@MacHurto As tempting as that is, you wouldn't believe the amount of effort put into getting all their classes to work with their weapons and each other.
@Rewolf You sir, obviously did not pay good enough attention to their proficiencies. Their starting proficiencies are all identical to the weapons they wielded in the series. Even if it nerfs their abilities. (like the ranger using a single dagger)
Also, I actually once played about an hour or two of a game (restartitis caused me to quit) where Imoen was the true Bhaalspawn. I copied her proficiencies and attributes EXACTLY. Not her thief skills, because it's not as easy to find those, and it doesn't much matter. It was a really interesting idea, I think. Though it would cause a little confusion in BG2. ;p
@bengoshi That sounds like a really cool idea! I've played with Neera a bit in the past, but her attitude turned me off of her, and I find I like smashy or stealthy characters more than casters when it comes to my CHARNAME.
@CrevsDaak The all clerics run sounds really interesting! I like most of the clerics in the series, so a party full of them would be amusing. Sounds like a very well defended party that kills things really slowly. XD
@Elrandir yes, and probably very difficult since I am not very good with Clerics as I never had a cleric PC and I never used them much in BG1, roght now I am playing a BG:EE Priest of Lathander solo (I'll dual to mage in BG2:EE probably), and it's very easy until now (I have 110k XP now and have not even killed Tranzig).
I find clerics are pretty powerful, since they're more tanky casters than mages, but I must admit I've never done much with one unless he was a ranger\cleric multi. I just love those extra druid spells and fighting power.
I find clerics are pretty powerful, since they're more tanky casters than mages, but I must admit I've never done much with one unless he was a ranger\cleric multi. I just love that extra spell and fighting power.
Yes, they ARE powerful, but... All the spells I use are Hold Person, Raise Undead (no RP for a Priest of Lathander XDDD), Holy Might, Draw Upon Holy Might, Defensive Harmony, and some random stuff sometimes, I'll dual class when I get at least three level 5 spellslots.
@Blackraven It was quite interesting. I was going to take the canon party, but I had an extra choice of party member as well. =p It was going to be Branwen, Yeslick, or Ajantis, I think. The sidekick idea sounds like a great deal of fun.
I'm not sure if this has been done before, but lately I've been toying with the following idea:
Challenge: Watcher's Keep straight out of the dungeon with maximum difficulty Details: The goal would be to start and complete Watcher's Keep as your first mission in Chapter 2 with as few reloads as possible. In other words, you could only use resources found in Irenicus' Dungeon, Waukeen's Promenade and the Keep itself. Your selection of NPCs would be limited to Jaheira, Minsc, Yoshimo and Aerie, though you would be under no obligation to use all of them. Difficulty: Insanity with SCS installed, though you would be allowed to lower it when rolling for hitpoints/scribing scrolls. Permitted strategies: Apart from the most blatant cheese, cheating and exploits (fake-talk, steal-sell-steal etc), you would be allowed to use everything in your power to reach Demogorgon. Potions, wands, traps, cowardly hit-and-run tactics - anything goes in this grand fight for survival. Character creation: you would be permitted to roll any PC with any stats. Importing characters or modifying them in EEKeeper would naturally be out of the question.
Yamyra Challenges: Mild: Standard party, Minimal Reload (only on CHARNAME death), No SCS Class: Shadowdancer Race: Halfling Stats: Amateur Adventurer (75-79) Biography:
Yamyra was born to be in the shadows. From a young age she was shy and timid, preferring to be in the shadows and avoiding others. She even avoided Gorion, for though she cared for her foster father, she hated his teachings and admonishments. Poor Yamyra was a little slower than others mentally, and hated learning, because she always felt as though Gorion judged her for her poor performance. She was not stupid by any means, but simply was a little slower. Yamyra’s only true friend in Candlekeep was Imoen. Yamyra connected with Imoen, as they were both orphans, among many other things that were similar. They spent a great deal of time together, and would often race each other around Candlekeep for fun. Yamyra often won these foot races, due to her superior speed and endurance, but due to her shorter legs, Imoen was still a challenging competitor. Around Imoen, Yamyra never felt judged, and was a cheerful and friendly girl. She was cute as well, and often noticed Deder, the only other halfling in town, glancing at her. This only made her more embarrassed and shy, and she avoided him more than anyone else in town. She was not what you would call beautiful, though, but she was curvy and had an attractive face. It was hard to tell what she looked like, however, since she usually wore a loose fitting black and blue hooded shirt, and matching pants. She kept the hood up almost always, and was embarrassed to leave it down for long. As with most halflings, she was sturdily built, and her foot races with Imoen made her even more hardy. For someone so athletic, it makes sense that she would be somewhat stronger than the average person, but she was certainly no warrior. As for her alignment, she’s Chaotic Good, being a good person who would help others in trouble, but her shyness and general simplicity makes her dislikes laws and arbitrary rules.
