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I was just wondering how many people enjoy playing with a themed party. What I mean is, a party where a particular sort of 'class' tends to dominate.

Recently I started a game with an all girl group of mostly spellcasters:

Tashara (PC): sorcerer
Tashia: sorcerer
Aerie
Imoen
Jaheira
Chloe (kensai)

I have to say, I'm having a lot of fun because I'm up against a whole new set of challenges. None of my group is really able to use the many powerful swords in the game (except Chloe, but I'm sticking with her custom weapons ), and Jaheira is the only one who can wear armour and helmets. Another challenge is that I have to think carefully about who gets to wear the really good items.. Robe of Vecna, Bracers of defense AC 3 etc. (I have not yet obtained a certain staff...). All of a sudden I'm really paying attention to all of those magical protection spells, like Protection from Magical Energy, that I previously somewhat ignored.
Chloe is my main fighter, and Jaheira is becoming my backup tank.
The result is that this almost feels as though I have never played the game before, since I no longer have access to previous strategies.

Of course.. they are still quite low level, on average level 12, but I suspect that when I've advanced my little group will be a force to be reckoned with

Other experiences?

Good thread, DW.

One of the great things about BG is that it's a totally different challenge if you do this kind of stuff. I've got a couple on the go at the moment: a druid-themed one (now in ToB) and a United Nations-themed one.

The UN one was a hoot: one each of LG (Aerie), CG (Minsc), LE (Edwin), CE (Korgan) plus Jan.

Sadly, it seems that Aerie and Korgan are doomed to mash each other. Any suggestions on alternatives? Mazzy? And are Minsc and Edwin going to kick off too?

[QUOTE=boo's daddy]Good thread, DW.

One of the great things about BG is that it's a totally different challenge if you do this kind of stuff. I've got a couple on the go at the moment: a druid-themed one (now in ToB) and a United Nations-themed one.

The UN one was a hoot: one each of LG (Aerie), CG (Minsc), LE (Edwin), CE (Korgan) plus Jan.

Sadly, it seems that Aerie and Korgan are doomed to mash each other. Any suggestions on alternatives? Mazzy? And are Minsc and Edwin going to kick off too?[/QUOTE]

Thanks

I agree, and it is one of the things that makes this game the one I always return to I'm curious about your druid-themed party. Who do you have? I'm assuming your PC, Jaheira, Cernd.. and maybe Valygar??? I don't know.. I realise Minsc is also a ranger, but I always have trouble seeing him this way.

Hmm.. regarding the conflicts, maybe other people will have some insights, since I largely play with neutral/good parties. Other than the Happpy Patch, which would obviously defeat the entire point of a UN-themed game, I don't know of any solutions..

An update on my game: I have just ventured into the second level of the Spellhold Dungeon... thus far with no problems to date. Before leaving Athkatla I completed the Temple quest, Thieve's Guild quest, and some assorted minor areas, basically to raise funds so I wasn't totally naked before embarking on the next section
Imagine... four simultaneous fireballs launched at a cluster of enemies.. or four sets of magical missiles hitting a single foe...
Of course, it will become more difficult when I hit enemies with high magic resistance, but that is part of the fun!

I started with Cernd, Janeira, Valygar and .. er. Minsc, of course! Pretty soon I started to compromise (they were getting totally mashed in Watcher's Keep; it is my first go at ToB after all) and I reverted to a fairly bog standard outfit. Jaheira and self as druids. Jan because I don't seem to be able to get by without a thief, Anomen to balance him out and Sarevok because he's badder than a baddass in a bad mood

I find it's much harder to play evil properly than it is good; however, it's amazing how they've embedded all this customisation, so that you get different options depending on your alignment.

The UN party are in limbo pending a solution to intractable differences. So, pretty realistic then

edwin and korgan will fight eventually. mazzy and korgan is...............interesting

Try a paladin-type party:

You (some type of pally)
Keldorn
Anomen
Mazzy
Valygar (possibly, since (highlight for spoiler) he can become Mazzy's squire.)

Granted, you could have a pure hearted party:

You (whatever class, but LG)
Keldorn
Minsc
Aerie
Nalia or Mazzy

Or a party of fools:

You (thief, bard, or wild mage...preferably wild mage)
Haer'Dalis
Jan
Edwin
Valygar (he strikes me as the type to fit in with shady people)

I once played with a party of troubadours. The original idea was to play an all-Bard party, but I wanted to adhere to the original BG2 plot, so I ended up compromising. The party looked like this:

Blade
Jester
Skald
Haer'Dalis
Aerie (an aspiring thespian and Haer'Dalis's love interest)
Imoen (she refused to leave after we rescued her in Chapter Four)

One of their goals was to make the streets of Athkatla safe to walk so that people could come to their shows. In addition to fighting their own personal enemies, they also fought against all regimes and institutions that exploited people or caused suffering, including the Shadow Thieves, the rival guild, the Cowled Wizards, and various "bosses" throughout Amn. The party loved adoring crowds, but it was really all about the music, adventure, and poetry.

