I want to have a different party, NPC's who i don't really like but i want to try. Im unsure on some of them and im unsure if i should get the other one.(Tob)
The party is as follows ;

Me-Archer
Minsc-Ranger(I have used him before, but how can i say no again?)
Imoen-thief/mage(romance, and i mean, she is imoen and im role playing)
Mazzy-fighter(related to the ranger stronghold, never used her, unsure if shes a good tank)
Jan-thief/mage(I never get tired of those uncle scratchy tales...)
Anomen-Cleric/fighter( i am using him because i need a cleric, i've never done his Q's.)

NPC's i could use but unsure why and how they would fit in ;

Aerie(I would have her for minsc, but frankly she dies to quickly and YES i do keep her at the back of the battle field with spells buffed, but my party will be um quite the go getters.)

Jaheira(Does anyone else realise shes almost worse than imoen and anomen? Moan moan moan.)

So there u have it, any suggestions would be nice, will this party be alright, and should i get *ahem* in Tob. If so why? i cant see it from a roleplaying perspective.

Thanx in advance

Tom Slayer

Try Valygar, hardly anyone ever uses him (or atleast hes almost never mentioned) hes quite a damage disher with dual wielded weapons. Haer'Dalis is also very under-rated i feel... most people seem to think hes a poor tank and a crap mage... but what he excels at is being a great fighter/mage. buff, then armor and charge.
EDIT] Woot, new avatar.

[ 03-24-2005, 06:02 PM: Message edited by: White Lancer ]

Will my party be okay as is though? Can mazzy tank? can anomen?

Mazzy is a *great* tank, especially if you like archer types. She can eventually get grandmastery is short-swords, too, though, and she is just awesome.

Anomen, who can also get grandmastery and has an 18/52 Str, is a fine tank as well. That party sounds fine to me.

Sillara

[ 03-25-2005, 06:05 AM: Message edited by: Sillara of the Tamari ]

Thanx well lets see how it plays out.

The problem with Nazzy and short swords is that there aren't any really good ones in the game. My advice is to pick Mazzy up early and start putting * in halberds. A lot of exceptional ones are available, including in TOB, the most overpowered weapon in the non-modded game. Enterainment can also be had from looking at her walking around with a weapon twice the size that she is.

Anomen rocks, especially when you complete his quests, dualling CF and FOA he's a killing machine, plus cleric abilities in the front line.

Arbane's Sword
Kundane
Short Sword of Backstabbing
Ilbratha
Cutthroat
(ToB) Short Sword of Mask
Yeah, not many good ones. :rolleyes:

Mazzy makes a far better Tank than Anomen does. Only consider 2-Handed weapons for her if you prefer to concentrate on her archery skills.

Arbane's Sword
Kundane
Short Sword of Backstabbing
Ilbratha
Cutthroat
(ToB) Short Sword of Mask
Yeah, not many good ones. :rolleyes:

Mazzy makes a far better Tank than Anomen does. Only consider 2-Handed weapons for her if you prefer to concentrate on her archery skills. </font>[/QUOTE]IIRC, the abilties/bonuses out side ofthe direct combat bonuses aren't that good on the short swords though?

P.S. new icon, yay! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 03-26-2005, 04:46 AM: Message edited by: Aragorn1 ]

The upgraded Short Sword of the Mask has a decent chance of no-save level drain, which is a monstrously powerful ability. But other than that, short swords do pale a bit compared to the larger swords in ToB.

Yeah, bonuses like an extra attack per round, increased Backstab modifier, and Mirror Image are lousy enchantments to put on a weapon. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

And then there's the Short Sword of Arvoreen, with its immunity to Slow and Stun. Not bad at all.

Item upgrade mod from weidu lets you up mazzy's sword too.

[ 03-26-2005, 03:28 PM: Message edited by: whathuh ]

So which would you rather your tank carried into the final battle, the short sword of the mask or Ravager +6?

that all depends. Ravager does practically nothing, as bosses are immune to insta-death, but I don't think they are immune to level drain. Or entangle.

That depends. What shield( second weapon) does the former option have?

Impossible question to answer, as there really is no such thing as a Tank in the final battle. But to follow the spirit of your question, I'd give her the Ravager over a Short Sword, since there's gotta be something worth killing that isn't immune to it, and even on bosses it packs quite a wallop. Not as much as Dragon's Breath, though, which is still far & away one of my favorite weapons.

She's still better off with a Short Sword (provided you're not using her exclusively as a backup-Tank character) for 95% of the game, though. Good thing she's a pureclassed Fighter, and can Grandmaster in up to three weapons and have 2 stars left over for Weapon Styles.

I disagree, and also think that Halberds are the best weapon for Mazzy (outside of Short Bows). You can pick Mazzy up at level 8, and have her with as many stars in Halberd as she has in Short Sword very quickly (12th level). I hardly think this is 95% of the game. And the Halberd you get in the Underdark is one of the best weapons in SoA IMHO, only behind the FoA and Celsetial Fury.

BTW, I love your signature and pic, Aragorn1. Very nice to see some people actually read the books! ;)

I'm not one of these watch the movie try to take part in discussion about the book types! [img]smile.gif[/img] YOu just ask them what they think Tom Bombadil is, that sorts out the charlatans! First read it when I was 9. Took me ages.

