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Xzar and Montaron. Who actually used them?

cloakanddaggercloakanddagger Member Posts: 111
edited September 2012 in Archive (General Discussion)
My question I pose to everyone is: Did anyone actually keep these two in your party longer than you had to? Did you EVER include them in your party in the first place? Did anyone like having them in the party? And did anyone keep them all the way to the finish? I suppose it would be more likely if you played an evil party. They were interesting, you have to give them that.
Post edited by cloakanddagger on
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  • cloakanddaggercloakanddagger Member Posts: 111
    edited September 2012
    Hahaha, alright. I agree BioWare really was creative when it came to characters. It's like watching a movie over and over again, you pick up on some snide/sneaky new tidbit of their humor every time you play. I honestly might just leave one of them in one of the party's i play with this time around. Your enthusiasm for the two has inspired me.
  • RedGuardRedGuard Member Posts: 672
    I'm doing an evil playthrough and I'm already considering booting them when I come across others. Though I'm playing as a mage and that might be a factor.

    They're interesting characters though, but BG1 could have benefited from the sort of interaction BG2 had with party members.
  • theJoshFrosttheJoshFrost Member Posts: 171
    I'm thinking about using them in my run, as well... Should I? Do they suck or something? I've never used them to be honest. lol
  • neokarnyneokarny Member Posts: 39
    I usually ditched them in/after Beregost.
  • I use them long enough to get to the friendly arm inn, and use them as cannon fodder, I MEAN!, They are very helpful in defeating that evil mage. >.>
  • IsairIsair Member Posts: 217
    Monty can be great, It's a shame he doesn't feature in BG2. Wherein Fighter/Thieves are exceptionally powerful.

    I've heard that a few people have turned Xzar into a Mage/Cleric (using a tome of wisdom on him), which in my view doesn't work that well (he could only be a level 6 Necromancer). I imagine with the higher XP cap he will make a much better Necromancer/Cleric, maybe better than Qualey. In the sense that his wisdom score is much higher - though likely still be a weaker mage.

    I haven't used either in a long time, I find Shar-teel makes a better fighter/thief (more pips - higher backstab). But again higher levels may make Monty better, we'll see. He's more dependent on str increasing items (gauntlets of orge power/potions etc) than Shar-teel but as a multi his thief skills are more useful throughout the game. Edwin beats Xzar hands-down as a single class mage.

    Both have great one liners.
  • HeavylineHeavyline Member Posts: 108
    Xzar is one of my favorite NPCs. His insane mind is just entertaining. Worth keeping in my party. He is usually my first evil-mage choice instead of Edwin.
  • MarkosMarkos Member Posts: 30
    Never used them for the whole game, just for a little while. They were always the firsts the I would get rid of. Never played with an evil party though.
  • KholdstareKholdstare Member Posts: 160
    I've used them once and they got slaughtered by Khalid and Jaheira shortly afterward. :P
  • DelinomDelinom Member Posts: 46
    "The mad wizard falls!".... Hahaha oh the memories. BG1 is so much damn harder than BG2...
  • DemossDemoss Member Posts: 52
    I love the characters for what they say, usually are in my party, maybe not the entire game mind.
  • sandmanCCLsandmanCCL Member Posts: 1,389
    If you run with an evil party, you choices for thieves pre-Baldur's Gate are Montaron or dual-classing Shar-Teel. Eventually you can use Tiax or Skie (who accompnies your evil bard Eldoth even though she's not evil herself.)

    Montaron is easily the best at thievery out of those 3. Shar-Teel is best left as a fighter in my personal opinion. Skie joins super, super late so I don't really consider her a great option. Tiax is great and all but is more useful for his Cleric prowess than he is for his thievery.

    Monty + Ogre Power is pretty deadly. Give him Drizzt's armor and he can tank AND stealth instead of having to choose one or the other.

