GameBanshee Forums

Tate wrote:Gah. Sorry, I've never had much interest in Jaheira, the only time I've had her in my party was my first run through BG1.

I took Jaheira and Khalid with me all along the way when i played BG1 for the 2nd time (you-ou u-u-u-under-der-stand wha-what i we-went th-th-th-through), and that's because i had read somewhere that there was a Harper sub-quest you could do if u had them in your party. But nothing like that ever came up. (I had also installed Unfinished Business & DSotSC)
The Harper sub-quest appeared when i did not excpect it, now that i'm playing BG2.
Does anyone know if there's a Harper sub-quest in BG1?
And do the Harpers stop attacking you in BG2 if Jaheira renounces her Harper identity? Do u hear again from them in SoA?

they are like the cops/secret service in the real world - their mission is to suppress 'bad' conduct which endangers society at large. sometimes to do so they overstep the mark and forget they are accountable - same with the Harpers - they are fighting a number of causes and in BGII one develops a 'god-complex' and decides to rid the world of the PC, irrespective of what the PC has done, merely for what he/she may become and to advance their own career.
that is Neutral behaviour, but unrelated to maintaining the 'balance'.

(of course, it all comes back to discussions on the nature of evil and of alignments)

most of the harpers think about their actions - only Galvary's gang are against the PC per se.

Andurbal wrote:I took Jaheira and Khalid with me all along the way when i played BG1 for the 2nd time (you-ou u-u-u-under-der-stand wha-what i we-went th-th-th-through), and that's because i had read somewhere that there was a Harper sub-quest you could do if u had them in your party. But nothing like that ever came up.
Does anyone know if there's a Harper sub-quest in BG1?

I'm not sure what you heard, but there are two possibilities.

First of all, the game wants you to do two things right after you leave Candlekeep: meet Khalid and Jaheira at the Friendly Arm Inn, and head for Nashkel to investigate the iron crisis. The game leaves all sorts of clues that the tainted iron is coming out of the Nashkel Mines. If you have ever played BG1, you know that's where the action is. Khalid and Jaheira are good party members for a first-time adventurer, and they add a nice roleplaying element to the game. They are friends of your character's foster father, so they have come to escort you at Gorion's request. But they have also been sent by the Harpers to investigate the Nashkel Mines. The Mayor of Nashkel is expecting them. You might consider that to be "their quest" (even though it is actually a quest you would be doing even if they weren't in your party). Adding them to your party will help you stay on course AND give your party the strength it needs to carry out the mission. If you do the quest without them, they will disappear when you enter the Friendly Arm Inn.

Xzar and Montaron are agents of the Zhentarim, another secret group. Like Khalid and Jaheira, they too have been sent by their superiors to investigate the Nashkel Mines. The Mayor of Nashkel is expecting them. If you add them to your party, they will point you in the right direction and assist you with the quest.

Second of all, the "subquest" you heard about might be related to the clash between the Harpers (Khalid and Jaheira) and the Zhentarim (Xzar and Montaron). They are mortal enemies. If they weren't members of your party, they would kill each other on sight. If they're in your party, they'll wait until you have come to rely upon all of them before they fight to the death and shatter your party and undermine your objectives. As far as I'm concerned, it's a knife in the back. It's a good reason to tell them to get lost when you first meet them or kill them if they try to follow you. Who needs people like that in your party? (On a sidenote, none of your party members will leave your party or attack other party members in Throne of Bhaal, probably because they're afraid you'll kill them if they try it.)

Andurbal wrote:And do the Harpers stop attacking you in BG2 if Jaheira renounces her Harper identity? Do u hear again from them in SoA?

After Jaheira denounces the Harpers, there are still a few more encounters with the Harpers before the subplot is over. The conclusion has a couple of surprises in store for you. Unfortunately, I think you have to wait 30 days for the final encounter, and on top of that the script has bugs, so a lot of people miss it.