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Need companion advise for BG2

the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
in Archive (General Discussion)
So, after finishing BG with my generalist human CN wizard, i am moving on to BG2. I have already decided that I am going to try the 'Evil' path this time in as far as I can. I have also decided on the following party members but need suggestions on the rest.

Charname - Human Generalist CN Wizard
Viconia - Cleric and Love interest
Korgan - Tank (I am sick of fighting Vicy vs Keldorn/Minsc/Aerie/etc...)
Jan - All around thief and wizard

The above are non-negotiable, but that still leaves two slots. I personally like to have a 6 person party so I am not going to go less. I also like to have at minimum 2 competent tanks.

I want the rest of my party to be either neutral or evil. I will not include or accept Minsc or Aerie or Keldorn or Anomen. I know that you 'Can' work around the reputation thing and the internal conflict and strife, but I quite simply don't want to bother with that.

And although I am not opposed to Edwin, I already have two wizards in the group and find more than that a pain to manage.

any suggestions?

Comments

  • FenghoangFenghoang Member Posts: 160
    edited February 2013
    Well, to be honest, it's not like you have many options.

    Jaheira is a good pick. Some extra druid spells, a solid fighter, and a great tank. Personality-wise, I think she meshes better with a good party though. You can try Cernd, but I always felt he was pretty underwhelming - in both personality and gameplay.

    Outside of Jaheira, Edwin, Cernd, Anomen, Jan, Korgan, and Yoshimo, you only have Haer'Dalis left. He's a decent all-arounder.

    I would probably take my pick between Jaheira, Haer, or Edwin.

    EDIT: I know you said no to good chars, but I loved the banter between Mazzy and Korgan and Jan... XD
  • SplodSplod Member Posts: 114
    Well, I would say Werebears. But they're lawful good...
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,675
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • FelspawnFelspawn Member Posts: 161
    I agree with @Bhaaldog on this, as long as your covering the basic roles, keep that 6th spot for a floater for Quest purposes.
  • IkMarcIkMarc Member Posts: 552
    Anomen is neutral and a hell of a tank.
  • Lord_TansheronLord_Tansheron Member Posts: 4,212
    I recommend looking into Shadowkeeper to change around NPC kits/classes/stats. Pick the NPCs you want to be with, then adjust their roles as you need them. If you want to stay true, just copy over the stats of another NPC (the one whose role you want).
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    I considered Anomen, but.... His opening line is 'Are you a force for good or for evil'. Although I am not playing 'Stupid' evil wherein I openly proclaim my proclivities for twisting the heads off little babies, I am pretty sure (role playing here) that I read his opening line as a declaration for being on the 'Goodie, goodie' side. Korgan didn't like it and neither did Viconia (all in my mind. Yes, I am either that messed up or just that into the role play. I'll wait while you decide which). In any event, since I play on using Valgyr as a corpse key, I don't think that Anomen would agree with that so....

    I considered going with Cernd but have never played with him before. Maybe that is good enough reason to try? I don't necessarily need a powerhouse (although I do intend on picking up Saravok for ToB) so maybe that is the way to go.

    At the moment, I am traveling with Jaheira and she makes a pretty solid tank. I am kind of of the mind that she is more of a goodie, goodie. But maybe that is only a temporary state of affairs.

    Anyway, thanks for the feedback.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    Oh, and the reason I like a 6 person party is it minimizes the inventory tetris.

    Oh, and I HATE Haer'Dalis. Not for any particular reason or anything. I just hate his personality. I find him even more annoying than Xan in BG1.
  • RedWizardRedWizard Member Posts: 242
    Edwin is still a nice choice since you just can't get enough of mages in BG2. Besides that, you're only left with Haer'Dalis. You can change Anomen to chaotic neutral which does offer some rp potential (corrupting party members is ever so fun), but it greatly annoys me that his combat lines don't change, so you are still hearing that goodie goodie wannabe paladin talk when he fights.
    Jaheira doesn't fit at all with an evil party, she's as neutral good as they come.
  • IecerintIecerint Member Posts: 431
    You can turn Anomen to the dark side (well, Chaotic Neutral). He'll fit in fine after that. :]

    I THINK you can do this without romancing him, at least.
  • MadhaxMadhax Member Posts: 1,416
    @Iecerint
    I believe you can. Anomen's alignment change hinges on his personal quest, which triggers regardless of whether or not you're romancing him.

    So, @the_spyder, you can justify taking Anomen if you figure that he's easily manipulated and a strong asset in your party. Which he is. If he fails his trials he's CN, leaning evil, and should work in an evil party.

    That said, if he fails his trials, he's stuck at a pitiful 12 WIS, so he might not be a good enough character to keep around. At least in a good party he gets 16 WIS.

    The point, RP wise, is that Anomen *wants* to be a good person, as opposed to Keldorn who *is* a good person. Anomen has raw power, but is immature and easily corruptible.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    So, the more I think about it, the more Edwin is a reasonable choice. I get that more mage power is useful. But more than that I just love Edwin's quest and the twists and turns it takes.

