I have currently just started a game with a human kensai (neutral good). I am even still in Irenicus' dungeon, so I am VERY early in the game. Anyway, I was thinking about what npc's to take along, as I want a party able to take care of itself (obviously), and able to 'get along', but also 'rpg enough' (meaning, yes, Imoen, Minsc, and Jaheira are keepers... I have gone through too much with them in BG1 to just ditch them now )
So what do you say to this:
Main character:
Kensai (will dual to a mage)
Imoen (Nalia will take her place until she gets back)
Minsc
Jaheira (will try to romance her)
Korgan
Viconia
What do you say?
Believe you can, believe you can't;
either way, you're right. Playing on pc, GOTY, currently unmodded.
If you'll read back in the stacks of messages that have accumulated here, over the years, since BG2 first appeared, you'll find that one fact becomes glaringly apparent: any combination of party NPCs will work, and work well. Some provide more a challenge, which IMO is a good thing in a game this easy. Other groups are self-recommending. But...
You. Can't. Go. Wrong. With. Any. Grouping.
To the Righteous belong the fruits of violent victory. The rest of us will have to settle for warm friends, warm lovers, and a wink from a quietly supportive universe.
Ok, good enough. I know this. But could you PLEASE provide me with an answer less based on principle? I appreciate your answer, don't mistake me, it's just that last time I played I got slaughtered by some vampire (don't remember her name) for not accepting her offer.
Believe you can, believe you can't;
either way, you're right. Playing on pc, GOTY, currently unmodded.
I think Incertainty means Bodhi. And if you got killed by Bodhi, it's not a matter of having a better party, but of using the party you've got--whatever that may be--more successfully.
So if Bodhi did you in, you'd want to cast clerical spells that could help out; and you'd probably want to look up "Bodhi" doing a search, here, because there are numerous threads about dealing with her.
But you're party configuration is fine. So is every other configuration I've seen.
To the Righteous belong the fruits of violent victory. The rest of us will have to settle for warm friends, warm lovers, and a wink from a quietly supportive universe.
yeah well, at a certain moment she just appeared and said 'tto bad you don't wanna work with me' and proceeded to tear me to shreds... So would Viconia be able to Sunray her into fine pieces? anyhew... is Nalia enough of a thief to cover traps and lockpicks until the return of Imoen? I am seriously considering only going for Nalia after Yoshimo's betrayal however, as I seem to get the impression this gets you some pretty decent xp. Also, what level should I dual my kensai? I don't have a mod to remove xp caps, but if you can direct me to one... thnx for the help by the way.
Also fable... I believe you CAN go wrong... your party should at least get along, no?
Believe you can, believe you can't;
either way, you're right. Playing on pc, GOTY, currently unmodded.
if you really are choosing a party based on "roleplay" you might want to reconsider Viconia and Korgan as NPCs.
granted, Korgan is perhaps the best tank until ToB and Viconia is the best cleric but they are evil.
a neutral good PC (in my opinion) wants someone who will stick by his/her side. Korgan is a mercenary and often comments about sticking parts of his weapon into various members of your party. while entertaining, not (i think) roleplaying.
there is more of a case for Viconia to be in a good party as she has said she will join you to distract from her own problems. she is, indeed, evil but in the "i love pain and will inflict it at every opportunity" plus SPOILER(highlight):her romance reveals that she isn't as hardnosed and evil as it first seems, plus there's the special bit in ToB
of course, it matters not whether you have them in your party or not, i would highly recommend both Korgan and Viconia in any party, but you did specify you were roleplaying so that would be my 2 cents...
well, you're right of course, but I definitely want Viconia, and roleplay-wise, it's still manageable to take her along. I realise Korgan is an alltogether different story, and I might consider Keldorn... were it not for the fact that he and Viconia simply do not get along. And for some reason, I have the feeling Anomen or Mazzy cannot compare to the martial prowess of Korgan. So... one 'unfluffy' element in my party?
Believe you can, believe you can't;
either way, you're right. Playing on pc, GOTY, currently unmodded.
Originally posted by Incertainty yeah well, at a certain moment she just appeared and said 'tto bad you don't wanna work with me' and proceeded to tear me to shreds... So would Viconia be able to Sunray her into fine pieces? anyhew... is Nalia enough of a thief to cover traps and lockpicks until the return of Imoen? I am seriously considering only going for Nalia after Yoshimo's betrayal however, as I seem to get the impression this gets you some pretty decent xp. Also, what level should I dual my kensai? I don't have a mod to remove xp caps, but if you can direct me to one...
