I found bards pretty useless and never knew what to do with them until I made a jester for the sake of playing a difficult class. I'm no big multiclass fan because that seems so all over the place and bards are the jacks-of-most-trades with no defined role, so that was the obvious pick. In Black Pits, jester and conjurer are now frequently the last ones standing and sweeping up near death, confused leftovers.
Montaron is a solid NPC, but hardly unique. There are TONS of thieves throughout the game, and unless you ditched Imoen, Montaron brings nothing unique to the table.
Umm ... he's a Fighter/Thief. He brings a lot to the table. >_> lrn2usefighter/thieves ... #hatersgonnahate ... #yolo
I was planning to get Minsc as he seems to be popular, so sounds like I should seek out Dynaheir as well.
Oh gosh, I am SO sorry.
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Okay so @Bombur, since you're showing favor towards Good-aligned, I will give you these tips.
* If you find yourself missing out on some long-range fire power ... Go to High Hedge (West of Beregost) and recruit Kivan. He is a badass elven Ranger who has both good Strength (18/12) and high Dexterity (17). So essentially, he's awesome in ranged combat and also pretty decent sent into melee forays. Another great candidate is Coran, he's a Fighter/Thief, good-aligned, should you want someone to replace Montaron. He is an even better archer than Kivan, but his melee side is just plain sad (which is fixable through certain items). That said, he's farther along in the game. Look for him in Cloakwood when you get there, he's pretty obvious though. * If you need someone who can deal out a lot of melee pain, then okay go ahead and pick up Minsc ... but keep in mind Minsc enjoys getting hit a lot and dying due to poor-ass Dexterity! Minsc is only worth a damn if you find him the Gauntlets of Dexterity. Which you will undoubtedly find if you follow his quest line, but I won't spoil it. * As far as Mages go: This sounds like your first playthrough, so I don't think you should dual-class Imoen (too confusing). Pick up Dynaheir, she's actually okay now that Invokers got a buff. She is unable to cast Enchantment spells, which means her Spell Levels 1-3 are awesome, her Spell Level 4 is abysmal, and her Spell Level 5 is okay. Seriously though, if you like mages that just blast everything to shit, Dynaheir's your girl. She's the only good-aligned mage in the game ... Neera and Xan are neutral though (Xan even Lawful Neutral) so they wouldn't be bad options. But you say no Neera for you. And Xan is really freakin' complicated, if you have really good knowledge of the game you can make him awesome, but otherwise it's like "wtf is this guy supposed to do?" I would advise not picking him up your first run, but definitely some other time. * Thieves: I assume you have Imoen. She's great. Personally I more often than not refuse to use her because I feel she's *too good* for the game she's in ... but I've played the game many a time and I can make such a sacrifice. Long story short, unless you want some hybrid class like a Fighter/Thief or the strange but effective Cleric/Thief, Imoen is totally solid. I am of the opinion that Alora is awesome now, but she's in a weird spot and I don't want to give you too many spoilers. * Since you're good-aligned: If you want a Paladin, a true knight in shining armor, pick up Ajantis. Ajantis, however, like Minsc, basically requires the Gauntlets of Dexterity to function properly. I would not consider them to be interchangeable NPCs in a party. He's North of the Friendly Arm Inn *Clerics/Druids: All of the Clerics in this game suck. I sure hope you're playing one of these two.
Also a question ... what class/race/etc. is your player character?
Montaron is very decent, but to be fair, he is far from being the best thief or NPC in general. His big advantage is getting him so early, so his thieving skills aren't completely messed up.
Montaron is very decent, but to be fair, he is far from being the best thief or NPC in general. His big advantage is getting him so early, so his thieving skills aren't completely messed up.
He's a fighter/thief with good physical stats. I just don't see what there isn't to like.
Montaron is a solid NPC, but hardly unique. There are TONS of thieves throughout the game, and unless you ditched Imoen, Montaron brings nothing unique to the table.
