who do you play?

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a little curious here. probably been asked 20 times already but i haven't "seen it".
what class/kit do you play and what NPCs do you use.
i usually play a rogue/mage and usually use Minsc, Jaheira, Mazzy, Valygar, & Aerie. i mostly use a mage for my character so i can get mirror image and stoneskin.
i use Minsc because, well, because he's got BOO!!! need i say more? and because of his dialoge of course
i use Jaheira most of the time but sometimes i swap her out for Anomen. i've never done the romance with Anomen. gonna have to give it a try i think.
Mazzy is just to damn cute. wish i could play a halfling and romance her
Valygar i just like him. plus he allows the planar sphere quest/journey to take place.
Aerie. loads of spells. plus i love giving her Crom Faeyr and let her wade into the fray with stoneskin and mirror image going.

what about the rest of you? what would you say is the best class to use for the main character? sometimes i play a paladin so i can use carsomyr. sure i could get Keldorn but when i play him i tell him to go to his family instead of sticking with me.

 

My PC, more often than not, is a fighter type: Fighter, Paladin, Ranger.

For my NPCs, I like Minsc/Valygar,Keldorn. Almost invariably I'll take two out of these three. Valygar I have for a great fighter, but since he can't tank very well, Minsc or Keldorn will come along for that role. Plus, Minsc is always fun to have around whether I need him or not.

I switch between Anomen and Viconia for a cleric. If my PC is a fighter type, I'll take Viconia. If not, I grab Anomen for his better tanking abilities.

Yoshimo/Imoen are almost always in my party, not only for plot reasons, but because they are two of the best characters in the game.

Nalia I usually take because I like a mage to replace Imoen. I don't like multi-classed mages and for some reason I don't care for Edwin too much despite his extra spells.

The sixth slot is usually open for switching characters. Jaheira occupies it initally (and stays every now and then) until I get a replacement.

 

My PC is usually a LE fighter.

I take Korgan, Viccy, Cernd, Aerie and Yoshi (replaced by Imoen) (yes, it isn't always easy to keep Aerie in that party).

Korgan because he's an incredible tank and threatens Viccy's life.
Viccy for healing.
Cernd for the incredible power of his werewolf form.
Aerie.... virgin. What self respecting lawful evil aristocrat type could see past Viccy's sexual history and Jaheria's status as a widow?
Yoshi-pure thief, really helpful against mage types.
Imoen-well she's PC's childhood friend. He maybe evil, but his lawful nature still makes him loyal to her.

The lack of arcane spells is sometimes problematic until Imoen rejoins, but Cernd can usually fake it as an offensive caster in the beginning.

 

hmmm....been a while...and still enjoying my "bruiser" party

pc (usually a "bruiser" class; ie: Cavalier, Berserker, barbarian, "tweaked" werewolf/fighter DC{slow to build but imba once he gets his druid levels back! grand mastery in daggers? dual wield werewolf claw and a good scimitar?}, etc.)

korgan

minsc

sarevok

keldorn/anomen (keldorn if my pc ain't a pally...otherwise anomen for the 18/xx str)

(romance interest) - take note the romance interests for the males are healers and capable of raising dead...they should be the ONLY characters you should be microing to keep away from harm....

as for traps? i just let korgan/anomen walk in and test the grounds for me....hehehehehe

 

I have finished the game usually with warrior-type PCs, possibly dualled to a caster. Short history: CG ranger, LG paladin (cavalier iirc), NG kensai/mage, NE berserker/cleric, NE swashbuckler/mage. I wan't my PC to be on the frontline, or at least in the vicinity . Naturally I have at least tried most classes/combinations/kits more or less briefly. I don't even want to know how many times I've started a new game..

NPCs depend pretty much on PC: with goodies it's usually Anomen, Valygar/Minsc, Jaheira, Yoshimo -> Imoen, plus almost anyone. There's not much choice with baddies: Korgan, Edwin, Viconia, Jan (ok, he's not bad to the bone, but only non-good thief besides Yoshimo) plus Haer'Dalis/Sarevok later on. For some reason Cernd really annoys me, and I'm not such a big fan of Mazzy, Nalia or Aerie either. I always plan that in the next run I'll try different and radical NPC combinations, but I usually end up playing with the same group.

 

Half Orc Fighter/Cleric.

Minsc
Korgan
Jaheira or Viconia
Imoen/Yoshimo/Jan
Aerie

Sometimes I go a Paladin so I can use Carsomyr.


Or a make my own charaters and have less NPCs.

 

Dwarven Fighter, Cleric, Barbarian, F/C or F/T. I like dwarves, what can i say.
Occasionally i will play a H Paladin but i change the character's appearance to that of a male dwarf fighter, that way he looks like a Dwarven Paladin of Moradin

 

PC: Fighter/Mage Multiclass (Sk'd to be a Berserker/Mage)
Wear the Cloak of mirroring, a **consistent** weakening weapon (FoA, Soul Reaver etc), Cast Protection from Magical Weapons and go Berserk.
...the Ultimate Tank and formidable fighter especially if you have True & Multiclass Grandmastery.

