Jaheira vs Anomen

[hickfam]

I am in chapter 2 and am thinking of dropping Jaheira for Anomen. Pros and cons? I currently have a Fighter, Minsc, Keldorn, Yoshimo, and Nalia. Maybe I should drop Yoshimo?

[Attalus]

LOL, only if you want to substitute an obnoxious arrogant jerk for a taciturn and weak druid. See my sig. Seriously, from a powergaming standpoint, Anomen is better. But, is he worth the suffering?

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

In my OH so humble opinion, Jahiera should be more than chattel to be shuffled about at your whim. Some people find her obnoxious, but I can't see how she could be worse than Anomen.

[Indemaijinj]

Tactical wise: Jaheira.

Jaheira is a MULTICLASS fighter/druid which means that she will continue to advance as both a fighter and a druid, this will probably make her a better fighter in the long run, though this may be countered by her non-exceptional strength (only 15 as opposed to 18/something).

Being half-druid she has a rather limited assortment of weapons available to her (scimitars, clubs, staves, spears, slings). Since she will probably be using a shield only clubs or scimitars are realistic. There are not that many cool clubs and scimitars around but some cool ones can be obtained in the Trademeet and druid grove area. So be sure to do the Trademeet quest early if you plan on keeping Jaheira.

Spellwise Jaheira is a druid, which means that she is able to cast most priest spells (especially healings) but miss out some. Instead she gets some specific druid spells of whom there are some rather nifty ones. Most noticably:

Insect plague that will give the any spellcasters pestered by the summoned insects 100% spell failure and..

Summon elementals that will summon elementals without the discomfort of first having to wrist control from the creature unlike their mage equivalent.

Tactical wise: Anomen

Anomen is a DUAL CLASS Fighter Cleric which means that he will advance as a cleric, but never get any more than his initial seven levels as a fighter. The cleric class by itself is not a bad combatant at all and the fighter levels gives him a head start. Combined with his 18/something strength he is definately able to match with Jaheira's fighting prowess. Because Anomen is a cleric he can only use blunt weapons (and a sling). This doesn't really hurt that much as there are plenty of cool maces, flails and hammers in the game.

Spell wise Anomen is a cleric as opposed to a druid which means that he misses many of the more "nature" and "elemental" related spells. He does get an excellent repetoire of spells, however numbering such useful spells as Animate Dead (wait till he becomes level 15 cleric), Raise Dead and Ressurrection (which are WAY better than the lousy Harpers Call spell), Restoration, Call Upon Holy Might, Defensive Harmony, Chant and such stuff. Also he is able to turn undead which is a VERY useful ability at times.

Personality/plot wise: Jaheira

Jaheira is a very talkative person who knows your character well and always has a bit of advice about everything you are doing. She also talks a great deal about the balance of forces and such. Some love her for that. Others hate her for the excact same reason. She is neutral, but seems to get along a bit better with good than evil people. She is a druid and therefore prefer the open land to the city (a tip that becomes handy if you want to romance her). She is also rather easy to manage and won't provoke any party infighting as far as I know. Jaheira is a Harper which means that she will have dealings with the harpers in Athkatla if you do the harper quest. You will find out that not all is what it seems with the Athkatlan harpers (I will not spoil you further).

Yeah, and if you are male and neither a half-orc nor any of the "short" races you will be able to have a romance with Jaheira. It is as longwinded as her usual banter, but you get to do some really cool quest (and meet some Forgotten Realms "celebrities"). Successfully lovetalking Jaheira includes being understanding and showing great wisdom. She falls for "deep" and contemplative persons. Showing a bit of "we're in the same boat" sentiment also helps. Beside all this she is perhaps the most "easy lay" of the three romancable females curiously.

Personality/plot wise: Anomen

Anomen will probably seem as a bragging, boisterous, stuck up, intolerable jerk at first glance but you will quickly find out that there is more to this man than dumb idealism and a longing for a knightly title. The guy's got a very sad childhood as a reason for being such an idiot. The fascinating thing about this character, besides the bit of in depth character, is that you are able to change his personality quite drastically with your decisions. Things that will even change his alignment. (The only thing you cannot fix is his bragging though you might be able to diminish it a bit). Needless to say Anomens quests are rather interesting.

If you are a female and neither a half orc nor one of the "short" races you are able to romance Anomen. In fact Anomen is the only romancable male character in the game (making mods with romancable male characters sought after). His romance si very closely bound up with his personal quests. I sadly do not have so much info on it because the two female characters I play are both half orcs.

[hickfam]

Thanks a lot for the in depth response.

