I've been watching this forum for quite a while now but I've never really had any questions so this is my first post. Well here goes:
I have recently begun playing BG2 again and this time I mean it! I have been playing this game for years but never finished ToB. This time is gonna be different but I need some advice. It is a "simple" question of my party composition...
Me (Beserker) lvl 11 Chaotic Neutral
Jaheira
Edwin
Korgan
Keldorn
Jan
My dilema is this: Should I swap Jaheira for Imoen or will I need her druid/clerics spells? I really wanna see the ending with Imoen but I'm not sure if I should do it???
I'd say go for it. You never really need any character to beat the game. You can beat it with all thieves or fighters and without any arcane or divine support whatsoever. I don't really like Jahiera in BGII so of course I'd tell you to swap for Imoen and besides, from a roleplaying point of view it makes perfect sense. After looking for your sister for so long, are you just going to leave her stranded there?
“The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially.”
Crenshinibon wrote:After looking for your sister for so long, are you just going to leave her stranded there?
Seems just what a Chaotic Neutral would do to me.:laugh:
With Jan and Edwin already in the party adding yet another mage, and dropping your only healer doesn't make sense to me. If you're going to drop anyone then I'd drop Jan IF you have the rings etc. that allow Imoen to be an effective thief, if not then I'd leave her (Imoen) behind.
[QUOTE=Darth Gavinius;1096098]Distrbution of games, is becoming a little like Democracy (all about money and control) - in the end choice is an illusion and you have to choose your lesser evil.
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]
Edwin is a handful. XD I'd drop him and keep Jan as not only does he have potential to be the most potent and useful character in any situation, he has, in my opinion, the best banter.
“The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially.”
Your party would be more powerful with a cleric.
A cleric can give +2 AC and +2 all saves to the whole party for a very long time by simply casting "PfE 10'" and easily cure level drain.
Jaheira can at least raise dead party members, heal and use restoration scrolls.
If you play a game without healer and get a dead or level drained party member, you can't just cast a spell to cure it anymore. You'll have to visit a temple or use powerword:reload far more often.
You won't be able to cast healing spells either, so when your party is injured you'll have to use lots of healing potions or find a place for resting. "Rest until healed" will take ages, 8 hours for each health point the most injured party member has to recover.
Therefore I don't recommend trading Jaheira for Imoen, drop Edwin, Keldorn, Korgan or Jan instead.
If you don't like Jaheira, exchange her for Anomen, Viconia, Aerie or Cernd in order to keep at least one healer.
But I agree with Crenshinibon, the game is beatable with any party, just not equally easy. If you don't mind the disadvantages play the game without a priest. If some battles get too difficult for you just ask for advice here.
if you want the role play, drop Keldorn - he and Korgan just aint gonna get on and keldorn expects goody-goody behaviour unsuited to a CN character.
as for Imoen/Jaheira - I would have a 5 person party when I rescue Imoen and dump her afterwards. Edwin is a better mage, although Imoen's thief skills can be useful.
Jaheira has much better use than as a healer - for some while that was how I played her, but it is inconsistent with her history and class F-D. what she can excel are such offensive spells as Insect Plague and summon woodland creatures i.e. nymphs. what do nymphs do? they aid in battle AND have mass cure. useful eh? but that is not Jaheira at her best - it gets better.
Jaheira has Nature's Beauty at her disposal and can change into an elemental !
Have you wondered how dangerous a blind dragon is compared to a sighted one? a blind dragon that has its casting interrupted by a swarm of insects...
a blind dragon is a dead dragon pretty soon afterwards.
as for groups of enemies, try entangle (x2) plus insect plague and a character with free action...perhaps Jaheira with +5 Spectral Brand protecting her from level drain.
Jaheira may be a bit of a pain sometimes, but she can also inflict pain on your enemies.
as for clerics - no contest - Viconia suits such a party.
"All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players"
I would really like to keep Edwin -he's so powerful and I really like his evilness:devil: He reminds of one of my friends' character in a D&D campaign we had going for about 3 years. Those were the days...
Jan is a touchy subject too since he makes me crack constantly with his dialogue
Oh and I really don't want to throw Keldorn out 'cause I really like paladins and I didn't have the Holy Avenger last time even though my main character was a Cavalier
The only one I feel good about leaving behind is Jaheira so maybe I should go with my first intuition. I can compensate for her healing spells(potions etc.) but the thing I will miss is her Harpers Call. Anything else I miss out on?
In TOB, her Iron Skins and Summons will be really useful, as AC ceases to be good defense against melee damage in TOB.
I think your party is too mele heavy already (with characters sometimes trying to push past each other to get to the front). I'd ditch either Korgan (because of duplication with your PC) or Keldorn (because of the intraparty conflict issues).
Not really. A high level ability that a mage has can actually let you ressurect party members. Also, for healing, I'd suggest using an actual cleric or another druid. In my opinion she is a boring character in BGII and that if you want a druid you should probably pick up Cernd as he's is powerful in melee and has all of Jahiera's casting skills. For quality healing I suggest to take up Anomen as he's probably most likely to fit in with your alignment group.
“The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially.”
Rav wrote:In TOB, her Iron Skins and Summons will be really useful, as AC ceases to be good defense against melee damage in TOB.
I think your party is too mele heavy already (with characters sometimes trying to push past each other to get to the front). I'd ditch either Korgan (because of duplication with your PC) or Keldorn (because of the intraparty conflict issues).
Rav
From what I've read around on the net Keldorn can be kept in this party but I would gladly hear your experiences. Also I like having 3 tanks makes me feel secure
The reason that I like having Jaheira in the party is her summon insects spell.
This is invaluable against all spell casters whether cleric, druid, mage or dragon. However, your party composition is up to you. My advice is this lay it one way this time and next time use a completely different party. It doesn't matter if you don't get the most powerful party you can. Working round difficulties is what makes the game interesting.
IMHO, your party has enough arcane casters and fighters, so Jaheira is not a very needed fighter. Her druidic spells and HLAs are lame compared to those of a cleric. If you want a real better replacement, take Aerie. She can protect herself not only with arcane, but also with divine magic. She will also have more clerical spells than Jaheira, and more potent for that matter. Jaheira doesn't have Chant, or Animate Dead, or Aid or Draw upon Holy Might. And most importantly - Aerie can use her spells quickly enough, if you dress her with the Robe of Vecna and give her the Amulet of Power. She is more effective than Jan on arcane level, because she has the Necromancy school at her disposal, with Horrid Wilting, Skull Trap and Death spell. She also is the only one NPC that can load clerical spells in triggers, thus proving to be very effective in combat situations. My favourite - loading Bless+Chant in a Minor Sequencer, Holy power, Righteous Magic and a Fireshield in Spell Sequencer, and Tenser's Transformation, Improved Haste and Harm in a Spell Trigger. Of course, this is not valid for each and every situation, but you see the picture here. You can take down the toughest demon by releasing a Spell Trigger with 3 Bolts of Glory on him, for instance, or load 7th lvl(and HLA) clerical spells in a Chain Contingency, etc.
The only thing about her is that she takes ages to level-up, and she has very few arcane slots, but there are rings for that. Oh, use the Girdle of Fortitude for some extra HP.
I would personaly ditch Keldorn or Jaheira for Imoen. You just can't get enough mages in this game. Clerics are not essential, in the rare event that you get level drained a projected image with restoration scroll is all you need.