Umm ... he's a Fighter/Thief. He brings a lot to the table. >_> lrn2usefighter/thieves ... #hatersgonnahate ... #yolo
Except that the OP is playing a good PC, and doesn't want evil party members. The point of my first post in the thread was that Montaron and Xzar have nothing to offer that you can't get with good party members. For the OP's party, they will have outlived their usefullness the second Tarnesh hits the ground. Yes, Montaron has decent stats as a fighter/thief, and yes, mages, including Xzar, have their uses when an experienced player is controlling them.
My point, which I clearly did not make well enough, is that neither is good enough to justify keeping them in a good party. Evil NPCs like Dorn or Viconia are quite powerful, and you can make the case for keeping your reputation under 19 so that they stick around. Neither Montaron or Xzar deserve that level of respect. The OP should ditch them at his earliest convenience.
Montaron as only thief is no good in Durlag's Tower, so there's that. While a good fighter, his thieving skills are neglected. Plus, yeah, he's evil. I wouldn't even justify Viconia or Dorn in a good party for a beginner on his first playthrough, simply because alignment management spoils the fun. Dorn has 2 good party counterparts with Minsc and Ajantis and both Branwen and Yeslick are better clerics for good than Viconia. Her magic resistance may sound cool, but keep in mind that there is also a chance benefitial spells will fail. Not the kind of thing I'd call "ideal" for a new player, especially if you can get Branwen earlier, with way better con and str and she doesn't talk like a weeaboo.
Yes, Dynaheir has her flaws, but so does every NPC. And hers are easy to deal with. She has good con, which I find quite important for beginner NPCs, because it's no fun to waste all your gold on reviving your party instead of buying better gear.
Montaron as only thief is no good in Durlag's Tower, so there's that. While a good fighter, his thieving skills are neglected. Plus, yeah, he's evil. I wouldn't even justify Viconia or Dorn in a good party for a beginner on his first playthrough, simply because alignment management spoils the fun. Dorn has 2 good party counterparts with Minsc and Ajantis and both Branwen and Yeslick are better clerics for good than Viconia. Her magic resistance may sound cool, but keep in mind that there is also a chance benefitial spells will fail. Not the kind of thing I'd call "ideal" for a new player, especially if you can get Branwen earlier, with way better con and str and she doesn't talk like a weeaboo.
Yes, Dynaheir has her flaws, but so does every NPC. And hers are easy to deal with. She has good con, which I find quite important for beginner NPCs, because it's no fun to waste all your gold on reviving your party instead of buying better gear.
I haven't taken a good look at Montaron's stats recently, but I should mention that I recently completed Durlag's tower with a PC fighter/thief as the only thief in my party. Even with enough in HiS and Move Silently to be mainly a backstabber, he still wound up with enough lockpicking and trap-finding to get me through Durlag's, with the occasional help of a potion. He was entirely useless for pickpocketing, trap setting, and illusion detecting, of course.
He also gets a -4 bonus to saves vs death, wand, and spell from being a halfling.
and halflings get a +1 THAC0 bonus with slings, which Monty has 2 pips in from the start.
EDIT: give him the 18/00 ogre gloves (or before then cast the arcane Strength spell on him or Cleric Strength of One spell, for an 18/xx boost) and he becomes a beast with his sling.
Montaron is very decent, but to be fair, he is far from being the best thief or NPC in general. His big advantage is getting him so early, so his thieving skills aren't completely messed up.
He's a fighter/thief with good physical stats. I just don't see what there isn't to like.
Also a prime candidate for a certain Buckler, which can raises his Con from 15 to 16.
Montaron is very decent, but to be fair, he is far from being the best thief or NPC in general. His big advantage is getting him so early, so his thieving skills aren't completely messed up.
He's a fighter/thief with good physical stats. I just don't see what there isn't to like.
Oh yes, and halflings get 40 points net worth of racial thieving bonuses at level one, only Dwarves and Gnomes (good luck with Tiax...) get as much as this, so Monty is off to a good start.