Viconia-or-Cernd - Solid healers and competent fighters (cernd with rebalancing, viconia with str item)

Imoen-or-Jan - Good for traps and locks (assuming you fix imoens skills or play BGT and have her in your party in bg1), Shortbow + Arrows of dispelling & a spell book built for debuffing.

Edwin-or-Kelsey-or-Xan (sorc) - Main damage dealer, load up on offensive spells and destroy everything.

Slots 5 & 6 are pot luck depending on what i'm feeling, if straight forward melee is a name of the game it has to be Korgan/Keldorn/Sarevok. If i'm in the mood for even more buffing and casting Haer'Dalis/Aerie.

I am also tempted to give Kivan (of Kivan and Deheriana Companions Mod) a try in my next game, is a pure archer worthwhile in SoA+ToB?

 

Almost always Chaotic Neutral F/M multi; K/M dual; F/I multi; Blade or Skald. I love arcane spellcasting in SoA, adding fighter to it gives you a very versatile class as well as about as well fit to join "the evil party" with Viconia, Korgan, Edwin, Jan as they come. M/T and kicking out Jan works for me as well.

I almost always play evil, with the 3 evil NPC's and mayby adding Haer'Dalis, Jan Jansen, Valygar and of course Sarevok in ToB, should I ever feel like it.

I almost never play a class that an PC is already, hence I usually go for a F/M version or Blade. Otherwise it's Sorcerer, single class Thief of some kind etc.

I played a Skald during my first run-through tho so they're pretty close to my heart. ToB kinda ruined any desire to go through ToB with him though.

Yes, I think so. A Fighter with five stars in a bow will kick some as well, but there's just something about Archers. They do get Whirlwind which equals massive damage.

 

Can be. Archers tend not to be as effective as in BG1, but they are still powerful. I found that as the game went on (into ToB), I was less keen on having an Archer because, while he would practically always be hitting, melee did more damage in comparison to missile weapons. That isn't to say he would be useless- just not as powerful as earlier in the game. Go for it, the mod is well written (IMO) and he is good enough to deserve a party place.

 

I always tried to make each game different to the last time I played through. I've played through BG2 as a druid, a fighter, a paladin, a rogue, a sorceror (my favourite) and loads of multi-classes. It gets too samey if you play the same class and I get bored. I try and make my parties diverse as well, the problem is finding new variety whilst keeping party balance.

 

In my latest playthrough, my protagnist is a dual class fighter mage. I dualled him as soon as SoA started, which means he had regained his fighter abilities by the end of chateau irenicus. If you think about, you just sacrifice 90 000 exp, and in exchange you get much better HP, much more weapon proficiencies, higher limits for those proficiencies, and the ability to use more classes of items.

he has grand mastery in short bows and specialization in long bows, and with the tuigan bow does 5 attacks per round. Its nice to have a mage who has another way of harming enemies besides his spells, ie he can actually cause damage with the weapon he carries. Not that he should spend more time attacking than casting spells, but it is useful.

The only disadvantage is that you need 15 strength to dual, which isnt all that useful for a mage.

 

I'm currently playing with an Avenger Druid. I don't tend to play a specific race/class combination regularly enough to say, and don't pick the same party all the time either. I pick who the protagnist would LIKE to accompany them, not who would be most useful

 

My current protagonist is a male Half Elf NG Skald and i am having a great game so far. Eventhough i have Tactics installed the party just started with that dungeon where Bohdi leaves you in Spell Hold, and still my party is having a good time.

As for the party..well:

Protagonist
Fade
Auren
Nalia
Imoen
Anomen

 

Although 15 strength is nice when you go into melee (if you ever do that is). I like to play my F/M combos with both bow and sword/staff. Even at low levels, F/M's are immense melee fighters due to the number of protection spells available, and it just gets better as you progess.

Low lvl (for BG2) -> mirror image, blur, prot from normal wpns, stoneskin and you're pretty much untouchable by any foe in say Chapter 1. At high lvls -> diffrent mantles, prot. from magic wpns, prot. from magic energy, spell immunities etc.

Add a high dex and AC3 bracers, ring of prot. +2, mayby Gaxx, Vecna, various spell sequencers.. There's no limit to a F/M's cheesiness and powergaming.

That's why I make my F/M's melee capable. After a while you're a better tank than Korgan.

Cheese be the word mayby, hm?..

 

@spetznaz

True. Although, I suppose I like the tanking to be done by my tanks, so I havent spent many weapon proficiency points on melee weapon skills. I think I only have 1 point in daggers or something, and thats only because I needed something to put a point into while I was waiting for my fighter abilities to be reactivated. Hence why I focused on ranged weapons - they can do decent damage, arrows can have several effects (useful for killing trolls without needing to waste spells on them), and my caster can stay out of harms way, either casting spells or hailing arrows at enemies. Its also useful for picking off enemies that have a tendency to run away, such as goblins.

