Best party for Swashbuckler?

egon

So, I've just started a playthrough of BGEE and I rolled an almost cheesy 91 for attributes. This means that at the end of the game my Swashbuckler will have a STR/DEX/CON/INT of 19, WIS 11 and and a CHA of 12 thanks to the tomes and manuals (if I don't decide to import the tomes of WIS and INT to BG2EE). Almost a bit over-powered but hey, son of a god and all that.

Anyways, I've been wondering what NPC I should bring along on my quest. My usual party consists of CHARNAME (usually Archer or Stalker), Minsc, romanced Jaheira, Viconia, Jan and Edwin. As you can see, that's about as mighty as you can get. Now I've been thinking of playing for fun (and at high levels you can still kill everything in sight) while at the same time neither be over-powered nor nerfed. I still want at least on from each class (warrior, healer, mage, thief).

Would this be a fun and versatile party?
CHARNAME Swashbuckler, might be dual-classed to mage.
Minsc, cuz Boo.
Haer'Dalis, never really used him and want to try him out.
Aerie. I usually hate her but I need a cleric and I'm tired of Viconia, Anomen and Jaheira.
Jan Jansen, just because he kicks ass. Will also help with thieving stuff when I dual class.
Korgan, or Keldorn (or maybe even Jaheira). Never really used either of them (except J-girl) and want to try them out. Korgan will of course get the boot when he starts messing with Aerie and if I don't think they're GREAT I'll dump this slot for Sarevok in ToB.

The only thing I wonder about is if Hexxat is any fun to play with. If so, who should I leave behind? Minsc will be switched out for other NPC so that I can finish their sidequests but he will be with me to the end.

nano

Hmm, this really highlights the need for a cool pirate NPC.

egon

Well, you have Saemon...

Maylander

I see no real issues with that party. Should work out okay. You will lack high level Mage spells though unless you dual to a Mage, and it might be a bit light in terms of healing. Jaheira, Cernd or Anomen in that final slot could be a good idea, as Viconia doesn't really "fit".

Corvino

Swashbuckler/Mage gives you a lot of flexibility for your party. You've got the pure mage and thief covered and just need to fill in tanks and divine casters, who there are plenty of.

You could go for a fairly goody-goody party if you're already thinking Keldorn and Aerie. Minsc fits well as a he'll make Aerie his witch. Mix in Mazzy as another tank. You could use Rasaad for a third frontliner as well, he'll start squishy but get very solid. Jan is great, but as a Swash/Mage PC he's a bit redundant as you cover 90% of what he does.

egon

High level mage spells won't be a problem since I'll remove the XP cap and grind Aerie for a few levels (should take care of the healing as well). My only concern is if taking Hexxat makes me a bit thief-heavy. Is she funnier than say, Keldorn or Korgan?

jackjack

Who's funnier than Korgan?

Thrasymachus

I'm playing a Swashbucker/Mage right now. It's a great dual-class combo.

With a Swash/Mage you won't really need Jan, unless you want the thief HLAs. But if you have Haer'Dalis, you'll get most of those HLAs anyway.

However, if you're romancing Aerie and have Haer'Dalis in your party, expect some romantic conflict! (iirc)

Maylander

Thrasymachus said:

However, if you're romancing Aerie and have Haer'Dalis in your party, expect some romantic conflict! (iirc)

Yep.

Southpaw

I played my Swashbuckler twice in BGEE. Once as a semi-solo only with Dorn and once with Dorn+Viconia+Imoen (dualled to Mage on 5th level). In BG2EE, he is so far running with Dorn, Vicky, Hexxat and Jan. Jan will get replaced for Edvin later. For full party, I'd maybe include Korgan or Sarevok later. If you want more magic, keep Jan.
Yes...my Swashbuckler is Lawful Evil.

pnkwag

First time I beat BGII/ToB I did with a pure swashbuckler and an evil party.

I had CHARNAME, Korgan, Viconia, Edwin, Haer'Dalis, and I mixed up the last spot a lot until I got Sarevok. I basically used that spot to do NPCs quests and finally settled on Yoshimo and then switched to Imoen, who I bumped for Sarevok.

GamingFreak

Swashbuckler can roll with pretty much anyone, so go for whoever, though try to keep the amount of thieves to a minimum; you don't need someone stealing your thunder.

egon

Since I'm playing mostly for fun it's not really important who does what as long as I have a fairly efficient party. I'm more worried that I have to micromanage them all, a swashy and minsc I can just point and shoot to kill with, and jan can stay in the background with a crossbow and some magic missiles.