Montaron as only thief is no good in Durlag's Tower, so there's that. While a good fighter, his thieving skills are neglected. Plus, yeah, he's evil. I wouldn't even justify Viconia or Dorn in a good party for a beginner on his first playthrough, simply because alignment management spoils the fun. Dorn has 2 good party counterparts with Minsc and Ajantis and both Branwen and Yeslick are better clerics for good than Viconia. Her magic resistance may sound cool, but keep in mind that there is also a chance benefitial spells will fail. Not the kind of thing I'd call "ideal" for a new player, especially if you can get Branwen earlier, with way better con and str and she doesn't talk like a weeaboo.
I like Viconia's drow babble :-)
Viconia does have 19 Dex, though, which is nice, so she can actually hit things with her sling (which are better than they used to be, as more choice of ammo) and has a great natural AC.
She's not strong enough to use full-plate, but without giving too much away, there is some other armour almost as good that can use and which is light...
I don't see why she speaks drow AND english without accent, if everyone else (including Drizzt) speaks english. If she was unfamiliar enough with the surface languages to not have a broad vocabulary and to fall back into her native language, she'd also have an accent when she speaks english/surface language. None of the other NPCs with accents do that, not even Minsc, who may not realize that others don't understand him in Rashemi. For him, it would make more sense to fall back into his native language due to the unlikeliness to learn another language fluently - he's not the brightest star in the sky - and it's rather common to curse/rage in native language, regardless of intellect. On the other end of the spectrum, it would fit if Edwin mumbled to himself in Thayian because in his mind, people can't follow him either way.
Anyway, that's the linguist snob speaking.
Viconia's Dex is certainly nice, but it doesn't really make up for the super-low con. Branwen with Gauntlets of Dex AND her higher strength/con for full plate beats that any day.
Also, the armor you speak of is bugged. You need to know the workaround or the cache location to get it. Not sure how to keep that spoiler-free, but if you bring more than 1 "ingredient" to the person creating it (which is likely, because the ingredients usually spawn 2 at a time), they won't offer to make it, even if you later return with only 1. The finished armor can only be found if you know its location from a walkthrough. (Unless you are bored enough to check every map pixel by pixel, of course.)
Her magic resistance may sound cool, but keep in mind that there is also a chance benefitial spells will fail.
This isn't the case in BGEE. Since it uses the BG2 engine, magic resistance does not affect beneficial spells anymore. This gives her a BIG boost in desirability.
That said, first run through, don't be evil. Its too hard to manage your reputation.
My picks for party members
#1 Imoen. Arguably the best NPC in the game. She's a great thief and you can dual class her over to a mage if you choose to do so. (I don't recommend this for new players) #2 Coran. He comes into your party much later in the game, but with his illegally high dexterity he makes a fantastic archer and can allow Imoen to focus on utility thief abilities (find trap/unlock) and he can work on pickpocket/place trap. I don't recommend backstab for new players, as it leaves your thief very vulnerable. #3 Minsc. Simply a classic character. Amazing strength stat and an amazing hamster. He makes the game more enjoyable all the way around. #4 Dynaheir. She has a less than desirable specialty, but Minsc won't leave her. She'll cover your spell casting. #5 Yeslick/Branwen. Branwen is available early game, but is a very lack-luster cleric. Yeslick is a much better tank and comes with a dispel magic ability, which is a most have in your arsenal. Yeslick comes into play much later in the game.
To the mage vs archer debate: Mages lose 9/10 times in a fight unless they have time to prebuff. Once they are ready for a major battle at a high level they are one of the most dominate forces in your command. That said, they are by NO MEANS needed to complete the game. Most situations they are simply bad slingers.
Do slings still get the damage bonuses from STR? Give the 19str/6int belt to montaron, dual xzar into cleric and give him the 18/00 gloves.. ;}
In BGEE slings, throwing axes and throwing daggers get the strength damage bonus (but not the Strength to hit bonus, they just use the Dex to hit bonus). This effect is shown on the character sheet and in-game usage confirms this
BTW In BG2 vanilla ony throwing axes and one magic sling currently get the strength damage bonus, but it's possible this may change for BG2EE, if they're going for consistency.
