Am I the only one who has trouble booting out party members?

[dragon wench]

Well, as the title says, does anyone else have a hard time replacing party members?

Invariably when I have played this game I have ended up being co-opted by guilt All too frequently I have plans for party composition, but I never completely follow through because I can't bear to see the look on an NPC's face when I state I have no further need of them

Though today, for possibly the first time ever, I have the group I had planned on... maybe it has something to do with roleplaying a neutral bard... conscience be damned

Similar experiences?

[Ravager]

I'd say there is a guilt thing sometimes, but after you've played through the game enough times, you kind of develop a thick skin to it and ignore it- or at least I did. Now the only problems I would have is if a decision leads to the permanent removal of a NPC from the game for whatever reason.

[VonDondu]

My adventuring parties develop deep bonds of loyalty and friendship (at least in my own mind). But I don't think that means that every NPC should go wherever my main character goes. My main character is mainly on a personal quest, and there isn't really any reason why an NPC, no matter how loyal, should put his or her life on the line. Adventuring can be a dark, dirty business and full of moral compromises. Sometimes it's easy for me to decide that an NPC would be better off NOT following my main character.

Some NPCs have specific missions. For example, Valygar wants to confront Lavok, and Nalia wants you to save her family's lands. When those quests are over, the only reason they want to stay in the group is because they supposedly have nothing better to do, but that couldn't possbily be true. What's next? "Come help me aid a thieves' guild so I can go to an offshore prison for Mages from which we might never escape." I believe in gratitude, but I don't believe that any of the NPCs owes that to me.

If I do want Nalia to remain in my group after we have thwarted the menace to her family's lands, I think of a good reason why she should come along. I attend her father's funeral to support her, and after the ensuing escapades, I pretend that I have discovered the identity of the creature who was responsible for the attacks on her family's lands. Nalia certainly has a right to confront him, so that's a good reason for her to be in my party. But after that is over, she really ought to go back home and look after her family's lands and continue helping the poor if that's what she wants to do.

Similarly, after Keldorn has assisted my character with the Temple's quest, he really ought to retire and go back home to his family.

Minsc is the one who is hardest to let go. All he wants to do is kick butt for goodness and be a hero, and he has no better chance of doing that than by accompanying my character. I feel like I'm depriving him of his greatest chance to succeed if I kick him out of my party.

Some people might feel that Jaheira has the right to accompany you. Imoen is her companion as well as yours, and she wants revenge on Irenicus just as much as you do. But I can justify kicking her out of the party because I honestly don't feel like I can trust her. She has other loyalties which could very well put her at cross-purposes with me or even endanger my character's life, and she keeps secrets from me. Do I really need someone like that in my group when my character is fighting for her life?

The same applies to other NPCs whose loyalty is questionable. For example, Korgan seems to have some sense of honor and loyalty, but I never know if he might suddenly turn on me if he thought (in his own mind) that he had good reason to.

The NPCs explain their motivations at the Tree of Life, and there are other places in the game where they make similar comments. For example, Keldorn isn't happy at all when he ends up in the Abyss with you, and even Minsc wonders whether's he's over his head when you confront forces that are too powerful for him to understand. At that point, I really have to question whether I should have brought them with me.

Most of the NPCs say, "I owe you my life, so I will lay down my life for you if I have to," but that's not the kind of debt my character will accept. The three most evil NPCs have very straightforward motivations: there is power in your wake, and they want to reap the fruits of it. If they want to risk their lives for such a cause, that's fine with me. But it doesn't make me feel especially loyal to them, so if I feel like kicking them out, my conscience is clear.

[JackOfClubs]

I have the hardest time with Jaheira and Aerie. Jaheira totally makes you feel guilty for dropping her and it takes several dialogue options before she will even take no for an answer. This gets even worse if you try to drop her after the confrontation with the Harpers.

