Need a protagonist to round out this party:

krunchyfrogg · Post by **krunchyfrogg** » Sun May 30, 2004 10:16 pm

I plan on taking a small party, and I'm just going to stick with the guys you get in Irenicus' dungeon.

So, I'll have:

Minsc
Jaheira
Imoen

I'd like it to be a four person party, but I'm not sure what the protagonist should be. I like balanced parties.

Anyway, I've been thinking of a Fighter/Cleric/Mage multiclass, or maybe a Ranger/Cleric. I don't mind multiclassing, b/c with such a small party, I'll be gaining levels like mad! Any other suggestions on a protagonist?

PS: I don't care about romances, so making the character a dwarf or gnome wouldn't bother me.

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Mon May 31, 2004 3:10 am

You have enough melee power in Minsc and Jaheira, Jaheira can take care of the priest duties (healing) and Imoen has the magical side covered.
The only thing you're missing is a thief. A swashbuckler can fight well, but you don't need another fighter. That leaves the bountyhunter - a kit that never particulary interested me - or the assassin. Make him a halfling (bonus in DEX and slings), give him a sling and a short sword and he can be quite deadly. Eventualy he'll and up with 7x backstab damage.
His thieving abilities arent't very good but like you said, you'll lvl up quick.

If you want a total powerhouse, ranger/cleric or fighter/mage is a good choice, but remember, none of his abilities are unique, all the other partymembers can do what he does - and better.
If you want a Jack-of-all-trades, you could go for bard. Both the Blade- and Skald kit are very effective in their own way.

Spoilerish:

Seeing as how you'll be missing Imoen for some time, you might also choose a wizard type. How about a sorceror?

Numinor · Post by **Numinor** » Mon May 31, 2004 3:21 am

A thief/mage dualclass could also be good, for example swashbuckler dualclassed to mage.
A level 10 Swashbuckler can take care of any traps/locks in the game, and you can even distribute some ponits to set trap or maybe detect illusions. With a small party you'll have the swashbuckler class back in no time.

krunchyfrogg · Post by **krunchyfrogg** » Mon May 31, 2004 4:56 am

I don't mind the Mage of the Thief classes, but I don't want them to be the main thing. I'd like some bit of warrior in there, so that the only character who can't melee very well would be Imoen.

I'm also of the belief that Imoen is enough of a Thief for the whole game.

BTW, I don't go very long without her. I usually get my $15k and run for Spellhold!

Mirk · Post by **Mirk** » Mon May 31, 2004 6:10 am

as Coot said, all your basic roles (fighter, mage, healer, thief) are covered by your NPCs. so basicaly your PC can be of any class.

here's some good "fighterish" options:

Paladin (plain or a kit) - utilise the Holy Avenger, stand at the front of every battle alongside Minsc and stare death in the eye.

Single class Stalker or Monk, Archer, Beserker or Barbarian - each is the master of his domain (the ultimate Commando, Sniper, or Big Brute) - all powerfull enough not to be ashamed of by middle levels.

Multy- or dual-classed fighter (or kensai or beserker) / mage, and fighter (or beserker) or ranger/cleric - the Jedi Knights of BG2. Act just like a normal tank in the regular battles, prepare yourself with magic for the hard ones, only to emerge from them untouched and with all the buffs still working. Avoid using as primary spellcaster (you've got Imoen for that), use as a "Spellsword".

Multi- or dual-classed fighter (or kensai or beserker or wizardslayer) / thief - the real stalkers, with "one-hit-one-kill" backstabs, and pretty cool (if somewhat cheesy) HLA's, such as Use Any Item and Spike Trap.

* multi-classed: two pools of High Level Abilities, slower advancement, no kits, any race
* dual-classed: kits for the warrior class, more spells, only one pool of HLA's, human only

And of course, base your decision on roleplaying considerations - the avatar you think looks the coolest, the portrait that matches the class... you get the idea.

Thrain · Post by **Thrain** » Mon May 31, 2004 11:04 am

depends what you want to be. that particular party happens to be my next game (if i dont solo) with a F/M PC.

a bard would be good. im guessing youll pick up either Jan or Nalia to cover for Imoen's absence while you get your 15k.

in all honesty, any class will fit into this party. it just depends on your play style.

Vicsun · Post by **Vicsun** » Mon May 31, 2004 12:02 pm

Bard. Or a shapeshifter. Or something else you haven't played before.

krunchyfrogg · Post by **krunchyfrogg** » Mon May 31, 2004 8:33 pm

Originally posted by Thrain
im guessing youll pick up either Jan or Nalia to cover for Imoen's absence while you get your 15k.