 

@Proteus_za

Aye, like I said, I put some stars in ranged weapons as well with my F/M's (unless I decide to make a dual class melee machine). Generally play a multi class so bows are included. It's wonderful to be able to shoot 3-5 (or 10 with whirlwind) arrows while you're waiting for the next round. Especially if you breach a mage's stoneskin

On topic - I just started a new game with a Gnome F/I. Planned party:

Belvin - F/I
Korgan
Viconia
Edwin
Jan Jansen
Haer'Dalis

I might drop Haer'Dalis to loose another mouth to feed, though I haven't played with him for a while so I'll probably bring him along.

 

Usually a LN human fighter. May be male or female. Sometimes I dual the fighter to something else (though usually I have to cheat the stats a bit to do that).

My taste in NPCs has changed a lot since the early days.

Always take: Imoen, Sarevok (in ToB)
Nearly always: Valygar (he rocks, and I like his personality more than most others), Yoshimo
Often: Edwin (these days, usually with the Laufey romance - even if you're not romancing him, it adds extra friendship talks for a male PC during the Edwina bit, and different endings)
Sometimes: Jaheira (usually only if romancing. She is too bossy otherwise), Anomen (hate his romance but he's good to have for the conflict if trying a different romance, or Romantic Encounters - and I love his exploding undead ability), Minsc (used to love him, but have got bored), Viconia (she's just hard work, and I don't like her turn undead ability as much as Anomen's)
Rarely: Haer'Dalis (I quite like him, but I just don't find bards terribly useful), Jan (I used to take him all the time instead of Imoen, but I have come to like her a lot more, so I don't bother with him now), Keldorn (always used to take him, but not I just feel guilty about taking him from his family!), Cernd (have finished ToB with him once, but usually just take him for his quest), Aerie (can't stand her whining), Korgan (just don't like his personality)
Never: Nalia (Imoen lite!)

I will often take a mod NPC now, though rarely more than one at a time as sometimes they don't play well together. Angelo is my favourite so far, but I want to try Kivan and Nathaniel. Just waiting for less buggy versions before I do.

 

I hate Minsc. He's so bloody annoying - yeah, we get it, you've got a hamster, now stfu!
I shall arrange it how Cal Jones did.

Often: Edwin, Korgan, Mazzy, Keldorn, Anomen, Nalia
Sometimes: Haer'Dalis, Aerie, Imoen, Cernd, Valygar, Jan
Rarely: Jaheira, Minsc, Viconia, Yoshimo (what's the point?)

I try to make a different party with each play-through though. Viconia is technically "Often" because she always find a place in my evil parties, but I find her terribly dull and useless. Yeah, she's got 18 Wis, but I find her to be the worst cleric in the game with her piddly Con and inability to wear heavy armour without belts.

I'm a bit of a Nalia fan, which naturally precludes Imoen. And despite my best efforts, I find myself liking Anomen. There must be something wrong with me.

 

Wild mages have been my addiction recently. My PCs are always wild mages, with slightly different attitudes:some are scared of wild surges while others are reckless or thoughtless and and try to cause them as much as possible etc. Though I always play good alignments. I also always create a MP created character, thinking he has been friend of my PC from Candlekeep. He/she always gets a tough melee build, and other experimental builds. Fighter/swashbuckler, berserker, barbarian, wizardslayer, or that cool ranger/paladin/fighter kit froma a mod etc...

Another interesting thing I noticed, I usually give my wild mages (protagonist) crappy stats at creation. I never reroll and take the first roll. No exceptional STR, DEX, CON, and only semi good INT and CHA. (sometimes even a deliberately low WIS, to shove his recklessnes or naivette. Though with the WIS tomes in TuTu he gets wise fast.) I think a relatively weak and interesting character becoming succesful against his many powerful enemis with the help of his/her friends is a cool idea, almost movie or anime like!

Recently I discovered Wild Mage additions mod, and I just loved the interesting new wild magic spells in it. Did not want to try Spellshaper kit though, it sounded more rogue like and less mage like. But new spells are so funny and useful (well, at least sometimes, when do they work correctly, that is! )

As for party, Jaheira and Imoen are must to have in my parties. I love their characters and personalities both, and I am going to try Imoen Romance for my next run through, it seems promising. Other than that, I get what I need more, Viconia or Anomen are much needed to have for added clerical power. And both have interesting romances to boot!

Jan or Yoshimo or both are good thievery subsitutes till I get Immy. Minsc is also funny and an all time favourite, and a big bonus to melee power of any party which lacks it. I do not bother with Aerie and Mazzy though they are very interesting and useful characters, no doubt. Other evil bunch just do not suit my tastes. (Viconia is evil but at least redeemable, can't say the same for Korgan or Edwin..and I hate Edwin.) I also love mod PCs. Kivan, Xan, Nathaniel are mod PCs I tried and loved. Kivan has many interactions which suits his character, Xan is very fun to tease and try to cheer up...Nathaniel is both lawful good and gay which is an interesting combination..'nuff said.