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NPC's you always end up with, or can't play without.

SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
edited February 2015 in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
I'll come out and admit it, there are certain NPC's i just can't play without, or some duos i have a really hard time breaking.

1.) Alora

I always clua console in Alora and change her to level 1 in candlekeep. I just can't play without her and even when i play a rogue myself, she has to be in my party. Between her 19 dexterity, halfling race and way too powerful rabbits foot, i can't not have her in my party. No other character have as good thieving skills as she does, throw in the + damage from luck and -2 AC from her rabbits foot and she is too good. She blows every other rogue out of the water.

Skie shoots an arrow = 1-6 damage
Alora shoots an arrow = 3-6 damage

Alora can't deal less than 3 damage while using a bow, with the 19 dexterity she is an incredible archer.

2.) Kagain

I'm really trying to break my habit of using Kagain as my main tank, but with the gauntlets of dexterity and his 19/20 constitution, i just can't see someone else doing his job. Highest HP in the entire game, best saving throws in the entire game, throw onto him the fullplate from Beregost, Gauntlets of Dexterity, Large Shield +1 and one of the many rings of protection and you have him on -6 AC.

Right from the start (an hour into the game) you can sit with a dwarf warrior that has 19/20 CON, shorty saves and -6 AC! He is a beast and could easily solo the game. People will complain about his Strength but with **** in axes he'll still deal a ton of damage and if you feel like really breaking your game you can throw the Big-Fisted belt onto him and you have created a monster.

19 STR
18 DEX
19/20 CON
Shorty saving throws
High Mastery in axes
You get him really early

3.) Jaheira and Khalid

I really like both of them but it's a bit tiresome to always have two spots taken by a duo, so i have to let one of them go. This for some reason is very hard for me to do as i know what happens in BG2 and it doesn't really make sense from a RP viewpoint to leave Khalid and then find him in BG2 like you do. I have tried to come up with a sensible reason like him having to go on another assignment for the harpers and after he is done he'll meet up with you right after Sarevok and before you get captured. It still doesn't feel right and i have a hard time taking Jaheira without Khalid, or the other way around. I miss being 10 years old (25 now) and just sending one of them into a house and not letting it bother or cross my mind again.

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I'm right now trying to start up a new no-reload game and would like to keep Jaheira so i can give her some tomes and import her with me to BG2. But the problem is that i can't really let go of Khalid, Alora HAS to be in my party and i'll get all OCD over leaving Kagain in Beregost. I don't know what to do and it's soooo frustrating!



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Comments

  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    Jaheira for me. Khalid I can take or leave, although I like him more than a lot of folks do. Jaheira, though, is an excellent tank with the gauntlets of dex, can dish out much better damage than other priests, and by the time Yeslick shows up to outperform her in that department, she's starting to get to the really good part of the druid spell list.
  • CoutelierCoutelier Member Posts: 1,282
    Yeah, I guess the canon party for me too. Imoen, Jaheira, Khalid are usually the first people you meet who don't look they'll cut bits out of you while you sleep. And Minsc... Minsc. I suppose Imoen is the hardest to leave behind, both because of the sisterly connection, and the fact that I don't usually play as a thief so she's good to have around.

    In BG2, I don't really like to leave any of the 'canon' party behind. It's pretty much impossible for me not to take Aerie as well. So most playthroughs are pretty much them, and the last slot I keep changing to do all the other NPC quests.
  • SharGuidesMyHandSharGuidesMyHand Member Posts: 2,584
    edited February 2015
    In a typical playthrough, I will usually rotate a majority of the NPCs in and out of my party before finally settling on a single group for the final stages of the game. In my most recent playthrough, I finished the game with a party of Imoen (dualed to a mage), Shar-Teel (dualed to a thief), Ajantis, Yeslick, and Viconia. In my prior playthrough, I had finished with Imoen (not dualed), Kivan, Branwen, Dynaheir, and (IIRC) Coran.

    Imoen is the only NPC who consistently finishes the game in my party. I always pick up Jaheira, Khalid, and Neera, but never play more than halfway through the game with them, as I replace them with others who are better and/or more reliable in those same roles. I typically only keep Minsc just long enough to complete his quest, and if I'm lucky enough for him to be killed along the way, then I usually keep Dynaheir (who I actually like) for the remainder of the game. If I'm playing with a mod that relocates Tiax and Alora to make them available earlier in the game, then I will usually spend some time with one or both of them as well.

    The only NPCs that almost never spend at least some measure of time in my party are Eldoth and Edwin, whose quests are just too ostensibly unscrupulous for my typically good-aligned characters, and Skie, who obviously requires Eldoth to be recruited.
  • 6kNNRQ6kNNRQ Member Posts: 16
    It's always Ajantis and Branwen for me.

    I must be alone in not liking Minsc, maybe the berserker kit ruined it for me. I also prefer Khalid over Jaheira but don't bother trying to separate anyone.
  • GreenWarlockGreenWarlock Member Posts: 1,354
    The only real regular for me is Imoen in BG - she is just too tempting for the easy transition to mage, her overpowered stats, and breezy opening line. I have gone through fashions with most of the others. At one point I would always rely on Branwen as the cleric for the game, then I got used to rushing Cloakwood and the mine for Yeslick, which would often be followed by Quayle. There was a time that Dynaheir was my go-to mage, or that Baeloth was an irresistible engine of destruction. Most games will feature Neera long enough to grab the gem bag - although I find it really hard to drop someone once they have been admitted into the group. Maybe we should drop the hazing rituals.

