Carsomyr or Crom Faeyr? A Paladin's dilemma (And other questions)

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Warning: Sort of a long and sloppily organized post
Just a brief intro, as this is my first topic:

I'm a pretty avid fan of the BG series and of BIS (RIP) and Bioware in general. I bought BG1 for a pretty decent price after reading a favorable review of it back in 1999, I think. I bought TotSC, lacking as it was, because I was an absolute fanatic of BG1. I bought BG2 the day it came out and TOB the day that it came out. I absolutely loved these games to death. I beat BG1 only once and BG2/TOB twice, once as a Good-Aligned Wizard continued from BG1 and once as an Evil-Aligned kensai mage, soloing. I've started but never finished a lot of other games. After a time, I was seduced by the dark side (NWN and other games) and didn't touch BG2 for a long time.

Fast forward 2 years. BG1 and 2 are back on my machine. I decide to play through the entire saga once again, this time as a righteous Paladin. I've beaten BG1 once again and last night I finished SoA with the inquisitor Kit and am preparing to head on into ToB, but there is something eating away at me.

I'm not a newbie to spellcasting, but when it comes to Paladin Weaponry and melee tactics, I admit this isn't my strongest point, and so I humbly request the superior wisdom of the more experienced players here. Basically my question is the same as the subject: Should I be using the Carsomyr or Crom Faer?

Here are the details of my game as best as I can remember:

Alexander, Lvl 19 Inquisitor (Non modified stats)
STR 19 (Gotta love those unbalanced BG1 tomes)
DEX 18 (Lost a point in hell on the selfishness trial, cancelled out my tome bonus)
CON 19 (Tome)
INT 9 (Let's just say I wasn't in the gifted program in Paladin School)
WIS 14 (Hey! Check me out! Finally a "balanced" stat!)
CHA 20 (Alexander has been considering a career change from Paladin to Male Model)

Proficiencies: I can't remember exactly, but I know for sure I have two +'s in Greatswords, Longswords, Warhammers, Longbows and Two-Handed Weapon Style.

HLA: Power Attack, Critical Strike (I'm pretty well aware that Whirlwind attack is probably a better choice, but this HLA tree is what I'll follow because of how I envision Alexander's fighting style)

My group consists of Anomen, Imoen, Viconia, Mazzy, and Valygar. I'm going to pick up Sarevok, I think, because I seem to remember something about being able to turn him good or neutral or something (Same with viconia, though I have no idea how to do that) and plus Sarevok is just too cool for words.

Other Questions:
Who would you recommend kicking out for Sarevok? Keep in mind I'm romancing Viconia (First time I've ever not blown it, too) so I can't really kick her out.

I think I read somewhere that you can power up either the Carsomyr or the Crom Faer (or maybe both) in TOB through Cespenar but I can't remember the details. Any truth to this?

Should I do watcher's keep? I've done it once LONG ago and I can barely remember any of it, though I do remember the Demigorgon was easy, though that might be different now that I've gotten these mods. Also, when should I go if I do? Right now Alexander is level 19.

Finally, who would you give the Crom Faer to if not Alexander?

Also, side note: I'm playing with David Gaider's Ascension Mod as well as all of the increased difficulty fights for the Five, including Sendai from the oversight mod. I've never played with these mods before, any suggestions on what to expect or how to prepare? I can't remember too much from my first two times through except that Melissan was a pain because she would never stay down. I also remember this terrifying guy who was tougher (for me) than any of the Five, Draco, I think was his name. The guy who turns into a dragon or something, sorry memory is vague. This guy consistently wipes the floor with my parties every time I've run into him. Toughest fight I can remember, and I think I generally had to resort to cheese tactics to beat him. Am I alone? I really hope they haven't beefed him up even more with these mods.

Thanks in advance for your advice and wisdom!

 

Personally, I would give Crom Faeyr to Anomen - only problem being that he would be the one that I would choose to ditch when you get Sarevok. With Viconia you already have a cleric so that would leave Alexander and Sarevok up front, Mazzy in missile support, Valygar doing scouting and sneak attacks, and Imoen and Viconia at the back casting spells.

I would probably stick with Carsomyr for your paladin and I probably wouldn't want Sarevok using Crom Faeyr (anything but two handed swords or halbards just doesn't fit my image of him) so I guess that I would probably give it to Viconia for whenever you need her to fight hand to hand.

 

I think Carsomyr will avail you more, especially since it will do you all the way to the end of Throne of Bhaal, especially if you head into Watcher's Keep - Carsomyr IS upgradeable, to a +6. I don't think that Crom Faeyr is. If you really want Sarevok, try swapping him for Valygar, as there are some nice short swords kicking around in ToB. I would give the hammer to Anomen.