Big like! You should have a blast playing her. (I also dig your appreciation for races many people would never consider playing (such as half-orcs and halflings.)
I love shorties, halflings especially, and I'm always a big fan of mixed breeds, such as half-elves or half-orcs. I already built her, and while she's tough in a way, she's also pretty weak in a lot of others. After all, I'm running with a 79 point build. (I had an 88, but I wanted her to be really only good at DEX and CON)
To be completely honest, my original inspiration for her came from an OP game mechanic. Shorties get +5 to saving throws at 18+ CON. Shadowdancers also gain a +1 to all saves. (something I was not previously aware of, till I started looking at classes today) Add that together, and you have some insane saves at much earlier levels. Sure, thieves aren't as good at saves overall, but a +6 to all saves is still incredibly useful.
Very good, makes a thief more than competitve with other classes. The halfling's shorty save bonuses do not apply to all saves though, only Death, Wands and Spells (so no Breath nor Polymorph). But those are the most important saves anyway (just watch out for breath weapons: ghasts, dragons etc.)
Edit: as to preferences, I've come to appreciate half-orcs thanks to Grynne, never play half-elves or humans. Of the tall races I prefer elves, ofthe shorties halflings and gnomes.
@Blackraven Yeah, I noticed that when checking out her saves. I hadn't realized it before, and only completely learned it when you said so, but I noticed something was off. The class +1 is universal, though, so that's nice.
As for preferences, I don't like humans because they're humans. So boring. Half-elves interest me because they're slightly more interesting than humans, and slightly less obnoxiously awesome than elves. And they're the better bard, so since I love bards, it makes sense that I'd like them. (I want a halfling bard... A jester or unkitted would be perfect for the race) Elves are, as I said before, obnoxiously awesome. They're cool and work well with their traditional classes, and are cool when used as an uncommon class, (I've got an idea for an elven barbarian) but in general they're too perfect. Dwarves are just awesome, and when I was younger they were my favorite fantasy race. I'm not too fond of gnomes, but between awesome ones (such as Jan) and their relative rarity, I've come to like them as well. I've already stated my opinion on h-orcs and halflings.
Elven Barbarian, awesome! It's true that elves are often superior to other races, but I still like them. I've never been too fond of dwarves at least not the stereotype of the greedy, rude roughneck who's incapable of expressing a sentiment. Again the characters that go against the grain are interesting. Pikel Bouldershoulders, Salvatore's barefooted dwarven druid come to mind. I've been thinking of rolling a female dwarf for a next playthrough if I can think of a nice class for her. Or a Kara-Turan dwarf (based on an oriental portrait I found a while back).
Asian dwarf hahahaha Now that sounds amazing. XD I adore the honor bound, gruff, bearded warriors that are the dwarven stereotype, but the greedy and downright jerk level of rude is obnoxious. I prefer my dwarves to be gruff, but not total jerks. I have actually almost beaten the black pits (BG1) with a team of just dwarven adventurers. It was quite interesting, really. (I stopped playing a month or two ago. I simply lost interest.)
Name: Enthar Ebonfist Challenges: Mild: Solo, limitless reload, no SCS Class: Monk Race: Human Stats: Hero (91-95) Biography:
There isn't really a biography for this guy. He's a pretty standard monk with no special background. I've always wanted to do the solo monk thing, and I really wanted to do it now. His reason for going solo would be a journey of self-discovery more than anything. As for his alignment, it's a purely metagamed choice. Lawful Good gets me Rasaad's boots, (yes I will recruit him for them) and I might even consider getting a very nice scimitar as well, with a little help from a certain bard... It's not really a "solo" choice, but I know I could solo him if I wanted to spend frickin' forever on it. I don't know for certain whether or not I'll take the scimitar, but I may. We'll see.
