Playing a good character I tend to let them join when I meet them even if I get bad vibes, on the reasoning that I'm exposed and lost in the wilderness, and someone's out to kill me - any help would be good. As they actually do help me out, I also usually have them accompany me (or the other way around) until after the Nashkel mines. At that time I consider my "debt" to them paid, and we go separate ways.
Xzar could be better if they consider adding more necromancer spells to the game. Speaking of which everyone here should support my "An appeal to necromancers" post in feature requests. If anyone wants a better necromancer say yes!
I love Xzar and Monty but I don't tend to keep them for the whole game. I generally keep them around with Khalid and Jaheira at the start in the hope that they will all have a big dust-up. But since it can take ages for them to get round to fighting I quite often get tired of waiting and replace them with Kagain and Viconia.
I always found them to weak at the start so I would replace them for Minsc when I got to Nashkel. When I play EE I'm going to run through it with NPCs I've never used before for a change.
Xzar and Montaron were in my party when I first completed BG1. Picked up Khalid and Jaheira at the Friendly Arm Inn and also had Imoen when I finished BG1.
Now I only take them or one of them if I'm doing a themed party.
I've got a slight OCD when it comes to playing non-good characters.. 98% of the time I end up playing some chaotic good, nice-to-the-core character. But the few times I break the mold and go neutral or evil, I absolutely love Monty and Xzar.
Some pros for Xzar and Monty: 1. They're available straight out the gate, you can completely dictate their development (good in the case of Monty, doesn't matter quite as much with Xzar). 2. For Xzar, losing Illusion spells isn't that big a deal in BG1, and you might get tired of always going the power-gamey route by picking up Edwin as your evil arcane muscle. 3. Monty is damn useful, having decent all-around stats for a fighter type. While he lacks the DEX and skill points total to be a catch-all thief, he's excellent as a stealthy backstabber or evil pickpocket. He gets a further roleplaying plus for actually using crossbows instead of bows like everyone else. 4. Their lines are hilarious. Monty is rotten to the core and dumb as a doorknob, Xzar is completely insane.
I think the very first time I played the game I probably kept them both around because they were some of the first people I found. Other than that, I think I've had Xzar without Montaron, but I didn't keep Montaron. That said, I like them both well enough. I just think Montaron seems more like a Dwarf than a Halfling.
Yeah, I've used them a lot. Xzar is a very amusing character and he's decent as a mage. The Necromancy school is one of the better mage specializations imho. And Monty is a one of the most colorfully written characters in the game, and an excellent thief. He performs respectably with missiles (I usually equip him with a crossbow) and I often launch the party's attacks with him backstabbing. Also, the interactions between Xzar/Montaron and Jaheira/Khalid are some of the most entertaining you'll see between NPCs in the game.
@Isair in the original bg ( i dont play the trilogy/ tutu versions) shar teel puts all of her points into large/small swords, and even if you dual her at level 7 with 2 points in bow, the game wont allow to put a third one into bow when she hits here level 8 thief, besides she's way to usefull as a fighter for an evil team, because kagain and shar-teel are the only evil meleers, and shar-teel can use the claw of kazgaroth with no HP penalty and that 17 dexterity is great for fighters for better armor class, and if ye be crazy you can give her the tome of str and dex, and then she really rocks, dealing over 50 damage on critical hits with the two handed sword +3 ( plus the gauntlets of weapons specialization) shoooooo i just keep her as a fighter, sure she could be a good backstabber but im too lazy to backstab, i only use thieves for traps, lock pickings, and the occasional pick pocket, then after that, just fire arrows away
Xzar is and will always be the first character I recruit. His sentences are so... Mad... Perhaps due to the fact he is mad
Since I never play a mage, he is a good buddy. Sometimes I take Edwin in order to increase my party's spell capacity but I does not like his behaviour.
Montaron often dies, naked, against a wolf or a goblin... Then Xzar cries and the adventure continues
@sarevok57 fair point, with the 3rd pip I was thinking ahead to EE. She should be able to then. She does make a great single class fighter as well. No mistake.
