My new evil(ish) Party, Suggestions & Questions

Lafortezza · Post by **Lafortezza** » Thu Feb 05, 2004 9:44 am

hello, I've finished BG:SOA once as a ranger, taking the 'good route' all the way through.
I'm interested in having another go and not being such an angel this time
I'll either be a Thief, or possibly a thief/mage.
So I won't need Yoshimo or Imoen really.
My planned party will have

Me T/M
Korgan
Keldorn (will he get on ok with Korgan and a rep of around 10?)
Aerie
A Cleric/Druid created by myself OR Viconia
Just going for a 5 person party this time.

Any advice on this party?
Could anyone give a link to the patch that does away with the experience cap in SOA? That was one thing that bugged me about my first game.
I had a search around and downloaded a file called tobxpcap.xxx or something. How do I apply this to my new game?

Thanks for any advice

Numinor · Post by **Numinor** » Thu Feb 05, 2004 9:52 am

Korgan and Aerie definetly won't get along (unless you install the Ease of Use-Mod), but I'm not sure about Keldorn/Korgan.

The XP-Cap remover you donwloaded was for Throne of Bhaal, if you don't have that you'll need a different file.

nephtu · Post by **nephtu** » Thu Feb 05, 2004 10:52 am

Hmm..

If you have ToB installed, you won't need an EXP cap remover, if not I'm fairly sure there's a cap remover in one of Baldurdash or Ease-of-Use (see reference sticky for URLs). Large pparties have precious little use for EXP cap removers in ToB - there's only ~35 milillion EXP to be had, even with Tactics, so you won't max out with more than 4 characters.

I'd consider either installing the happy party portion of Ease-of-Use (god, that mod has spoiled me) or hack Aerie's alignment / give her a Helm of Opposite Alignment - CLUA code HELM02.

Keldorn is also incompatible with Viconia, unless modified somehow.

Instead of Keldorn, how about Edwin? Best mage in the game, or you can hack him to Sorceror for loads of spellcasting fun. Low levels will be tricky, because you'll have only one heavy melee, but once you can get into heavy summoning, pets will do the job for ya.

Have fun!

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Thu Feb 05, 2004 2:09 pm

you: swashbuckler
korgan
viconia
edwin
imoen a.k.a. sacrificial lamb (you're going to want to use those rods of ressurection for something, won't you).

If you don't want to be an angel, leave them at home. Who needs Keldorn when you'll be able to use Carsomyr yourself with UAI. Aerie, while the most powerful NPC in the game, won't jive with korgan at all. Nephtu's helm of opposite alignment is a good idea.

Anyway, just my two cents, have fun.

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Thu Feb 05, 2004 2:32 pm

The party Ned recommended is the ultimate evil party, both in party and role-play. I had a lot of fun with this party.
However, since you played a ranger before, you might find a swashbuckler a little bland. You could choose Jan Jansen as your fifth partymember. He's the best thief in the game and a very decent back-up mage. That would leave you free to choose any class or kit you'll like.
If you want to be a thief you could choose the assassin. Sure, this kit gets less thieving points but he can backstab like there's no tomorrow. Plus, his poison ability is quite handy against spellcasters. Put all thieving points into hide in shadows and move silently and let Jan handle the traps and locks.
Or, for a very different pc, choose a cleric/thief.

Lafortezza · Post by **Lafortezza** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 4:35 am

Thanks for all the advice!

Is there another tank to play alongside Korgan to replace Imoen?
I 'm considering taken Anomen, let him fail his quest and become fallen.

How does this party sound?
Me: Thief/Backup Mage
Korgan
Viconia
Edwin
My own created tank.

I'd then rotate in other NPC's for their quests then kick them out to keep my nice little 5 person party.

Also if I side with Bodhi instead of the thieves, can I still take the Thief stronghold?

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 5:11 am

Spoilers:

If you're a thief, you can't side with Bodhi.

As for your party: this group is so powerful, it's absolutely not necessary to create another fighter. Korgan is more than up to the job and since these npc's are all single-class, they'll lvl real fast too. But Anomen is very powerful as well and he can be a great tank too.
Also, in ToB, there is another very good fighter available.

Lafortezza · Post by **Lafortezza** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 9:38 am

So Korgan is all the tank I'd need?
I'm wondering what class to make my PC in that case.

Possibly
PC: Fighte/Mage
Korgan
Viconia
Edwin
Jan Jansen

Or
PC: Assassin
Korgan
Viconia
Edwin

Or
PC: Thief Mage
Korgan
Viconia
Edwin
A N Other Tank

I like the idea of having more than one big stronger fighter type supported by ranged attacks and spellcasters.

Bruce Lee · Post by **Bruce Lee** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 12:29 pm

Give korgan vhailor's helm and then once per day you have two korgans!
I really like the party with
pc swashbuckler
korgan
edwin
viconia
very efficient.

Ian Kognitow · Post by **Ian Kognitow** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 1:04 pm

Bruce Lee's vhailor's helm suggestion should be well observed.

However, if do want additional fighter support (if for no other reason than to have the fun of using more diverse equipment than what Korgan would have) I would suggest going with Minsc. Yes, he is chaotic good, but he will pretty much follow you no matter what (I have heard of one scenario in which he will leave, though I never experienced it). He can also be a competent archer to give you a ranged attack while Korgan wades into melee. Also, if you take the party into TOB, Minsc can be replaced with a more evil fighter-NPC that becomes available.

Alternatively, Haer'dalis can be a useful backup in most respects, including fighting, and with UAI will be able to take on any equipment. Make your PC thief a swashbuckler and melee should be little problem.

