cast some of the better spells (can never raise the dead!), and the special abilities that replace these (shapechange and immunities) are just not worth it. Still, they get a few spells that are enormously good, such as Insect Swarm, Ironskins, and Summon Fire Elemental. Summon Woodland Creatures is also very nice, although the resultant creatures are only valuable for a brief period of the game (great charming abilities but weak as kittens).

Mages
Initially, damage spells are a waste of space in your memory. Magic Missile is equivalent to just an arrow or two in the first few levels. Far better are the crowd control spells, with Sleep being the best spell in your book. If you have a small party, then a protection spell like Armor is also a good idea, but otherwise use a sling and stay in the rear.

Later, you're going to move into damage spells and charm spells. Your low-level crowd control spells like Sleep will be useless once monsters start making their saving throws, so those slots will go to Magic Missile and Melf's Acid Arrow. Needless to say, Fireball, Haste, and Stoneskin become your most often-used spells. If your thief is scouting ahead in the shadows, then it becomes folly not to start a fight with the latter two and then a Fireball to soften up the enemy (later replaced by Cloudkill).

In the endgame, various summons will dominate your slots, with Abi-Dhalzim's Horrid Wilting and some HLA (Higher-level abilities) like Dragon's Breath and Time Stop for big threats. Summon a familiar, then talk to it and put it in your pack. Never take it out again. It provides a valuable and permanent HP boost to a mage, but if it dies, you lose a point of CON permanently. The two damage your cat familiar will do in combat is not worth the risk.

Sorcerers
First of all, do not choose Find Familiar. You only ever need to cast it once, so cast it from a scroll. Otherwise, your spell choices will be much the same as a mage. It is important to remember to only pick the most useful spells - which is why a sorcerer is probably not a good choice until at least your second time through the game, when you know what to pick.

Thieves
One of the most interesting and challenging classes. Many players choose to have no thief in their party, but rather a multi-class thief character such as Jan (Thief/Illusionist) because you don't need a strong thief. You need to be able to disarm some traps and pick some locks, but that only requires four or five levels of thief skill to be able to do it adequately for the rest of the game.

But if you want to get serious about thieves, you discover that for a tactical player, they're a necessity. They can use Hide in Shadows, a free and infinite invisibility, so they can scout ahead of the party and eliminate surprises - and then to backstab the mage in the enemy party, often killing them outright. They can Detect Illusion, a free and infinite Purge Invisibility, vital against enemy casters who love to go invisible (and in the endgame, it even dispels Simulacrum!) And they can Set Traps, a skill whose usefulness beggars belief. Properly used, your thief shapes the entire battle: scouting ahead, backstabbing the weak, and leading the enemy into a series of traps and your mage's Fireball.

You should be sure to get Pick Locks and Detect Traps to at least 115-135, which will suffice for almost every lock and trap in the game. Don't bother with Pick Pockets - it's useful in only a few situations for the plot, and doesn't help you make much money (not worth the hassle to actually walk around picking pockets). You can pour the rest of your points into Hide in Shadows or Set Traps, depending on your tactical choices - once they're at around 100 points or so, they'll probably suit you. After you get everything else up, keep going with Detect Illusions until it's maxed-out (higher skill levels wipe out enemy illusions faster).

Paladins
Outside of the first couple of levels, the Inquisitor kit is so much better than the other kits or the vanilla paladin that it's not even funny. It jettisons the seldom-useful Lay on Hands and the low-level priest spells, as well as the ability to weakly Turn Undead (which is pointless when you have a cleric in your party, as you should) in favor of innate Dispel Magic and True Seeing abilities and an immunity to Charm and Hold. In other words, an Inquisitor makes your entire party immune to Charm and Hold, because the Inquisitor can just dispel it from the other members.

If you choose a paladin, you should without question choose to use two-handed swords, because the epic sword Carsomyr (+5, dispels on each hit, magic resistance) is only for paladins. Strap on the heavy armor and charge into combat!

General combat strategies
"'What's my status? Since when do you care about me unless I'm impaled in something's guts? Oh well, fine, let me think for a minute... Well, as a matter of fact I would like to register a complaint. I want to kill a dragon. Right now. Go find one and kill it. That would be SO cool.' - Lilarcor, intelligent sword"

Deployment
Your party should generally contain at least two front-line warriors able to absorb some blows, able to wear heavy armor (i.e. cleric, paladin, barbarian, or fighter). Three is also acceptable, but only one warrior will have a hard time dealing with the level of damage in some of the more populous fights, and four will just get in the way of each other in the narrow corridors of some dungeons. Other characters should use ranged weapons, which lets them keep out of the way of the fight while still doing damage in between spells.