I have to admit that it was difficult at first to overcome the party's weaknesses and capitalize upon the party's strengths. Without a "tank" in the party, melee was very tough at low levels. One of the most humbling experiences was the encounter with the Crypt King, which took place very early in the game while I was preparing for the Atral Prison adventure. (That's not a quest I would undertake first thing with ANY group.) The encounter with the Death Knights in the Underdark was also very difficult. The Balor in the Underdark was easy, though: one Offensive Spin, three Lower Resistance spells, and a huge volley of Magic Missiles put an end to the fight very quickly. I eventually learned how to make the most of lower level spells, but finding enough scrolls for everybody was sometimes a pain.

I finished the game before Throne of Bhaal came out, and I never finished the adventure with them. Maybe I will someday.

[QUOTE=Nightmare]Valygar (he strikes me as the type to fit in with shady people)[/QUOTE]
That's because he looks like a Columbian drug lord.

[QUOTE=Shadrach]That's because he looks like a Columbian drug lord.[/QUOTE]
lolol
Anyway, themed parties are fun, but some of them just don't seem to work. I agree that totally different tactics come up when you use themed parties, but take an all caster party i.e. How are you gonna avoid all the traps, and locked chests without exhausting your spells quickly? (Not saying its impossible, I got through the game like this once with lots of rest and scrolls)
Playing through the entire game with a set of bards seems impossible btw... how are you gonna kill kangaax? or any of the liches who simply turn on a high level magic and physical defense spell?

[QUOTE=Ekental]Playing through the entire game with a set of bards seems impossible btw... how are you gonna kill kangaax? or any of the liches who simply turn on a high level magic and physical defense spell?[/QUOTE]
Easy. Enemy Mages and Liches are actually easier opponents for Bards than monsters that have powerful physical attacks and low AC. Liches are immune to most spells, but they are very susceptible to fire damage, among other things. There are lots of spells and weapons available to Bards that will do the trick. Melf's Minute Meteors, the Sling of Everard +5 with Sunstone Bullets, Fireball, Sunfire, Wands of Fire, and, of course, the Improved Mace of Disruption +2 spring to mind. Bards can actually dish out a lot more damage a lot faster to Kangaxx (who has 90% resistance to physical attacks as well as regeneration) than Fighters who can only use puny swords. For protection, there are scrolls of Protection From Magic, scrolls of Protection From Undead, and spells such as Spell Immunity (Abjuration, Necromancy, etc.). (The only problem is finding enough scrolls and weapons for all of your Bards.) Is your Blade having some trouble hitting her target? Then have her use Offensive Spin while your Skald sings her Bard Song and your Jester sits back and laughs. Sure, it would be nice to use 7th, 8th, or 9th Level spells like a high level Mage, but I usually kill Kangaxx when my party is 12th or 13th Level, so I wouldn't be using high level spells like that against Kangaxx, anyway. (BTW, Breach is only a 5th Level spell, and the 4th Level spell Secret Word will remove Spell Turning.)

Think of it this way: a party of Bards can do pretty much anything a party of Fighters and Mages can do--just not as well.

[QUOTE=Ekental]I agree that totally different tactics come up when you use themed parties, but take an all caster party i.e. How are you gonna avoid all the traps, and locked chests without exhausting your spells quickly? (Not saying its impossible, I got through the game like this once with lots of rest and scrolls)[/QUOTE]Well, if your majority caster party includes Imoen.. opening locks is not a problem for the most part.
Basically, I'm having fun with my game. I'm not trying to make it frustrating, only fresh and novel. This it has certainly proven to be, and in some cases it has actually been easier than when I've had a fighter heavy party. A case in point was Balor... I've never seen him go down so quickly

I can certainly see a bard-themed party as well; it is all about adapting tactics. The only themed party I really have trouble visualising is one of druids, as I indicated above. But that could also be a personal bias, since I have a hard time playing druids

A druid party with ToB installed, at higher levels, would be unstoppable.

[QUOTE=VonDondu]Easy. Enemy Mages and Liches are actually easier opponents for Bards than monsters that have powerful physical attacks and low AC. Liches are immune to most spells, but they are very susceptible to fire damage, among other things. There are lots of spells and weapons available to Bards that will do the trick. Melf's Minute Meteors, the Sling of Everard +5 with Sunstone Bullets, Fireball, Sunfire, Wands of Fire, and, of course, the Improved Mace of Disruption +2 spring to mind. [/QUOTE]

OK I thought kangaax was actually sort of immune to fire, and put up protection against magic weapons as well as a bunch of other crap, So I didn't think the Minute Meteor would actually work

One of the nice things about bards is they can use almost all weapons. A bard with a scroll of protection from magic and the mace of disruption +2 would make short work of Kangaxx.

