NPC ratings (spoilers)

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Just want to say I'm enjoying the different perspectives from all the players. I think it's safe to say that ALL of the NPC's have redeeming qualities if used properly. Some have more obvious advantages than others, but any of them would make a good addition to your party.

I've only played all the way through BGII once so far. The NPC's that stayed with me were Minsc, Keldorn, Jaheira and Imoen. I used Aerie and Nalia both briefly and tried Jan out too. He was very helpful, but I dumped him once I got Imoen.

I personally like Yoshimo for his traps. Other thieves are good, but Bounty Hunters get Special Snares from Day One and those come in very handy. He also made a great "tag team" partner with my assassin. We would both HiS and then get on opposite sides of an enemy. Whoever was behind the enemy would Backstab them. When they turned to attack, the other character would Backstab them. When they turned to attack that character, the first character would HiS again and Backstab again, etc etc. Enemies died very quickly with this tactic.

[Cerek the Barbaric]

SixofSpades - That was a great post and I appreciate the way you divided the characters by both "Power" and "Fun". I respect the amount of experience you have with the game, but I do disagree with one statement you made about Haer D'alis. I don't think that Bards suck in BGII.

I'm currently playing my very first solo game with a Bard (Skald kit) and it's going better than expected so far. I defeated Improved Illyich 2.0 and his crew without too much trouble, and didn't even use the acorns until the last fight with the Glabrezy. Had I memorized Melf's Minute Meteors instead of Dire Charm (which had already been used) I may have been able to defeat all of them without using the acorns at all.

I've just made it "topside" a few days ago and haven't had time to undertake any of the BIG quests yet. I did clear out all the slavers in the Copper Coronet without much trouble. Thank goodness they were all relatively weak, but I was still greatly outnumbered (and I did summon Bullwinkle and the Nymphos for some help with that fight). I plan to clear out the Slaver's Quarters next - although I might do the circus and the dwarf in Seven Vales first to get a little more experience, gold and items.

Of course, the real test will be when I have to go up against Firkraag or the lich in Shadow Temple.

[Zarr]

Regarding Haer'Dalis I happen to like him. Okay, he doesn't have as good skills as a pure bard does(pick pockets,lore and poor bardsong) but he is still a useful NPC if used correctly.

Yes, his spell selection is pretty poor when you pick him up(no Stonskin! ) but if you have him learn the right spells and use them properly, he rocks!

Haer'Dalis really does come in to his own when he gains 6th level spells but early on he makes a good flank attacker. I just have my Undead Hunter gain the enemies attention and as they attack him he and Haer'Dalis chop it up.

Melfs Minute Meteor(MMM) is a key spell for Haer'Dalis. And once he gains mislead it's time to laugh evilly. [img]graemlins/evillaughter1.gif[/img]

Put a weapon Haer'Dalis is profecient in in his offhand. You now have 5 attacks. Cast mislead followed by MMM now activate offensive spin. You now have six attacks which all deal maximum damage! Attack the ememy, you'll hit them with 4 MMM and your off hand weapon will also hit them twice(even if your not in range!) Not many enemies can survive this!

Also as Leslie pointed out Haer'Dalis makes an excellent tank. Stonskin, mirror image and PFMW improved haste and the grand daddy of them all Tensors Transformation! Haer'Dalis is a bard so gains levels faster than any fighter type charcter this means when Haer'Dalis casts Tensors transformation he can be the highest level warrior possible in your party for a while. I have him cast stoneskin, mirror image, PFMW, improeved haste, offensive spin and then tensers transfomation.

So that creates a warrior who's hit points are doubled(because of Tensors Transformation), and with say Kundane/belm has an extra attack (double that with improved haste) and with stoneskin, PFMW etc he can't be hit.

Haer'Dalis, weak? No. I haven't even talked about the excellent improved bardsong eiher.

Although granted he does take a while to gain 6th level spells(1 at level 16).

But overall a good NPC and one of my favorites apart from Mazzy!

[JrKASperov]

I totally forgot about Tenser's... Indeed, Tenser's Transformation turns the battle towards HaerDalis pretty much, since he will have close to the HP Korgan has and will hit as hard as he will...

[Black Baron]

He will not be able to cast spells, and since that korgan will use HLA, the bard is dead meat.

[Wutchamakalit]

Originally posted by SixOfSpades: 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.

About the boots of speed, you can delete the Affects that keep them from working on him with shadowkeeper. I can't remember which ones specifically,
but just remove everything that seems to have anything to do with his quest. Don't do it before it's finished obviously. You need to do this 3 times, once after the quest is done, once when you get to hell, and once when you start TOB. After that, he can run around just like everybody else. Kind of pain though, but atleast it works.

[Leslie]

Wheee! Don't start talking about Bard HLA's. Maybe Haer will lead Korgan just a few steps away into 2 or 3 Spike traps. Bye, bye Korgan.

Or maybe just a little further into a little Time trap. Korgan can only watch his death coming while Haer kicks his butt in time stop. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Zarr]

Just remembered, offensive spin doesn't work in conjunction with haste so then you'll just be able to cast stoneskin, mirror image, PFMW offensive spin and Tensers Transformation. Still a potent package though! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Zarr]

Originally posted by Black Baron: He will not be able to cast spells, and since that korgan will use HLA, the bard is dead meat.

But remember Haer'Dalis can cast any spell he wishes BEFORE he casts Tensers Transformation. So if Haer'dalis has cast PFMW before, Korgans Greater whirlwinds etc aren't going to do much.

[Black Baron]

So what? It ends fast enough, korgan can wait it out. BTW, you cannot set time trap near your enemy, and if you set it too far away, most of these 10 seconds would be wasted on reaching korgan.