GameBanshee Forums

Hi all.

Im quite new at plaing BG II SoA, so I could use some hints on forming the right party. I started a game as a halforc fighter (no kit). My party members are Keldorn. Minsc, Aerie and Anomen as i will play with only 5. Last spot open for NPC quest´s. But I´m in need of a theif. So what do I do. Can I change my caracter into a theif or do I kick Keldorn and take Jan in my party. Or should I do a 3 thing??. I heard something about changing Nalia 2 a thief instead og mage/thief.
Btw I have no mods installed at all and I´m planning to do ToB after SoA.

Pottesmeden.

If u cant beat them.........join them

Welcome to GameBanshee!

Now, to your question.
I would probably change Anomen to either Jan or Yoshimo. I would prefer Yoshimo more, but that it's more depending on your taste. You see, you have 4 melee typed characters (You, Minsc, Keldorn and Anomen). Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to have such party, but if you want to replace one or change one, then I suggest to replace Anomen. This is also because you have two paladins, Keldorn and Anomen, and I would say Anomen is far more annoying than Keldorn.

Just my two cents...

Pottesmeden, welcome to the forums. Please read the sticky thread at the top about spoilers. I had to remove a pair of posts because you stated outright one of the biggest spoilers in the game. While there aren't a lot of new players here, there are some, and we want to keep the experience as fresh as possible for them.

That thread I mentioned has instructions for how you can mention spoilers in a thread successfully. Thanks.

You don't really need a thief, locks can be bashed or opened with the "knock" spell and traps can be triggered (will require a few reloads and not be that fun though).

If you only need a thief for disarming traps and picking locks Imoen is sufficient. She should be able to pick any lock and find any disarmable traps, the few she of them she can't disarm can be triggered or you can have her drink a potion which raises dex or the disarm skill. If you find a certain ring or amulet in the game her disarming skill will become perfect. Pickpocketing can be done with portions or reloading if you need it
Yoshimo is the perfect temporary replacement in case she's unavailable for some time.

If you want the full thief program with backstabbing, trapsetting and the powerful thief HLAs like "spike traps", Jan is by far the best long-term solution since he can become boh the perfect thief and a powerful mage.
His low strength doesn't matter, just cast "strength" twice or give him certain equipment and he'll be a deadly backstabber.

I'd rather dismiss Minsc than Keldorn or Anomen, Keldorn's inquisitor abilities can help a lot and he can wield the fantastic paladin only greatsword, Anomen gets high level cleric spells fast which will come in handy and can fight well while Minsc is just a crazy ranger without extra bonusses or sidequests.
But you can afford to decide based on sympathy.

You can also restart the game to play a thief character if you want, but pure class thieves are weak in 2e, so I recommend taking a fighter/thief multiclass instead, maybe a swashbuckler if you want to level fast, have some combat power (more powerful than other thieves, but the multiclass is superior) and don't like backstabbing.

There are some programs which allow editing your character or the NPC classes, but I never used one. Reading the "sticky" treads might help.

Jan is your only option if you want to have a decent thief.

I find that the simplest party to use has at least these roles filled:

2 Tanks: People that are able to dish it out in melee damage and able to withstand a lot of damage.

2 Arcane casters: One of them should preferably be a single class mage or sorcerer. People that are dualled to mage will work fine as well. The other could well be a bard or a multi class. It's not really important.

1 Thief: This does not have to be a single class thief really. Multi is fine. Or even a character dualled from thief to something else. Thief skills are nice but all you really need are Pick Locks and Find/Remove Traps at about 100 each. I know there are spells that will help you but it's too much of a bother for me.

1 Healer: A druid or a cleric. This could be a multi class and I'd still have all the divine magic I'd need. It's preferable though that he eventually has access to high level spells. So no cleric dualled to something else. Also a ranger or paladin will not suffice to me.

Now: You don't really need 6 people to fill these roles. For instance my current party is like this:
PC: Gnome Illusionist/Cleric: Healer/Arcane caster.
Korgan: Tank.
Mazzy: Tank.
Jan: Arcane caster/Thief.
(there's a theme here...)
Anyway I've got all my bases covered with four characters.

And on to your party:

PC: Half-Orc Fighter: Tank.
Minsc: Tank.
Keldorn: Tank.
Anomen: Healer and Tank.
Aerie: Healer and secondary Arcane caster.

So: To me your party lacks arcane power and has more than enough tanks. I'd replace Minsc, Keldorn or Anomen with Nalia or Jan and later Imoen.

Nalia will suffice as a thief for a while but you'll need some potions for her. I'd rather either use Jan or replace her with Imoen. Although Nalia's personal ring is pretty cool.

Rhûn wrote:Jan is your only option if you want to have a decent thief.

Could we get some additional info why Jan is the only option?

Onkel Bob wrote: So: To me your party lacks arcane power and has more than enough tanks. I'd replace Minsc, Keldorn or Anomen with Nalia or Jan and later Imoen.

I would like to state that you can play the game and even finish it without two arcane caster. I have done so many times, few times with a party of 1 fighter and 5 thief -styled characters.

So, Jan should be enough to complete the game. It's only a matter of style which you use...

kmonster wrote: You don't really need a thief, locks can be bashed or opened with the "knock" spell and traps can be triggered (will require a few reloads and not be that fun though).

Yes, but having a thief makes it lot easier, and you can save all those spell slots when you are not forced to use knock... And you will also save in times you need to rest versus party which uses spells to unlock everything...

I would echo the opinions of those who think any combination of party NPCs will make a good group with which to play (and beat) the game. Certain characters are the favorites of powerplayers, others with roleplayers; and there's nothing wrong with either. Just remember, there are no bad party members available. Some require more strategy to play (such as Cernd, or Haer'dalis), but that makes them more interesting, too, to players who enjoy finding those strategies.

Kipi wrote:I would like to state that you can play the game and even finish it without two arcane caster.

Of course you can, and I have done so myself quite often. Apparently you missed the very first sentense of my post.

Kipi wrote:Could we get some additional info why Jan is the only option?

Thought it was pretty self-explanatory - he progresses in the thief class, unlike Nalia and Imoen. Imoen's stats are pretty much fine for disarming/unlocking with a few items or potions, but there are other uses for a thief

But I share the sentiments that it doesn't matter all that much what your party looks like, I completed the game solo with a dwarven fighter and managed alright without a thief or any magics. Pick whoever you want and don't worry much about trying to cover all the bases (though it makes things easier).