Kivan Profs Halberd ++ Longbow ++ Two Weapon Style. ++
But, He's still Lv 2 (16 Hitpoints), my party is Lv 3-4
None even compliment each other or am i missing something obvious?
Rangers get TWS for free. If you ignore that for a moment, you'll see he has ++ in a melee two-hander and ++ in a ranged two-hander, which is perfectly sensible.
I agree with @KidCarnival about Kivan and bows: he's often seen as the best archer after Coran, but if you look at his stats alone you see it's mostly psychological.
@Fiach Are you making use of Ajantis's Protection from Evil special ability, as well as Lay On Hands? I confess to rarely using the guy, but he's in my party right now with similar gear to what you're using and he's proving himself to be a fantastic tank at level 4.
@Fiach: Yes, the gnoll has a dialogue about a prisoner in the fortress, but only if you meet him before doing that quest. If you approach him after that, he is immediately hostile. It's easy to miss then because you only notice he's different from regular gnolls because he has a name (and his drop pile also looks like a random gnoll's; halberd and probably some gold/gem).
If you still have a savegame at a lower level, and Ajantis doesn't work for you, it's definitely worth to consider trading him for Kivan, even if he's one level behind. (Rangers and paladins both level slow, he'll likely be below charname's level either way.) While the paladin abilities are certainly useful, Ajantis is human and Kivan elf, so he has 90 % immunity to sleep and charm to make up for it, plus racial bonus on bows and swords. I like giving him a pip in Long Sword and wield Varscona, or stick with the halberd. Even when I got the long bow from the Bandit Camp, I could easily resist making him an archer.
@Fiach: Yes, the gnoll has a dialogue about a prisoner in the fortress, but only if you meet him before doing that quest. If you approach him after that, he is immediately hostile. It's easy to miss then because you only notice he's different from regular gnolls because he has a name (and his drop pile also looks like a random gnoll's; halberd and probably some gold/gem).
Even in the current patch? I thought they'd fixed all the already-identified magic items to be non-identified, but I could be wrong...
I can confirm that Ingot's halberd appears enchanted now, unlike before. Of course, I often don't bother looting gnolls anyway, so I only found out about that item through metagaming.
It's not particularly good for a warrior-type anyway, right? I think of it as a bard's weapon.
Regarding Protection from Evil: It's like a free -2 AC bonus. Use it.
I can confirm that Ingot's halberd appears enchanted now, unlike before. Of course, I often don't bother looting gnolls anyway, so I only found out about that item through metagaming.
It's not particularly good for a warrior-type anyway, right? I think of it as a bard's weapon.
For a Skald or Jester maybe, for a Blade I assume you'd still only get 1 APR under offensive spin, so not so good.
Yeah, after looking into that P f E, i guess thats what I was overlooking, I never bothered too much about it as I never had too much hassle in fights, its just that the Doomsayer was difficult for me with this party and was a doddle for other parties, but as has been pointed out, it was due to pilot error
I know you mentioned you want good, well branwen is neutral and has never been a nuisance with my previous evil party. I think she doesnt mind good or evil as she keeps to herself. She's just that cool. Kivans a real good choice though for good. He is strong, fiercely loyal and wont put up with any crap.
I haven't checked the halberd since the patch. Good if it's fixed, because I overlooked it sometimes myself. Same for the Club +1 from the dryad and lumberjacks quest.
Branwen is a good fit for good or evil. Unlike Jaheira and Faldorn, her personality doesn't suggest an affinity for either side. She banters a bit more with good parties (complimenting Kivan, Coran, Ajantis) and is mostly silent in evil parties (exception is Eldoth, who compliments her, and rarely Shar-Teel). She doesn't insult or get insulted by either side.
I know you mentioned you want good, well branwen is neutral and has never been a nuisance with my previous evil party. I think she doesnt mind good or evil as she keeps to herself. She's just that cool. Kivans a real good choice though for good. He is strong, fiercely loyal and wont put up with any crap.
