Imoen and Nalia

fishhead · Post by **fishhead** » Tue Jan 23, 2001 5:29 pm

I plan on using Nalia til I get Imoen, because they are basically the same character type. Therefore when I ditch Nalia I can easily hand over all of her stuff to Imoen,(I think even most of their proficiencies are similar), now is there enough xp for imoen to max her mage level after act 5? Keep in mind I have finished all quests prior to act 5, I mean ALL.

Thanks in advance
fishhead

Pigdog · Post by **Pigdog** » Tue Jan 23, 2001 6:02 pm

I ditched Nalia before I went to spellhold, guess I'm just a sucker for her. I wanted to make sure I'd see her whiny butt again.

I'm gettin soft. (sniff)

Wait...........

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Swine

nael · Post by **nael** » Tue Jan 23, 2001 6:09 pm

imoen is basically useless if you have done all of the side quests by the time you pick her up. she is just so far below everyone else in the party

Weasel · Post by **Weasel** » Tue Jan 23, 2001 6:09 pm

Originally posted by fishhead:
I plan on using Nalia til I get Imoen, because they are basically the same character type. Therefore when I ditch Nalia I can easily hand over all of her stuff to Imoen,(I think even most of their proficiencies are similar), now is there enough xp for imoen to max her mage level after act 5? Keep in mind I have finished all quests prior to act 5, I mean ALL.

Thanks in advance
fishhead

The odds are you will not max her out. If you wanted to spend time summoning pit fiends and killing them you could max her out after Ch .5.

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The Defender of Truth

Hex92 · Post by **Hex92** » Tue Jan 23, 2001 9:08 pm

Yep no way you can max her out since you did ALL the quests. I did too the first time through the game. All of my other party members were maxed, but she was way short of 2.95 million when the game ended.
I guess I would have to give the same advice given to me: bring her in the party since its good for the plot line. But unless your PC is a mage I would dump someone else since Nalia will be a much better mage than Imoen.

Hex92

Agoth · Post by **Agoth** » Tue Jan 23, 2001 9:15 pm

I maxed her out after doing all the quests and such. If you clear beolders and Mindflayers and do all the quests in the underdark it's not really that hard, they give mad exp. With the cap off, my main character hit 3.5 mil exp by the end I think, so there's alot to be had.

Mhr'djynn · Post by **Mhr'djynn** » Tue Jan 23, 2001 9:28 pm

this is a good point, and i am just about to go do Aran's Bodhi quest in chapter 3, which means that I will shortly be leaving for spellhold, as far as I understand. I believe have done all the other quests from chapters 2 and 3 except for the mind flayers in the sewers, the kangaxx liches, and the twisted rune. i don't plan to allow imoen back in my party but my question is this, if i do not take her with me, will i miss any significant twists in the story or interesting extra quests? if it is simply a matter of role-playing continuity, i will sacrifice that as i would prefer to remain loyal to my present party. otherwise, it would be good to know before i set off for spellhold. thanks.

Alienbob · Post by **Alienbob** » Tue Jan 23, 2001 10:25 pm

No, if you decide not to get Imoen you wont miss anything.

Drakron Du´Dark · Post by **Drakron Du´Dark** » Tue Jan 23, 2001 10:36 pm

I like to say that Imoen have a extra spell slot.Besides there is a lot of XP after you get her to put her in a higher level.
And she did stay with you AFTER opening your Jail door.

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"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not became a monster... when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss gazes into you..."
Friedrich Nietzsche

Agoth · Post by **Agoth** » Tue Jan 23, 2001 10:57 pm

From a story point of view, you'd have to be a real ass not to take your sister with you to get her soul back. But no, she just has some dialogue, nothing earthshaking after chapter 4.

Mhr'djynn · Post by **Mhr'djynn** » Wed Jan 24, 2001 12:22 am

@drakon: true, but jan & my pc also have an extra spell slot, and her decision to open the door was her own, her decision to stay with me was her own, and she had the nifty belt on which made it more or less mandatory that she exit the dungeon. by the way, how do i know she isn't just all screwed up by irenicus and was being used by him to open my door? do i really trust her?

@agoth: from a story point of view, i wouldn't have to be an ass not to take her with me, i would only have to be chaotic neutral, which i am. i am not sure i consider her my sister anyway. if the story will (would) let me, i will say:

"hey imoen, you're looking mighty... nervous. let me guess, this place give you the creeps? here's how to backtrack out of this place. take this 5000 GP, catch a boat to athkatla and i'll meet you at the copper coronet after i destroy the wingnut that did this to us. do yourself a favor and see if there are still some gigolos back there in the upper floors. Hendak owes me one. Oh, and if I find your soul somewhere along the way I'll bring it to you and we'll party like it's 2999.

Now git."

[This message has been edited by Mhr'djynn (edited 01-24-2001).]

Drakron Du´Dark · Post by **Drakron Du´Dark** » Wed Jan 24, 2001 12:37 am

But you are(like Jan) a especialist mage, she is a regular one.And Jan sucks as a thief, Give some nice things to Imoen and she will pass that "jan".
Imoen can go as far as Nalia in the Magic departmant and she is a better thief.
I dont Know what party does fishhead have or his character class.
His question is who is better choise Imoen or Nalia.there is nothing about jan or if his character.
Imoen or Nalia
I say Imoen.

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"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not became a monster... when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss gazes into you..."
Friedrich Nietzsche

[This message has been edited by Drakron Du´Dark (edited 01-24-2001).]

