SPOILERS
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


Yoshimo won't stay with the party
Imoen dual-classed to mage. Will her skills be good enough?
Nalia is essentially a mage who can shoot a bow
Jan is chaotic neutral

What do you do?

[ 11-13-2003, 10:02 PM: Message edited by: HolyWarrior ]

Even though he is chaotic neutral I think Jan fits well enough into an otherwise good party. He might be irresponsible, but he is never malicious.

As someone who mostly plays "all-good" parties, I can truly say I use Imoen as my thief. The main things you need to a thief for is to open locks and disarm traps; the rest is just bonus material (though some would argue that backstabbing is vital, I have rarely used it in the past, and have finished the game just fine). If you really like backstabbing, consider adding Valygar. While he does not have as large a multiplier on his backstab as a true thief of higher level, he does use a fighter's THACO, allowing him to hit more often than a thief usually does. You are right about Nalia; she is worthless as a thief (without potions, at least).

Imoen will be just fine for your thieving needs, especially if you ride your reputation up to 20 like I usually do (Jan will stay in the party, but you'll have to listen to him gripe the whole time). If you want a thief that you can do everything with (pick pockets, set traps, etc.), you are pretty much stuck with Jan unless you play a thief yourself.

I generally use Nalia as more of a thief than a mage until Imoen is rescued.

[img]graemlins/thewave.gif[/img]

WELCOME TO IRONWORKS!!!

She is passable as a thief, with help (i.e. potions or boosting items). This is especially true if you go get Imoen back ASAP; you can afford not to open some stuff temporarily until you swing back after getting Imoen. But there is no way I would use her as a thief for any longer than I had to (i.e. if I had no other thief and was going to get Imoen back pretty quickly). Yoshimo is a perfect fit, mostly due to the plot of the game, until you get Imoen back.

[ 11-11-2003, 11:29 PM: Message edited by: Nerull ]

I know I'm not the one to talk cause I play theif, but I'm going to anyway. In my opinon you shouldn't rely on Immy cause all I ever use her for is a mage... Yoshi can't stay :( so I think you should use Jan (or Nalia, I just randomly picked). In my party I am the thief, it is good not to have to depend on anybody.

[rant]

Whenever I need a thief in this game, I find myself either making the PC a thief or using the multiplayer option to make a second PC for a thief. The choices in this game stink compared to BG1.

The four NPC thieves in BG2 don't entirely work for me. Only one is a pureclass thief. The multiclassed one takes FOREVER to get useful. And the dual-classed princesses have laughable mage skills. I had Nalia under the influence of two Master Thievery potions in order for her to be useable, much less useful.

Are any modders listening? Here are some NPCs I'd like to see:

--a skald romance
--a witty, wild swashbuckler
--a wild mage (ToB only)
--a wizard slayer

Things this game should have, but doesn't.

[/rant]

Wrong, Jan starts with practically three of the four most important skills nearly maxed. Thanks to his items, he starts with almost 100 in open locks, detect traps AND detect illusion. The only important leftover is set traps. Hide in Shadows can be dropped for invisibility spells.

JAN JAN JAN : Hes Cool hes good as a thief(Hes the on that reminds me most of a thief Selling illegal and that ^^)I yust LOVE him.Hes quit good too,A quit good thief whit good Thief equipment (Hes own goodies)and he can yuse MI+SS+More good deffensiv spells,you dount nessesary need to hawe deffenseiv spells on him you can go whit offensiv assvel.Joshi : quit good but hes not trough out the hole game (SUX) Imoen : If your like me you do the most questes BEFOR you get her so she wont play a big matter in the game (Unless you rush trough and do the Side questes in athletic on Chapter 6,But that is going to be hard in the underdark whitout good levels) Nalia : You know you know now need to explain whye you dount need her in party.So i think you should go for Jan the best thief that is whit the hole game.Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan (yust had to say that).

Be sure your game has the Baldurdash patches, one of whom restores some missing thief skill points for Imoen. With that patch, I believe she has 100% find traps and 95% open locks, which is plenty. In my very first game I managed chapters 2-4 (pre-Imoen rescue) thief needs with Nalia and lots of potions.

Jan is a FAR more effective choice, though... right off the bat he's a fantastic thief at pretty much anything except stealth and trapsetting, and his bonus spells from being an Illusionist are handy also. Also, don't underestimate his Detect Illusions skill.

Also, after experiencing Jan's side quests, I think he definitely belongs much more in a good party than an evil one.

In my current party, I've decided to simply keep Yoshimo up to Spellhold, and swap Imoen in at that point. If you haven't done it that way at least once, you should.

[ 11-12-2003, 12:09 PM: Message edited by: Klutz ]