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Party make-up

ValferysValferys Member Posts: 47
in Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
I am playing through from the start again and strongly debating whether to break with "canon" members Khalid and Jaheria. I usually always take them, more or less because they are the first fighter / healer that you come across, and want to change things up. I am not sure who I want to replace them with, so suggestions are welcome.

Main char is a neutral evil shadowdancer. I have dropped Imoen (gasp!) already, and took Edwin as mage. Currently, I have Kagain, Branwen, Khalid and Jaheria, who I may drop as soon as someone better comes along. I am trying to avoid Minsc because a) I get annoyed by him quite often (gasp again!) and I intend to make Edwin love me by skewering Dynaheir.

Comments

  • IglosnofIglosnof Member Posts: 119
    Coran is a fantastic archer and a thief to boot, he is easily one of the most useful NPC's in the whole saga. Also Viconia.
  • ValferysValferys Member Posts: 47
    Iglosnof said:

    Coran is a fantastic archer and a thief to boot, he is easily one of the most useful NPC's in the whole saga. Also Viconia.

    i have used Coran, and agree with you. What about fighters to replace Khalid? I am a few game days into the game and my main is still a bit squishy, so I prefer another tank like Kagain to compliment. Havent made it to Viconia yet, is she better than Branwen?
  • IglosnofIglosnof Member Posts: 119
    The way I usually play the game is to have one tank with absolute best equipment that draws all the aggro. Works very well. You can have a secondary but when you have a high HP regenerating dwarf wall, do you really want one? :)
    Branwen could offtank if you wanted it. She was even a main tank in one of my groups all the way from Nashkel to Sarevok.
    Viconia isn't really much better than Branwen in my opinion (except her magic resistance), but she is in SoD and Bg2, so it's great for continuity.
  • ValferysValferys Member Posts: 47
    I am learning Kagain is pretty useful, so will prolly keep him around for a while and use him with Dorn when he becomes available in my game. I have never used Viconia and have gone online to check people's comparisons between her and Branwen, and Branwen always wins out for me.
  • alceryesalceryes Member Posts: 380
    Between Branwen and Viconia, I'd give the edge to Viconia. She also seems to have a little more depth to her character than Branwen.
    Dorn is a beast of a fighter - one of the most powerful companions in BG1.
  • ValferysValferys Member Posts: 47
    alceryes said:

    Between Branwen and Viconia, I'd give the edge to Viconia. She also seems to have a little more depth to her character than Branwen.
    Dorn is a beast of a fighter - one of the most powerful companions in BG1.

    i love having Dorn around, I find him quite useful. I will have to try Viconia out when she comes along.
  • gmazcagmazca Member Posts: 60
    As far as evil parties go, I'm currently rolling with:

    Charname (Wizard Slayer -> Dual Thief in SoD)
    Dorn
    Viconia
    Shar-Teel (Dualed Thief at lvl 3)
    Edwin
    Baeloth

    Once I hit SoD and switch to thief with my protagonist I'll switch Shar-Teel out for M'Khiin the Shaman. I'm pretty sure you get an achievement for this set up if you have the Steam version of the game. Truth be told it's a pretty potent combination. It is spellcaster heavy though, so if you prefer melee/ranged fighters this won't appeal.
  • GodGod Member Posts: 1,150
    You're in luck. Here's some 1000+ party make-up ideas.
    Sorry, couldn't resist that one :lol:

    But, in all seriousness, why not let Tiax point and click? People seem to get discouraged by his low-ish Wisdom score. Yet, cleric things aside, he's quite handy as a secondary thief and can summon powerful ghasts. You're running with two divine casters anyway, so you can always complement his shortcomings with another character - Viconia or Faldorn, for example.
    I would also consider juggling in some Shar-Teel and Xan for a while, but that's just me. Then, again, I enjoy when companions fight between themselves (and I let them resolve their differences), which is why I would probably pick up Yeslick (vs. Kagain) and Quayle (vs. Tiax) at some point of the game.
  • ValferysValferys Member Posts: 47
    God said:

    You're in luck. Here's some 1000+ party make-up ideas.
    Sorry, couldn't resist that one :lol:

    finally the answer i was looking for loool

    thanks for the feedback as well.. im still pretty early on in and will see how i do. i just dumped Jaheira and Khalid, which broke my heart, but ill get over it :)

