Thoughts on a party...

Remove all ads!

Hi all.

Just getting back into BG2 after a break, and I want to take a party through SoA and ToB.

Before I go further, I should explain what I look for in a party:

Use the game's NPCs (created party members just seem boring to me)
3 frontline fighters
2 clerics (preferably both with Raise Dead - yes, I die a lot. Stop laughing.)
2 mages (This is debateable, especially if the one mage is a really good one.)
1 good thief (locked doors give me the Jimmy Britts.)
As many ranged attackers as is feasible.
Minsc HAS to be in the party.

I'm fond of kensais (who isn't, on their first few tries at this game?), but I need to get away from them for a bit. So I'm sorta thinking about the party below:

Main character - F/T (probably elven)
1 frontliner(?), 1 good thief, 1 archer.
Minsc
1 frontliner, 1 archer (hey, he starts with 2 slots in Long Bow..)
Jaheira
1 frontliner, 1 cleric (okay, she's a druid, but she DOES get Raise Dead (Harper's Call))
Imoen
Sentimental favourite. 1 mage, 1 archer (a crappy one, but still..) and 1 back-up thief.
Aerie
I know a lot of people don't like her, but I'm fond of her. 1 cleric, 1 mage, can with the right equipment play frontliner in a pinch, and I like her.

And ..?
That's the problem, I can't think of the sixth person.
I often go with Keldorn, but once again, I wanna try something different. Valygar would be fun, but I already have a sneaky fighter type. I hate Haer'Dalis, the Doomguard punk. Jan irritates me, the evil NPCs are a pain and I don't play evil anyway..

From reading over the board, a lot of people are really fond of Anomen around here. Is he really that solid later on in ToB?

I think I'll probably wind up saving the slot for Sarevok in ToB, and just use the sixth place as a 'NPC of the moment' deal to do everyone's quests. Though maybe I should try Anomen in that slot, and give Minsc the flick for Sarevok..

But how could I possibly get rid of Minsc? I'll be LOST without Boo's guidance!

 

Edwin: I know he is evil but keep your rep under control and he will stay i.e. under 17.
HE is the best NPC mage in the game, especially in TOB.

Maybe I am just a bit biased about mages as my party in SOA to TOB had 2 mages (main character + edwin) and Imoen. Usefull when you want to cast 3 consecutive timestops.

 

I know Edwin's good. But like I said, I don't play evil. Thus, 'controlling my reputation' is out of the question. I'm a reputation junkie; can't get enough!

 

First a warm Welcome!

What do you think about a dc Stalker-9/Cleric as the protagonist? IMO this is a brilliant character.

You seem to be firm in your decision to use Minsc.

Since you've used Keldorn so often - and he is a superb choice! - you can take Mazzy along instead. She's a very good frontliner and a top notch archer.

Aerie works fine with Imoen, together they cover your mage needs. Get her the Girdle of Fortitude and activate it each day (Constitution 18), this gives her enough extra HP's so that she's not so fragile any longer.

Imoen has such a prominent part in the story that I always keep her unless I play solo. She is a very good character and if you have played the game before (or know what happens) you can plan for her better.
With Imoen in your party you don't need another thief. Give her items to boost her thief skills and in emergencies she can use potions to boost the skills. Imoen is a solid mage but you probably don't want to rely solely on her.

As a substitute for Imoen I heartily recommend that you take along Yoshimo... because his heart is good!
If you really dislike Yoshimo, Nalia is another option here.

This covers all your needs with one slot to spare. Perhaps take Valygar for a little bit of fun between him and Mazzy? Or leave it open so the party levels up faster.

- There you have it:

• dc Stalker/Cleric
• Minsc
• Mazzy
• Aerie
• Imoen/Yoshimo
• Open slot

 

Well, if you die a lot, Time Stop, Improved Alacrity, several Dragons Breaths works wonders in TOB. And of course, magic is wonderful in SOA. Edwin is indeed one of the most powerful NPCs (probably the most powerful), particularly with his trinket.