These ideas could lead to parties such as:

PC: Assassin/Mage
Korgan
Viconia
Edwin
Minsc

or

PC: Swashbuckler
Korgan
Viconia
Edwin
Haer'dalis or Jan (Both give additional mage support, but while Haer'dalis is much better fighter, Jan gets higher level spells)

chimpmaster · Post by **chimpmaster** » Sun Feb 08, 2004 6:20 am

the evil party

THis thread really highlights the weakness/lack of evil characters in the game.

Youve basically got access to the best mage (Edwin) and the best fighter (korgan) in the game. Also viconia is the best cleric.

So there are 3 no brainers.

SPOILER

I think you're best options in terms of support and role playing (and this is what I did) are

: fallen anomen. He turns CN if he fails his test to joint the order (and you can certainly help him fail) and becomes very comfortable in an evil party.

: haer-dalis - he is a good fit also. CN, but his tendency towards chaos and entropy leaves him quite suited to evil stuff. He is handy with a sword and can cast spells being a blade( bard).

This only leaves you. Which skills are you missing in a party like this? Well, you need another fighter thats for sure, and a thief. SO in my opinion the best option for an evil character is a fighter/thief, or a swashbuckler for that matter. Perhaps an assassin on the outside.

Alternatively you can take jan jansen (CN illusionist/thief) and this covers you for both a full time thief and mage to support edwin. You are then free to play whichever character you like. YOu can in the role playing convince jan to take a more evil path too.

If you went for jan instead of anomen, id think you would want to play a fighter/cleric. If you went for jan instead of haer-dalis, youd want a fighter type most likely - maybe even an evil monk would fit in really well!! Another fun option would be to play a paladin and fall heavily from grace, turning evil as a fallen paladin. THe only disadvantage here is that you dont have the benefits of a specialized fighter or a paladin.

If you dont want to be a fighter/cleric, monk or swashbuckler or fighter/thief, the only other good option I can think of is a specialized fighter to tank alongside korgan. Perhaps a wizardslayer or kensai would be fun, or barbarian.

Hope this helps!

Lafortezza · Post by **Lafortezza** » Sun Feb 08, 2004 9:49 am

Thanks everyone for all your input!

My current party looks like this, I've only just entered Chapter 2.
PC: Elven Thief/Mage, I spent about 15 minutes rerolling my stats and finished up with: STR:18, DEX:19, CON:18, INT:18, WIS:8, CHR:18 (with the ring of charm you get early).
PC2: Half-Orc Fighter With lots of proficiency in War Hammer and flails for the Crom Fayer and FoA dual wield effect

NPC: Korgan, simple tank.
NPC: Viconia, cleric
NPC Edwin, Mage

I think I have everything covered now in this party. I wanted at the start to have 5 members in my party, to allow for all the other NPCs and their respective quests.
I've got the Thief and backup Mage in my PC, 2 tanks, a cleric, and one stong Mage. Seems balanced to me!

One problem:
I've installed the Ease-of-Use mod.
and I've only just noticed that my PC cannot see through the fog or war.
When I make him walk away from the rest of the party he cannot see around him, its all in shadow/fog of war.
Anyone have any ideas about how to fix it?

Numinor · Post by **Numinor** » Sun Feb 08, 2004 11:09 am

It sound's like he is blinded. Try a dispel magic spell on him or rest and it should go away.
BTW, 18 con is not necessary for a Thief/Mage, only warrior classes (Fighters, Rangers, Paladins, Barbarians) get a bonus for constitution >16.

chimpmaster · Post by **chimpmaster** » Sun Feb 08, 2004 4:41 pm

hmm

Just out of interest, why did you go for a standard half-orc fighter over a barbarian, berserker, wizard-slayer or kensai?

I would argue that all of the specialised classes are better than the vanilla varieties....

Lafortezza · Post by **Lafortezza** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 3:38 am

Originally posted by Numinor
It sound's like he is blinded. Try a dispel magic spell on him or rest and it should go away.
BTW, 18 con is not necessary for a Thief/Mage, only warrior classes (Fighters, Rangers, Paladins, Barbarians) get a bonus for constitution >16.

I was thinking that he might be blinded or something, but its not showing the little picture that shows if your character is blinded/poisoned/diseased or whatever. I'll try the dispel magic and stuff see if I can fix him. I really don't want to restart the game.

Just out of interest, why did you go for a standard half-orc fighter over a barbarian, berserker, wizard-slayer or kensai?

I don't know actually, I'm only going to use him as a frontline tank dualwielding CF and FoA so probably should have gone for one of the kits. ah well.

Also whats the best Axe for Korgan? He's got 5 proficiency stars in Axes and not much else, and I can't remember any really good axes from my first run through the game.

Thanks

Numinor · Post by **Numinor** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 4:25 am

Good axes available early are Stonefire +3 (purchasable from Bernard in the Copper Coronet) and Frostreaver +3 (found in the golem room inside d'Arnise keep).
Actually they are the best axes available for Korgan in the whole game (since he can't use Azure Edge) unless you have ToB.

nephtu · Post by **nephtu** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:39 am

More axes

There's also Hangards & the Rifthome axe - both throwable, but I can't remember where you find them

(One of them maybe from Mencar & co. or the sewer dudes - senility is catching up with me!)

Korgan can also use the Dwarven thrower (a hammer) available in Trademeet, as well as regular ranged weapons.

In ToB, of course, it's Axe of the Unyielding (Watchers Keep) and K'logarth (Vendor in Amkethran) for ranged attacks.