Generally speaking, you want paladins, barbarians, and fighters at the front, while sorcerers, and mages stay to the rear. Thieves, druids, and clerics may be adapted for use in either capacity. A cleric might focus on spellcasting with crowd control and healing from the rear while wielding a sling, or strap on a shield and wade in. Thieves always have high DEX, though, making them excellent archers because ranged weapons rely on DEX rather than STR. My thieves frequently begin a fight by backstabbing with a blade, and then fade to the rear of the party to pitch some arrows out.

Spells
Learn which charm spells are most effective at which levels, and use them frequently. While not as long-lasting as a Hold Person and not as direct as a damage spell, charms have the dual benefit of both removing an enemy and adding an ally. Also, a charmed enemy becomes a target for his fellows, absorbing the damage that would otherwise be directed your way, while you kill one of his buddies. By the time the spell is over, usually the fight is over, too.

Spells that only affect enemies, such as Horror, are particularly useful. Fireball might be fun, but if you launch one mid-fight, you're going to damage your own party just as much. You don't want to be halfway through a tough fight and realize that your mage has nothing he can safely cast - a situation that can lead to some panicked maneuvering as your party runs one way and your mage tries to time his Cone of Cold for that half-second between friendly fire and getting mown down.

Be wary of relying too much on a handful of spells. You will eventually run into a situation that you just can't handle with your usual routine, no matter how many times you reload. You might be able to defeat some big enemies with the clever trick of Reduce Resistance (to reduce magical resistance and saving throws) and Feeblemind (to permanently render an enemy helpless), destroying some big baddies like the dragon Firkrag. But if you don't flex yourself and expand your knowledge of tactics, a new challenge will wipe your party in moments.

Summons

 * Monster Summoning I/II/III - A useless series of spells. Unless you cast them immediately as they become available, the summoned monsters just are too weak to make a difference.  And because you're always going to want to put a Fireball in your only 3rd level slot, these spells are pointless.  And even worse, the duration is short.
 * Carrion Summons - Carrion Crawlers are not very impressive monsters. They're slow, have poor AC, and don't do much damage.  Their paralyzing bite seldom hits.  And again this has a short duration.  Useless.
 * Invisible Stalker - A pretty good summon, fairly strong and sturdy. Nothing too spectacular, though, so it might not be worth the spell slot.
 * Wyvern Call - Similar to the Carrion Crawlers, these beasts are big and slow. They're tougher than the crawlers and a lot prettier, and their claws are +2 weapons.  But they still don't have enough HP to have any staying power, and their poison attack never hits.
 * Summon Woodland Creatures - A great summon! They don't have much HP, and do little damage, but their best function is that they are essentially three to five charm spells that won't preoccupy your caster.
 * Spider Spawn - Nice summon that scales to level, so eventually it will summon Sword Spiders (which can't take a lot of hits, but do a lot of damage once you get them biting someone's back). And because spiders are immune to Web, you can just fire one of those off and send in your minions.
 * Summon Nishruu/Hakeashar - Much more annoying when launched against you than when you deploy it on your own behalf, but still a good summon if used cleverly. They require some micromanagement, so that they are bothering the spellcasters and avoiding any physical attackers, but they can do really well.
 * Summon Cacofiend/Fiend - The only use I've ever had for the demon summons is that it's a good way to kill innocent villagers if your character is Evil but doesn't want to ruin his reputation. Other than that, they're too high maintenance and too high a level to be worthwhile.
 * Animate Dead - The best summon through a majority of both games. It scales to level, so at level 14 your cleric stops summoning Skeletons and starts summoning the more fearsome Skeleton Warrior.  They're immune to toxins or mind effects of any sort, have decent magic resistance otherwise, and actually do a bit of damage.  Always memorized.
 * Conjure Animals - Worthless.
 * Mordenkainen's Sword - The runner-up for best summon, Mordswords are essentially immune to enemy attacks. And because the purpose of a summons is to absorb some damage while your party does the real killing, this makes them amazingly useful.  They do decent damage, meanwhile.  The only downside is that this high-level spell takes a long time to get.
 * Summon Djinni/Efreeti - Decent enough summons that can cast some spells and turn into invulnerable gas, but unfortunately both are at the same spell level as Mordenkainen's Sword, which you should memorize instead.
 * Conjure Elemental (Lesser/Greater/Elemental Prince) - They last a long time, and are pretty good summons. The fire elementals are notably and obviously superior.  Mostly notable as the only real summons a druid gets.
 * Summon Planetar/Deva/Fallen Deva - Another runner-up to best summons, these critters are like summoning in a fighter/cleric of 16th level. They have vorpal swords, haste, and seem very pissed-off.  And even better, paladins can get Summon Deva as an innate ability - very valuable to be able to bring one in mid-fight.

