Party composition question - should I go for Rasaad, Branwen, and/or Edwin ?

Acererak

I currently have the following party :
me (Elven Archer)
Imoen
Khalid
Jaheira
Kivan
Neera

At this point, I have Kivan up front with his halberd helping out with Jaheira and Khalid (mainly because Jaheira seems to really suck as a fighter, using a club)
I have Imoen and myself providing missile fire. Myself, longbow, Imoen, shortbow.

At the point in the game I am approaching (pre-Nashkel Mine), I am wondering if I should pick up Rasaad, and replace Kivan with him, or, replace Jaheira with Branwen, then bring in Rasaad to replace the departing Khalid. Also is Neera worth replacing with Edwin and would he get any aggro from Jaheira ?

Thanks !

Blackraven

Rasaad wouldn't make your BG1 party more effective I'm afraid, so I would not consider him unless you're interested in his personality and banter. Edwin is slightly better than Neera (at least in BG1) due to having more spells than her. He's also a more reliable caster of course. There won't be any trouble with Jaheira if you pick him, but he'll leave the party if your reputation gets very high (19-20), which is something that can easily happen.
Between Branwen and Jaheira, I find it difficult to advise you. Branwen has Cleric spells which at the lower levels are a bit nicer than Druid spells imo. Spells like Silence, Hold Person, Animate Dead are really good. On the other hand Jaheira is the better warrior thanks to her Fighter levels, and with some good gear, she should certainly not suck in combat.

In sum: I like your party and I wouldn't change it.
Note that Kivan is also a good archer, so rather than having him melee with his halberd, you might consider equipping him with a composite longbow. Jaheira and Khalid could do the tanking for you.

edit: typo

CrevsDaak

Blackraven said:

Note that Kivan is also a good archer, so rather than having him melee with his halberd, you might consider equipping him with a composite longbow. Jaheira and Khalid could do the tanking for you.

But if he's an Elven Archer, and Jaheira isn't the best tank (neither Kahlid, unless you give him the Gauntlets of STR=18/00 which make him boss, but he's still better than Jaheira), I'd say he should continue using Kivan as another melee warrior.

I'd recommend taking Branwen instead of Jaheira if you know how to properly tank with a pure Cleric, otherwise I'd stay with Jaheira, and I'll give her a sling, too, so she can cast and attack from the back instead of getting her spells disrupted in the front.

Musigny

You have a very nice team of good guys and a certain focus on elven blood.
All of that is consistent and efficient. Why don't you stick to your current team ?
I also suggest using Kivan as an archer. Even though I agree with @CrevsDaak, it is important to disable most foes before they cross swords with your front line. You may even play with a single tank.

Blackraven

CrevsDaak said:

But if he's an Elven Archer, and Jaheira isn't the best tank (neither Kahlid, unless you give him the Gauntlets of STR=18/00 which make him boss, but he's still better than Jaheira), I'd say he should continue using Kivan as another melee warrior.

Both setups will work. I just think that if you give them good armor, Khalid and Jaheira should be competent damage absorbers, especially if paired in the vanguard. Like @Musigny, in BG1 I've had good experiences with using only one frontliner (and maybe one off-tank) while the other party members attack with spells and as many ranged APR as possible. Therefore I think that Kivan as a second killer sniper next to the PC wouldn't be superfluous.

SharGuidesMyHand

Acererak said:

At the point in the game I am approaching (pre-Nashkel Mine), I am wondering if I should pick up Rasaad, and replace Kivan with him, or, replace Jaheira with Branwen, then bring in Rasaad to replace the departing Khalid.

Whether or not you should replace Jaheira with Branwen depends on what you're looking for - Branwen is a better divine spellcaster, but Jaheira is probably a better tank/fighter. Khalid will always be a far more useful party member than Rasaad, who is really only worth taking in BG1 for his banters and/or associated quest.

Acererak said:

Also is Neera worth replacing with Edwin and would he get any aggro from Jaheira ?

Edwin is great so long as you don't mind missing out on being able to identify items in the field (for me, this was always a fatal flaw). Keep in mind that replacing Neera also means that you miss out of her associated quest, if that matters to you.


If you have any other options available to you, you may want to consider:

Replacing the departing Khalid with Minsc, and then replacing Neera with Dynaheir - though keep in mind that if you recruit Dyna as your mage, you miss out on the sleep spell.

SymphonyofSwords

Edwin is a winner, man. Plain and simple.

Acererak

Update : Kivan died in the Nashkel Mines in the fight with Mulahey, and so I replaced him Rasaad. New lineup was as such : , Rasaad, Khalid, Jaheira, Imoen, and Neera

Things went well for a while, went bandit-hunting in Pelsdale and such, and then Rasaad bit the bullet. So, I decided to take Dorn Il-Khan up on his offer, and made the trip to the Friendly Arm. New lineup now, and all around levels 4-6 : , Dorn, Khalid, Jaheira, Imoen, and Neera

We've just entered the Cloakwood Mines and so far so good. No b*tching from Jaheira yet. Hopefully the party harmony continues.