Would you suggest a Bard?

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I haven't played in years until just recently, as you can tell by all the questions.
Would a Bard make a good main character? I've never played one. I know there is Haer Dalis but I like a lot of the other NPCs instead. Minsc (& Boo), Valygar, Mazzy, Imoen, Jaheira, sometimes Keldorn or Jan Jansen.
Would a Skald be better than a Rogue/Mage?

Any thoughts? Good or bad? Looking for advice here. Say what you will

Thanks
eyebreaker7
& for some strange reason eyebreaker as well. Silly I say. SILLY!! Lol

 

Bard or Mage/Thief are both viable main characters. It all depends on what you want to do with them and who else you are bringing along for the ride. Skald, Blade or Jester are all decent characters, as is an unkitted Bard.

Bards level FAST. Their fireball, lightning bolt and skull trap are usually more powerful early on in the game as they are a higher level than the mage. Bard eliminates the need for Identify. Bards can sing. Skalds and Jesters excel at singing. IMO, any character that can cast mage spells(Stoneskin, Mirror Image, etc...), can summon, uses all weapons and most items is aces in my book.

Mage/Thief can be very powerful. But if you plan to rescue Immy and have her join up, they are unnecessary.

 

Well I've decided to try a Blade instead of a Skald. Like the bonuses better.

Another question though:

Why is Intelligence needed for a Bard? I can only get it down to a 13? Charisma is 15 but that's understandable being charismatic and all that good stuff

 

Bards cast arcane spells, and arcane spellcasting is tied to intelligence in BG2. You'll want his Int to be as high as possible if you want to memorize a lot of spells. It should be at least 16.

Bards are good PCs but they can be a difficult class to play. Playing a bard well is easy, Blades of Vanatar pointed out most important stuff. Now playing a bard to its full potential, that's tricky, and that's because bards can use just about anything and there's a lot of really powerful items in the game. It's not like you can memorize the locations of all the wands or the best swipe-able items in one go, for example.

Note that the game doesn't give you a lot of high level thief NPCs to choose from. There's only one, really, without mods - Jan. He's an interesting NPC but you might be looking for warrior instead of another caster-type NPC. The only other potentially good (not just an "acceptable") thief NPC who stays with you is a dual-classed Sarevok, and you'll have to wait a long time before he gets his fighter levels back. Any type of thief/x PC can't really be replaced in BG2 if you want an assassin-type thief.

 

How high in spell level do Bard's get for spells? 7th?

 

Only 6th. Fortunately most combat-type spells are 1-6, though the best summons/nukes are 7+. BTW get 18 intelligence. I forgot BG2 doesn't have the exact same rules as AD&D so there's really no reason to go below 18 for arcane casters. Having 18 intelligence makes it easier for you to bump your Int to 19 and learn every spell in the game. More spells = more XP.

 

6th? Hmmm. My blade has 7th level spells. Must be from on of the tweaks/fixes/mods I have installed:

G3 Fixpack
Weimer's Item Upgrade
Weimer's Solaufein
G3 Tweakpack

???

Also how do I spawn Delon? I'm supossed to meet him at the city gates but the only person there was a guy named Flydain who told me about Trademeet not the Umar hills

 

Must be because of the G3 tweakpack.

Does your party have Minsc? I usually wait for Delon to find me, but if you don't have Minsc in your party Delon can be found in the Government District, in the area in front of the council building (near where Jan is).

 

Do I have Minsc? Such a silly question. I ALWAYS have him in the party
Guess I'll have to check the Government District. Thanks

 

Look at sorcerer.net for scythesong's guide to blades:
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/index_tips2.php
With mislead and enhanced bard song they become super powerful.