The NPC'S Compared to BG1

[Memnoch]

This question will be around as long as there are people with differing opinions and styles as play. True, the NPCs in BG2 don't add as much flexibility to your party. True, there are less of them. True, some of the more interesting classes eg monk, sorcerer, assassin etc were not put in as NPCs. And true, three of the best "pure" classes are evil.

BUT, less NPCs though there are, they are so much more detailed and alive. Think of how difficult it would have been to program each one of them. Also, they are not meant to be perfect, that would make the game too easy. It really does teach you compromise. And having some of the really good ones as evil force you as the leader of the group to make some moral choices about including them or not, and if you do it does make for some interesting dialogue with the *good* characters. Adds a lot to the intrigue. Even statistically useless HaerDalis has a lot of good dialogue, especially when he challenged me to a duel over a certain female winged elf (that i didn't give a shit about anyway!). So they are meant to be more than walking stats.

Anyway once you've completed the game you can always personalize your copy of BG2 by using editors like Shadowkeeper. Don't like Mazzy's strength? Increase it to 18! Or think Keldorn should be a Cavalier? Change his kit. Just be careful with the innate abilities, they can be a bit tricky.

[Aegis]

I Believe that Black Isle made a difference in this game, the evil characters are still the "funny" ones to play with (best dialogue) the good and neutral's like Anomen and Jaheira just pisses you off (boring) Nalia Imoen, Aerie and Mazzy are really poor and weak in a way, while Edwin and Viconia are cooler to play with. Of course Minsc is still here no intelligence and kick butting. I still miss Ajantis and Khalid they where rather good RPG,

Aegis "time is splender"

The reason Black Isle made the NPC's the 'least' interesting is so that you could play the novel kits/classes and leave the other duties to the NPC's. All parties need a thief for scouting, trap detection and stealing, but few people want to play a pure thief character, one of the reasons Black Isle made the kits for thieves more exciting. They also put so many split class thieves in because of this need, but realized few people would want straight thieves. If there had been three monks or three kensai/mages I am sure there would have been far more moaning as that would restrict people playing two of the more popular additions to the game. Even the choice of NPC kits is deliberately poor, as Keldorn would be better as a cavalier or undead hunter, Cernd as an avenger, Anomen a specialist cleric, Edwin a necromancer and so on. However, had they done so, many people would have been upset, since the kit/class they were playing would be duplicated.

Ironically, the character I brought in from BG, is a multi-class mage/thief and I am not complaining. As several others have said, the class may be the same but the character isn't and neither is their story. You could hardly say Jan, Nalia and Imoen have anything in common other than class. They are all there to help roleplay and not kick butt. I appreciate that many gamers want to power play, but generally they prefer their main character to be the strongest. The selection of NPC's encourages both that style of play and roleplaying. Each to his own.

Bugger. I miss the old NPCs, they were GREAT! Nalias cool tho, her ability to use a short bow and get level 8 spells kicks ass. When you cast siriculum and double team a lich with her it's a riot, I used her to kill a dragon all alone But I do miss that wup butt fighter theif you ran into next to the wizard tower in BG1 he ruled. Altho I think killing Tiax in this one kicked butt It is true, there aren't many good NPCs but if you take the inquisitor and give him gauntlets of dex it instantly drops his ac down by 4, if you give the gauntlets of strength to the second ranger he is able to massacre an entire party, as I found out while my entire party was confused.... The NPCs in BG2 were designed so all those weapos didn't go to waste, although I still can't understand why three are specialized in mace..... with only 3 worthwhile maces.... and 4 great spears and 2 good halberds. The only thing missing is some friggin bastard swords!!!! Only 2 good ones in the game *pout* the best one being +3 I beleive.

GEE!! memnoch? hairy dales challenge you for Aerie? In my game Aerie bluntly drops hairy dales and the poor guy just says that he will just sing in our wedding poor guy he doesnt know ill just broke another wing of aerie. so i dunno if he'll challenge me to his death later. just kidding though my friend

NPC selection in BG2 as per class is bad considering the tougher battles of BG2.But of course Edwin and Minsc (ohh i miss his "full plate and fuc..ing steel" dialogu) are still there my all time favorite which leaves few left to fill the slot. ohh yeah i agree as well considering the limited npc they should not at least create samy class type npc such as nalia and imoen. or at least one more true class thief like yoshimo though i know at later part u almost not need a thief anymore if u completed all the side quest before proceeding to the main storyline.

There is nothing bad in dual-class characters. If you want a any class-mage you can spend 325000exp on the first class and still reach the mage's maximum level, which is 17. so they could have made imoen and nalia much better thieves(level 11)with no losses. i have 10th level swashbuckler now and im going to dual it when i reach level 12 why 12? because then i get a fifth weapon proficiency point:long sword++ and 2weapons+++ on a 16th level mage, wielding celestial fury and blackrazor, having pickpocketing skill 250(could get it to 350 but one also needs trap detection and disarming) and disadvantages: i get one 7th and one 8th level spells less. so what i get two extra slots from wisdom bonus.

So, duals are weaker? but i agree that there should be no multiclass magic users.
as i said imoen and nalia having been thiefs doesn't make them worse mages.
Aerie is a multi- not dual class.
And why do you say 5000xp on short bow is a great advantage? if i remember right best short bow has thaco +2 and damage +3 or so with arrows of piercing that does thaco+8 and 1d6+9 damage best when best melee weapon usable by her does 1d6+4 damage but when most fights are in melee using a ranged weapon means +4 to enemy's thaco or a +4 AC penalty.

The NPC's in BG2 are not as good as they could be but should they all have statistics total of 90, fighters have str,con,dex 18 and everything else 3 and so on. these are somewhat interactive human simulations. If you don't like human company play with a druid and keep summoning earth elementals. they should be disciplined enough for you.

the NPCs are below par... nobody really good... forces u to choose carefully...IF there weren't the Shadowkeeper but with it what do i care? edit, edit, edit, and ta dah! Valygar the archer, Aerie the mage/priest of Lathander, Imoen the thief(set snare % edit to 100%)/conjuror, Jaheira...( u get the gist )
Black Isle should just do it right and give us 'powerful' NPCs that gell well with one another(ie alignment), have personalities(for those who want/need a social life) and have weapon pros that fit in well with the MOST POWERFUL weapons... BUT THIS CAN ONLY HAPPEN IF PIGS CAN FLY, SO TOO BAD...

[Mandrake]

Hell! I think all the characters are good. I want to play the game again just so I can experience each NPC fully. So some dont have the best stats. Ive tried the game twice and I find with most party combo's if you use the wierd things called "Strategy" and "Tactics" and exploit a characters "Strenghts" and guard against their "Weakness's" you can make it through most battles. It all comes down to weather you want a butt kicking hack and slash or a challenging story. Before anyone takes offence, each to his own. Choose your own playing style. All Im saying is that I found the "Character's" the "Personalities" of the majority of NPC interesting! Yeah Yeah so Amonen shat me. The again wasnt that the idea? Does everyone you meet in real life please you? Some people are jerks, so are some NPC's. Thats it though, they are supposed to be people. Sure it aint true AI yet but its a step in the right direction. Characters in games starting to take on a life of thier own, with each other and totally independant of your charachter? That can only be a good think. Heres to the future!

I think that it is natural for everyone to want the most powerful or best characters possible. I myself just try to keep in mind that these characters were intended to be people who have both strengths and weaknesses. It really doesn't matter if they have short comings... I will still beat the game.

I think you are right! They should have made nalia a fullthief because
there is no need for 4magenpc's!THey should have kept out the lame fighters and paladins
and give more interesting pc's instead .