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Well he IS a good thief, Jan, but...well, he's a bit annoying, but if you play an evil party and aren't a thief...you have little other choice...

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Pretty pretty walks the night, pretty pretty fears the light.
Pretty pretty has no soul, pretty pretty black as coal.

Well he will, he's neutral, but...there's this Asylum-prob...and he can't pickpocket...

I dumped Yoshimo for Jan and I was glad that I did. Jan has very amusing dialog, and I got really annoyed by the "I can dance on the head of a pin" commentary. As for skills, Jan vs. Yoshimo is a matter of how you play the game. I never backstab, and thus Jan is the better thief (infinite money if you want to abuse the game a little). And, my main character was a barbarian, so I didn't need Yoshimo's fighting skills, but instead needed Jan's spell-casting ability.

For me it's definitely Jan. I never needed traps so far (which is one of the things Yoshimo can do better than Jan), same for backstabbing. Jan is far better in doing all other thieving tasks like finding / disarming traps and especially pickpocketing. Oh yes, and he also has those neat spells

Every Thief/Bard can pickpocket. They only need enough Potions of Master Thievery. Gives +40 every time. The duration should be long enough to make more money than you'll ever need.

I can't stand Jan. I guess it's just that I don't like that kind of fantasy setting (gadgets and techno stuff), and he's pretty annoying to say the least. Yoshimo is... well, check out the spoilers elsewhere. For me, you have to have your own thief character, or you put up with the half-thieves Imoen or Nalia.

Imoen will do for the really important things: Trap finding/disarming and lock picking. With the lockpicking ring she can handle almost every lock and trap.

Hide in shadows? Who needs it if there are invisibility spells available.

Pick pocketing? Read my previous posting.

Hide in shadows with cloak of non-detect works great vs. true seeing. Invisibility is dispelled.

I never found that cloak, but then divination magic was never really my problem. But you'll always reappear when doing anything, even with improved invisibility/shadow door.

Cool thing is that Staff of the Magi: Permanent invisibility when equipped. If you're detected/dispelled just re-equip it.

True, but it's kinda cool having your thief stand behind the group of cowled enforcers as a scout, while you hurl spells in their vicinity from beyond their vision. Plus, they sit there and expend all their true seeing trying to find you, and you're in their own shadow.

Heh, heh. Thieves are just cool.

I always dump Yoshimo for Jan. That gnome absolutely rocks! His thieving skills suits my playing style. I seldom backstab or lay traps (although I certainly can see the use for the later when fighting some of the more powerful foes). Therefor, Jan really has all I need from a thief. As the game progress I usually put more points into Set Trap. In addition, Jan is a capable spellcaster. Being a gnome, he gets the Specialist advantage even though multi-classed. The only necromancer spell I truly miss, is the Spirit Armour (Ghost Armour isn't quite as good and lasts only half the time). This can be compensated with the robe of Vecna and/or the Bracers AC 3 and maybe a ring or two. And have you seen how incredible cool Jan looks with a robe on and a katana in hand!? Why not use the katana from PT? An alternative would be the Staff from the Twisted Rune (forgot the name - Staff of the Magi, was it?). The Light Crossbow of Speed is a good complement when loaded with for exemple Jan's personal ammunition. Finally, the converations with the other NPCs are almost to good to be true. Who knew Drow tasted like chicken?

Despite the plot problem (you know what I am talking about) if you do not play a thief (single, dual or multi) Yoshimo is by far the best thief in that game, if you are not that much into pick-pocketing. But... there is that littul problem ...damned

i fired yoshimo shortly after starting chapter 2 and then fired nalia after her keep quest, which left me free to try out jan and boy am i glad. that little guy rules it.

he is a superior thief (setting traps is a weakness, but I don't use those, so no big loss yet) and of course one more party member ripping off triggered magic missiles is handy indeed. additionally, although his equipment is corny, it is really practical. the key is to keep him ranged and protected. he is the member that I have to resurrect most often because his low hit points really suck when the enemy starts pounding me with fireballs. i nearly always have him in the cloak of nondetection with a ring of invisibility and just let him run around scouting and pickpocketing and doing his little thief thing. plus, he is amusing.

yes, so, in short: jan.

Jan rocks. His dialogues are good, his thief abilities great (except for set traps), and he's not a bad mage. I would never trade him in for Yoshimo.

I like Jan's comments about his role in the party if a book is written about the adventures (this is right after the "random" encounter with Drizzt).