[Jerr Conner]

Originally posted by Indemaijinj: Tactical wise: Jaheira. Jaheira is a MULTICLASS fighter/druid which means that she will continue to advance as both a fighter and a druid, this will probably make her a better fighter in the long run, though this may be countered by her non-exceptional strength (only 15 as opposed to 18/something). Being half-druid she has a rather limited assortment of weapons available to her (scimitars, clubs, staves, spears, slings). Since she will probably be using a shield only clubs or scimitars are realistic. There are not that many cool clubs and scimitars around but some cool ones can be obtained in the Trademeet and druid grove area. So be sure to do the Trademeet quest early if you plan on keeping Jaheira. Spellwise Jaheira is a druid, which means that she is able to cast most priest spells (especially healings) but miss out some. Instead she gets some specific druid spells of whom there are some rather nifty ones. Most noticably: Insect plague that will give the any spellcasters pestered by the summoned insects 100% spell failure and.. Summon elementals that will summon elementals without the discomfort of first having to wrist control from the creature unlike their mage equivalent. Tactical wise: Anomen Anomen is a DUAL CLASS Fighter Cleric which means that he will advance as a cleric, but never get any more than his initial seven levels as a fighter. The cleric class by itself is not a bad combatant at all and the fighter levels gives him a head start. Combined with his 18/something strength he is definately able to match with Jaheira's fighting prowess. Because Anomen is a cleric he can only use blunt weapons (and a sling). This doesn't really hurt that much as there are plenty of cool maces, flails and hammers in the game. Spell wise Anomen is a cleric as opposed to a druid which means that he misses many of the more "nature" and "elemental" related spells. He does get an excellent repetoire of spells, however numbering such useful spells as Animate Dead (wait till he becomes level 15 cleric), Raise Dead and Ressurrection (which are WAY better than the lousy Harpers Call spell), Restoration, Call Upon Holy Might, Defensive Harmony, Chant and such stuff. Also he is able to turn undead which is a VERY useful ability at times. Personality/plot wise: Jaheira Jaheira is a very talkative person who knows your character well and always has a bit of advice about everything you are doing. She also talks a great deal about the balance of forces and such. Some love her for that. Others hate her for the excact same reason. She is neutral, but seems to get along a bit better with good than evil people. She is a druid and therefore prefer the open land to the city (a tip that becomes handy if you want to romance her). She is also rather easy to manage and won't provoke any party infighting as far as I know. Jaheira is a Harper which means that she will have dealings with the harpers in Athkatla if you do the harper quest. You will find out that not all is what it seems with the Athkatlan harpers (I will not spoil you further). Yeah, and if you are male and neither a half-orc nor any of the "short" races you will be able to have a romance with Jaheira. It is as longwinded as her usual banter, but you get to do some really cool quest (and meet some Forgotten Realms "celebrities"). Successfully lovetalking Jaheira includes being understanding and showing great wisdom. She falls for "deep" and contemplative persons. Showing a bit of "we're in the same boat" sentiment also helps. Beside all this she is perhaps the most "easy lay" of the three romancable females curiously. Personality/plot wise: Anomen Anomen will probably seem as a bragging, boisterous, stuck up, intolerable jerk at first glance but you will quickly find out that there is more to this man than dumb idealism and a longing for a knightly title. The guy's got a very sad childhood as a reason for being such an idiot. The fascinating thing about this character, besides the bit of in depth character, is that you are able to change his personality quite drastically with your decisions. Things that will even change his alignment. (The only thing you cannot fix is his bragging though you might be able to diminish it a bit). Needless to say Anomens quests are rather interesting. If you are a female and neither a half orc nor one of the "short" races you are able to romance Anomen. In fact Anomen is the only romancable male character in the game (making mods with romancable male characters sought after). His romance si very closely bound up with his personal quests. I sadly do not have so much info on it because the two female characters I play are both half orcs.

Great post!

[Indemaijinj]

Twas nothing but repeating what everybody else have said about the matter.

When you have listened enough to Dundee Slaytern you begin to get the drift.

[Jon Irenicus]

I prefer Anomen, he is a better fighter than Jaheria, and later on he can cast Restorations spells that Jaheria can't. By the way, am I the only person that doesn't find Anomen annoying?

[Indemaijinj]

I don't mind him that much. He can become pleasant enough or turn completely psycho. Me likes that.

I still think he is a lousy choice of a romance.

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

Originally posted by Indemaijinj: Twas nothing but repeating what everybody else have said about the matter. When you have listened enough to Dundee Slaytern you begin to get the drift.

::chuckles:: Aye, but I salute you for your eloquence! Well put indeed.