Tracking is a High-level class ability available to the ranger class, and Wilson the grizzly bear companion.
The ability can be only selected once.
High-level class abilities were added as a new feature to the BG game with the release of the Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal expansion and are also included in the Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition as well.
Description[]
| “ | Tracking With an intimate knowledge of his/her surroundings and the creatures that live within them, a ranger can use the Tracking ability to give him/herself a general idea of what creatures are in an area and which direction they are. Red arrows at the edge of the screen will point in the general direction of the creatures in the area. |
” |
Gameplay[]
This ability is accessed from the character's "Special Abilities" button, select the button icon with the cursor (or F12 on a keyboard) to open the menu - use the cursor again and click on the desired ability icon or use one of the designated F-keys if playing with a keyboard interface.
Once the ability icon is selected the tracking is immediately implemented with a super brief casting gesture.
The ability has a duration of 1 round once applied to the character and has an internal range of 1,000 feet.
The way this ability is implemented in the game means that it has very limited utility - and that's because the internal effect code is only going to trigger a reaction when the ability is used on specific area maps in the game that are loaded into the Tracking file, the link shows the area map file numbers that are going to respond to the tracking ability.
Areas that aren't loaded into this file provide no information to the party and will instead just show a default text reading "From the signs that you find, you cannot discern what type of creatures inhabit this area".
If the ability is employed on an area map that responds to the tracking ability, then blue or red arrows may show the direction(s) of creatures, with red arrows indicating hostile enemies.
Additionally, there will be a short text displayed with more particular information about what type of creature(s) the ranger has found signs of.
Trivia[]
The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition ruleset doesn't provide any High-level class abilities as implemented by the BG video game - the HLA's seen in the game are a creation by the developers for the video game series only - however some inspiration was provided to the BG developers from the following sourcebook material:
In 1995 under the Advanced D&D 2.5 ruleset the Dungeon Master Option: High Level Campaigns sourcebook was released. In chapter 7, High-Level Characters and Skills for High-Level Characters is sectioned for Warriors, Wizards, Priests, and Rogues.
It is from these rules and optional suggestions that the developers crafted their own High-Level Skills - or "abilities" as they are called in the game.
In terms of Tracking - the sourcebook has no such skill mentioned.
Gallery[]
Mod content[]
This section is about unofficial content that is only available via fan-made mods.
Installation of the IWDification mod provides the IWD style Ranger Class update component that revises a ranger's tracking ability from a High-Level Ability to an at-will innate ability granted to all rangers at level one, as it is in Icewind Dale.
As part of this update, IWD-style tracking entries for all areas in the Baldur's Gate and Siege of Dragonspear portions of the game are now included for those area files. The existing tracking entries in SoA and ToB remain the same as the unmodified game.