  • WowoWowo Member Posts: 2,064
    Standard evil party for BG1 and SoD:
    Dorn
    Viconia
    Edwin
    Baeloth

    Which leaves 1 spot free for each game. For my Shadowdancer playthrough im planning on sticking the Helm of Opposite Alignment on one of the good characters to round out the party. In BG1 I'll swap a few around but probably settle on Kagain.
  • alceryesalceryes Member Posts: 380
    Wowo said:

    Standard evil party for BG1 and SoD:
    Dorn
    Viconia
    Edwin
    Baeloth

    Which leaves 1 spot free for each game. For my Shadowdancer playthrough im planning on sticking the Helm of Opposite Alignment on one of the good characters to round out the party. In BG1 I'll swap a few around but probably settle on Kagain.

    I've never taken Baeloth to the end. By the time I encounter him my party is usually set. Plus, Edwin *really* likes the robes Baeloth is wearing. I've heard that having both Edwin and Baeloth for the latter half of BG1 is like bringing a nuke to a stick fight. I'll have to try it sometime.
  • thelovebatthelovebat Member Posts: 218
    edited October 2016
    The ideal party for an evil character party would probably be this once you have access to the party members.

    You

    Kagain (Health regeneration with 20 Constitution, Axes make a solid weapon choice that doesn't overlap with other NPCs, and tons of HPs on top of health regeneration)

    Dorn (19 Strength and great Paladin kit make him an obvious choice, also best option for evil party leader)

    Viconia (19 Dexterity makes for great ranged attack and armor class, magic resistance from being a Drow, and the best Evil aligned support character considering the abilities of every other Evil NPC)

    Edwin (Best joinable NPC Mage, his special item gives him more spells on top of being a specialist Mage, plus good Constitution for some extra HPs)

    Baeloth (Extra versatile spellcasting and decent lore from his high Intelligence/Wisdom score, starts of with some nice spells when you first get him)

    The 6th slot has always been one up for debate, normally I'd probably take Shar'Teel for some extra muscle up front with 3 great frontliners but I remember the 1.3 patch made her and Dorn not get along with each other for some reason so I haven't used that combo since then. There's also a neutral party member like Xan who you could take around for some extra spellcasting, or Garrick for his all around Bard abilities. A number of the other NPCs aren't found until a good deal into the game, though Baeloth takes a little while to get himself. Before getting Baeloth I'd probably have Garrick tag along since it's not too difficult to get him in your party and it's early in the game, and his proficiencies are pretty decent.

    The Enhanced Edition also added Neera who's Neutral aligned and I don't think would conflict with anyone, so she can add some extra spellcasting too fairly early on if you don't mind their personality and the Wild Mage class.
  • WowoWowo Member Posts: 2,064
    thelovebat said:

    The ideal party for an evil character party would probably be this once you have access to the party members.

    You

    Kagain (Health regeneration with 20 Constitution, Axes make a solid weapon choice that doesn't overlap with other NPCs, and tons of HPs on top of health regeneration)

    Dorn (19 Strength and great Paladin kit make him an obvious choice, also best option for evil party leader)

    Viconia (19 Dexterity makes for great ranged attack and armor class, magic resistance from being a Drow, and the best Evil aligned support character considering the abilities of every other Evil NPC)

    Edwin (Best joinable NPC Mage, his special item gives him more spells on top of being a specialist Mage, plus good Constitution for some extra HPs)

    Baeloth (Extra versatile spellcasting and decent lore from his high Intelligence/Wisdom score, starts of with some nice spells when you first get him)

    The 6th slot has always been one up for debate, normally I'd probably take Shar'Teel for some extra muscle up front with 3 great frontliners but I remember the 1.3 patch made her and Dorn not get along with each other for some reason so I haven't used that combo since then. There's also a neutral party member like Xan who you could take around for some extra spellcasting, or Garrick for his all around Bard abilities. A number of the other NPCs aren't found until a good deal into the game, though Baeloth takes a little while to get himself. Before getting Baeloth I'd probably have Garrick tag along since it's not too difficult to get him in your party and it's early in the game, and his proficiencies are pretty decent.

