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Can a Paladin (PC) do well as the party's only healer?

StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
edited October 2013 in Archive (General Discussion)
My character is a Cavalier with excellent stats (18/99, 18, 18, 12, 13, 18). I have no plans to dual-class Imoen. I am going with Minsc as my party's other frontline warrior, Dynaheir as my main damage caster, and either Kivan or Coran as ranged. That leaves one slot.

I would love to take Xan as he and Dynaheir seem to compliment each other well. But doing so would leave my Pally with the sole duty of healer. Would a party of Cavalier, Minsc, Imoen, Kivan/Coran, Dynaheir, and Xan work well, or should I ditch either Dynaheir or Xan for Branwen (or someone else entirely)?

Comments

  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    edited October 2013
    Paladins unfortunately only get cleric spells at level 9, above the BG:EE XP cap. While Lay on hands and the 2 cure light wounds spells the protagonist gains as special abilities are nice they're not a full replacement for a cleric. You can survive without one and use healing potions to make up the difference, I guess. With the remove fears and protection from evils that a Cavalier gets you do have a couple of very useful cleric buffs.

    A cleric or druid would be useful to round out the party. Healing is a part of it, but you also gain a number of buffs. Branwen's a solid choice for a good/neutral party, as is Yeslick. Both are capable clerics and decent melee characters with a bit of gear.

    If you're prepared to wait a while and want some arcane casting in addition to cleric spells then consider Quayle, who can be found just outside Baldur's Gate. He gets the highest total number of spells in the game from his multiclassed Cleric/Illusionist combo. He's a very underrated NPC as he fills both the cleric and mage niches.

    TL;DR version: You don't *need* a cleric, but if you don't get one you'll end up spending a lot on healing potions and temple healing.
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited October 2013
    Healers aren't all that crucial. You are best using potions to heal in battle and outside of battle a paladins Lay on Hands (along with a few other things you will get along the way) should be enough to provide enough healing provided you are willing to rest more often. You'll have to rely on Dynaheir's slow poison ability and any antidotes you have for any anti-poison measures however.
  • SlytherzSlytherz Member Posts: 45
    I currently have in my group, Cavalier (CHARNAME), Imoen, Kiven, Neera, Branwen and Rassad. I rarely use any spells from Branwen period, as I am currently scouting the non essential zones and most creeps are easily dispensable without the use of cleric buffs/debuffs. However, morei nline with your question, I have 2 cure light wounds with her and that is it. I barely ever use those, I am in line with Elminster. I prefer to use potions as it frees up casting slots and gives me more opportunity for diverse play with a druid/cleric, at least imo. I am considering Quayle over Branwen based on his multiclass persona. However, doing that would leave me with Cavalier and Rassad as only front liners and imo Monk is more of a support fighter, he can take damage quite often in comparision to other fighters.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited October 2013
    Hmm...Then maybe I should go with Minsc, Dynaheir, Imoen, Xan, and Branwen. That gives me two frontline warriors, two mages (one buff one damage), an all encompassing specialist thief, and healer that can wield a mace and engage on the frontline when needed.

    If I decided against Xan and Branwen for Kivan/Coran and Quayle, would Quayle do okay with such a low Wisdom for a Cleric?
  • AstroBryGuyAstroBryGuy Member Posts: 3,437
    edited October 2013
    Stormvessel said:

    Hmm...Then maybe I should go with Minsc, Dynaheir, Imoen, Xan, and Branwen. That gives me two frontline warriors, two mages (one buff one damage), an all encompassing specialist thief, and healer that can wield a mace and engage on the frontline when needed.

    If I decided against Xan and Branwen for Kivan/Coran and Quayle, would Quayle do okay with such a low Wisdom for a Cleric?

    Yes, he'll be fine. BG doesn't implement the "Chance of Spell Failure" for low Wisdom from PnP 2E (unless this is coming in the patch). Quayle will miss out on bonus spells for high Wisdom. So, compared to Branwen (16 Wis), Quayle will have two less 1st and 2nd level spells per day.
  • KidCarnivalKidCarnival Member Posts: 3,747
    With Dynaheir and Xan, you already have a lot arcane magic going around. I'd probably take Branwen for now and later switch to Yeslick (cleric/fighter). He'll cover the healing and buffs and add another good frontliner and shorty saves never hurt any party.
  • atcDaveatcDave Member Posts: 2,154
    It's probably doable with only the paladin. But I think it would be tedious.
    I would definitely want Branwin or Yeslik.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited October 2013
    Thanks a ton for all the feedback.

    Anyway, I have my plan. Will the following suffice?

