Requesting advice on new install and party

[rbeverjr]

I'm requesting advice form those who have already played this game, particularly from those who have experience with the following mods.

I am considering installing the following in this order:

SoA
ToB
TOB official patch
ToB Baldurdash fixpack
Ascension (portions)
Unfinished Business
Oversight (excludes monk HLAs, tougher Sendai, and Holy liberator kit)
Item Upgrade (maybe not used)
Ease of Use (parts)
Banter Packs
Cross-mod banter pack
G3 Anniversary Mod
Tactics (parts)
Dungeon-B-gone
Yasraena
Saerileth
Quest Pack
Turnabout
Plasmo-pics

Used from tactics:
Gnome fighter/Illusionist in the docks
Toughest random spawns in dungeons
Improved Nymphs
Improved Copper Coronet
Improved Mae'Var
Gebhard Blucher's Lich in the Docks
Mike Barnes' Improved Small Teeth Pass
Mike Barnes' Improved North Forest
Mike Barnes' Marching Mountains

Used from item upgrades:
Little or nothing – probably +5 Celestial Fury; maybe incardine elven chain

Used from Ascension:
Tougher Gromnir
Tougher Illasera

SPOILERS AHEAD






Party:
Yasraena - female drow fighter (not romanceable)
Kelsey - sorcerer
Saerileth – female paladin (romanceable)
Cleric: swashbuckler 11-cleric: edit Anomen (need Jan until dualled)
---After the rescue of Imoen, edit Imoen to be exactly like Anomen (classes, XP, proficiencies, appropriate stats, etc.) and dump Anomen
Kensai hero
Add Sarevok for ToB - maybe

END SPOILERS





I try to avoid all cheese, particularly from spells. I don’t like my fighters to have stone skin or iron skin or other twinky protections. In short, I make the game hard without needing a lot of mods to do it for me. I’m a lazy player who doesn’t like a lot of buffing and prefer click-and-kill. I am familiar with winning tactics and can pull them out for a few big battles, but generally like to be able to enjoy the game when I am brain dead at 1 AM.

I’d like a group where everyone can fight while still having at least one strong arcane and one strong divine caster. I’d like to keep most of the other characters as non-casters for more challenge.

I am guessing that this party mix will introduce more weakness than I am accustomed to in my party. Does Yasraena insist on using short swords? How can shortswords compare to the uber-weapons of the game? Is Saerileth only a paladin, rather than a kit? If so, I’ll sorely miss the Inquisitor abilities that are usually a part of my group. (I also have reservations that her lawful good insistence may disrupt my usual flow of play.) It seems as though, I will have to cheat in Crom, and make only good choices in hell. On top of that, I’ll end up playing a human with a high charisma in order to romance her, which is generally inferior to a dwarf or half-orc kensai. Also, I figure that Imoen and Sarevok may both have interesting things to say in Ascension, but I have never played any of the 3 specified NPCs, either. I usually like 5 characters for the most challenge. It seems that when I play with less characters, the game adjusts somehow, like the foes have less HP or something, and it becomes too easy. And 6 characters makes the game easy again…. Any comments on the character selection would be appreciated. (Incidentally, I like to play a kensai hero. I am often tempted to use the thief or spell caster cheese when I have levels in that.)

EDIT: So, do you think that these mods and these characters will fit into the play style I've outlined? Is the order that I've listed these mods OK for the install? Would you suggest more mods, less mods, different mods, or different characters? Please comment.

[rbeverjr]

You may consider the following to have minor spoilers, but I tried not to provide enough detail to ruin your experience.


Well, as no one replied, I assume that no one knows. I went ahead and installed the stuff as listed. I also through in the flirt pack and Tashia (who won't be used in this run). The party is around level 10, and I have taken Celestial Fury and the Flail of Ages. Shortly, I'll pick up Carsomyr; then the Ring of Gaxx and the Staff of the Magi. I was some what concerned about the power of the group, but no problem there. I made a few minor edits to characters. For instance, I took away Chromatic Orb and Spook from Kelsey, and replaced them. These are overpowered spells. I also made Yaz have 4 pips in short swords and 3 in two weapon fighting instead of 5 and 2, respectively. I did some other minor edits too. It's all been a cake walk so far (with the exception of killing a devil from the Saerileth mod - I had to cheese that one :-( . Once I make ToB, I'll destroy the opposition with Kelsey if I have too.

