Waylays, Baldur's Gate 1 Original

Baldur's Gate 1 Waylays

Random encounters come in two forms, which I'll call "on-rest ambushes" and "overworld waylays". Both random encounter forms notably increase the difficulty of Baldur's Gate 1 Original, especially in its early stages.

On-rest Ambushes Baldur's Gate

On-rest ambushes can occur when we attempt to rest in the wilderness or dungeons, spawning hostile monsters native to the area at our campsite. The melee that ensues can cause first and second level parties to be torn to shreds by angry mobs, especially if they were already stretched and lacking in resources when they set up camp (which is often the case; it's why they're resting).

On the other hand, veterans can exploit in and around Black Alaric's cave by repeatedly provoking spawns of powerful monsters that yield unsightly experience point gains. The secret to efficiently slaying Flesh Golems without taking too much damage in return is the Dagger of Venom.

 

Overworld Waylays Baldur's Gate

Overworld waylays can occur when moving between maps (area-transition). There are 11 visually-unique maps that load depending on the region we're in. The engine draws randomly from preset pools of potentially lethal arrangements of monsters which are assigned to the region. The deadliest of these are Wyvern and Greater Basilisks waylays.

Upon being waylaid, a voice trumpets:

YOU HAVE BEEN WAYLAID BY ENEMIES AND MUST DEFEND YOURSELF

We then scramble to position our party as best we can against a random enemy mob or attempt to flee by reaching the map's exit, hoping not to catch an arrow in the back - or hit a pathfinding issue - in the process.

A particularly nasty waylay comprising of several archer-bandits can occur between The Lion's Way (AR2800) and Friendly Arm Inn (AR2300), possibly wiping out our half-formed band of scrubs who are just trying to sensibly reach the FAI in search of Gorion's Harper colleagues.

In such waylays, mages are first to die, since only one arrow has to hit its mark. First level mages can have a maximum of 6 HPs assuming a Constitution score of 16 (1d4 +2); delicate butterflies, they are. At least, early on, when they don't have access to Mirror Image.

Or perhaps the player character falls, meaning we're presented with the death screen and have to load the Autosave and try again, gritting our teeth at the thought of it happening twice in a row. Once the party beefs up, waylays are about as trivial as on-rest ambushes, though wyvern waylays in the Cloakwood Forest can be frequent and annoying even for seasoned adventuring parties.

Imoen: Gimme an antidote, queer fellow!

Next up: Rival Adventuring Parties.

Baldur's Gate 1 Original (Index) | Baldur's Gate 1 Review (Index).