She'll still leave if your reputation drops to 1, but if your rep gets that low, that's probably the least of your worries..
I know you mentioned you want good, well branwen is neutral and has never been a nuisance with my previous evil party. I think she doesnt mind good or evil as she keeps to herself. She's just that cool. Kivans a real good choice though for good. He is strong, fiercely loyal and wont put up with any crap.
She'll still leave if your reputation drops to 1, but if your rep gets that low, that's probably the least of your worries..
I like Jaheira, Khalid, Minsc & Dynaheir (I usually swap out one pair to recruit a specific person for different areas)
Well, I find Khalid immensely annoying and they come as a package, so being "good" I dont want to have to sack Khalid in my "usual" manner
Dunno about Minsc, I played him years ago and sure the whole Boo thing was cool, I dont know how he would stack up vs Dorn or Shar-Teel but he has baggage, I dont know if Dyna is as good as Edwin.
Thanks for the reply Bhaaldog
As I mentioned above, I have reservations with minsc, I dont like Dyna and being of good alignment, I cant get rid of her the way I would usually do it.
I got the gnoll's halberd yesterday and it still comes identified. Just thought I mention it. There's no way my lore was high enough to identify it without a spell.
@Fiach: Dynaheir was a captive. She's probably traumatized. You only act in her best interest if you escort her to a nice Inn where she can recover.
I got the gnoll's halberd yesterday and it still comes identified. Just thought I mention it. There's no way my lore was high enough to identify it without a spell.
@Fiach: Dynaheir was a captive. She's probably traumatized. You only act in her best interest if you escort her to a nice Inn where she can recover.
Knowing my luck, Boo would be watching and that would be wrong on soooo many levels
If you go to the Stronghold and rescue her, without any contact from Minsc, does she ask you to bring her to Minsc, or does he intercept you if she is in your party first?
i always use edwin, so...erm... y'know, what happens at the Stronghold...stays in the Stronghold
I got the gnoll's halberd yesterday and it still comes identified. Just thought I mention it. There's no way my lore was high enough to identify it without a spell.
@Fiach: Dynaheir was a captive. She's probably traumatized. You only act in her best interest if you escort her to a nice Inn where she can recover.
Knowing my luck, Boo would be watching and that would be wrong on soooo many levels
If you go to the Stronghold and rescue her, without any contact from Minsc, does she ask you to bring her to Minsc, or does he intercept you if she is in your party first?
i always use edwin, so...erm... y'know, what happens at the Stronghold...stays in the Stronghold
Spoilering cause, y'know, no spoilers.
If you go to the Gnoll Stronghold without Minsc or Edwin (picking up their quest and then kicking them would be the only way to get it on your map) Dynaheir will offer to join you and mention Minsc, recommending you find him and let him join as well, but as far as I know you don't have to and can presumably play out the rest of the game with only Dynaheir in your party
I got the gnoll's halberd yesterday and it still comes identified. Just thought I mention it. There's no way my lore was high enough to identify it without a spell.
@Fiach: Dynaheir was a captive. She's probably traumatized. You only act in her best interest if you escort her to a nice Inn where she can recover.
Knowing my luck, Boo would be watching and that would be wrong on soooo many levels
If you go to the Stronghold and rescue her, without any contact from Minsc, does she ask you to bring her to Minsc, or does he intercept you if she is in your party first?
i always use edwin, so...erm... y'know, what happens at the Stronghold...stays in the Stronghold
Spoilering cause, y'know, no spoilers.