To the mage vs archer debate: Mages lose 9/10 times in a fight unless they have time to prebuff. Once they are ready for a major battle at a high level they are one of the most dominate forces in your command. That said, they are by NO MEANS needed to complete the game. Most situations they are simply bad slingers.
I partially agree with you, but only because mages are difficult to manage for new players.
To the mage vs archer debate: Mages lose 9/10 times in a fight unless they have time to prebuff.
That's why my mages (I almost never play with less than two in my party) never go anywhere without Stoneskin on. You can cast it before going to sleep, and it will last for a while after you wake up, with the possibility to recast it if necessary. Having Stoneskin on, gives you also enough time to cast all the other buffs if required.
At the lower levels, when Stoneskin and other powerful buffs are not yet available, some care may be required to keep them alive, but it is definitely worth the effort on the long run.
Her magic resistance may sound cool, but keep in mind that there is also a chance benefitial spells will fail.
This isn't the case in BGEE. Since it uses the BG2 engine, magic resistance does not affect beneficial spells anymore. This gives her a BIG boost in desirability.
Okay, that is indeed a big boost. I still have old runs in BG1 in mind where I tried to heal her and it simply failed and she died, and I had my only heal (Bhaalspawn ability) used up. A party where the healer keeps dying first was very frustrating and I switched her out for Branwen. That habit stuck; Yeslick was never a real option due to evil party with Kagain later.
I always thought that BG had more evil and neutral characters which made it tough for a beginner to form a decent good party. Once you get to BG2 however, you can't have a full party of evil characters because there are only 3 to be found (until ToB).
Dynaheir is an Invoker, and Invoc/Evoc spells make up most of the raw damage magic. Does she get the bonuses on Inv/Ev spells per 2nd edition rules? (I don't think she did in original BG) If she does, this makes her the best choice. She can't use enchantments, big deal. I prefer a more concrete assault.
Xan can NOT use Invoc/Evoc spells. This is a huge deal to me. No Magic Missle, No Fireball although Melf's Acid arrow, Flame Arrow, and Skull Trap allow Xan to add some damage to his spellbook. I personally avoid characters with no HP con bonus. He does get that awesome Moonblade but do you really want to use a 4hp/level mage in a melee situation?
Edwin is the single best choice for evil/neutral parties for reasons already mentioned here. (16 con 18 int, +2 spell slots per level...1 for specialist, 1 for his amulet. This makes him a magic missle factory once he hits level 5 with the ring of Wizardry) You can't use Divination so you'll be spending a little more gold to ID items which is not an issue. (potion of insight is well used on Edwin)
I don't like Wild mages and will never PC one. I dislike that they made her Chaotic Neutral. It seems a little cliche' but whatever. They should have made her Chaotic Good. That might make people overlook her 17 int and low con score.
Xzar is 1st choice for entertainment factor. Again, low con and 16 dex means you should keep him away from the action. Illusion spells are off the table so no Invisibility, mirror image, blur, and a number of other spells to save you from getting chunked by a determined enemy who beelines it straight for the tender mage.
Dynaheir is the ONLY option for a strictly good aligned party. She gets the same bonus spells as any other specialized mage, so she's no better or worse than any other NPC (that isn't named Edwin). It's a bit weird that there is only one good mage though, as the game is - at least from the writing - clearly geared toward a good player character. Therefore, you'd think it would encourage players to be good by giving them a great selection of NPCs, rather than tempting them to have mixed parties or go evil by making the 2 (now even 3) most powerful casters evil. In BG2, where evil players are short of NPCs, it would make more sense to give them the better and more powerful ones, so they can run with a 4 - 5 character party, where the good folks may have somewhat weaker NPCs, but a better selection to match all needs/party setups.