Pre-post edit: I decided I won't take the sword. It's just too out of character for a lawful good character. Still going to take Rasaad's boots, though.
A note on this character: This guy is not going to be role-played. I had a nifty idea for taking the "canon" BG1 team and then leaving them behind after seeing the havoc wreaked by taking others with him in BG2, but I just don't feel like trying to build a background for the character.
Goar'San Daishin is as powerful a half-orc warrior as there ever lived, but what he has gained through his life that has made him even stronger than others of his kind is a code of honor. When he was but five years old, a retired master swordsman from Kara-Tur traveled to Candlekeep to study. He was forced to display his skill to stop a criminal who had infiltrated the keep. After witnessing this man's talents, Goar'San from that moment on idealized him, and begged Gorion to speak with the man and make him train Goar'San. At this point Gorion had not actually named Goar'San, and merely called him by the name "little one". Eventually Gorion was worn down, and he asked the man to train his young ward. The man at first was disgusted by the thought of training such a brute of a child to become an honorable warrior, but when a young Goar'San personally begged the man, he finally relented. Even at Goar'San's young age, the man could see his latent potential. They began training, and the man eventually, with Gorion's permission, named the child. Over time Goar'San grew tall and strong, and while he greatly overpowered all the others in the keep, what was truly spectacular was his finesse. His ten years of training had not been wasted, and he was as talented as any young swordsman of Kara-Tur. His body was like forged steel, and his skill was noticeable. He danced around the sparring ground, swords clashing against his master's, neither one ever managing to touch the other. Over the next five years, however, his master's body degraded with age, and he became sickly during Goar'San's nineteenth year. Although Gorion and the monks of the keep did all they could, Goar'San's master succumbed to his illness, but not before gifting Goar'San his favorite katana, and telling him to uphold his code of honor always, and never give in to evil. Goar'San was a quiet man, but a strong leader, able to lead fighters as well as he fought. He chooses to fight alone, however, for no particular reason other than that he prefers solitude.
Abilities: Goar'San is as mighty as half-orcs can be physically. He dominates the battlefield with might, endurance, and agility. He is also above average in intelligence, and his quiet demeanor belies a strong mind and great wisdom for his age. He is not majorly charismatic, but he would make an excellent leader, being both accustomed to combat and knowledgable of strategy. He fights solely with the katana and wakizashi, using both at the same time. His ideal starting abilities would be: STR: 19 DEX: 18 CON: 19 INT: 12 WIS: 14 CHA: 15 And his starting proficiencies would be: Katana: * Wakizashi (the other parts don't matter): * Dual-Wield: **
Goar'San's alignment would be Lawful Good, as he is very good, and also he has his strict code of honor to uphold. More of an in-between monk LG and paladin LG kind of thing. Very proper and "down with evil!" but not so "stick up the butt" as a pally.
Inspired by @uberduberdad's "The Unpopulars" thread I'm kind of enthused now by the idea of playing a human CN Fighter 3/Transmuter (kit assigned via EE Keeper) who fills more than half of his spell slots with Alteration school spells:
Burning Hands Color Spray Shocking Grasp Knock Strength Haste Melf's Minute Meteors Slow Fireshield Otiluke's Resilient Sphere Polymorph Other Polymorph Self Stoneskin Teleport Field Wizard Eye Lower Resistance
So this fellow will early on be using a lot of close range spells. I'll have him use those spells primarily. So he'll also use Vampiric Touch and Ghoul Touch.
He will be hulking in size with great Fighter stats. I'm considering having him wield a halberd. Another thought is to have him dual-wield Stupefier and the Dagger of Venom.
He is CN and uses a cat familiar to scout ahead.
I want to assemble an offbeat party for him consisting of around three NPCs that I rarely use, and a group that offers a unique tactical challenge. I think I want Rasaad in there. I'm not quite sure who else to add yet... I think Tiax will be another since he has valuable priest and thieving skills and his Summon Ghast special ability should complement the PC's use of Polymorph Self nicely. I'm currently using Eldoth and Faldorn in another game, so that will feel like overusing them... i.e., I want a departure of some sort...
So I have one more slot to fill... I think that will be whoever will make this an interesting challenge tactically, regardless of whether I've used the character recently. Any suggestions?
I haven't used Kagain in a long time. If I do use him I'm considering doing something different with his profs via EE Keeper. Suggestions for that are welcome.