Actually, I think I'll just let Yoshimo tag along. If my protagonist is part-mage, I might as well just use the thief who does it all!

in all honesty, any class will fit into this party. it just depends on your play style.

Hmmm. I love fighting-types, and like like mages too. I've heard that a mage-cleric can put together some really awesome Contingencies. I just don't know if a 3 classed character will advance too slowly, even with the smaller sized party of four.

I know I'll be able to gain more XP with a small party, because I'll be able to pick up NPCs just to complete their sidequests.

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Mon May 31, 2004 11:31 pm

Originally posted by krunchyfrogg
I don't mind the Mage of the Thief classes, but I don't want them to be the main thing. I'd like some bit of warrior in there

I've been pleasantly surprised by this game through playing with classes/kits I never thought I'd enjoy. After a fighter, barbarian and stalker i played an assassin, wild mage and blade and I enjoyed those very much.

Thrain · Post by **Thrain** » Tue Jun 01, 2004 4:06 am

well, a F/M/C would be an interesting addition to that party certainly. you won't be able to tank as well, but your sequencers and contingencies (when you get them) could be very interesting.

plus, with that party, you can keep the crom and the FoA all to yourself

Skuld · Post by **Skuld** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 12:20 pm

Go with an Archer. So far you have no ranged users, and that's the perfect addition to your party of brute force, healing and pest magic, and thievery and the good spells.

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 12:30 pm

The only problem I had with playing an archer was (and I know it sounds a bit childish

) that you don't 'feel' like the hero of the piece. The archers's always standing in the back, dishing out (an admittedly lot of) damage. He's more of a supporting kind of fighter, disturbing a mage's spellcasting while others do the kill.

Skuld · Post by **Skuld** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 12:35 pm

Well what is he's the kinda guy who doesn't wanna be a protagonist? Maybe he just realized this is path and as he walks it he might as well have some help along even if they will be taking most of the glory. Something along those lines.

SP101 · Post by **SP101** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 4:29 pm

You could take any bard kit. Bards are *good* fighters, potent mages and have some interesting skills (Pickpocket, High lore, Songs). They can be really great when auto-buffed. (Greater Haste + Stone Skin + Tenser's Transformation make them great fighters).

Alot of people never played Bards. Bards are a little weak, I agree, but that's interesting! Weaker = More Challenging, dont forget this.

You could also take something like a Fighter/Cleric, because your party doesn't have any Cleric spells. Sure you have Jaheira as a healer/tank, but you'll miss all those anti-undead spells!

To be brief : A bard or a Fighter/Cleric (or a Cleric) would be a nice addition to your party.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 4:55 pm

A dual kensai/mage is also something to think about. Start with a kensai for the starting HP etc. and then switch over to a mage at level 9.... This also means that the armour restriction is not a problem, and once you regain your kensai abilities you'll be able to melee as well as cast spells.

krunchyfrogg · Post by **krunchyfrogg** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 11:13 pm

Holy bump-a-thread Batman!

I've decided on a Human Berserker/Cleric. I dualled from Berserker at level 13, and just reached level 14 as a Cleric in my game. I'm in Chapter 6 now, and I'm trying to do NPC related quests and tie up loose ends and such.

The character is working out fine, and I'm considering adding two NPCs when I reach ToB.

I'll probably add that NPC only available in ToB, as well as Jan. Jan will give me more thieving abilities (allowing Imoen to use better Mage-related rings), and add a bit of magery, while Mr. S is probably the best tank in the game.

FireLighter · Post by **FireLighter** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 11:19 pm

@ DragonWench:
Another one? Is it just me, or is anyone else tired of everyone suggesting kensai mages? no offence DW but I'm just a little annoyed about how much that pops up in a topic.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 11:46 pm

[QUOTE=FireLighter]@ DragonWench:
Another one? Is it just me, or is anyone else tired of everyone suggesting kensai mages? no offence DW but I'm just a little annoyed about how much that pops up in a topic.[/QUOTE] He did seem to be saying he wanted a multi or dual-classed sort of character with some magic and melee ability, it seemed a reasonable enough suggestion to me, and from what I have heard it can be a fun class. Personally, I keep meaning to try the kensai/mage but then I end up just sticking with a single class kensai...

But really, it's all personal preference. Many of us around here have actually been playing this game since it first came out and are familiar with all of the debates surrounding power classes, cheese etc. etc. etc. etc. etc..... Any thorough search will dig up a great deal of history on all of these topics as they have been discussed here at Game Banshee. My own opinion is just play the game as you want in a way that suits your personal playing style... while accepting that everyone might have a different perception of what constitutes enjoyable gameplay

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 8:03 am

Please don't spam up the threads. Thanks.