Anomen - or what happened to my party?

Maurvir

I have found myself in a somewhat unusual position with regards to Anomen in my current BG2 party. I'm still in chapter 2, thanks to already having Imoen back in the party, so I've been cycling through NPCs to see which one the party should take to Spellhold.

Rasaad opted to stay at the temple, Mazzy is tending to her sister, Jan is still in jail, Viconia is going full emo in the graveyard, Cernd is STILL full emo in the druid grove, etc. Next in the list? Anomen. I figured I would help him get through his trials to become a proper night, then move on.

Except that, while he turned out to be annoying as I remembered, he was also incredibly useful enough to make up for it. The party is already around level 13, so his turn undead is powerful. During the cult of the unseeing eye, he was able to clear the field just walking around invisibly. That whole battle in the makeshift tent thing came down to four enemies - all the others chunked as soon as he walked up.

Also, given his history, I gave him the dark seed of guilt from ISNF. That turned him into a powerhouse. With another item, the elephant figurine, he took on a priest and an absolutely nuts merc, in the north forest. Sure, he was beaten up by the end, but he saved the rest of the party in the process. I might actually do the unthinkable and have the party take him to Spellhold. Yes, he's a pompous ass, but wow.

Right now, he's chilling at De'Arnise keep, but unlike other party members who have left, he still has his gear. I'm training Neera in the ways of magic to do her quest, and get a certain item in Athkatla. However, I don't see her staying in the party all that terribly long.

gorgonzola

yes, anomen is indeed one of the most powerful npcs, and it remains so until the ToB if properly used.
only those that don't know how to use him feel that his power fades in late SoA and in ToB given his low level in the fighter class.
you can read more about my opinion on him, his power and his suggested use here:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/74776/the-most-powerful-soa-fighter
the correct procedure to buff for combat every cleric, and anomen gets the apr of a fighter (+1.5 if he reaches GM) is:
holy power, that has to be cast as first, gives thac0 of a fighter of the same level of the cleric level, boost hp and set the str (overriding str enhancing items and previously cast spells, but not the symbol when he gets it)
righteous magic, enhances the str got trough holy power, boost hp and gives automatic maxed damage roll
DUHM, increases str, dex and con so even at medium levels he gets 25 str (+7 thac0, +14 dmg mlee and with sling), he improves his AC and his hp. has to be cast at last as is the less lasting, but as it is really fast to cast it is possible to cast it again if it elapses in a long battle.
with those spells he rocks (until dispelled ) even in the last game battles, without them his mlee power has a spike somewhere in SoA then fades away as you face enemies with better and better ac.
his personality is annoying, but he can really bring to the party a lot of power and utility, he can even make the powerful kangaxx explode if you delay the fight enough.