Help with an evil party...

Lil2Wkd

So I've been trying to get an 'evil' party sorted and hit a few speedbumps (but refuse to restart) in that I killed Xzar so I could keep Montaron and still get Edwin... Who then left as I didn't head immediately to kill Dynaheir.
Currently there is:
Charname-Dragon Disciple (damage spells)
Kagain-No issues
Dorn-No issues
Viconia-No issues
Montaron-my thief who I'm likely going to give a Crossbow as soon as he levels up, but currently hacks and slashes with Dorn and Kagain
Xan-I'm currently using him to cast sleep etc, but am contemplating getting rid of him as soon as I can get Quayle so don't want to invest in him too much as his Con sucks...

So any advice? My main issues are Montaron and Xan I think, as they're the two I'm a bit iffy about. I'm not going totally evil, more evilish party members but am not planning on being uber heroic, so I guess Imoen is still an option if she doesn't leave if Rep drops too much?

shawne

Not a problem:

If you need a pure thief to replace Montaron, go find Shar-Teel in Mutamin's Garden. You can dual her without using any Tomes, and her STR is higher than Montaron's so she'll backstab like whoa. Alternately, you can pick up Safana in the Lighthouse area, though like Edwin, she has a minor quest attached.

If your PC is at level 5 or higher, you can find another evil spellcaster (far more formidable than Xan or Quayle) in Larswood: check the southwest area for a broken tower and look around.

Lil2Wkd

It was more for the ranged and unlocking that I was contemplating a thief to be honest, though damn those stats are nice... I did contemplate your other suggestion, but not sure if I'm wanting a similar style caster to what I have in Charname... Stuff for me to think on though, thank you!

booinyoureyes

I wouldn't bother with Xan in this party to be honest. One arcane user is pretty good for early bg1, and if you have quayle at the end thats 1.5. If you want sleep there is a wand in High Hedge with a lot of charges (and you don't have to save them since sleep becomes useless after you start facing baddies above level 4). Really, Xan would not be much of a loss at all and he is probably just sucking up experience from others.

As Shawne said getting Shar-Teel may be a very good idea for your party. The other option is to replace Montaron with Tiax as your thief and cleric instead of getting Quayle later on.

Also, you can use a tome to dual class Safana into a wizard, giving you the thief you need as well as the mage you want. You could teach her sleep early as it is a second level spell if you really want it (I forget where the intelligence tome is though. It may be too far into the game for sleep to be a spell that ever works)

KidCarnival

Intelligence tome is in the city, so it's rather late, but an option. Shar-Teel as thief and using wands and scrolls to cast spells charname doesn't have sounds like the best option. Baeloth isn't a DD though, he's a vanilla sorcerer with Magic Resistance and good gear. He's not as versatile as Edwin and Xzar and I strongly prefer both of them, but if they are gone, Baeloth is a valid alternative. He should have most essential spells. Maybe check out his spellbook to see if he has different spells than charname and then decide if you keep him or go with wands. If nothing else, you can steal his robe for charname. It's flagged as "stolen", but who cares, it's the best robe an evil caster charname can get in BG1 and there is no need to sell it.