still planning a party

[Burrtoe]

Seems to me that you are trying to play the perfect BG2 game. I don't think the game can be played that way, but I do think you can get close.

I suggest you try a swashbuckler.

From the BG1 storyline, you have yourself, Minsc, Jaheira, and Imoen from the start of the game. Don't take Aerie, use Vic as your cleric instead. When you first meet Vic, both Jah and Minsc want her to join the party, but Aerie doesn't. So leave Aerie in the circus tent when that adventure is over.

So now your party consists of:

Yourself (swashbuckler)
Minsc
Jaheira
Viconia

This leaves you plenty of room to add people for quests, and these 4 are pretty tough without additional help. And you'll get Imoen back later for your mage spot. You can use Nalia until then (I don't suggest Edwin because you have Minsc).

The added bonus is your swashbuckler. This rogue kit gets +1 to hit and damage every 5 levels, and -1AC every 5 levels. I had a dual wielding swashbuckler with -12AC at the end of SoA. That's the equivalent of magic full plate and a good shield.

And in ToB, he can use any thing. I played around with a lot of the weapons. He did well with Carsomyr even though he had 0 proficieny with it. The +5 from Carsomyr, and the kit damage and hit bonus more than made up the difference. Be creative with Use Any Item. Save up the unused mage scrolls, heck, summon a familiar . And don't forget the ToB traps. They are sweet!

And to further my reasoning, I imagined my BG1 rogue (later a BG2 swashbuckler) as a Captain Blood - Errol Flynn type of character. That makes a great hero for a story, does it not? Since I played a rogue, I'd avoid the goody-goody types (Keldorn, Anomen), or only have them in the party for a short while. And being one of the good guys (Neutral Good), I'd also avoid those that were truely evil, like Korgan and Edwin.

I could go on, but I'd become even more incoherent. So I'll leave it at this.

Flynn, the hero
Minsc, goofy sidekick (something every hero needs)
Jaheira, old friend
Imoen, annoying tag-along kid sister
Viconia, the one your mother warned you about (fitting romance for a rogue-ish character)
------, people you have met in your travels who journey with you for a while, then part ways

Makes sense? Hope so.

The Toe

[StarVid]

this does make sense, but I don't think the thief kit is for me. My thieves spend way too much time just sitting in the back that (for my strategy), I'm better off with a multi/dual thief. I've been doing a little research on the Ranger/Cleric and decided I'd be better with the human fighter/cleric dualed at level 9. So, basically, my party would look like this.

Minsc
Jah
Me-F/C
Vic
Jan
?->Imoen

I started thinking about it. You can basically split the cleric spells into two categories. Spells that a backliner would cast and spells that a frontliner would cast. Therefore, I don't think it would really be overkill in having two clerics. Furthermore, considering that at this level, a lot of baddies will make their saves, Jan would suffice as a mage until I get Imoen back. This way I end up with a party with this breakdown.

3 Fighters-Minsc, Jah, and Myself
2 Clerics- Vic, Myself
1 Druid- Jah
1 1/2 Mages- Imoen and Jan
1 (decent) Thief- Jan

Furthermore, this gives me a party of 5 (until I get Imoen) so I can take whatever else for my 6th slot to do their NPC quests.

Now my question is, without any spoilers, is that if I grab imoen after all these NPC quests, is she going to be able to catch up in levels with the rest of my party?

[dovienya]

I play with (chapter two only so far...)

me (kensai, dualvielder = ownage)
Minsc
Aerie
Anomen
Kheldorn
Jahiera

(I lost Nalia, who was my thief, replaced her with Anomen, for questing. He will be the one leaving, he or Kheldorn)

That gives me 4 very capable fighters, one healer (Jaheira) and one mage (Aerie) (plus two clerics and one semi-fighter) I don't want to play with many mages.. It is just too easy..

My kensai r00ls ya all by the way.. Just have to find boots of speed now, so I don't have to worry about rangers or mages

[This message has been edited by dovienya (edited 10-11-2001).]

[AzRaeL StoRmBlaDe]

I like to play with a swashbuckler and put a lot of points into his pick pocket ability, then I do a mock Robin Hood type thing and steal everything from everybody.(It works especially well if you use potions of master theivry)Of course I give most of it to one church or another, but i get a kick out of selling something back to the guy I stold it from 2 or 3 times without them noticing.

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"They come in the dark. Always in the dark..."

[AzRaeL StoRmBlaDe]

I like to play with a swashbuckler and put a lot of points into his pick pocket ability, then I do a mock Robin Hood type thing and steal everything from everybody.(It works especially well if you use potions of master theivry)Of course I give most of it to one church or another, but i get a kick out of selling something back to the guy I stold it from 2 or 3 times without them noticing.

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"They come in the dark. Always in the dark..."