[ 03-29-2005, 04:40 AM: Message edited by: Aragorn1 ]

FYI, at Level 8, Mazzy's proficiencies are:
Short Bow: ***** (Grandmastery)
Short Sword: * (Proficiency)
If you get her at level 9, she specializes in Short Sword.

Kundane alone makes Mazzy's short sword proficiency worth it. My favorite option with Mazzy as a tank is also to get her at level 8, but then put her level 9, 12, 15, and 18 proficiencies into two-weapon style (2) and the best unutilized one-handed weapon (2) available to your party. Usually that's Flails (of Ages) or Katanas (CF) but can also be Bastard Swords (Foebane). Any of the above dual-wielded with Kundane are incredible (4.5 attacks), and just get obscene when you throw in Improved Haste (9 attacks). And, as Six pointed out, the short swords themselves are hardly lacking while you are building up your other proficiencies.

Don't forget that as a Halfling Fighter she gets rock-bottom saving throws easily, which is one of the most valuable attributes of a tank.

Halberds for Mazzy do have the amusement value factor and its a good weapon type that no other NPC has any significant investment in, which is why I think many people recommend it for her.

Anomen's no slouch either but is a pansy compared to Mazzy. He doesn't get as many proficiencies as Mazzy and can't use the best dual-wield weapons like Kundane. Also, because he dual-classed at 7th level, his base number of attacks is capped at 3 (pre-haste). He's in your party as the Cleric, though, and he does that job quite well as well as holding his own on the front line.

Especially since you've already used Minsc before I would replace him in TOB with the TOB NPC. Roleplaying-wise I think it would be almost impossible to get Minsc to leave your party of his own accord, but also roleplaying-wise I think the PC would recognize that the TOB NPC's skills and, more importantly, knowledge about what lies ahead would be extremely valuable.

I really like Jaheira for her combat effectiveness (in spite of her annoying proficiency selections) and would replace either Minsc or Anomen with her. She's possibly the least forgiving NPC developmentwise due to her initial starting proficiencies and how few she gets in the game, but done right in a couple of different ways she can be a powerhouse on the front line.

Ah but who knows of Frito, or Tim Benzedrine?

Here's goodgulf's letter to Frito during "Indigestion at the Sign of Goode Eats:"
Also, to get back on subject, I find it difficult to get mazzy at level 8, but by all means I suggest pumping hablerds. Dragon's breath is a mini FoA, but is also a very powerful weapon, and does not require as much investment.

Mazzy will have saves of 1 and 0 once she reaches tob levels, so just make sure you give her a strength item so she doesn't lack in the damage department.

Frankly, Minsc is my favorite NPC. He is a complete idiot, but super funny, and gets beefed up majorly if you have the UB mod installed. TOB NPC is very valuable, but in my humble opinion, clerics suck. Just drop Anomen for TOB NPC.

Jaheira gets the druid spells, but I've gotten along fine without them. I only keep her around for her harper pin and then use it on my UAI theif B)

Also, six, what item adds increased backstab multiplier? I know quietus does in item upgrade, but I didn't think that was in the original game.

[ 03-29-2005, 03:52 PM: Message edited by: whathuh ]

I disagree, and also think that Halberds are the best weapon for Mazzy (outside of Short Bows). You can pick Mazzy up at level 8, and have her with as many stars in Halberd as she has in Short Sword very quickly (12th level). I hardly think this is 95% of the game.</font>[/QUOTE]You are right in that the Halberd-Shortbow combo makes a lot of sense for Mazzy. This is precisely what makes her a good backup Tank. Now, to repeat myself, provided you are not using her as a backup Tank (meaning, you've decided to take advantage of the fact that she's the 2nd best Tank in the game), she'd be happiest with her Short Sword for almost all the encounters in the game.


Mene, mene, what's it to you?

aVENGER's Rogue Rebalancing changes the Short Sword of Backstabbing to be more in line with its PnP version: In the hands of a Thief, it gets +5 bonuses to THAC0 and Damage, and increases the Backstab multiplier by 1. When used by anyone else, it acts just like any normal +3 Short Sword. Very nice implementation.
True, it's a mod item, but Rogue Rebalancing is so good that it's what the original game should have been.

[ 03-29-2005, 04:07 PM: Message edited by: SixOfSpades ]

I'm pretty sure she has ** in Short Sword at level 8, and *** at level 9.

Ah but who knows of Frito, or Tim Benzedrine?</font>[/QUOTE]:D I love that book. Isn't Spam Frito's best friend? I like Gimlet too. :D

legolam is gay, haha!

And on the subject of the rouge rebalancing, OOOOO. That means with item upgrade my assassin can finally get that x9 backstab multiplier. I can just imagine that... something like 250 damage on a good hit... I'm gonna check that out right now. I hope its weidu.

You could also replace Minsc with Valygar.
I think Valygar's proficiency with the katana really pays off, and he packs a lot of damage even with his own sword. I have him in my party now, and his damage is usually above 15 per hit. Backside is however, he cannot wear better than studded leather.
But there is ToB Grandmaster's Armor +6... [img]tongue.gif[/img]