    As for Anomen, I think (RP) that Korgan would end up slitting his throat in the middle of the night. At the very least he would be a total outcast in the group with all of his 'Goodie, goodie' posturing. But I will give it some consideration.
  • IecerintIecerint Member Posts: 431
    I think Edwin should be basically mandatory even for a GOOD party. :]
  • MadhaxMadhax Member Posts: 1,416
    Korgan might not like Anomen hanging around, but Viconia would probably actually appreciate it. She must be pissed off not having any lowly males to boss around on the surface, but you can easily RP Anomen being her subservient lapdog once he fails his trials.
  • FardragonFardragon Member Posts: 4,511
    If you where to wait for BG2EE, the new thief would be a logical choice.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    @Madhax, um.... Vicky only gets one sub (Charname). And that is final! Definitely NOT looking for a three way with Anomen (or any male for that matter) as the third. LOL.

    @Fardragon, waiting is not an option.
  • MadhaxMadhax Member Posts: 1,416
    TOTALLY not what I meant by "subservient lapdog", but I respect your PC's interests enough not to press the issue.
  • AHFAHF Member Posts: 1,376
    I like the Valen mod if you are considering branching out. I'd recommend equiping normal daggers and running with her -- especially if you find yourself defaulting toward the good choices at times in conversations. She is a F/T.

    Valygar won't complain as much as some of the others you mention either and he is used to having evil people in the family.

    Obviously, you will have more options in BG2:EE.
  • FlashburnFlashburn Member Posts: 1,847
    The only options you have for an evil party without Haer'Dalis, Cernd, Jaheira, or Anomen are Edwin and Sarevok. Even then you won't have the 6-person party.

    Me, I can hardly wait to have Dorn, Sarevok, and Korgan in the same party. Oh man. We are going to dominate the world.
  • ajwzajwz Member Posts: 4,122
    Edwin. Definitely edwin.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    Flashburn said:

    The only options you have for an evil party without Haer'Dalis, Cernd, Jaheira, or Anomen are Edwin and Sarevok. Even then you won't have the 6-person party.

    Me, I can hardly wait to have Dorn, Sarevok, and Korgan in the same party. Oh man. We are going to dominate the world.

    By that point, won't you want more casters than tanks?
  • MillardkillmooreMillardkillmoore Member Posts: 150
    edited February 2013
    I'm confused. Do you want this for BG2 or BG2EE? If the latter, just use Dorn. He'd fit right into your party for both roleplaying and gameplay reasons.
  • AHFAHF Member Posts: 1,376
    Millardkillmoore said:

    I'm confused. Do you want this for BG2 or BG2EE? If the latter, just use Dorn. He'd fit right into your party for both roleplaying and gameplay reasons.

    BG2 - I.e., right now -- not when BG2:EE is released.

  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    LOL. When BG2:EE comes out this topic will be a no-brainer. i will easily be able to pick up another tank or two without having to default to Jahiera. Until then, I am pretty much sunk.

    I am going to look into some of the mods out there to see if there are any additional NPCs to add. I am not looking for a 'Romancable' character as I already have Viccy, but I would like another tank option prior to picking up Saravok.

    At the moment my party is as follows:

    Charname - CN Human Wizard
    Viccy - all in black leather
    Korgan
    Jan Jensen
    Jaheira
    Minsc

    I am still early in the game and haven't gotten to Edwin yet. I also need the extra muscle at the moment where later on I might not need it as much.
  • IecerintIecerint Member Posts: 431
    edited February 2013
    Valen is pretty fun if you don't mind that she's broken, from what I understand.

    EDIT: Actually, given that the devs have said that they want to add an Evil Thief to BG2EE, I have to admit that my wet dream is for it to be an official, complete, balanced version of Valen. She and Solaufein were made by Weimar, after all. :]
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    My perfect vision would involve having the following playable in BG2:

    Xzar and Montaron (separately if possible)
    Shar-Teel
    Tiax
    Dorn

    And at least 2-3 more of varying alignments. I wouldn't care if they didn't have fully realized backgrounds or quests, and I definitely don't care if they are romancable, but I would like more choices.

    It seems to me that they cut back on the number of NPCs in BG2 and then upped the depth of the ones remaining. Which is OK, but I want it all. :P
  • AHFAHF Member Posts: 1,376
    Iecerint said:

    Valen is pretty fun if you don't mind that she's broken, from what I understand.

    EDIT: Actually, given that the devs have said that they want to add an Evil Thief to BG2EE, I have to admit that my wet dream is for it to be an official, complete, balanced version of Valen. She and Solaufein were made by Weimar, after all. :]

    The Valen mod isn't really broken if you use normal weapons instead of her claws. You end up with a gimped F/T in the sun and a buffed F/T in the dark. Either way, the F/T class is very good.

    The Valen mod is non-romance but pretty well done, IMO.
  • FafnirFafnir Member Posts: 232
    As far as thief mods go, my favorite is Amber.
  • AHFAHF Member Posts: 1,376
    Fafnir said:

    As far as thief mods go, my favorite is Amber.

    This is pretty well done. The downside is no TOB content.
  • FafnirFafnir Member Posts: 232
    Yeah, it's a shame.
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