hi again, another party question (spoilers)

[Feagil of the shadow]

Hi again,
Recently I put a post on the BG2:SoA board, saying about a daulled thief/mage party. Now I have a party for that, I thought I might try and complete BG1 for the first time. I have TotSC installed too.

So anyways, I've done my research, and by the sounds of it, I don't want a mage heavy party just yet. So here is what I've come up with first:

Me- Thief (dualled to a mage in BG2)
Ajantis- Paladin
Minsc- Ranger
*another tank type, any siggestions?*
Branwen- Cleric
Dynaheir

I like the build of this party. Branwen sounds like a good Cleric, and Dynaheir handles all mage stuff, unless I dual my thief early. Minsc has a huge strength so will be useful, and Ajantis I would think would be a good Paladin, but doesn't he only have 17 strength?

For another tank I thought about Shar'Teel, but isn't she evil aligned? I think that could cause problems... unless I went for an all out evil party (NOT YET PELASE)

And I wodnered if I was lacking in tanks up front, as BG1 seems very fighter orientated...

Any help would be appreciated.

[Lord]

Take Jaheira and Khalid. Kill Khalid (out of Jaheira's sight), then take him out of the party and you'll be left with Jaheira. She's a decent healer and a decent fighter as well. She's well worth taking.

[Blunderbuss]

Yeh, Jaheira's very useful as a spellcaster and a fighter, however Khalid, whom I made the mistake of taking, is useless and will die every other battle and because he loses health so quickly, he'll run away a lot of the time.

[Lord]

Originally posted by Blunderbuss: Yeh, Jaheira's very useful as a spellcaster and a fighter, however Khalid, whom I made the mistake of taking, is useless and will die every other battle and because he loses health so quickly, he'll run away a lot of the time.

You can have Khalid not die. I've managed to make him 1 of the best fighters in the game. If you give him Spider's Bane, you can give him a nice boost.

[Iron Greasel]

I currently use Branwen as my only tank. I have:
Myself (thief)
Imoen
Kivan
Branwen
Xan
Safana

I gave everybody except Branwen a ranged weapon and Branwen a war hammer +2. She has full plate mail and a small shield +1 giving her an AC of -3. All the killing is done by my ranged people in the back. Tanks aren't that useful, I'd say you should take Kivan, give him a bow of marksmanship and the bracers of archery and watch him kill everyone before they even get near.

[Azred]

Finally! Someone else who uses Safana! [img]graemlins/erm.gif[/img] "Uses" in the sense that she is included in the party, that is.... [img]graemlins/beigesmilewinkgrin.gif[/img] I always drop Imoen for Safana as early as possible.

The key to mastering BG1 is not in having a really high strength, only in having the lowest possible AC. Most foes in the game have a Thac0 greater than or equal to 11, so they have less of a chance to hit your tank, especially if AC is -2 or lower. Thus, one sufficiently armored tank is enough.
My current cleric/mage (the evil Malekith) just dropped his splint mail but still has an AC of 3; I let him engage in melee combat if spells are not needed.

[RoSs_bg2_rox]

I agree that Khalid is by no means useless. I often take him right down to -10 AC etc. which makes him a real tank. Also, mages are fine for BG1 too. Whatever type of party you prefer go for it. Anything is possible.