Hi peeps, I'm new to these forums and was just after a little advice from your good selves.
Years ago I purchased BG II along with the expansion, TOB, and although loving the game I never played it all the way through, due to starting again multiple times with different chars, before eventually getting distracted with other things. Recently though a good friend of mine gave me his old copy of BG I and TotSC, and I decided to make it my mission to play through the entire BG saga from start to finish.
And now to my question. When I play I tend to roleplay over power-gaming and I would kinda like to finish BG I with the sort of suggested party, i.e. the party that is captured at the beginning of BG II. Saying this though I was also like to try out many of the NPCs available through-out the game. Unfortunately you pick up Khalid and Jaheira quite early and I wanted to know if you kick them out of your party is there any way of getting them back a little later.
Well, that was my real question, sorry its a little long winded. And any general advice would be much appreciated, though if the spoilers could be kept to a minimium. Although I know many of the major plot twists along the way I find its the little ones that make the game.
First of all, when you kick out party members, they usually stay right where you kick them out and you can have them rejoin you later, but strange things happen sometimes. They might say they'll wait for you, but the next time you look for them, they might be gone. Then they might reappear later. Sometimes they act like they're angry when you kick them out when there's no good reason for them to be angry. They will probably reappear if you leave the area and come back, but it might take a couple of tries. This especially applies if you haven't finished an NPC's special quest. For example, Khalid and Jaheira expect you to go to Nashkel. If you kick them out before you go to Nashkel, they have a tendency to disappear and reappear.
Second of all, if you have a problem finishing the game because you're always tempted to restart, then trying to recruit as many NPCs as you can will distract you and quite possibly prevent you from finishing the game. So I think you should keep your choices to a minimum. Look at it this way. The interaction between the NPCs in BG1 is minimal, and they have very little to say. For example, there's an Evil dwarf who doesn't get along with a Good dwarf. Their banter basically consists of "You're a disgrace to the dwarven race" and "No, you are." In my opinion, it's not worth the trouble to reorganize and re-equip your party just to hear something like that. And it's certainly not worth getting so distracted (or so burned out from all of the second-guessing) that you cannot finish the game. Pick the NPCs you like and stick with them.
If you want to rule out other NPCs not to take with you in BG1, just forget about the ones who don't appear in BG2. They include Alora, Eldoth, Skie, Branwen, Xan, Shar Teel, Kagain, Kivan, and Yeslick. If you meet them in BG1, deal with them as you see fit, but don't invite them into your party. That should be realistic enough.
The NPCs who can join your party in BG2 include Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Viconia, and Edwin. You'll definitely want Imoen, Jaheira, and Khalid in your party in BG1. But that doesn't necessarily mean that Minsc, Edwin, and Viconia have to be in your party in BG1. All that's certain is that Minsc and Viconia know you when you meet them in BG2; Edwin acts like he doesn't even recognize you in BG2. In BG2, Minsc says that he and Dynaheir came looking for you when you disappeared (he obviously knows you and you can assume that you helped him in BG1); but unlike Jaheira and Imoen, he doesn't say that he and Dynaheir traveled with you the whole time in BG1. So I don't think you need to keep them in your party the whole time if you don't want to
Other NPCs who make an appearance but will not join your party in BG2 include Xzar, Montaron, Coran, Safana, Faldorn, Garrick, Ajantis, Quayle, and Tiax. Xzar, Coran, and Quayle are the only ones who acknowledge that they know you in BG2. The rest are mainly of interest because you can say, "Hey, I know them" when you meet them in BG2, but they certainly don't act like they've been your devoted companions.
You wouldn't know any of this unless you're meta-gaming and acting on knowledge about the future that your character could not possibly possess, but from a roleplaying perspective, it's clear to me which NPCs you should consider recruiting and which NPCs you should disregard. That should narrow your choices considerably and make your game go more smoothly.
I do tend to have problems focusing in games like this coz of the wide variety of choice. I try and experience it all on my first run through, which is nigh on impossible.
Think I may have to bite the bullet and go for the faithful team of Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid, Minsc and Dynaheir to supliment my human ranger (archer). Not alot of casting potential and I have to rely of Jaheira for all my heals (is that wise?) but it should get by.
Total agreement with everything above. Might as well role-play: with any 5 NPC's, your dude could be a squirrel and you'd still make it thru the game.
I played the entire Saga start to finish for the first time last year. In BG1, my main party was Jaheira with Khalid, Minsc with Dynaheir, and of course Imoen. As they leveled up, I picked weapon proficiencies that matches what they start with in BG2.
I even went so far as to dual Imoen to a mage after 40K XP. While her thieving skills were inactive, I would periodically swap out Minsc and Dynaheir with two other NPCs, especially if I was entering a dungeon and needed a thief. And still, after finishing Chapter 5 and the expansion areas, all my main party had reached max level.
You for sure can't see everything in one play-through. This Saga screams to be played twice, using a different class, role-playing as evil, partying with Edwin and Viconia, etc.
Why is it that whenever I finally get around to playing a new game for the first time,
I feel like playing Baldur's Gate for the second time...
I did much the same thing as CFM, but started as a cleric and dual-classed to a thief when the group needed one. The 7th cleric level is just 15K after Imoen reaches 40K and if you feel that is to much, just wait a little before you change her. I highly recommend this method as the cleric-thief makes a great protagonist.
From a roleplaying point I saw my character as a cleric of Oghma, caving in a little to his dark urges.
