I need a good warrior, please help me choose

Klorox · Post by **Klorox** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 8:47 am

I'm in the middle of a no reloads game, so I'm not pulling any punches here. I need some meatshields to help keep my little Gnome Cleric/Illusionist alive!

Here's who is in the party so far:

Gnick O'Thyme Cleric/Illusionist
Jaheria (tank/druid)
Yoshimo ->Imoen (thief/wiz)
Keldorn (tank, wiz killer)
Korgan (tank, I love this guy. It's worth watching your Rep to keep him).

Now, I want to add one more meatshield here. I was thinking of the following:

Minsc (I'd rather not add him, but he qualifies if anybody gets chunked... no reloads!)
Mazzy (decent option as she becomes good in melee later on)
Anomen (He can fight pretty darn good, and I'd have a lot of spellcasting which would help)
Valygar (another decent option, he makes a good scout too, opening up a lot of options for my party)

I suppose another option for me could be to recruit Valygar and Mazzy, dropping Korgan. I wouldn't have to worry about Reputation in a game like that.

Please give me some suggestions or ideas. TIA!

Pellinore · Post by **Pellinore** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 9:52 am

I'm a big fan of Minsc but since you don't like him I would suggest Anomen. He has good STR and OK thaco plus he can buff like mad and he gets a Holy Symbol of Lathander late, late in the game (why he doesn't get a Holy Symbol of Helm is beyond me

). Plus he is great if you like exploding mummies:laugh:

Onkel Bob · Post by **Onkel Bob** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 10:03 am

Tough choice. If it was me I would rule Minsc because I use him in almost the exact same way as Keldorn and Korgan. The other three have additional skills. Mazzy as an awesome archer, Anomen with his priest spells and Valygar can backstab.

I think I'd go with Mazzy. I'd keep her as close to my main character as possible most of the time. Equipped with a Tuigan bow and if you have ToB a quiver of plenty also most of the time, but ready to whip out a sword if anyone get's close to your protagonist.

BTW Gnick O'Thyme?

Also if it was me I'd like to have more magical firepower and I'd switch out Yoshimo for Jan until I left for Spellhold.

Raven_Song · Post by **Raven_Song** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 10:04 am

Minsc (I'd rather not add him, but he qualifies if anybody gets chunked... no reloads!)
Mazzy (decent option as she becomes good in melee later on)
Anomen (He can fight pretty darn good, and I'd have a lot of spellcasting which would help)
Valygar (another decent option, he makes a good scout too, opening up a lot of options for my party)

I'd go with Mazzy. Great ranged support, with a girdle of x strength some of the best tanking stats in the game. Useful special abilities. Potential grand-mastery in three weapons styles.

suppose another option for me could be to recruit Valygar and Mazzy, dropping Korgan. I wouldn't have to worry about Reputation in a game like that.

I would keep Korgan, especially if you do take Mazzy their inter-party banters are great. Of course he would stand out in this party, and Valygar is a fine character so it's up to you.

I would suggest Anomen... why he doesn't get a Holy Symbol of Helm is beyond me.

He can via mods ... I know for a certain that the NPC kitpack at G3 gives this option and there may be others that do also.

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 2:05 pm

I'm not sure how you want to play your "meat shield". If you want a "tank", then you want the character who can take--or resist--resist the most damage. I think that rules out Valygar due to his armor restriction, and I think it also rules out Mazzy because of her relatively low hit point total (you'll have to check her stats because I'm not sure). When it comes to resisting damage, the two Rangers have the edge because they can cast Armor of Faith and Hardiness (which stack), but don't underestimate Anomen--he can make undead monsters explode, eliminating the need to fight them, and he has excellent spells of his own for defense as well as offense.

If you want a character who can dish out damage the fastest, a girdle of giant strength levels the playing field (their native Strength doesn't really matter), so the issues are who has the most proficiency points (which determines attacks per round and damage modifiers), who has the best High Level Abilities, and on a related note, who levels up the fastest. The Rangers, Minsc and Valygar, are at a disadvantage because they level up the slowest and they can only put two proficiency points in any weapon type. Mazzy and Anomen can both put five proficiency points in any weapon type, but Mazzy gets High Level Abilities from the Warrior pool. As you can see, offensive considerations lead to a different result than defensive considerations.

