The best NPC Group Lineup

[Angelouss]

the reason Yoshi dies is the geas spell cast on him. Geas is a spell that gives the recipent something to do(best described as a quest). The receipent will then do anything in their power to try and complete the quest and will not be able to rest until the quest is finished. Yoshi can't complete the quest cuase you never took him. so the geas can't be complete, therefore he dies.

[Imrahil]

Big time Yoshimo SPOILER (hey, you asked)...
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(just be sure you want to know this & not find out for yourself)
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Yoshimo is... wait... are you sure you wanna know?

last chance...

OK... but this was one of the biggest WTF?!? moments for me in the game that I discovered for myself...

Yoshimo is a traitor. He has been working for Jon Irenicus from the start. He is under a Geas spell to betray you. You get to witness this betrayal for yourself if you take him with you to Brynnlaw & the Asylum (which, incidently, means you won't have to drop a party member to pick up Imoen). If you don't take him, he has failed to betray you (by losing your trust / not convincing you to take him along / whatever) into the hands of Irenicus (other than his "I couldn't help myself" dialogue, the general plot unfolds exactly the same).

Thus, the Geas kills him. In role-playing terms, he should die when you meet Irenicus in Spellhold. In game terms, it happens next time you see him after visiting Spellhold (which is typically next time you go to the Copper Coronet after exiting the Underdark). For an experience bonus, you can return his heart (an item you get after you are forced to kill him) to a Temple of Ilmater for a *major* XP award. You have been spoiled... [img]smile.gif[/img]

- Imrahil

[LennonCook]

Originally posted by Animal: But from a roleplaying perspective (maybe gameplay as well, I've never tried) how could Edwin and Keldorn co-exist in the same party? I tend to disagree with Jan as the primary mage. Aerie rocks at the later stages of the game, where Jan misses some great Necromancy spells, ie: Abi Dalzims (sp?) Horrid Whilting. Agreed, Jan is the only thief NPC, bar Yoshi, but as a primary mage? Give your head a shake.

A mage and a paladin; nothing wrong there except the alignments, which are never the *only* factor in NPC dislikings. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Point taken about ADHW, will edit my above post accordingly.

[Cerek the Barbaric]

3 REASONS TO KEEP JAHEIRA

1. Insect Plague - Until the higher levels, this is the BEST "Wizard Slayer" spell available. It causes 100% spellcasting failure...AND...it automatically affects ALL hostile spellcasters. You choose one as the target, but the Plague spreads to the rest. {Creeping Doom is even better as you get higher}

2. Summon Fire Elemental - Very handy monster for helping in tough battles. Powerful attacks and can take some serious damage.

3. Call Lightning - KAAA-ZZZZAAAAPPPPP!!!! Makes your enemies fall like bowling pins. Target one creature and watch them get ZAPPED repeatadly. {and unless you have the Tactics Mod - it will even work INSIDE!}.

[karlosovic]

I'm not taking an NPC I can't stand just for insect plague. As someone said, it is stopped by magic resistence, and the only mages I have trouble with have REALLY high MR, so what's the point ?

take jaheira cause she can summon fire elementals ???
any mage will be summoning them by the dozen, decades before jaheira ever can.
and Lightning bolt has never worked indoors for me so I dunno what you have installed.

lots of people shun healing spells in favour of potions. fine, everyone has different styles of play. I like clerics. And who said Anomen is no good ? after returning from spellhold I went to Bhodis lair, turned on Turn undead and ran him into the middle of the room. 90% of all enemies simply exploded. the other 2 ran away and were hunted down and slaughtered by my fighter with FoA.
That quest has never been easier... this is the first time I've used Anomen for more than 10 minutes (cause yeh ok... he IS very annoying), but I must say I have been mightily impressed by his actual skills.

and another thing... is it his 2 extra spells per level that everyone likes about Edwin, cause everything else about him is really bad. he has a stat total of 74 for gods sake and no divination. I'm giving him a go at the moment though cause one of my games is an evil party. haven't tried this before so...

