Hmmm.... I'm playing Iron Man (Lord, Monk, Bard, Ranger, Bishop & Mage) plus have Myles and Vi Domina as RPCs. I don't feel the need a theif, between the Bard & Knock-Knock spells. Therefore, I converted Myles to a fighter. Vi is still a Valkyrie.

Well, on the road back to the Monastary to get the stuff I want, I run into some Higardi Highwaymen. And I **thought** Cutpurses.

Well, they were CULTISTS, not cutpurses. My mis-reading of the enemy party line. Which was unfortunate, because I'm aggressivly advancing against magic using creatures. On the other hand, non magic using creatures (including non-damaging magic using creatures) I play by wedging myself into a crevice and making them come at me one or two at a time.

But... That's not the way to fight magic using monsters... ::sigh::

Six of my party were killed, including Myles, as we were fire-balled to death by the Cultists. Only the Lord and the Ranger survived. As I had FIVE resurection powders, I revived most of my party.

Is Myles really worth it? I've played this game deep into the swamp. Except for the second quest, Myles has only provided smarmy comments...

But, I'm worried that dumping his carcass on the Arnika road may server me poorly with the Higardi... Anyone dump deal Myles? If so, what happened?

You don't lose any prestige for dropping off a dead Myles, though I kinda think you should. ;) After all, how does it look when a party dumps a dead body who turns out to be a local boy?

As for Myles himself, I've always found him a useful character. He's good with a bow and a light weapon, and his thieving ability is wonderful in stores, since I haven't trained any party members in this skill. Up to you what you do.

Dump him. I used Miles for a little while initially but once I found out he does not go anywhere I dumped him. When I play again I will not take him on as he just sucks experience away from where it is really needed.

IMO, the RPCs are interchangeable.

Many of them won't follow you to every region w/o whining (-20 to all stats/skills), which means, for e.g. that the gadgeteer RPC can't use the L7 spell gadgets.

As a consequence, I found it more interesting to pick up whoever was new and play with them for a while. Gives you a chance to experiment with what skills to play with, etc.

The two most useful when you find 'em are, IMO, Myles (his backstab is excellent) and Vi (if you convert her to a Fighter). There's a robot and the gadgeteer who both take time to warm up, but they can be excellent as well.

Incidentally: if you haven't got the latest patches, make sure you fully levelup RPCs before dismissing them; otherwise, you won't be able to find them again.

Thank you for your replies. I was concerned about the Myles issue. Alas, the party is all dead. Well, not exactly dead. I had to do a CTRL-ALT-DEL but they're still autosaved/stuck right before the unwinnable battle...