Advice on my party members

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I thought it was 8 for paladin and 6 for a ranger.

 

While I haven't tested it in some time, I thought it was as T2B says. You'll need to keep it at or above 8 as a paladin. That still gives you a very large range though: 8-18 is fine. One small point regarding reputation - since you never want to exceed 18, that realistically means you want to keep it at 17. You get a reputation point for completing a lot of quests - even the mini-ones. So to be on the safe side, I'd recommend you try and keep your reputation at 17, so that if you complete a quest, you don't go to 19 and have Edwin leave.

As you say, it all becomes a non-issue once you can turn into the Slayer, starting at the end of Chapter 4 in SoA. You can only transform once per day (which really means once until you rest again) - so you could theoretically turn into a slayer 3 times in a 24 hour period - and since you'll be maintaining 17 most of the time, just turn at some random encounter before you do something that can earn you a reputation point.

A couple of other points of interest that won't spoiler anything for you. You already seem well aware that you'll have Yoshimo early in the game and then eventually pick up Imoen part way through. There will be a TON of quests that you pick up in Chapter 2 of SoA. Every single character class can get a quest for their stronghold during Chapter 2. Thing is, ALL classes can complete those quests, but you are only awarded the stronghold at the quest's completion if you are of the correct class. To use the paladin as an example, your stronghold is connected with the Windspear Hills quest. Any PC character can complete the Windspear Hills quest, but only a PC paladin will be accepted into the Order of Radiant Heart at the end of it (and start getting the paladin quests).

So why is this important? Well, you want to include Imoen in your party. Most gamers want to complete ALL quests in the course of the game, but if you complete all the quests you get in Chapter 2, by the time you get Imoen back she will be several levels behind all of your other characters. Imoen will be level 13, no matter how long or short of a time frame you wait before going to rescue her. If you do everything you can do in Chapter 2 before going to get her, she will be quite far behind the rest of your party.

The good news is, this doesn't mean you have to skip any Chapter 2 quests - after going to rescue Imoen, you eventually get to come back to Athkatla in Chapter 6, and any uncompleted quests you have from Chapter 2 can still be completed - there's no time frame on any of them. So when you encounter Nalia and she tells you that her land is under siege by trolls and you have to come right away, don't believe her. Even if you don't get around to her castle for three months, the trolls will still be there, laying siege to it. So leaving Athkatla to go get Imoen isn't abandoning those quests and all the XPs you'd get for doing them - you'll get to do them when you get back.

Now there are a couple of exceptions to this rule. For example, if you get the quest from an NPC who you are keeping in your party, well then they're going to get annoyed if you don't go there in a reasonable amount of time, and may even leave your party if you take too long. So if you were taking Nalia in your party, it probably would be a good idea to clear the trolls out of her castle before getting Imoen. The general rule is that if an NPC in your party asks you to do something, it's a good idea to do it in the near future. It's OK if you wait a day or so to get around to it, but they'll start to get really annoyed and may leave if you don't eventually go do it.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't do ANY quests before getting Imoen - in fact, you'll likely want to buy a few items from the various shops you see in Athkatla, and doing an extra quest or two to raise the necessary funds is certainly OK. Just don't feel obligated to do everything before going to get Imoen - all those quests will still be waiting for you when you get back. So for your party, you're going to have to do the Thief stronghold quest in order to get Edwin, so that one is obviously a priority - even before doing your stronghold quest. And you'll definitely want to do the Windspear Hills to get your juicy paladin items before getting Imoen. All the other quests in Chapter 2 should be considered strictly optional for the time being.

 

Thx for the testing Montresor

It is as I expected, I have a very broad range that I can play with reputation decrease without becoming fallen.

I will follow Aldeth's suggestion of keeping it at 17 just to make sure I don't unexpectedly get to 19 and lose Edwin.

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Thx for the advice Aldeth! Very detailed and exactaly what I needed to know for the beggining of SoA

I always do all quests possible, but I also always get my NPCs in BG1 before I even kill a single monster hehehehehe. I like to shape their development from as early as possible.

Your plan fits great into how I would like to play BG2 too (I mean trying to collect all my party members before I go into mass xp collecting).

So when I get there I'll get the Thief stronghold quest first in order to get Edwin; then I'll do my stronghold quest, Windspear Hills, to get my juicy paladin items (sounds awesome!!!); then I'll get Imoen.

Are Anomen and Mazzy somewhere around this area too, or further away? Would be nice to get them too early if possible.

 

Anomen is in the Copper Coronet that you can access as soon as you start Chapter 2. So no problem there.

