Party advise

[Jennifer]

Hello again!

I need some adivce on who to bring with me. My party so far, is myself (Fighter), Minsc & Jaheira.
I'm planning on getting Aerie, and Keldorn aswell, which brings me down to 1 left.

So far I do not have any Theif, and only 1 mage, so Nalia sounds obvious, but the problem is that I really hate her, and would rather go Yoshimo, because I really love him

So this is the party I would like to have:

Myself (Fighter with Longswords and Shields
Minsc (Ranger)
Jaheira (Fighter/Druid)
Yoshimo (Bounty Hunter)
Aerie (Mage/Cleric, or Cleric/Mage?)
Keldorn (Inq)

Will I do fine with this party? I'm not looking for a party that will own everyone, but instead focus on role-playing.
Please post + and - with this party ^^

[Loki123]

Sounds good,

I'd get Jan as he has Items that boosts his thief abilities, and I think his a better thief than Yoshimo

[Raven_Song]

So far I do not have any Theif, and only 1 mage, so Nalia sounds obvious, but the problem is that I really hate her, and would rather go Yoshimo, because I really love him

Actually Nalia really wouldn't be a solution in any case - she should not be considered as a thief. She is a mage with limited thieving abilities.

You could consider Jan an alternative to Yoshimo, he's a fine thief and another spell-caster.

Will I do fine with this party?

Certainly it is a pretty generic combination.

[fable]

First, any party arrangement can work in BG2. It was deliberately created in such a way that you could mix-and-match party NPCs without suddenly finding yourself in an impossible situation. I personally think Nalia, Cernd, and Haer'Dalis are more of a challenge to work with, but that makes them excellent choices when a player wants to go through the game a second time.

As regards roleplaying, however, some NPCs do stand out more than others. By all means, put Jan in your party. His dialog is excellently written, and he challenges just about everybody else you could possibly have in your party. (In ToB, you have a chance to add a notoriously powerful and evil figure to your group. If you do, Jan will will constantly address him as "Binky.") Minsc is a must as well, not only for his dialog, but because of one instance where he literally takes control of your actions--with amusing results. Also very strong in the character/dialog area are Aerie, Viconia, Mazzie, Edwin, Korgan, and Keldorn. Several characters, such as Valygar and Cernd, were simply never fleshed out, and left more or less as ciphers because of the last minute rush to hit a deadline.

There are also a few excellent party NPCs created by third parties, with plenty of dialog, but I assume that since this is your first run through, you'll want to leave that until later. Good luck! It's a great game.

[CFM]

Echo the statement that any party arrangement works in BG2.

I had the identical party in my first & only run thru BG2: Keldorn Minsc Jaheira Aerie & Yoshimo. The only difference was instead of being a Fighter, my dude was a Priest of Lathander. Being an average player, and not using cheese tactics, I was just fine.

I'm not looking for a party that will own everyone, but instead focus on role-playing.

I couldn't agree more. ALL the npc's will eventually become powerhouses... might as well focus on role-playing.

Since we have the same outlook, and the same party for a first-time run-thru, I'll list some of my opinions:

If you like character dramas, and you dig him anyways, then Yoshimo is MANDATORY.

In the early game, with just Aerie, I found this party a little weak in the wizardly spell-casting department.

At one point, I had to use CLUA commands to continue Jaheira's romance/quest. And some of the romance-able npc's have requirements with who they'll romance. Post if you want specifics. I wouldn't do a BG2 game without one.

Since my first (only) run-thru, I've come to know that certain pairs of npc's are really interesting to have together in the same party, banter-wise. Everybody banters with everybody, but some pairs have more to say to each other than others. Korgan & Mazzy, Aerie & Haer'Dalis, and Keldorn & Anomen spring to mind. If I had to do over again, I wouldn't take Aerie without Haer'Dalis, or Keldorn without Anomen.

Post your results. It's fun to read about a first-timer's reaction to this fab game. Enjoy.

[Onkel Bob]

Actually Nalia really wouldn't be a solution in any case - she should not be considered as a thief. She is a mage with limited thieving abilities.

I'm not sure I agree. She's not a real thief and she'll never backstab or set a trap and she won't spot any illusions without casting a spell. However if you're like me, and all the rogue abilities you really need are the abilities to disarm traps and open locks, then she'll do fine.

[Raven_Song]

I'm not sure I agree. She's not a real thief and she'll never backstab or set a trap and she won't spot any illusions without casting a spell. However if you're like me, and all the rogue abilities you really need are the abilities to disarm traps and open locks, then she'll do fine.

Perhaps, but even in an unmodded game her reliance upon items and potions is far from ideal.

Besides I play with a modded version of the character that redistributes her thieving abilities so that they better match her backstory. Biowares original distribution of her skills was ludicrous given the background they had created for her.

[kmonster]

Your party is fine, there's no need to pick up Nalia if you don't like her.
If you are worried about arcane spell power, you can replace Yoshimo or Minsc with Imoen when you get her back.
But it will take some time to get there, make your decison once you find her. Then you'll have played enough to know which NPC fits your playing style best. Aerie's spellpower should be sufficient until then (and maybe even through the rest of the game).