Weapons
For a variety of reasons, it is very important that your characters choose a diversity of weapons. First of all, there are only so many good magical weapons of each kind. If more than two characters are using any particular variety of weapon, then one of them is going to be relegated to unexciting versions. If three characters use warhammers, one of them will have the Crom Faer, one will have the Runehammer, and the third will have... well, a War Hammer +3.

Additionally, though, there are numerous enemies that can only be damaged by certain kinds of attacks. Some enemies are immune or strongly resistant to piercing, slashing, or blunt attacks. There's nothing worse than going to war against a half-dozen golems and realizing that all of your characters are swinging swords that just bounce off those mindless killing machines. Finally, when it comes to missile weapons, you will find a lot of magical crossbow bolts, arrows, and bullets lying around. And because you shortly reach the point where money becomes meaningless, it doesn't really help to just take these to a merchant and sell them because no one can use them. If your thief is using a bow, your mage is wielding a sling, and your cleric has a crossbow, then each of them will accumulate special Bolts of Lightning and Arrows of Piercing to haul out against major enemies.

While every character should have a missile weapon available, for the times when your mage casts Web and immobilizes the enemy and you can just pick them off from afar, you should consider making your fighter specialize in them. I've done this a few times, and a fighter with maxed-out DEX and grandmastery in the longbow is a terror on the battlefield. Only the toughest of enemies will even survive to approach you, as most die from the hail of arrows.

Available Weapons
Pretty much every weapon type has one or two really good iterations that you can find. The best ones obviously come much later in the game, and nearly all of them arrive in BG2. BG1 has very few magical weapons, as befits such low levels.
 * Axe - Stonefire from the Copper Coronet and Frostreaver from D'Arnise Hold; eventually Axe of the Unyielding from Watcher's Keep (upgraded in ToB to +5).
 * Bastard Sword - Blade of Searing from the Underdark; eventually Foebane or Purifier from Watcher's Keep (both upgraded in ToB to +5).
 * Club - The Root of the Problem in BG1 and from Druid Grove in BG2; eventually Club of Detonation from Watcher's Keep (upgraded in ToB to +5).
 * Crossbow - Firetooth from Watcher's Keep.
 * Dagger - Dagger of the Star from Watcher's Keep.
 * Flail - Flail of Ages from D'Arnise Hold (upgraded in ToB to +5).
 * Halberd - Wave Halberd once assembled from parts; eventually Ravager from Yaga Shura.
 * Katana - Celestial Fury from the Temple District
 * Long bow - Heartseeker from Windspear Hills; eventually Taralash from Watcher's Keep.
 * Long sword - Lots of choices, but early on Daystar from the Gate District and Blade of Roses from Copper Coronet are good; eventually Angurvadal from Watcher's Keep (upgraded to +5 in ToB) or Blackrazor from Hell (if evil).
 * Mace - Mace of Disruption from Bodhi's Lair; eventually Storm Star from Watcher's Keep (upgraded to +5 in ToB).
 * Quarterstaff - Cleric's Staff from many places; eventually Staff of the Ram from Watcher's Keep or Staff of the Magi from the Twisted Rune.
 * Scimitar - Belm in the Druid Grove; eventually Spectral Brand from Watcher's Keep (upgraded to +5 in ToB).
 * Short bow - Tuigan Bow from the Slavers; eventually Darkfire from the Oasis or Short Bow of Gesen once assembled.
 * Short sword - Arbane's Sword from the muggers; eventually Short Sword of the Mask (upgraded to +5 in ToB).
 * Two handed sword - Lilacor from the Sewer; eventually Carsomyr from Firkrag.
 * Warhammer - Miscellaneous +2s from various; eventually Carsomyr once assembled.