    Xzar isn't half bad. He's a better mage than Dynaheir (not that it's hard to be a better wizard than an Invoker). He struggles to stay alive early game but once you gain some levels, he's pretty deadly as are all Wizards. If you want to get really tricky, you can dual-class him to Cleric and have fun with him that way.
  • SargielSargiel Member Posts: 35
    For me it's more about when have I not taken them ;) Great personalities and they're not bad NPC's. Then again I might be in the minority as I've never been a fan of that annoying hamster-lover Minsc and took him in my party just the once ;)

    I was very sad they didn't make it to BG2 as joinable npc's.
  • Syntia13Syntia13 Member Posts: 514
    Yes to all questions. :P Didn't always keep them to the very end - sometimes they die, sometimes we have to part ways due to interpersonal conflicts within the party, but they are always with me at least part of the way.
    It always intrigued me what was the deal with them - they are a package deal - you can't boot one and keep the other (unless one dies, of course), and yet they both celebrate the others death. I am confused. Were they contractually obligated to accompany each other by some mysterious force, or what?
    Either way, they are great characters, and I was mightily upset when years later those damn harpers used me to murder Xzar. (And then they tried to bury me alive, but that's another story).
  • LadyRhianLadyRhian Member Posts: 14,694
    I usually use them through the Nashkel dungeon, they get killed there, or right afterwards in the Ambush, and then I recruit Minsc and Dynaheir. It works out.
  • LockLock Member Posts: 84
    Yes - Xzar is my favorite NPC from Baldur's Gate, although Montaron was a dour little git and only ever stayed in one piece long enough to distract an ogre ... so about 2 minutes :) However not wanting a bad reputation, me and Xzar are usually forced to part ways eventually. Not that my amoral chaotic neutral characters care for doing good deeds, but a good reputation is important ;)
  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 6,002
    i've played with those guys all the way to the end, but i usually kill of xzar for edwin just because edwin has so many more spells, but one pieve i have about montaron is that even at max level without giving him a tome of dex, he cant hit 100% find traps and 90 % open locks, which is required for durlags tower, and i hate using potions for that jazz, so i keep kiel's buckler and make sure edwin ( or xzar) have some knock spells, because monty's dex is only 17, like come on buddy, you're a halfling, at least have 18 you bum, but other than that, he is a pretty good bow man, when you finally get 2 points in bow, im pretty sure i've made his thac0 hit around 0 or so at max level with 3 attacks per round, and theoritically shar teel could be a better thief just for purposes of being able to choose where her thief skills go, but she already has too much proficiencies in swords, and for fighter type thieves ( especially dual classed ones) i like to have as much bow proficiency as possible
  • SophiaSophia Member, Translator (NDA) Posts: 581
    I usually play as legal good so I don't keep them with me for long, but I LOVE crazy Xzar. STOP TOUCHING ME!!!
  • SonOfBhaalSonOfBhaal Member Posts: 7
    Best Xzar quote: "The trees move...do you not see it?!"
  • CheesebellyCheesebelly Member Posts: 1,727
    A mage and a fighter/thief is better than a fighter and a fighter/druid. Morality or not really. Besides, both Monty and Xzar don't really strike me as terribly evil. I mean, aside from all the stabitty stab stab and eyestealing from elves. They strike me as someone that really wants to help the PC at that time.

    I never liked that quest in BG2 where Xzar had to die, poor choice from the devs IMO.
  • IsairIsair Member Posts: 217
    @sarevok57 Shar-Teel (from memory) should be able to have 3 pips in bow (fighter 3 + 6, thief 8) Trumps 2. If you like bows that much. She also has better HP, better Str & if you're wanting a better backstabber then you could dual her at level 6 and she can become a level 9 thief - x4.

    I'm never one for using ranged weapons with her, she's always hiding in shadows waiting to strike, bolt, hide, repeat. She'll be even more powerful with EE, going by the hordes guesses of the new XP cap (250,000 - 300,000). If it's towards the higher end, she will be able to be a level 7 fighter (two base attacks) and a level 11 thief. Compared to Monty with the same XP limits - level 8/9.

    As I said earlier Monty & Xzar are both fun characters. Shar-Teels just harder to get off the ground, so.... play Monty if you can't be bothered with all that.
  • xLegionxxLegionx Member Posts: 197
    Yup as you said so I could play an evil party. I may be a good guy in rl but in the fantasy world I'm the evilest mean ol son of a bitch you could run across!! >:)
  • JaxsbudgieJaxsbudgie Member Posts: 600
    Xzar is my favourite.

    A madman with high wisdom?
    Yes please.
  • raywindraywind Member Posts: 289
    I prefer that duo over Jaheira and trap detector.
  • rodneyandsteptoerodneyandsteptoe Member Posts: 99
    They stay intact in my party until we get to Nashkel at least...then we go our separate ways
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