Mhr'djynn · Post by **Mhr'djynn** » Wed Jan 24, 2001 12:48 am

hm, well, at present, jan is a level 11 illusionist/level 12 thief and his (thief)stats are:

open locks: 95
find traps: 105
pick pockets: 100
move silently: 25
hide in shadows: 80
detect illusion: 100
set traps: 5
backstab x4

he's got great saving throws and all of this is even without any special thieving equipment other than the gadgets he comes with. i've got a ring of danger sense, ring of invisibility, boots of speed, and a cloak of non-detection that i throw on him when he's in serious scout mode, and i swear he is a great, great thief for my party. with the short sword of backstabbing +3 he is surprisingly handy in the early stages of a battle. i never set traps anyway, and his dialogue is endlessly entertaining. that's my thinkin' anyway. as you said, he's a spec mage and unfortunately we are both illusionists, but it just makes it a bit more challenging for me, which is kind of cool.

Drakron Du´Dark · Post by **Drakron Du´Dark** » Wed Jan 24, 2001 1:00 am

Read my post again and the origial question again.
Look Jan because he is multiclass will never(unless you remove the XP cap) cast 7 lever spells, Imoen (and Nalia) can. Besides Imoen only have Crap statistics in the Pickpoket skill, the other ones are fine.
Plus because she is a Normal Mage, she can cast necromatic spells, something that Jan can never do.
With a Potion of master thivering she can have no problem in detecting traps, open doors and the like, besides that see her statistics and compare them to Jan.
+1 Dex +1 Int and +1 Con. the only thing that jan have more is +3Wis.

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"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not became a monster... when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss gazes into you..."
Friedrich Nietzsche

[This message has been edited by Drakron Du´Dark (edited 01-24-2001).]

Mhr'djynn · Post by **Mhr'djynn** » Wed Jan 24, 2001 1:17 am

i see your point, drakon, and i wasn't really addressing the original question, and i assume you were directing the jan comments toward me, as fishhead never mentioned jan. it's no big deal, i was simply wondering if i was going to miss huge chunks of plot without imoen. it's not really the stats that would lure me to imoen. and anyway, i can't see her statistics until after i make a decision of who to take to spellhold, and i'd rather not leave jan there. i guess it's just a matter of personal preference. i like the little guy, and i think his advantages outweigh his disadvantages, whereas I disliked Imoen through the whole 1st chapter, sister or not, and I wouldn't consider picking Nalia back up, though you make a good case for both of them.

[This message has been edited by Mhr'djynn (edited 01-24-2001).]

geh4th · Post by **geh4th** » Wed Jan 24, 2001 4:03 am

What was the point in having two NPC's that are almost identical in every way, anyhow? On top of that, you can throw in Jan, who is just a multiclassed NPC of the same professions.....at least Jan has some personality....

With 16 available NPC's and all of these interesting kits, you'd think the designers would have come up with a bit more variety.

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"If you prefer, you could say EXPERT treasure hunter!"
--Gandalf the Grey, the Hobbit

Aegnor · Post by **Aegnor** » Wed Jan 24, 2001 8:39 am

I have to agree with the pro-Imoen camp. Despite the fact that she was 500,000 exp behind my other characters, Imoen gets an extra spell at every level. I found that I rarely cast 7th level spells in combat, (they take too long), and there's enough scrolls out there that you can fire off those 8th and 9th level spells when really necessary.

Also - there are two rings out there that give you extra spells. What Imoen lacks in level she makes up for in depth - TONS of spells, theiving abilities that cover the gaps if you don't have a thief, and access to every school of magic.

One other option - Haer'Dalis provides a nice, flexible character who can memorize thos spells that are needed only rarely but are extremely helpful. Because the bard exp table is so easy, he gets 5th and 6th level spells long before you complete the game. That extra breach, detect invisibility, knock spell, etc. And he can fight.

A buddy of mine is taking Imoen, Nalia, and Aerie into chapter 4. I think he's nuts, but he's got a dwarven barbarian who basically counts as two fighters.

fishhead · Post by **fishhead** » Wed Jan 24, 2001 10:30 am

1. I seem to have a mix of replies here, most think I cannot max her out after doing all the quests prior to spellhold and a couple think I will. I will test this out and do the deed.

2. I have to agree geh4th it's kinda strange that they made two NPC's nearly identical. The only advantages that I can clearly see with Nalia is the strength(minor) and the higher levels she will attain. Any thoughts on that?

3. Pigdog mentioned he dropped Nalia prior to Spellhold so he could pick her up again. Do you leave NPC's in spellhold if you kick them out of your party? Won't they go to wherever they normally stay, e.g. Copper Coronet?

Thanks again for the help and great responses.
fishhead

[This message has been edited by fishhead (edited 01-24-2001).]

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Wed Jan 24, 2001 10:51 am

I just picked up Nalia to try her out. Her thief stats are kind of lousy so I bent a few rules using the ShadowKeeper. I, as many others if I've understood correctly, mostly use a thief to detect/disarm traps and to open locks. Therefor, I moved the 10 % spent in pick pockets to one of these categories, then leveled her thief class up to level 6. This way I get another 50 % to spend, raising both her detect trap and open lock abilities to a 100 %. The 15 000 XP needed for this raise I take away from her current mage class. If I want to pick pockets I can always use a bard (if I have one in the party, that is), or simply drink a potion of master thievery. I'm not sure I even will consider this as cheating - this is the only way Nalia can be useful as a thief in my party and I don't want to bring along Jan every time.

Gruntboy · Post by **Gruntboy** » Wed Jan 24, 2001 10:53 am

Naughty, naughty Astafas