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But Sarevok is EVIL! So all you folk supporting him must be... evil as well!

Anyway, I take him out one-to-one every game, so he can't be that good...

Minsc is the best coz he's funny & good-hearted. K. is v. powerful but dull, dull, dull. 'Nuff said.

B.

Originally posted by Boris
But Sarevok is EVIL! So all you folk supporting him must be... evil as well!

There is a school of thought that says the easy road is actually inclining towards evil, and taking the hard path is the good one. Keldorn, Minsc...? Easy. They're both good. Sarevok? He has to be convinced to change. It will take time, and effort. But in the end, you'll have brought a new champion into the Light.

Originally posted by fable
There is a school of thought that says the easy road is actually inclining towards evil, and taking the hard path is the good one. Keldorn, Minsc...? Easy. They're both good. Sarevok? He has to be convinced to change. It will take time, and effort. But in the end, you'll have brought a new champion into the Light.

I have never, ever been able to change Sarevok. I don't put him under geas...I try to be as "righteous" (ewwww...neutrality is much better) as possible and I still can't even get a dialogue up. Is it by game time? Am I beating the game too fast?

it's easier to pick the weakest link for the three.

clearly it's minsc, while he does have a good skill set (dual wield, two handed swords, maces, a hatred of vampires, stealth, & some druid spells. imho he's not as vital as the other two.

saravok is a combat god, neither of the other two can match him one on one. *note* his main advantage requires the grand mastery patch.

keldorn's no slouch in combat & his true sight, dispel & holy avenger use give him a lot of teeth. imho he's the most versatile of the three.

Originally posted by koz-ivan
saravok is a combat god, neither of the other two can match him one on one...

Yeah, but is he funny? Don't think so...

Anyway, my M/T wiped him in all encounters (BG & BGII), so he can't be *that* good. And any fule kno that Stats are irrelevent when all characters are high-level & wearing Girdles of Giant Strength, etc.

B.

Originally posted by Boris
Yeah, but is he funny? Don't think so...

Anyway, my M/T wiped him in all encounters (BG & BGII), so he can't be *that* good. And any fule kno that Stats are irrelevent when all characters are high-level & wearing Girdles of Giant Strength, etc.

B.

first, your logic is flawed, unless you believe that if your whole party ganged up on minsc and they couldn't take him down.

now lets look at the starts...

minsc -

str 18/93
d- 16
c-16

saravok -
str 18/00
dex 17
con 18

-

str is a wash, close enough + each would wear a girdle.

dex - advantage saravok. slightly lower ac & missle thaco. (gauntlets evens this a bit, but they are usually needed for another npc - anomen or keldorn for example, plus dex gauntles prevents the use of the gauntlets that boost fighting skill & damage)

con - saravok, more hp's, minsc could wear the con gridle - but why?

-

weapons:

if minsc is a greatsword wielder, saravok has more skill in that regard, and saravok can use some weapons that minsc cannot. (soul reaver)

now if minsc is more of a dual wield type, it's hard to judge maybe minsc gains the advantage depending on how you selected his weapons in soa.

--

special abilities: they both draw from the same hla pool, w/ the exception of tracking (useless enough to ignore)

saravok has a few special that happen at random, and finish fights quickly.

minsc has rage one a day, some minor druid spells, & stealth. advantage saravok. (unless you really use minsc as a scout, at which point he needs to wear slightly weaker armour)

---

all that being said, there are plenty of reasons to favour minsc - he's one of the very few npc's you can adventure with for the whole saga, and saravok is pretty dodgy...

Minsc. Not doubt he is good-hearted and funny. But when things become serious and complicate, fun is not always the solution. Besides, if you have played both BG I and II, he seems rather useless in comparison.

Sarevok. He is probably the best fighter in the game, no matter if you find him too late or too early. I have never managed to change his alignment, but I am not conviced he would seem "real" if I did. Not sure about that.

