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Planning BG1+BG2+TOB run, some help?

Hello All,

I just bought BG1 and I want to do a complete run. I played BG2 a lot. I have SCS installed on both games. SCS is a little lighter on BG1 since that game is new for me. I will adjust the slider when things get to difficult.

But my real problem is party planning and picking the class for my PC with maybe 1 extra custom character.
I was planning on doing a good aligned run considering I just did an evil run through BG2 and TOB.
I have no idea which NPCś are good alligned and also quite strong for in my party in BG1.

I am thinking of creating a Elven Fighter/Mage multi or a Blade as my PC with a Sorceror extra custom character and fill in the rest. How would those do in BG1 and which NPS would complement these characters?

Thank you.

Comments

  • Very_BigSwordVery_BigSword Member Posts: 222
    The main and custom character options will be fine. You just need to be aware of how risky and limiting the lower levels are. Given you have no BG1 experience I believe the Fighter/Mage is a more forgiving choice, you can play as a fighter with armour and shield early on until you have effective combat spells. Blade is still good but the learning curve is steeper.

    Due to the low level play; move speeds; attacks per round; range; and initiative mechanics missile attacks are highly effective in BG1, much more than is the case in BG2. Bows and throwing knives are double the APR of melee weapons for example as well as launching from range and therefore attacking earlier. Note this is also true for enemies! So having a tank in front to attract those first strikes is valuable. Prioritise attacks on ranged enemies and casters.

    So given the above, let's consider party composition. Main is a spellsword so at mid-high level that is a tank, low level its more a DPS or archer option and also arcane support. Sorc is arcane. BG1 does not require a lot of arcane capability. So you probably want a thief type, divine caster, a tank and an archer from the good and neutral NPC pool.

    My advice would be:
    Thief - Imoen (Human T) early. Switch to Coran (Elf F/T multi) - available mid-game (Ch 4), top tier archer.
    Archer - Kivan (Elf R) early. Top tier archer, also can melee DPS and wear heavy armour. Potential dual wielding melee after mid-game but archery is king.
    Divine - Branwen (Human C) early. Can open with debuff/disabler spell and off-tank for Ajantis in lower levels.
    Tank - Ajantis (Human P) early. Dex is poor so you need to prioritise getting bracers of dex for a proper Armour Class. Until then he needs some frontline support. Can switch to Yeslick (Dwarf F/C) mid-game (Ch 4). High Con Dwarf tank with synergy of cleric spell buffs, yes please. Also needs the bracers of dex.

    Note that if you take Yeslick mid-game it does give you the option of replacing Branwen. There are a few new NPCs after the mid-game and some others you did not take earlier, all can be made useful.

    Also don't be too concerned about having a lot of multis. At a given XP amount they are only one level behind single classes while having the abilities of two classes. This is a perfectly acceptable trade-off.
  • Very_BigSwordVery_BigSword Member Posts: 222
    And a quick follow up note - if you are going with the mid-game character swaps it is best not to level up too much before you meet them. New NPCs join at 32k experience max. So best not to do all possible side quests before Chapter 4, instead do the main quests with some urgency until Chapter 4 is complete then back fill on optional dungeons and side quests.

    You can also hold off on getting Kivan and Branwen until Chapter 3. Khalid (1/2 Elf F) and Jaheira (1/2 Elf F/D) can play their roles adequately in Chapter 1 and 2.

