Advice for an Evil PC with this party?

Aozgolo108

So this will be my first evil playthrough in the Enhanced Editions, going to go the full way through BG1, then import over. I'm less concerned about the make-up of my BG1 party, but my BG2 party will consist of Viconia, Korgan, Hexxat, Dorn, and Edwin. So I have a party of:

Cleric
Conjurer
Berserker
Blackguard
Thief


My question now is... what classes would best compliment this set-up? I already have a gnome Illusionist/Thief on my good playthrough so I'm looking at doing something a little different than arcane caster. I'm open to any suggestions. It will be an evil-aligned character.

JuliusBorisov

If you're really open to something different, don't want a caster and need an evil CHARNAME, with the party of Viconia, Korgan, Hexxat, Dorn, and Edwin I would suggest to take a Dark Moon Monk.

This character will give you an interesting experience. Although in BG1 she will be not powerful and you'll have to rely on NPCs more, as long as you progress through BG2 chapters your Dark Moon Monk will become better and better.

Aozgolo108

I was considering the Dark Moon Monk though from my experiences with Rasaad being the handicap of my good party (read: dying constantly in BG1) I'm a little hesitant to try Monk again, especially with the limited equipment options, though I am open to it I might have to read a bit more on how they scale through BG2 and the best tactics for them.

I've also never done a Sorceror, and thought about trying Dragon Disciple, but I'm unsure if that give me the different feel I want from a mage.

Another possibility is since the alignment of charname I believe is a very moot point I might go to chaotic neutral or possibly true neutral to open up druids and bards as a possibility.

JuliusBorisov

A Dark Moon Monk is probably better than a Sun Soul Monk because she has Detect Illusion and doesn't lose Quivering Palm - this ability is given at the 13th level: the first time a monk attacks with their fists after activating Quivering Palm, if the attack is successful then the opponent must make a save vs spell or die. The ability can be used once per day.

For Monk strategies I recommend excellent guides http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/21205/i-punch-dopplegangers-aka-bgee-monk-guide/p1 and http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/36520/unofficial-class-kit-rundown-monk-edition-or-i-punch-things-in-the-face-and-they-go-dead by @Southpaw‌ and @GamingFreak‌ respectively.

As for druids and bards they're wonderful. I like them so much. You can try them: take a totemic druid for e.g., or a blade. They offer an interesting playthrough.

Sorcerers differ from mages in the sense they don't scribe scrolls but instead choose spells at the level ups. This makes them different: with the right spells a sorcerer can be very dangerous. But basically if you don't want to rely on casting spells, you shouldn't choose a sorcerer

Aozgolo108

I think I'm going to go with Bard, just due to the better stronghold in BG2 (so I've been told at least). Probably Blade or Skald

Wowo

Aozgolo108 said:

I think I'm going to go with Bard, just due to the better stronghold in BG2 (so I've been told at least). Probably Blade or Skald

I find blade to be pretty disappointing. If you go this way I suggest to look into the "Rogue Rebalancing" mod to make the blade a little more like how it should be.

Aozgolo108

I did go with the Blade, and am finding his hit % absolutely abysmal. I'm sticking it out but so far she seems to only hit once every 10 tries or something ridiculous... is this common for low level Blade?

Jarrakul

Low-level blades are pretty bad, except as archers. High level blades are decent damage dealers and fantastic tanks.

FinneousPJ

I guess this was already decided, but that NPC party is so powerful you could go with an armless monkey for CHARNAME and still wipe the floor with anything.

Jarrakul

It's true. Honestly, I'd kind of want to play a Skald with that party. Sick 'em, boys (and vampire).

