Which NPCs is everyone using?

WAYNEO · Post by **WAYNEO** » Mon Jul 02, 2001 4:24 pm

I think I had the worst character interaction ever in my first attempt. I was a female Paladin (Cavalier). I didn't keep Anomen due to his annoying comments (didn't know about the love interest for female characters -- ooops!) But I kept Jaheira. Bad Move! After awhile she started saying "I can't put up with this! We are wasting time!" or some such nonsense. But she started saying it every 2 seconds. Yes, 2. Not 20, 2. I could't play the game until, during a pause (real quick on the pause button) I dropped her from the party.

Meerlight · Post by **Meerlight** » Mon Jul 02, 2001 5:38 pm

My first time through i used:
Meer: Monk (because monks kick a$$)
Keldorn: Holy Avenger + Wizards say bye bye
Valygar: Resident backstabber
Anomen: He is the BEST cleric (at least as good as Viconia and cernd cause he can fight!)
Yoshimo then Imoen: For thieving + Main mage
Aerie: She balances out the party nicely

I have 4 tanks, 2 mages, 2 priests, and one weak thief. This party works really well and the people talk a lot together... especially in ToB. That Imoen-Keldorn conversation cracked me up just because Keldorn was quaking in his boots!

Pebz · Post by **Pebz** » Mon Jul 02, 2001 5:52 pm

Jerwyn (assassin)<--- thats me

Korgan <--- awesome fighter
Viconia <--- awsome cleric
Edwin <--- you know
Jan <--- gonna ditch him for Sarevok (sp?)
Imoen <--- my sister!! and a usefull thief/mage

Yoshimo · Post by **Yoshimo** » Mon Jul 02, 2001 5:53 pm

Paladin: Undead Hunter(Protagonist: Act 3 makes ya happy to do this)
Minsc: Mace of disruption+2, and Crom Fayor
Valygar: Family blade and Celestial Fury
Verionia: Best cleric in the game, and my romance character.
Nalia: Awesome theif/mage much better pick over your other options(Jan)
Imeon: For Roleplaying sakes.

IMHO you get the BEST dialogs with this group. Funny stuff. And Yes DO TAKE YOSHIMO!

SPOILER
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If you keep Yshimo to Act 4, he will betray you, now heres the catch, when you kill him later, his black heart will be there, take it with you, in act 6, return to Altheka and take the heart to a temple of Illimator. Your reward? 200k exp, not horrible, but worth th fact that he is really helpful with his traps aginst dragons(Harm the *******s after placing traps aroudn them, harm hits, 1 hp, he goes red, traps kill him! Heh.

Dúnadan · Post by **Dúnadan** » Mon Jul 02, 2001 5:55 pm

Currently, my assassin shares the company of:

Korgan (my god what a killing-machine)
Viconia (hello romance)
Yoshimo (so sue me)
Jan (I'd like to check out his dialogue)
Edwin (hands down best spellcaster)

KaaZe · Post by **KaaZe** » Mon Jul 02, 2001 6:16 pm

Well, i always fall back to:

Sherenah - Kensai/mage human (Me)
But I always like to do things abit differently, so she has grand mastery in Halbreds and 2 points in 2-handed. Everything else is going to be spent on darts. But im starting to regret dualclassing her, there are sooo many mages in the game already.

Viconia - Cant get a better Cleric in the game and has 65 MR! and with the old portrait, she actually looks mean!

Minsc - Straight forward, but Korgan is sounding better and better.

Edwin - Nasty spell caster, enough said. (And damn funny too)

Otherwise the latter slots are always open. Right now I got Yoshimo. I think im gonna dualclass him to a fighter before I leave the city........

Imoen will ofcourse take his place after that. I always have her onboard.

Jahiera - I have tried many times to keep her, but I just cant seem to get anything other then a healer with insect pleague. Any tips?

--Kaaze
Victory is OURS, you KNOW this!

Firestarter · Post by **Firestarter** » Mon Jul 02, 2001 7:22 pm

My party (including Throne of Bhaal):

Hawkeye(Archer):Archers are godly. When I get bored with slinging arrows, I give him the Staff of the Ram +6 and let him smack some evil about the head and neck. Oh, and he NEVER misses, no matter what weapon I give him(except critical misses =P)

Sarevok: Tied with Korgan for best fighter. Gotta love the Deathbringer Assault.

