new party for BG2

[timothy trotter]

just starting to get back into the game.
Haven't finished TOB yet, apparently im about 98% of the way done...
after this i want to start a party in BG 2 with only around 4 people in it.
i want to have edwin, ill get 'S' whn i start TOB. i want to romance somebody. and i think ill keep imoen, ive never actually kept her once i saved her.

so for SOA,

me (undecided race or class) male
Edwin
Romanceable character - not jahera (i dislike her immensely)
Imoen

and ill add 'S' at the start of TOB

so i guess this makes me a warrior of some sort? or a cleric?
unless i get korgan and drop him at TOB

ive got happy mod installed so conflicts between characters will not lead to them leaving my party.

Any suggestions or advice is warly welcome.
Thanks
Timothy

[krunchyfrogg]

What are you looking for? Power? Banter?

[Kyrvias]

Well, it seems you already have your bases covered.

Imoen starts getting very useful later in ToB, Edwin is the master of spells, and spells he can't cast imoen can, and all three romanceable characters are healers of some sort.

So for your character, I would recomend a fighterish character, maybe a fighter/ blank

I know it's vauge, but a fighter multi, or even dual, would ve helpful with the party you've gathered.

[Cam_H]

It would appear as though your likely romance option is going to be Viconia, unless you try to keep a moderate reputation so you can balance Aerie's and Edwin's happiness and then woo the whiney wingless one. Be mindful of your PC's race if you're going for a romance and you haven't got a modded game.

I agree with Kyravias that a warrior of some sort would probably be the go - something like a dual classed Assassin-Fighter could work well as could a Swashbuckler, although in my view the most powerful option would be the Fighter/Thief multiclass where you can access a wide range of HLAs.

As for alignment, I'd go Evil for use of Blackrazor if you're not going to get the rogue's 'Use Any Item' HLA.

[timothy trotter]

Had a thought, might try a female PC, just for a change, and romance anomen. I dont really play it as a role play, so i dont really bother about getting players to suit my alignment.

i guess a power gaming party is waht im after. so

Anomen fighter cleric
Edwin Specialist Mage
Imoen Thief Mage
Female PC
Possible Korgan for SOA then replace for 'S'

[Cam_H]

I guess earlier advice still holds more or less true; excluding the PC of unknown class from the mix, you're not strong on thief skills (and devoid of them in Chapters Two and Three), and for a small party you will be fairly mage-heavy. A warrior or warrior-rogue PC would be of benefit to this group, particularly if you don't take Korgan (who will soak up XPs other than some quest XPs).

Personally, unless you particularly want to take on a Demi-Lich and don't want to cheese it, I think that you can leave Korgan out of the mix. It's not that he's a bad NPC, but I think that you would want to keep your party confined to three or four during SoA. If you're after a "power party" for SoA, I'd look at having fewer party members who can level up quickly.

Unitl ToB, four would be my maximum, and I think that you could be fine with a warrior or warrior-rogue PC, Anomen and Edwin for Chapters Two and Three. Your ToB additional NPC will be fine, as the four other party members will be potent enough by then to handle ToB without worrying too much about further level ups.

[timothy trotter]

thanks cam, i think ill follow your advice, I think i might try a specialist archer, mainly because i have never tried one before, that way i can do some stealthy things like a roughe would, but still be reasonable at fighting. This means that anomen would need to be my main tank. this could be a problem yes?

For the thief side of thing, ill use yoshimo untill i find emoen, then ill ditch him. so starting party

Archer
anomen
yoshimo
edwin

Any suggestions to alter this would be warmly appreciated.

Thanks,
Timothy

[Cam_H]

That party should be fine, although you may need to use your Archer to do some melee work for a little while, as Anomen's armor class isn't all that exceptional albeit helped when he secures the item that will improve his Dexterity, while Yoshimo isn't a particularly great tank either (frontliner that can act as the principal damage sponge). You can buff with Potions of Defence, multiple Potions of Mind Focussing, Ghost Armor, Ilbratha's Mirror Image for your PC or Yoshimo, etc. for improved AC (or in the last case, reduced liklihood of getting hit) for your frontliners if they strike a tricky (non-mage) fight early in the game.

[Kyrvias]

I think a shwashbuckler would be the way to go. Automatically gets a +1 to hit and damage, and gets a +1 bonus to armor class every four levels is it?

Good tank. Can put three * in two weapon fighting, and can speciallize in any elee weapon a single classed level 1 thief can use.

The penalty is no backstab. I think that hte pros outweigh the cons.

[timothy trotter]

what weapon proficiencies should i give my archer? apart from bows