trying to find a new party combo

Remove all ads!

After being shown a way to backstab with an axe (see thread of same name, thank you Shaitan) I promptly abandoned the idea of running a fighter/thief for something diferent (though I will certainly use the 'backstab with axe' sometime in the future). I really struggled with my choice of party for SoA this time around.

Ususally I play as a human dual class fighter-then-thief. Korgan comes along, with Imoen, Aerie, Keldorn, Viconia (bad blood between the last two).

This time around I went for mods and tweaks to end up with this:
Me, elven kensai/mage (changed from fighter/mage)
Anomen fighter/cleric (added 2 to his dex to allow 'flail of ages' to be wielded)
Minsc (found a mod to make him a beserker and changed his proficiency with two weapons to two-handed weapons)
Nalia (found a mod so she is now advancing in the thief class, not the mage class)
Imoen (added 2 strength so she can handle a longsword, swapped proficiences from dart and dagger to shortsword and longsword)

That will do for SoA, and when I get to ToB I have one spare slot for you-know-who (and if you don't know, you'll have to play ToB yourself to find out).

Finally I have found a combination that is different enough from my many previous run-throughs to be interesting. Time to get on out there (loosens sword in scabbard.....twiddles fingers to make sure they are supple....adjusts clothing, and steps onstage).

[ June 30, 2007, 19:20: Message edited by: Gilden ]

 

If your just trying to make it interesting, pick up Jan, he may not be the most useful character, but he is definitely entertaining. Cernd is also an interesting character...just remember his werewolf form is extremely strong, so if you are going to melee use it.

 

I was never much of a fan of Cernd. I'm not much of a Jaheira fan either. Druids just don't do it for me, and not being able to wear things (Cernd)is a pain too.

I have had Jan in my party, and he is interesting for a while, and has better banter than most, but he seemed to get caught and died too often, so I abandoned him as too high maintenance.

I know others will disagree with leaving out all those I mentioned, but to each their own. I didn't mention I sometimes take Valygar along. He doesn't speak much (which is good overall), and makes a decent front man.

The one player I have avoided taking who might be interesting is Haer'Dalis. I always felt the bard clss weak, sort of a poor thief with a bit of magic thrown in, but some players rate him well as a party member. Perhaps I'll try him another time.

 

Bards rock... If you've never played one you're in for a surprise. Blades are good fighters and spellcasters provided you give them the right gear their Offensive Spin is just too good (it works with ranged attacks as well so imagine a Blade with the Tuigan Bow dishing out max damage with every attack). There is something to be said about Jesters as well although they don't look that good at lower levels. Bear in mind that the power of a Bard is directly related to the items you give him (i'd suggest reading Scythesong's guide if you need some advice to get started). Bards are not weak mages who can pickpockets, they may not cast as many spells but their spells become more powerful way faster (Chromatic Orb for instance rapidly becomes a save-or-die spell with a Bard). They can also use any weapon in the game and adapt to any circumstances.

As for Druids, Jaheira is a solid character but I'd recommend a Berserker/Druid any day of the week (besides it's not as powergamy as a Ranger/Cleric). Druids get some very good spells that are very useful against enemy spellcasters their only real drawback is the lag in XP at level 15 (but they level up very fast before that which makes dual classing easier).

 

I've never been a big fan of bards myself, but you make a good point, Caradhras, that bard spells that gain power as the bard levels up, get strong very fast, which is something that seems very easy to overlook.

 

I think you'll do fine with this party. It will be a four man crew for a while so you'll level up rather quickly compared to your standard 6 man party. Minsc will be a solid tank, especially as a Berserker. Anomen is a also a decent tank and becomes a great healer (especially if he passes his test). Nalia advancing as a thief will give you a competent stealthy/backstabber type. Your Kensai mage will probably start out a little slow, but you'll end up with a powerful backup caster (once you have Imoen, that is) who is much more talented with his weapons than your standard fighter/mage.

In the later/harder portions of the game Imoen will grow into an incredibly powerful mage. Plus you won't have to endure that hated moment in Spellhold where you leave her behind for "party balance."

Then in TOB, you'll be adding in a fantastically powerful melee addition to the team, who will add nicely to that part of the game's encounters.

It's not the most powerful party ever, but it ought to more than do the trick. And while I typically like to have a backup healer in my groups, the game is certainly doable without one.

I say, get to it, and enjoy yourself, gosh darnit!

 

Thanks for the replies, especially Caradhras (is that Caradhras the Cruel ?) for putting the case for bards, my next run through now has Haer'Dalis pretty much inked in to play. It's true I never looked into bards that closely, so I missed some of their best assets. The rapidly increasing power of spells is a new one on me, and I even missed the use-all-weapons ability.

Also thanks to Marceror for wonderful enthusiasm. Was it not you who created 'easy tutu'? I got the first version of tutu working, but it was a major effort, and after playing it I had to uninstall everything and re-install it to play BG2. It looks like the new version is MUCH more painless to get working. Well done Marceror, fantastic effort.

[ July 01, 2007, 23:01: Message edited by: Gilden ]

 

I'm pretty sure that the guy who made Easy Tutu goes by Macready. I'm not a modder, just a fan like yourself.

 

You're welcome (and the cruel it is ) I didn't even mention the bard song. You really should read Scythesong's Guide to Blades.

 

I'm pretty sure that the guy who made Easy Tutu goes by Macready. I'm not a modder, just a fan like yourself.

Sorry Marceror, my bad, congrats to Macready it is, but your enthusiasm was good to see anyway.

 

No problem. I got the impression that you had already decided on your party, and weren't really looking for alternate suggestions. So this was my take.

Now, if you had been planning to run through a mod that adds tactical challenge like Improved Anvil, I probably would have been a little more vocal about some more productive alternate approaches. But the vanilla game can be done A LOT of different ways. No reason to derail you from a party that you're happy with.