Can Hexxat take care of herself in a fight or do I need to take keep my eyes on her all the time like Edwin or Aerie?

Eudaemonium

I find Hexxat a bit on the squishy side in close combat on account of her being a pure Thief, but she has high Dex and works well with a bow. She can backstab effectively too with an appropriate weapon, but you won't want to try tanking with her.

Maylander

I generally equip all "squishy" characters with ranged weapons so they stay out of trouble. I prefer ranged weapons with unlimited ammunition. Hexxat is no exception. She can do quite well with Fire Tooth, Tansheron's and similar.

egon

Hmm, I'm no wonderimg if I should drop Hexxat for Neera. Or maybe something like this:
PC-Swashy
Minsc
Haer'Dalis
Jan
Jaheira/Viconia
Neera

That way I would have a very solid divine caster that can also take/deal some punishment and a pure arcande caster. Plus, wild mages seems awesome as hell.

Aaargh! Decisions, decisions, decisions.

koalabob

Just my two cents:

Swashy
Minsc
Haer'Dalis
Jan
Cernd (he's the only healer you didn't say you've tried or disliked...and he's really not as bad as people say)
Kheldorn -->Neera

I'd take Kheldorn and run through his quest line and when it finishes replace him with Neera. This way you get to experience mostly new characters for a roleplaying/enjoyment perspective and still have a solid party. You'd also be able to do the romance with Neera (provided that's something you're looking for). Then when you reach TOB you can swap out Haer'Dalis for Saverok if you're so inclined.

abacus

egon said:

... grind Aerie for a few levels...

At least buy her dinner first...

egon

Nah, I'll just get her drunk at an inn and then rent the royal suite.

booinyoureyes

If you want, you can check out the "Rogue Rebalancing" mod. It is quite kewl, and it makes swashbucklers advance at a fighters thaco, but with far fewer points to distribute per level for thieving skills. However, if you are just interested in the "adventure" skills (open lock, find trap) you should be fine.

To fit in with the whole "Charming Rogue" routine you can go with similarly charmingly flippant, rogue-ish, outlaw-type, never-say-die, laugh in the face of danger characters:
Haer-Dalis
Minsc
Neera
Aerie
Jan Jansen

Its a bit squishy, so I guess you can replace Jan or Haer-dalis with Mazzy or Keldorn or something, but that would detract from the awesome Errol Flynn theme that I always associate with a swashbuckler

CrevsDaak

Southpaw said:

I played my Swashbuckler twice in BGEE. Once as a semi-solo only with Dorn and once with Dorn+Viconia+Imoen (dualled to Mage on 5th level). In BG2EE, he is so far running with Dorn, Vicky, Hexxat and Jan. Jan will get replaced for Edvin later. For full party, I'd maybe include Korgan or Sarevok later. If you want more magic, keep Jan.
Yes...my Swashbuckler is Lawful Evil.

Hey! A tricky mind flyer is doing the same as I, playing with a LE Swashie!!

kryptix

I'd think CN would fit the mold of a swashy better but I'm not sure how to role play one as lawful... They're not the loophole type

mylegbig

booinyoureyes said:

If you want, you can check out the "Rogue Rebalancing" mod. It is quite kewl, and it makes swashbucklers advance at a fighters thaco, but with far fewer points to distribute per level for thieving skills. However, if you are just interested in the "adventure" skills (open lock, find trap) you should be fine.

RR also gets rid of the Swashbuckler's + damage bonuses, so it makes the class weaker overall. I actually don't install the component that makes changes to the existing kits because I don't like the changes to Swashbuckler, Jester song, and Assassin poison.

egon

booinyoureyes said:

To fit in with the whole "Charming Rogue" routine you can go with similarly charmingly flippant, rogue-ish, outlaw-type, never-say-die, laugh in the face of danger characters:
Haer-Dalis
Minsc
Neera
Aerie
Jan Jansen

Its a bit squishy, so I guess you can replace Jan or Haer-dalis with Mazzy or Keldorn or something, but that would detract from the awesome Errol Flynn theme that I always associate with a swashbuckler

Hmm, if I'm using Aerie I probably won't have Neera as well. As you say, a but squishy and all those spell casters will need constant attention. If I use Neera I'll grab Viconia instead of Aerie and if I use Aerie I'll probably take Keldorn (or Korgan for as long as Aerie can stand him).

Right now I'm playing through BGEE and I'm still undecided on whether or not I should replace Neera with Baeloth. Sure, she's cute but Baeloth just cracks me up. His introduction is just fantastic. In BG2EE she's better be impressive otherwise I'm going for the bearded psychopath instead...