[QUOTE=Coot]One of the nice things about bards is they can use almost all weapons. A bard with a scroll of protection from magic and the mace of disruption +2 would make short work of Kangaxx.[/QUOTE]
Spell Immunity: Abjuration also works.

It has been so long since I've fought Kangaxx the "hard way" (with Melf's Minute Meteors and ordinary +4 weapons and so forth), I can't remember what it's like.

[QUOTE=Ekental]OK I thought kangaax was actually sort of immune to fire, and put up protection against magic weapons as well as a bunch of other crap, So I didn't think the Minute Meteor would actually work[/QUOTE]
I'm certain that Melf's Minute Meteors and Sunstone Bullets will hurt Kangaxx. I think it's because of the elemental damage. If your Blade uses Offensive Spin, every hit will do maximum damage (which isn't much, but it adds up when you have five attacks per round). However, upon further reflection, I think I was wrong about the other spells such as Fireball. Kangaxx is immune to all spells from 1st Level to 9th Level, and other Liches are immune to all spells from 1st Level to 6th Level; so aside from Melf's Minute Meteors, I can't remember which spells work and which ones don't. On second thought, I'm not even sure if Breach and Secret Word will work if the spell level limitation is in effect. Sorry.

(Of course, an 8th Level spell such as Incendiary Cloud works nicely against most Liches, but Bards can't cast that spell unless they read it from a scroll.)

As for protection spells, Kangaxx doesn't really need to cast any. In addition to his spell immunity, he is also immune to weapons that are +3 or less; he has 90% resistance to physical attacks; he regenerates 3 HP per round (because of his ring); and he can cast Imprisonment every round. What else does he need? The only spell he uses that I can think of besides Imprisonment is the Demi-lich Howl. The trick is to use the proper protection and hit him as hard and fast as you can.

All of the Liches besides Kangaxx do cast an assortment of protection spells, including Stoneskin, Fireshield, Spell Turning, Mirror Image, and some kind of spell like Mislead or Shadow Door. If it's Shadow Door, I think Detect Invisibility will work; otherwise, you can use True Sight if your Bard is high enough in level to cast it. Melf's Minute Meteors will take down the Lich's stoneskins and bypass his magic resistance. If a Lich is using Spell Turning, the meteors will also hurt you own character, but you can avoid damage by using some kind of protection from fire. You ought the be using some kind of protection against fire, anyway, since Liches often cast Sunfire and sometimes Meteor Swarm, and some of them gate in a Pit Fiend who will also cast Fireball. Again, Melf's Minute Meteors combined with Offensive Spin (or Haste) will take down Liches fairly quickly, especially if several party members are using them.

If you have to deal with a Pit Fiend, you need Stoneskin, protection from fire, +3 weapons, and some way to improve your THAC0. All of those are available to Bards.

I'm sorry about the confusion. I'll have a better grip on spell properties and monster characteristics the next time I play.

Nice thread DW.

Just started another new game (this makes the third currently active, what can I say, I get bored in ToB) and wanted to explore a theme light on beef/heavy on spellcasting with an emphasis on NPC's I haven't used much before.

The group, eventually, will be as follows

Sativa - Kensai 9/Mage (currently 10)
Nalia
Imoen
Aerie
Haer'dalis
Cernd

I've played not at all with Nalia or Cernd but they seem to hold their own. Haer'dalis, I've used a little more but now he will be THE tank of the party. Well, maybe he'll qualify as an armored car. Aerie and Imoen I've used extensively but I'm looking to change their typical role. I'm convinced Aerie can survive on the front lines and make an impact.

So far, and I'm not very far at all (Jon's dungeon, copper coronet stuff excluding the celestial fury house, trademeet + druid grove, Mae'var quest), early strats have inlcuded the ease of use wand of cloudkill, fire elementals charging and engulfing the melee scene in flames, and now that Sativa has her kensai skills back, she's deadlier in combat than I predicted. She has +++ in two weapon style and +++++ in daggers. Not sure what other proficiencies I'll select but the idea is to stay away from celestial fury, the early +3 axes, flail of ages, and other notable weapons of significant power. Not to mention, I think there are a lot of nice daggers in the game, however, they don't ever seem to make the cut. No pun intended.

I'm still playing on core rules and may ramp it up. Things have been pretty easy with this group early but I'm swapping out a lot of NPCs as I plan to do each NPC quest (meaning at times, I've had a lot of melee firepower). Even though Imoen will be in the final group, I'm not going to spellhold until everything on the mainland is complete (though I might not be able to finish watcher's keep). Reason being I always use Imoen once I get her so it's okay to let her rot in spellhold a little more than she'd like.

I forsee golems being a problem as time goes on. Iron and adamantite golems will fall easy to a wand of cloudkill but the clay and stone golems pack a punch and I'm not sitting on lots of attacks per round.

The coolest part about this game is that after four years and countless times through it, I can still find new stuff and new combos to get the job done.