    Generally speaking evil parties have the best tank/melee DPS/arcane choices but lack Archery options, Good parties have strong archery options but mediocre tanks/melee.
  • Very_BigSwordVery_BigSword Member Posts: 222
    Other Good/Neutral NPCs:
    Rasaad - Human Sun Soul Monk early. Low level monk, crappy kit, mediocre stats. Role play tier. Could take him short term to access the side quest.
    Neera - Human Wild Mage early. Risky, not so good at low levels. Could take her short term to access the side quest.
    Minsc - Human Ranger early. Very high Str, other stats mediocre. Hits hard with big sword, OK archer. Forced pairing with Dynaheir.
    Dynaheir - Human Invoker early. Decent arcane caster, forced pairing with Minsc. Not optimal for your party.
    Xan - Elf Enchanter early. Very good for low level due to lower enemy saving throws, superb CC. Squishy with mage HP and low Con. Not optimal for your party but always carries weight. Could use him instead of custom Sorceror.
    Safana - Human Thief early. OK but there are multiple better thieves. Why bother.
    Faldorn - Human Druid mid-game. True neutral like all druids but not really suited to a good party. Poor stats but spell casting is on point, underrated NPC.
    Quayle - Gnome Cleric/Illusionist late game. Spells for days, interesting character. But so late in the game that he will be under-levelled except for extreme beelining play. Good as a replacement if somebody got perma-killed.
    Alora - Halfling Thief late game. The best pure class Thief but so late in the game that she will be under-levelled except for extreme beelining play. Optimal replacement if the party thief got perma-killed.
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,822
    The game's pretty open in terms of what the protagonist can be. Whatever you build, you can fill the other roles you need with companions you recruit. One thing to note is that archery is extremely strong in BG1 ... and there are a lot of good companions that can fill that role in a party.
    Also, this game has paired companions; both join if you recruit one and both leave if you dismiss one (though the mechanism can be tricked in a few ways, as it's based on dialogue).

    A basic list of the available companions (assuming EE), sorted by alignment and how far you have to be in the game to recruit them:

    Chapter 1:

    Imoen - NG female human thief, can dual to mage. Starts with proficiency in shortbows and short swords. Finds you in the first area after leaving Candlekeep.
    Khalid - NG male half-elf fighter. Starts with proficiency in longbows and axes, specialization in longswords. Found in the Friendly Arm Inn. Paired with Jaheira.
    Jaheira - N female half-elf fighter/druid. Starts with proficiency in slings and staves, specialization in clubs. Found in the Friendly Arm Inn. Paired with Jaheira.
    Ajantis - LG male human paladin. Starts with proficiency in longbows and two-handed swords, specialization in bastard swords. Found in the farm area north of the Friendly Arm.
    Kivan - CG male elf ranger. Starts with specialization in longbows and halberds. Found in the forest at High Hedge. Must find the bandit camp (part of the main plot) to secure his loyalty; the time limit is fairly generous, but you can't just explore all the wilderness and ignore it or he'll leave.

    Garrick - CN male human bard. Starts with proficiency in short swords and crossbows. Found in Beregost, has a single-encounter quest to complete before he can be recruited.
    Neera - CN female half-elf wild mage. Starts with proficiency in staves. Found in Beregost, has a single-encounter quest to complete before she can be recruited.
    Safana - CN female human thief. Starts with proficiency in scimitars and darts. Found in the coastal "Seawatcher" area, requires you to loot the treasure cache of the area's mini-dungeon cave to secure her loyalty.

    Montaron - NE male halfling fighter/thief. Starts with specialization in short swords and slings. Found in the first area after leaving Candlekeep. Paired with Xzar. Requires you to reach Nashkel and start chapter 2 to secure his loyalty.
    Xzar - CE male human necromancer. Starts with proficiency in daggers. Found in the first area after leaving Candlekeep. Paired with Montaron. Requires you to reach Nashkel and start chapter 2 to secure his loyalty.
    Kagain - NE male dwarf fighter. Starts with proficiency in flails and crossbows, specialization in axes. Requires that you check out a caravan north of town to secure his loyalty.
    Viconia - NE female elf (drow) cleric. Starts with proficiency in maces and slings. Found in Peldvale east of the Friendly Arm. Requires you to deal with a Flaming Fist jerk before joining, reduces reputation by 2 while in the party.
    Shar-Teel - CE female human fighter, can dual to thief. Starts with proficiency in long swords and daggers, specialization in two-weapon style. Found two steps east of Beregost in an unnamed area. Requires you to duel her with your strongest male character before joining.
    Baeloth - CE male elf (drow) sorcerer. Starts at level 6 with proficiency in staves and darts. Found in Larswood, if your protagonist has at least 10K experience. Reduces reputation by 2 while in the party.

    Chapter 2:

    Rasaad - LG male human sun soul monk. Starts with proficiency in katanas and scimitars. Found in Nashkel.
    Minsc - CG male human ranger. Starts with proficiency in longbows and maces, specialization in two-handed swords. Found in Nashkel. Requires that you rescue Dynaheir to secure his loyalty. Paired with Dynaheir once she's rescued.
    Dynaheir - LG female human invoker. Starts with proficiency in slings. Found in the gnoll stronghold in the far southwest. Paired with Minsc once they meet.