Types of Fights
There are really only a few types of combat scenarios in the game, each of which can be dealt with in their own way. They are the "Five M's."

Mob
A common encounter early in the game, and increasing in scope later, is a big crowd of low-level enemies. Goblins, kobolds, orcs, gnolls, and the like stop posing a challenge after a few levels, but make for some really fun combat when massed as an army. This is actually something you encounter very early, when you are set against an entire populous village of xvarts, tiny blue creatures who pose about as much individual threat as a damp tissue. Obviously, these fights become extremely easy before too long, and you'll never have much trouble. Magic is the most efficient way to deal with them, with a single fireball destroying the entire army. Later on, the Death spell will instantly kill all low-level enemies, making it perfect for these monsters.

The increased AI of Sword Coast Strategies will make these mobs more intelligent and dangerous, be forewarned. Those dozen kobold commandos are just chopped meat before your kensai, but when they are smart enough to all target your mage, you discover that they pose a serious threat. In such an instance, send in just your fighters and keep your weak characters out of harm's way. If your fighters can berserk, like Minsc or Korgan, they'll probably be almost immune to harm and will cut through the lot in a few rounds.

Mage
Another common encounter, this consists of one or more powerful magic-users against your party. A single mage is unusual, especially with upgrades in Sword Coast Strategies, because only the most powerful mage (like a lich) can stand against six characters thudding away at his protections. More common, and more dangerous, is the trio or quartet of mages and clerics that assail you. With each one launching one or two Confusions, Hold Persons, or the like, you can find your entire party out of your control in short order.

These fights, however, can be handled with both smart deployment and smart spell choice. If your mage and cleric are spaced back away from your front line, then they aren't going to be hit by the crowd control spells that befuddle your warriors. One or two Dispel Magics will both eliminate the malicious spells that take your guys out of the fight as well as the protective spells warding the enemy. When they recast their spell protections, then a well-placed Pierce Magic or Breach will take them back down.

Mixed
This is another very common type of fight, consisting of an armed band supplemented with a magic-user. Bands of orcs, yuan-ti, and the like will often have an accompanying cleric or mage, and can leave your party with little room for error. A character who is Held is easy to hit with a melee weapon, so one enemy cleric's spell can be death for a front-line fighter.

In this case, one of the best things you can do is to charm one of the fighting band. This will concentrate the enemy's attention on him, and let your characters sweep around the side and eliminate the magic-user. Almost without exception, the destruction of the enemy mage or cleric makes the rest of the fight into a cakewalk.

Magical
There are several classes of monster with special innate attacks. Basilisks turn your party to stone with their gaze. Succubae and dryads charm your characters. Demons have innate fear. Illithid freeze everyone with psionic blasts. And so on. These can be very hard to defend against, because unlike enemy spells, you cannot interrupt them with melee attacks. Getting in close and hacking away won't cut it.

In these situations, the name of the game is preparation. You will seldom just encounter them out of the blue: they congregate in specific areas. If you're in Basilisk Alley, you should have Protection from Petrification memorized. Once prepared and ready, you can wipe out the enemy's advantage with a single casting. A basilisk becomes a big squishy lizard, ripe for reaping.

Mighty
The biggest and baddest enemies are almost always encountered alone. These are the bosses of the dungeons, and come in as many varieties as there are labyrinths in the game. Dragons, demiliches, giant trolls, insane monks, demon lords, and demigods: they are all different and often very scary. And unfortunately, there is no magic bullet (although Bullets +3 will help). You might be able to set some traps or prepare or whatever, but each of these fights is different and demands a different solution.

Companions
The full Baldur's Gate trilogy has 36 possible companions (!), and that's not even counting the solid mod-added ones like Solafein or Valen. They all have different personalities, traits, and skills.