If you go to the Gnoll Stronghold without Minsc or Edwin (picking up their quest and then kicking them would be the only way to get it on your map) Dynaheir will offer to join you and mention Minsc, recommending you find him and let him join as well, but as far as I know you don't have to and can presumably play out the rest of the game with only Dynaheir in your party
Pc - Archer Imoen Minsc Jaheria Branwen (replace with Yeslick) Neera
Well, as I said earlier, Minsc and Jahira are out, I have Branwen and she's pretty good, havent tried Yeslick as he's too difficult to get to, but the party are pretty good, it's nice not to have to worry about rep raising or lowering though
Minsc is great because he is so versatile. You can have him on bow duty, or you can front-line him with a two-handed sword or mace and shield. You could even get him 2 maces and dual wield. He gets decent hitpoints because of his good CON, and his damage is among the best with that 18/93 STR. Plus his berserk allows him to sidestep a lot of bad spells / status effects.
You could still get Minsc if Dynaheir had an unfortunate "accident." Ya'know, like the kind where the rest of your party didn't notice that Huge Spider munching on her until it was too late. ...
Happened to me once with poor Khalid.
Although I will say that Dynaheir is a pretty good mage with a decent spell selection, and she's got a high DEX and CON, both of which are important.
If it were me, I'd go with:
PC - Archer Imoen Neera (or Dynaheir) Minsc Jaheira Branwen
That way, you have 1 tank (Minsc), 2 off-tanks (Jaheira, Branwen), 2 healers, 4 good ranged attackers, 1 thief, 1 wizard. That's a good spread.
Comments
I agree with @KidCarnival about Kivan and bows: he's often seen as the best archer after Coran, but if you look at his stats alone you see it's mostly psychological.
Are you making use of Ajantis's Protection from Evil special ability, as well as Lay On Hands? I confess to rarely using the guy, but he's in my party right now with similar gear to what you're using and he's proving himself to be a fantastic tank at level 4.
If you still have a savegame at a lower level, and Ajantis doesn't work for you, it's definitely worth to consider trading him for Kivan, even if he's one level behind. (Rangers and paladins both level slow, he'll likely be below charname's level either way.)
While the paladin abilities are certainly useful, Ajantis is human and Kivan elf, so he has 90 % immunity to sleep and charm to make up for it, plus racial bonus on bows and swords. I like giving him a pip in Long Sword and wield Varscona, or stick with the halberd. Even when I got the long bow from the Bandit Camp, I could easily resist making him an archer.
It's not particularly good for a warrior-type anyway, right? I think of it as a bard's weapon.
Regarding Protection from Evil: It's like a free -2 AC bonus. Use it.
Thanks for all the advice
Branwen is a good fit for good or evil. Unlike Jaheira and Faldorn, her personality doesn't suggest an affinity for either side. She banters a bit more with good parties (complimenting Kivan, Coran, Ajantis) and is mostly silent in evil parties (exception is Eldoth, who compliments her, and rarely Shar-Teel). She doesn't insult or get insulted by either side.
Ain't that the truth
Thanks for the reply
@Fiach: Dynaheir was a captive. She's probably traumatized. You only act in her best interest if you escort her to a nice Inn where she can recover.
If you go to the Stronghold and rescue her, without any contact from Minsc, does she ask you to bring her to Minsc, or does he intercept you if she is in your party first?
i always use edwin, so...erm... y'know, what happens at the Stronghold...stays in the Stronghold
Pc - Archer
Imoen
Minsc
Jaheria
Branwen (replace with Yeslick)
Neera
You could still get Minsc if Dynaheir had an unfortunate "accident." Ya'know, like the kind where the rest of your party didn't notice that Huge Spider munching on her until it was too late. ...
Happened to me once with poor Khalid.
Although I will say that Dynaheir is a pretty good mage with a decent spell selection, and she's got a high DEX and CON, both of which are important.
If it were me, I'd go with:
PC - Archer
Imoen
Neera (or Dynaheir)
Minsc
Jaheira
Branwen
That way, you have 1 tank (Minsc), 2 off-tanks (Jaheira, Branwen), 2 healers, 4 good ranged attackers, 1 thief, 1 wizard. That's a good spread.