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Imoen, Nalia or Jan?

Discussion in 'BG2: Shadows of Amn (Classic)' started by Donkey, Mar 20, 2005.

  1. Donkey Gems: 3/31
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    A simple question: Imoen, Nalia or Jan and why?

    [Duplicate thread deleted, question updated here.] -Tal

    [ March 20, 2005, 16:23: Message edited by: Taluntain ]
     
  2. RuneQuester Gems: 9/31
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    Imoen. Better thief, better mage.


    EDIT: Well, if you are going to include Jan then I have to go with Jan of the three. From a purely asthetic standpoint gnomes are more interesting than humans and Jan is far less annoying than Imoen OR Nalia. From a gamer standpoint Jan will be more powerful.

    Edit again: Okay I need to qualify that last bit. Jan will be moire powerful in the sense that you don't have to go through literal Hell to get him back in the party(his one quest that takes him out of commision involves a short jaunt into the sewers beneath the Coronet whereas Nalia and Imoen invole more painful measures to free them from kidnappers).
    Also, Jan had Adventurewear and the flasher mates ammo. Like mini-chromatic orbs fired from a crossbow!

    So Jan then.

    [ March 20, 2005, 22:25: Message edited by: RuneQuester ]
     
  3. The Magpie

    The Magpie Balance, in all things Veteran

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    Both! Relentness magery is no a bad thing!

    Imoen is the better of the two, though, so if I had to choose, it'd have to be her. Plus, she's your li'l sister; Nalia's quite annoying. Although there's only a few comedy moments to better wandering through the De'Arnise keep, only to hear: How are we helping the less fortunate trudging around in here?!

    Stupid bint. :rolleyes:
     
  4. Klorox

    Klorox Baruk Khazad! Khazad ai-mĂȘnu! Veteran

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    Nalia: an annoying downgraded version of Imoen.
    Imoen: one of the best NPCs in the game. She eliminates the need for a thief in the party, and can advance to great levels as a mage.
    Jan: (eventually) the most powerful of the three. He is also the funniest. He can become a very powerful mage, and his traps and other thief abilities make Nalia and Imoen look like amateurs (they are). The biggest drawback to Jan is the fact that he can not cast necromany spells, which leaves out Horrid Wilting.
     
  5. Shrikant

    Shrikant Swords! Not words! Veteran

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    Imoen is the best. Adequate trap skills and a whole lot of spells.

    Horror, Skull Trap, Spirit Armor, Animate Dead, Finger of Death, Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, Wail of Banshee: Jan cant cast those and that sucks. His better thief skills dont mean squat if he has an incomplete spellbook.

    I hate Nalia :flaming:
     
  6. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Nalia is better than Imoen because you can have her for longer and therefore she'll have more XP than Imoen. Imoen's comments are every bit as annoying as Nalia's so I don't see how that is an issue.

    Jan is the best thief in the game. As a multiclass, he does not become a very powerful wizard in the unexpanded SoA version of the game.
     
  7. Isshy Gems: 7/31
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    I hate whiners.


    Imoen is :(
    Nalia is :cry:
    Aerie is :wail:
    So out of the three Imoen is the least whiney therefore the best as far as role playing goes IMHO. Why are the good women so whiney in this game? Do they think we like that? Only Mazzy isn't. Almost makes me wanna take Viconia into my good only party. Never really gave Jan much of a chance so I'm not too sure about him. I remember him being a good thief/OK mage...quite funny but a bit of a blabbermouthwhogoesonandonaboutnothingimportant.

    Iomens detect traps is adequate (80%...105% with ring of danger sense), but her set traps is lousy (5%).
     
  8. Klorox

    Klorox Baruk Khazad! Khazad ai-mĂȘnu! Veteran

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    You're right. I didn't realize which forum I was posting in. :)

    In the case of a SoA only game, I like Imoen the best. You just need to leave for Spellhold as soon as possible, so that Imoen will gain as much XP as possible. If you leave early enough, Imoen will hit the XP cap, and be as high a level a mage as Nalia.

    If you're playing a thief protagonist, then you really don't need Imoen's skills. In that case, you're probably better off, from a powergamers POV with Nalia.
     
  9. olimikrig

    olimikrig Cavalier of War Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    Well, if you're playing a thief as protagonist, you really don't need any of them.
    I would take Imoen cu's she's the better Mage if my protagonist were a thief.

