Is Garrick really worth it?

[Battle Brother Rob]

Garrick is a feature in my party at the moment because I wanted to try him out. I got him almost straight away and he has yet to die once! His stats are on the weak side, but once he has a couple of levels under his belt, really easy because he levels up quickly, and a heavy crossbow, he becomes a dangerous addition to the party. Against most early monsters like gibberlings and wolves, he knocks them out almost straight away and his song helps out in the bigger fights. He is at level 5, kicking butt and identifying almost everything. All in all, a worthy addition to the band (Adjantis, Minsc, Branwen, My thief/mage, Dhynhier, Garrick)

[Midget Gems]

Ok, so I take Garrick in my party and he's good at identifying things, but what sort of weapon should he use? Obviously he's not much good as a melee fighter, so it's got to be a ranged weapon. My preference has always been for bows in order to take advantage of all that free ammo (with nice magical properties) but I notice that quite a few of you say that crossbows are better. So assuming that he levels up a couple of times to get a bow proficiency point, which is the best choice to get a balance between Rate-of-fire, THACO and Damage. I usually settle for the 'Longbow of Marksmanship'. I guess this could apply to other NPC's as well, such as Montaron, what do you think - Longbow or crossbow ?

[Intimadater]

With Eldoth he creates his own poisoned arrows but nobody else can use them. He is stronger than Garrick and you should get a wand of animal summoning and kill Drizzt get all his stuff and put his armor on your Garrick if you need armor

I think the Longbow of Marksmanship would be a great weapon for Garrick to use, Midget Gems. This way you make him an effective archer, taking advantage of the fact that he's a bard and can therefore wield any weapon. I'd certainly give him a proficiency point in 'bow' as soon as possible. That's a great idea by the way - one I'd never thought of before - thanks [img]smile.gif[/img]

[SixOfSpades]

Originally posted by Midget Gems: ....I notice that quite a few of you say that crossbows are better.

Not me! I'm Bows, all the way. Sure, crossbows do more damage per hit, but bows are where it's at per round. Not to mention you get bucketloads more free arrows than you do free bolts, especially magical ones (except in Durlag's Tower, where all forms ammo doth flow plentifully into your waiting palms).

I usually settle for the 'Longbow of Marksmanship'. I guess this could apply to other NPC's as well, such as Montaron, what do you think - Longbow or crossbow ?[/QB]

Monty definitely deserves a Crossbow. Nothwithstanding what I just said about Crossbows, it's good to have 1 party member use them to take advantage of the few magical Bolts that are offered. Moreover, Monty starts out with 2 stars in Missile and none in Bow, so that's a pretty easy decision to make, as well as the fact that a 4-foot-tall Halfling trying to draw a 6-foot-tall Composite Long Bow is just damned ridiculous.