Who should I take in my party? (BG1)

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Hi all...

Now that I've FINALLY got Tutu thanks to Easytutu, I've decided to start right from the start again with a plan of going right to the end of ToB.

Trouble is, my knowledge of BG1 is a bit limited. Espeically concerning the NPCs out there.

I'm planning on being an Elven Archer style of character as this is something I've never tried but I like to plan my party in advance.

ideally I'd like 2 tanks, a cleric, a thief and a mage. Have not decided if I'll be good or evil yet but if poss... can you keep suggestions to either good alligned or evil alligened? Then it will be possible to survery what potential parties are available. Thanks

[ April 13, 2006, 00:29: Message edited by: Parvini ]

 

AFAIK, if you want to be the Ranger kit Archer, you have to be good aligned. Then again there is a mod which introduces fighter-kit archer, with no alignment restriction.

 

In BG1, I'd go for:

Minsc - Ranger
Ajantis - Paladin
Branwen - Cleric
Imoen - Thief
Dynaheir - Mage

If you plan to dual Imoen to a mage, then maybe drop Dynaheir for someone less annoying? It's up to you, how important is arcane magic in your party?


As you're using Tutu, you could also download a custom NPC called Indira. She's a Fighter/Mage, great character and would probably round out your party very well

 

Magic is quite important but not as important as it becomes later given that level 4 is the highest you can get in BG1...

My fave mage in BG2 has always been Edwin and I've struggled to drop him, even in good-aligned parties... he is the only character I've taken through the game in each of the 3 times I've been to the end of ToB.


As such, I'd like to avoid NPCss who crop up in BG2 for a bit of variety. I've only been through BG1 once and my party then *I think* was...

PC - Cleric (later dualled to Mage at lvl 14 in BG2)
Imoen
Minsc
Sharteel
Viconica
Edwin [I did a bit of trickery/ had some luck to have both Minsc and Edwin in the same party]

This means that the majority of the NPCs in BG1 are a bit of a mystery to me. All I can remember is that Khalid was complete horse manure and kept dying (not good for a tank).

I've been doing quite a bit of reading on here and elsewhere but there doesn't seem to be any consensus on who's good and who's not. For example, Dan Simpson rates some people very highly who don't seem to have a big rep here (I'm thinking of Dynaheir... who I've seen ranked as the worst mage in the BG forum).

I need guidence on who to get and when (I'd preferably like the party formed before the bulk of the xp has been handed out).

 

Ajantis is a decent tank. I've only ever played BG1 with him, Jaheira, Khalid (quickly killed off), Dynaheir (ditto), Edwin, Minsc, Branwen, Yeslick and Imoen, so I can't recommend too much variety from your previous game, I'm afraid.

I'm playing through Tutu right now with Finch, a new NPC Cleric of Deneir, who I like. No SoA content right now, though.

Definitely download the BG1 Project - very well done. Lots of banters - it REALLY enlivens the game.

 

i've always liked Minsc, Kivan, Coran, and Xan(he's pretty weak but a "good" mage) for my good guy side. For the evil party, I found that Kagain the dwarf can pretty much kill anything by himself. He starts at 20 Constitution if I remember correctly. Add in Viconia and Edwin. My good party tends to be archers while the bad is tanks.

 

Ok, I've just done the Nashkell Mines and a few of the quests around there and Beregost (half-ogres, the farmer's son etc.).

So far I've been taking a "see who comes along" RP style approach, if he/ she dies I won't reload. This has lead me to some interesting parties...

I decided to go with a Paladin Undead Hunter PC in the end (thinking about all the undead in SoA) but am not RPing with an ONLY "good" alligned party as I always figured that someone who is truly good could argue that it is a means to an ends to have evil people in your party (i.e. you are getting them to do good).

I went through the mines with the following party:

PC (Undead Hunter)
Khalid
Jaheria
Imoen
Montoron
Xsar

Khalid and Jaheria soon died as did Montoron... I therefore left the mines with the following party:

PC
Imoen
Xsar
Xan

This gave me the idea that I'd like to finish BG with 2 mages in the party... and therefore always attempt to maintain 2 specialist mages. The idea being that between them they could account for almost any situation - one compliments the other.

In need of a tank I picked up Minsc and went to the gnoll fort...

Saved Dynather but she died on the way back!!! In my party for around 20 seconds! lol

Anyway, I found that Minsc is not the force he is in BG2 and so decided to drop him for Ajantis. I also found Xsar to be a fairly useless and annoying mage and so swapped him with Edwin (yet again, I've found myself taking Edwin despite not wanting to... why? Because he's the best mage period). I also went and got Branwyn because I was in chronic need of a Cleric for healing spells.

