Damocles wrote:

Actually, I may rethink it- for some reason I had thought that BG2 required some sort of video horsepower, and the video on this machine I'm using right now is some sort of gay onboard crap.

Damocles wrote:

Plus, and I hadn't mentioned this before, but I never got that far into BG1, and I have this perverse need to finish a game before playing its sequel. This even includes Final Fantasy games, despite being completely unrelated.

Damocles wrote:

As you quoted below, 3rd Ed. was an attempt to address that- partially by making fighters more flexible, partially by rebalancing how XP works, partially by making Fighters a hell of a lot deadlier at any given level, and (for really high levels) by adding that weird epic stuff that turns everybody into a demigod past 20th level.

Actually, if I were playing 3rd edition right now, I'd be either a Sorcerer or a Monk. Sorcerers because of the sheer glorious perversity of having Charisma as a spellcasting attribute, and Monks because they literally become extraplanar beings after 20th level.

Damocles wrote:

Weird, that, because I'd say 3E Bards are useless outside of parties simply because their songs are most useful when supporting other players. (Kind of like D2 paladins and their auras). Honestly I've never been that fond of "jacks of all trades"- either they get overwhelmed by their inability to excel in any one activity, or (especiallyin the case of fighter/mages) lag so far behind in level that they're "versatile" lunchmeat for anything of remotely appropriate level.

(Now fighter/clerics... those make sense. Smiting for the Lord has never felt so good.)