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ITEMS, Dark Side of the Sword Coast & Dark Horizons


Dark Side of the Sword Coast Items


Here is commentary on key quest mod items that I have found in my playthroughs of Dark Side of the Sword Coast and Dark Horizons.

In each DSotSC item entry, I have given both the 1.04 and 1.06 item codes where applicable.


DH = Dark Horizons
DS = Dark Side of the Sword Coast

These are powerful items. To be fair to the modders who have put in the hard yards to gift us these cool mods, we have to find the items first. And the party faces off against hard-hitters, damage sponges and some enemies that make many BG2 encounters seem like a cakewalk in comparison.

Take for example Dark Side, where we go up against the Dark One, the Forest Dragon and hordes of duergar and drow. Or Grey Clan, where we go up against enemies with THAC0 -10, 5 ApR and 200 HPs. Not to mention arcane spellcasters sporting Tattoos of Power, which allow for the simulation of pre-buffing... in the original BG1 engine!


So yeah, some instances of itemization are not as OP as they may appear to grizzled veterans of vanilla Baldur's Gate.

My trio of Dwarven tanks. The one on the left has 25 Str, -25 AC, 5 ApR & 190 HPs.


I looked for items that would facilitate themed parties or aid under-represented classes such as Druids, Clerics and Bards, and while commendable efforts certainly have been made, I didn't find anything that really blew my hair back. In addition to a couple of instruments for Bards (Garrick, Eldoth), there are a few weapons that grant +ApR to single-classed Druids, Clerics and Mages, along with a few other items that make such parties more attractive, but the items for already over-represented classes are expanded upon, too, so there isn't much change overall, in the end.

In appraising the collective itemization, Large Swords came out dominant. While that makes sense from a Realmslore and traditional RPG point of view, I would say that +20 notable Large Swords is just too much when Blunts come in second with just half that, and the other weapons are comparatively absent. I mean, when we have a grand total of one new notable Spear... Anyway, the spear in question is The Gibbet. It grants ApR +2, AC +2 and inflicts extra damage against an array of monsters. Very cool.

In the tradition of Infinity Engine games, Shields are also mostly ignored. You know, damage reduction and elemental resistances would be nice. And top-tier Plate Mail receives +Str or +Con bonuses, but the Leather Armor equivalent doesn't receive +Dex or +Con - or a l'il DR?

Imoen, Xan and Xzar have never been so useful before

Overall, it's pretty fun experimenting with modded setups for the original BG. I hope other people will start playing the original BG modded like this, too. As it stands, it seems that I may be one of the last ones standing. Lastly, my hope is that modders will make more mods for the original BG in the future; it has a distinctive charm that is all but lost in the sequel.

Dark Side of the Sword Coast Build (with Dark Horizons)


Unbuffed stats for my 13th level Dwarven Fighter BG1 (an evolution on DSotSC build):

  • Str 25, Dex 21, Con 20
  • THAC0 -7
  • ApR 5
  • AC -25
  • HPs 190
  • Saving Throws -8
  • MR 50%
  • Grandmastery, Regeneration, Protection From Evil, Protection From Fire, Protection From Undead
  • Immunity: Immobilization, Immunity: Poison, Immunity: Disease, Mindshield

Baldur's Gate 1 Original Arcane Spells Dark Side of the Sword Coast 
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Dark Side of the Sword Coast Review Grey Clan and Stone of Askavar Items
Dark Side of the Sword Coast Walkthrough DSotSC and Dark Horizons Items
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