Full trilogy characters
'''Mild spoiler alert here... some plot detail is revealed.''' There are a handful of characters that you obtain early in the first game that you can take with you all the way to the end. They have voice-acting, dialogue, cued events, and the like all the way through the three games. Thankfully, they also happen to be mostly decent characters. Mods can allow you to continue with other characters from the first game all the way through, but the experience is much less rich and interesting. Unless it's your third or fourth time through the game (in which case you've seen all the interactions and dialogue anyway) I'd suggest reforming your party once you enter the second game in Irenicus' dungeon, and picking up some of the amazing characters that appear around that time.
 * Imoen - Your childhood companion from Candlkeep, Imoen starts off as a thief. The game strongly implies that you should dual-class her to mage, but I always prefer to keep her as a vanilla thief, because I use thief skills heavily.  Whatever you do, you'll find her a valuable asset, because her stats are the highest aggregate in the game.
 * Minsc - It's unfortunate Minsc is a ranger, which means he can't achieve grandmastery. But even with only two dots in his weapons, he's one of the best warriors you will ever get on your side.  He can enrage and charge into melee, and when given two weapons he becomes a blur of damage.  He is also one of the most enjoyable characters, with his interjections and dialogue being truly priceless.
 * Edwin - This evil mage is the best magic-user in the game. No one, not even your own character, can surpass him, because he has a special amulet that grants him extra spells and he has maxed-out INT.  His only down-side is that he's a conjurer, so he cannot learn those great charm spells you need (your cleric will have to take up the slack).
 * Viconia - Viconia is usually my go-to cleric. She has generally good attributes, although the unfortunate problem of a very low STR that limits her melee value (she can't wear plate or use a big shield).  Midway through the game, though, you encounter items that boost her STR, and she becomes and will remain the best cleric available (most other clerics are multiclassed and watered down).
 * Jaheira - One of the most annoying characters, Jaheira is judgmental and rude. She does make a good companion for a new player, though, because her advice is so often the voice of practical wisdom.  She is a good druid, particularly because she belongs to the special Harper faction, which makes her the only druid that can raise the dead.

BG1 characters

 * Dynaheir - A good mage, Dynaheir is Minsc's partner, so they come as a team. Dynaheir is probably the best good-aligned mage.
 * Khalid - Jaheira's partner, Khalid is peculiarly timid for a fighter. He stutters and cringes and is extremely annoying to have around.  At least his stats are good, making him and Jaheira a decent pair to have on your side.
 * Branwen - This good-aligned cleric is average, but not great. Her unusual attribute as a cleric of Tempus means she can go berserk, but since she's only a mediocre warrior that isn't very handy unless she's already cast all of her spells.
 * Safana - A thief, Safana is a ridiculous sex kitten who is unpleasant to have around. She is good at her job, but inferior to Imoen, so is only worth picking up if you hate Imoen or have dual-classed Imoen to a mage.  Alternatively, you can have both of the thieves and make Safana the scout/backstab thief (taking points in Set Traps and Hide in Shadows) while Imoen picks locks, pickpockets, and finds traps.
 * Quayle - This cleric/illusionist is a poor attempt at a humorous little gnome character, a role filled much better by the later character Jan. It doesn't help matters that a cleric/illusionist is a terrible combination.  Just like his later adopted daughter of Aerie (also a multiclass), Quayle does neither of his jobs well.
 * Shar-Teel - A very good fighter with great STR and DEX, she has poor CON and needs suitable armor. One of the best characters to give grandmastery in a ranged weapon like a longbow, to shoot arrows from the back row and hold a sword close at hand in case of a flanking attack on your weak mage or thief.  Unfortunately, her over-the-top misandry gets a little tiresome.
 * Kagain - This mercenary dwarf is a fighter. He's very tough and strong, but his low DEX is not great.  He is also not very interesting to me, so I seldom pick him up.

