Of course, to survive such challenges, you need to have some powerful characters in your party. And this time you do. Everyone starts off fairly strong at a minimum of level six or thereabouts. Mages have access to potent incantations such as Lightning Bolt from the moment you begin in Irenicus' dungeon, Fighters will come across mighty +2 and +3 blades before Chapter One is out, and it only goes up from there. By the time you reach the closing stages of the game, you'll be leading a band of demi-gods. Mages will be tossing around ninth level spells such as Time Stop and Gate like they were Magic Missiles, and your lead beefy hero will likely have a +5 Holy Avenger in his scabbard.
Despite their enhanced capabilities, characters are more fully realized and more human than before. NPCs will carry on conversations between themselves and even make small talk with you. You'll also get the chance to enjoy a romance or two if you play your cards right with Jaheira and/or Aerie. More scripted dialogue livens up the game every step of the way. Characters that previously caused me to grate my teeth became favorites here. After hearing Minsc say “You point, I punch!” for the umpteenth time in Baldur's Gate, I actually killed him myself. This time, when he was first slain by the slavers in the Athkatla Sewers, I treaded across the entire city and resurrected him right away. New dialogue—especially those great touches about where he hid his “space hamster” pal Boo when Irenicus captured him and that repeated line about “Hamsters and rangers everywhere!”—makes him a laugh riot to have around. I actually found myself caring about many NPCs. I developed a bit of a thing for Drew Barrymore lookalike/soundalike Nalia, a grudging admiration for Yoshimo, and even some affection for Jaheira, who was nothing more than a hedge Nazi in the first game.
More realistic surroundings also make the characters more lifelike. While dungeons and woodland settings are still fairly static and dead (uh, sometimes undead), urban settings are vividly recreated. Athkatla is a far cry from Baldur's Gate in the original game. The sounds of the city are all around you as you wander through the streets. This constant murmur, punctuated by the occasional yell of a town crier or snatches of conversation, makes one feel as if the characters are in a living, breathing medieval city and not some fairy tale locale that never was. It's a nice touch of gritty reality in a world populated by wizards and warriors (apologies to D.W. Bradley).
Villains are also of the über- robust variety. Vampires, djinni, beholders, kuo-toa, a green dragon, wolfweres, golems, minotaurs, imps, elementals, and much more are regular foes. Encounters are better planned out here and not nearly as random as those in the first game. Each battle assumes greater importance because of this, and you're never dragged down by an endless parade of dishwater dull adversaries like the bugbears, gnolls, black bears, and kobolds that populated the Sword Coast forests. All of this further lends a mythological air to the proceedings. It's almost like you're writing an epic saga with each level that you play.