    Branwen - N female human priest of Tempus. Starts with proficiency in hammers and slings. Found in the Nashkel carnival, petrified. Must unpetrify her before she can be recruited.
    Xan - LN male elf enchanter. Starts with proficiency in daggers. Found in the Nashkel mines.

    Edwin - LE male human conjurer. Starts with proficiency in staves. Found in Nashkel. Requires that you kill Dynaheir to secure his loyalty.
    Dorn - NE male half-orc blackguard. Starts with specialization in two-handed swords and two-handed style. Found in the Friendly Arm, can't be recruited until you speak to them and then get waylaid in chapter 2 or later; this normally happens when traveling to the Nashkel mines. Reduces reputation by 2 while in the party.

    Chapter 4:

    Coran - CG male elf fighter/thief. Starts at level 3/3 with specialization in longswords and mastery in longbows. Found in the first Cloakwood area. Requires that you hunt down a wyvern nesting farther into the Cloakwood to secure his loyalty.
    Yeslick - LG male dwarf fighter/cleric. Starts with specialization in hammers and slings. Found in the Cloakwood mines. Requires that you flood the mines to secure his loyalty; the time limit is short enough that leaving the Cloakwood to raise a dead party member could get you in trouble.

    Faldorn - N female human druid. Starts with proficiency in clubs and darts. Found in the third Cloakwood area. Requires that you flood the mines to secure her loyalty; again, the time limit means that leaving the Cloakwood to raise a dead party member could get you in trouble.

    Eldoth - NE male human bard. Starts with proficiency in longbows and scimitars. Found in the third Cloakwood area. Requires that you "rescue" Skie to secure his loyalty. Paired with Skie once that "rescue" happens.

    Chapter 5:

    Alora - CG female halfling thief. Starts at level 4 with proficiency in shortbows, daggers, and two-weapon style. Found in the "High House of Wonders" museum in west-central Baldur's Gate at night.

    Quayle - CN male gnome cleric/illusionist. Starts with proficiency in clubs and slings. Found just outside of the city walls east of Baldur's Gate.

    Skie - N female human thief. Starts at level 4 with proficiency in shortbows, darts, and short swords. Found in the Silvershield estate. Can only be recruited if Eldoth is with you, paired with Eldoth.
    Tiax - CE male gnome cleric/thief. Starts with proficiency in staves and slings. Found near the Flaming Fist castle in southwest Baldur's Gate.

    If you're building a good party, the good and neutral companions will all get along just fine. A mixed party is doable, but harder; it requires reputation-management tricks and watching for potential intra-party conflicts. There are actually more recruitable companions in BG1 than in BG2, but characterization is thin. They have a few lines, but they don't have the extensive banters and longer personal quests of BG2 characters. Unless you install the "BG1 NPC Project" mod to fill that gap.
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    WOW everyone made some really extensive replies! Thank you. I just started. First I was trying to metagame a little with some internet references. But when I started I just wanted to experience the game like a first time should be.

    Regarding party Iḿ thinking the following:

    Charname Elven F/M
    Imoen (maybe replace with Coran)
    Kivan (not sure when to get him, isnt his personal quest difficult early?)
    Branwen
    Ajantis > Yeslick
    Xan instead of my custom sorceror

    I am also wondering if i should keep Jaheira, she is gonna be in my party in BG2. Is She any good in BG1?
  • DanacmDanacm Member Posts: 950
    In bg1 every fighter or part-fighter is good. Give jaheira a scimitar and shield and can be an okay front liner. Also why not bring khalid with her, he is one of the best fighter npc-s, stat and gameplay wise better than Ajantis, only use Ajantis if you use roleplaying reasons.
    So your party, imoen is fine and can be a good mage addition and being a fighter/mage i dont think you need more mages in bg1, you can melt down every single enemy with fire, lighting and frost wands, in bg1 even a mage2-fighter dual can be a king with wands only.
    You can use the Sarevok reveange party of branwen, yeslick, kivan and xan and maybe faldorn whom are the co-enemies of your enemy.
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,822
    I usually just stick with clubs for Jaheira. There's a +1 in the southwest wilderness, a +2 in the Cloakwood, and that's good enough. You can't get better than a basic +2 scimitar anyway unless you kill Drizzt, and that's both quite difficult without chessy tricks and something Jaheira wouldn't like.

