Nalia or Yoshimo?

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I'm only looking for characters to hold onto until I find someone better-in that vein, for a temporary fix, should I have Nalia or Yoshimo as my thief? I just want the best thief, so that I can have a full party, I'll worry about a likeable character later.

 

I'm a Yoshi fan myself. I like his banter lines, and his skills are good. I liked his stats better to, as I recall, but they run second to his lines. "I can dance on the head of pin." Way to go Yoshi, you the man!

 

Only take Nalia if you plan to use her as a mage, she's the worst theif in the game and doesn't really shore up the position all that well. I'm no fan of Jan, but he's a much better theif then Nalia. Yoshi, as a theif is much, much better then Nalia, unless your powergaming for levels in which Yoshi poses a big problem.

 

Yoshimo, Jan, Nalia and Imoen are the only thieves in the game.

If you just want a temporary replacement for Imoen then take Yoshimo, since the XP you get for using thieving skills depends on the thief's level.
If you want a thief for the rest of the game use Jan, a perfect thief with additional abilities.

 

Because of matters surrounding Yoshimo Jan is probably the best thief around despite being multi-classed. Otherwise Yoshimo is your best choice for a thief for the beginning parts of the game.

 

If it's only temporary, I would say yoshimo would be the best pick. Don't know if you've played the game with yoshimo before, but certain events happen, so you will be unable to use him. Therefore, as long as it is only a temporary solution. Otherwise, I would pick Jan. His stories are still unmatched!

 

Jan is a very potent thief thanks to his special equipment, a few level ups and he will cover everything you need from a thief, plus he can cast spells! Seriously!

 

Between Nalia and Yoshimo, I'd go for Yoshimo.

 

Nalia was a very, very low level before she dual-classed (level 5, I think it was). BIO probably made her a dual-class just so she could use shortbows. She's worthless as a thief, but decent as a primary mage for a good- or neutral-aligned party.

If you're looking for a NPC thief, Nalia isn't really an option. Only Jan and Yoshimo are. Jan's thief skills are better configured for dungeon crawling (find trap, open locks), plus he's a wizard, but Yoshimo wins out in sheer thiefly power if you use his special bounty hunter snares.

If you already have a wizard in your party, pick Yoshimo. If you don't, you might want to try Jan.

 

Can I SK Nalia into a decent Mage Thief so she can level up in both?

 

^I'm not sure if you can, as she's dual-classed, not multi-classed. With SK, you can do pretty much anything, so it's probably possible, I just wouldn't know how to do it. The thing is, if you want a multi-classed mage/thief, why not just take Jan? He's an illusionist, and even gets an extra spell per level.

 

I need Nalia for rp purposes

 

Well then the question is moot - if you need Nalia, then you'll have to take her. Stock up on a lot of mastery thievery and perception potions though - you'll need them. Also, I'd highly recommend getting the ring of lockpicks and/or the ring of danger sense, which add 25% to your ability to pick locks and find traps, respectively. You can force the issue of party thief on Nalia if needs be, it just isn't the most efficient means of taking care of the party's thief needs. The one stat you really want to focus on is pick locks, as this skill also determines your ability to remove a trap. You can always use the 2nd level cleric spell Detect Traps to identify the trap (and let's face it, there aren't a hell of a lot of really useful 2nd level spells anyway, so big deal if you spend a few slots on this spell), and you'll be OK to disarm it. With the ring of lock picks and a master thievery potion, you'll raise your lock pick chance by 65%, which added to the base score will be enough for virtually any trap in the game.

 

There is a mod that changes Nalia from a Thief->Mage to a Mage->Thief, but that's about the extent of what you can do without completely redoing the CRE files. Ironically, you could have Imoen as a multi-class since her cutscene version is multi for some odd reason. It's perfect because she's exactly who you don't need.

 

kmonster said:

What the heck are you talking about?

BTW, Yoshimo fits best, IMO.

 

@Klorox: he meant the XP reward a Thief (well, the whole part actually) gets for doing things like disarming traps and opening locks increases with level. Since Yoshimo is a pure thief, not only you'd get more XP than you'd get from Nalia, but it would also increase during the game.

As everyone else said, I wouldn't have Nalia as my main thief. Her thief levels seem to be there only to match her story and maybe, as Killjoy said, to make her able to use bows - otherwise choosing between her and Imoen would be no brainer (well in my case, it still is, but that's just me).

So, go for Yoshimo. And if you don't have a mage in your group already (Aerie, charname, maybe even Kelsey), consider Jan.

 

I never knew that you get more XP if the Thief is of a higher level.

First I ever heard of it...

 

There are 3 different values you can get for lock picks and removing traps depending on your level. The first break point is at 11th level I think. Pick locks go up to 950xp from 400xp, and trap removal jumps to 2750 xp from I think 1150 xp.

There is another break point that comes significantly later - somewhere around level 20. Unless you're playing a single classed thief - something I rarely do - you usually don't hit the 2nd break point until ToB. I don't remember how much it goes up by, but honestly, by ToB, the xps from traps and locks are a drop in the bucket.

 

Levels 1-5: 250 for locks, 1000 for traps
Levels 6-10: 400 for locks, 1750 for traps
Levels 11-15: 950 for locks, 2750 for traps
Levels 16+: 1550 for locks, 3250 for traps

It becomes rather clear when you start a new game. Remembering getting >3000 for a trap and then getting less than 2000 when you untrap that first painting with Imoen makes a definite impression. Ditto for remembering ~1500 for a lock and then only getting 400.

 

With BG tutu these numbers are much lower for a level one thief... I wonder.