Korgan: Crom Faeyr in one hand and Runehammer+5 in the other. Sprinkle in a greater whirlwind, puree enemies to a fine paste.

Viconia: Best cleric in the game. She can keep the party completely healed all of the time without breaking a sweat.

Edwin: Best mage in the game. He also gets bonus spells, and is the ultimate heavy artillery for the group.

Jan: Fills in the gaps. An excellent thief and the perfect backup mage.

Everyone in my party is in their mid to high twenties, and these guys simply wipe the floor with everything. No need for cheesy tactics, a bit of planning before a fight is all thats needed. I guess you could call me a powergamer.

Firestarter

Xyx · Post by **Xyx** » Tue Jul 03, 2001 1:17 am

Some party combinations are destined not to work...
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SOA SPOILER ALERT
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A number of characters hate each other's guts so much they will eventually come to blows. These fights are timed, so rushing through the game may allow you to finish it before they fight.
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Stuff that won't go together:
[*]Keldorn and Viconia
[*]Keldorn and Edwin
[*]Minsc and Edwin
[*]Korgan and Aerie (no fighting, Aerie just leaves (lucky Korgan...))
[*]Valygar and Edwin

Maybe more, but these I know for certain.

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Tue Jul 03, 2001 1:35 am

I've tried a lot of different party combos, most of them with mixed alignement (much funnier). My current one is:

Half-Elven True Bard: Different Long Swords (Daystar a favorite) and Tancheron's. Fights a lot but will also sing Enhanced Bard Song later on, of course.

Keldorn: My only Warrior but does a very good job with Carsomyr. Also party leader.

Viconia: Cleric and romance interest. No argument with Keldorn so far - am keeping Vic in the back and Keldorn up front. Will reload or get patch if later problems. Uses Flail of Ages and Sling of Everard. Looks great in the Red Dragon Suit (Scales, Shield and Helmet).

Cernd: Druid who actually does a lot of my fighting when in werewolf form. The most underrated NPC on this board - can truly be very useful. Blackblood, Spears and Darts but, as I said, most often in werewolf form, anyway. When not throwing spells, that is.

Nalia: Liked her from start. Extremely low AC and no spell restriction. Staff of the Magi and Boomerang/Firetooth Dagger.

Jan: The only NPC I've never excluded from any of my parties. Great Thief and backup Mage. The best dialogues ever. Uses short swords, Arbane's for example, and the Light Crossbow of Speed (Firetooth as soon as I get it).

To sum it up, I have a lot of Mage spells (My Bard, Nalia and Jan) as well as both Cleric (Vic) and Druid (Cernd) spells. This playing style demands a bit more finesse than ordinary hack'n'slash but is also, IMO, much more rewarding.

Tharan · Post by **Tharan** » Tue Jul 03, 2001 6:27 am

Right now I am playing with an Evil Party( mwhwheeh never laughed so much in my life also may I add

(Me) Alathar lawfull Evil Sorceror
Korgan (This guy is an awsome fighter)
Viconia (Really good Cleric)
Edwin ( Awesome spellcaster and the accent and his comments are great)

Daniel · Post by **Daniel** » Tue Jul 03, 2001 6:36 am

I swap NPC most times, but these persons I used most of the time:

Keldorn (he's my favourite NPC)
Valygar (or Minsc, or Nalia, depends on the quests)
Imoen ('swapped' her for Yoshi)
Jaheira
Aerie

I myself am a fighter, so Nalia had to be used sometimes for the stronghold quest.
Sometimes its a bit hard to let them leave the group, I'll see in Tob how my next party is going to look like, maybe 'our' big brother Koveras alias Sarevok...