On a different note, it's perfectly feasible to go it with those 5 characters using the sixth slot to do individual NPC quests. Then fill it with Sarevok in TOB. From what you have said, this is the path I would recommend.

I don't like Anomen. However, I think he may be the best cleric in SOA, because of his fighter levels and high strength. The evil alternative is Viconia (clearly a better cleric but not a better fighter) with a belt of strength.

 

@Earl Gray:

An interesting party you propose there. Some interesting ideas.

I might give Mazzy a run in the sixth slot. I've never given her a chance before..

Yoshimo always rounds out my party till I can get Imoen, but I doubt I'll get him in ToB if I continue with this character. I won't need his thief skills.

Imoen can cope in ToB with her thief skills? Damn, that must require some real good thief-skill pumpers..

The dc Stalker/Cleric sounds fun .. but I play too many clerics in PnP games.

@Kull:
I was tempted to go F/M/T or F/M with this character, but decided against it.. don't really know why.

I AM slavering over the chance to use some of those high level abilities, though.

Maybe if this game doesn't work out, I'll give in and try a solo run with a FMT or FM. I've been dying to do it..

 

Take a multiplayer and take this party:
(I)Main:human fighter.Lawful good.Carsomyr,crom frayer,pommel the equilaizer.
(II)Second:elven sorceror.Lawful good.staff of magi.Sling.
(III)third:Mage.Any race.Any aligment.staff of rhyn.Sling.
(IV)fourth:Thief(Kensai/thief,assasin.).Elf.Any alighment.CF,any bow.
(V)fith:Elf ranger.any alghiment.Bow,the wave,anything else.
(VI)final:monk.human.Lawfu good.No weapon.

Don't know if you like it but hope I helped!!!Welcome to the boards!!!
Paddy!!!

 

Err, Padine, a fighter can't wield Carsomyr.

Some slightly odd equipment recommendations there (ranger with a halberd? How quaint). And you might have some problems without a cleric or two for healing (I don't think rangers get enough druid magic to really be able to cut it as a cleric replacement).

And like I said at the top, I don't play with created parties. The game's NPCs are just waaay too fun and interesting.

Still, thanks for your thoughts.

 

@Morduin
The piffy thing about the dc Ranger/Cleric combination is that such a character get access to all priest spells, both clerical and druidic. So playing a Stalker/Cleric can be quite a different experience from a pnp cleric.

 

So, you are considering a replacement to the protagonist?

A multi-class fighter-thief rocks. They will have a slew of HLAs including spiked trap, use any item, and greater whirlwind. It's the only way you will use the fine Carsomyr without a paladin (or a thief or dc thief). Although Imoen can function as a thief in TOB, your fighter-thief would be a MUCH better thief capable of the needed skills as well as pulling off backstabs and detecting illusions.

That said a multi-class fighter-mage is much more powerful than a fighter-thief. I would not consider playing a fighter-mage-thief unless you plan to go solo. The ranger-cleric is another fine class that I use. The druid spells provide a nice edge. Personally, I would multi-class rather than dual-class. Thus, you can combine some wicked HLAs. Still, the fighter-mage is more powerful than the ranger-cleric too.

Of course, power must be balanced with challenge. Perhaps, until you die seldom, you should choose power?

 

Padine, that's a nice party and all, but he said he wanted to use NPC's in his party.
Also, I hope when you listed the fighter equipped with the Holy Avenger, that you were kidding. Oh, and one more thing... Why would anyone want to carry around the Pomel jewel of the Equalizer?! It's only use is to make the Equalizer long sword, it doesn't do anything else... Right???

 

@Earl Grey:
YOUCH! Now there's a bug. :/
Hmm, that WOULD be rather sweet .. *adds some kind of ranger/cleric to his to-do list*

@Kull:
Yeah, that's why I wanted to run a F/T. Backstabbing be fun! And when I had a quick run at starting out in ToB, Imoen just didn't cut it as a thief.

I think (and this is just speculation) that a lot of the thief skill checks are just threshold functions (ie. you can't disarm this trap unless you have X in F/R Traps). No real evidence for this, but..