As for the entertainment factor, Xzar and Edwin are equals. Both have interactions with other NPCs (Edwin with the other red wizards on two occasions, Xzar with the other necromancers and another encounter with Monty) and special banter with joinable NPCs (Xzar/Monty vs. the Harpers, Edwin and Alora). From the power standpoint, Xzar brings the option to dual him to cleric, which can easily make up for Edwin's extra spells, depending on what kind of NPC/caster you need. Necromancy isn't the worst of all schools either and fits the cleric-dualing, too. The 17 INT only really matters if you need to write spells - and you can boost that with potions.
I just played my first full run-through with Xzar and Montaron the whole time, I have to say they are quite interesting from a banter perspective and add a few different reactions from NPCs. Unfortunately it was a bit rough trying to keep them both alive, as I was playing on core rules and not rerolling HP on level up - end result was Monty at 38HP at 6/7 and Xzar at 19HP at lvl 8 (sigh). Xzar just plain dies a lot without mirror image, once you get stoneskin and protection from fire (cleric lvl 4) he isn't soooo bad.
Overall fun though, and Monty goes to show that fighter/thief is a powerful class on anyone, even a halfling, once you get certain gauntlets
Hmmmm, I never had Monty and Xzar for longer then Nashkel, maybe time to doa run-through with these gentlemen. I frequently play fighter/thief and am surprised that it comes as a surprise for @emjay that they are powerful. But then again I guess that all classes are powerful when you run them as the protagonist and start giving them the equipment they need. Monty, Xzar, Edvin, Drow Sorceror Guy (if I find him), Kagain, and Viccy......hmm, I need more npc slots...and I need room for the 3 other new guys and their personal quests.......all these desicions are too much for me..........
Edwin, Xzar AND the new guy may be a bit much in one party. Rasaad is out for being lawful good (unless you're fond of rep management...). Dorn's quest doesn't depend on events, you can complete that quickly and then switch him out for Neera and start her quest. That narrows it down a bit.
True, but she needs to be dualed, so she isn't available as a caster from the start. Not being a specialist can be an advantage in itself tho, it allows more fine tuning of the spell book.
True, but she needs to be dualed, so she isn't available as a caster from the start. Not being a specialist can be an advantage in itself tho, it allows more fine tuning of the spell book.
You can always ignore her thief side and dual to mage the second she hits level 2. That'll probably happen more quickly than getting to Dynaheir.
Assuming holding off for Coran or Alora would take too long, I guess you'd have to temporarily take a neutral thief. Or get to mage level 3 quickly, after putting all of Imoen's level 2 skill points into Find Traps. Between that middling Find Trap skill and knowledge of Knock, you're probably all set thief-wise until Coran/Alora. Or just play a PC thief.
Neutral thief, as in Safana? She's in a rather risky area for new players. I'm still operating under the assumption these are recommendations for a new player on the first playthrough, and I would not recommend a new player to wander around a sirine area on low levels. Your solution works, no doubt, but it requires knowledge a new player wouldn't have.
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Okay so @Bombur, since you're showing favor towards Good-aligned, I will give you these tips.
* If you find yourself missing out on some long-range fire power ... Go to High Hedge (West of Beregost) and recruit Kivan. He is a badass elven Ranger who has both good Strength (18/12) and high Dexterity (17). So essentially, he's awesome in ranged combat and also pretty decent sent into melee forays. Another great candidate is Coran, he's a Fighter/Thief, good-aligned, should you want someone to replace Montaron. He is an even better archer than Kivan, but his melee side is just plain sad (which is fixable through certain items). That said, he's farther along in the game. Look for him in Cloakwood when you get there, he's pretty obvious though.
* If you need someone who can deal out a lot of melee pain, then okay go ahead and pick up Minsc ... but keep in mind Minsc enjoys getting hit a lot and dying due to poor-ass Dexterity! Minsc is only worth a damn if you find him the Gauntlets of Dexterity. Which you will undoubtedly find if you follow his quest line, but I won't spoil it.
