most versatile 4-man party

Remove all ads!

I'm planning to go through the whole BG shebang with one character, and I'm going to have a 4-man party for a change. Of course, the problem in this is a loss of versatility within my group. I can probably alleviate this problem to an extent with multi-classed characters (Jaheira, for example, can qualify as both a tank and a healer, while Imoen is a decent thief as well as mage), but I'm looking for reccomendations for Tutu and SoA/ToB. What's the most versatile 4-man party I can build?

Oh, it'd probably be helpful to say what my PC is, wouldn't it? He's a Half-Orc Barbarian, so he can fill in the tank position pretty good, although backup wouldn't be uncalled for.

 

The roles (warrior,priest,thief,mage) can be filled out with 2 characters like Montaron&Quayle or Anomen&Jan, you don't even need your barbarian.

A suggestion for BG1:

PC
Branwen/Yeslick
Imoen (dualclassed)
Coran

BG2:

PC
Jan (only option for proper thieving skills)
Anomen
Jaheira or Cernd or Imoen

 

The basic character types you need are:
tank, healer, trap-finder, ranged support, arcane spellcaster.

Here's my recommendations for BG2 and ToB.

Anomen (tank + healer):
I would go with Anomen over Jaheira - he has higher str and, once he's knighted, higher int than Jaheira, and he can turn undead. Furthermore, clerics level faster than druids, even more so when it's a multiclass druid, meaning access to higher level spells earlier.

Jan (trap-finder + arcane spellcaster + ranged support):
Not a massive amount of choice for the trap-finder, especially with what happens to Yoshimo, plus he can throw spells about and can make his own crossbow ammunition.

Nalia (swap for Imoen after Spellhold) (ranged support + arcane spellcaster)
Tasheron's Bow (later switch for Gesen Bow) + Bracers of Archery + the Ion stone that increases THAC0 and your ranged support is complete.

 

So long as you have Anomen and Jan, any other characters are a complete bonus, because those two cover everything you need. Maybe some more powerful de-buffing would be useful in certain circumstances so Nalia or Keldorn would be good for that 4th spot.

 

I like OTG's idea. You've got all your bases covered. Its nice to have a thief or stalker to backstab, but out of 100 battles, for 90 of those you would rather have a good tank than a single dead mage.

Are you using BGTutu or BGT?

 

BGTutu. Right now I'm liking OTG's suggestion, but I'm still not sure about Tutu, since there aren't as many multi-classed characters.

 

BG1:
1/2 Orc Barb
Imoen (Thief 7 > Conjuror)
Yeslick
Jaheira

BG2:
1/2 Orc Barb
Imoen
Anomen
Jaheira


I like tanks.

 

BG1:
PC Barb
Imoen (Dual class later)
Yeslick or Coran, I think Coran is the better healer.
Ajantis or Shar-Teel

In my experience melee is all you really need to rampage through the game, but with this group you have 2 strong tanks, a healer and a thief/mage(for later).

BG2:
PC Barb
Yoshimo or Jan then Imoen. Yosh doesn't have spells, but he's the best thief in BG2.
Viconia - she has way more clerical spells, because her wisdom isn't 10.
Keldorn - Good to have 2 tanks always and Keldorn is one of the best with gloves of dex and Carsomyr.

 

It's worth mentioning that a mod I installed (most likely Divine Remix) means that Jaheira only has access to light armour. So, as tanks go, she's out of the question.

By the way, is Branwen a pure cleric or a fighter-cleric?

 

She is a pure cleric I believe

 

Branwen is a trueclass cleric but if you have Divine Remix you should take the option to give her the Battleguard of Tempus Kit.

BG1:
Imoen: lockpicking/trapfinding/ranged support/arcane support (if dualing as expected)
Branwen: good tank/healer
Kivan: one of the best ranged support npcs in the game, would be nice if he had archer kit but with a good selection fo arrows can handle any situation.
One main perk also is that you can get all of them early and just play, but if you have no problem waiting till cloakwood to fill/finalise the party drop Kivan & Branwen for Coran & Yeslick.

BG2:
Jan - good thief, good mage, good crossbowman, great banters and with you the whole game! **Curses Yoshimo & Imoen**
Cernd - best wisdom score so a good healer & with shapeshifter rebalance or WolfLord kit can tank with the best of them.
Keldorn - Carsomyr & Inquisitor abilities are invaluable against many enemies in the game, but give him 'Twelve Paces' from underrepresented items mod on switch and no caster/heavily magical crature will ever be a problem again.

 

Nooo! It's not good. Take Sikrets Auremaster(Spelling?) instead.

 

Tried it and generally liked it, although it shouldn't automatically convert Cernd to be an Auramaster, rather make it optional for those that like him being an upgraded shifter. Also there is dialogue between him and other npcs about him being a lycanthrope which doesn't make too much sense if he isn't.

WolfLord kit or the shapeshifter rebalancing make the druid a melee machine, able to give as good as it gets and still heal/buff the party.

The aura master is explicitly a spell caster with no hope of causing weapon damage. Although it does come with Protection from Magical Weapons and another spell which halves melee damage so it could take the aggro from enemies and survive quite well. Unfortunatly it lives and dies by its spell slots.

Edit: Links for those who haven't tried them.
Shapeshifter Rebalancing as part of the BG2 Tweaks
Wolf Lord: Shapeshifter Upgrade
Auramaster Druid Kit

 

Hmm...can't say much about BG1 that I don't agree with already...

For SoA & ToB, I recommend:

Aerie (healer cum Mage)
Nalia->Imoen (get rid of Nalia in Spellhold)
Haer'Dalis (backup tank and all round good guy! )

Of course, I tend to play some very caster heavy parties, so this may not suit your taste, but since your PC is a dedicated tank, this party should supplement you nicely.

 

Are they NPCs from other mods? (I ask because I don't recall any such dialogue between Cernd and any of the game's original NPCs.)

 

There is a banter betwen him and Viconia concerning his lycantrophy, but it happens in ToB. I don't remember any other.