Anyway, I got distracted from my F/T by the idea of a F/C. Half-orc, so he's quite a frontliner, and having a cleric there means I can cover almost all my needs (except for another frontliner) without Jaheira, which leaves me two slots to play around with. I might take Valygar and Mazzy for kicks. Should be great fun.

 

Everythink of useing the mods? There fun. I got Drizzt in my party right now but I've used that other dark elf from the mods, whats his name? Ah whatever anyway the mods are great and they add alot to the game without making it a fully new game. I like that cause when I tell my buds about it they can't say "Well I'm going to play the real game first" lol.

 

@Morduin
Actually I don't think it (ranger/cleric getting druidic spells) is considered a bug. Anyway, it's quite well known.
It's well worth testing such a character to feel the potential.

 

@Earl Grey
That's messed up. Wouldn't work in PnP; but then, rangers in PnP don't get druid spheres of access, but only get Plant and Animal.

And yes, I think I'll check that out .. after the half-orc F/C I just started. Dual-wielding FoA and Crom will be fun..

 

@Padine, remembre that elves can't be Kensai/Thieves, only Fighter/Thieves
(unless you SK them)
Only humans can have 2 classes with a Kit.

Apart from that, i would seriously recommend trying out some (if not most) of Padine's party, it sounds pretty good.

Apart from that, i've got my own ideas. Why does no-one play with the new classes?

- Human Sorcerer, Neutral Good.
- Human Barbarian, Chaotic Good.
- Human Monk, Lawful Good
- Human Thief/Cleric, Neutral Good.

Would be very fun to play. Or if you want to play with NPC's:

Half-Elven Blade(bards cant dual anyway and half-elves get some resistance to Charm and Sleep. Dual-wield Katana's or Scimitars. Possible Long Swords.

Mazzy (Good fighting ability, good shooting ability. She'll fill out as a solid fighter and back-up missile support if needed)

Minsc (Great Fighter, i'd reccomend him having a shield though, as he'll get hit a lot less than using a Two-Handed Sword. Give him a B'Sword with a profeciency, or a decent mace)

Aerie (She fits better in with the party than Anomen, and with those Priest Spells in some Contingencies...you'll be unstoppable!)

Imoen (She'll do fine as your thief throughout your game, and your Blade should be able to pick-pocket fine after around level 12. Great backup mage together with your Blade)

-----

So there's my suggested party. You have 2 Solid front-liners, and Mazzy can take on with her bow if needed. Aerie will do fine as both Cleric and Mage, with Imoen and yourself to support with Magic. Imoen will do great as a second mage at later levels. With some items, she'll be a better thief than most. And your blade can fill in most gaps if needed. Using Offensive Spins in combat and casting spells with Defensive Spins.

Great party IMO.

 

- Human Sorcerer, Neutral Good.
- Human Barbarian, Chaotic Good.
- Human Monk, Lawful Good
- Human Thief/Cleric, Neutral Good.

Problem with these, all good o_O
I love the monk yeah, But in hell his bonuses are great if you are EVIL. Cleric theif? Kensai theif is more like
Sorcerer? I prefer a bigger choice in spells. But anyway. Whats wrong with evil? Its better, its funner, you are more powerfull and the Npcs seriously rock. The reputation is no big thing, for shops anyway, the best items in the game are crafted or fought for.

Korgan is better than Minsc or Mazzy,
Edwin is better then Imoen/Nalia/Jan (As a mage)
Viconia is the best cleric, and last, Sarevok rocks over all of them.

Evil...or at least neutral

 

Boring.
Pommel is the jewels name.Pommel the equilaizer is the sword.
Rangers and halberds are a good combination.
Sorry about the elf.
The spell thet has a beds icon and heals everyone will solve your problems!!!

[Uh, no, the pommel is the knob on the end of the hilt of a sword, not the jewel's name or part of the Equalizer's name - BTA]

[This message has been edited by Blackthorne TA (edited June 24, 2002).]

 

If you've played all the npc's before you could always download one of the custom npcs from sp. For example you could download Tashia, she's a sorcerer, and good alignment IIRC. That way you'll be playing a new class npc.