A few questions about BGII:EE

AnimusRex

Some of you know me from the myriad of questions I had about multi-classing. Well, I am immensely enjoying my now lvl 11 F/C Multi Dwarf. My party consists of:

Korgan
Dorn
Hexxat
Edwin
Jan

So, I was wondering a few things... since I am all evil, I was wondering if the new addition to Jan in my party will have an impact on him staying with us? He is Chaotic Neutral, and we are all Neutral Evil/Chaotic Evil/Lawful Evil. Currently our reputation is 8 (Disliked).

Also, I was wondering who do you think would make a better addition to my party other than who I already have? I could pick up Viconia since she is evil, but I already have myself as a F/C so that's why I grabbed Jan even though I have a Thief and a Mage I really like Jan's ranged abilities.

Lastly, I was wondering if having 6 people (full group) will prevent me from reaching max experience throughout the game? Currently my levels range from 11/11 (me) to 14 (Hexxat). I wanted to keep my group to 4 or 5, but don't want to sacrifice any opportunity to experience side quests and banter. Plus, I enjoy the challenge of having less party members. (Currently have game set to max difficulty)

So, thanks in advance for the replies I look forward to hearing seasoned BG players opinions.

HandofTyr

I don't think Jan has issues with anyone in particular, but I could be wrong as I don't use him often. That means you only have to worry about getting down to rep 1-2, as neutral NPCs as a general rule, leave then. He should be pretty happy if you float around 8.

A full 6 person party will hit the exp cap, but you have to catch most of the side quests and it won't be until later ToB. Obviously, the fewer party members the earlier you reach it. The game is sort of designed around a full party, so it won't hold you back anyway. Curiously, in certain circumstances a smaller party can make things easier, as faster leveling may give access to key abilities when you wouldn't otherwise have them. In ToB it's pretty much pure harder though.

Power and ability distribution wise you're fine as is with your party, so if you want a little bit faster leveling you could leave it as is. A second cleric in Viconia wouldn't be amiss, but it's also not really required. Mr. ToB is a neat addition, but doesn't really add anything to your set up (maybe dual mage if you like downtime). If you're more concerned with interactions I can't help you that much.

Corvino

I don't think a 6-man party will usually hit the 8 million XP cap, last time I played through the saga I ended up with about 6.6 million XP per party member. However at that point you don't gain a huge amount from each level, so it's not too much of an issue. You do level up a bit quicker with a smaller party, but the difference between 5 and 6 people isn't big.

As for Jan; I like him. He's a good class combination, has some great banters and fits in with any party. He should only leave if your rep hits 1, and realistically you'll have problems keeping it below 10 given the amount of free rep that gets thrown at you through quests.

the_spyder

As far as Jan in your group, you will miss out on the banter between him and Minsc, which is hilarious. But that's no real big deal. As far as it goes, he makes a really solid second caster and if you split abilities among both thieves, you should be able to make the most of both.

Viccy can be really nice to have even with another Cleric in the group, particularly one with significant Magic Resistance. And given that your Charname is dual class, Viccy will probably be higher level and thus better able to handle Vamps and the like. Just a thought.

Ultimately though, you probably want to grab Saravok in ToB, so consider that.

As far as the XP cap, it probably depends on how thorough you are in completing all of the quests. If you do every single one, you should hit the cap (or so I imagine). But then again, at that stage, hitting the cap or not won't make much of a difference. Just my personal opinion but unless it is a goal simply to hit the cap, your abilities won't change dramatically at the end game because/despite hitting it.

AnimusRex

Well so far I've completed everything in Amn in chapters 1, 2, D'arnise hold, and Umar Hills (My favorite quest area! I love the dark ruined temple in the middle of a spooky forest setting.)

I still have to finish Hexxat and Dorn's sidequests, Windspear Hills, Trademeet, and the rest of the remaining chapters and entire ToB expansion. As said with levels ranging from 11 to 14 I'm hoping I'll eventually reach xp cap with 6 (Of course later on as to not make the game too easy since it doesn't seem to scale with your XP)

So, I was thinking of a couple more things maybe you all could answer for me...

Does Jan have any sidequests?

and

I've completed the quest for Edwin finding the nether scroll, becoming Edwina, being hunted by mages, and changing him back to being Edwin. Is there any more to his quests?

Same question for Korgan after finding the book he was looking for.

I was considering keeping some members until I'm finished with their side quests, then dropping them to have a smaller but still well rounded party.

the_spyder

Jan actually has an interesting quest. In fact, one of the more interesting quests, with Jaheira's being the Best of the bunch (IMHO). It's worth doing, definitely.

I don't think that there is more to Edwin's quest, but not 100% sure. Isn't Edwina enough of a quest?

Korgan's quest dies out after finding the book, disapointingly so.

Go after Valygar. Edwin will thank you for it. And you don't need to keep Valygar alive to do that story line so....

You might consider Neera in your group as she would probably fit quite nicely. I don't know what her quest is like, but since you already have Dorn and Hexxat, why not do all of the new content? Just a thought.

KidCarnival

Jan has a nice quest that adds a lot to his character and shows he's more than just comic relief. Highly recommended.
I don't think Edwin has more of a quest than that, same for Korgan. Though Korgan might approach you about another job - this is the Valygar storyline. You get that quest either way, it just makes better immersion and adds a few lines by Korgan in the Government District. It's not "his" quest though, it's Valygar's. Korgan just acts as a pointer in that case.

Generally, I think the party is fine as it is. If you want to see more NPC quests, you can finish Jan's quest, park him in his home for some time off, pick up someone else and get Jan back before moving on to Spellhold.

AnimusRex

I did pick up Valygar just long enough to do the planar sphere. I told him I would help him kill his uncle, for the price of keeping everything I find for myself. Once the deed was done, I no longer had any use for him. Admittedly there wasn't much that challenged me there. I believe I was beyond that content since saving that that quest for the last in Amn.

I'll have to search for Neera. I had a brief encounter with her at the docks but she disappeared.

jackjack

The docks? Shouldn't she be in the bridge district? If you saw her there once, she should be there again when you go a second time.

KidCarnival

If you met her after a conflict with the Red Wizards, where Neera helped a little girl escape them, you should also have seen her between city maps right after that, with a brief conversation. If that happened, look at the map outside the city. She'll be in a wild mage camp.

Skaffen

If you have Hexxat you don't need Jan or vice versa. I'd ditch one of them and take Viconia or Haer instead.