What do you guys think about this party?
Stormvessel
Member Posts: 654
I've played this game a lot over the years, and always find myself using some variation of an evil party (due to what I feel are superior NPCs), but this time I wanted to go with something a little different. I'm really enjoying this party and thought I would see if anyone had any thoughts or suggestions.
Elf Fighter/Mage:
My Fighter/Mage is badass - no question here. He wears Elven Chain and dual wields Varscona and Long Sword +1 (eventually Burning Earth). He buffs himself up, tanks, and deals major damage. Note: I dropped Neera just long enough to complete Dorn's questline in order to get the Elven Chain.
Faldorn:
Faldorn is mainly a healer and summoner, but also a secondary tank (and a damn good one). Uses Ankheg Armor, Dexterity Gauntlets, Icingdeath, the Claw of Kazgaroth, and eventually Kiel's Buckler. That's -6 AC. Throw in Iron Skin, Summons, and the better defense against spells afforded by the Claw, and I have myself an excellent tanking resource. She can also summon insects to make mage battles much easier. Not bad in melee, either, when using the appropriate buffs. Can use Wands of the Heavens.
Coran:
Coran is so incredible. He wears Drizzt's Chain and can still use his thief skills. He wields the Dead Shot and almost never misses. He wields the Gauntlets of Ogre Power and can backstab like crazy. Most of his points go into his stealth skills, but his other skills are high enough to provide the party with a thief substitute in order to dual Imoen to Mage (during this time he can quaff potions when needed). Note: I feel the bracers of archery are somewhat wasted on Coran (because he hits every time anyway), so Imoen is using them.
Imoen:
Duals to Mage at level 7, provides the party with lock picking and trap-finding, wears Robe of the Good Archmagi, wields crossbow of speed w/ braces of archery, and can sling spells and use wands.
Neera:
Wears Robe of the Neutral Archmagi. Uses slings and Quarterstaff. Can sling spells, use wands, and is a lot of fun. Also provides a quest.
Baeloth:
Wears Robe of the Evil Archmagi. Uses Darts and Quarterstaff. Unleashes devastation.
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I feel this party is quite powerful - and I especially like that four party members can launch fireballs using spells/wands. So what do you think? Have you used this party before (or something similiar?). Any suggestions?
Elf Fighter/Mage:
My Fighter/Mage is badass - no question here. He wears Elven Chain and dual wields Varscona and Long Sword +1 (eventually Burning Earth). He buffs himself up, tanks, and deals major damage. Note: I dropped Neera just long enough to complete Dorn's questline in order to get the Elven Chain.
Faldorn:
Faldorn is mainly a healer and summoner, but also a secondary tank (and a damn good one). Uses Ankheg Armor, Dexterity Gauntlets, Icingdeath, the Claw of Kazgaroth, and eventually Kiel's Buckler. That's -6 AC. Throw in Iron Skin, Summons, and the better defense against spells afforded by the Claw, and I have myself an excellent tanking resource. She can also summon insects to make mage battles much easier. Not bad in melee, either, when using the appropriate buffs. Can use Wands of the Heavens.
Coran:
Coran is so incredible. He wears Drizzt's Chain and can still use his thief skills. He wields the Dead Shot and almost never misses. He wields the Gauntlets of Ogre Power and can backstab like crazy. Most of his points go into his stealth skills, but his other skills are high enough to provide the party with a thief substitute in order to dual Imoen to Mage (during this time he can quaff potions when needed). Note: I feel the bracers of archery are somewhat wasted on Coran (because he hits every time anyway), so Imoen is using them.
Imoen:
Duals to Mage at level 7, provides the party with lock picking and trap-finding, wears Robe of the Good Archmagi, wields crossbow of speed w/ braces of archery, and can sling spells and use wands.
Neera:
Wears Robe of the Neutral Archmagi. Uses slings and Quarterstaff. Can sling spells, use wands, and is a lot of fun. Also provides a quest.
Baeloth:
Wears Robe of the Evil Archmagi. Uses Darts and Quarterstaff. Unleashes devastation.
___________________________________
I feel this party is quite powerful - and I especially like that four party members can launch fireballs using spells/wands. So what do you think? Have you used this party before (or something similiar?). Any suggestions?
3
Comments
one thing to note I suppose if everyone is blasting fireballs are you casting protection from fire on your melee guys? ( especially the mage spell, it lasts a lot longer - can be found at thalantyr in high hedge-) because if you do that, then you can go fireball crazy on your front line without a worry or care
I agree about Faldorn. I've used her as a secondary tank too, and even though it's not the most obvious choice, it actually works rather well (once you've gained her a few more HP and the right equipment).
Personally I like more divine casting than that (mainly for the great buffs), so I'd probably have included Quayle in place of Neera (or maybe Baeloth) ... but of course, that's just a matter of personal playing style.
I recommend dropping someone temporarily (Neera, maybe?) in order to recruit Rasaad and do his quest, so as to get the Big-Fisted Belt for Faldorn. It'll prevent her from using her Wands, but it'll increase her tanking power enormously - a worthwhile trade-off when you're using her in that role.
Elf Fighter/Mage → Elf Fighter/Mage
I “only” rolled a 93 with a really low strength modifier of 18/10. It’s still a very high roll that took ages to get and, after going through the Candlekeep Catacombs, strength is raised to 19 anyway. Besides that, it’s a very strong build that deals formidable melee damage. I went with dual-wielding katanas/scimitars for style points and in preparation for BG2. I didn’t try to get one of these weapons early (and didn’t really read up on locations), so I played a significant part of the game with whatever weapon(s) gave me the best chance to hit. The variety was actually a lot of fun.
Faldorn → Viconia
Viconia is my non-arcane caster and buffer. With the Gauntles of Ogre Power, Ankheg mail and a big shield (currently Shield of the Falling Stars), she is an effective third melee char if the need arises. Before her, I started with Branwen, switched to Yeslick and used Quayle for a bit. As soon as managing reputation (so annoying!) and money stopped being issues, I added Viconia.
Coran → Dorn
I went with Safana and/or Coran for quite some time during this playthrough to replace Imoen’s thieving skills after dual-classing her to mage at level 7. Both are cool chars, and I always enjoy playing fighter/thief classes (Coran). In the end, I decided to play some more with Dorn, though. As Imoen was back as a thief, Coran basically became the “bonus fighter slot” and was therefore replaced.
Imoen → Imoen
She’s using a bow in my party but apart from that: It’s Imoen. I always have her in my party. She belongs to the story and she is super useful.
Baeloth → Baeloth
I brought him for the same reason as Dorn. I want to have him in my party for some more time. More arcane firepower is always good.
Neera → n/a
Neera or Coran would add some more power, but I feel that the party is strong enough as it is. Having just five characters might also help with the leveling of Viconia, Dorn and Baeloth. I just have Durlag’s Tower (lower levels) and the Baldur’s Gate Undercity left to play.
There's literally zero reason to take a vastly inferior Dynaheir (who I killed) or Xan when Baeloth is so strong. I float around 14/15 rep (money is a non-factor) and never have any issues.
I hardly consider Baeloth evil, anyway. He's a Drow, and an eccentric one at that. I can manage him.
I could be wrong but I always thought the DC bonus for specialization wasn't implemented in Baldur's Gate, meaning Enchantment spells cast by Xan are no better than those cast by anyone else.
That may have been what you were talking about but thought I would clarify just in case.