I believe installing ToB removes XCaps. Either way you will probably want to install the Baldurdash Fix Pack. Nalia, don't get me wrong cuz I love her, is a crappy thief. Can't pick half the locks or disarm half the traps in the game. For this you need to either make your main char a T, or T/? combo or pick up the main unsung hero of the game - JAN JANSEN. For Bodhi you need the right tools and if you have Minsc your half way there - he's a vampire killer by heart. Get him the red axe - Azura Something or other (buy it from the Copper Coronet guy) or the Mace of Disruption (from the first level of Bodhi's lair) Hint: search the pools of blood. Also get Daystar (longsword) Hint: find the Lich in the town gate area - it has a couple of features that do mega damage to vamps. Also buy Protection from Undead scrolls - some merchants and I think all temples sell them. Good luck.
"The Khajiit mind is not engineered for self-reflection. We simply do what we do and let the world be damned."Quote from the Ahziirr Traajijazeri
You'll run into a thief in Irenicus' dungeon. I thought he was really cool with his traps and such, and added him into the party.
Depending on what level you decide to dual class your kensai into a mage (I'm convinced you only need one mage for chapter 2), you might consider not using Nalia too much.
A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives.
- Jackie Robinson
So I'm probably best of keeping Yoshimo unti his betrayal (good exp), then going for Jan Jansen, and then later on dropping him for Imoen? Imoen is a certainty btw, at least for me.
Believe you can, believe you can't;
either way, you're right. Playing on pc, GOTY, currently unmodded.
Since you get Imoen back right after Yoshimo's betrayal all you need is either
Yoshimo --> replaced by Imoen
or
Jan --> replaced by Imoen (or you keep them both)
There are three kinds of people that no one understands: geniuses, madmen and guys that mumble.
Originally posted by Incertainty So I'm probably best of keeping Yoshimo unti his betrayal (good exp), then going for Jan Jansen, and then later on dropping him for Imoen? Imoen is a certainty btw, at least for me.
Why waste experience points on Yoshi? Better to take Jan and don't let your party go over 4 or 5 members. Jan quickly becomes a decent mage and a very good thief. Pick Yoshi up again just before going to Brynnlaw - use him as a pack horse to carry supplies for the party and to reequip Immoen (robe, cape, ioun stone, belt, boots, potions, lots of scroll cases full of spell scrolls, throwing knife from Captain Dennis, staff of magi and or rynn, enchanted short bow, darts, etc - stuff Immy will need). When you pick up Immy you can immediately outfit her and have her read all the scrolls for mega exp points. I think I lost count at over 200,000+ exp points the last time I did this just by having her read the scrolls I brought along. Take a few Potions of Intelligence so she can read scrolls without failure and to learn more spells that she would normally be able to learn. If you have and duplicates just erase the memorized dupe spells from her book and have her re-learn them for even more points. Be sure to take as much stuff as possible before Yoshi betrays you and stick the rest where you can recover it later. With Jan and Immy you will have a decent amount of spell casting. Since I played a F/T in my current game I didn't take Jan but took Nalia instead - great mage and archer.
"The Khajiit mind is not engineered for self-reflection. We simply do what we do and let the world be damned."Quote from the Ahziirr Traajijazeri
Jan Jansen can be alternately amusing and irritating but he makes a decent theif, and if you supplement him with another mage (like imoen) you don't have to listen to aerie's whining. Only problem with evil chars is you have to make sure your reputation doesn't get too high or they'll hightail it off with all your stuff, bad mojo. Watching Vic and Korgan fight is way too much fun, but korgan will waltz off with everything too if you don't watch him. One of my favorite makeups was:
SoA:
Main Swashbuckler or Fighter/Theif (I prefer dual, but multi is cool)
Minsc
Keldorn
Jaheira
Imoen
Viconia
Main Fighter/Cleric (Again, i like dual classage)
Minsc
Keldorn
Jaheira
Imoen
Jan
"You know what they say about large men with small axes don't you? Good... I don't either."
Aren't Keldorn and Viconia 'incompatible'? I was looking for another tank, but could not seem to find one as efficient as Korgan, who, with a party of a neutral good Kensai/Mage, Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, and Viconia (evil, ok, but manageable, no? Pity?) would seem kind of out of place. But he IS fully 'compatible' with the party... Mmm... what do you think?
Believe you can, believe you can't;
either way, you're right. Playing on pc, GOTY, currently unmodded.
Personally, I really don't like mixing Good guys and Evil guys. I like Anomen more than Viccy, and Mazzy is arguably almost as, if not better than Korgan!
Sure, she needs a strength enhancing belt, but I love picking her up and throwing all future proficiencies into Halberd. If she hasn't turned the baddies into a pin-cusion, by the time they're close enough, she cleaves them in two with a HUGE weapon (for her anyway)
A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives.
- Jackie Robinson
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