what party?

[Saverico]

Hi. I bought this game today(SOA+TOB) and i was wondering what party should i choose for my first run through. Iam asking because i want to tap your immense experiences(:-0). I played ICWD2, BG1, NWN so i have experiences with D&D rules but this game implements 2.5rules if iam not mistaken so it means no concetration etc and no feats but ok, i can cope with that but how do you cast in this game, clerics,druid, mages,sorcerers must be in a very bad position if whenever something hits them their spells go wrong. Are there in 2.5rules ways to avoid this?
I read about possible npc that can join you but i dont know if i read them wrong bu there are not that many good characters to choose from.
i would choose something like this:
(4-5characters so they can level up faster (routine from icwd))
req:2tanks, fire support, healer, rest i dont know
do you btw need a thief? in icwd2 he was useless, not because of skills but there were almost no places for him to do something only he could do and there were no xps for opening a chest or lock

character pick(this is not a party but characters i think only are worth taking along )
me:female(iam tired looking at that big machoman)
dont know which class but something casting would be nice
tank1: minsc/got coll stats
wizard/thief: jan /can do a lot, got cool stats
tank2: korgan/is cool
healer(tankinreserve): viconia
shooter:valigar

waiting for your opinions gentlemans
thanks

[Sir Degrader]

Not that bad, but more casters would be good, I'd go for:

Sorcerer PC
Minsc
Korgan
Viconia
Edwin
Jan/Yoshimo (go for Yoshimo, won't tell you why).

[Armen]

couple of things

1. enjoy!

2. the characters you list have different alignments and may fight each other so you may lose one or more of them - painful if you've invested time in building them up - it can be fun to watch though

3. you don't absolutely need a thief but there are plenty of places to use one and you do get XP for traps and locks

4. your spellcasters have lots of spell protections to prevent interruption and clerics can wear armour . . . you'll be glad of spell interruptions against enemy mages though

5. you can't go wrong for a first run with the characters you get out of the opening dungeon (minsc, jahiera, imoen, yoshimo, you as something you fancy probably with a bit of mage in there) - they've got plenty of power and lots of banter (possibly the best developed 'characters')

6. a small party for XP gains would get my vote too but this is a preference thing - i like working big parties but usually not for very long before i restart

7. have a look at six of spades guide (linked in the forum FAQ) and then stay away from here until you've played the game for you will get spoiled - we're pretty good at limiting the damage but it's unavoidable and a shame

8. i said enjoy yes?

[ 12-21-2005, 12:37 PM: Message edited by: Armen ]

[Madman-Rogovich]

Originally posted by Sir Degrader: Not that bad, but more casters would be good, I'd go for: Sorcerer PC Minsc Korgan Viconia Edwin Jan/Yoshimo (go for Yoshimo, won't tell you why).

Id definately take yoshimo over Jan, mainly cos his theiving skills are better and do really come in handy. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Andraste]

I'd agree with Armen that the intial pickups from the dungeon are good for a first run though.

And I'd definitely second the advice not to overuse this forum until you've played it through. It has just about the best plot of any RPG game I've played (planescape excluded).

[ 12-21-2005, 02:14 PM: Message edited by: Andraste ]

[ister]

I think your choices are great. Jan is all the thief you'll ever need, Minsc and Korgan make great tanks, and Valygar is an acceptable archer. If you play that party you should be a mage or mage MC, as you'll need more spell casting than just one char.

You'll find the characters squabble a bit, but as long as you aren't too heroic you won't have any trouble keeping them all around.

I wouldn't play the sorceror for your first time through. The power of the sorc is critically dependent on your spell choices, and without playing a bit you won't have any idea which spells are good choices, or how to use them. Stick with the mage.

[Sir Degrader]

M
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Keep a party slot open with you head out.

[Cam_H]

Saverico,

All of the above advice is good, although I might squabble a bit with the proposed party, as I agree that mixing good aligned characters with evil aligned characters does run a risk of party contentment problems. Likewise, I do lean towards ister's rationale that a Sorcerer could lead you to missing out on some helpful spells due simply to inexperience with BG2 - I wouldn't suggest that its very likely that you'll end up with 100% useless spells, but there's some risk of missing out on some especially good spells.

Just to echo others' suggestion that the party you start with to the point of exiting the initial dungeon (PC, Imoen, Minsc, Jaheira, and Yoshimo) is a very workable crew if you felt inclined with persisting with them, albeit a bit light on the magic spell casting if your PC can't cast magic spells. Personally I think that you could do worse than a Fighter/Mage multiclass for your PC if going with such a group.

There are no really bad NPCs ... each has their own strengths and weaknesses. Don't fret if you've happened to have read somewhere that such-and-such is a useless NPC. Given your past experience with other CRPG games, you would be aware that typically game success is determined on the strategies and tactics you employ, and utilising each character's relative strengths.

Are you familiar with, or have an interest in BG2 'romances'? These are dialogues that may occur between an NPC and your PC of a 'romantic nature'. They're completely optional, but some people enjoy them for their roleplay value. If so, your female PC must be from one of a limited number of races, and there's only one 'official' NPC that will romance a female PC.

Apply the patch and I would recommend also applying the Baldurdash fixes afterwards.

[Edit]I'm not a big one for recommending mods at an early stage in a player's BG2 experience, but the following components of Ease of Use may well be worth your while; Infinite Weapon and Potion Stacking, Infinite Weapon and Potion Stacking (ToB), Shut Up "You Must Gather Your Party ...", XP Cap Remover, Invisible Cloak of Mirroring Animation, Bottomless Bag of Holding, Imoen ToB Dialogue Fix, and Low Reputation Store Discount.[/Edit]

... and again, "Enjoy!"

[ 12-21-2005, 08:59 PM: Message edited by: Cam_H ]

[timothy trotter]

I would recoment downloading the Kivian NPC from the G3 website, as he is a fantastic archer, he has the same stats that he does in Baldurs gate 1, and hes now at lvl 15 in my party with a THAC0 of -12, which is pretty nice. he will be a much better archer than Valygar could ever be.

[krunchyfrogg]

tt: do you have a link to that download?