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[dicecast]

Blast from the Past: Baldur’s Gate 2 Tutorial

Ok so last time I talked about Bladur’s Gate I’s Candlekeep and how it is my standard for what an RPG tutorial should be.  Today I want to switch things up and talk about a tutorial which I am more mixed about, which is both good and bad, Jon Irenicus dungeon from Baldur’s Gate II

See in many ways I think this is a fantastic tutorial, it has story, it has character, it has challenge, it introduces the characters and it is related to the plot, what more could you want?  Well...it has one big problem and that problem kinda....kills it even though it is great

So ok, the premise is this.  After emerging victorious in BG1, you guys wander off and are captured and you wake up basically being experimented on in a laboratory by a freakishly powerful mage named Jon Irenicus.  The mage speaks to you in this creepy dispassionate way where it is clear he doesn’t even see you as human, and the whole place feels cold and distant.  He gets attacked by enemies and has to leave, giving you an opportunity to escape, and this is his dungeon.  So lets talk about what this does well and oh so well before we get to the glaring error

1) its a pretty interesting dungeon.  You are going through what is a tutorial dungeon but rather than fighting a bunch of goblins and rats in the most generic caves ever, you are going through a place with a unique antithetic with a bunch of cool monsters.  Over the course of this adventure you will run into clay Golems, Mephits, Grey Dwarves, Shadow Thieves, Jinn, air elementals, Ogres Mages, Rakasha, Cambions, Demons, Otyugh, some deranged clones, goblins, some enslaved Nymphs, a Vampire, a doppleganger, and a ton of traps.  Its a whole variety of different D&D creatures all of whom have a place in the dungeon (except the goblins why are they here?) and many have different methods of interaction.  At one point you go to the Plane of Air, and an underground forest and this is all just in the first dungeon.  Compare this to like the opening dungeon to Oblivion. 

2) it serves a lot of story functions, which I am going to sub divide

2a) It builds the Character of Irenicus, actually more so than the rest of the game.  The entire place feels cold, sterile, and kinda...in human.  The clone rooms, the experiment labs and of course the terrifying room, it really does feel like somebody who has lost all ability to feel but remembers he once did.  Its really creepy and is able to convey a lot about him that talking to him will not.  The way Imoen is so broken reflect this as well 

(This character has dignity..no really) 

2b) It advances the plot, two of your companions die here, though I never liked that plot line.  more importantly though, it shows off the varied world of D&D and how much Baldur’s gate is going to engage in the more exotic elements of the D&D world

2c) It is the only time in the entire saga where you really feel helpless, when I first played I was terrified Jon would find me (I was 10 btw) and this entire area always creeped me out.  This is your lowest point

(eww)

3) And this is absolutely critical, this dungeon is actually pretty tough...or it would be if you weren’t stronger.  If you entered this dungeon at almost any point in Baldur’s Gate 1, this place would kick your ass but here...its kinda easy.  Its basically a starter dungeon,  except that everything in this is powerful but you are more powerful.  Its a great introduction to mid level play and the possibilities that it offers.  Through this dungeon it sets the tone for BGII vs. BGI, now you are actually able to handle yourself and you are going to be having more focused more specific adventures against much tougher opponents.  Rather than design a tutorial dungeon, they designed a normal dungeon and then made the party higher level for it.  You even find the sword of the main villain of the first game, just to hammer home how far you have come.  

(We finally made it to a cage...)

4) Finally it has variance, some encounters are social, puzzles, traps, combat, stealth, different types of fight and you have some limited control of how to play it 

Ok so far so good...what could be wrong?

Well....replay value.  This dungeon is great the first time you play it, or if you play again after a long time.  The second time though or the third time...this gets old real quick.  you can’t just skip through it and there is enough XP and money in here that you want to stay to get it, which makes repeat play thoughs frustrating as you try to go through to get all the shit in here.  Its so bad that there is mod to just skip this dungeon, even though it is pretty good in my mind.  

Next up my favorite RPG tutorial level, a place with the architectural charm of a pregnant spider