Advice & opinions on a possible party?

Aubrey · Post by **Aubrey** » Sun Jan 27, 2002 5:46 am

Hi!

Wanting to test different classes in one game, I've created a possible party to run through SoA & ToB, but I'm a bit uncertain whether such a party is worthy the trouble I got and the hours spent in front of the creation character screen!

I'd really appreciate your opinions and your advices regarding issues you might think I've overlooked, and pointing out any weaknesses able to cause me big headaches in the future.

Till now we've escaped from Irenicus' prison, went to Slums to get Korgan and Anomen (there was no cleric in the party) and headed straight to the Watcher's Keep.

Here are their class and stats.:

1. Holbane: Undead Hunter

Stats.

Str: 16
Dext: 9
Const: 17
Int: 11
Wisd: 17
Char: 18

Weapon Proficiencies:

Bastard Sword ++
Two Handed Sword ++
Short Bow +
Two Handed Weapon Style +

2. Quillish: Fighter/Mage/Thief (imported from an older game)

Stats.

Str: 16
Dext: 17
Const: 15
Int: 17
Wisd: 12
Char: 9

Weapon Proficiencies:

Long Sword: ++
Long Bow: ++
Sword & Shiled Style: ++

3. Elzhmyre: Fighter/Thief

Stats.

Str: 17
Dext: 18
Const: 14
Intel: 15
Wisd: 9
Char: 11

Weapon Proficiencies:

Short Sword: ++
Katana: ++
Short Bow: +

4. Shangramor: Necromancer (I'm going to dual-class him to Cleric)

Stats.

Str: 16
Dext: 9
Const: 17
Int: 15
Wisd: 17
Char: 10

Weapon Proficiencies:

Dagger: +
Quarter Staff: +

What do you think?

Many thanks in advance

Cheers

Rob-hin · Post by **Rob-hin** » Sun Jan 27, 2002 9:42 am

It's a nice party, don't worry!

Don't look at your party in "how do I get them as powerfull as possible?" but do what you think is cool.

Kassaras · Post by **Kassaras** » Sun Jan 27, 2002 10:51 am

In my oppinion you shouldn't dual the necromancer to a cleric.You shall be lacking heavy duty spells.

Aubrey · Post by **Aubrey** » Mon Jan 28, 2002 12:46 am

After testing the party in the fist and half of the second floor of Watcher's Keep, my necromancer seems quite weak, as if I have a second Aerie at the start of her carreer. (I went straight there for I wanted to quickly gain experience, and I had thought it the proper place for dual-classing the necromancer.)

Kassaras, you're right. I spent some thought on the matter, and for the time being I've decided to leave him as he is. But the problem that comes out is the lack of a second cleric, and I know I will desperately need one more in the future...

I might get rid of Elzhmyre, the fighter/thief, but then who am I supposed to take? Besides, the main purpose for this character was to use the Celestial Fury. That's why I spent two weapon proficiency slots in Katana.

If you ask me, they don't seem such a powerful little party. Except from Korgan, Anomen, and Holbane, who have nearly or above 100 hit points, the rest of the party members seem to belong to some BG1 team (remember the low hit points and how difficult the battles had been?)

seanthony · Post by **seanthony** » Mon Jan 28, 2002 3:00 am

Hey. Well, your character creations seem to look fine IMO (then again, who am I to judge, right?). But I think you could have spent your creation points in better skills (like, dont bother raising the CHARISMA for certain characters above the minimum amount (eg. 8 or whatever).

I think you should keep your Necromancer as a single class. Don't worry about having a second Cleric. Trust me, Anomen is capable of healing and doing all the Clerical stuff for the party. He levels up fast and he gets lots of spell slots. There is no real need for a Cleric, unless Jaheira is your only Cleric/Druid. In short, don't worry!

About your thieves. You've got a F/T and a F/M/T. What is the point of having two of them (although they are dual/multi classed)? I say, ditch either one. Probably the F/T. But it depends whether your F/M/T has good disarming traps points and such. Basically, unless you wanna play CHEESE, a thief IMO is to disarm traps (searching can be done via Anomen).

One last note. You might be lacking on the magics. One full mage, and a multi mage. Hmmm... I always like playing with at least 2 full mages (or dual classed, NOT triple classed). I just feel that your F/M/T might be a bit too weak and wouldn't be able to cast good high level spells. Your F/M/T seems to be a Haer-Dalis-ish person.

Brute wise, you are good. Actually, don't worry. As one reply said, it's not about having a powerful team (although your party seems do-able), but it's all about having fun and to have a good RPG time. Cheers!

