new party - character suggestions

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For my next run through the game my party will be led by a Paladin of Helm named Sir Cedric. He's going to fight with weapon (possibly flail) & shield and will be the usual champion for the forces of good, obeying the laws of the land & avoiding dishonourable deceptions in his dealings with others.

He's heard of the strife in Targos and has come here seeking some worthy companions to join his righteous campaign against the evil hoards threatening the Ten Towns. So who does he meet in the hallowed halls of the Sorcerer's Place?

This is where you guys come in - introduce a character (maybe from one of your own games?) and convince Sir Cedric of why they belong at his side on this quest. As a paladin he's generally unwilling to journey with anyone of openly evil alignment, though he feels its his duty to give polite audience to anyone with the courage to seek passage with him on the Wicked Wench.

 

Minster Hollowtoes... TN Male Halfling(Lightfoot) Bard. Follwer of the fallen-god "Waukeen, the Merchant God". He travels with Sir Cedric, signing the praises of Sir Cedric, the party and righteousness in general, though secretly, he is using the party to gain riches to tribute and possibly raise his fallen deity...

 

A bard hmmmm... to sing of our righteous deeds, spreading word of our prowess on the battlefield and sowing fear and doubt into the hearts of our enemy! You sound like a fine fellow to join this noble cause, welcome aboard my friend.

 

A giant of a warrior mighty of arm, simple of mind, and gentle of heart, Masada Hugefoot (CG half-orc Ftr4/Rgr4/BbnX, dual-wields bastard-sword and short sword) is the product of an violent union too awful to be spoken of and was abandoned on the tundra when only a babe. Adopted by a woodcutter and ex-adventurer who raised him as his own son, Masada desperately wants to prove himself as a warrior and as a hero, and finds himself easily swayed by the charismatic and confident--especially if they seem likely to pursue glory, battle, and treasure.

 

An LG paladin who abandoned her duties early on to engage in sorcery.

A LN monk who abandoned her duties early on to engage in alchemy (druid).

A LN drow who, through a complicated set of circumstances, became a Dreadmistress of Bane.

A LN svirfneblin, originally a rogue, but with a predominant fascination for illusionism.

All will serve your party well. All will outperform the full Paladin in this magic-heavy game!

 

A halfling fighter who can actually, finally multiclass to a paladin.

A ranger/barbarian who took one too many hits to the head and now prefers the company of rodents.

A mage who has a magic tome that changes his/her gender at random.

A prudish and rather pushy fighter/druid who can now be more relaxed since she can follow her true path of Neutral Good.

A tiefling bard with an odd affinity for birds.

 

Mazzy, Minsc, Edwin, Jaheira and Haer'Dalis...
I got an idea from that:

Here's a class that will perform well and harmonize with your Paladin: Anomen the Fighter/Cleric! If I were you, I'd take only 1 Fighter level for the time being. Clerics are the most powerful class in this game, and 1 Fighter level is the most useful to unlock martial weaponry. Don't take more Fighter levels anytime soon; early access to spells is more important than Weapon Specialization! Or, you could make your Sir Cedric into a Paladin1/ClericX instead (and name him Anomen?). Paladins are merely underperforming clerics in this game, anyway.

One of my favourite builds is the Monk1/DruidX as described. It has a great AC bonus from WIS, making the stat aid you in both spellcasting and defense. The AC bonus even transfers to the shapeshift form. With a bit of creative leeway, you could name him/her Cernd or Faldorn. Jaheira is a Half-Elf, and that race unfortunately has no advantages in this game.

How about Viconia? Bane can act as a surrogate for Shar, and she can concievably be given LN alignment. It won't clash with the paladin's values too much, and should raise some interesting philosophical debates. Being not-evil also allows spontaneous casting of spells into cures. In this game, you can give the Drow Dreadmistress a ton of CON and other combat stats, so she's efficient on the frontline! Battleclerics are a stark contrast to the 8CON pushover Vicky from Baldur's Gate.

And for the most popular powergaming build, the Paladin1/SorcerorX. How about bringing along an NPC from BG2: Ellesime? She is the city's guardian and protector, a duty not unlike paladinhood, and wild elven sorceror to boot. Actually human would be a better race for it, but a Wild Elf can get by, since most of the bonuses come from the class combo anyway. Boosting CHA will make spells and saving throws stronger, not unlike the aforementioned Druid/Monk.

Did Jan Jansen ever mention he was a Svirfneblin from the underdark? I can't remember him openly saying he WASN'T... Start him out as a rogue, and he'll cover your bases for picking locks, disarming traps, and so on. But he will be an Illusionist mainly. The racial AC bonuses and other stuff are great to start off with, but he won't advance as fast as the sorceress because of the level adjustment. Add to that a few extra Rogue levels along the way, and the Rogue2/IllusionistX will be noticeably weaker than the Sorceress. Consider him a utility/support caster. Since his INT will be maxed, there will be lots of skill points to spend on Rogue skills. You can make this build practically any alignment you want...CN to mirror BG2 Jan, or

Spoiler

LN if you want to add a Dreradmaster of Bane level later on (there's a quest for Dreadmasters where you can earn +2WIS permanently)

As alternative party member, I could offer you 2 possibilities: Korgan Bloodaxe, the Dwarven Barbarian (creative leeway again. I even like to make him Duergar. not much bonuses to Duergar, but the level adjustment favours XP gain for your caster classes.), but since Korgan was evil, that might not sit well with you. You could just go with a human and call him Minsc instead, heheh.

...or what about Haer'Dalis? Problem in IWD2 is, Tieflings get a -2CHA, putting a bard at a significant disadvantage. I'd suggest you take Drow race instead: CHA & DEX bonus with low CON - does that sound more like Haer'Dalis? In my playstyle, Bards are used for attacking even less often than my mages, focusing on songs and support casting only. Having a free hand at the back not engaged in combat or spellcasting is a very useful strategy. I found that with my playstyle, you can actually dump the STR stat, and this synergizes well with feats, because Bards have too many combat & casting feats to choose from if you try to do all at once.