Nashkel Blues

[misterbill5]

When I get to Nashkel there are some Amnish soldiers waiting at the bridge into town. One is not aggressive, but the others are. I end up in a battle which I might be able to win, but my companions fight for a few rounds and then start to leave the party! My rep took a hit because I got caught picking a lock and stealing from a chest early in the game and killed a Flaming Fist guard (rahter than reload, I just took his gear and kept playing). Now I know that low rep will result in bounty hunter attacks in Nashkel, but am baffled by the attack of the guards and especially my party deserting during the fight.
Not sure I can solve this since I have to visit this town, but it is going to be difficult with no party and bounty hunters AND Amnish guards attacking me...I hate to have to restart because of one mistake leading to a reputation hit. Is this solvable? Any ideas?

P.S. Tried coming in from the east instead of the north, but the guards eventually found me along with the bounty hunters, and my party went AWOL during the fight just as when coming down from the north...gah...

[Rithm Fluffderg]

Try going to another town and donating to a church.

[voehringer_nitron]

When you have a low reputation, guards spawn in and attack you, the lower your rep, the higher the chance. Good and neutral aligned party members will leave if your rep drops too much, with neutrals hanging around a little longer. Likewise, evils will leave if it gets excessively high. As far as I can recall, Imoen will stick around no matter what.

Heroic actions and donations at the temple will get your rep backup.

[misterbill5]

Ah, didn't know about donations to raise rep--thanks! I hope I have enough money to correct my guard-killing incident--I think that dropped me to "despised"...with a numerical value of -4 I believe...

[misterbill5]

Donating at the Temple raised my rep enough to get into Nashkel and keep everyone in my (current) party happy. My rep before donating was 4 (not minus 4) "despised" and I moved it up two notches to 6 "disliked". Then I refused to take 200g from someone in town who thought I was a bounty hunter and that unexpectedly raised my rep another notch to 7.
Re: donating to raise rep, it took 200g to raise my rep by one point--anything less got me a msg saying "while substantial, your donation was not enough to raise your reputation". I didn't test it, but do donations under the rep-raising threshhold accumulate (so that 4 donations of 50 would raise rep one point), or do smaller donations only buy a bit of information...???

[Megiddo]

http://www.playithardcore.com/pihwiki/index.php?title=Baldur's_Gate:_Donation_Guide&redirect=no has a nice chart on donations. You can raise it from seven to twelve with 100 per. It's more expensive if your reputation is higher or lower.

[danconnors]

The higher your rep the better the prices you get from merchants. A potion of healing will go from 112 gp at 11 rep to 87 at 20 rep.

[misterbill5]

Thanks guys! That suit of armor I got from killing the Flaming Fist guard is turning out to be pretty expensive...heh...My rep is creeping up--was 4, now 8 I think--so I guess I can buy a point for 100g instead of 200g now. With this rep system, it seems it would be very difficult to play an "evil" party--or would you just rely on stealing, pickpocketing, and looting innocents?

[Megiddo]

Pickpocketing is near worthless in the BG series. There are only a handful of worthwile marks in both games. It's even worse with the EE nerf now. You can't even attempt to pick slots that your skill isn't high enough for. You won't be able to fence stolen goods until late in the game anyhow.

You can have a heroic reputation with an evil party, just expect a lot of whining. I think the breaking point for evil characters is 18. I just play it safe and keep it 16 or lower, but, yeah, evil parties got shafted pretty much.

You used to be able to hide and wait guards out, but I think the EE versions nerfed that, too. You should be able to steal from houses by parking a character by an exit, then open the container, pause quickly, then run the looter to the exit. Save first, of course, but the looter shouldn't have to run all the way to the exit, just part way. This becomes much easier with a certain pair of boots.

If you're playing normal or easier difficulty, there's little need to buy anything. Potions, wands, elemental ammunition, and other expendables.are just overkill. There are a few things worth saving for, though.

[mike_hanna211]

Yes, the game has Good parties in mind. However, you can play an Evil party if you can manage your reputation. I think it's more in the dialogue responses than actually going out and murdering someone. There's no point in that.

Definately more of a challenge if you want to play Evil. Be warned...

[misterbill5]

Thanks again for the input! I am enjoying this classic game which I played when it came out (1999?), but doubt I finished. I was influenced by it enough to name my first Everquest (the original) character after it. Since my name is Bill, I named my Palladin "Billdur", which I thought was clever but most people failed to make the connection I'm afraid....heh

[sonicsuperone]

Ya'all got it all wrong. It ain't about playing Evil, its about getting Caught bieng Evil. Steal all ya want as long as nobody catches you. As for killin' unfortunatly when people don't know who killed (insert guy here) they have a bad habit of guessing (it ain't like they have to prove anything) so don't kill people-much. As long as you keep a eye on your rep and make sure it don't go below 5 or so nobody will believe the crazy people who shout "murderer" when you come through town

[danconnors]

Your rep also affects the extra powers your main guy gets. Eight or lower he get the minor drain. Nine or higher he gets cure light wounds. Either one is useful.

[misterbill5]

Ah, I have the drain power at the moment...

[danconnors]

If you were talking about the 3 guards who come to arrest you in the area just south of Beregost, you can kill all 3, get all 3 suits of plate mail, and keep your rep untarnished.

All you have to do is answer, "You've got it all wrong. We're not bandits."

To which he asks. "How can you prove it?

Answer, "Well my warm smile and honest demeanor."

He says "Don't believe you. You're bandits."

Reply, "Arrest us then."

At which point he says, "We're not arresting you. We're killing you now."

You now have the ability to defend yourself, kill the guards, and get their armor, all without losing one point of popularity.

[Matuse]

No, he's talking about the group of Flaming Fist that spawn when you are spotted breaking into a container in town. If you can get out of the area before they talk to you, you can avoid a rep hit.

Guards in Nashkel can be bribed if you get caught stealing, but the Fist have more integrity.