BG2 characters

 * Jan - One of the best characters in the game, Jan is a thief/illusionist and is decent at both. He makes a good utility thief if you're not playing a thief-centric game, as he will easily get enough points to detect traps and pick locks adequately, while his spellcasting can be a good supplement to your main mage (you can even use him as your primary mage, if you think it's necessary).  He has numerous gadgets that are interesting and give him ability bonuses, but his best quality is his hilarious dialogue and interactions.
 * Keldorn - Keldorn is an inquisitor, and accordingly is hugely powerful because of the quality of his kit. It's almost ridiculous how potent Keldorn can be, crashing through crowds of enemies, obliterating enemy spellcasters, and eliminating all magical impediments with his innate Dispel Magic and True Sight.  In the late game, equipped with Bracers of Dexterity that boost his only weak stat and Carsomyr, the best sword in the game that hits like a freight truck, he is less a paladin and more a god.
 * Valygar - A decent character, he's a Stalker (a Ranger kit). Good stats, good equipment, but unfortunately he is just completely uninteresting.  He is best used from the shadows, popping out and backstabbing and then fading back to use his bow or running around a corner to hide again.
 * Yoshimo - A great thief with the good kit of Bounty Hunter. He's the only pure thief in the second game, assuming you dual-class Imoen, but even better his kit allows him to set special traps.  These special traps not only have magical effects, but they can also be set at a distance.  Fairly entertaining and interesting.
 * Korgan - A chaotic evil (modded to neutral evil) dwarven fighter, Korgan is the warrior version of Edwin: evil and powerful. Given two axes and a set of plate, he is the best fighter to have on the front-line.  He's also fairly funny to have around with his unmitigated lust for gold and blood.
 * Aerie - A completely useless cleric/mage, Aerie's just like her adopted father Quayle by being good at neither job. You just can't get by without a full-fledged mage or cleric, so why take up a spot in your party with this useless idiot?
 * Mazzy - A brave halfling, Mazzy is practically a paladin with her special innate abilities and sunny nature. She is a great fighter, particularly with a bow, and often my replacement for the first game's Shar-Teel.
 * Nalia - Nalia is a dual-classed thief/mage, but she has only four thief levels and so that role is negligible. She's got okay stats, and so she is serviceable as a mage for a good-aligned party.  She's also only somewhat annoying.
 * Anomen - Anomen is a cleric/fighter who wants to be a paladin (he can actually achieve this later). He's not half bad, but unfortunately his personality makes him unbearable.  Inexplicably, this is the one male character a female character can have a romance with.  He is priggish and stuck-up, and only slightly redeemed by the interesting plotline that can permit him to become a full paladin later in the game.
 * Cernd - A shapeshifter, Cernd is the only other druid besides Jaheira in the late game. As a shapeshifter, though, he's almost a different class.  He should spend almost his entire time shifted into his powerful werewolf form, on the front lines doing damage.  Fairly interesting and pretty good to have around.
 * Haer-Dalis - I had him in my party once. Useless.

ToB Characters

 * Sarevok - To tell the truth, I almost never have room for Sarevok in my party. He just doesn't fit in, which is strange because his stats are the best in the game by a wide margin.  Unfortunately, he comes around only in the Throne of Bhaal expansion, and by that time I always feel reluctant to boot out any of my established party.  If you decide to do this, though, I am sure you'll be pleasantly surprised at his level of power.

Soloing
It is perfectly possible to make it through the whole game solo, with no one else in the party to help you (or, alternately, each character taken along only for the duration of their unique quest). Being the only character means that your protagonist doesn't share his experience at all, and so his level will go up very quickly. It's a very different game, one where you try to use your relatively high level to manage the many situations that challenge even a full coterie of characters. Some classes are markedly easier than others. Magic-users may find the game significantly easier, as they reach epic-level spells in short order - although a great deal of magecraft is required for certain boss encounters. Fighter types will be challenged, and will require judicious use of items to overcome their opponents (Helmet of Charm Protection, Potion of Magic Blocking, etc.) The multi-classes such as a fighter/mage may have an easier time than either pure class, as they are able to spray spells and absorb blows with equal aplomb; this is the only time it would be practical to choose the fighter/mage/thief class. Most difficult are the classes of bard or thief, with both requiring extremely clever planning, intelligent deployment of abilities, and a willingness to flee when necessary.

Creating Your Own Party
It is easy and fun to create all of the characters, rather than just the main character. Just start a multiplayer game connected to no one (just use TCP/IP and don't establish any connections) and you will be able to create as many of the characters as you wish, from one to six. Once created, save the game and copy the folder from the multiplayer save folder (/mpsave) to the single player save folder (/save).

An interesting party might be the "power party" of cleric, berserker, wild mage, bounty hunter, archer, and inquisitor. This crew could usefully use all of the best epic-level weapons, deploy some of the most potent abilities, and by the end of the game would be truly fearsome. An evil/neutral alternative might substitute a shapeshifter and ranged-based fighter for the good classes, and would see only a slight dip in power.

One of my favorite approaches has been the "deadly duo" of mage/cleric and fighter/thief. This combination covers all the necessary skills and magics, concentrates ability point gains (21 CON, STR, DEX, etc. by the endgame), and allows for rapid level advancement even with two multiclasses.

A serious downside of creating the whole party is that the game becomes much more an exercise in numbers and tactics: the elimination of the fun and bizarre dialogue and interesting opportunities presented by the NPCs saps a lot of the color from Baldur's Gate.