[Alson]

Originally posted by Cerek the Barbaric: 3 REASONS TO KEEP JAHEIRA 1. Insect Plague - Until the higher levels, this is the BEST "Wizard Slayer" spell available. It causes 100% spellcasting failure...AND...it automatically affects ALL hostile spellcasters. You choose one as the target, but the Plague spreads to the rest. {Creeping Doom is even better as you get higher} 2. Summon Fire Elemental - Very handy monster for helping in tough battles. Powerful attacks and can take some serious damage. 3. Call Lightning - KAAA-ZZZZAAAAPPPPP!!!! Makes your enemies fall like bowling pins. Target one creature and watch them get ZAPPED repeatadly. {and unless you have the Tactics Mod - it will even work INSIDE!}.

4. Nature's Beauty - Cheesiest spell in the game, losing only to Project Image and Simulacrum. Note the *no save*, *permanent* Blindness - only Magic Resistance can stop it.

[Animal]

Originally posted by karlosovic: I'm not taking an NPC I can't stand just for insect plague. As someone said, it is stopped by magic resistence, and the only mages I have trouble with have REALLY high MR, so what's the point ? take jaheira cause she can summon fire elementals ??? any mage will be summoning them by the dozen, decades before jaheira ever can. and Lightning bolt has never worked indoors for me so I dunno what you have installed. lots of people shun healing spells in favour of potions. fine, everyone has different styles of play. I like clerics. And who said Anomen is no good ? after returning from spellhold I went to Bhodis lair, turned on Turn undead and ran him into the middle of the room. 90% of all enemies simply exploded. the other 2 ran away and were hunted down and slaughtered by my fighter with FoA. That quest has never been easier... this is the first time I've used Anomen for more than 10 minutes (cause yeh ok... he IS very annoying), but I must say I have been mightily impressed by his actual skills. and another thing... is it his 2 extra spells per level that everyone likes about Edwin, cause everything else about him is really bad. he has a stat total of 74 for gods sake and no divination. I'm giving him a go at the moment though cause one of my games is an evil party. haven't tried this before so...

You've pretty much summed it up in a nutshell. Each NPC has their own strengths and weaknesses and it boils down to your style of playing: RPG or Power Gamer.
I myself don't really care for dual class NPC's, I find that they don't really excell in any one category. I like Jaheira for her Druid spells, as that's my style (a lot of summoned fodder)
I think you'll find that with the right equipment, Edwin can slaughter most anything he comes accross.

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by karlosovic: ...and another thing... is it his 2 extra spells per level that everyone likes about Edwin, cause everything else about him is really bad. he has a stat total of 74 for gods sake and no divination. I'm giving him a go at the moment though cause one of my games is an evil party. haven't tried this before so...

I've often wondered this myself. Maybe it's a matter of personal style and preference, but I absolutely despise Edwin. I tried him in my first run through Baldur's Gate I......what a disappointment. I wasn't expecting great stats or hit points, but when I realized he would not be able to cast the high-damage Invocation spells (opposing school to his Enchantment specialization) - I gave him the boot permanently.

I haven't tried him in BGII. Personally, I thought Dynaheir ROCKED in BGI. Specialized in Invocation (my kinda gal). Getting extra Magic Missiles, Fireballs, Lightning Bolts, etc. I loved it. I would MUCH rather have her in BGII than Edwin.

Still, I am starting BGII the second time around with an evil party, so I will be giving Edwin another chance. Who knows....maybe I'll change my mind about him. There certainly aren't any overpowering mages serving the forces of good available. Nalia and Imoen are about equal and I didn't keep Aerie long enough to see how she did at higher levels.

I also agree with you about Anomen. Extremely annoying..but VERY useful when cleaning out Bodhi's lair. I created a female kensai for a 3rd BGII game, so I guess Anomen will be coming along with her group.