NPC ratings (spoilers)

[Andraste]

Originally posted by Dirty Meg: 3. Aerie. Bit of a liability at low levels. Godhead once SoA exp cap topped. Romance quest that works. Likeable character.

Originally posted by Dirty Meg a month ago: Aerie strikes me as a useless character because mage/cleric is a stupid multiclass.

and

Originally posted by Dirty Meg a month ago: Why not just replace her with a turnip?

Can I assume that you've changed your mind?

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

Apparently so. I would venture a guess and say that in that month, Aerie has reached higher levels...

I'm inclined to put Jahiera near the top.. She's one of the best fighters in the game by ToB. Using a combination of high-level abilities, she can make ten attacks at 2d10 each. And that, Mister Chupon, is nothing to sneeze at.

[Dirty Meg]

Originally posted by Dundee Slaytern: Are you basing the ranking on combat abilities, personalities or an average of both?

Combat abilities, useful skills and being fun to use. Jaheria scored low because of the last criteria. While she is a good fighter and useful character, she doesn't do anything really exciting (like cast three sunrays at once, or turn into a werewolf).

Originally posted by Megachihuahua: IMHO Valygar is better than Korgy. He can haste himself and dual-wield katanas. (Is CF cheeze?)For some reason he can use Drow full plate(?) and shadow dragon armor. Then, you have his high dexterity, so he has good bow and high accuracy. BAM! Peircing arrow in the eye! Korgan...can protect himself from imprisonment for a few seconds.

Korgan is a much better fighter than Valygar. Try putting them up against one another sometime. Hide in shadows is Valygar's only real advantage over Korgan. He is also a better bowman, but why would you use him as such when you can take Mazzy?
Valygar can use shadow dragon scale because it is, for all intents and purposes, leather armour. Thieves can use it too.

[JrKASperov]

Not even counting the fact that she can protect herself with ironskins.

Same goes for HaerDalis with stoneskin and PFMW. Those guys are the best tanks in the game.

[krunchyfrogg]

Cerek, you can actually kick Yoshimo out in Brynlaw (the tavern works just fine) and add him back after Spellhold. At least, that's what I've read online. I usually like seeing the bastitch get what's coming to him.

Anyway, Imoen and Jaheira are the two most useful NPC's IMHO. They're in EVERY party I play. I can't dump them both for power reasons and roleplaying ones.

[Elhardo]

I agree with the jaheir a being tough thing...the insect plague, cast at a magical party at the very beggining of combat, can make the battle so much eisier, often 2 or 3 will fail their morale tests and panic too! plus i think she has some good side quests.!

[teardropmina]

all things considered,

1. Jaheira and Mazzy tie. Jaheira, the most versatile, resourceful fighter in the game, great history/story between her and PC, great interaction with other NPCs as well. Mazzy, to me the best fighter in the game, a great, honorable comrade and fight buddy (since I rarely play a pure fighter PC, she's always my first Fighter option).

2. Aerie...the most versatile spellcaster in the game (in ToB she's downright scary...). The best character development in the game, especially going through the whole romance.

3. Valygar, the second best fighter in the game. like his rather dark and sad back story. Great to be paired with Mazzy.

4. Edwin, powerful wizard, "interesting" personality and a very fun side-quest. Only downside is he's evil and frankly Dark Planetar is less powerful than Planetar, and need to be careful positioning him while casting Holy Smite.

5. Korgan...down here only because he's evil...as I like the fighter upfront and Aerie bringing down Holy Smite tatic very much, Valygar is a better fighter choice. However, pairing Korgan and Mazzy is extremely fun as well, and more so because of the aligment - rep. point managment is much more complex with a Korgan + Mazzy party.

6. Imone -- the best secondary wizard (or even leading wizard) in the game and her thieving skill is sufficient to go through the game.

[Elhardo]

still i find it soooo hard letting minsc go!

