Firing Squad - all-archer party
Chow
Member Posts: 1,192
Besides Kivan and Coran of course, who others should I bring along with me on my adventure if I just wanted to shoot absolutely everything?
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Also super extra Shar Teel Eldoth fun too
But in any case see this: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/8612/eldoths-arrows
It's like trying to play mage by having a thief wear a hat and hold a wand.
Incidentally, I would also strongly recommend giving your char some prof points in crossbow, if possible (or, if not possible, perhaps recruiting Garrick), because the light crossbow of speed is arguably the best ranged weapon in the game. Think of it as an automatic spell disrupter - especially if you load it with poison bolts.
Unfortunately she can only use shortbows so i would recommend garrick for a crossbow user. Rasaad or Viconia for slings. Kivan and charname using longbows that way you have 2 long bows 2 shortbows 1 cbow and a1 sling.
I hope you plan on going to durlags to help supply that ammunition
The only advantage with the light crossbow of speed is that you get to use bolts instead of arrows. Other than that it's just a regular +1 bow.
But Imoen gets the ability to spellcast as well for the archer party once you decide to dual her. Besides you cannot get Coran until Chapter 4, and you can have Imoen until then. How fitting, that you get a good archer and thief replacement just about at the spot where you'll be wanting to dual Imoen to mage anyway.
But check out darts, no STR damage bonus but 7/2 attack on a L1 chater with 2 pips in dart
Imoen with mage spells can also be a better archer by mere fact that she can learn web to nullify almost every non-arachnid.
Ever roll a Dartcher with the Crimson Dart? Those Called Shots, man! Who needs Grandmastery when it doesn't give an extra Atk per round anyway!
Give Eldoth the gauntlets of dexterity and a longbow and he is awesome.
Montaron is a mean slinger too, perhaps rivals Viconia if you give him Kiel's buckler.
Shar-Teel with crossbows is beastly, especially since bolts are by far the best ammunition in the series.
Also don't forget about darts, although as for who is suitable for dart hurling I'm not sure, I know Safana starts with one proficiency point in darts and with 17 dexterity and the option of Kiel's buckler, that ain't bad.
And don't forget about Skie, if you're bringing Eldoth (and will probably have Thief duties covered left right centre) she has 18 dexterity and 15 constitution which is a lot better than most NPCs. She has one proficiency point in shortbows I believe.
The other half is that they're also bloody fun.
You ought to have 4, as a given:
Charname
Kivan
Coran
Eldoth
The comment about Skie (since you want Eldoth) is a good one. In the end, THAT might be the reason Imoen has to go. So Skie makes 5. After that, you've got some choices:
If I was making an all-archer party, slings would bother me. They're ranged weapons, but they're just not the same! I feel the same way about throwing axes, and to a lesser extent, throwing knives and darts (I think throwing knives and darts are awesomely badass, but when I think about an all-archer party, I think about bows). So if you eliminate slings, there go your healers. But if not, having a healer would be beneficial.
If you want to stick to bows, Minsc and Shar Teel are both good options. Montaron and Garrick could be useful early on.
One unintended benefit you have going for you is that most of the people on this list have stealth (the bards have invisibility). Not only could you shoot everything down, but you could shoot everything down from the shadows. And if you invest in stealth skills, then suddenly having multiple thieves in the group doesn't seem quite as redundant, because one is stealth/locks, another is stealth/traps, etc...
PC Archer or Fighter
Kivan
Coran
Minsc
Imoen
Garrick (For Bard Song Bonuses, and one person to wield a Cross Bow)
An evil archer party would be like this:
PC - Archer or Fighter
Shar-Teel (going into longbows)
Eldoth (Cross Bows)
Skie (Short Bow)
Safana (Short Bow) OR Viconia (Sling, I would go with Vicky)
Monty (Who starts with ++ in slings, which I usually prefer to bows)
Honesty both parties would be fine, you'd have more thief skill options with an evil party, but you'd probably do more damage per round with the good party. (Though, not THAT much more damage, since the good party only gets one more crew member who can specialize in a ranged weapon) If you took Vicky instead of Safana in the Evil party you also get a healer who can summon undead to tank.