* As far as Mages go: This sounds like your first playthrough, so I don't think you should dual-class Imoen (too confusing). Pick up Dynaheir, she's actually okay now that Invokers got a buff. She is unable to cast Enchantment spells, which means her Spell Levels 1-3 are awesome, her Spell Level 4 is abysmal, and her Spell Level 5 is okay. Seriously though, if you like mages that just blast everything to shit, Dynaheir's your girl. She's the only good-aligned mage in the game ... Neera and Xan are neutral though (Xan even Lawful Neutral) so they wouldn't be bad options. But you say no Neera for you. And Xan is really freakin' complicated, if you have really good knowledge of the game you can make him awesome, but otherwise it's like "wtf is this guy supposed to do?" I would advise not picking him up your first run, but definitely some other time.
* Thieves: I assume you have Imoen. She's great. Personally I more often than not refuse to use her because I feel she's *too good* for the game she's in ... but I've played the game many a time and I can make such a sacrifice. Long story short, unless you want some hybrid class like a Fighter/Thief or the strange but effective Cleric/Thief, Imoen is totally solid. I am of the opinion that Alora is awesome now, but she's in a weird spot and I don't want to give you too many spoilers.
* Since you're good-aligned: If you want a Paladin, a true knight in shining armor, pick up Ajantis. Ajantis, however, like Minsc, basically requires the Gauntlets of Dexterity to function properly. I would not consider them to be interchangeable NPCs in a party. He's North of the Friendly Arm Inn
*Clerics/Druids: All of the Clerics in this game suck. I sure hope you're playing one of these two.
Also a question ... what class/race/etc. is your player character?
My point, which I clearly did not make well enough, is that neither is good enough to justify keeping them in a good party. Evil NPCs like Dorn or Viconia are quite powerful, and you can make the case for keeping your reputation under 19 so that they stick around. Neither Montaron or Xzar deserve that level of respect. The OP should ditch them at his earliest convenience.
Yes, Dynaheir has her flaws, but so does every NPC. And hers are easy to deal with. She has good con, which I find quite important for beginner NPCs, because it's no fun to waste all your gold on reviving your party instead of buying better gear.
EDIT: give him the 18/00 ogre gloves (or before then cast the arcane Strength spell on him or Cleric Strength of One spell, for an 18/xx boost) and he becomes a beast with his sling.
Viconia does have 19 Dex, though, which is nice, so she can actually hit things with her sling (which are better than they used to be, as more choice of ammo) and has a great natural AC.
She's not strong enough to use full-plate, but without giving too much away, there is some other armour almost as good that can use and which is light...
For him, it would make more sense to fall back into his native language due to the unlikeliness to learn another language fluently - he's not the brightest star in the sky - and it's rather common to curse/rage in native language, regardless of intellect. On the other end of the spectrum, it would fit if Edwin mumbled to himself in Thayian because in his mind, people can't follow him either way.
Anyway, that's the linguist snob speaking.
Viconia's Dex is certainly nice, but it doesn't really make up for the super-low con. Branwen with Gauntlets of Dex AND her higher strength/con for full plate beats that any day.
Also, the armor you speak of is bugged. You need to know the workaround or the cache location to get it. Not sure how to keep that spoiler-free, but if you bring more than 1 "ingredient" to the person creating it (which is likely, because the ingredients usually spawn 2 at a time), they won't offer to make it, even if you later return with only 1. The finished armor can only be found if you know its location from a walkthrough. (Unless you are bored enough to check every map pixel by pixel, of course.)
That said, first run through, don't be evil. Its too hard to manage your reputation.
My picks for party members
#1 Imoen. Arguably the best NPC in the game. She's a great thief and you can dual class her over to a mage if you choose to do so. (I don't recommend this for new players)
#2 Coran. He comes into your party much later in the game, but with his illegally high dexterity he makes a fantastic archer and can allow Imoen to focus on utility thief abilities (find trap/unlock) and he can work on pickpocket/place trap. I don't recommend backstab for new players, as it leaves your thief very vulnerable.
