Noob asks about Xan.
I have finished the main quest in Nahskel mines and i came across xan.
In my group i have me(ranger), Imoen, Jaheira and Khalid and Neera the wild mage.
the question is...
Is Xan worth a spot in my group?
In my group i have me(ranger), Imoen, Jaheira and Khalid and Neera the wild mage.
the question is...
Is Xan worth a spot in my group?
0
Comments
I don't like that Xan can't learn evocation spells, though this is mitigated somewhat by the wide availability of wands. Still, he dies quite easily, so I'd probably advise against using him if you're keeping Neera.
His main, huge weakness is no Evocation spells. That means no Magic Missile, Fireball, Melfs Acid Arrow and Cloudkill. His moonblade has style points for sure but it's hard to justify keeping him over most other mages. His other glaring weakness is that his Constitution is a whopping 7, rendering him a sitting duck in the front lines. I think I'm going to take him in my next play through, it's been a while
Oh yeah, and alot of people hate his whining depressed attitude lool
and if i decide to dump him what class would be best for my group ?
I'm not sure though, throw down a quick save and test it yourself
Do not take Xan if you already have a mage. It's that simple. Keep Neera. By the looks of it your party could use a tank, maybe consider Kagain or Minsc/Dynaheir combination.
And these are some of the most useful offensive spells in the game.
Damage spells aren't all that great at low levels, and mourning the loss of fireballs would be a bit silly when it doesn't make much sense to waste spell slots on them with all those wands around. The only real loss is no Stinky Cloud and Web for him. But if you have another mage to cover that, it's not a problem.
Whether you need a second mage is another question though, and that's up to you. Neera can be pretty unreliable so maybe it's not such a bad idea.
Melf's Acid Arrow is Conjuration, not Evocation, as is Flame Arrow.
Web is nice, but Horror does the job.
Fireball is synonymous with Skull Trap, except mildly inferior to it.
Cloudkill's loss is pretty painful, as is the loss of Melf's Minute Meteors and the Sequencer....
Other than that, he's pretty great, and a free +3 weapon is nothing to sneeze at.
There's only 1 NPC that I know of for whom that doesn't really work, but that's because you won't be able to get back to the relevant area after a certain time. Also, for Xan, I actually bump Imoen for a minute, give him his sword, and them bump him for Imoen, so I don't have to carry his sword around forever (though you could also just leave his sword in the chest, which also works).
Note that the downside is that their experience/level "locks in" with the first join, so if you're really not going to be using them soon, just don't speak to them at all. (Some NPCs force you to speak to them, in which case your only resort if you want them later is the join & bump method.)
Only take Xan if you replace Neera with him, More than one mage really isn't worth it.
I would really take another melee muscle for your sixth slot.
Jaheira often covers one tank slot and one divine slot and Imoen usually covers my Thief Slot and one mage slot. I find combining single classed characters with dual or multis helps you cover everything while still giving a great deal of flexibility.
2) His boots give him a -2 to AC which is a significant boost. Selling a npc's item will gimp them but they will never remark on it.
3) at lower levels using a weapon is very important, but when they get to higher levels its important to allow them to use their fists.
4) we were all noobs at one time. Just soak int he wisdom we depart upon thee.
1-There are so many 1 hd creatures and humans in the game that his sleep and charm spells are used all the time. Same for hold person at higher levels.
2-He can kill a lot with his sword, *as long as the enemy is facing someone else* , so he won't be hit.
3-I'm saving evocation scrolls for Imoen.
It's been positive so far!
Two pure mages may not be ideal because you need a thief, but a mage and a mage/thief is a great combo. My PC was a transmuter and he and imoen were my main dps. My fighters soaked up the damage while i had two wands of fire going off constantly.. I almost felt like i was cheating (especially in the iron throne tower)
btw rasaad's boots only sell for 125 gp now
I am having super fun with this group I dont know why
Although I wanted to boot imoen for coran but she gave me the friend speech and I couldnt bear it:(
I digress already..sorry
So..short story, try him a bit and see if you are having fun
There is no competition for scrolls; the sorcerer doesn't learn spells from scrolls. The sorcerer deals with spells that need to be spammed: fireball, magic missile, horror, etc. Nerra uses spells that are used only once in a while: resist fear, dispel magic, chromatic orb, etc. They worked together very well. I called them my artillery.
Side note: a sorcerer with a Ring of Wizardry and the identify spell is amazing. 12 identifys a day but only as needed.