team makeup + De'Arnise advice needed

cobra mkII · Post by **cobra mkII** » Thu Feb 01, 2001 9:45 am

I have never posted before, the help you lot always give to others has sufficed but I think specific help is now needed re team makeup and the 2nd one could be considered a spoiler request so no 1:

I know nothing about D&D so I play the game as an adventure (eg THACO +3, ID8+3 means nothing to me) my team is, self fighter, Minsc, Korgan (cracking fighters), Aerie (Does not seem to remember many spells at present eg 1 lvl 6!, does this improve?), Jaheira (quite good fighter fair # of spells), and Yoshimo (cracking shadow work awful lock pick.)
My feeling is that while I am happy with the makeup it seems too loaded on the fighter side as Liches Mages etc can give trouble, I would also like to work towards getting Imoen back on board (well she cost me 000's GPs!) I have just started Ch3, when should I work towards her rescue as I assume she will need exerience etc before tackling the big stuff? Who should I drop to fit her in?

Possible spoiler request De 'Arnise Keep

I was about to set of into the keep when Nalia asked to join, I refused as I did not think she would be that helpful deaspite her saying she would be useful inside the keep. My team rested and then prepared to enter when I discovered Jaheira had gone to the druids! I promptly reloaded and legged it into the keep, but now I am thinking... should I have let her go and take Nalia even if only for the Keep quest?

As you can see I really am green to all this so any help would be great.

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Thu Feb 01, 2001 9:56 am

The answer to your first question is: Do not drop anybody. I cannot tell you more without giving you a spoiler. If you want the spoiler, tell me so. Otherwise, trust me on this one.

The answer to your second question is: Do not take Nalia in (if you don't want her permanently in your party, of course. This I wouldn't recommend though, as she very similiar to Imoen). Nalia doesn't bring you any crucial information. Therefor, do not waste any experience points on her.

FoulDwimmerlaik · Post by **FoulDwimmerlaik** » Thu Feb 01, 2001 9:56 am

Regarding party make up, you should use whatever you have fun with. Jaheira's healing abilities should suffice (that's all I use/need), one spellcaster/mage is fine (she will improve), and a fighter or two. I use Minsc, Jaheira, Imoen and my character (mage), and have great fun.

Take Nalia to the keep for two reasons......

spoiler

She'll give you lots of experience for doing it, plus you'll get..

the keys to the keep. You'll have your own castle.

FoulDwimmerlaik · Post by **FoulDwimmerlaik** » Thu Feb 01, 2001 9:59 am

wait, that's right. It's been a while. I didn't take her either. She'll appear.

Garcia · Post by **Garcia** » Thu Feb 01, 2001 9:59 am

the damage sistem is based on good old AD&D
1D8+3 of damage means one 8 sided dice (from 1-8) and an additional 3. so max damage is 11. 2D4 is two four sided dices so damage is from min. 2 to max. 8.

hope this help a bit

ohh and welcome a´bord lad´

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Thu Feb 01, 2001 9:59 am

You do not have to take Nalia into your party in order to get the experience and the stronghold.

Radek · Post by **Radek** » Thu Feb 01, 2001 10:08 am

@Astafas: I agree, but the Cobra's party is lead by a warrior. Cobra will get the de'Arnise Keep as his (her?) stronghold. Can Cobra kick Nalia out? Nalia is a part of the stronghold quest.
Any suggestions or results of experience?

Brink · Post by **Brink** » Thu Feb 01, 2001 10:11 am

IMHO all you need is 2 fighters as frontmen while the others just used summoning spells.As for experience,I did all the quests available except for the Kangaxx and Twisted Rune quest before taking the boat ride and Imoen capped up as soon as my party reached Suldannassellar(sp?).

Keldorn is useful for his high dispel magic level

You can kick Nalia out but the amount of gold as reward will be significantly lesser than if she's in the party,so what I did was only taking her in before fighting the troll leader

[This message has been edited by Brink (edited 02-01-2001).]

T'lainya · Post by **T'lainya** » Thu Feb 01, 2001 10:35 am

You still get offered the keep even if you don't take Nalia. She just stands around in the big room with the guy who gives you the stronghold quests

Pigdog · Post by **Pigdog** » Thu Feb 01, 2001 3:12 pm

How are you keeping Korgan and Aerie together?

