Playing a pure chaotic good dwarven fighter (role play reasons) think I'm level 7 (or 8) no problems so far, finished docks/peninsula and beggars nest. Currently using the priest. but was thinking about changing, but to who? Any suggestions? Are all henchmen at the "blades" or temple?

Linu... shes the best, if only because shes elven [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img] my prejudices are sshowing again... hmm, why not take along ANOTHER fighter, then you'd be almost unstopable... that orc/half orc fellow...

I like Linu as well, she's elven and pretty [img]smile.gif[/img]
What more can you ask. If I was going to ditch here, it would have to be for a mage/ranger/druid/etc type not another fighter. Gimli Gloin Son packs quite a punch on his own. "Never toss a dwarf". [img]smile.gif[/img]

if you want a good fighter try that crazy monk, since monks are god in bg2 it should be in NWN also.

My wizard uses Grimgnaw. For a fighter, I would suggest the cleric, the rogue, the wizard, or the sorceror. You don't really need another tank...

Edit: called Tomi a thief, not a rogue [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 07-08-2002, 10:11 PM: Message edited by: Deathcow ]

I like to try him out.. Grimnaw or something but Sharwyn's a pretty good Henchman too. She can pick locks, cast spells and uses of course her bard song... she also uses long ranged weapons... she sucks in melee though [img]smile.gif[/img]

I'm a little frustrated with the henchpeople. It seems you need to take Tomi, or else you miss out on a great deal of treasure and even some areas. The other skills have been replaced, healing is not needed due to the abundance of potions, wizards don't really need fighters because they can summon creatures from level 1, but there's no cheap fix for disarming traps/opening locks. The brute force method works, but not until later you get some decent magical weapons, plus a few dozen hps.

My ranger has used Linu. She seems pretty weak in chapter 2, but she does well in chapter 1. Plus, I like her stories and her personality.

Daelan is cool as well, and a nasty fighter.

I haven't tried the other three. I've used Sharwyn a little, but with opening locks but no disarming traps, she's only marginally useful.

I used Tomi all the way through Chapter 1, since my Open Locks skill was quite low at the start and I didn't want to miss out on any treasure (I'm currently a Rgr5/Bbn1/Rog1 at the start of Chap. 2). I picked a level of Rogue because I wanted to max out some Open Lock and Disable Traps skills so I wouldn't need him, but I've found he's actually not bad in combat, as long as the main focus is on me he can keep sneak attacking. I haven't tried any of the rest yet. [img]smile.gif[/img]

as my rogue i had linu the whole way; she sucks in combat except versus undead; granted her healing ability does help a little, but it seems if she attracts the attention of anything then shes dead all too soon. Her amulet was rather weak for my character since my dexterity was already very high i had no need of her necklace.

as my orc i hired gnimshaw and he is most incredably powerful; tho surely no where near the equal of my orc he could handle himself in a fight admirably and can heal himself to boot, plus his quest necklace gift thing is very powerful in that it gives 4 consitution and immunited to level/ability drain as well as 10 spell resist.

oh, P.S.

if you have no rogue in your group you arent banned as it were from certain treasure chests or doors. all you have to do is equip yourself with a weapon that can do elemental damage or be brawnful enough to hit incredably hard (improved power attack helps here) i can smash open any door or chest with a plain old weapon; except of course those doors or chests which you couldnt lock pick (there are many "complex" doors that cant be picked or smashed or spelled open)

[ 07-09-2002, 12:36 AM: Message edited by: Gabrielles blades ]

i use red tiger cause he makes a great tank player and doesnt necessarily die when he runs into combat. he can also take the most damage and makes him a better target for the enemy to work on while i get them from behind. he also gets cleave and other great abilities as he progresses in lvl.

Well since you can always put the experience of your henchmen & women up, it suits me to take different ones to different areas. My favorite so is Linu

Short version: NO henchman for me thanks.

Long version:

Just finished chapter one, with two different characters a Fighter/Druid 6/3 and a Mage/Fighter 8/1

I did not take any henchmen during the course of the game, mainly because they seem to STEAL part of the experience points. But at the end of chapter one i took each of them in turn for just a couple of minutes just to hear their stories, finish their quests and receiving the reward!

I had no problem with chests (bashing them with an astral blade or the "Knock" spell), trapped chests (bashing them with flame arrows) nor with trapped floors (Disarming them by sommoning dire badgers on them, I wonder if I should patent this technique... [img]smile.gif[/img] )

Tomi rules! not only is he adorable but he deals a LOT of damage! I am 15 and he is 14, I am a cleric, we are unstoppable! I cant imagine another NPC. He has upgraded to a +3 weapon and his DEXt is so high, he gets his sneak attack in almost every time. Now, there is another kind of attack he does, it says "coup de grace" in white, floating words..

BTW do NPC clerics summon undead pets? do NPC wizards summon badgers, boars, etc? Do NPC clerics turn undead?

