Three and a half rather unrelated questions

[Spathi]

Hi all! I have three questions (plus one minor thing) that I was hoping somebody out there could help with.

1. I'm about to leave for Spellhold - I've done all the Athkatla and surrounding quests (that I know of), and I've been idling doing the first few levels of Watcher's Keep (yes, I have ToB). At the moment, my party is:

Hibrian (me), LN Level 9 Kensai dualed to level 14 mage
Jaheira (my romance), level 11 fighter/13 druid (I think)
Keldorn, I don't remember what level, probably about 15
Valygar, don't remember what level
Sir Anomen, ditto
Jan, ditto

My first question is, should I keep Jan in the party, or should I dump him and add Yoshimo, to be replaced by Imoen on the isle? I prefer Jan's dialogue (his conversations with Valygar are GREAT!), and I've dumped a lot of money into his spellbook, and he's the better thief by far; on the other hand, Immie's the better mage (though with my main character as a mage, that's not as necessary), and from a role-playing perspective, I'd like to take her - this is my second time through the game, and I didn't take her last time. What do you people think?

2. Secondly, as I said, I'm about to leave Athkatla. I read something once about having to reach a certain spot in the Jaheira romance before you leave, or you can't finish the romance. What spot is this, and do I need to worry about it? I just killed Dermin and Crew, and I'm about two dialogues passed that.

3. Lastly, I've got Jan wielding Firetooth +4 (as I said, I have ToB). Can Imoen use it (if I decide to take her)? Also, it automatically shoots +2 fire bolts - how does this work? If I equip normal bolts, does it transform them into +2 fire? If I shoot Flasher Master Bruiser Mates, does it add +2 thac0 and +2 fire damage? If I shoot +1 bolts, does it make them +3 bolts?

3.5. A little addendum - Are there any plans for a Yoshimo romance, or does one already exist? Maybe one that would let you resurrect and forgive him after he betrays you in the Asylum? It's always annoyed me that the one pure thief in the game gets killed permanently. Also, if you start a new ToB game, when you are able to import NPCs from SoA, can you import Yoshimo (since you didn't actually see him die)?

Thanks in advance!

-Spathi

[Glod]

I'd do yoshi/imoen if you haven't taken immy before. She thieves well enough to do locks/traps, though if you like doing thiefy things to kill your opponents (backstabs and traps) then Jan is your man.

I believe you're fine on J romance. Actually you're not that far from the end now IIRC (dermin is the one who comes after you with his squad right, not the one you fight in the hold).

Immy won't start with a crossbow proficiency but she can use firetooth. Adding magic bolts generally stacks with firetooths innate +2 fire bolts as far as I can tell. So, for example, using the case of plenty with it will give you a better THACO and you'll still do the fire damage.

I know of no yoshimo romance stuff. Other than weird trickery (get him imprisoned in watchers then come freedom him later) I don't think there is any way to have yoshi alive in ToB.

[fable]

My first question is, should I keep Jan in the party, or should I dump him and add Yoshimo, to be replaced by Imoen on the isle? I prefer Jan's dialogue (his conversations with Valygar are GREAT!), and I've dumped a lot of money into his spellbook, and he's the better thief by far; on the other hand, Immie's the better mage (though with my main character as a mage, that's not as necessary), and from a role-playing perspective, I'd like to take her - this is my second time through the game, and I didn't take her last time. What do you people think?

It's really a matter of taste. Both of their intelligences can be raised temporarily with potions, enabling them to learn spells beyond their current limitations. I've finished the game with each, and for usefulness found them in a dead heat, although Jan's dialog rules.