    Front

    Cavalier (PC) - (tank/Healing)
    Minsc (damage)
    Yeslick w/ dexterity gauntlets (tank/Healing)

    Back

    Imoen w/ Shortbow specialization (dedicated Thief/ranged damage)
    Dynaheir (spellcasting damage)
    Xan (spellcasting support)
  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    edited October 2013
    Paladins do get a good number of low level spells once they reach mid-high BG2 levels, and can end up with so many Blesses, Cure Light and Moderate Wounds, Chants, Draw upon Holy Mights and even things like Negative Plane Protection that they could replace a cleric in some respects. Having a Paladin to cast cleric-type spells certainly makes it easier to use a druid as your main divine caster.

    I've played a Cavalier through the saga a couple of times, and it seems that by TOB Minsc and CHARNAME can do a lot of healing and buffing between them. But by then a cleric gets hold of Heal (heals all HP, removes quite a few status ailments too) or Greater Restoration (AoE heals all party members to full, cures level drain).
    Post edited by Corvino on
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    Stormvessel said:

    Thanks a ton for all the feedback.

    Anyway, I have my plan. Will the following suffice?

    Front

    Cavalier (PC) - (tank/Healing)
    Minsc (damage)
    Yeslick w/ dexterity gauntlets (tank/Healing)

    Back

    Imoen w/ Shortbow specialization (dedicated Thief/ranged damage)
    Dynaheir (spellcasting damage)
    Xan (spellcasting support)

    Should be good.
  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    That party is rock solid.
  • enqenqenqenq Member Posts: 499
    Healers aren't mandatory, but if you have no heals at all your rest times can become hilariously long. ^^
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    I'm with the camp which thinks healers aren't necessary.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    Corvino said:

    That party is rock solid.

    Awesome.

    They shall be the fellowship of the noob.

  • luskanluskan Member Posts: 269
    You want clerics to prevent damage more than cure it. Spells like Command, Hold Person, Silence and Animate Dead are some of the best disabling abilities in the game.

    You don't even have to memorize cure light wounds. Just click Rest Until Healed in the options screen and the cpu will use those spells for you automatically when you sleep. No need to keep changing your memorized spells. Keep some potions on hand for oh crap moments and you'll be fine.
  • zur312zur312 Member Posts: 1,366
    dual xan to cleric

    problem solved gg

    joke ; d

    i think if you mean by "cleric" a guy who stacks on heals than paladin in bg1 is not that great but for playing baldur's gate clerics are not necessary. You can visit towns more often and sleep that is about it
  • SlytherzSlytherz Member Posts: 45
    Stormvessel said:

    Thanks a ton for all the feedback.

    Anyway, I have my plan. Will the following suffice?

    Front

    Cavalier (PC) - (tank/Healing)
    Minsc (damage)
    Yeslick w/ dexterity gauntlets (tank/Healing)

    Back

    Imoen w/ Shortbow specialization (dedicated Thief/ranged damage)
    Dynaheir (spellcasting damage)
    Xan (spellcasting support)

    I did the same with Imoen... When she levels up and gets that other skill point... I (recommend as well) put it in crossbows, since it now incorporates both small and large... Then venture over to Thunder Hammer Smithy (The guy that crafts Ankheg armor) in Bereghost and purchase that small Scyther for her.. Just be sure to keep many, many bolts on hand as she 'bolts' through them. Haha
  • Urd1enUrd1en Member Posts: 84
    edited October 2013
    Talking about BG:EE. there is enough healing potions to disregard memorizing of healing spells at all.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    Sounds like a plan - thanks.

    Does anyone know why I can't identify arrows? I have magic arrows and can't identify them. Would it have anything to do with the fact that they are mixed (I added un'id magic arrows to a stack of un'id magic arrows)?
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    Not all merchants can identify all types of items.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    I figured that out - had to go to the temple. Thanks.
  • KidCarnivalKidCarnival Member Posts: 3,747
    edited October 2013
    You identify stuff based on your lore. Usually that's what bards do, but characters with high wisdom and intelligence (i.e. Xzar) will start to identify minor magical items at some point relatively reliably, too. (Minor = regular +1 stuff)
    Let Xan or Dynaheir learn Identify or just collect some scrolls to identify things. Saves you the gold to have shops or temples identify things for you. Otherwise, the merchants on the Nashkel Carnival charge less than other stores to identify.

    You can't stack magical and non-magical arrows, even if they are identified. (Also can't make "mixed stacks" of Arrow of Fire and Arrow +1, for example.) They'll still have the effect if they aren't identified, so if you know what arrows they are, you can just use them. Same for all other unidentified things. Just be careful with things you don't recognize, cursed items will also be blue/unidentified. The only thing you can't use without identifying is magic, both scrolls and wands.
  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    Imoen actually gets pretty good lore due to thieves getting +3 per level, rapid level advancement and her bonus from intelligence.

    With Xan and Dynaheir you will likely end up with more level 1 mage spell slots than you need, and a couple of identify spells go a long way.
  • SwordsNotWordsSwordsNotWords Member Posts: 147
    I'd say no but I hoard potions way too much so maybe it would be possible for someone who doesn't
  • nanonano Member Posts: 1,632
    You don't need a healer if you don't take damage :)
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