question re: reputation in BG city end of chapter 5 for mixed alignment party (major spoilers)

Lemernis

I have a mixed alignment party finishing up chapter 5. Rep is now 16. I can only afford to increase rep by one more point lest I lose Shar-Teel and Xzar.

I'm about to complete Scar's sewer crawl quest (no rep increase per Dudleyville), and then it's on the the Iron Throne, and Eltan will disptach the party to Candlekeep (again no rep increase, per Dudleyville).

Best I can tell, the next rep altering situation is the return to BG city with rep lowered. So it seems I won't risk losing my evil NPCs if I proceed with the plot without doing anything further to lower rep. Is this an accurate assessment?

On a side note, I noticed that Phandalyn, the paladin who goes hostile at any evil character at an inn in Baldur's Gate SW, was no longer there after completing the Seven Suns/Merchant's League quest. I guess if I needed to I could CLUA him. But that encounter drops rep from where the party is now to 9, and then the rep loss from the return to Candlekeep would place rep a little lower than I would like anyway. In any event, does Phandalyn only appear for a certain amount of time?

KidCarnival

I usually had him appear fairly early, but I'm not even sure I met him in my mixed run at all. Can't you do something else to take a smaller rep hit, like getting caught stealing and outrun the guards?

Lemernis

Yeah, that's a pretty good solution. I could have Safana get caught burgling.

Actually, at this point I have something like 86,000 gp and I'll probably make only one more trip to Sorcerous Sundries before the game ends. (ToSC already completed.) I could CLUA Phandalyn and take the rep hit from that encounter, then buy back some rep points at a temple.

As to why Phandalyn is not there, I don't know why the game would have a script to remove him for a point in the game when you actually need a rep decrease the most. (I.e., when playing a mixed alignment party and rep is nearing the 18 mark.)

KidCarnival

You need rep decreases all the time and they lack all the time, in relation to rep increases.

Gallowglass

You don't necessarily lose any rep during Ch. 6, so far as I recall. (Unless you do any of the usual rep-penalty things like killing guards, of course.)

On the other hand, I think you can afford to gain 2 rep without Xzar and Shar-Teel walking out. It's only when you go over 18 that Evil characters leave.

So yes, so far as I can see, you can just proceed with the plot without problems.

In general, for losing 1 rep point at a time rather than taking a big hit, I find the best solution is to get caught burgling, wait (although near the exit) for the Fist to arrive, insult the Fist for -1 rep when they speak to you, then run out instead of fighting them. Occasionally the Fist will follow you through the doorway (in which case you have to run from that map and not return until after a sleep), but usually they don't follow (in which case you merely have to stay out of that particular building until after a sleep).

Tip regarding Phandalyn: he only reacts to Evil he can see. If your party is mixed-alignment, you can send a Good or Neutral character into the inn alone, leaving the Evil guys outside. Phandalyn will accost the one who enters, see no Evil, and depart satisfied. Once he's gone, he doesn't come back, so your Evil members can then come and go without harassment.