I've often wished I could use the Ring of Wizardry with Bards, it's a big disadvantage, along with not getting armour in BG1 until late-ish, and you need to use Dorn to get it. As a result, usually I find a mage will have a better static AC and be a more useful caster early-mid due to the RoW.
Still, Bards make serviceable archers, and they are made for the Longbow +2 for sure, able to ping away quite well to make up for a meager spell selection. Garrick kind needs some help, but a bit less than Eldoth I suppose when it comes to being a good archer. I wish he had 18 dex, and could use the GoWE for dart fun, but high accuracy archery is handy in many places, and if you don't have anyone else that can be a dedicated user of the Longbow +2 and Gauntlets of Dex, Garrick is actually a reasonable choice.
If you wanted to cheese out a bit, editing Garrick's dex to 18 is a really nice buff. Have him use Darts and a Longbow then, and maybe even a GoWE for some pretty solid support.
Garrick is actually pretty solid as a support character already. He doesn't do anything very well in combat, but with high lore for identifying items, bard song, the ability to use wands, spells, the light crossbow of speed and bolts of lightning he is a useful party member.
EDIT: Or I could have actually read through the thread and seen five other people say the same thing. Sorry.
Garrick is actually pretty solid as a support character already. He doesn't do anything very well in combat, but with high lore for identifying items, bard song, the ability to use wands, spells, the light crossbow of speed and bolts of lightning he is a useful party member.
EDIT: Or I could have actually read through the thread and seen five other people say the same thing. Sorry.
MEH! Same here.
Gonna blabber for a bit, but I love Garrick, cross bows, and clubs. If I ain't packin' a Druid or in the mood to have a Cleric with a club, Garrick gets the best clubs. And he just gets the best cross bows, period. If Baldur's Gate were a Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition game, dude would get the "Crossbow Expert" feat.
It's a very short list, the companions in BG1 who can use both arcane magic and bows.
Arcane Magic and Bows are both very powerful in BG1, and even though Garrick can't use either to their full potential, it's still a great combination. Most of the Power of a Mage, but when you're not casting you can peg them with that crossbow. Or any other weapon if you choose to drop a point in it. He can use almost any weapon a fighter can.
I often want to use Garrick and as he is picked up so early in the game he often features in my group only to be replaced shortly after. If he were good alignment I would likely use him more (which makes little sense but I like to go full good if possible)
Considering that the only alignment-restricted items in BG1 are the archmage robes (which bards can't wear)... it really doesn't matter.
Also, out of curiosity - does Jaheira fit as "full good"? She certainly acts like a good-aligned character, but she's officially neutral because she's a druid.
At one point I built a party with ultimate ranged firepower - melee fighter/cleric protagonist, Ajantis as secondary melee tank, Coran with the +2 longbow, Kivan with the +1 composite longbow, Imoen with the +2 shortbow, and Garrick with the light crossbow of speed. Garrick comes out a little weak on THAC0 since the good bolts don't have bonuses to hit, but that party was absolute masters of the web+shoot tactic.
Actually, that's one of the key advantages of going full good - they're better with bows. There are two excellent longbows in BG1, and almost all of the companions that start with longbown proficiency are good. The one exception is Eldoth - the other bard.
It isn’t about the items or abilities. it is that I tend to be drawn to the “good” characters as they are likely favour “good” quest outcomes and moral choices, and so feel more enjoyable and less likely to leave. If I were a do-gooder on the run from hitmen who would I want to travel with and trust to have my back?
That’s an interesting point about Jaheira. She is TN but acts NG I think. In TOB she quits the party in circumstances where you attack innocents and where most “good” characters won’t. When I first played BG back in the 90s this did my head in because you follow the path she wants, in taking on the Iron Throne, she then moans when my rep went 18+. She is a Harper! Her implementation didn’t make sense in my view. I still tend to avoid her for this reason or use the mod that makes her NG.
Not sure this counts, but in my current run I brought Tenya (the pre-teen priestess of Umberlee) along and she accidentally killed him with salt water spray. Does salt count as a spice?
The description of the Tales Of A Troubador mod says it relies upon BG1 NPC so you don't have any choice about pairing it with NPC project.
Not sure why you'd want to make Garrick better. He's borderline over powered already.
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Still, Bards make serviceable archers, and they are made for the Longbow +2 for sure, able to ping away quite well to make up for a meager spell selection. Garrick kind needs some help, but a bit less than Eldoth I suppose when it comes to being a good archer. I wish he had 18 dex, and could use the GoWE for dart fun, but high accuracy archery is handy in many places, and if you don't have anyone else that can be a dedicated user of the Longbow +2 and Gauntlets of Dex, Garrick is actually a reasonable choice.
If you wanted to cheese out a bit, editing Garrick's dex to 18 is a really nice buff. Have him use Darts and a Longbow then, and maybe even a GoWE for some pretty solid support.
EDIT: Or I could have actually read through the thread and seen five other people say the same thing. Sorry.
MEH! Same here.
Gonna blabber for a bit, but I love Garrick, cross bows, and clubs. If I ain't packin' a Druid or in the mood to have a Cleric with a club, Garrick gets the best clubs. And he just gets the best cross bows, period. If Baldur's Gate were a Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition game, dude would get the "Crossbow Expert" feat.
Arcane Magic and Bows are both very powerful in BG1, and even though Garrick can't use either to their full potential, it's still a great combination. Most of the Power of a Mage, but when you're not casting you can peg them with that crossbow. Or any other weapon if you choose to drop a point in it. He can use almost any weapon a fighter can.
Also, out of curiosity - does Jaheira fit as "full good"? She certainly acts like a good-aligned character, but she's officially neutral because she's a druid.
At one point I built a party with ultimate ranged firepower - melee fighter/cleric protagonist, Ajantis as secondary melee tank, Coran with the +2 longbow, Kivan with the +1 composite longbow, Imoen with the +2 shortbow, and Garrick with the light crossbow of speed. Garrick comes out a little weak on THAC0 since the good bolts don't have bonuses to hit, but that party was absolute masters of the web+shoot tactic.
Actually, that's one of the key advantages of going full good - they're better with bows. There are two excellent longbows in BG1, and almost all of the companions that start with longbown proficiency are good. The one exception is Eldoth - the other bard.
That’s an interesting point about Jaheira. She is TN but acts NG I think. In TOB she quits the party in circumstances where you attack innocents and where most “good” characters won’t. When I first played BG back in the 90s this did my head in because you follow the path she wants, in taking on the Iron Throne, she then moans when my rep went 18+. She is a Harper! Her implementation didn’t make sense in my view. I still tend to avoid her for this reason or use the mod that makes her NG.
https://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/npcs/garrick/
Not sure why you'd want to make Garrick better. He's borderline over powered already.