#3 Minsc. Simply a classic character. Amazing strength stat and an amazing hamster. He makes the game more enjoyable all the way around.
#4 Dynaheir. She has a less than desirable specialty, but Minsc won't leave her. She'll cover your spell casting.
#5 Yeslick/Branwen. Branwen is available early game, but is a very lack-luster cleric. Yeslick is a much better tank and comes with a dispel magic ability, which is a most have in your arsenal. Yeslick comes into play much later in the game.
To the mage vs archer debate: Mages lose 9/10 times in a fight unless they have time to prebuff. Once they are ready for a major battle at a high level they are one of the most dominate forces in your command. That said, they are by NO MEANS needed to complete the game. Most situations they are simply bad slingers.
BTW In BG2 vanilla ony throwing axes and one magic sling currently get the strength damage bonus, but it's possible this may change for BG2EE, if they're going for consistency.
At the lower levels, when Stoneskin and other powerful buffs are not yet available, some care may be required to keep them alive, but it is definitely worth the effort on the long run.
I always thought that BG had more evil and neutral characters which made it tough for a beginner to form a decent good party. Once you get to BG2 however, you can't have a full party of evil characters because there are only 3 to be found (until ToB).
Dynaheir is an Invoker, and Invoc/Evoc spells make up most of the raw damage magic. Does she get the bonuses on Inv/Ev spells per 2nd edition rules? (I don't think she did in original BG) If she does, this makes her the best choice. She can't use enchantments, big deal. I prefer a more concrete assault.
Xan can NOT use Invoc/Evoc spells. This is a huge deal to me. No Magic Missle, No Fireball although Melf's Acid arrow, Flame Arrow, and Skull Trap allow Xan to add some damage to his spellbook. I personally avoid characters with no HP con bonus. He does get that awesome Moonblade but do you really want to use a 4hp/level mage in a melee situation?
Edwin is the single best choice for evil/neutral parties for reasons already mentioned here. (16 con 18 int, +2 spell slots per level...1 for specialist, 1 for his amulet. This makes him a magic missle factory once he hits level 5 with the ring of Wizardry) You can't use Divination so you'll be spending a little more gold to ID items which is not an issue. (potion of insight is well used on Edwin)
I don't like Wild mages and will never PC one. I dislike that they made her Chaotic Neutral. It seems a little cliche' but whatever. They should have made her Chaotic Good. That might make people overlook her 17 int and low con score.
Xzar is 1st choice for entertainment factor. Again, low con and 16 dex means you should keep him away from the action. Illusion spells are off the table so no Invisibility, mirror image, blur, and a number of other spells to save you from getting chunked by a determined enemy who beelines it straight for the tender mage.
As for the entertainment factor, Xzar and Edwin are equals. Both have interactions with other NPCs (Edwin with the other red wizards on two occasions, Xzar with the other necromancers and another encounter with Monty) and special banter with joinable NPCs (Xzar/Monty vs. the Harpers, Edwin and Alora). From the power standpoint, Xzar brings the option to dual him to cleric, which can easily make up for Edwin's extra spells, depending on what kind of NPC/caster you need. Necromancy isn't the worst of all schools either and fits the cleric-dualing, too. The 17 INT only really matters if you need to write spells - and you can boost that with potions.
Overall fun though, and Monty goes to show that fighter/thief is a powerful class on anyone, even a halfling, once you get certain gauntlets
I frequently play fighter/thief and am surprised that it comes as a surprise for @emjay that they are powerful. But then again I guess that all classes are powerful when you run them as the protagonist and start giving them the equipment they need.
Monty, Xzar, Edvin, Drow Sorceror Guy (if I find him), Kagain, and Viccy......hmm, I need more npc slots...and I need room for the 3 other new guys and their personal quests.......all these desicions are too much for me..........
Granted she is not a specialist, but imho the benefits from her thief levels more than make up for the lack of bonus spells.
Now Dynaheir, doesn't take any type of armour. What are my options for increasing defense?