    The one NPC I almost never take now, the opposite of this thread, is Minsc, and that applies to both games (once out of Irenicus's play pen). In BG, I have never played a party where Eldoth fit for any length of time (I tend towards Good) and somehow never quite managed to run Garrick either. A few NPCs are just too far out of the way so that by the time I find them, the party is full (Safana, Faldorn) yet others demand to be included when I reach them if the party is right (Tiax over-rules all!)

    Still waiting on the first patch for BG2EE, so no real experience there for who is a long-term keeper, other than not-the-Minsc. Strange how allergic I have become to the NPC that used to be a firm favorite.
  • UrsuUrsu Member Posts: 3
    Minsc, Edwin and Jan because they are too lovely.
  • TuthTuth Member Posts: 233
    Most of the time, especially recently, I have been playing with totally different party in each playthrough. This greatly increases the replay value of the game. Rolling for the party composition is one of the more fun aspects for me: finding alternatives for the obvious and one may say stale party.

    Though if I had to choose one NPC that I feel I would take everytime with me it would be Ajantis. I like his attitude, voice, portrait and his purple helmet. I really enjoy paladins as a class and at the same time he is really useful without being overpowered, so having him with my party has not been boring thus far.
  • VahnXIIIVahnXIII Member Posts: 33
    BG1 - Imoen, Khalid, Jaheira, Minsc, Deynahier (screw spelling)
    BG2 - Aerie, Jan, Keldorn, Haer'Dalis, Jaheira. Imoen when she returns.
  • JLeeJLee Member Posts: 650
    BG1: Yeslick is my favorite cleric and Coran is my favorite thief, so I usually beeline for them.

    I know this is ridiculous to some, but I almost always have Garrick along too, if not for the whole game, at least for identifying. He puts the Heavy Crossbow of Accuracy to good use and sometimes is my only arcane caster when I do take him along. When I don't take him along, he conveniently stays put right in front of the store waiting to give me an appraisal in between adventures.

    BG2: Nalia has become one of my favorites recently. She is adequate with a bow, is quite a powerful caster, and makes a passable thief. I like her personality change as the game goes along too.

    I almost always take Keldorn and Mazzy too because if this went down in RL, I would definitely want those two by my side :)
  • hisplshispls Member Posts: 166
    I couldn't get through either BG without Minsc and Boo. Imoen is tough to leave behind (somewhat easier in 2 if you don't plan the party XP right).

    I do like Aerie, but she is pretty high maintenence so it's not too hard to leave her behind if you're not romantically involved.

    I almost always grab Viconia as well. She's a solid cleric and I sort of feel like she hasn't got any other friends in the world if I just left her.

    Gorion's wishes or not, Khalid is a worthless fighter and Jahira is a nagging old baggage (plus I don't trust those harpers and their secret handshakes). While a solid character from a gaming point of view, not a terribly fun companion. I've kept them around on a playthrough for canon purposes before but I can pretty much do without them now.

    I also wish that more of the NPCs were available early because a lot of them are pretty worthless by the time you can pick them up and you are often pretty committed to your current party. Generally I like to pick a roster early on and stick with them.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Aerie.

    Anomen and Viconia seem a little more fragile by comparison, since they don't have Stoneskin. One of the great weaknesses of clerics is that they don't have a good way of avoiding spell disruption.
  • hisplshispls Member Posts: 166
    semiticgod said:

    Aerie.

    Anomen and Viconia seem a little more fragile by comparison, since they don't have Stoneskin. One of the great weaknesses of clerics is that they don't have a good way of avoiding spell disruption.

    I always find Viconia to be one of the least killed NPCs for me. She has great built in magic resistance and always winds up with the lowest AC in my party and is one of the first to pick up 7th level priest spells and HLAs in BG2 for me. Suit her up with a constitution boost and she can tank right along side the best of them in both games. I'm a sucker for the damsel in distress bit though so perhaps I'm biased.
  • batoorbatoor Member Posts: 676
    Korgan and Edwin and their subsequent harassment of several other NPCs. While I sit back hum a tune and enjoy the party banters.

    Also their complaining is just hilarious, if your reputation gets too high.

    A perfect mix of viciousness and comedy.
  • cervanntescervanntes Member Posts: 64
    I always go with Imoen -- just impossible for me not to. Sometimes I dual class her to mage (if I'm hurting on magic or am playing a thief myself), sometimes I just leave her as a thief, but she's the one NPC I always run with whenever possible. I'm also very partial to Aerie, Mazzy, and Viconia, and always have at least one of these three in BG2, if not two or all three.
  • mumumomomumumomo Member Posts: 635
    None of them. I play solo 99% of the time.
    The rare times i don't, i favor NPC which are mechanically strong and that carry out through BG1 and BG2 like:
    - Jaheira. While i find her to suck in BG1 (clerics >>>druids at low level), i really like khalid (he is a good archer with 3 PIP in bow). In BG2 she is great and romanceable
    - Viconia. Great in BG1 and BG2. Also romanceable.
    - Edwin
    - kagain/korgan (always see them as clones of different names)
  • MarkosMarkos Member Posts: 30
    I always take Imoen because, well, little sister and all.

    Also Jaheira and Minsc are almost always on my team in both games.
    In ToB (though I don't play ToB very often) I always choose to take Sarevok with me. I find him a very interesting character and important to the plot.
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