Help me complete my party

Fregasega

Hi, yeah...another thread about party composition (but it's only my first one...)

I've just imported my Avenger druid to SoA and i'm planning to play it through ToB too. I've just escaped from Irenicus dungeon and my first goal now is to complete party as fast as i can.

There are 3 NPC i absolutely want:
- Aerie -> for romance and will be healer/buffer
- Imoen -> family reasons. Main caster.
- Mazzy -> Just because I love her! Archer & secondary fighter

I need to fill last 2 spots. Keldorn is a god with Carsomyr, Minsc is really fun, but I hate his weapon prof. I'd like someone who can dual wield, so Valygar can be good for this role. I've never used Haer'Dalis so far and he is intriguing.

1
Avenger
Keldorn
Valygar
Mazzy
Aerie
Imoen
2
Avenger
Keldorn
Minsc
Mazzy
Aerie
Imoen
3
Avenger
Keldorn
Mazzy
Haer'Dalis
Aerie
Imoen
4
Avenger
Minsc/Valygar
Mazzy
Haer'Dalis
Aerie
Imoen
5
Avenger
Minsc
Mazzy
Valygar
Aerie
Imoen

In your opinion which of the five options is better?

JuliusBorisov

Haer'Dalis, being a bard (thus fast level progression), can be very good at dispelling illusion - he can even substitute Keldorn's (as an Inquisitor) wonderful skills. He's a cool character, can be very powerful and useful.

But: be cautious with Haer'Dalis and romancing Aerie. Without giving many spoilers I should say these things are not compatible: charname romancing Aerie and Haer'Dalis in your party.

So, I would vote for the variant #1.

Avenger
Keldorn
Valygar
Mazzy
Aerie
Imoen

Valygar for backstabbing fun.

sarevok57

i say #4, if you want a dual weilder, go with minsc, he can do it better than valagar, give minsc the gauntlets of dexterity, and he can wear full platemail, no such luck with valy, plus he already has proficiencies in axes and dual welding, and it just so happens there are 2 +3 axes in SoA and they can both be found relatively early, oh and if you are going to use mazzy for melee combat ( which i do everytime) get away from that short sword and start piling up another melee weapon, i found that a lot of bosses are immune to piercing damage and that is what short swords do, plus she has 18 dex which is great for AC in melee, and just give her the belt of hill giant str and she will do some great damage ( or just use her str special ability, whichever you prefer)

Viconia9

sarevok57 said:

i say #4, if you want a dual weilder, go with minsc, he can do it better than valagar, give minsc the gauntlets of dexterity, and he can wear full platemail, no such luck with valy, plus he already has proficiencies in axes and dual welding.

I agree. If you have Minsc wield the Equalizer, your party is pretty much unstoppable!
I vote # 2. I would go for #4 except for the Haer'Dalis/Aerie romance issue (which is very sweet) Still, I vote party composition # 2.

elminster

Go with Valygar.

DreadKhan

Valleygir- erm, Valygar is a good choice, and an excellent dual wielder. His stealth lets him get into position, while backstab and dual wielding make him an excellent troubleshooter. He's a solid longbowmen too iirc, great dex. He only needs an str boosting item, of which there are many to have excellent stats.

But his personality needs a boost sometimes.

OzzyBotkins

I did a play through with this line up
Aerie
Jaheira
Minsc
Haer Dalis
Nalia to get fighter stronghold
CHARNAME Male Elf Fighter / Thief
It was interesting

Elendar

Just choose whichever NPC you like or haven't experience before and EEKeeper it to edit their class and abilities to what you want in your party. :P Reminds me of the only time I ever bothered with Rasaad (in BG1) Horrible as a monk at low level, but he made a pretty good cleric. :P