According to my very little experience in the field of henchmen:
NPCs do _not_ sommon anything at all, including familiars, badgers, undead...

but they do indeed turn undead.

im playing as a sorceror. im currently level 7, and i have daelen red tiger. i use him because i need a warrior until i cant get good summons and tensers transformation. of course, at this point, he will be just as strong as me, (well, almost)so i will just keep him. my panther familiar is powerful in his own right. i just send them in, with a dire badger, and let the enemy focus on them. then i pound away with spells. for traps, im an elf, so i find traps without needing the search skill one, and i do it at normal speed. i cast knock to unlock the locked chests and doors, and i possess my familiar and have it attack the traped box, door, etc. sometimes it dies, but i bring it right back, pet it, play with it, and feed it, so it doesnt get mad at me for useing it as a tool. then, whatever isnt unlocked afterwards, red tiger can useually smash open. or just cast magic missles, acid arrows, flame arrows, etc. until it is destroyed, then rest to get them back of course. Sorcerors, the ONLY way to play, heh.

<font color="#ff55cc"> I prefer Tommi the thief because I get way more loot from him disarming the traps than I do when I destroy the chests from a distance. Linu is also good when facing massive undead armies.....however since I am a Ranger, have Undead as a prefered Enemy AND Duel Wield a Mace of Disruption +2 and a Flail that is +4 vs Undead [img]smile.gif[/img] I don't fear the walking dead too much.
Not to mention they have to survive my deadly accurate Flame Arrows to get to me.</font>

<font color="#ff55cc"> Ohh man, you are so mean to your familiar [img]smile.gif[/img] Ya know, I never considered using my animal companion that way...but hey..I play a good alignment so it would just feel wrong [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

Pixie Familiar. Is a Rogue at the same level you are a mage. Tha darn little thing can open EVERYTHING that can be opened. AND disarm traps to boot.

<font color="#ff55cc"> Ohh man, you are so mean to your familiar [img]smile.gif[/img] Ya know, I never considered using my animal companion that way...but hey..I play a good alignment so it would just feel wrong [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>[/QB]</font>[/QUOTE]I feel sad when my familiar dies....

But what is worse is that I lie to my littlest child. I tell my little girl that the "other fairies" watch over her and when she gets hurt they call her back to the fairy grove. Then I press my hot-key and "bring her back now that she's done visiting."

::whew:: So far she's bought it...

I gotta go with Tomi... his trap removal skills are invaluable. When fighting against "boss creatures" I've noticed that his sneaks attacks often do as much damage as my STR 25, level 15, Gruumsh Hand wielding Half Orc Barbarian.

and I can't get enough of "prepare for halfling death!"

BUt I also think Sorcerer's suck. This game bites in one area, and that it panders to the sorcerer class with that stupid "unerase my dumb mistakes at level-up" function.

I could see that you could "unlearn" a spell if an orc put 3' of steel in your noggin and scrambled your brain like a shirred egg. But talk about pandering to the masses. ::bleech::

(Just kidding. ::ducks head:: I prefer a mage because I'm a swiss-army-knife-jack-of-all-trades kind of person. I will play sorcerers multi-classed with Bards, CLerics or Paladins. They're a lot of fun, but I like the Wizard class better for pure spellcaster due to the inherent flexibility.)

((NO I'M NOT. Sorcerers SUCK!!!! AHHH HA HA HA HA HA HA))

(((Okay, okay, I admit it. I'm bored today. Too sleepy to play, too caffinated to sleep.)))

BTW, I don't like ANY of the henchman, though Sharwyn has some impressive abilities. Hur hur hur... And Linu is a dork and reminds me of my wife... And Dalen Red-Tiger looks like my little brother... And that nasty halfling reminds me of Brian Jones in 8th grade... And grimjaw reminds me of my Sensei in my old dojo... (Well, they're about the same height and build, my sensei was also a blacksmith/farrior. Weird guy...)

But hey, I'm just rambling...

Magik, I don't think bashing chests destroys any loot. I've bashed open chests and found potions, scrolls, books, and other fragile stuff. I've never bashed open a chest and found nothing.

Warhammer, I don't think henchpeople steal xp. I've had characters finish the first chapter at level 9 as well, and they always use henchies, so they're sure not stealing much xp.

For chests, I let Tomi start to pick it, then I race him by bashing it with my club. I win most of the time.

I've never lost loot that way.

I've had Tomi in my party since I ran into him, and other than the occasional trap he can't disarm, he's been great. I don't like his personality, but hey, if I can put up with Anomen in BG2, I can deal with Tomi in this game. Since I'm playing a cleric, if Tomi can't disarm the trap, I just use Protection from Elements and open the chest. They always seem to do elemental damage, and healing is super cheap for me (I actually sell healing potions under Cure Serious now).

to the contrary henchman actually give you more XP. i noticed while i was killing fire beetles on chap 1 at lvl 5. my char would get 12 XP if i killed a beetle. without a henchman i got 6.

I think it is the same thing... since it will be split between you and your henchman am I correct?

DraconisRex you are so mean... :D

I hae Sharwyn... and she is a good spellcaster... and her bardsong helps...and she is even stronger than I am!!! [img]smile.gif[/img]