They reeealllly dont like each other.

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Cultured Swine of Doom

Giles the Sorcerer · Post by **Giles the Sorcerer** » Thu Feb 01, 2001 5:28 pm

MILD SPOILER!

You need at least one mage other then Arie. The problem with her is she does not get level 8 and possibly not level 7 mage spells. If you plan on having imoen in your party she will serve well as a mage, let Imoen cast the specialty spells and higher level ones. Arie is good for breach and secret word and other defense lowering spells.

geh4th · Post by **geh4th** » Fri Feb 02, 2001 2:21 am

HELPFUL INFO:

I don't know how green you are, so forgive me for assuming nothing and explaining fully.

Thac0 is an acronym for "to hit armor class zero." Every creature has a defense rating called armor class. You want this to be as low as possible. The worst AC is 10 for an unprotected character and the best is -10 (although you will find much discussion in other threads on AC's lower than that and the game effects thereof.)

Zero is the baseline AC. Your "to hit" chances are based on a random number between 1 and 20 (1d20). The thac0 is the number on that roll you will need to hit AC 0, and is then adjusted up or doen to the appropriate AC of your target.The roll is then modified by magic weapons and other factors.

Boiled down: the lower the thac0 number of a character, the better. Also, the lower the AC of a charater, the better.

Regarding Aerie: She has versatility at the expense of high level spell power. She is both a priest and a mage, but is ultimately limited in levels because she is multi-classed. For your party, though, she is a good fit. Her highest level mage spell will be 6th level (she will get 2, could be increased by magic items.)

WARNING!!!! be VERY careful reading ANY posts on this board becasue you will run across a MAJOR spoiler that will seriously affect your game. Play the game once and just let the chips fall. THen come back and read up on the interesting stuff you didn't know you could do.

OTHERS: Let's keep the spoilers out of this topic unless cobra asks for one. Don't ruin anything for him. It's the least we can do.

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"If you prefer, you could say EXPERT treasure hunter!"
--Gandalf the Grey, the Hobbit

cobra mkII · Post by **cobra mkII** » Fri Feb 02, 2001 4:53 am

Thanks for your replies! I could not believe how quickly some of you replied. How green am I? I am used to space (1st game - Elite (Cobra mkII)) and flight sims. The game and manual assumes you know all about D&D *I do not*. But this game has me hooked, last week I played it till 3am, (you should have heard my wife's comments the next morning *"just a few minutes and I will be up? Pah!"* - there is always "just one more thing to do".

I really appreciate your help, the group advice, the THACO and AC advice and the concern of not spoiling my future quests with too specific advice were brilliant.
Thanks again.

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Fri Feb 02, 2001 4:59 am

If you like the game, you should really try the Forgotten Realms books. Start with R A Salvatore's books about Drizzt (only a recommendation).

geh4th · Post by **geh4th** » Fri Feb 02, 2001 5:55 am

Without spoiling anything for you, cobra, I would suggest you consider the following for your party. This is based on my personal opinions:

Your group is very fighter-heavy, since you are one too. Aside from that, you have one thief (all that is necessary), two clerics or Druids (good there, too) but only one mage. This will cause you a problem at higher levels, because you will probably need the high level mage spells to defeat some monsters that you eventually run into.

Note that once you finally get Imoen back, this will be helped somewhat. She can get up to maximum game level for a mage (17th). On the other hand, someone will still have to go to make room for her. Nevertheless, if you plan to rescue her soon, you may choose not to change anything until you get her.

I did not get an idea on your alignment. Are you playing good or evil? This is mostly in terms of your group reputation. Good characters like high REP, evil like Low REP. Neutrals, naturally, are happiest in between. At the extremes, unhappy characters will do "undesirable" things, like just up and leave you.

Minsc and Aerie are good, Jaheira and Yoshimo are neutral, and Korgan is evil. You might have a problem with Korgan in the long run unless you keep your REP down. However, many people on this board say that Korgan is the best fighter, and would not give him up no matter what. That is a matter of opinion. They keep him happy by making sure they don't get high REP; the downside is that prices will be higher in stores for you if you have lower REP.

