What's so bad about Haer'Dalis?

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The Planar Prison was about the third quest I did after getting out of Jon's dungeon. I.E. I wasn't at a particularly high level at that point in time.

 

What's with the 'Haer' Dalis sucks, if I want a mage I pick Edwin, if I want a fighter i pick whoever etc.' argument anyway? Oh dear I picked Edwin, he got eaten by a dragon when attempting to attack in close combat. Oh dear I picked Minsc, he got shredded by a bunch of wraiths after standing around and noticing he couldn't cast spells after all.

My point? My point is that when I have a good front line of fighters, a thief, cleric and mage, I want something that'll round off the party, like Haer' Dalis. A horde of critters? Fireball. A big, tough monster? Stoneskin and offensive spin. And no, even though he can do a bit of everything, he *is* much weaker than any specialized character. Well why the rant? Because he is there for *support*. An extra fireball/dispel magic/fighter is a good thing. Not an magic artillery battery, neither a huge barbarian, but something in between. It's all about using your characters correctly. Who keeps their fighters at the back and sends their mages to melee?

And about his kit... A blade is the best fighter, which is a bonus because bards really aren't that good in close combat, even in a supporting role. A few proficiencies can make all the difference. Bard song? Why, as an extra pair of spellcasting/fighting arms surely is better than some small bonuses to all your characters? Cast some stat-enhancing spell at you get the same affect. Lore is pretty useless, there always tends to be another character with high lore and 100 gp for identifying really isn't much, is it? (Or you could buy the glasses of identification.) I rarely use pick pockets so I'll not comment on that.

Anyway, rant over. Don't go bashing characters simply because *you* don't like them, I really dislike monks (rp reason, not game), but I don't call them crap either, simply because some people use (and like) them. Now go play BG2 through again.

 

Bardsong: useless. If there's one thing I won't stand, it's a character who just sits around giving my other players weak bonuses. I want a guy who does something, thank you very much, and Haer'Dalis is great at that.

Lore: Uum...Glasses of ID, anyone?

Weaker spells: Haer'Dalis, in my game, learns Breach, Protection from Evil, 3' Radius, and all those nice defensive spells that come in so handy all the time, so Edwin and Imoen can focus exclusively on offense.

Weak in combat: the offensive spin is very useful, but try the defensive spin. Remember those golems in Suldanessler? Well, think of all of them going ata level 21 Haer'Dalis with a defensive spin and Bladesinger's Mail? Think of them missing him on a constant basis as he twirls around. Think of Edwin casting his one defensive spell: Lower Resistance, and Imoen following. Think of Chain Lightning. Again. Again. Now my fighters come in and Haer'Dalis goes on offense.

P.S. my party was

Me (A female Inquisitor)
Anomen
Mazzy (I'm a huge fan)
Haer' Dalis
Yoshimo/Imoen
Edwin

 

you can solve hae'dalis' armor class by doing the planor prison quest which gives him melodic armor, which allows him to cast spells,, while wearing armor, and the time you give him extra armor bonus' he armor class is -5, not bad at all.

 

How about the problem your going to have with him if your romancing Aerie

 

Then you'll have to choose...
Are you so deeply in love with her that you will whack your friends had off?
Or do you see Aerie as a lttle devil who's corrupting your party and sows discord and you'll be forced to leave her, eventhough you love her..sniff sniff...that would be so noble!

 

If you've ever played a blade as a main char, you'd know. Just because you can't (or don't care to) utilize a char to his/her full potential doesn't mean they're weak.

If you ask me, blades are way overpowered.

 

when your mage runs out of spells or gets silenced, what does he/she do? bugger all really

haerdalis can defend himself more than adequately when hes dry on spells, and when hes silenced, can still use those spins of his

 

Well, I'm sure I could pull it off at a lower level, but I like to do all of the "outdoor" quests before the ones in Athkatla. Also most of you play with big parties, I only have 2-4 max characters in my party.