Ideal 6th party member?

Taylorrr

Including my main character sorcerer my party consists of: Adjantis, Dorn, Imoen, and Branwen. I have pretty much all the bases covered with them but it leaves one spot open.

Skatan

I'd say a ranged character could come in handy, so maybe Kivan or Coran?

Ajantis and Dorn in the same party is quite interresting, hehe..

Taylorrr

I know the implications of having Adjantis in a party with an evil aligned character. But with already having Imoen, would another thief really be necessary?

DreadKhan

Coran provides pretty impressive archery skills, and you can have him develop thief skills imoen chooses to ignore.

Balrog99

Wait for level 5 then grab Baeloth. You can't have enough arcane firepower. Besides, he starts with Fireball!

DreadKhan

Does Adjantis get along with Baeloth? I suspect not, maybe you should decide between Adjantis and evil?

If you do drop Adjantis, there are replacements for a tank, including Kagain, who gives you no rep hit to join, or Khalid if you want to stay mixed, he only fights with Xzar and Montaron iirc. Jaheira isn't very strong in BG1 imho though, but she's pretty decent in BG2. She does get a few good spells, and can be given good gear to make her more capable, but so can anyone. It is possible to have only Khalid, but there is the issue of his morale, though if you're doing well he's usually fine in my experience.

Minsc is a Good (and decent) substitute for Dorn, but is less powerful/versatile, and Minsc brings along Dynaheir, who is a reasonable caster.

Since you've got a solid thief, cleric and sorcerer, you might even consider a Bard, though both are a bit harder to use effectively than other characters, so that might not be a fit either. Heck, you could even try Xan, he's not as useless as his depression makes him seem, and while also a bit harder to use, he's pretty capable if you keep a couple wands around to supplement his spells.

Chnapy

personally i'd go with either kivan (replaced with coran later on, which allows imoen to dual as soon as she's good trapspotting-wise for additional arcane firepower) or a bard. Garrick does pretty okay with a longbow and brings spells, songs and pickpocket.

JumboWheat01

A bard is always a good character to slot into a last slot. Makes everyone better at their job, provides some spell support and free item identification.

Taylorrr

And Garricks cute, which is an added bonus.

fateless

in my experiences attempting to have them both you cannot have Adjantis and Dorn in the same party. They immediately set to leaving your party and killing each other.

Mush_Mush

I'd say either a mage like Edwin, Neera or Xan for balance or Kivan for extra damage.

Papa_Lou

Coran is one of my favourites, and he's a real beast on the battlefield if you equip him with some good ranged weapons.

That being said, cleric/thief is one helluva multiclass, so perhaps Tiax? Especially if/when Ajantis and Dorn start to bicker and you're forced to decide on one or the other (if their blades don't decide for you).

I do agree that a bard could help a lot, and fit the last role of "whatever you want" rather nicely. Neither Garrick nor Eldoth are the greatest characters, with regards to stats and all that, though. But fi that doesn't matter much to you, I'd recommend either or.

Keep in mind, though, Eldoth will require you to take Skie along once you reach Baldur's Gate if you want him to stay in the party.

ThacoBell

Garrick has enough stats where it counts. With a Bard, you just want to avoid penalties (cougheldothcough), bounses aren't that important. I hold the opinion that Garrick is the strongest npc in BG1.

Taylorrr

Garrick is kind of the worst lol. After using him as bait for a while I decided to switch him out for Edwin. Only downside is now I'll have three magic characters, once I dual class Imoen.

Taylorrr

Also, is it bad I recruited Edwin at level 4?

jsaving

Garrick is an underrated character in BG1, for sure, not because of his bard songs or melee prowess but because he levels up faster than the rest of the party and can therefore dish out more damage with his lightning bolts, skull traps, etc. I'd suggest taking Garrick as your sixth party member while simultaneously replacing Branwen with either Tiax (if you are dualing Imoen to mage) or Jaheira (if not).

Chnapy

He's definitely a great fifth wheel, he might not take care of anything essential (i wouldn't use a bard as my only spellcaster, for example) but in a generally well rounded party he'll bring excellency in some non-essential-yet-useful areas. Pickpocketing, identification through lore, casting spells as a 10th lvl caster, proficiency with any weapon... Sure, vanilla songs aren't all that great but the character just doesn't need them.

ThacoBell

Bards are one of the strongest classes in the game, on par with mages. They are also the second hardest to use to their full potential (right behind single class thieves), so a lot of people write them off before properly learning them.

unavailable

You have imoen as a dedicated rogue and archer, ajantis who can swap from ranged to melee whenever dorn or or branwen are hurt or have something better to do than melee and two powerful mages. a bard or second rogue is ideal for your situation.

Eadwyn_G8keeper

Also consider staying with an efficient party of 5. I find adding the 6th member detracts from my enjoyment of the game, cluttering up encounters in cramped quarters and requiring just that extra bit of time-consuming management of supplies, etc. without adding much to playing power.

That being said I would vote for the Kivan >Coran option as archery is so powerful in BG1. And if you have not leveled Imoen beyond Level 5, do consider dual-class Mage for her if you have 85+ in traps or 100 for TotSC quests. While Coran is unmatched as an archer with Thief skills to boot, Kivan is a superior 2nd line melee asset armed with a Halberd and seems to get along particularly well with Branwen.

Zilber

I usually EEKeeper Safana to bard. This fits her a lot better and gives a non-sucky bard.