Long story short, here are some character/party ideas I had and wanted them critiqued before I played them and found that they didn't work out. I've yet to get past chapter 2 (or was it 3?) but I'm scrapping my party and restarting again (I'm a chronic restarter). This is for a good aligned party, so unfortunately, no Edwin.

#1
Jah
Minsc
Imoen (when I get her back)
Jan
Vic
Me

For me:
Human dualed Ranger/Cleric (or how about Stalker/Cleric?)-would it be overkill to have two people who can cast druid spells and two full clerics? Furthermore, am I too lacking in the mage field? Jan is only half a mage, and I won't get Imoen back until god knows when.

Sorceror or Wild Mage- though I'd have really low hps.

Swashbuckler/Mage- dualed at level 10, I can switch Jan for anyone more useful (any suggestions) once I get my thief skills back.

any other ideas that would fit this party? Thanks.

You are lacking a solid tank, besides Minsc, so I will go with the Ranger/Cleric idea.

You have enough mages, Jan can cover you until you get back Imoen, Jan is also more than capable of handling your Thief duties.

Jaheira can be your secondary fighter, do not make her your main tank, send Minsc forward first then flank with Jaheira.

Viconia will be a backrow caster, supporting with slings most likely.

You really don't think having two full clerics and two (technical) full druids is overkill?

Well... if I may, I have an alternative suggestion.

Play as a Paladin.

i agree with dundee.. Play as a Paladin
my favorite party (it isnt the best possible) is:
Me (Cavalier)
Minsc
Jahiera
Imoen
Nalia
Aerie
This is not the best party available nbut it is a pretty decent one, and it gives you everthing that you need.
(3 Tanks, 3 Priests, 3 Mages and 2 thieves)

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Haladar
Mithril Cavalier of ALSB

I definitely couldn't play as a paladin. They're just not for me. I always end up playing some kind of (heavy) spellcaster. Right now, I'm stuck between the Wild Mage/Sorceror setup or the Ranger/Cleric. I haven't beating the game yet, and I can't figure out which one I want my first win to be with. If I choose the mage, my party setup works well. But if I choose the Ranger/Cleric, then I have to change everything around. I'd probably end up getting rid of Jah, which I don't really want to do, and I probably wouldn't need Vic. Instead, I'd need a good full mage, so I'd probably have to pick up Nalia, and I don't like her personality. I dunno though...

Follow your hearthttp://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif

my heart? I had to pawn it so I could afford ToB http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...les/tongue.gif

As for the class thing. I'm just not feeling like I'll have enough mage backup with the classes I have. Furthermore, I think that Me, Jah, and Vic on the cleric front is a bit of overkill. If I were to replace one, I'm not sure who. I figure the romance with Jah would be more my alignment, but I'm thinking Vic could get interesting in Underdark. Also, I don't think I want to share all the good cleric-y things (like Crom Feyer and all that rot) with Vic. If I were to replace her, with whom should I replace her with? I have a good front line (Me, Minsc, and Jah) and a solid backline (Jan, Imoen, and Vic) so it would be a good party, assuming that three priests isn't too much.

Play something nobody has attempted before.

Wizard Slayer dualled to Mage. http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...les/tongue.gifhttp://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...les/tongue.gifhttp://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...les/tongue.gif

My party is as follows: I bring two characters in - a standard fighter with hammer skill, shield and weapon skill, and a mage (both from BG1) I then keep jaheira, yoshimo,(I later replace him with imoen)and minsc. I put minsc in and out of the party for others as needed. I keep the bard and the shapeshifter druid as only as long as I need them to complete their associated quests. In my opinion they are just a waste of slot. That also goes for aerie the airhead and that drip of a poor little rich girl. Jan I keep as long as he has a quest then its back to the turnip patch for him. I originally kept Vicona but she was no special help in underdark so I won't bother with her again. I use the ranger for the sphere quest and then cut him loose too.

Well my first comment is that you said you are playing a good party but you have vic so I see no reason why you can't play with edwin either.

