Skip to content

Arcane only party.

So I've been diagnosed with restarteritis for a while now, even more so after I installed mods. After my post about an evil party, we eventually started talking about an arcane magic only party, and I just couldn't get the idea out of my head, so restarteritis has won again and I'm starting a new game. BG1 all the way to ToB (if I even make it out of BG1). One thing I'm not sure about is if I should use mods or not, since I've never actually beaten ToB before, I think once I made it to the final boss but within the past few years I've made it to ToB twice, and neither left saradush. I also need to think about what class I'm going to play as. I'm leaning towards a specialist mage for some reason, transmuter in particular. I guess because I just like the idea of them even if they aren't that great, though a blade or a fighter/mage would probably be better. I'll probably have Jan, Edwin, Nalia, Aerie and Haer'dalis... probably. I don't like wild magic so Neera's out, Imoen comes a bit to late for my liking, and
Sarevok (dualed to mage)
comes WAY too late, though I do love his character. Any thoughts? (also I'm sorry for how much I ramble about things that aren't that important to what the post is about)

Comments

  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,889
    Neera's generally incompatible with Edwin anyway, so forget her. Except if you decide to ditch Edwin for a while to do her quest. So, you have a party. For BG2, anyway. Arcanists in BG1 ...
    - Dynaheir. Invoker. Paired with Minsc. Available in chapter 2.
    - Edwin. Conjurer. Available in chapter 2.
    - Eldoth. Bard. Paired with Skie. Available in chapter 4.
    - Garrick. Bard. Available in chapter 1.
    - Neera. Wild mage. Available in chapter 1.
    - Quayle. Illusionist/Cleric. Available in chapter 5.
    - Xan. Enchanter. Available in chapter 3.
    - Xzar. Necromancer. Paired with Montaron. Available in chapter 1.

    That's a tougher lineup - no thieves, several options are inconveniently paired with non-arcane characters, and the only healer comes in very late. Plus there are interpersonal conflicts to worry about - Edwin and Neera still conflict, though I think that's only at the first encounter with Neera. So, Neera/Garrick/Edwin/Xan, and the last slot has to wait until Quayle is available.

    One recommendation: have a neutral protagonist, so a familiar can apply some thief skills in BG1. (The neutral familiars are all 18 DEX thieves with no race bonuses. A cat can scout under stealth, a rabbit can deal with low-difficulty traps, and a ferret isn't very useful when you already have a bard.)
  • Swarmkeeper109Swarmkeeper109 Member Posts: 45
    jmerry wrote: »
    Neera's generally incompatible with Edwin anyway, so forget her. Except if you decide to ditch Edwin for a while to do her quest. So, you have a party. For BG2, anyway. Arcanists in BG1 ...
    - Dynaheir. Invoker. Paired with Minsc. Available in chapter 2.
    - Edwin. Conjurer. Available in chapter 2.
    - Eldoth. Bard. Paired with Skie. Available in chapter 4.
    - Garrick. Bard. Available in chapter 1.
    - Neera. Wild mage. Available in chapter 1.
    - Quayle. Illusionist/Cleric. Available in chapter 5.
    - Xan. Enchanter. Available in chapter 3.
    - Xzar. Necromancer. Paired with Montaron. Available in chapter 1.

    That's a tougher lineup - no thieves, several options are inconveniently paired with non-arcane characters, and the only healer comes in very late. Plus there are interpersonal conflicts to worry about - Edwin and Neera still conflict, though I think that's only at the first encounter with Neera. So, Neera/Garrick/Edwin/Xan, and the last slot has to wait until Quayle is available.

    One recommendation: have a neutral protagonist, so a familiar can apply some thief skills in BG1. (The neutral familiars are all 18 DEX thieves with no race bonuses. A cat can scout under stealth, a rabbit can deal with low-difficulty traps, and a ferret isn't very useful when you already have a bard.)

    I honestly forgot about her quests until now, and thinking about it, you get really nice items in both games. In BG1 an extra stone skin scroll, and in BG2 a lot of useful items. I think you're right about them not conflicting normally, though I feel like if you're doing her quest while Edwin is in the party he will get mad. But I may be misremembering that. So I'll probably do her quest and then take Edwin. I could always just leave the second member of the pair inside a building I'll never go to again, though I would still need to take a non mage in the party. Hmm. I didn't think about having my familiar doing thieving things! I'll probably be true neutral to get the rabbit to deal with some traps. Though, I wonder if I should take Imoen and dual her to mage. I need to decide if I should be stricter with who's allowed, or take non mages either to get a mage or to dual them into mage. Thanks for the comment!
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,889
    Yeah, OK, Imoen dual-classed to mage is a legit option in BG1. You can even get her already at level 2+ and ready to dual if you skip the first meeting outside Candlekeep (run away to the east before she can talk to you) and come back later with some experience under your belt.
  • Swarmkeeper109Swarmkeeper109 Member Posts: 45
    jmerry wrote: »
    Yeah, OK, Imoen dual-classed to mage is a legit option in BG1. You can even get her already at level 2+ and ready to dual if you skip the first meeting outside Candlekeep (run away to the east before she can talk to you) and come back later with some experience under your belt.

    I forgot about just running away from her :D.
Sign In or Register to comment.