[SixOfSpades]

MY POWER SCALE:

1: Jan. Simply because he's practically an absolute necessity in any game where I'm not a Thief myself. Imoen can carry most Thieving skills, but she can't Detect Illusions, and with Tactics installed, the lack of DI can really hurt. His personal gear is great for getting all his skills at high % levels right away. Being an excellent backup Mage never hurts, and neither does being able to set tons of nasty Traps come ToB. Nice Lore, too.
2: Korgan. Let's admit it, being the best Tank in the game is a darn good way to get a high ranking. Grandmastery right from the get-go in a powerful, easily available weapon is another way. And on-the-spot immunity to nasty stuff like Imprisonment and Level Drain is yet another way. Sure, his DEX being "only" 15 means an AC that's 3 points weaker than the maximum--but his Enrage nearly completely offsets that, so why complain?
3: Jaheria. Insect Plague and Full Plate are a nasty combination, and Jaheira carries it off well. An excellent backup Tank, her stats make her one of the best "Give-me-one-stat-boosting-item-and-I'll-kick-ass-for-you" contenders out there. And once she starts hitting ToB levels, hoooo boy just watch those HLAs start rolling in.
4: Mazzy. Talk about versatility--go from "Machine-Gun-Mazzy" popping out shots from Gesen at 4.5 ApR, to a great Tank who's just smoldering with her unresolved height issues. Who cares if her 15 STR isn't a killer, it's enough to wear Full Plate and that's what counts. Her Halfling Fighter Saving Throws are second only to Korgan's, and ranks her as the second-best Tank as well. Add in her nifty Special Abilties, and you got yourself a powerhouse. Recruiting her is rather a pain, though.
5: Imoen. A pure Mage whose DEX and CON are at their effective maxima, who also has nice WIS and CHA, can capably use a good selection of weapons, and is all the Thief my party will need? Count me IN, baby!
6: Anomen. The best Cleric in the game, his Holy Smite will knock the bad guys for a loop almost as effectively as his Turn Undead will vaporize Vampires by the dozen. Shares the "Give-me-one-stat-boosting-item" crown with Jaheira, and the Undead-slaying aspect of this game is slanted in his favor almost as much as it is toward Minsc. Can get up to Grandmastery in 2 weapons by the time ToB rolls around, and that never hurts.
7: Keldorn. His mediocre DEX and proficiencies in 2-handed weapons pretty much cement him in the role of backup Tank, but what a fine backup Tank he is. His Special Abilities mean that any spellcaster who doesn't have SI:Abj as part of his WeimerBuff is essentially dead as soon as Keldorn takes the field, and he's dandy at bashing around the rest of the bad guys, too. And, of course, there's that whole Carsomyr thing.
8: Valygar. Even more versatile than Mazzy: Use him as an archer today, backstabber the next....equip him with a good Longbow, or with Impaler, or dual-wielding, or being a backup Tank with a Shield (although using a Katana with a shield is rather tacky). You could search high and low through the game and never find better Leather Armor than what he's wearing from Day 2. Great stats, great proficiencies (apart from that point in Dagger), and a good, solid kit. I find that he works very well when paired with Jan, as he can handle the Backstabbing while Jan covers everything else.
9: Aerie. Everything that a Cleric/Mage should be...well, almost. Ideally, a Cleric/Mage should have enough CON to survive multiple Fireballs, and that's Aerie's only flaw. Use her well, and she's a fine Cleric and a solid backup Wizard. Use her really well, and she's an unstoppable gunning turret of spells.
10: Nalia. Hey, look, it's Imoen--Lite! Okay, so she can use Gesen, and Belm, and Kundane, but having only 60% in Detect Traps is almost a liability rather than an asset. At least she's still a fine Wizard, and her fancy Ring keeps her from being completely redundant.
11: Edwin. Sure, he's got a buttload of spells, and I'd be the last person to belittle having 4 Level 9 slots when a pure Mage would have 1....but not being able to wear Boots of Speed does put a damper on that, as does having no good stats apart from INT and CON.
12: Minsc. Despite being a pure Warrior with good STR, DEX, and CON, I have to place him in the backup Tank grouping: Most of his starting proficiencies are in 2-handed weapons, only his Strength is exceptional, and he has a Human's Saving Throws. He'll never have really good Stealth or be much of a spellcaster, so he can't be said to be all that versatile, and what he does do well is....not done as well as Korgan, Mazzy or Keldorn could do it.
13: Viconia. 18 WIS does not a good Cleric make, as proven by Viconia's inability to fight. If her STR and CON were more respectable, she'd be more useful, but being unable to wear Plate means that she's pretty much stuck with Splint or Chain (and, of course, she can't wear enchanted stuff or her Saving Throws would suck even more), and her lousy hitpoints mean that you can't risk anybody shooting at her. Her innate Magic Resistance is her one saving grace, and a darn good one, at that--but, of course, if the spell gets past her MR she's as good as dead.
14: Cernd. Cernd? Who's--who's Cernd? Seriously, I found it much simpler to pretend that this guy doesn't exist, and never has. But now that NPCTweak gives the option of turning him into a Totemic Druid, he might be worthwhile--that is, if his stats weren't so lousy.
15: HaerDalis. Because in BG2, Bards just plain suck, and Haer'Dalis is no exception to the rule. There's no advantage in his being able to wear slightly heavier armor if his wimpy hitpoints and Saving Throws pretty much ensure that anything that happens has a pretty good chance of killing him. Sure, he can eventually get to the point where he can win battles all by himself, but any Wizard worth his/her salt can do the same thing, and sooner, and you don't have to babysit them all the rest of the time either.
16: Yoshimo. For obvious reasons. True, he's a damn good Thief during the time that you can use him, but since I tend to zip through the first chapters anyway, Yoshimo is little more than a quick blur or the right-hand side of my screen.