Unfortunately, Mazzy is being held captive in the Umar Hills. Looks like you're doing 3 quests before getting Imoen. Get Anomen first - no quest needed to pick him up - he offers to join when you talk to him. Get Edwin next (it's in Athkatla, and thief quest is probably easier anyway). Next shoot over to the Umar Hills to get Mazzy. You definitely want to hit the Windspear Hills (and probably do your paladin related quests you get from the Order). Then go get Imoen.

That's still skipping quite a few of the stronghold related quests. If you do those three, you'll be completing the thief, ranger, and paladin strongholds. You'll still have the cleric, fighter, druid, mage, and bard strongholds left when you get back.

 

Thx again, sounds like a good plan

As you will see below from the journal of Sanctus Bellatus, my Cavalier, I'm still quite far from there, but it's definitely great to plan ahead hehehehehe.

"The journey from Candlekeep was rather uneventful, were it not for the terrible events that led to my foster father's demise. I found myself completely alone in the wilderness, lost. Candlekeep, with its regimented fortified walls had been my home for the past 20 years, and Gorion never allowed me to explore the outside. Without his influence, Candlekeep’s gates are now closed to me. The only place I could hope to get any answers, the Friendly Arm Inn, was far away, so I decided that in order to be safe on my journey there I had to look for companions to travel with me, while avoiding any danger the best way I could.
A sudden surge of courage rekindled inside me, and as I took my first steps into the unknown I heard a distant voice calling me. It brought me great comfort when I recognised Imoen's voice as she caught up with me, for I Knew then I was not alone! She joined me and we quickly scouted the area south of Lion's Way, looking for more companions to join us. We came across Kivan, a ranger who was hunting bandits, and he was very keen to join us. I sensed he was trustworthy, and his cause was indeed righteous.
We made our way back to Lion's way and then east, where we met a couple of travellers who wanted us to go with them to Nashkel. Though they seemed friendly enough, and even offered us a potion of healing, I decided to not let them travel with us, for something about them did not seem right. I detected an evil presence all around them, and decided it was not worth risking it at this stage.
Reaching the Coast Way, we moved carefully northwards using stealth, avoiding any dangerous encounter on our way, until we finally reached the Friendly Arm Inn!!! After a brief encounter with yet another bounty hunter right on the steps of leading inside the Inn, we finally met Gorion's friends, Jahera and Khalid.
They spoke to me at length, and said it was Gorion's wish they should accompany me if something foul befell him, but they said I was a grown man now, and the decision should be mine. I wasn't really given much time to think about things, and at that moment any extra valuable companion seemed a great blessing to have around.
Jahera strikes me as an independent, very opinionated woman, and a fierce warrior too. Khalid, on the other hand, didn’t strike me as a very confident and tough warrior at all. I will bring him along, though rather reluctantly, for I sense when he finds himself in the heat of a battle, his courage and stamina might not stand to the test, and he could end up falling in battle.
After they joined us, we all bought some equipment at the Inn and decided to have a look around and met some folks. We met a lady, Joia, in one of the houses dotted around the Inn, who asked us to fetch a ring for her from some hobgoblin thieves just north of the inn.
Humanoid thieves! How could I deny her such request! To battle we shall go with these hobgblings, and Khalid shall be put to the test..."

How's that for roleplaying? lol

 

Always good to plan ahead - and I was merely giving advice that I would have appreciated getting on my first play through the game. I did EVERYTHING before leaving for Imoen the first time I played. Had I known that those quests would be there waiting for me when I got back, I never would have delayed getting Imoen that long.

It's just that it seemed like my whole party gained about 1 full level for every stronghold quest I completed, and I'd be damned before I was going to miss out on a few levels for everyone, no matter how long Imoen had to wait. Had I known I could do them when I returned, and not have Imoen lagging behind the rest of the party in experience, I certainly would have done so.

OTOH, if you aren't planning on taking Imoen* (as I am with my current group), then I will do everything before I set off for Spellhold.

* Not taking Imoen on your first play is not recommended. At all.

 

Sorry a bit off topic, but could someone tell me at what level Druids get shape shfting and how many times a day theu can use it?
I can't find this anywhere in the web!

Thx

 

What they can change to and how many days they can change is based on their level. As for what level they get the ability, I think it's level 1 where they get to shift to a wolf. Black and brown bear are added later. Shapeshifting (unless you're a shapeshifter - as in the kit) is of marginal value, even in BG1.

 

For the avenger kit the shapes are pretty significant early on. The spider shape can nearly beat Irenicus' dungeon by itself.