Keldorn. Although "too much" righteousness can harm your nervous system, he remains my ever choice.

So, Keldorn should be.

Keldorn's ability to dispel magic makes him more powerful than the other two. (For example, big swords alone don't work against powerful Mages.) His ability to summon Devas is also an advantage over the other two. But the fact that "who is the most powerful" is debatable just goes to show that all three of them are awesome characters.

But the question is, "Who is your favorite," not "who is the most powerful" (unless you don't think there's any difference). Minsc is the funniest. Keldorn's presence is the most comforting if you want someone to look after your soul. Sarevok is scary, but I think it's fascinating that you can team up with an old nemesis, learn a little more about him, put him to good use, and maybe even help him to change. In the end, which one I choose depends on how I want to structure my party. Minsc is good for a fun/funny group, Keldorn is good for a small roleplaying party, and Sarevok is good for either a straightfoward powergaming party or a challenging roleplaying party.

Originally posted by VonDondu
In the end, which one I choose depends on how I want to structure my party. Minsc is good for a fun/funny group, Keldorn is good for a small roleplaying party, and Sarevok is good for either a straightfoward powergaming party or a challenging roleplaying party.

Since you seem to have no favourite I trust you didn't cast a vote...

No, I didn't vote. I like all three of them.

Ah! I thought so!

Why nobody is taking into consideration Korgan as the best fighter?
He has great stats, is a pure fighter (ie. 5*), he gets plenty of real rage, you get him early in the game and he is also fun, plus the axe/hammer combo (Unyelding/Crom) is awsome.

I thought the poll was about our favourite, not who we think is the best fighter.

Though I myself made such a comparison, Keldorn is not my favourite because I think him being the best fighter.

Well actually the thread started with Corsair asking who is the best of the three and the thread developed mostly with a comparison of the strenght of the three fighters (you don't choose any of Keld. Minsc or Sarv. because they are good looking aren't you?) so I want to point out that if we are doing evaluation of Sarevok, Minsc and Keldorn, adding Korgan (that is the other strong NPC fighter of BGII) to the discussion isn't out of thread.

Agreed!

However, I thought to carry further the (correct) distinction VonDondu made.

For that matter...

It also didn't include Valygar, who is, IMAO, one of the most under-appreciated and under used characters - or Mazzy for that matter.

I''m assuming we're intending to exclude ab initio all dual/multiclass fighters like Jaheira and Solaufein and semi-melees like Haer'Dalis.

The question really isn't clear enough to argue. What kind of favorite? Favorite by fighter profession? Then it's inaccurate. Favorite as in entertaining? It doesn't have enough entries. Favorite in terms of greatest powerhouse? Then there's no question: Sarevok beats the rest.

Favourite as a character? In general?

People, your thinking about this way to hard. I mean your favorite as in out of the three choices I gave you. If you want, I can start a nother' thread with a poll for ALL of the NPC's. But, this thread/poll are specificaly for Minsc, Keldorn, and Sarevok. I chose those three because those are the ones that are more of up front fighters to me. But, i know that anyone of them can be very deadly with a crossbow or long/short bow.Sorry if I confused anyone.


P.S.-Some of yall need to head on over to IWD forum. I dont get much respons over there, and I just started playin so I need some input.

New view on Favourites

Well, after 6 months of sound-free computer-time, I now have an average set of speakers thanks to my friend (step forward, Iain - you're pretty shy for a pure elf Fighter with a bloodlust & no alignment constraints...)

Anyway, so I can hear sounds, now - isn't that marvellous?!

So I am confirmed in my previous opinion - Minsc is definitely my "favourite". Does the preach-meister K. squeak when one selects him? No. Does the mighty Sarevok expend his last energies crying "Run, Boo, run!" - I think not.

M. may not have all the stats of an arch-enemy; indeed, he may not have the numbers one would wish in a friend, most notably in the head department. But Minsc does have a hamster...

Anybody voting "Favourite" in any other capacity is clearly mad.

B.