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MY "FUN" SCALE: (No individual rankings)

FUN:
Jan. Some people get sick of his turnip stories, but personally I think that Plooty Paladin-Piper kicks oat-counter ass. Although I do find it danged annoying that he's always going on about either the Calimshite Itch or the Onion Famine. Oh, and it's a pity his quest is so pathetic.
Korgan. Everybody needs a gruff old bastardly curmudgeon once in a while, and even Korgan shows his sensitive side every once in a while. Blood an' glory! Now ye DIE!!!
Keldorn. Just like Korgan, only different.
Edwin. What can I say, I've got a soft spot for really smart, egotistical crackpots who talk to themselves because it's the only way they can be sure of intelligent conversation. I just love his attitude!
Minsc. Minsc.....is Minsc! What more irrefutable argument could there possibly be?


NEUTRAL:
Nalia. Heh, she's okay. (Notice my use of persuasive argument and penetrating wit to convince readers to share my viewpoint!)
Anomen. The fact that he's a lying bastard to the other members of the party is offset by having the best personal quest in the game. Too bad you can't see the whole thing unless you Romance him, though.
Valygar. I like the strong & silent type, at least the way Valygar does it. Tell him what you want done and he'll go do it without any excess fuss.
Mazzy. All right, I suppose. But why is she the only Halfling in Faerun with a British accent?
Jaheria. Her quests (what can usually be seen of them) are good, but you're also got to take into account that "It is about time.It is about time.It is about time.It is about time.It is abou-Speak your mind."
Imoen. Okay, I guess. Except during Chateau Irenicus. I can only hear "There are things in these tanks.....they used to be people" so many times before I want to hit her with a brick.

BORING / BAD:
Yoshimo. No quest. Few banters. Nothing at all beyond Chapter 4. And then there's "You require my counsel, yes?You require my counsel, yes?You require my counsel, yes?You require my counsel, yes?"
HaerDalis. Yes, you stupid twit, we're AWARE that you like bird metaphors. Would you like to experience firsthand what happened to Ajantis? Oh, and by the way, I do love the way that your "quests" consist of nothing but saving you from your own damn mistakes, time and time again.
Viconia. Quest? What quest? Oh, yeah, we kill a Nabassu and a Handmaiden of Lolth....if I happen to be the right race and gender.
Cernd. Only used him once and not inclined to repeat it, actually.
Aerie. Okay, she's a sweet kid.....but come on, can't we get this girl some THERAPY? Having no quest dings her as well.

[Dirty Meg]

How can you say Cernd and Aerie are not fun? Cernd turns into a werewolf. A BIG SLOBBERING WEREWOLF. RRRRAAAAAGGHHH!!!!!!! Aerie can cast all kinds of absurd spell combinations. All Korgan does is hit things. (He is funny though).
Keldorn doesn't need a good dexterity. You get an item which boosts it to 18 permenantly, two minutes after you find him (same applies to Viconia's strength). Keldorn could whup any NPC other than Korgan in a fight. In addition to that, he can take care of all your spell protection removal needs. He is also the only NPC who can use Carsomyr.

[ 07-14-2004, 12:46 AM: Message edited by: Dirty Meg ]