party talk

[new to BG II]

Hi everyone,

just wanted to chat about party formations and npc's etc...
My player is a dwarf fighter...and i used to have imoen, jaheira, branwen, khalid and xan...but i found xan to be pretty useless so i picked up dynaheir..and then i got rid of branwen and picked up imoen , only coz i need a thief in the party.
i want to get rid of khalid and jaheira, since they are both pretty normal: khalid gets whacked so easily and jaheira is a lousy fighter.....any suggestions to replace them?

Please let me know of your favourite formations for this game too....
thanks.

[True_Moose]

Khalid and Jaheira could be replaced with Ajantis and Kivan, if you like. That would result in a more combat-oriented party, but Kivan is excellent with a bow, and Ajantis would take Khalid's role. That's just my idea though.

I like the classic 2-2-2 for my party's, because that's how I tend to divide them up. I also like, for some of my more melee parties, using the formation that protects one member in the middle.

[mad=dog]

My favorite party for a mage:
Minsc - Frontline hitter
Branwen - Frontline healer
Imoen - Mid-distance bowman
Kivan - Mid-distance bowman
Me - Rear spellcaster
Dynaheir - Rear spellcaster

For a warrior type:
Me - FL hitter
Minsc - FL hitter
Branwen - MD slinger
Kivan - MD bowman
Imoen - R bowman/spellcaster (dualed)
Dynaheir - R spellcaster

These are for good alignments. It's the same people over and over. Now I am playing evil, which opens up for an entirely different crowd.

You need a healer don't you? You have lost both Branwen and now Jaheira. That doesn't leave you with many options. Have you tried Viconia? She is super, but you need to keep your reputation low. Preferably around 12. She'll make a swell replacement for Jaheira. Both Shar-Teel and Kagain makes excellent fighter replacements, but they are both evil too. Shar have low HP but she can hit like a ton of bricks. Kagain has a ton of HP (literally - his con is 20) but suffers from a low dex (12) and str (16).
There's also Coran. A neat fighter/thief when he has the gauntlets of ogre strength.

I hope this helps you. I don't know your alignment and all. I didn't see Minsc in your mix. He is perhaps the best warrior in the game.

[new to BG II]

right now, im a good aligned character with minsc, khalid, jaheira, dynaheir and imoen.... .
i have a reputation of 20 and jaheira keeps on whining so im looking to get rid of both jaheira and khalid.... . but yes if i get rid of jaheira, i do need a healer.

[mad=dog]

Yeah neutrals will bitch and moan if the reputation goes too high (or low). Right now I am balancing out by doing evil stuff now and then. Such as whacking the Dryad. I want to stay between 9 and 12.
The only good aligned cleric is Yeslick AFAIK, but he must be the absolute worst NPC in the game. It's a hard choice. Either you lower your reputation, take crap from Jaheira or try your best to keep Yeslick alive.

[bjorn]

For a warrior type: Me - FL hitter Minsc - FL hitter Branwen - MD slinger Kivan - MD bowman Imoen - R bowman/spellcaster (dualed) Dynaheir - R spellcaster

That's really close to the party I usually use. That is if i'm playing a good aligned warrior exept, I don't dual imoen.

[SixOfSpades]

Odd how I seem to be the only proponent of having multiple Thieves in the party--I would vastly prefer having two Thieves to two Mages.

Favorite marching formation: The Pentagon. Puts my best Tank in front and my two backup Tanks on the flanks, protecting the weaker members in back (with the Mage in the center).

Tank would ideally be the PC. If not the PC, then either Kagain, Minsc, or Ajantis.
Good backup Tanks would be folks like Kivan, Coran, Shar-Teel, Khalid, Yeslick, and Branwen.
Archer-only types (can technically be used in melee, but I'd really prefer not to) are Jaheira, Viconia, Safana, Imoen, and maybe even Faldorn if you've killed all the other Priests available.
And of course the good Mages are Xzar, Edwin, Xan and Dynaheir, but my favorite is Imoen.

Given their Suck Factor and/or late availability, I usually refuse to acknowledge that people like Garrick, Eldoth, Tiax and Alora even exist. I do the same thing with Cernd in BG2.