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I'm considering a very tank-heavy party for my adventure through BG: SoA & ToB.

Will I have an easier or a harder time when compared to a more "balanced" party?

Here's my potential party:

Protagonist: Berserker(13) dual-classed to Cleric OR Cleric/Ranger Multiclass
Jaheira
Minsc
Keldorn
Imoen (Yoshimo 1st)

I'll add in Sarevok in ToB

The party is very tank heavy, as you can see. The only character who won't stand up long in Hand-to-Hand combat very long is Imoen, who is there for storyline purposes. She also balances out the party very well. Another advantage of this party is that it's only got 5 members, which means that I can add in all of the other NPCs for their personal quests. This has two benefits:
1) I get to experience more of the game, by seeing more banters, ect..
2) More experience points for my characters. Both by having the XP divided by fewer characters, and by having additional quests from NPCs I otherwise wouldn't use.

That party will rock if you use everybody's skills the way you should. And contrary to what you think, it has plenty of "balance" between melee, spellcasting, and the minimum required thieving. Don't forget that Minsc can cast Druid spells, and Keldorn has special abilities (and High Level Abilities) that rival those of powerful spellcasters. If you can keep all of your characters busy (which requires a lot of pausing when I try to do it), you'll do fine.

Don't put Imoen into melee combat. Give her a bow and use her like a Mage who can cast powerful spells, find traps, and open locks.

Thanks a lot VD! If anything, I think the party has an overabundance of divine magic (whether I go with a Clr/Rng or Berz/Clr), but that's not really a problem, now is it?

It has never been a problem for me.

You'll be very low on arcane magic until Imoen is back (lacking spell removal capabilities during that time), but it's certainly playable.

Could take Jan instead of Yoshimo, and then switch with Yoshi right before leaving for the Asylum.

i should go for the ranger/cleric because then u have all cleric and druid spells iron skin,creeping doom, fire elemental
as a bezerker u have your rage abilitie to protect you from al kinds of nasty spells but so does chaotic commands, free action helps and there are a lot of helms of charm protection.
your only problem is you don't have a lot of extra weapon profencies points when your dualclassed class becomes active but in the end the multi ranger/cleric will be much stronger then the dualclass BZ/CL

[QUOTE=Phantom Lord]You'll be very low on arcane magic until Imoen is back (lacking spell removal capabilities during that time), but it's certainly playable.[/QUOTE]
I don't find that to be a problem in Chapter Two and Chapter Three when I play a Cleric/Ranger. I usually keep only one or two NPCs in my party until I rescue Imoen (unless I'm playing an NPC mod where the whole point is to enjoy the NPC interactions). But keep in mind that I don't do ALL of the sidequests in Chapter Two, which would be pointless if Imoen is supposed to be a permanent party member who's supposed to be with me when I do most of the quests. I do a few select quests in Chapter Two, and for the most part, they're a piece of cake (in an unmodded game).

If you need a Thief, you can hire Yoshimo temporarily. If you need a Mage, you can help Nalia with her quest(s), then let her help you with youu quests, and then send her home. Keldorn can help you with the Unseeing Eye quest, and for that matter, if he's a permanent party member, he has the best spell removal ability in the whole game. If you side with Bodhi in the guild war, you can send Keldorn home to his wife and solo Chapter Three (which makes the Shadow Thieves really pathetic when you think about it). If you pick up the Mace of Disruption and you have the illithium from the Sarles quest, you can upgrade it and kill Kangaxx very easily in Chapter Three. If the thought of fighting Kangaxx alone scares you, then toss Korgan some gold and give him the Mace and let him go berserk and you'll have Kangaxx's ring in a jiffy. "The lich'll be no danger with a mace in his skull, sure enough." There's nothing in Brynnlaw that Keldorn couldn't handle all by himself (including, or should I say especially, a particular Mage and a particular Cowled Wizard).

With a full party that includes a Cleric/Ranger, Minsc, Jaheira, Keldorn, and Yoshimo and a slot open for another NPC, it would only be natural to do Nalia's quests and let her help you a little, or do Korgan's quest and let him help you a little, or do Edwin's quest and let him help you a little, etc., etc. So the skills are there if you want to hire some NPCs and make use of them.

[QUOTE=VonDondu]
With a full party that includes a Cleric/Ranger, Minsc, Jaheira, Keldorn, and Yoshimo and a slot open for another NPC, it would only be natural to do Nalia's quests and let her help you a little, or do Korgan's quest and let him help you a little, or do Edwin's quest and let him help you a little, etc., etc. So the skills are there if you want to hire some NPCs and make use of them. [/QUOTE]

My thoughts exactly. And there isn't much "spell removal-ing" that can't be done with Keldorn, so I don't see that being a problem.

The last two posts are certainly correct and as I said, I don't consider the above party unplayable at all.

But to be honest, I didn't travel with Keldorn for ages now, my last three parties didn't include him and his abilities escape me a little. Currently I'm soloing and boy, I was really glad when I finally got Breach and Pierce Magic. Some spellcasters, also in early chapters, can get really annoying. MoD kept improved Bodhi at bay in our first hostile encounter, but there's no way to take on Kangaxx in the first chapters (Tactics - I wouldn't survive the first floor, let alone the basement).

From my current game I agree that the cowled wizard and the mage are cake (especially the mage) and you won't encounter the lich if you get there early IIRC. The latter would have been my nemesis if it wasn't for his summoned pet - which turned out to be the real challenge, though it solved a vampire problem for me. Enough spoilers ...

[QUOTE=lompo]Could take Jan instead of Yoshimo, and then switch with Yoshi right before leaving for the Asylum.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I'll probably do that, although I really don't like doing too many quests at all in chapters 2/3. I usually head off for Spellhold ASAP.


Anyway, am I better, in your opinions, sticking with the party I've posted, or adding Mazzy to the mix, and not taking Sarevok in ToB? Which character is better powergaming wise, and dialogue wise? Maybe I should start a different thread about this one.

One thing to remember: If I go with Mazzy in SoA, I'm going to be a little more limited in the amount of NPC-related sidequests I can do (since I'll have a full party). Does anybody know if Mazzy runs back to Trademeet when you drop her from your party, or does she give you the option to "wait right here"?

I'd go with Sarevok. He's the ultimate tank, not merely for taking punishment but for dishing it out.

Thanks Fable! That was a fast response!

I've started a new thread in the ToB forum, going into a little more detail on my decision (which I'm looking for help in making).

Check it out!

But I would keep Jaheira, she is good fighter and a good spellcaster (some drui only spells rock!!), plus after she get to 15th druid lev. she become really powerfull.
If you want Sarevok drop either Minsc or Keldorn.

Read the thread again Lompo. I don't need to drop anybody for Sarevok, the party tops out at five characters.

No such thing as too many tanks!

The first party I won ToB with was:
Me: Berserker with dual wielding long swords and katana.
Korgan: Berserker with dual wielding axe and hammer.
Sarevok: fighter with two handed sword.
Viconia: cleric with animate dead and buffs
Imoen: thief who can cast breach.
Haer'dalis: bard. gotta have a bard. At high levels, all he did was play songs.

Until the end of SoA, Edwin tagged along, but I didn't use him to his potential.

My cuisinart (two berserks and fighter) took down almost everything (dragons included) in no time. Only trouble was the last monk because nobody could get close.

So you're plan is a good one in my eyes.

Answered in ToB too, but I though that you where going to take Mazzy with you too, so 6 party member.

It looks like KrunchyFrogg's moved discussion of this over to the ToB forum, so (pending any PMs from him) I'm going to close this.