Seeking feedback on party composition

Elzarath

Hey guys, finally made it to Nashkel and about to head to gnoll stronghold for Minsc's sake. Currently I have my party setup as:

Sorcerer
Imoen
Xzar
Monataron
Minsc
Branwen

I'm think of dumping Minsc after rescuing Dynaheir but not sure who I should replace him with. What are your thoughts? I've never really played BG before so I want to focus more on new characters (as opposed to BGII ones) Would Kivan be a good fit? I'm lacking a real fighter type. Maybe I should go for Kagain?

Tresset

...

dumping Minsc... for Kivan?!


Uh, no offence but, umm, talking like that is going to make the veteran fans of BG your mortal enemies.
People really, really, love Minsc. (he's kind of the mascot of the series...)

BlackIvory

well if you're looking for a tank to replace minsc you could always take Ajantis

Tresset

Ok. That was a joke (kind of).

On a more serious note I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for. Non BG2 chars? You have a mixed alignment party. Those are difficult to keep. Are you trying for good or evil?

If you want evil characters keep xzar and monty maybe pick up Kagain. Dorn is really good from what I hear. Shar-Teel is another evil warrior. Eldath is a nice bard. Tiax comes in pretty late but hes an evil cleric.

As for the good characters there is the fighter/thief Coran. People like him. Kivan is ok. Ajantis is a decent paladin. Dynaheir is the only good mage I think. You could try to dual class Imoen if you want her to be a mage. uhhh I'm forgetting the rest... too tired. maybe I should get some sleep and update this tomorrrow.

Elzarath

Thanks guys. Haha yeah i know Minsc is the favourite but I've played BGII heaps so I'm pretty familiar with Jaheira, Minsc, Viconia, Edwin, etc.

I'm really digging Xzar and Monty. Branwen's neutral and I just discovered can summon a spiritual hammer and has no qualms with Xzar and Monty, so she gets to stay. Hmm, I think Ajantis would conflict with the others, might save him for another play through.

Given up on Dynaheir for now, at level 1 still and it's just too brutal, Xzart village was intense but these ogre berserkers are just smashing me!

Time to get Kagain I guess.

Lemernis

You can win the game with any combination of NPCs or successfully solo any class. So by all means try different characters.

Kagain is now the second strongest tank in the game after Dorn. He more than fills Minsc's shoes.

Kivan is best utilized as an archer versus as a tank. He is an amazing shot and usually gets the most kills. But that said, you most certainly can use him as a frontline tank and he'll do great. (If I do this I put him in ankheg armor and apply his next profs toward two-handed weapon style, since he comes already with two pips in halberd when he joins). Kivan has excellent Strength and respectable Con, so he performs well as a tank. Just be aware that you'll then sort of be squandering his amazing talent as an archer.

Btw, you can split up NPCs pairs (which Minsc and Dynaheir are) by taking the one you wish to remove separately into any building (or floor of a building)... again, just you and that NPC... and when removed the character will stay put there without the other member of the pair (in this case it's Dyna) leaving. You can then retrieve the dropped NPC later if you wish, although IIRC the character rejoins at the level at which you dropped him or her from the party. I'm recalling also that it's a good idea to use a building or floor of one that you don't intend to frequent. My memory is hazy on it, but I think the dropped pair member may try to rejoin when he or she sees you (not quite sure, it's been years since I did it).

Lemernis

Elzarath said:

Hmm, I think Ajantis would conflict with the others, might save him for another play through.

The conflicts are all part of the fun! There aren't that many banters in BG1. So it kind adds some extra flavor when NPCs grouse at each other.

LordRumfish

Lemernis said:

You can win the game with any combination of NPCs or successfully solo any class. So by all means try different characters.

Kagain is now the second strongest tank in the game after Dorn. He more than fills Minsc's shoes.

I'd like to respectfully disagree, depending on what you mean by the word "tank." Some people just use it to mean a melee powerhouse, in which case Dorn does have a case against Kagain. However, the way I have often used the word "tank" is to mean "one who suffers all of the world's incoming damage, yet remains alive." I use tank synonymously with "defender" or "wall." In that regard I think Kagain could only possibly be bested by CHARNAME after some tomes.

That being said, once you get Dorn past level 1 (and stick a helmet on his head) he does well enough at suffering incoming damage, and is far better at meting it out than Kagain.

On the good-aligned, non-Minsc, non-Khalid tanking front... yeah, options are short. Ajantis comes to mind, as mentioned. You could stick Kivan in plate armor? Yeslick maybe, with some other magic items? If you REALLY go all-out on the magical gear, you could try Rasaad as a tank, especially starting around level 4 or 6. He's not especially sturdy I'm afraid, but you could get his AC reasonably high with some effort and he eventually picks up self-only lay on hands.

Elzarath

Yeah thought about the new guys but since I've never really played BG with the original NPCs, I feel like I owe it too em first.

Ended up grabbing Kagain. Feel like I'm making some real progress now. Haven't started the (Nashkel) mines yet but did manage to take on the wolf pack in the Temple area east of Beregost.

Next round through I wanna try Kivan, Coran, Viconia, Safana and maybe Yeslick. I hear all these characters mentioned in these forums but didn't realize what I'd been missing out on this whole time!