I'm usually a fighter multi so those tomes & gauntlets are all mine! That's also why I dual her. But if you're more focused on having a thief whos readily available early/is evil and can use his thief skills right away without the long wait then monty is your man.
Anyone know if there's a Shar-Teel lovefest forum?
In all honesty, I think they're great NPCs. Montaron's a Fighter/Thief (good combination) with pretty good stats (in all honesty I would consider him almost as good a fighter as Khalid... with an entire second class on the side). Xzar is possibly the second-best mage in the game (depending on how much you like Xan).
So really, you're getting a good fighter, probably the best evil Thief, and a great spellcaster.
Montaron especially I love as he's so versatile. I prefer to use him as a scout/backstabber, but he also makes a pretty decent archer and throw some platemail on him and he makes a decent frontline fighter too (not much for tanking, but can get a pretty good AC and deal some good damage). Hell, throw some Ankheg plate on him and give him some potions of invisibility and you got a guy who can backstab but have the staying power to stick around and do some damage afterwards.
Xzar's only got one real weakness, and that's being not as good as Edwin. Let's face it, Edwin's the best spellcaster in the game - even better than CHARNAME. If you're playing as some sort of fighter, though, you could do a lot worse than taking both Xzar and Edwin (PC and Kagain as front line, Montaron and Viccy as support, Xzar and Edwin bring the fireworks... That's a pretty effective party)
That's the duo's real weakness, I think. If you're evil and looking for a mage, you'll almost always take Edwin, and unless you've got room for two mages, Xzar's out.
Even then, though, it's still a pretty good idea to have Xzar run into a bear somewhere and keep Montaron around. Stealth+Oil of Speed+Arrows of Detonation = an enemy who's dead before they even know what's going on.
Montaron as said is actually a very solid character. I've built him several ways, and I've found he actually does well each way.
Xzar has I think like 4 health when you recruit him. You have to babysit him quite a bit for the first few levels. If you fight an enemy with bows, he basically dies if he gets targeted.
I'd actually say the duo's real weakness is how you have to keep them both around. Assuming you don't send one off purposely to die.
Monty was decent, and I'd sometimes let him stay on for a while, but Xzar got killed way too easily (especially in the early stages of the game) so I never bothered too much with him. Besides, I typically played with mostly "good" parties, and Xzar/Monty would clash too much with the other party members. And even if I were to have an evil mage in my party, I'd much prefer Edwin.
My Blackguard will likely recruit them and then see what happens from there. They're probably the most useful pairing in the entire game. A trap disarmer AND a mage? That I get right away and thus level up along with me? Sweeeeet!
... Xzar has I think like 4 health when you recruit him. You have to babysit him quite a bit for the first few levels. If you fight an enemy with bows, he basically dies if he gets targeted.
I didn't find the hitpoints that much of an issue. Larloch's minor drain (stacked) and vampiric touch are your friends there.
@theperm me too. I made this thread to get others opinions on the two and it has actually made me want to use them quite a bit. Now watch our luck, turns out Overhaul thought they were useless and so they got rid of the two LOL. that would suck.
Would I like to include them farther than Nashkel one day? Yes. However I don't know when.
My first evil party (literally first as I am always good) will be a Halfling Assassin, Kagain, Viconia, Edwin, Dorn. Which means I'm prolly keeping Imoen.
Making my own blackguard or evil bard though and running Kagain, Viconia, Edwin, Monty, Xzar could be fun. Is it possible to get 2 Robes of the Evil Archmagi though?
Also I'd still like to 'Force' myself to finally do a legit runthrough of the canon party.
My first evil party (literally first as I am always good) will be a Halfling Assassin, Kagain, Viconia, Edwin, Dorn. Which means I'm prolly keeping Imoen.
Daaaang. I literally just finished a game with that party. Only my Assassin was human instead of halfling. And I had Shar-Teel instead of Dorn. And Eldoth instead of Imoen. What was amazing is that only CHARNAME, Edwin and Viccy survived the last battle (nice lead-in to BG2...) AND I won by backstabbing Sarevok.