    As for Jaheira's druid half, druid spellcasting is excellent for healing and terrible for just about everything else at BG1 levels. She's well-suited to be a front-line fighter who patches you up after the battle.
    Shapeshifting also becomes an option in the late game; bear forms are great at dealing damage but have low Dex, while wolf form is well-rounded in a way that good equipment makes useless. And your spellcasting is inactive while transformed, but you weren't using spells in combat anyway.

    The weakness comes in her ranged combat options. Because slings aren't bows, and bows are king in BG1. Khalid is the archer here, and Jaheira's sling is a rarely-used backup option.

    On Kivan - his personal quest amounts to "find the bandit camp". Two timers; you get a warning after the first timer, then, he leaves if the second timer runs down. Those timers are 20 days in chapter 1, 14 days in chapter 2, and 7 days in chapter 3. Not enough time to explore all over, but if you follow the clues fairly directly you'll be fine.
    Also, if you choose the option that gets you into the camp without a fight, Kivan starts a fight as soon as you arrive and you'll be stuck fighting the whole camp. Which is pretty nasty if you install the SCS tactical component for it, but not too bad without that.
    So, it comes down to "are you ready to take on the bandit camp?" I see the level 3 mage scrolls you get there as a marker. If your party members are past 20K XP (level 5 for a single-classed mage) and you aren't horribly underequipped, you should be able to handle it.
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    Thank you, I think i am about at the point where is should pick up Kivan. I justed followed the storyline. I had a party consisting of:
    Charname, Imoen, Khalid, Jaheira, Minsc and Xan. I cleared the Nashkel Mines, not to difficult. Had te realod some time when Mulhahey summoned a lot of help the second time. Didnt expect that :smile: I saved Dynaheir and my party was full, so she and Minsc left. I went back to Nashkel and had te reload a bunch of times because of the assassin there. It was really difficult.

    I already went back to Beregost to confront someone in the Inn. At this time I think I should go pick up Kivan, but I still have to search for the bandit camp. I am not sure if I am doing the storyline to quick.
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    Just went to the bandit camp, not the camp itself but the surroundings. Got annihilated again and again. Guess Better Calls for Help really did me in. Got like 20 bandits on me plus 2 named characters. Did reload often but got nowhere. Guess I should try to level up first. I am level 2 at the moment except Imoen at level 3. Im worries if i take to long in the level up, Kivan might leave the group. Any advice?
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    Did some leveling on the coast area. Had to defeat some sirins I believe. Some massive XP for my party. Party leveled up to level 3 I believe. Kivan gave me a warning and I went back to the bandit camp. Fight was slightly easier and got to sleep/fear most of the low levels and only had to fight the names ones. Just barely made it but I did it!!
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    edited May 2022
    You took your own advice, which was to level up, so that's good.

    I tend to explore pretty much all of the wilderness areas (except for Tales of the Sword Coast content, and one specific area for reasons I won't mention) before going to the Bandit Camp to fight them all - although admittedly I play with SCS settings maxxed and the tougher Chapter 3 end battle component installed. I'd say that there's a lot of room for manoeuvre between how I play it and how you've played it, but you definitely seem to be running through the storyline somewhat quickly.

    Just a brief note about those bandits, comparing the stats of those at the camp to those you find elsewhere:

    Other - Level: 1 - Str: 12 - Dex: 10 - HP: 8 - THAC0: 20 - SBow Prof: **
    Camp - Level: 3 - Str: 17 - Dex: 16 - HP: 23 - THAC0: 13 - SBow Prof: ***

    So, in addition to all the general improvements which are reasonable - albeit that they're obscured somewhat by the fact that the bandits at the camp appear identical to those elsewhere - bandits at the camp have the THAC0 of level 8 fighters...

    EDIT: Okay, so this forum displays tabs or consecutive spaces while composing posts, but strips them away at the point of posting... great software.
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    edited May 2022
    Ok I am at the carnival right now. I am split between 2 choices. Should I get Branwen and lose Khalid and Jaheira. I could do that and go to cloakwood and pick up Yeslick, or should I keep the 2 i have now?

