Basics of item selling

[craig234]

So many little things come up.

Should I sell those gems or save them for something?

Same with jewelry. If it has an 'identify' option it's magical, if it doesn't is it safe to sell?

Which armor and shields should I sell easy to get again, which should I keep just in case?

How many arrows should I carry around? On and on.

It seems characters EITHER equip melee or ranged weapons?

If I find a scroll I can transcribe, good, if not I guess it's an extra copy I can use in combat more than I can learn? Other than that, sell them?

When to get rid of things like wands I found in the first area, didn't find a use for them...

[New Moon On Monday]

A few gems do have quest related, or later item upgrade value. I think you need to save 1 Rogue Stone for opening a quest-related door. Then for potential item upgrades, I think: 2 Rogue Stone, 1 Beljuril, 2 Diamonds, 1 Emerald, 1 King's Tear, 6 Star Sapphires. You won't want to do, or possibly can't do, all those item upgrades. By all means, sell the rest.

In BGII, I don't think you have to worry that any non-magical jewelry without a unique name will be needed for a quest.

EE changed the naming conventions for some magic items, giving some generic magic items names that make them sound unique. Any armor or shield that gives you only a +something bonus is generic. By wary of hoarding too much of that stuff. You may want to keep some spares of stuff in case you add a new companion, or keep situational use items. Keep what you can use, maybe keep stuff for Imoen, maybe a spare or two just in case for a new companion, sell the rest.

I tend to hoard ammunition and wands and scrolls. If it's something you are certain you'll never use in battle, by all means sell it. There comes a point at the end of Chapter 3 where you know you are leaving Athkatla for a while, and that's a good time to go to your stash and figure out what you really need to hold on to.

[New Moon On Monday]

I'll add that, by the end of Chapter 3, you have met almost all of the available companions, assuming you have been a completionist and pursued most of the Stronghold quests and visited most of Athkatla. There are only 2 more potential companions to add after Chapter 3, and you already know one of them, because you're setting off to rescue her (Imoen). The other will only be available in Throne of Bhaal. So certainly by the end of Chapter 3, you should have clarity over what items may yet be useful, and what items are just taking up space.

[Kamuizin]

You may need a diamond and Beljuril to improve a item horn of vahalla in waukeen's promenade, merchant southwest but inside the promenade circle. Maheer the name. .

Q: Should I sell those gems or save them for something?
A: A rogue stone is needed to access the twisted rune secret plane through a door in the bridge district
1 king tear, 6 star saphire, 2 rogue stones, 1 diamond and 1 emerald are needed to improve items in ToB with Cespenar .
Of course, none of those are mandatory.

Q: Same with jewelry. If it has an 'identify' option it's magical, if it doesn't is it safe to sell?
A: Yes, but in fact anything is save to sell if you're not using, unless you're a hoarder (like me).

Q: Which armor and shields should I sell easy to get again, which should I keep just in case?
A: There's no correct answer for this, it's based on your moment in the game and playstyle. I'm a Hoarder, so if it's a named item i keep, if it's a custom magical item (mace+1, mace+2, katana+1, chain mail+1 ...) i sell. Full plate mails are the best armor of the game for a long time, as they can be stacked with rings/cloaks of protection and AD&D don't limit dex AC based on armor. If you're evil and keep your reputation bellow 4 you will be constantly attacked by the city guards and each group will drop 5 full plate mails, they sell for 1800 gp each, so it's a 9000 gp profit per fight, which make evil games a gold mine (when you tire of the attacks, pay to a temple to raise your rep to 5).

Q: How many arrows should I carry around? On and on.
A: If your character isn't a main ranged damage dealer, 1 set of 80 projectiles are more than enough to finish a quest. If you use them more 2 sets of 80 porjectiles are also enough. If you're an archer or a fighter with GM in bows (and will use 4 or 5 per turn) use the 3 equip slots with 80 projectiles and let 1 or 2 quiver more on inventory.
Of course, there's many different projectiles in the game with different effects, if they're messing too much with your inventory do the first level of watcher's keep, there's an ammo case there where you can storage projectiles .

Q: It seems characters EITHER equip melee or ranged weapons?
A: no, they can do both (not at the same time obviously). you can put a melee weapon in one of your quick weapon slots and a ranged one in the other for example.

Q: If I find a scroll I can transcribe, good, if not I guess it's an extra copy I can use in combat more than I can learn? Other than that, sell them?
A: Yes, but you can also forget the spell from the mage spell book to rewrite it for the experience gained (1000 ex points per circle level of the spell).

Q: When to get rid of things like wands I found in the first area, didn't find a use for them...
A: Identify them first, after that use them in the quick slot of a mage or bard, and they will act as the spells they represent (fireball, monster summoning and cloudkill are really good at that early game).