And this is where I am now, just outside High Hedge with the following party:

PC
Ajanits
Branwyn
Imoen
Xan
Edwin

However - I am now in a dilemma. I've read much about the achery prowess of Kivan. But this policy of keeping on 2 specialist mages has caused a problem - sicne Edwin and Xan are "undroppable", if I take on Kivan, as I intend... it causes a problem.

If I drop Ajantis it leaves me short upfront

If I drop Branwyn it leaves me with no cleric

If I drop Imoen it leaves me with no thief.

Now - my plan, in theory, is to drop Ajantis and have Branwyn as a support tank to my PC (who currently has an AC of -1) until I can replace her with Yeslick. Can either Branwyn or Yeslick fill this role?

My PC would then bear the brunt of most of the melee stuff with massive support from Imoen and Kivan sniping and Xan and Edwin slinging the spells. Branwyn or Yeslick could be there with heavy armour and a flail/ mace mainly on curing duty but getting stuck in too if required.

Does anyone think this is feasible?

Out of a cleric and a thief which is the most expendable? I can attempt to compensate for the lack of a thief with "Knock" and just take the hits from traps. The ony way I can compensate for the Cleric is to rely on my Pc's 2 special "cure light wounds".

In an ideal world I'd drop Imoen (as she is the main archer right now) and go on WITHOUT a thief, but I know that in BG2 this would mean almost certain death as the theif is so important... is this also the case for BG?

 

Branwen can tank pretty well with her decent STR and fair DEX and CON. Yeslick's better though, so long as he has the Gauntlets of DEX.

Dropping Imoen is a bad idea. You need a thief.

TBH, I don't know why you took Ajantis in the first place, unless it was to romance him in Tutu. You've already got a pally, what do you need with another one?

 

I agree with Felinoid. While all the clerics in BG1 are good, Yeslick is better. I always liked Coran; he'll fill your Imoen and Kivan slot. He's a figher/thief that can get ***** in bow. Kivan does have *** for some reason though. Oh, I'm really unfamiliar with using mods in the game. Does the one you're using allow you to keep BG1 characters in BG2. Like Yeslick, Tiax, Ajantis, etc. Or even Imoen as a straight thief?

 

Well my decision was kind of taken for me as Ajantis got killed by some random Ghasts shortly before I got to Kivan. I think Branwyn is very weak as a tank but she will have to do for now.

rich203 - I will have to check out Coran. Is he a better archer than Kivan??? If he is AND has theif levels than he most definitely my man. Given that Minsc, Khalid and Ajantis are all dead though, who should I then take as my second tank?

My ideal party then is:

PC (undead hunter)
-another tank
Yesslick
Coran
Xan
Edwin

I like the balance of that but it all depends on just how good Coran is.

Also, I'm using BGTutu - essentially it lets you place BG1 with the BG2 interface and rules. I do have other mods installed too but none that really change the plot of the main game or its content (just fixes and rule tweaks and cosmetic things).

 

Wrong and wrong. Coran is the one who has *** in bow even though he shouldn't (though I don't know yet how Tutu handles him), and neither he nor Kivan can get ***** in bow. Really, noone can; the XP cap (and even the general amount of XP if you're playing with a big party) doesn't allow you to get to a high enough level.

There is no such mod in existance, though the buggy The Darkest Day total conversion does reintroduce some of the BG1 characters like Yeslick. Ajantis and Tiax both die in BG2.

There is a BG2 mod for that. Though really, it wouldn't be too hard to just do in SK.

That's a whole other discussion. But Coran is worth taking, even alongside Kivan; two kick-@$$ archers are better than one! Kivan can tank if need be with high DEX and good armor, it's just that he's better as an archer.

 

I've taken Coran and dropped Imoen. Him and Kivan are truly KICKASS sniping side by side. I am hoping Yeslick is as good a tank as I'm hoping he is... as soon as I can get him with full plate and Bessilus's Hammer instead of Branwyn my party will start to shape up:

PC (undead hunter) (Spider's Bane)
Yeslick (Bessilus's hammer)
Kivan (Bow of Marksmensip, Gauntlets of Archery)
Coran (Compisite Longbow +1)
Xan (sling)
Edwin (sling)

Enough fire-power there to complete the game methinks. After Cloakwood I think I'll head to Durlag's Tower - everyone is around level 4/5, is this enough to take it on do you think?

 

What'd I tell ya?

You must still be sleepy. Don't worry; so long as he gets the Gauntlets of DEX, he will rock your world.

If you can have 100 in OL and FT when you're there (whether natural or through potions), you'll be okay. Some of the battles in the lower levels will be kind of hard, but you gain XP fairly quickly as well.

 

Have you used Kagain(sp?) the dwarf from Beregost yet? He's in some little shop in the middle group of buildings. I always liked him a lot.

 

Kagain is in the building directly north of the Feldepost Inn. He technically owns that little shop but joins you instead and I don't think you ever get to use it as an actual shop.