    After reading it seems in Cloakwood you can get a lot of good NPC's. Should I pick Coran and who should I drop for him? Kivan or Imoen?
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    DeeKayNL wrote: »
    Ok I am at the carnival right now. I am split between 2 choices. Should I get Branwen and lose Khalid and Jaheira. I could do that and go to cloakwood and pick up Yeslick, or should I keep the 2 i have now?
    Seeing as I'm still here: (a) are you aware you can split the NPC pairs? Send one to a tent you won't revisit, then boot them from the party; and (b) if you're level 3/4, you are going to struggle in Cloakwood, and more so with a party not at full strength.
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    You took your own advice, which was to level up, so that's good.

    I tend to explore pretty much all of the wilderness areas (except for Tales of the Sword Coast content, and one specific area for reasons I won't mention) before going to the Bandit Camp to fight them all - although admittedly I play with SCS settings maxxed and the tougher Chapter 3 end battle component installed. I'd say that there's a lot of room for manoeuvre between how I play it and how you've played it, but you definitely seem to be running through the storyline somewhat quickly.

    Just a brief note about those bandits, comparing the stats of those at the camp to those you find elsewhere:

    Other - Level: 1 - Str: 12 - Dex: 10 - HP: 8 - THAC0: 20 - SBow Prof: **
    Camp - Level: 3 - Str: 17 - Dex: 16 - HP: 23 - THAC0: 13 - SBow Prof: ***

    So, in addition to all the general improvements which are reasonable - albeit that they're obscured somewhat by the fact that the bandits at the camp appear identical to those elsewhere - bandits at the camp have the THAC0 of level 8 fighters...

    EDIT: Okay, so this forum displays tabs or consecutive spaces while composing posts, but strips them away at the point of posting... great software.

    Sorry I missed this post. Thanks you. I thought I was going to quick. I have been doing some wilderness areas and have been leveling. Not as much as needed though.

    How does this sound? I recruit Branwen and kick Jaheira when in a tent, I wanted to keep her in my party but she doesn't really do much at the moment . After that I try to do all areas in the south tot level up. What level would be enough for Cloakwood?

    Maybe try to recruit Yeslick and Coran when in Cloakwood. Still not sure who I should let go.
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    DeeKayNL wrote: »
    Sorry I missed this post. Thanks you. I thought I was going to quick.
    No worries - I feel sort of responsible if you're finding it more difficult than expected, as I advised you to keep SCS!
    DeeKayNL wrote: »
    How does this sound? I recruit Branwen and kick Jaheira when in a tent, I wanted to keep her in my party but she doesn't really do much at the moment . After that I try to do all areas in the south tot level up.
    That sounds fine. I would just bear in mind that most of the wilderness areas will be tediously easy in terms of combat if you do Cloakwood and then return to the wilderness areas afterwards. If you want to skip them, or if you're happy to explore without worrying that the combat has become very easy, then obviously that's fine.
    DeeKayNL wrote: »
    What level would be enough for Cloakwood?
    I think that JMerry's advice about the appropriate level for Bandit Camp can basically be extended to Cloakwood - don't go there until you're level 5 or so. That said, some Cloakwood areas are much easier than others, so you could venture to the first area to pick up Coran ahead of time. Coran's quest timer is as follows: 8 days; warning; 8 days; leave party - but note that he won't leave the party once you've done what's required for the quest, even if the timer expires before you collect the quest reward.
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    DeeKayNL wrote: »
    Sorry I missed this post. Thanks you. I thought I was going to quick.
    No worries - I feel sort of responsible if you're finding it more difficult than expected, as I advised you to keep SCS!

    No problem, I am happy I installed SCS, i think IT would be too easy if i didn't. This way I was forced to do some leveling before the bandit camp. And the party came out stronger.

    I am thinking of picking up Branwen and doing the lower areas before going to Cloakwood.

    I want to keep on going once I am in Cloakwood to get Coran and Yeslick. Not sure who to let go.

    Should I run Branwen and Yeslick in the same party?