Abi_Dalzim

When I did a Dark Moon Monk runthrough, I made sure to start with 18 STR and use throwing daggers early on. It was noticeably less effective than Dorn in the first game, but it held its own well enough, and adding the strength tome makes it a lot more powerful. Midway through BG2 you are, of course, unstoppable. TOB is a cakewalk.

ifupauline

What about a female wizard slayer so you can tell Edwin to piss off everytime he talks to you

Yannir

ifupauline said:

What about a female wizard slayer so you can tell Edwin to piss off everytime he talks to you

I like this idea very much.<3

Oh, I'm running with that very party atm. CHARNAME is a lawful evil invoker. The double-spellcasters-thing kicks butt, but I sometimes find I'm missing tanking capability because Dorn's con is awful and that only leaves Korgan. That's mostly against golems and other big hitters like that, otherwise Dorn does fine.

In Chapter 6 or 7(can't remember which one it is) atm and running Watcher's Keep. 1st and 2nd lvls were a breeze and getting through the 3rd pretty fast as well. A solid party with Hexxat being immortal. (she's usually the one dieing anyway)

Scourge

I never understood all this fondeness for monks. Not only the maximum enchantment they can obtain for their fists is +4, making them uneffective against Demilich (but those are very few, to be sincere), but their HLA are a pathetic imitation of fighters HLA, and the fact they are good is more due to the AI of the game being uneffective, then a pure 'damn they're good'.

Yannir

Scourge said:

I never understood all this fondeness for monks. Not only the maximum enchantment they can obtain for their fists is +4, making them uneffective against Demilich (but those are very few, to be sincere), but their HLA are a pathetic imitation of fighters HLA, and the fact they are good is more due to the AI of the game being uneffective, then a pure 'damn they're good'.

What makes monks great is the Magic resistance they get when hitting lvl 12, 42% to start with. Also, they hit for 1d25 after lvl 15. +4 strenght bonus makes that 5-29 dmg, with other dmg bonuses u can crit for more than 70 dmg with a hit.

Archaos

You can never go wrong with a Sorcerer or Dragon Disciple. One arcane caster is not enough.
You already have two tanks, a thief, a cleric and a mage. A second arcane caster is very useful and makes it balanced.

You'll get a familiar (get it from a scroll), no need for scrolls and you can incinerate anyone that stands in your way.
Make them Chaotic Evil also (Red Dragon blood fitting). Female also so you can pick the red-headed dragon mage portrait and romance Hexxat.
Preferably elf too as it fits the portrait and it's best stat-wise.

It's what I'm planning to do on my coming playthrough.

Jarrakul

Scourge said:

I never understood all this fondeness for monks. Not only the maximum enchantment they can obtain for their fists is +4, making them uneffective against Demilich (but those are very few, to be sincere), but their HLA are a pathetic imitation of fighters HLA, and the fact they are good is more due to the AI of the game being uneffective, then a pure 'damn they're good'.

A couple things. First, +4 is enough to hurt demiliches. It's enough to hurt anything in the game, for that matter, barring mages under Improved Mantle and Absolute Immunity, which you're probably gonna Breach away anyway. They get all the important fighter HLAs (Greater Whirlwind, Critical Strike, Hardiness), and eventually a whopping 78% base magic resistance. Their damage is solid, with only a few fighter setups doing more, and they've got some good save-or-lose effects. Their main disadvantage, honestly, is that haste/slow immunity they pick up at 5th level. Being immune to Improved Haste is a big disadvantage, but they'll get more HLAs than fighters due to faster levelling, so they can pick up a few more Greater Whirlwinds to even the gap a bit.

All in all, a buffed fighter is better than a monk against ordinary enemies, but a high level monk is gonna be better against mages. And since this is BG2, not IWD, that's pretty important.

Abi_Dalzim

A monk's defensive abilities shouldn't be underestimated, either. By using Bracers of AC 3, the Ring of Protection, Cloak of the Sewers, and various other odds and ends, my Dark Moon Monk had an AC of -18 by the end of TOB, and even lower when using Blur. Even late game enemies don't have the easiest time beating that kind of defensive ability. You can also use Hide in Shadows for hit and run, which further enhances their anti-caster abilities and provides a way out if you're taking a beating in melee.

Monks aren't very sophisticated tactically, but they have more tricks than fighters and are damn hard to kill. I think they're fully worth the hype.