Aerie is more passive-agressive about the matter but she makes it pretty clear that she doesn't particularly like being left behind in the circus. I usually justify leaving her behind on the grounds that facing Kalah will be too dangerous for her, and later that I don't want to see her innocence corrupted by exposure to Irenicus and the rest. Still, I usually take her along as far as spellhold and leave her in the mage's house with Haer'Dalis to salve my conscience.

Imoen is surprisingly easy to get rid of, mostly because she is so cheerful about it. One gets the impression that she is perfectly capable of making her own trouble whether you come along to watch or not.

Minsc usually gives me some twinges, but once you get past the dialogue, he seems perfectly happy standing around the Copper Coronet.

I sometimes feel a little bad about leaving Viconia to skulk in the graveyard, especially since you have occasion to see her standing there at least twice in the course of the story, but I generally get over it.

Most of the other characters are not too much trouble. Jan is the easiest to avoid. In fact, I usually don't even bother going past his little corner of the Govt district, just because I can't stand his opening dialogue. If I accidentally encounter him, I don't feel much compunction about turning him in to the authorities and leaving him to rot in jail.

[myrophine]

I can never decide who to have in my group! Invariably I do end up with the biggest winers (those who complain the most when you boot them). I tend to get bogged down in the middle of the game and start over again too.

Character story spoilers WARNING:
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Currently everyone has a motive: Yoshimo wants my blood, Jaheira sided with me and is on the run, Nalia also on the run from Roenal's revenge, Aerie is finding the adventure something to make up for her wings, and Haer - Dalis is following his muse of the hour (Aerie). I am also stuck with Nalia (or Jan but i don't want 2 dual class mages and a bard) since I dualed Yoshi not realizing what an xp investment that was. Oh well at least he can kill things now

The big trick was who to kick out when I did the planar sphere with Valygar. I hope I didn't make Haer-Dalis too sad when I booted poor Aerie but Haer was more in need of the xp as he starts out low on xp for who you have to beat to get to him.

myrophine

[Deadalready]

(Wah bright reply background )

I find it really hard to boot party members because I feel as if I've invested something in their characters and really find it hard to drop them, it happens in many games like Diablo; if I've been using a weapon for a long time it just can't bring myself to sell it off.

Additionally I have tried and tested tactics with the same characters in my party so loosing one tactic for unknown tactics with other characters is unbearable as well.

I've gone through the game what I think must be 20 odd times and I've always ended up with Valygar, Imoen, Jahiera, Keldorn and Yan. Even when I mean to try out new characters I can't bear to part with experience investments for often lower level characters, especially when I want to try out the fabled evil chracters I find it hard to not have the higher rep values.

[keaper]

i remember the first time i droped Minsc off, was kind sad lol, i still miss his comments

[dj_venom]

I really have problems the first time around. I believe I played the game with Jaheria, Minsc, Yoshimo (swapped with Immy) Aerie and Anomen... and they are the first characters you encounter, as I did the Circus and then went to the Copper Coronet.

As such, I'd meet other people, but I didn't want to leave these ones.

And especially, I can NEVER kick out a character for no one. That's my biggest problem (firstly because I never knew there was a button ) because they aren't even being replaced, just dumped.

[rotschopf]

There are some characters I simply can't kick out of my party, like Jaheira and Aerie. Jaheira because, frankly, her summoning skills at higher levels saved my hide more than once and Aerie because I feel bad about leaving a young thing in the middle of nowhere.

Imoen was difficult for me the last time because I kicked her out after reviving Aerie and Solaufein from vamphood and she made the mistake of simply running across the floor riddle and died. That made me sad. But I have no qualms of kicking anyone else out if they grate on my nerves too much.