[ 07-03-2001: Message edited by: Vegeta ]

TheDude · Post by **TheDude** » Tue Jul 03, 2001 7:19 am

this is my fourth time trough.
i played, firts time:
-ERIK (me, fighter)
-Ewdin (i always have him)
-Minsc (no problems with edwin when he becomes edwina)
-Jaheira (was ok but i don't play with her anymore)
-Imoen ( my sis. and nice mage)
-Aerie (i liked her alot and she has a whole lot of spells to cast)

second time:
-Thorin Theelsord (dwarven assassin)
-Edwin
-Valygar (much better then Minsc i must say)
-Aerie
-Mazzy (rocks with Short Bow of Gesen)
-Keldorn (Carsomyr... nuf' sad)

thirt time
solod a sorceror

fourth time (not finished yet):
-Lord Elsevar (Ranger/Cleric the best class to play ,i think)
-Edwin (he is just great)
-Korgan (really great fighter had him second time trough but had to pick him or aerie, so Korgan got stuck in the underdark

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-Viconia (great cleric and my romance)
-Hear'Dalis (always wanted to play with him and he is nice with tens.trans, stoneskin,blur and his offensive spin)
-Jan (very funny, great thief nice back up mage and fighter,believe it or not but i do a lot of fighting with him)

i must say this party must be the best i ever played they are all around lvl 13,14 and i think there is notthing that can stop them.

beaver_cheese · Post by **beaver_cheese** » Tue Jul 03, 2001 8:13 am

I intend to eventually go through all the NPCs to see what happens. Right now, I have the following party:
Berzerker (me)
Jaheira
Aerie
Imoen
Minsc (and Boo)
Keldorn
Now that I think about it, I should go about reselecting spells for Aerie and Imoen, what with Keldorn having so many dispel magics at his disposal...

Metatron · Post by **Metatron** » Tue Jul 03, 2001 2:36 pm

I'm playing three games with different protagonists right now, each with an alignment theme.

Good:
Me - Paladin
Mazzy
Aerie
Valygar
Minsc
Imoen

Evil:
Me - Thief
Viconia
Korgan
Edwin
Sarevok

Chaotic:
Me - Wild Mage
Minsc (Switched for Sarevok)
Korgan
Jan Jansen
Anomen (Played so he turns Chaotic Neutral)
Haer Da'lis

I actually think I've got every NPC in the game cover with these groups. Well, except for Cernd and Jaheira. Hmmm, I may have to play a Nature-Themed party.

Wulffolk · Post by **Wulffolk** » Tue Jul 03, 2001 9:49 pm

I began the game with the Paladin that I played through BG1 and ToSC.

Saradhaine, LG Paladin (switched to Undead Hunter kit when I imported her to BGII), 19s 19d 19c 7i 20w 19ch, simply amazing rolls during the creation plus I located all 6 tomes in BG and the extra tome of wisdom in ToSC. I almost fell out of my seat when I rolled high enough to have 5 18's and still have a decent Intelligence, but I feel that it is appropriate for the successor to Bhaal to eventually earn stats beyond what most mortals are capable of. She uses 2H Swords **, 2H Style **, and Long Bow **. She used her extra point of Wisdom for the sacrifice during the dream, so now only has a 19w. Plan to use Carsomyr when I earn it.

Joining Saradhaine is:

Keldorn, who has been learning Long Swords **, since he will be denied Carsomyr.

Anomen, for the romance story. He has also proven himself to be the most useful NPC in the game IMHO.

Valygar, equiped with the Girdle of Hill Giant Strength and the long bow StrongArm +2.

Mazzy, who's special abilities make her almost as good as having another Paladin.

Yoshimo, because I wanted to play through the whole betrayal sequence.

Imoen, who replaced Yoshimo after the rescue. I raced through the early chapters of the story to reach Imoen before the rest of my party drastically outpaced her. One other note about Imoen is that I dualled her to Mage while playing ToSC, so gave her the Tome of Intelligence. I used Shadow Keeper to boost her to an 18i, since I had earned it fairly. This has been my only "cheat" so far.

Between Saradhaine, Keldorn, Anomen and Mazzy ... I basically have 4 holy warriors, 3 of which will be members of the Order of the Radiant Heart. Throw in a very noble Ranger with Valygar, and a kind-hearted thief like Imoen, and I have potentially the most heroic group of crusaders possible.

The mentor relationship between Keldorn and Anomen is entertaining, as is Mazzy recruiting Valygar as her squire. Imoen seems to be adequate as a thief, and makes an excellent mage. I just hope that her thieving skills are good enough later in the game.

