Including expansions, what is your favorite chapter from this timeless classic, and why?

My favorite is Chapter 4, because my party is usually strong enough to handle things but not so overpowered that challenges are boring. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand because you get to meet Yeslick the Dwarf as a companion. Hey, I'm consistent at least:).

Chapter 7 I liked on a conceptual level; having to deal with being a fugitive made the world feel more alive and reactive. Granted, it was irritating once I realized that killing a single guard in self defense if an attempted Charm spell failed would result in my reputation plummeting (which caused half the party to start flipping out), but I at least appreciated the effort.

Chapter 7 also had some comedy value. The game is set in the Forgotten Realms, the most Tolkein-esque of settings where Good and Evil usually tends to be evidenced by appearance, and not one person in the city thought that guy with glowing yellow eyes constantly rocking a suit of demonic armor might not be the best candidate for coronation.

Chapter one, because (without meta gaming) my party is not strong enough to handle 'anything that comes', and (without being cynical about the story) it still has the 'Ah crap! Where do I go? What do I do?' (on a character level) factor.

In fairness, that description could have applied to at least one of my (Good) pnp dnd characters.

Yeah, FR has tieflings and asamir, both of whom have glowing eyes of various shades and demonic and angelic features respectively, but there are many instances of Good-aligned tiefs and Evil-aligned asamir.

And of course, once monks attain Epic levels their eyes glow; red for evil, blue for good, purple for neutral I think.Though that is only a NWN thing.

Me too. I love the lower level stuff. Poo is hitting the fan, you've just earned your stripes for killing a few rats and now a horde of gibberlings is looking to make the fresh meat in the wild into fresh meat in the wild.

Well obviously he used mass charm spells and/or charisma boosting magical items when interacting with the populace. :P
I think we can assume that he didn't always wear the armour and have his eyes light up, instead saving it for special occasions like intro cutscenes, assassination attempts at night and coronation ceremonies. He possibly went with the candlekeep outfit when interacting with people outside of his group, until the time was right.

I do recall some people talking about Sarevok creeping them out in BG, but yeah, people were a way too gullible at times. More so in Candlekeep I thought.

I also liked chapter 1 and 7 the most, though there are many fun/odd/tragic quests throughout the game. I really liked the Durlag quest, except for the demon knight (too easy and kind of goofy) and the room with the wyverns which kind of felt out of place. The dungeon design there was a good sign of what was to come in BG2 and probably the best in the game. I also liked the werewolf island part though it could've been longer and actually let you pick the other side, and the ice island which had some interesting lore and left you guessing how it came to be etc.

Least favourite quests were probably the zombie farm (felt random and tacked on), the shadow druids (simplistic and they were too weak), and maybe the bogeyman (just a strangely put together quest).

Been enjoying these replies so I'm bumping this:)

Hm... chapter 4 and 5, I think.

Cloakwood is one of the more interesting areas in the game. (though the first time I played it, the spider traps were rather frustrating. I think I gave up three times and did side-quests until the web trap/sword spider combo stopped killing me. Of course, back then I hardly understood the game mechanics.)

Because of the way the area is constructed, it really feels like you're travelling through the wilderness. There are plenty of encounters with druids, hunters, Iron Throne, etc, so you're never bored, but at the same time it feels like you're a long way from civilisation because the wyvern attacks make it hard to travel back to town.

Chapter 5, meanwhile, is the first time you see the city of Baldur's Gate itself. After spending so many hours in small villages and travelling the wild, there's this tremendous feeling of reaching civilisation again. Suddenly, there is so much to see and do. Sure, Athkatla in BG2 is more interesting in appearance and has even more imaginative quests and encounters, but Baldur's Gate feels more like a living, breathing fantasy city. Plus it has that great soundtrack when you enter. Getting to explore it really feels like a reward for all your struggles.

Bump!

Whatever the chapter is that you first get to Baldur's Gate (IE you're directed there, not just going to explore). I really enjoyed the way the city was setup, the quests there and just the over all feel of it.

I also would go with Chapter 2. Once you are out of Candlekeep and exploring, it just feels so much like the old school RPG's it was inspired by. (yes I know BG is old school now!) It was so refreshing to be able to go where I wanted, whenever I wanted for the most part (sure I might get killed). I loved the Friendly Arm Inn too. Very reminiscent of old school gaming for me.

Chapter 1 and Durlag's Tower.

Chapter 1 because you are weak and will need to run away from wolves and bears, and because (at first time of playing) you haven't a clue what is going on and are let out into the world on your own. I also prefer how the story is dealt with in BG1, as opposed to BG2, where you need to find out who the villain is, instead of truly being told who it is from the very start.

Durlag's Tower was sheer dread from the first time I set a foot inside, never knowing what would happen anywhere, meticulously checking for traps absolutely everywhere, because of the tales told about the place earlier in the game. Like many inside areas it can be brutal with pathfinding, but I liked this area perhaps best in the whole game, although it's not as good as the Keep in BG2.

Return to Candlekeep, no doubt... Don't ask me why.

Chapter 1/2 are my favorite, I lump those two together since essentially the only difference is a zone transition, but they are my favorite because at this point the world is pretty open and unexplored and there's so much you can go and do. While the likes of Cloakwood and Baldur's Gate itself are off limits, the sheer amount of wilderness zones and side quests you can pick up are staggering and what truly makes this game feel like an adventure. After Chapter 2 though the game narrows it's focus, you can still travel about the world but you are more on point with what your true task is and doing a huge myriad of side quests seems to be a bit out of character when you got an Iron Crisis to resolve.

Five, because you can finally enter the big city that gives the game its name.