Completing a conflict-free party?

GreenWarlock

My slowly played half-orc Kensai run should finish up BGEE in a couple of days, so I am finally thinking about the BG2EE run. Playing v1.3 if that turns out to be relevant.

My plan is he will fail a. brunch of tests in hell and turn evil, taking the physical stat boosts and actually using Black razor for the first time ever! His key companions in BGEE have been Viconia and Edwin, so I plan to carry them over. That naturally leads to Hexxat as a thief, and I have a strong 4-character unit, but still looking for 2 more to round out the set - I like putting as much of the loot to use as possible

My ideal round-out would have been Rasaad (to see how monk and kensai mix it up as a front line) and Aerie, for spellcasting depth. However, I hear there are unresolvable conflicts between Rasaad and Viconia, and Aerie and Hexxat, in ToB. Next though would be to use Neera for a second mage, but she cannot be in a party with Edwin. Imoen is millions of xp behind by the time I recruit her, and Nalia is simply underwhelming - I seem bereft of good secondary mage. Jan does not fit the bill as with Hexxat on the party, his thievery is useless, but cripples his magery.

Other ideas are to perhaps run Haer'Dalis as my second arcane caster, but he will get up to only level 6 spells. This is still my preferred option though. Final character looks like falling to either Jaheira (who I rarely play) and Cernd, who I have never played. Both feel underwhelming though, which is why I rarely play them.

Other options are Dorn and Korgan, but looking for something a little more interesting in a front-liner, given that my Kensai NPC is already pretty one-dimensional.

Any other suggestions that do not involve mods?
Any way I can play either of my original picks and avoid ToB conflicts?

PC currently has a 19 charisma, which should hit 20 in Watchers' Keep.

ThacoBell

Haer'Dalis should service perfectly fine as a secondary caster. Jaheaira makes a fantastic second line fighter with a q.staff and she can toss out BEES! (the most powerful elemental in Faerun), and the "Blind with no save" Nature's Beauty as needed.

Grond0

You could go for Mazzy in place of Rasaad. She needs far less care and attention than Rasaad and can perform well both in the front line and at range depending on your requirements. She's also got some nice bonus personal abilities to play with.

bob_veng

haer'dalis is very powerful in tob as a bard, both for his song and thief hlas and extreme tenser's level. being a blade only helps.

Arunsun

Haer'Dalis looks like he'll fit perfectly in your party. He can be a support caster, a frontliner (and a great one at that), and pretty much everything you are looking for. You should definitely take him.

Jaheira would look weird in your party. Despite being "true neutral" because of druid alignment restrictions, she really is more goodish than a real true neutral.

I would consider Jan, he'll provide good spellcasting, supporting thief abilities which allow you to focus Hexxat on traps and stealth and nice banters, + if you play Haer'Dalis as a frontline that requires management, Jan will exactly fill the hole in your party. Oh and I forgot the most important: Jan is Jan, and thus should be taken on every party.

GreenWarlock

Thanks all. It sounds like there is no easy conflict resolution, and Haer'Dalis is in. That leaves me choosing between grubbing up Jaheira, or taking Cernd, as my final slot.

Sorry, I have no interest in taking Jan on this run, as his skills don't fit. I will admit I found him frustrating beyond words when I first got the game, and kind of forgot he existed. However, when I started replaying after the EE came out, my sense of humor had adjusted enough that Jan now makes 90% of my parties as their primary thief, as BG2EE provides few options for thieves, especially as I play Good alignment at least 90% of the time

ThacoBell

Take Jaheira, she can shift roles as needed better than Cernd. Cernd is kind of a terrible human being as well.

UnderstandMouseMagic

You don't need a second arcane caster with Edwin.
Seriously you don't, with all the wands, items, rings, ROV and Staff of the Magi, I find myself only ever using other casters simply so they don't feel left out. Also to try and justify why they are picking up a share of the XP.

HD is more than enough and you get thief skills.
Korgan.

And then there's always the possibility not to use six. Smaller party, higher levels quicker, and it becomes even more apparent that you don't need a second caster or a second cleric.

GreenWarlock

I like playing party-of-six just to get the most usage out of all the loot we pick up, especially in BG2. The second caster is a back-up lest Edwin get disabled, and for those occasions where the target-rich environment would appreciate a second caster - otherwise I get lost picking the right priority!

Thanks @ThacoBell, but I think I am leaning towards Cernd for the faster leveling (which is an issue for druids). Being a terrible human is not an immediate rejection on this party, and Jaheira would be the only multi-class at that point. Also, I /never/ take Cernd, so this might be the one time to give him a try.

Of course, in order to max xp each other NPC will be played long enough to deliver their personal quest line...