 

I mostly agree with JSBB. Crom Faeyr is a no brainer in giving it to Anomen. Your paladin should definitely get Carsomyr, and yes it can be upgraded to a +6 weapon in ToB. Crom Faeyr can't be upgraded, but it already adjusts your strength to 25 and is +5, so how much more do you want?

As far as who to get rid of, yes, it's true that you don't really need two high level clerics. That having been said the one character who probably isn't quite pulling their weight at this point is Mazzy. Missile weapon combat goes from the strongest form of combat in BGI, to the weakest form in ToB. I'd dump Mazzy in favor of Sarevok. Then I'd pump every proficiency point Sarevok gets into Halberds, and equip him with the Ravager, which eventually can be upgraded to +6 as well.

 

Yeah, my party design is far from optimal, I kinda let my personal preferences and stuff take precedence over party balance and as a result it's... interesting.

I never liked Anomen and I finally picked him up with this character as I was aiming for the "Righteous Crusaders" appearance (Would've grabbed Keldorn instead/in addition but having two inquisitors seemed like overkill to me) and now that he's knighted I have to admit... I'm impressed. I used to think he was a terrible character, but nowadays, since Viconia was kidnapped and missed out on the 2nd raid in Bodhi's lair Anomen is actually a higher level Cleric than Viconia and is her superior in nearly every respect. Pop some Bracers of Dexterity on him and he's surprisingly powerful. If I wasn't so dead set on not screwing up a romance with Viconia, I would have ditched her LONG ago.

Valygar is sort of pulling his weight right now, he's dual wielding the Celestial Fury and the Corthala family blade, with the Withering something +4 Spear in reserve for powerful enemies (I.E. Adamantine Golems), though I must admit I'm a little tired of him because I've used him in a lot of my games and Anomen is surprisingly effective as a front liner.

Mazzy is, I admit, beginning to fall behind the power curve. She's got the Gesen bow right now, and I'm a little disappointed with her performance, and this is my first time using her.

Imoen is extremely weak because I did all the sidequests in Chapter 2, as a result she just barely made level 16 Wizard. Note to self: Do sidequests in chapter 6 instead of chapter 2 if I want to use Imoen.

I have to admit the logical choice is to give it to Anomen but I suppose I'm just jealous of the possibility of him overshadowing my character in kills. Most un-paladin-like I know, but

Also, is there somewhere I can download better NPC AI scripts? The current options are limiting oftentimes and I'd be interested in others, if there are any. This is my first time using scripts and I'm loving them and hating them at the same time. Out of curiosity, do you guys use the NPC scripts?

 

Universal Script

The universal script is almost all you'll ever need! I put it on all my people, whether mage, cleric, multi, thief, fighter, anything.... this script has it all and when I am fighting tough opponents it's great to see them casting the proper spells and passing potions around hehe..

[ March 19, 2005, 14:02: Message edited by: Taluntain ]

 

Thanks for the tips folks. I finished watcher's keep last night and I currently have the Crom Faer equipped on Sir Anomen, and it's looking pretty good there. Sarevok is going for Halberds as soon as I find a decent one, and Valygar is a madman with the Celestial Fury and the (Upgraded) Axe of the Unyielding +5. Thanks again.

 

how did u make your character so strong????
I am a beginner in that strange stuff...
Now if u paly paladin I suppose u have Keldorn in the squad so u get The Holy Avenger and he gets the Cromm Fayer...I don't think u need the Hammer more than Keldorn since your Strength is somewhat high....I want to ask how can man replace the Girdle of Frost Giant Strength which I had Keldorn worn....Now I am about to give Anomen the Hammer...

 

I don't get the 'ditch Mazzy' comments. You don't -have- to use her as a bowslinger, you know. She's got good HP, excellent AC (thanks to dex), and very convenient (and powerful) self-heals. Stick some proficiencies into Bastard Swords (and HLA her in greater deathblow, for missile fun), and you've got a melee slaughter machine.

Anyway, if you're doing Ascension, you really should be taking a lot of GWW -- all the bosses are immune to crits. Some hardiness too. More in the "Upgraded ToB bosses" thread.

 

Where do you get axe of the unyielding?

 

In Watcher's Keep. However, the one you find is +3 only. You'll have to find another item to upgrade it with (found in the Marching Mountains I believe) to get it to full power.

 

Mazzy and her missiles + Greater Deathblow is seriously good.

Ditch Viconia. She's an evil cleric and your protagonist is a paladin.

Oh yes, the weapon question. Carsomyr, of course. No question about it.