You don't really need Imoen, I mean, sure, 15% per level sucks, but you really just need to split it between Traps, Hide in Shadows, and Move Silently, and the latter two are easily boosted by some lovely boots and armour. The former, dump a couple of levels into it and it'll be good for everything except Durlag's, which you can easily navigate with Potions of Perception.
Open Locks - most locks in the game can be busted open, with either Shar-Teel or Gauntlets of Ogre Strength (maybe Dorn... dunno his stats. But the point is, 18+). The ones that can't? Knock.
But seriously. Assassins are amazing. Backstabbing is so satisfying. I remember dropping Davaeorn in one hit. BAM! Beautiful. And the whole final battle. Dropped Tazok with a backstab, dropped Sarevok with a backstab. Angelo got impaled by Shar-Teel, fittingly enough.
I figure I'll keep her around and just dual her at level 6 or 7 into a Mage for a bit more firepower. I normally don't like turning one of a pairing into trap finding food or bear/wolf/skeleton/basilisk food if I'm going to use them. Although I'm sure Eldoth would be a great addition. I mean I could also take the 'evil' druid in Faldorn, but honestly I really don't like druids much and their spell selection is.........poor to say the least.
I could take Shar-Teel but honestly I kinda feel that might be too much meatshield and not enough backup blasting power. I dunno I've always kinda liked Imoen too. Even as an evil assassin I might feel a need to protect her while also showing her the cold reality of the world.
I just wish Assassins could put 3 points into Two Weapon Fighting too =/
Xzar has I think like 4 health when you recruit him. You have to babysit him quite a bit for the first few levels. If you fight an enemy with bows, he basically dies if he gets targeted.
I'd actually say the duo's real weakness is how you have to keep them both around. Assuming you don't send one off purposely to die.
Teach him Armor and/or Shield and give him a ranged weapon and he'll do okay. Bloody shame that he can't learn Mirror Image, though.
I figure I'll keep her around and just dual her at level 6 or 7 into a Mage for a bit more firepower. I normally don't like turning one of a pairing into trap finding food or bear/wolf/skeleton/basilisk food if I'm going to use them. Although I'm sure Eldoth would be a great addition. I mean I could also take the 'evil' druid in Faldorn, but honestly I really don't like druids much and their spell selection is.........poor to say the least.
I could take Shar-Teel but honestly I kinda feel that might be too much meatshield and not enough backup blasting power. I dunno I've always kinda liked Imoen too. Even as an evil assassin I might feel a need to protect her while also showing her the cold reality of the world.
I just wish Assassins could put 3 points into Two Weapon Fighting too =/
I never even bothered with Eldoth's quest. He didn't seem to mind. I made it through all of TotSC and not once did he mention that Skie girl. I think his attention was diverted by Viconia.
The only real downside is that I had to reload once because Eldoth and Shar-Teel broke out into a fight and started trying to kill each other (he made one too many "woman in the kitchen" jokes)
Comments
Now I only take them or one of them if I'm doing a themed party.
Some pros for Xzar and Monty:
1. They're available straight out the gate, you can completely dictate their development (good in the case of Monty, doesn't matter quite as much with Xzar).
2. For Xzar, losing Illusion spells isn't that big a deal in BG1, and you might get tired of always going the power-gamey route by picking up Edwin as your evil arcane muscle.
3. Monty is damn useful, having decent all-around stats for a fighter type. While he lacks the DEX and skill points total to be a catch-all thief, he's excellent as a stealthy backstabber or evil pickpocket. He gets a further roleplaying plus for actually using crossbows instead of bows like everyone else.
4. Their lines are hilarious. Monty is rotten to the core and dumb as a doorknob, Xzar is completely insane.
Other than that, I think I've had Xzar without Montaron, but I didn't keep Montaron.
That said, I like them both well enough. I just think Montaron seems more like a Dwarf than a Halfling.
His sentences are so... Mad... Perhaps due to the fact he is mad
Since I never play a mage, he is a good buddy. Sometimes I take Edwin in order to increase my party's spell capacity but I does not like his behaviour.