Soooo... with such a four person party who would you add for the fourth slot? I'm feeling finicky so I'll just look to what other folks' tastes are for inspiration.
By the way, I don't have SCS installed, although I'm strongly considering it. It will just be a bit of a pain to uninstall SCS when I resume my Let the Fates Decide game in about a month. Also, this is not no- or minimal-reload. I'll reload and metagame to my heart's content.
To recap, for the planned four person party I have:
Fighter 3/Transmuter who uses close range spells, and in general casts mostly from the Alteration school Rasaad Tiax
and for the fourth slot I'd like a departure of some sort, but which also sort of works toward making the game both tactically challenging but also fun (versus just PITA challenging). A bard feels about just right, but I'm currently running both Garrick and Eldoth in two different games.
I haven't changed Imoen to a vanilla Bard in a long time, though, so I might see if I can do that with EE Keeper. (In the past I've used the Level 1 NPCS mod to do that in BGT games--not sure if that mod has been converted to EE, though.) Maybe Immy as Blade?
I could definitely use a warrior type, so as mentioned Kagain is a candidate (I would definitely change his weapons profs just to add something new, though). Dorn I'm not keen on for this run, although I have only used him once thus far. Like Kagain I'm concerned he might make things a little too easy--at least for a vanilla game.
I haven't used Branwen in a long time, and I could certainly use a priest until I get Tiax. I'm not sure why, but I'm just not feeling her for this run for some reason. Maybe I could try using EE Keeper to do something novel with her... I have dualed her to Thief in the past, but I already have a Cleric/Thief in Tiax. I don't really want two of those.
I do need a Thief until chapter 5. And I rarely use Safana. Come to think of it, assuming that I can assign the Swashbuckler kit to Safana via EE Keeper I might give that a go...
Fighter 3/Transmuter Rasaad Tiax Safana as Swashbuckler
--or any non-powergame four person party, really--is SCS going to make such a run just PITA difficult or truly a fun challenge? It's literally been about four years since I used SCS. I recall the smarter AI in a very general way, but honestly don't remember a lot of the specific spell routines that enemy spellcasters use. I remember that mages use Sleep and will Stoneskin, and in general will use a lot of spells that experienced and skilled players might memorize.
If I do install SCS I'm not sure if I'll use the component to make Tiax available right away... I probably will... But I sort of wanted to be forced to use the cat familiar as a scout, and develop a sense of relationship to the familiar. However, after a little more reflection I realized that I really do want thieving skills as well... and if I add Tiax and Safana I'll then have two stealthy types. So the forced need to use the cat isn't really there as I had originally wanted...
If I go with adding Branwen, I'll have Silence which IIRC is a pretty powerful spell for SCS...
I mean, if I play this vanilla it will be pretty satisfying, but I would like to up the difficulty AI-wise somewhat with SCS. What do you think the sweet spot would for SCS's component's for a party such as this?
Swashbuckler Safana sounds fine. If you decide to install SCS, that mod has a component which allows you to move NPCs to more convenient locations, making Tiax, Quayle, Alora available much earlier. I think the latter could be an option for you as well, as an underused NPC.
Btw, I went ahead and installed SCS since I need something novel to spice up the game in the few hours that I do find to play here and there. I'll just have to uninstall it a month from now when I resume my journaled playthrough with the Diviner.
Comments
@Rewolf You sir, obviously did not pay good enough attention to their proficiencies.
Also, I actually once played about an hour or two of a game (restartitis caused me to quit) where Imoen was the true Bhaalspawn. I copied her proficiencies and attributes EXACTLY. Not her thief skills, because it's not as easy to find those, and it doesn't much matter. It was a really interesting idea, I think. Though it would cause a little confusion in BG2. ;p
@bengoshi That sounds like a really cool idea! I've played with Neera a bit in the past, but her attitude turned me off of her, and I find I like smashy or stealthy characters more than casters when it comes to my CHARNAME.
@CrevsDaak The all clerics run sounds really interesting! I like most of the clerics in the series, so a party full of them would be amusing. Sounds like a very well defended party that kills things really slowly. XD
For another challenge, how about an all-race party (or only shorties party, elf only party)?