    The Enhanced Edition also added Neera who's Neutral aligned and I don't think would conflict with anyone, so she can add some extra spellcasting too fairly early on if you don't mind their personality and the Wild Mage class.

    Neera and Edwin are exclusive. Garrick and Xan are bad choices as there is already more than enough arcane power in this party.

    You've also miscounted. Taking the 4 evil characters available in SoD leaves 1 spot for kagain or another character plus the protagonist (who should probably be some kind of thief unless you ditch Kagain for a thief type (Montaron or Tiax are evil)).
  • GodGod Member Posts: 1,150
    thelovebat said:

    Garrick for his all around Bard abilities.

    Or better yet, Eldoth.
    He sings too, but is also a douchebag. People rarely ever use him, complaining that his stats are poor, but this is obviously a non-issue. Given a nice bow, the dexterity gloves and/or a couple of potions of mind focusing (stackable +3 to Intelligence and Dexterity for a whopping 12 hours) he can mow down armies with those poison arrows of his.
  • UnderstandMouseMagicUnderstandMouseMagic Member Posts: 2,147
    You have just discovered the interesting NPC rather than the boring goody two shoes cannon lot.

    What I would recommend is installing NPC project though, makes BG so much better. The writers/creators got the characters spot on.

    And what about Kivan?
    Lethal with a bow, consistantly hates Viconia (in fact hates most people) but hey, it's all flavour.
    Who needs to "tank" in BG, nobody gets near enough with Edwin at the back throwing out webs and grease (to be followed up later with cloudkill added on top).
  • AriusArius Member Posts: 92
    edited October 2016
    Shar-Tel is a good get. You add her Dorn and Kagain and thats a formidable front line. I'd in both drow to the back line with your shadow dancer thief.

    And if you like Dwarf healer or some other good aligned NPC . Just add them and put helm02 on the aka helm of opposite alignment. After all thats kind of a bad guy thing to do.
  • PentiumDPentiumD Member Posts: 62
    edited December 2016
    I play multiple games.

    But i like this party setup.

    PC = Bounty Hunter Level 3 / Cleric Level 6 ATM Dual Class Human
    Vysn = Assassin Level 6
    Garrick = Bard Tank xD Level 6
    Veconia = Cleric Backup Healer - Ranged Attacker Level 6
    Eldoth = Bard - Ranged Level 6
    Skie = Rogue - Melee (Yet to get her atm)

    No fighters but the horror spells are fun.
  • islandkingislandking Member Posts: 426
    Coran, Kagain, Dorn, Viconia and Baeloth already makes a all-around formidable team, leaving lots pf freedom for PC creation...
  • yksimaltyksimalt Member Posts: 115
    I just love how everyone have their own favorite composition.

    My take is Shar-Tel first up, then Viconia, and the Kagain.

    Powerful, character-rich, evil aligned.

    What more can one ask for...

    /A.
  • UnderstandMouseMagicUnderstandMouseMagic Member Posts: 2,147
    alceryes said:

    Wowo said:

    Standard evil party for BG1 and SoD:
    Dorn
    Viconia
    Edwin
    Baeloth

    Which leaves 1 spot free for each game. For my Shadowdancer playthrough im planning on sticking the Helm of Opposite Alignment on one of the good characters to round out the party. In BG1 I'll swap a few around but probably settle on Kagain.

    I've never taken Baeloth to the end. By the time I encounter him my party is usually set. Plus, Edwin *really* likes the robes Baeloth is wearing. I've heard that having both Edwin and Baeloth for the latter half of BG1 is like bringing a nuke to a stick fight. I'll have to try it sometime.
    You get another set of robes for evil mages from Daeveron.

    So you can have both dressed up to the nines nuking things right left and center.
    A lot of fun if carrying on to SOD.

    I do like my evil mages dressed for the part...it's so fitting for them both, anything less is unacceptable.
  • GallengerGallenger Member Posts: 400
    Baeloth + Edwin + Xzar now that's the real team (dual Xzar to Cleric when convenient).

    Sure AoE damage spells may kill a good portion of your party but think of the DPS! lol.
  • Contemplative_HamsterContemplative_Hamster Member Posts: 844
    Candy is dandy, but Fireball is quicker!
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