Abbreviations: Yasraena=Yaz; Saerileth=Sarah

I may post a mini-review of the NPC mods when finished with ToB, if I ever finish and find the time. My initial impressions are: Kelsey - wow. I'm impressed. I'm playing a guy and am not romancing him, but I am impressed by the voice acting, what he says, and when he says it. The programmer did an excellent job. For raw power, I think I would still give dibs to Edwin. For a romanceable sorcerer, Tashia is still acceptable. But all in all, Kelsey gets my vote. Yaz does well with her short swords. She is an excellent fighter and a solid NPC (has good dialogue sometimes reminiscent of the other drow, Viconia). So far, I would say I can take her or leave her. I think for tactical purposes, Keldorn the Inquisitor, is her superior. Sarevok with his twinky ability is probably a better fighter, and Korgan is right up there with them. Still, Yaz is a good fighter and has high magic resistance. I am romancing Sarah and love the character. I think the authors did an excellent job at establishing that Sarah is exceptional and providing plausibility to the romance - which I will discuss when I do the review. However, the people who really like this mod will probably be romantics, idealists, and/or perhaps some of the religious people (those who believe in prophets and divine inspiration/abilities). The practical, down to earth sort, may not be impressed. I think that there will be a few people who love it, some that hate it, with relatively few who can take or leave it. In other words, I think the camps of like/dislike will be more polarized with this mod than with others. You don't have to romance her, if that causes a problem for your sensibilities. She is a REAL paladin (cavalier kit) by always/often standing up for law and good, but is not a power player's character. Her voice is OK, but there are clarity issues on my system. I sometimes have trouble understanding what she is saying. I wonder what technology was used in recording the voice tracks?

[fable]

Well, as no one replied, I assume that no one knows...

If you required a response to this post at once, then your best bet probably would be to post in the official BG2 forums. We still have a lot of BG2 posting activity here, but it takes time. Most people are used to waiting for replies on more complex issues like this by a day, especially on the weekend. Please give this time. I'm busy myself, but hope to return and utter a few utterly irresponsible advice at some point in the very near future.

I may post a mini-review of the NPC mods when finished with ToB, if I ever finish and find the time.

That would be very welcome. I'm assuming you're very familiar with the PocketPlaneGroup website, so that if you're seeking other NPCs, you know where to find them.

[Sytze]

I would've replied to your post sooner were it not for the fact that half of the questions in your post centre around Yasraena and Saerileth. I've used both, but only for a very short time because I couldn't stand their voices. A purely personal preference; I'm sure many will disagree with my opinion. However, the mods lost much of their original appeal when I first heard both woman talk. Since then, I haven't tried a Chosen of Mystra NPC. Perhaps I'm missing out because of that, but when using NPC's, I turn my attention to the Pocketplane Group. Both Kelsey and Keto are great NPC's, and beside from having well-made banters and interjections (just as the CoM characters) their dialogs blend rather well into the Baldur’s Gate world. If I would've to grade all the characters made available by mods, they would score higher than any other NPC around.

Kelsey especially is a must-have mod for me. Not only because of his personality, quests and banters, but also because he gives Imoen much more appeal (particularly in ToB). Since I never venture without my sis, Kelsey add that little extra spice, personality and interaction needed for my game. On top of that he's a Sorcerer and you can't go wrong with them. Easy to handle due to little management and thus perfect in a (large) party. The only downside is that he pulls the story a tad much to his side, as if the journey centres around him. A minor inconvenience, however, and in light of all the advantages easily ignored.

As for your mod installation: I believe they're all WeidU and so you should be safe. Two pieces of advice, however:
1) Install the Crossroads Banterpack after installing all the NPC mods.
2) Install the ItemUpgrade Mod after Oversight. Somehow Improved Sendai won't install if you've already installed ItemUpgrade.
Except for those little details there are no brand-new mods and thus you're reasonable safe with any installation order.

Your party also seems more than suited for any encounter. My party usually consists of two mages, two fighters, one thief and one cleric or druid (all of them can be single-, dual- or multiclassed). With Kelsey you have plenty of spells for two mages and with you, Yasraena and Saerileth there's plenty of fighting power. Anomen/Imoen tend to your Thieving needs while either of those combined with Saerileth cover the clerical portion of your party. All in all, you're safe to assume your party covers all the basics; and more.

I would be interested in your journey and how well the NPC's interact. If you think they're really great, I might someday pay a visit to the CoM site.

P.S.: If you want advice on both the mods, you might want to try their respective sites, or -if you want personal opinions of members of this site- it might be a good idea to pm two members of this community called VonDondu and Dragon Wench. I believe both played and finished the game with the CoM characters.