  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    edited May 2022
    DeeKayNL wrote: »
    No problem, I am happy I installed SCS, i think IT would be too easy if i didn't.
    Good! That was definitely my thinking on the matter.
    DeeKayNL wrote: »
    I am thinking of picking up Branwen and doing the lower areas before going to Cloakwood.
    I would strongly recommend doing all the southern areas on the same two latitudes as Nashkel and the Nashkel Mines (except for Durlag's Tower). And I'd also strongly recommend doing all of the areas one step to the east, and one step to the west, of the main trade route connecting Baldur's Gate, the Friendly Arm, Beregost, and Nashkel. Again, this is just assuming that you want to do all of the maps, and that you'd be doing them after Cloakwood otherwise. There are a few more areas you could do as well, but I'm trying not to be too prescriptive!
    DeeKayNL wrote: »
    Should I run Branwen and Yeslick in the same party?
    If you like. I guess I'd point out the following:
    1. If you've ditched Jaheira, Yeslick will make a good front-line fighter with the dex gauntlets who buffs before combat and heals afterwards, while Branwen could be used in a supporting role to cast in-combat;
    2. Yeslick will max out at 7/7 on 128,000 XP, while Branwen will max out at 8 on 110,000 XP;
    3. Branwen and Yeslick have the same weapon profs (although at level 7, Branwen's Spiritual Hammer will be decent).
    Just a quick point about the total amount of XP available which might make your decisions easier; note that it spoils the total number of chapters and the breakdown of the TotSC quests, so it's spoilered:

    1. 275,000 XP in all of the wilderness areas and the Bandit Camp;
    2. 100,000 XP in Cloakwood;
    3. 185,000 XP in Baldur's Gate during Chapter 5;
    4. 65,000 XP in Chapter 6;
    5. 250,000 XP in Durlag's Tower [EDIT: this figure does not include content after the last-but-one level];
    6. 32,000 XP in the small island quest (TotSC);
    7. 110,000 XP in the large island quest (TotSC);
    8. 115,000 XP in Chapter 7 (before the final battle).

    So, you have some freedom to ditch companions without worrying about being under-levelled for the final battle.

    [EDIT] Added 32,000 XP TotSC quest
    Post edited by The_Baffled_King on
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,822
    What exactly are you counting in those XP numbers? Random monster groups in wild areas are a considerable source of XP, and they can't be easily quantified - they're both random in what sort of monster you get (will this spawn point give me 120 XP worgs or 650 XP dread wolves?) and scale to the party's level in how many you get.

    I often track experience beyond the cap; my parties tend to get to something like 270K XP each after a completionist run. Though that is boosted by my habit of solo-leveling to 32K XP before recruiting the party. And I tend to reach the cap around the end of chapter 5, with only the chapter 6 plot, the chapter 7 plot, and the ToTSC content after that.
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    edited May 2022
    @jmerry

    I made two mistakes, but I'm not sure how to explain the rest of the gap. Some of my figures are from this comment in the BG wiki. That sounds like an inauspicious start, but I bookmarked the thread a long time ago, and I'm fairly sure I did so because it matched the numbers I found in posts elsewhere and in my own game. Perhaps I've misremembered? Now I think about it, I remember working on the basis that 200k per party member was basically a given, which is an extra 100k (total) on top of my unedited post, and an extra 68k as it stands.

    My first mistake, which I corrected with an edit adding 32k XP, was to omit the XP for the smallest of the TotSC plotlines (I got distracted in the middle of the post). The second mistake I can see from looking at the comment I copied from the BG wiki; its figure for Durlag's Tower excludes the lowest level and the follow-up, but I missed copying that part.

    Aside from that... hmm. The BG wiki comment refers to never killing NPCs that will lower your reputation score (no 12k XP for Drizzt), and I was basing my figure on not getting XP for any random murders, regardless of whether it costs Rep. The OP is also not doing the BG:EE character content, as far as I can tell, so there's that. I'm aware of how spawn points work, and it seems to me that your habit of boosting XP via solo levelling before recruiting a party is going to boost what you encounter at spawn points, which will in turn further boost your total XP.

    The Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 figures are my own. The precise value I had for Chapter 6 was 65,095 XP, which is for killing all of the relevant actors that are, in general terms, not on your side. There are only 2 spawn points, and they summon 65 XP enemies. The precise value I had for Chapter 7 was 115,010 XP, which is for killing enemies that are actors or are summoned by scripts, plus a quest that gives 2,500 XP. There is just the one area with spawn points, and really that will not make much difference at all (11 spawn points; 5 can make Ghasts). I didn't count thief XP for traps and locks, or mage XP for spell scrolls, but it's negligible in both of these chapters.

