Thread: Nalia
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Old 05-15-2001, 07:34 PM   #19
Accord
Ninja Storm Shadow
 

Join Date: March 1, 2001
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 3,537
Quote:
Originally posted by Grand-Ranger:

Ok good point,,but,,whos better overall?

Naila might have more attribution points...but shes frikken annoying,which we already covered.Now,Nalia Dualed at 4th level! How is that ganna compete with 16 and 17 level people.Jan is a better theif peroid.And funnery,much.

Now,he dosnet get necromancer,ok bad drop back.But dosnet his theifing and extra illusion spells and comedy take up for that?Also I think that Jans quest is intresting,and (unless your a fighter) Nailas quest is is just time consuming.But thats just me.


Now we covered quests and Magic,lets do theifing.

Jan hands down. Much better,now you can say "Well what if you have,say,edwin for maigc,you dont need Jan for theifing cause theres Yoshi." Well we all know what happens to Yoshi.

So overall i think Jan better
Interesting that you decide to bring the thiefing into this discussion, however, speaking from my own experience I never had Jan for my good party long enough to utilize his thiefing abilities, both Nalia and Imoen were able to step up to the challenge when a trap is needed to be detected and disarmed, you just need to have those two walk slowly while detecting traps (and NOT run around like some psycho in a dungeon), try it, if you don't believe me. Personally, I prefer magic over thiefing, I always have (or try to have) 3 "mage magic" users in my party, for a good party that would be Aerie, Nalia, and Imoen (and potentially my PC, if I am using a dual class mage). For evil party, I always have my PC (berserker/mage or kensai/mage), Edwin (obviously), and Jan. Jan is probably the best choice since he is a multi-class thief/illusionist, and I don't like Yoshimo anyways (like I always say, you only need a decent thief, not the BEST thief) even though there is a way to keep the Yo-man alive through out the story.
As for the quests, I've actually find Nalia's keep (fighter or not) a good place to gain $$$$$$ and experience, not to mention a couple of worthy items during the course of exploring. As for her own NPC side-quest, yes it is long for what you get, but overall if you plan to have a powerful mage she is a worthy investment. Quests wise I think Nalia offers more "opportunities", which is excellent for a lower level, beginning party.
As for what "out weights" another, in terms of being practical in a game, the first factor is determine by your party's layout and the contribution of individaul team members or how they work as a team. So this is a highly subjective matter (and dependent on your own unique situation), BUT I would not discount Nalia simply because she is "annoying" (at least she is not annoying and arrogant like Anomen). And if you are able to put up with Jaheria and Aerie, I don't see why a person cannot put up with Nalia.... *sign*. Theifing wise, I've said it before, she is capable to detect traps which is thief's primary purpose for me (I don't like "borrowng" stuff even if I am playing evil). Speaking of spells....the extra lllustion spell is not that useful, comparing to a more diversify spell caster. Nalia can cast Illusion spells too, but she can also deal the damage from Necromancy spells, and honestly, how many times do you use Illusionist spells during a fight...maybe a Mislead for your mage when things gets hairy, or Improved Invisibility 10' Radius before a fight?
You've also mentioned levels of the characters, since Jan is multi-class, true he can become lvl 16 in thief (under the assumption that exp cap is in place, otherwise this discussion is meaningless, anyone can become a god), but don't forget he is only a lvl 13 mage....compare to lvl 17 which Nalia is capable of achieving (4 levels might not seem to be much, but actually it does due to spell capablitiy progression), I don't think magic wise there is any doubt especially Jan has 1 INT lower than Nalia, Nalia offers more power.
To sum things up, Jan is better in theifing (duh!! ) and comic relieve, and Nalia is better in spell casting and quests area... in terms of practicalness, I would still pick Nalia (provided the whole alignment thing is applicable) since I felt that magic is a big part of the game and for the experience that her quests offers.

P.S. in my past two recent games, I've already developed a good-aligned Kensai/thief, hence just a personal reason for not having Jan for my good party.

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