That said if you play a ranger/cleric I would ditch vic AND jah in favor of anomen. Now you have a cleric that can melee very well and you don't have the redundancy of 2 druids and 2 clerics. Use that extra slot for either more mage spellpower or another fighter (like keldorn for instance).

Many a wise sage will tell you this:

THERE IS NO PERFECT PARTY, IN THAT CASE, PLAY AS SOMETHING YOU FEEL KICKS ASS.

http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...es/biggrin.gif OK so maybe the sages wouldn't word it THAT was exactly... But it's something close. Might I suggest stalker? I love my stalker. Tank, spells, heals, and backstabs all in one!

Looks OK. I'd go with what some others have suggested - make your player char a tank.

I know there's no perfect party, but I'm trying pick a class/party formation that fits into the storyline from BG1. That's why I'm keeping Jah, Minsc, Imoen, and maybe taking Vic, even though she's evil.

With the ranger/cleric though, I don't really need any of them, I think a much better setup would be:

Keldorn
Minsc
Me
Anomen
Nalia
Jan

This way, I have two full clerics (one that can cast druid spells). one and a half mages, Four good tank candidates, and a decent thief. I'd play this party, but it's all assorted NPCs and it just doesn't flow with the storyline for me.

I seriously think we're all meant to play mages...

Playing as a pure fighter is also enjoying you can have a keep! For Fighter/Paladin/Ranger main character parties Minsc,Anomen,Nalia,Jan and Aerie/Jaheira is cool. If you're mage kick Nalia and take Keldorn. Jan is a great character he's very funny. But Imo is also a good thief also a great mage. I like Nali and Imo more than Ed because they can hide in shadows use crossbows and they're nice girls http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif)

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"Not for your eyes only, also for your beautiful ears.."

Yngwie J. Amadeus Zoltan "Diamond Fighter of Aerie Lovers Sacred Band"

I don't mean to nit, but Imoen isn't a great thief, dualing at level 7. And Nalia isn't a nice girl. http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...les/tongue.gif

I think that you've got to have Edwin in your party.
He is one kick-ass wizard who you can't afford to be without.

I would but he's evil. And it's not that I have anything against evil, but with having to monitor my rep and not being able to have Minsc because they'll fight, it's too much trouble. Though it's pretty odd that he's in BG2 because I'm pretty damn sure I killed him in BG1. Must have had some pretty cool ass contingiency set up that could gatter the pieces of his body spread over the southern region of Nashkel, and then put him back together. What would this be? Bigby's Spectacular Superglue? Or perhaps, Summon all the Kings Horses and Men(Humpty Dumpty reference)?

Otherwise, I like Edwin.

Well I am playing with this party:
Me(as a Cavalier)
Minsc
Anomen or Keldron
Jaheira
Aerie
Jan

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http://members.aol.com/lasttrueprincess/images/brad.gif

Where there are monsters and barbarians there will be Byronas fighting against them.

Byronas, are you on the mainland or one of the islands? I have relatives on Kos, Rhodes and Icaria. My family visited on holiday last year for two weeks. I took a bunch of pics and set up a site: www.geocities.com/hagimihale/index.htm

I am currently playing as a sorcerer with:

Minsc
Jaheira
Anomen
Keldorn
Jan

I'll be swapping Jan for Imoen later... and am still considering keeping Valygar over Minsc or Keldorn but haven't made up my mind just yet. I like this group - I have 4 tanks, 4 players with spellcasting ability and all 5 NPCs are effective at range attacks.

Seems to me that you are trying to play the perfect BG2 game. I don't think the game can be played that way, but I do think you can get close.

I suggest you try a swashbuckler.

From the BG1 storyline, you have yourself, Minsc, Jaheira, and Imoen from the start of the game. Don't take Aerie, use Vic as your cleric instead. When you first meet Vic, both Jah and Minsc want her to join the party, but Aerie doesn't. So leave Aerie in the circus tent when that adventure is over.

So now your party consists of:

Yourself (swashbuckler)
Minsc
Jaheira
Viconia

This leaves you plenty of room to add people for quests, and these 4 are pretty tough without additional help. And you'll get Imoen back later for your mage spot. You can use Nalia until then (I don't suggest Edwin because you have Minsc).