    If he's not, then Jan. Definitely. The fact that Imoen has such a lousy set Trap totally negates the fact that she's a better mage than Jan. Wilting is good, but so are set traps (which makes many a fight A LOT easier throughout the game). And I like Jan cu's he's funny. :D
    Oh, and Nalia's a crappy mage, a crappy thief, and very, very irritating!
     
  10. Steeze Gems: 10/31
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    Imoen for roleplay reason, but Jan overall.
     
  11. Minh So Gems: 6/31
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    Imoen can be a main arcane caster, can do the disarm trap, picklock.

    Jan can be a second caster, good thief. Though I doubt that he'll be good at both set trap and backstabbing in SoA. He can reach lv14 illusionist at most, so Animate dead and Horrid witling are moot :D

    Btw, I really like Immy's soundset, didn't think that there're ppl that do not like her :)
     
  12. elvenmage Gems: 3/31
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    Doesn't Imoen have poor lockpicking skills if I remember correctly? What are her lockpicking and detect traps skills at? She advances in levels as a mage, right?
     
  13. The Magpie

    The Magpie Balance, in all things Veteran

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    Lockpicking is 95%, IIRC, which is as much as you'll ever need. Her Detect/Disarm Traps is 80-85%, I think. I'm not sure, because I have the Baldurdash patch, which adds the skill points she's missing in the original version. With the Ring of Danger Sense (in the Planar Sphere) she gets 100%+ anyway, so it's not vital.
     
  14. Sticker Gems: 9/31
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    Jan is the funniest character in the game, a must for evil parties. If you're evil you would'nt care about Imoen anyway.

    Imoen for good parties, good mage and adequate thief.

    I really hate Nalia, annoying and a wothless thief, but in her defence she can use a bow, that's a step up from slings (single-class mage). Then again they all can use crossbows/bows and a mage should be casting spells anyway... so I guess she really sucks, doesn't she.
     
  15. Wordplay Gems: 29/31
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    I have never been able to keep Nalia due of her incredibly annoying character-design and voice. Someone strangle her, please.

    Jan is... well, Jan. It's a matter of preference, but I like of Imoen more and like said before; she eliminates the need for a thief. Plus, she can advance further than Jan, who is (IIRC) multi-class.
     
  16. Western Paladin Gems: 10/31
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    I also tend to include Imoen just 'cause I like her personally. I don't think they should have made her a Child of Bhaal, but that's neither here nor there. Jan's long stories that don't go anywhere are amusing and remind me of Grandpa from The Simpsons, so I sometimes include him. Nalia for me has no redeeming qualities, especially on the personality front. Sorry Harbourboy.
     
  17. RuneQuester Gems: 9/31
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    I don't know...I have to agree with Harbourboy on this one. Imoen adn Nalia are pretty much mirror images as far as the annoyance factor goes. Imoen is that Hollywood cliche' of the whiny girl who "never asked for this and just wants to go home *sob*" you find in horror movies who inexplicably ends up being the one to survive the psycho-killer's wrath. I wouldn't mind her so much if she was not interupting the game every 5 minutes from the word "Go" with her crying.

    Playing a 'neutral' & 'evil' party right now(since pure evil is impossible unless you use some modded NPCs, none of which I care for) and Jan is there pretty much because he is more interesting than Haer Dalis(WTF is a "blade" anyway and why is it a bard kit???).
     
  18. Wil Gems: 6/31
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    Because of the main story, it's difficult to do without Imoen. But because you don't want her to be too far back in xp, you must pick her up quickly.
    Nalia looks like a worse Imoen, but she's handy in the beginning, and if you play a fighter like I often do, it's natural to include her.
    So I end up with both. That doesn't leave room for Jan. Anyway, I don't use traps: isn't it cheesy, most of the time?
    Imoen has sufficient detect traps and picklock abilities.
     
  19. Kulyok Gems: 11/31
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    I love Yoshimo's personality best, actually, and that leaves me with Imoen in the end. It's really frustrating when everybody has 2.200.000+ xp, and she's got only 1.200.000 xp, though.

    Though if I do not take Yoshimo, it's Nalia all the way. Ring of Lock Picks and a potion usually help her along.

    So, it's a tie between Imoen and Nalia.

    No Jan. Bad caster (much, much worse than a sorcerer\Edwin\Nalia\Imoen), and it's too long to wait while his traps kick in.
     
  20. Donkey Gems: 3/31
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    Jan has the worst intelligence of all IIRC 16....so as the lowest dexterity....So...is he really an option....Plus he is so WEAK at physical combat!!!
    Not to mention his stories about turnips..!!! I hesard he becomes really annoying!!
     
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