Challenge: Watcher's Keep straight out of the dungeon with maximum difficulty
Details: The goal would be to start and complete Watcher's Keep as your first mission in Chapter 2 with as few reloads as possible. In other words, you could only use resources found in Irenicus' Dungeon, Waukeen's Promenade and the Keep itself. Your selection of NPCs would be limited to Jaheira, Minsc, Yoshimo and Aerie, though you would be under no obligation to use all of them.
Difficulty: Insanity with SCS installed, though you would be allowed to lower it when rolling for hitpoints/scribing scrolls.
Permitted strategies: Apart from the most blatant cheese, cheating and exploits (fake-talk, steal-sell-steal etc), you would be allowed to use everything in your power to reach Demogorgon. Potions, wands, traps, cowardly hit-and-run tactics - anything goes in this grand fight for survival.
Character creation: you would be permitted to roll any PC with any stats. Importing characters or modifying them in EEKeeper would naturally be out of the question.
What do you think?
Yamyra
Challenges: Mild: Standard party, Minimal Reload (only on CHARNAME death), No SCS
Class: Shadowdancer
Race: Halfling
Stats: Amateur Adventurer (75-79)
Biography:
To be completely honest, my original inspiration for her came from an OP game mechanic. Shorties get +5 to saving throws at 18+ CON. Shadowdancers also gain a +1 to all saves. (something I was not previously aware of, till I started looking at classes today) Add that together, and you have some insane saves at much earlier levels. Sure, thieves aren't as good at saves overall, but a +6 to all saves is still incredibly useful.
The halfling's shorty save bonuses do not apply to all saves though, only Death, Wands and Spells (so no Breath nor Polymorph). But those are the most important saves anyway (just watch out for breath weapons: ghasts, dragons etc.)
Edit: as to preferences, I've come to appreciate half-orcs thanks to Grynne, never play half-elves or humans. Of the tall races I prefer elves, ofthe shorties halflings and gnomes.
As for preferences, I don't like humans because they're humans. So boring. Half-elves interest me because they're slightly more interesting than humans, and slightly less obnoxiously awesome than elves. And they're the better bard, so since I love bards, it makes sense that I'd like them. (I want a halfling bard... A jester or unkitted would be perfect for the race) Elves are, as I said before, obnoxiously awesome. They're cool and work well with their traditional classes, and are cool when used as an uncommon class, (I've got an idea for an elven barbarian) but in general they're too perfect. Dwarves are just awesome, and when I was younger they were my favorite fantasy race. I'm not too fond of gnomes, but between awesome ones (such as Jan) and their relative rarity, I've come to like them as well. I've already stated my opinion on h-orcs and halflings.
It would make healing mid-battle actually be a useful tool, which could change a lot of play-styles significantly.
I've never been too fond of dwarves at least not the stereotype of the greedy, rude roughneck who's incapable of expressing a sentiment. Again the characters that go against the grain are interesting. Pikel Bouldershoulders, Salvatore's barefooted dwarven druid come to mind. I've been thinking of rolling a female dwarf for a next playthrough if I can think of a nice class for her. Or a Kara-Turan dwarf (based on an oriental portrait I found a while back).
Challenges: Mild: Solo, limitless reload, no SCS
Class: Monk
Race: Human
Stats: Hero (91-95)
Biography:
Pre-post edit: I decided I won't take the sword. It's just too out of character for a lawful good character. Still going to take Rasaad's boots, though.
A note on this character: This guy is not going to be role-played. I had a nifty idea for taking the "canon" BG1 team and then leaving them behind after seeing the havoc wreaked by taking others with him in BG2, but I just don't feel like trying to build a background for the character.
Appearance:
Challenges: Mild: Solo, role-played equipment, limitless reload, no SCS
Class: Kensai
Race: Half-Orc
Stats: Hero/Demi-God (91-100)
Biography:
Abilities: Goar'San is as mighty as half-orcs can be physically. He dominates the battlefield with might, endurance, and agility. He is also above average in intelligence, and his quiet demeanor belies a strong mind and great wisdom for his age. He is not majorly charismatic, but he would make an excellent leader, being both accustomed to combat and knowledgable of strategy. He fights solely with the katana and wakizashi, using both at the same time.
His ideal starting abilities would be:
STR: 19
DEX: 18
CON: 19
INT: 12
WIS: 14
CHA: 15
And his starting proficiencies would be:
Katana: *
Wakizashi (the other parts don't matter): *
Dual-Wield: **
Goar'San's alignment would be Lawful Good, as he is very good, and also he has his strict code of honor to uphold. More of an in-between monk LG and paladin LG kind of thing. Very proper and "down with evil!" but not so "stick up the butt" as a pally.