The added bonus is your swashbuckler. This rogue kit gets +1 to hit and damage every 5 levels, and -1AC every 5 levels. I had a dual wielding swashbuckler with -12AC at the end of SoA. That's the equivalent of magic full plate and a good shield.

And in ToB, he can use any thing. I played around with a lot of the weapons. He did well with Carsomyr even though he had 0 proficieny with it. The +5 from Carsomyr, and the kit damage and hit bonus more than made up the difference. Be creative with Use Any Item. Save up the unused mage scrolls, heck, summon a familiar http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif. And don't forget the ToB traps. They are sweet!

And to further my reasoning, I imagined my BG1 rogue (later a BG2 swashbuckler) as a Captain Blood - Errol Flynn type of character. That makes a great hero for a story, does it not? Since I played a rogue, I'd avoid the goody-goody types (Keldorn, Anomen), or only have them in the party for a short while. And being one of the good guys (Neutral Good), I'd also avoid those that were truely evil, like Korgan and Edwin.

I could go on, but I'd become even more incoherent. http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif So I'll leave it at this.

Flynn, the hero
Minsc, goofy sidekick (something every hero needs)
Jaheira, old friend
Imoen, annoying tag-along kid sister
Viconia, the one your mother warned you about (fitting romance for a rogue-ish character)
------, people you have met in your travels who journey with you for a while, then part ways

Makes sense? Hope so.

The Toe

this does make sense, but I don't think the thief kit is for me. My thieves spend way too much time just sitting in the back that (for my strategy), I'm better off with a multi/dual thief. I've been doing a little research on the Ranger/Cleric and decided I'd be better with the human fighter/cleric dualed at level 9. So, basically, my party would look like this.

Minsc
Jah
Me-F/C
Vic
Jan
?->Imoen

I started thinking about it. You can basically split the cleric spells into two categories. Spells that a backliner would cast and spells that a frontliner would cast. Therefore, I don't think it would really be overkill in having two clerics. Furthermore, considering that at this level, a lot of baddies will make their saves, Jan would suffice as a mage until I get Imoen back. This way I end up with a party with this breakdown.

3 Fighters-Minsc, Jah, and Myself
2 Clerics- Vic, Myself
1 Druid- Jah
1 1/2 Mages- Imoen and Jan
1 (decent) Thief- Jan

Furthermore, this gives me a party of 5 (until I get Imoen) so I can take whatever else for my 6th slot to do their NPC quests.

Now my question is, without any spoilers, is that if I grab imoen after all these NPC quests, is she going to be able to catch up in levels with the rest of my party?

I play with (chapter two only so far...)

me (kensai, dualvielder = ownage)
Minsc
Aerie
Anomen
Kheldorn
Jahiera

(I lost Nalia, who was my thief, replaced her with Anomen, for questing. He will be the one leaving, he or Kheldorn)

That gives me 4 very capable fighters, one healer (Jaheira) and one mage (Aerie) (plus two clerics and one semi-fighter) I don't want to play with many mages.. It is just too easy.. http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif

My kensai r00ls ya all by the way.. Just have to find boots of speed now, so I don't have to worry about rangers or mages http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...iles/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by dovienya (edited 10-11-2001).]

I like to play with a swashbuckler and put a lot of points into his pick pocket ability, then I do a mock Robin Hood type thing and steal everything from everybody.(It works especially well if you use potions of master theivry)Of course I give most of it to one church or another, but i get a kick out of selling something back to the guy I stold it from 2 or 3 times without them noticing.

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"They come in the dark. Always in the dark..."

I like to play with a swashbuckler and put a lot of points into his pick pocket ability, then I do a mock Robin Hood type thing and steal everything from everybody.(It works especially well if you use potions of master theivry)Of course I give most of it to one church or another, but i get a kick out of selling something back to the guy I stold it from 2 or 3 times without them noticing.

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"They come in the dark. Always in the dark..."