So long,
The Drow

[mr_sir]

i find that i have the intention of booting out members in favour of others but then by the time i get around to it i have got so used to have a member in my party i can't bear to lose them so never do lol. next time through i'm goign to make a huge effort to use a party where at least 50% of members are characters i haven't used properly before now

[Raven_Song]

For me it depends purerly on the character:

Suffer guilt over: Mazzy, Valygar, Nalia, Cernd, Anomen & Haer'Dalis (Before anyone comments - I know I have strange taste in NPC's)

Indifferent toward: Korgan, Jan, Viconia, Edwin (the way I see it these guys wouldn't be bothered that much either way)

No guilt and put on steel toe caps in order to boot out: Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Keldorn, Yoshimo - (It's probably well known I detest the first three, sadly Bioware made Keldorn too much of a bigot to sympathise with, and Yoshimo just has a really annoying soundset)

[Lasher]

For me, it depends on the pc character. Aside from the fact that I usually solo now, I'm often an evil character, and I keep small parties... The only time I made it out of the dungeon with company was the first time I played...

[dragon wench]

It depends on the character for me too actually. I tend to feel especially guilty about dumping Minsc. Jaheira and Imoen, since I almost always had them in my BG1 parties, so it does sort of feel like abandoning family. (Not that I want to overlap with another thread )

I also feel guilt over Mazzy, and Aerie. Mazzy because she lost Patrick and her friends, so often I'll make room for her in my party to at least go through the Shadow Dungeon with me so that she can find closure at the end. I feel bad about Aerie, because, to me, it seems obvious that Quayle (however obnoxious he was in BG1 ) is hoping to entrust you with taking her out into the world. Plus, I like her spell combos.

I even feel some guilt about booting modded NPCs out
Though I successfully managed to kick out both Yasreana and Kivan this time round so I could end up with my planned for party of:
PC (neutral half-elf bard)
Edwin (I'd never played him and I DL'ed the romance mod )
Fade ( a wonderful alternative for a thief, very refreshing and chatty)
Saerileth (very nicely done paladin! and she's not bigoted like Keldorn)
Anomen (for his conversations with Edwin, and to tank... ROFL! )
Haer'Dalis (I'd never before kept him in a party)

I very deliberately stuck to a party combo I had never tried before, and I'm having a blast I'm very pleased I actually managed to overcome the guilt factor. The banter with this party is great, and I like the challenge of being forced to try out different strategies.

It is good to hear I'm not the only person to have trouble with this kind of thing.
@Von Dondu, I used your strategy of creating a story behind every NPC, which made it really interesting. Plus, it made it much easier to kick NPCs out.... except I still had trouble with Minsc... *sniff*

[Lasher]

Once, a while back... I was a sorceror with a full compliment of fighters- Minsc, Jaheira, Keldorn, Valygar, and Mazzy. I found this to be very fun and while maybe not the most powerful, it had an aura of the "Fearless Leader", leading his loyal hounds of combat. It was the only time I felt guilty about ditching Imoen, Nalia, and HD...

[Raven_Song]

I even feel some guilt about booting modded NPCs out

I find I feel more guilty about booting modded NPC's. Virtually minutes after leaving Irenicus' dungeon my consisted of

PC (half-elf Jester - A Pack/Song and Silence modded)
Nathaniel (Kensai CoM)
Kivan (Archer G3)
Yasraena (Fighter CoM)
Alora (Swashbuckler Com)
Jaheira (only because she was the only available healer)

and then Saerileth (Paladin CoM) appeared and asked to join and I'd still got to pick up either Kelsey or Tashia (Not to mention make room for Mazzy ). I've ended that particular game and am going to uninstall a few mods and wait til they are fully developed

[flounder]

Minsc is difficult for me to let go as well. He's kind of like the big, dumb, loveable, loyal, old dog (not that all dogs are dumb, or the rest of those terms for that matter). I think his personality as a character is one who would do anything for your PC, no matter what the consequences are.

Mazzy is hard for me as well. I just really like her character. A halfling fighter who kicks butt and is also pure of heart (she is just a deadeye with those short bows). Every time I play I give somebody the boot to go with Mazzy through the Shadow Dungeon, but I always feel bad if I let her go.