Burning Hands
Color Spray
Shocking Grasp
Knock
Strength
Haste
Melf's Minute Meteors
Slow
Fireshield
Otiluke's Resilient Sphere
Polymorph Other
Polymorph Self
Stoneskin
Teleport Field
Wizard Eye
Lower Resistance
So this fellow will early on be using a lot of close range spells. I'll have him use those spells primarily. So he'll also use Vampiric Touch and Ghoul Touch.
He will be hulking in size with great Fighter stats. I'm considering having him wield a halberd. Another thought is to have him dual-wield Stupefier and the Dagger of Venom.
He is CN and uses a cat familiar to scout ahead.
I want to assemble an offbeat party for him consisting of around three NPCs that I rarely use, and a group that offers a unique tactical challenge. I think I want Rasaad in there. I'm not quite sure who else to add yet... I think Tiax will be another since he has valuable priest and thieving skills and his Summon Ghast special ability should complement the PC's use of Polymorph Self nicely. I'm currently using Eldoth and Faldorn in another game, so that will feel like overusing them... i.e., I want a departure of some sort...
So I have one more slot to fill... I think that will be whoever will make this an interesting challenge tactically, regardless of whether I've used the character recently. Any suggestions?
I haven't used Kagain in a long time. If I do use him I'm considering doing something different with his profs via EE Keeper. Suggestions for that are welcome.
By the way, I don't have SCS installed, although I'm strongly considering it. It will just be a bit of a pain to uninstall SCS when I resume my Let the Fates Decide game in about a month. Also, this is not no- or minimal-reload. I'll reload and metagame to my heart's content.
To recap, for the planned four person party I have:
Fighter 3/Transmuter who uses close range spells, and in general casts mostly from the Alteration school
Rasaad
Tiax
and for the fourth slot I'd like a departure of some sort, but which also sort of works toward making the game both tactically challenging but also fun (versus just PITA challenging). A bard feels about just right, but I'm currently running both Garrick and Eldoth in two different games.
I haven't changed Imoen to a vanilla Bard in a long time, though, so I might see if I can do that with EE Keeper. (In the past I've used the Level 1 NPCS mod to do that in BGT games--not sure if that mod has been converted to EE, though.) Maybe Immy as Blade?
I could definitely use a warrior type, so as mentioned Kagain is a candidate (I would definitely change his weapons profs just to add something new, though). Dorn I'm not keen on for this run, although I have only used him once thus far. Like Kagain I'm concerned he might make things a little too easy--at least for a vanilla game.
I haven't used Branwen in a long time, and I could certainly use a priest until I get Tiax. I'm not sure why, but I'm just not feeling her for this run for some reason. Maybe I could try using EE Keeper to do something novel with her... I have dualed her to Thief in the past, but I already have a Cleric/Thief in Tiax. I don't really want two of those.
I do need a Thief until chapter 5. And I rarely use Safana. Come to think of it, assuming that I can assign the Swashbuckler kit to Safana via EE Keeper I might give that a go...
Fighter 3/Transmuter
Rasaad
Tiax
Safana as Swashbuckler
--or any non-powergame four person party, really--is SCS going to make such a run just PITA difficult or truly a fun challenge? It's literally been about four years since I used SCS. I recall the smarter AI in a very general way, but honestly don't remember a lot of the specific spell routines that enemy spellcasters use. I remember that mages use Sleep and will Stoneskin, and in general will use a lot of spells that experienced and skilled players might memorize.
If I do install SCS I'm not sure if I'll use the component to make Tiax available right away... I probably will... But I sort of wanted to be forced to use the cat familiar as a scout, and develop a sense of relationship to the familiar. However, after a little more reflection I realized that I really do want thieving skills as well... and if I add Tiax and Safana I'll then have two stealthy types. So the forced need to use the cat isn't really there as I had originally wanted...
If I go with adding Branwen, I'll have Silence which IIRC is a pretty powerful spell for SCS...
I mean, if I play this vanilla it will be pretty satisfying, but I would like to up the difficulty AI-wise somewhat with SCS. What do you think the sweet spot would for SCS's component's for a party such as this?