Anyways...I am planning to play this party through ToB. The only weakness I can predict is depending on Imoen as a Thief. Can anybody out there tell me if she will be good enough to handle ToB?

moriveth · Post by **moriveth** » Tue Jul 03, 2001 11:32 pm

Originally posted by Wulffolk:
<STRONG>Can anybody out there tell me if she will be good enough to handle ToB?</STRONG>

She's fine. The first dungeon will have a couple traps she won't be able to disarm, but you get a nice item in the second dungeon that (with the Ring of Danger Sense) gives her more than adequate trap disarm skill. And she's a lot better than Jan as a mage, especially if you have just one mage, so I like her as the party thief. (Unless you want to try the awesome thief abilities--not that there's much point in Jan wielding Carsomyr per se.)

Rail · Post by **Rail** » Wed Jul 04, 2001 12:13 am

I am near finishing with a party of

PC- Cleric of Lathander
Stalker (multi-player mode)
Jaheira (romance)
Aerie and Haer Dalis (romancing eachother)
and Yoshimo/Imoen

It was interesting to see after I rebuffed Aerie's affection in favor of Jaheira, Aerie and HD rushed through their romance. I've become a big HD fan. I've used him often as a frontline tank and he fills the role nicely with good AC, girdle of fortitude, stoneskin, mirror image, blur, fireshield, tenser's trans, etc.

I'm starting a new party consisting of
PC thief
Viconia
Cernd
Korgan
Anomen
Edwin
This makes me heavy on clerical/druidic magic and light on mage power. That's not my usual style, so I thought it'd be a fun change.

Xyx · Post by **Xyx** » Wed Jul 04, 2001 2:16 pm

Originally posted by moriveth:
<STRONG>(Unless you want to try the awesome thief abilities--not that there's much point in Jan wielding Carsomyr per se.)</STRONG>

Awesome abilities? You mean there are more reasons to have high level Thieves than just Use Any Item?

I suppose the Time Trap/attacking your own summon cheese is useful...

Orland · Post by **Orland** » Wed Jul 04, 2001 4:59 pm

Who I am currently using:

Protagonist: Orland (Paladin, no cheese, classic Purifier and Shield of Harmony)

NPC 1: Keldorn (with Carsomyr, aka extra-cheese with Canadian Bacon)

NPC 2: Aerie (Romantic interest Wields Flail of Ages aka Ball and Chain)

NPC 3: Minsc (with Boo, except no substitutes. Dual Wields Axe and Mace)

NPC 4: Jaheira (wields staff of woodlands and lots of attitude)

NPC 5 for 1st part: Jan (gotta love turnips)

NPC 5 for 2nd part: Imoen (she's like that old sweater you can't part with because it's been through so much with you even though it's starting to smell and people are starting to complain...dammit, they just don't understand!)

Yeah somepeople are going to say, "d00d why didn't u dual wield or go uber?!?"

As I have stated before, Kits for pally are too powerful for my liking, especially when you have 2 pallys in your group. As for dual wielding bastard swords...no offense, damage or no, it just doesn't have that feel of being a paladin, besides, you don't get any good ones till ToB.

Only thing I would of liked to of tried is Viconia, but it's hard to counter balance putting her in and taking Keldorn out.

Oh well...

Orland

Prad · Post by **Prad** » Thu Jul 05, 2001 2:14 am

I'm currently using a mixed aligment party that will take me through into TOB (IF ITS EVER RELEASED HERE)....

NE Blade (protagonist)lvl 14
CE Korgan lvl 10
LG Keldorn lvl 10
LG (Sir) Anomen lvl 13
CE Edwin lvl 11
N Jaheira lvl 13/10

There are some really weird interactions... Keldorn actually praises Korgan and starts to consider that there is a place for evil the world! and Jaheira starts getting feisty with everyone and threatens to kick (at various times) Anomen's and Korgan's asses.

The pary is a bit short on thief skills, but I suck up the damage from traps with my tanks, can pick pocket with my blade, and the spell "knock" is a 100% successful open locks ability...

BTW this party took on the twisted rune and won (with no casualties) at the levels shown above...after about 20 attempts refining the strategy