If you want to protect your main character, you might consider a completely different approach tham choosing another tank. A Sorcerer or specialty Mage can give your party offensive and defensive capabilities that won't give the monsters any chance to kill you at all. Project Image/Spell Immunity Divination/4x Horrid Wilting will defeat almost anything, and Improved Alacrity/Time Stop/4xResistance will let you make any single monster susceptible to the barrage that will follow. These tactics make easy work of anything you'll meet in Shadows of Amn (in an unmodded game) and might make you wonder what your other characters are supposed to be doing.

Raven_Song · Post by **Raven_Song** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 2:16 pm

and I think it also rules out Mazzy because of her relatively low hit point total (you'll have to check her stats because I'm not sure)

While I'm not exactly sure how HP are calcualated I do know that Mazzy has the same CON score as Valygar Minsc and Anomren - all have 16.

Lady Dragonfly · Post by **Lady Dragonfly** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 7:26 pm

I still wonder how you can keep Keldorn and Korgan in your party without a mod. Keldorn is a very scrupulous and particular about evil party members. Am I mistaken?

enagonios · Post by **enagonios** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 7:47 pm

Keep Korgan, definitely. Also, I never had Keldorn start-up with anyone but Viconia.. iirc he never attacked Edwin or Korgan..

I'd take Valygar, he is deadly dual-wielding CF and, say, Pixie Prick(sp?) or a Katana +2.

Lady Dragonfly · Post by **Lady Dragonfly** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 8:29 pm

I've never kept Valigar after his quest was done. And used him as an archer only. He is too moody and dies too quickly. I think Minsk is better because of his STR and berserk ability but if you want somebody else I would go with Mazzy. I wonder why they excluded her from romance...

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 11:41 pm

Raven_Song wrote:While I'm not exactly sure how HP are calcualated I do know that Mazzy has the same CON score as Valygar Minsc and Anomren - all have 16.

You are correct. They should all have approximately the same number of hit points. For what it's worth, Jaheira and Keldorn have CON 17 and Korgan has CON 19. It's funny how all of the warriors are so healthy.

I also checked their Dexterity, and it looks like Mazzy has the advantage when it comes to Armor Class, since she can wear heavy armor and her Dexterity is 18. If you give her a girdle of giant strength and a +4 or +5 weapon, she's right up there with the big boys. Maybe she is the best overall choice for Klorox.

Lady Dragonfly wrote:I still wonder how you can keep Keldorn and Korgan in your party without a mod. Keldorn is a very scrupulous and particular about evil party members. Am I mistaken?

If Keldorn and Korgan are both in your party, Keldorn initiates a conversation with your main character in Throne of Bhaal that explains his reaction to Korgan. Basically, his position is, "As long as Korgan fights on our side for justice, he's okay," but Keldorn doesn't like to admit that the end justifies the means.

Raven_Song · Post by **Raven_Song** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 3:11 am

I wonder why they excluded her from romance...

Because she's not an elven priestess

Arátoeldar · Post by **Arátoeldar** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 8:14 am

Lady Dragonfly wrote:I've never kept Valigar after his quest was done. And used him as an archer only. He is too moody and dies too quickly. I think Minsk is better because of his STR and berserk ability but if you want somebody else I would go with Mazzy. I wonder why they excluded her from romance...

After reading this thread, I will replace Minsc with Mazzy. I love Jennifer Hale's voice work. I wish I could romance her character.

Raven_Song · Post by **Raven_Song** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:04 pm

I wish I could romance her character.

There is a mod in development over at Spellhold Studios.

You can check it out at...

Spellhold Studios -> Mazzy Romance

Lady Dragonfly · Post by **Lady Dragonfly** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:50 pm

Raven_Song wrote:Because she's not an elven priestess

Sounds like discrimination. And if you remember, according to the older D&D rules (used in BG) only humans could become paladins. Mazzy was a halfling and therefore she did not qualify as a paladin.

I am glad they changed that rule later.

Raven_Song · Post by **Raven_Song** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:32 pm

Mazzy was a halfling and therefore she did not qualify as a paladin.

I'm actually gald they didn't make her paladin, otherwise she might have ended up like Keldorn.

Have you checked out the NPC kit pack at G3, one of the kits makes Mazzy a Truesword of Avoreen, which is what she was intended to be in the first place. Here's a link if you are interested....

G3: - Truesword Kit for Mazzy

Lady Dragonfly · Post by **Lady Dragonfly** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 2:30 pm

You are right, Mazzy is a Truesword, and the altered kit in the mod you mentioned is nice.
My point was that only humans could be paladins and that was not fair. If a drow could be a ranger then a halfling could be a paladin.:mischief:
I was also thinking about "career development". I liked the Anomen story, how he became a paladin...