Phantom Lord · Post by **Phantom Lord** » Mon Jan 28, 2002 3:00 am

My 2 cent, uhm, points, would be:

-I think that a specialist wizard cannot be dual classed, but feel free to correct me on this issue. I only tried dual classing to specialist wizard not from specialist wizard.
-Initially you have two thieves but no cleric. Taking Anomen later solves the cleric problem, but one thief should be sufficient nevertheless. I guess you'll want to keep the f/m/t, since you imported him from an older game, but why not change the fighter/thief into a fighter/cleric? That would also cure the lack of blunt weapon experts, except Korgan fills that role later. A pure tank would be another alternative, altough there are some tanks in the game.

Besides those two points, it's nice party without superhero-type-characters.

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Mon Jan 28, 2002 3:39 am

Originally posted by Phantom Lord
-I think that a specialist wizard cannot be dual classed, but feel free to correct me on this issue. I only tried dual classing to specialist wizard not from specialist wizard.

I believe BG1 allowed you to dual to a specialist wizard. BG2 doesn't allow any kits for the the second class, though. You can always dual from a specialist wizard. The Necromancer/Cleric makes perfect sense since the Necromancer already has a high wisdom.

seanthony · Post by **seanthony** » Mon Jan 28, 2002 5:10 am

Well, I don't think he needs another "tank". I mean, he's got three good fighters already: Korgan (need I say more??), his Paladin and Anomen (who IMO is a GOOD fighter!).

And yes, I think you could recreate your F/T to become a T/C or a F/T/C (for the HP). But then again, it's totally up to you. OR, a F/C! Simple! haha. And the Celestial Fury.. not that worth it. It's good, but there are others that are equally as good.

Phantom Lord · Post by **Phantom Lord** » Mon Jan 28, 2002 5:35 am

@Seanthony: F/T/C doesn't exist, unfortunately. I'd love to play one, but since it's impossible I played T/C. TC's a great class, especially from the point where you can use all items (if ToB is installed). Half orcs make nice T/C's, gnomes have the possibility too but their initial wisdom score is limited to 17.

@Astafas: THX for the info and yes, in BG1 fighter/specialist was possible but gets reset to f/m with the option of picking a fighter kit if imported into BG2. Necro / Priest truly makes sense due to WIS, the only problem with dualing from wizards is their low HP score. Since wizards get really powerful at high levels the question is also when to dual.

Aubrey · Post by **Aubrey** » Mon Jan 28, 2002 7:28 am

Hi guys, and thanks for your comments!

It seems the question about the two thieves to be risen often. As I said, my f/m/t (multi-class elf) has been imported from an older game. She is not that good for a thief, but she is very good at weapons and magic. The second f/t (multi-class half-elf) was created mainly for two reasons: to have 1) a more reliable thief for disarming traps and, 2) a chance to try Celestial Fury.

About recreation: Mmm... I don't think so. I've gone to Athkatla and proceeded further to little side quests. (No, I haven't finished thorougly the Watcher's Keep. Just the first two levels). Going back to the begining? I' m not very much the eternal starter type.

The Necromancer can certainly be dual-classed! At least, that's what I read on his portrait screen.

@ Phantom Lord: You're correct about wizards' low HPs. He has 48 (!!) HP right now. I went to the City Gates to get *that* Long Sword (don't want to be a spoiler here

), and the Necromancer didn't ever get the chance to cast more than three spells. He was dead before long!

In conclusion: if I were to replace my f/t with a cleric or mage from the existing NPC's in the game, whom you'd suggest?

OR,

Is there any way of importing a cleric/ mage or a fighter/ cleric without, however, having to start the game all over again?

Thanks a lot!

Cheers

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Mon Jan 28, 2002 8:15 am

Originally posted by Aubrey
Is there any way of importing a cleric/ mage or a fighter/ cleric without, however, having to start the game all over again?

Piece of cake: Copy your saved game file back to multiplayer (if you've moved it to single player, that is). Make sure to empty the inventory of the PC that will be replaced by giving the items to other PCs or by putting them on the ground. Then delete that PC and create or import another one. Use ShadowKeeper to give him XPs to match the other PCs.

http://www.mud-master.com

Aubrey · Post by **Aubrey** » Mon Jan 28, 2002 9:54 am

@ Astafas: That's great news! Now, I'll have to take the final decision: To replace or not to replace?

Thanks a lot!!

Phantom Lord · Post by **Phantom Lord** » Mon Jan 28, 2002 11:01 am

If you're looking for an NPC mage to replace the f/t and your party is not straight "good" then Edwin is a great choice. You'll also have at least one opportunity for a real good laugh with Edwin (his personal quests leads to a very funny situation).

Viconia is worth a consideration too, very good cleric except for low HP score, like Edwin she's not suited for a purely good party.

Aubrey · Post by **Aubrey** » Tue Jan 29, 2002 6:33 am

@ Phantom Lord: I have always wanted to test Edwin, but my party, with the exception of Korgan, are too damned good aligned fellows.

And Korgan has already started picking on Anomen, and vise versa, of course.