Besides Nalia, there are two other mages you can recruit, and one bard. they all could help on the magic spells front. Nalia and one of the others can get to 17th level as well. (the bard is limited by profession to 6th level mage spells).

Check your manual, you will find a (very basic) description of each character you could possible recruit. No doubt you have seen several of them already. Some are not in the city.

Are you romancing one of the group members?

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"If you prefer, you could say EXPERT treasure hunter!"
--Gandalf the Grey, the Hobbit

cobra mkII · Post by **cobra mkII** » Fri Feb 02, 2001 7:28 am

Boy this shows how little I know, it did not even occur to me to mention my alignment. I am, I think neutral, (I am at the office so cannot check) I chose what I thought would give good game balance, rep is 16. You are right about Aerie, I am now finding her spells a bit low, usually Jaheira and her must work together throwing spells out madly while the fighters mix it. So far so good but I feel sure later levels will give trouble.

I am playing the easy level due to lack of experience so maybe thats how Korgon and Aerie only argue a bit or is worse to come? Would it have been better to start on a higher level? How do I romance? Does it affect the game or is it just an interesting diversion?

One extra question, this will sound naive but, fighting last night on the keep battlements I had Minsc do a berserk. I do not fully understand what the use/advantage of this is but after killing the baddies was stunned to suddenly find him laying into me. So, what use is the berserk and why did I suddenly kop it?

[This message has been edited by cobra mkII (edited 02-02-2001).]

geh4th · Post by **geh4th** » Fri Feb 02, 2001 7:39 am

Minsc's beserk is a bit different from that of the beserker class (Korgan) and Barbarians. Minsc apparently has a problem telling friend from foe, and will continue to attack anything nearby as long as the beserk state lasts.

What advantages? I don't exactly know; beserkers (class) are immune to lots of mind-affecting spells while beserk, and get extra hitpoints, to hit bonuses and other effects. Someone else will have to answer about Minsc's version and its "benefits".

I do not know whether the game difficulty will influence NPC interaction. Korgan usually makes it clear pretty quick that he does not like Aerie. On easy play, there might not be much to it. On normal play there could be some excitement ahead.

With a REP of 16, Korgan should be bitching about things on a regular basis by now, and not about other people (he does not like being a goody-goody.) I think if you get to 18, he will be angry. If you want him to stay in the party, avoid any more REP increases.

Aerie and Jaheira are a good one-two in the priest spells area. There's other clerics, but you probably can do without them (one is evil, another is really weak, and the last is REALLY annoying.)

You did not answer my question on romance. Anything going on in your game? (BTW, is your character male or female??)

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"If you prefer, you could say EXPERT treasure hunter!"
--Gandalf the Grey, the Hobbit

geh4th · Post by **geh4th** » Fri Feb 02, 2001 7:45 am

Sorry, missed the romance reference.

The first thing is whether your PC is male or female.

If you are female, you do not have the right NPC in your group right now.

If male, you should be getting the occasional "light" conversations from some females in the group (just so happens you can romance both Aerie and Jaheira). You can tell a romance dialogue by the "romantic" music that begins playing during the conversation.

It is an interesting diversion, but I do not think it is essential to any of the plot.

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"If you prefer, you could say EXPERT treasure hunter!"
--Gandalf the Grey, the Hobbit

vixen · Post by **vixen** » Fri Feb 02, 2001 7:51 am

i tend to find that minsc really kicks arse when beserked and if you stand everybody else away/ use missile weapons, it really makes life easier. however, he does gain 15 hp (hit points) when beserked but loses them again when he stops so make sure he doesn't get too walloped or he'll snuff it when the beserk state stops.

as for aerie- personally i always find her well annoying as she tends to get in the way a lot and has virtually no hp so if she gets attacked she dies v quickly. but thats probably me leaving her at the front of the group during a battle cos i'm a bit sadistic like that!

cobra mkII · Post by **cobra mkII** » Fri Feb 02, 2001 8:18 am

Ah, now things are starting to click. On the battlements Jaheira went all gooey for giving up 5000gp to some muggers who wanted to "use her", and in the battle with a berserking Korgan and Minsc only Korgan would respond to input.