Montaron often dies, naked, against a wolf or a goblin... Then Xzar cries and the adventure continues
I'm usually a fighter multi so those tomes & gauntlets are all mine! That's also why I dual her. But if you're more focused on having a thief whos readily available early/is evil and can use his thief skills right away without the long wait then monty is your man.
Anyone know if there's a Shar-Teel lovefest forum?
So really, you're getting a good fighter, probably the best evil Thief, and a great spellcaster.
Montaron especially I love as he's so versatile. I prefer to use him as a scout/backstabber, but he also makes a pretty decent archer and throw some platemail on him and he makes a decent frontline fighter too (not much for tanking, but can get a pretty good AC and deal some good damage). Hell, throw some Ankheg plate on him and give him some potions of invisibility and you got a guy who can backstab but have the staying power to stick around and do some damage afterwards.
Xzar's only got one real weakness, and that's being not as good as Edwin. Let's face it, Edwin's the best spellcaster in the game - even better than CHARNAME. If you're playing as some sort of fighter, though, you could do a lot worse than taking both Xzar and Edwin (PC and Kagain as front line, Montaron and Viccy as support, Xzar and Edwin bring the fireworks... That's a pretty effective party)
That's the duo's real weakness, I think. If you're evil and looking for a mage, you'll almost always take Edwin, and unless you've got room for two mages, Xzar's out.
Even then, though, it's still a pretty good idea to have Xzar run into a bear somewhere and keep Montaron around. Stealth+Oil of Speed+Arrows of Detonation = an enemy who's dead before they even know what's going on.
Montaron as said is actually a very solid character. I've built him several ways, and I've found he actually does well each way.
Xzar has I think like 4 health when you recruit him. You have to babysit him quite a bit for the first few levels. If you fight an enemy with bows, he basically dies if he gets targeted.
I'd actually say the duo's real weakness is how you have to keep them both around. Assuming you don't send one off purposely to die.
My first evil party (literally first as I am always good) will be a Halfling Assassin, Kagain, Viconia, Edwin, Dorn. Which means I'm prolly keeping Imoen.
Making my own blackguard or evil bard though and running Kagain, Viconia, Edwin, Monty, Xzar could be fun. Is it possible to get 2 Robes of the Evil Archmagi though?
Also I'd still like to 'Force' myself to finally do a legit runthrough of the canon party.
Ah so many parties, so little time.
You don't really need Imoen, I mean, sure, 15% per level sucks, but you really just need to split it between Traps, Hide in Shadows, and Move Silently, and the latter two are easily boosted by some lovely boots and armour. The former, dump a couple of levels into it and it'll be good for everything except Durlag's, which you can easily navigate with Potions of Perception.
Open Locks - most locks in the game can be busted open, with either Shar-Teel or Gauntlets of Ogre Strength (maybe Dorn... dunno his stats. But the point is, 18+). The ones that can't? Knock.
But seriously. Assassins are amazing. Backstabbing is so satisfying. I remember dropping Davaeorn in one hit. BAM! Beautiful. And the whole final battle. Dropped Tazok with a backstab, dropped Sarevok with a backstab. Angelo got impaled by Shar-Teel, fittingly enough.
I figure I'll keep her around and just dual her at level 6 or 7 into a Mage for a bit more firepower. I normally don't like turning one of a pairing into trap finding food or bear/wolf/skeleton/basilisk food if I'm going to use them. Although I'm sure Eldoth would be a great addition. I mean I could also take the 'evil' druid in Faldorn, but honestly I really don't like druids much and their spell selection is.........poor to say the least.
I could take Shar-Teel but honestly I kinda feel that might be too much meatshield and not enough backup blasting power. I dunno I've always kinda liked Imoen too. Even as an evil assassin I might feel a need to protect her while also showing her the cold reality of the world.
I just wish Assassins could put 3 points into Two Weapon Fighting too =/
The only real downside is that I had to reload once because Eldoth and Shar-Teel broke out into a fight and started trying to kill each other (he made one too many "woman in the kitchen" jokes)