When reading NPC guide I came across this:

Intelligence of 17 gives:
6 Known Languages
Highest Spell level able to cast: 8th [Wizard Spells]
75% Chance to Learn a Spell [Wizard Spells]
Spell Immunity: --

Wisdom of 11 gives:
0 Magical Defense Adjustment
0 Bonus Spells [Cleric/Druid Spells]
10% Chance of Spell Failure [Cleric/Druid Spells]
Spell Immunity: --

Charisma of 16 gives:
Maximum number of henchmen who will serve: 08
+4 Loyalty Base for henchmen serving
+5 Reaction Adjustment during encounters/conversation

What about these 6 known languages? Is it a joke? How in the game language knowledge affects ones play? And what languages? Elven Orcish etc?
And charisma affecting henchmen? Who are they? Never saw any...
16 Charisma gives +5 reaction... And does charisma really affects your qeasts?
So 25 charisma would give you +40 reaction (kinda Ms Wolrd or so :)) and Kangaxx would not attack you or maybe even join party :). And golbin hordes also?
Currently i have char of 18 AND I DONT FEEL ABSOLUTELY NO BONUSES! May be just a little lower prices in stores.
Is charisma really used for something?

Those are rules in the second edition of AD&D that were not implemented in the game. I also saw climbing as a thief/bard stat in a table, not there either. Just not enought time to implement it or it just wouldn't work the way they wanted / screwing with the balance.

As far as charisma goes, it influences some dialogue options. but I also hardly noticed the effects. The dialogue in Bg2 is not that great to suppport that I think.

P.s: It's just a shame the cavalier has no horse ;) guess they had not enough time for that either.

Well indeed, the stats are for AD&D and when you play that (ehm it's without a computer) you use that things too. In this game, also charisma isn't that important as in AD&D, where a charisma-increase of 2 or 3 makes you a totally other person. But it realy HAS effect on the prices and to let others believe what you say, maybe you don't see it but then I say: Start a char with charisma 3 and let him be your main character, and see what happens....

And what's the benefit of 1 person with a horse when the other 5 have to walk. :)

If talking about shortage of horses (btw to my great delight i spotted one in Slums), crappy surroundings (scenarists and designers FAULT, i insist on it!) it rather seems that they have no will as well as absolutely no need to change it.
People here are satisfied with walking metal-made stinking sewers rather than have their cavaliers jousting and affairing for honour in beautiful medieval settings. http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000522.html

Well... everyone has his own favorite role to play. And if majority likes crawling sewers, then we who would long to be knights and cavaliers cant even get a horse!
If musicians made music like producers/designers make games we'd have heard nothing more than a backstreet boys and madonna.

Choice of language in the paper version of D&D games is important. If you find a nifty item with instructions written in Orc, and no one knows Orc, you have a paperweight instead of a Globe of Oracle.

Here is a Quite powerfull impact of Charisma in the Baldurs gate world:
I Quote page 138 of the rule book for
BG1:

"CHARISMA
reaction adj: This is the penalty or bonus due the character when dealing with NPCs or intelligent cratures.
For encounter reaction, the computer generates a number between 8 and 12, and then applies the MODIFIER. The reults indicate the reaction of the encounter to your party.
1-7 hostile
8-14 neutral
15-20 friendly." Quote ended

This of Course does not include those without any interest in party-conversation (hence Kangaxx or Orcish strike forces)

[This message has been edited by Nobleman (edited May 09, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Nobleman (edited May 09, 2001).]

Bullshit.
I got charisma 18 and no sophisticated negotiations with me anyway. I have met lots of other parties and lots of monsters. Even if they talked dialogue options tended to one point, without reference to my charisma.
Monsters who are ment to fight - they fight, characters made for quests - they talk. Thats it. Charisma is bullshit.

Try playing the game with a Leader of charisma 5 Vs. Charisma 18 and see if You can feel any difference with Your conversations.
I haven't. But I bet You a buck That You haven't either.

Sidenote: Charisma does affect the game moree when playing sigleplayer. As for battles that is. I reffer to page 41 of Rulebook to BG2. "Morale is positively influenced by having a leader with high Charisma" I dont know about You but I think it is "bullshit" if Minsc/Korgan etc. suddenly flees from the site..

[This message has been edited by Nobleman (edited May 09, 2001).]

in bg1 it was a difference, like talking to the innkeeper in the friendly arms inn:
1-7 I have no cheap stuff
8-14 Wat can I do for you
15+ ..........................
and so on, didnt notice anything in bg2 yet though

I haven't experimented much with charisma except for buying stuff.

You can save lots of cash by casting the 1st level spell Friends before buying things.
You can easily have Charisma 18 (the ring!) and with Friends you have an easy 24 Charisma. Get your Rep up to 20 and to take one example, the Sling of Everard is yours for 15,750 gp!

in the beggining of BG1 you fetch a quarrel of bolts for the captain and if you are charisma 18 he will give you a +1 dagger. If you are lower you just get experience........this must apply to other things too surely

Yeah eg if you have charisma of 17+ you got flail of ages, if you have 5 or less you got flail of decade :)

Just did it yesterday night, so I can justify on that.

Yes, CHA is important, at least for a few quests.

All of my previous games I had a CHA of 3, and the Ring of Human Influence I gave to some party member.

This time I play an Inquisitor with a CHA of 18 (and a total of stats is 93 :cool: ).

SPOILER
.
.
.
.
.
.
When you are about to get out of the Spellhold Maze and you have to talk to a guy upstairs for him to release the deviants who will help you fight Irenicus:

Guy: “You’re one of them, what would you do? Individually they can be bullied around, but all together? They get too excited to control!”
Me: “What would it be worth to get you to release them?”

--> if you have a low CHA you will get 3 dialogue options:
1) if you choose that one the guy thinks you are crazy and turns hostile
2) you can pay 1000 gold to release them
3) you can pay 200 gold.

--> now, if your CHA is high, you get the FORTH option:
“You only follow him out of fear. I’ll destroy him with the help of the inmates.”

Another one I just remembered. If you have a low CHA and start the dialogue with Lehtinan, you will not get the correct dialogue options, so you will not be admitted to the back rooms of Copper Coronet, and thus will not be able to do Hendak's quest.

You can be sure there are not much situations like this, but still.

Hope that helps.

[This message has been edited by Modjahed (edited May 10, 2001).]

Charisma and even intelligence helps a lot even if you aren't a paladin or a mage. Note, that the answers you give to the question you'v been asked depends on your intelligence, and the reaction, you get from the NPC-s greatly depends on your charisma.
Also intelligence is important in combat against mind flayers but that's another story.

[This message has been edited by TIN_MAN (edited May 10, 2001).]