Going around without a cleric?

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At present:

Cavallier protagonist
Minsc
Jaheira
Anomen
Nalia
Keldorn (instead of Yoshimo for a while)

I intended to finish Keldorn's quest, tell him to stay with his wife and take Yoshimo back. Then Imoen would take the place. However, Annoymen really and I mean really pisses me off with all his jackass comments - badly matched team etc.

The paladin protagonist has ** in maces and the mace of disruption plus the amulet that protects from draining. He takes out whole groups of vampires etc in seconds, but later on restoration might be needed. However, it's easily bought in scroll form and the paladin will eventually get 4 level slots. But Anomen once knighted becomes an awesome priest, hast loads of spell slots and is allowed grand mastery in weapons like Runehammer... None of the above is a big deal itself, but put together it makes him quite valuable.

What I'm thinking of is taking Keldorn instead. This would free all casters from dispel magic and dispel illusion and save them a few slots for healing. On the other hand, I already have a paladin to wield Carsomyr, detect evil etc and he already uses the gloves of 18 dex for AC purposes. I will also have two mages to cast breach and the mask of king Strom III (IIRC) provides some sort of invisibility detection. What's more, Keldorn is 180 000 XP behind.

I could also finish SoA with five people and get more XP for each and then join Sarevok in ToB and have him change alignment - he's probably the best tank in whole saga.

So, what would you advice if roleplaying fun or game playability is concerned? In terms of difficuty I would handle all above, so it's not a problem.

 

You could get rid of Annoyman and Nalia and replace them with Arial(spelling?) who is lawful good. this would free up another slot and you could take both yoshimo and Keldorn.

 

I like Anomen, but a cleric is not an absolute necessity, any more than a mage is. Especially with Jaheira around to cover the healing (plus the protagonist and Minsc later on), you can get by without a cleric. You've got some magery in there with Nalia and eventually Imoen, so your summoning is covered (even better once Keldorn or the Protagonist can summon devas). I have personally never tried a run through without a cleric, but it wouldn't be too tough, I wouldn't think.

 

Thanks, I think I could try running without a cleric. I've always been casting restoration from scrolls and resurrection from the sceptre, so why should I bother... Only his melee potential with holy might and ***** on hammers (Runehammer) would do wonders...

Heh, and what about ditching Minsc and keeping both Annoyman and Keldorn?

 

potions covers for the lack of a cleric....
no class is a "must have", with the exeption of a thief (in my oppinion).

even the first time i finished this game was with a fighters only party (6 custom pure fighters, no kits). man i still wonder how i manage that....

anyway....my useally setup for a party is:

tank
tank
thief
cleric\mage
mage
random

but as i said...potions covers for the lack of a cleric.

 

definitely get rid of annoyman he is such an idiot but if you need a cleric try vicky although and get her to change to good.

 

Unfortunately she only changes to neutral and there's no mod for that. Personally I don't see the NN Viccy as less evil than CG Sarevok after alignment change judging by their dialogues, but such is the game, heh.

Now the situation is pretty clear: either I'm taking Anomen or an empty slot. What do you think is better/more profitable?

 

You have Jaheira for healing and some other divine spells, so if you really dislike Anomen, go with an empty slot. The first time I played, it was with four characters (Wizard Slayer, Jaheira, Jan and, later, Haer Dalis) and I had no problems due to the lack of cleric.

 

Hmm, can't say I've ever tried that. I've done a run with Jaheira and Aerie as my only healers and it worked out pretty well.

Once you're into ToB, you might want a cleric though. Having a cleric would also be nice whenever you have someone die and there's no nearby temple, could save you some time.

In your position, I'd probably dump Anomen and take Aerie. She's lawful good, so no alignment conflicts, and I like to have more than one mage.

 

I always buy a rod of resurrection and then a second one and I only need it four or five times in ToB, so resurrection isn't a problem. Level draining isn't a problem either - at least unless whole my party gets surrounded and I'm unable to just send my paladin to deal with the problem (mace of disruption). I don't need protection from evil desperately since I'm never summonig daemons and in 2E sanctuary is only cast on self, so it doesn't really mean that much if I'm going to lose cleric's specific spells.

But what about Annoyman himself? He's an ass in terms of personality or cerebral functions, but judging by his stats he seems very useful, especially late in ToB where he would have like eight or nine draw upon holy might spells increasing his physical stats to some 25. Plus runehammer with grand mastery in hammers and some big shield... Hm...?

I really don't consider Aerie since I've had her twice and want something different - that's why I chose Annoyman. Only he pisses me off more than I thought he would So, the only other option I have is one empty slot in SoA and possibly Sarevok in ToB, not that I like him, but it would be nice to see him improve

Thoughts, please?

 

You know, someone did a post vindicating Anomen's personality a while back -- wish I could find it. He is a pompous jackass but he sincerely wants to to the right thing and be good. Especially if you influence him properly, he can be a great asset to the team. His dialogues with Haer'Dalis or Jan are priceless. IMHO, he is fairly strong throughout the game (as opposed to some other NPCs who are weak in the beginning but get strong later.)

But in the final analysis, if you have protection from Undead scrolls, healing potions, Restoration scrolls, the mace of disruption and the Runehammer, you really don't need a cleric.

I wouldn't waste any time with Yoshimo. Any XP you put into him is wasted. Plus, Jan is much more versatile -- and funny!

 

You mean my post?

Hmmm.... it seems I'll just have to throw a coin. Anomen or empty place and Sarevok in ToB. As I say, technically I'm able to survive either option, though my sanity might not survive Annoyman exposure. He would be washing latrines with his toothbrush if I were his commander. Oh, wait, I am. So, if it were available.

 

Slightly , but I believe necessary.

Anomen is really no more annoying than any other NPC in the game. They all whine and they all have deficiencies in some areas; however, they also bring their own strengths to the party and it's up to you to figure out how you utilize them.

Anomen's biggest fault is that he tries too hard to gain acceptance and do the right thing (Anomen romancers discover this through the dialogues). If you're willing to overlook that, you've got yourself a very powerful fighter-cleric who is loyal and very capable of handling nearly any situation he's presented with.

@Depaara
Would this be the thread you're thinking of? Anomen's defense

 

Wouldn't it be possible to just change his voicepack, take out his dialogue scripts or something to that effect? For such an allegedly good character throughout the game (I've never played with him) it may be well worth it.

 

I partook of Anomen defence, of course. I have read all his dialogues, and yes, I could find some explanations and more or less jutification even - although it's not the way one should behave and it's never entirely justified.

What annoys me really is that he whines in a cynical, immature and queer voice about how badly matched my team is and that the present success is nothing he would have expected

 

Personally, I feel that while Anomen's personality sucks, he is an invaluable party member in terms of ability. Yes, people say his stats suck, but they really aren't that bad. Yes, he starts with a 12 in wisdom, but honestly people how many level 1 and 2 spells do you need? He still has a ton of them even early in the game.

The point is simply this: If you have never played all the way through SoA with Anomen, then don't knock him. There is no other cleric in the game that can tank, and he can do this because of his background as a fighter. Even if you buff up Viconia or Aerie, they still can't get more than one proficiency point in anything, and won't get the same number of attacks.

Getting back to your question though, I'd say play through SoA with Anomen, and if you find that you hate him and don't want to keep him in ToB, then dump him and take Sarevok. It seems to me that you really don't know how much of an asset he will be. This is the perfect opportunity to find out seeing as how your choices boil down to taking him or going with only five people, so why not give him a shot?