I recently picked up this and a few other D&D games on GoG, but I've never played D&D at all. Do I need any prior knowledge of the rules to play and enjoy them?

In some of the other infinity engine games knowing the rules going in will certainly help (but is by no means necessary), but in Planescape: Torment it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

A tip for this particular game would be to maximize your Wisdom score immediately in character creation. It will increase the amount of xp you gain throughout the game, and if I remember correctly should also open up some new dialogue options. Also, hold on to the bronze sphere as long as possible.

First of all you need to know that, based on my 2 hours into the game, all you do is read text while quiet and intermittent ambient music plays in the background.

Wisdom is super important in Planescape for a number of reasons. As an older game it also doesn't tend to map out locations very well or give you that great of an idea where to go to find something, it can be handy to have a FAQ nearby for the occasional question that will eventually arise.

There is just so much to do in this game especially with all the different companions and their own quests and such. The main story is quite fantastic as well, so sit back and enjoy.

Its not as combat heavy as the Baldurs Gate series and definitely not as combat heavy as the Icewind Dale series. But it basically uses the same engine and system, the others might be played with older or newer editions D&D. Planescape Torment is also not set in the forgotten realms which I guess is the most common world, so I reckon it uses a different ruleset, at least character creation is different and way easier (/simplified). I dont know why I mention all this since its almost irrelevant, I played this game without ever having played a D&D pen and paper game. Planescape Torment is an easier experience combat wise, but the game is all about writing, story and atmosphere. Even if it seems a drag every now and then compared to the fast paced modern games, play til completion. If you like a great adventure, you wont be disappointed.

It currently battles Baldurs Gate II for the greatest RPG of all time in my book.

You don't need to know much about the rules but the following tidbits are worth remembering:

Dialogue choices matter! Say what you really want to say, not just stuff that looks funny. Even the smallest dialogue choices factor into your alignment and these determine which factions you can join (as well as some items you can use). It's not necessarily a big deal, but it can be frustrating if you feel like you've been playing a 'lawful' character but the game decides that actually you're a 'chaotic' person.

Prioritise Wisdom, then Intelligence, then Charisma in character creation. You'll get more experience and more story/dialogue this way. If you're certain you'll be playing the game more than once, this doesn't matter so much. Roleplay the first time then be a completionist the next. Arguably it's more rewarding to miss a ton of shit first time around and then have your mind blown the second time, but I understand in this day and age not everyone has the time to invest in a double run of PS:T.

You'll have the option to switch your class from Fighter to Mage or Thief throughout the game. Do this, especially switching to Mage, even if you don't necessarily want to play for long as that class. Being a different class (again, mage especially) at certain stages unlocks quite a significant amount more dialogue and character moments. It's very easy to switch between classes once you've trained as them - all you have to do is talk to a party member to switch to their class.

Talk to your party members.

Fell's tattoo shop is useful for attribute buffs. He will create more tattoos for sale as the game goes on. Get your party members to translate for Fell even if you already understand him.

Cool, can't wait to get started. What about Baldur's gate I and II? I picked them up too? Are they accessible if you don't know the first thing about D&D. I played through Dragon Age: Origins and didn't have any problems if that helps.

@jakandratchet said:

The D&D mechanics matter much more in BG 1 & 2. PS:T and BG use the same rules, as far as I know, but in BG, much of the game satisfaction comes from your equipment and preparation. Each piece of kit matters and if, say, you go into combat with the wrong armour, you'll die fast and be sad (cf. the GB Quick Look of Baldur's Gate: EE with front line tanks wearing studded leather...). In comparison, in PS:T you can't even wear armour, while the class you decide to play as matters more for the story than it does for the combat. BG2 is also a lot more like PS:T in terms of engrossing story interactions, but BG1 also has its charms in terms of having a big non-linear map (which BG2 doesn't quite have).

Basically the sticking point of understanding the mechanics is knowing about Armour Class and THAC0. Armour Class is how hard you are to hit, lower being better (and negative numbers also being possible). 'THAC0' means 'To Hit Armour Class 0' - it's a stat each character has which says how good/accurate they are, again with lower being better. THAC0 is the number they have to roll to hit an enemy with an AC of 0, based on a 1 to 20 dice roll. For example if an enemy has AC of -1 and a character has THAC0 of 16, that character has to roll 17 or higher to hit.

Those are the most important things to understand and tbh you don't really need to understand them. I didn't really when I first played BG in my mid teens. Just that low is good for both THAC0 and AC.

Both of those games are much more combat heavy, but it shouldn't take too long to pick up on the basics of the mechanics (I completed both of those games before I knew anything about pen and paper D&D). Even then if you find yourself struggling I'm sure there are plenty of places on the internet that could teach you how everything works without much fuss.

It may be worthwhile to remember that Baldur's Gate 1 is somewhat unforgiving on low level characters. Many players like to install the BGTutu mod, which takes the entire game and places it in the more robust engine of the second game and eases some of the early game difficulty.

@discoviking said:4

Yes, this is worth repeating. BGTutu is a great way to experience BG, although I think it might still not be 100% bug free. Regardless of what you do, a nice widescreen mod is definitely worth using. I've seen people praising the modding guide in this link, as long as you don't have the Enhanced Edition (in which case Tutu and widescreen are a bit redundant).

Not really. Planescape Torment may follow the D&D ruleset, but it's not a dungeon crawler. You talk your way out of shit, not fight - I mean, you can, but the fun of the game comes from the beautiful narration and different ways you can both help and completely crush people through manipulation and charisma. You have to prioritize Charisma, Wisdom and Intelligence when making your character to do that.