    I have a save from just outside the literal very last area of the game, which has a Charname on 235k XP. However, that figure is bolstered by the BG:EE companion quests, and by mod content that added many 10,000s of XP.
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    edited May 2022
    Thanks you for your response. Quite indepth nummers. I probably wont get all available XP. I try to do as much as i can but most likely miss a lot.

    I Just did the first two Cloakwood areas. I AM level 5 going on 6. I Just replaced Kivan with Coran. I Just didn't realise I have npc mods on which alle me to level them up myself. This probably made the illegal 4 points in bows not possible.

    The spiders were reload worthty. Poison really does a number on your party. I did the quest there and am now in the druid level.

    Edit: was in the druid level not wyvern.

    Extra question, I AM coming up on Yeslick. My party composition is

    Charname
    Khalid
    Imoen
    Coran
    Xan
    Branwen.

    Who should I replaced for Yeslick? What would be a ballanced party? I think Imoen or Branwen or Khalid. I could dual imoen as she just got level 6.
    Post edited by DeeKayNL on
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    edited May 2022
    Ignore this. Fat fingers on my part. Sorry.
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    I Just winged it. I dualclassed Imoen and traded Branwen for Yeslick. The battle horrors where very difficult but did it. Davaeorn was quite easy himself.
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    Hah! I was typing a post, but part of it's redundant. Umm... let's see. You can't do Durlag's Tower without very good find traps and open locks skills. The same is sort of true of Chapter 6, although I don't want to check the exact values needed. The extent to which that's relevant for Imoen's dual class depends on what you've done with Coran's thief skills, of course. The XP figures will help you manage Imoen.

    The only remaining advice I want to give is that BG city contains a lot of content unrelated to the main plot, and the narrative structure, as well as the difficulty curve of the (technically optional) battle that closes out Chapter 5, points strongly towards getting your exploration of the generic BG city content done before finishing with Chapter 5. I'm being vague so as not to spoil anything, but I'm fairly sure you'll know the quest once it's offered. I say this because you went to the Bandit Camp way ahead of schedule in terms of what the game expected of you.

    Anyway, all of the party compositions were balanced, because you know what you're doing generally from playing BG2. You've reached the point where you know enough about BG1 that you aren't going to do something that makes things very hard for yourself, so, really, you have a lot of freedom to do what you think you'll enjoy the most. Hope you have fun!
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    I think I made a mistake, when I took Coran I didnt think about dual class Imoen. So I invested his points in detect invisibility. I tried eekeeper to adjust my mistake but eekeeper doesn't week to work on hidden folders. Savegames seem to be in hidden folders. I Will check the exact stats for Coran in a hour or two. I will post it here.
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    edited May 2022
    EE Keeper certainly can be used to adjust the thief skills of the Coran you have in your game. I'm not sure precisely what the problem you're having might be, but it could be worth asking the question in its own thread.

    What you've done with Coran doesn't have to be a problem, because dualling Imoen at level 6 is a lot less restrictive than dualling her at level 7. I definitely managed to dual Imoen at level 7 in the past without screwing myself over, but I can't remember for sure if I never used a temporary thief, and whether mods made much of a difference to what I did.

    Anyway, potions of Master Thievery, Perception, and Mind Focusing can all help you out, as can the Knock spell. It's not as though you'll be short of money. Durlag's Tower contains approx 13 Potion of Master Thievery and 5 Potion of Perception, too. So, it's easier to magically boost locks than traps, and it's find traps you need active for longer, so... you have options.
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    I managed to get eekeeper going in Linux. I Just did a little tweaking of the points. Not more than I should have. Just reallocating. I Just filled out the map and am wondering in which order to go further. BG city first or durlags towers? My party is level:

    Charname 5/5
    Khalid 6
    Yeslick 4/4
    Imoen 4/6 3 levels to unlock thief class
    Xan 6
    Coran 5/6
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    DeeKayNL wrote: »
    BG city first or durlags towers?
    BG1 was designed with an XP cap of 89,000. TotSC was designed with an XP cap of 161,000. If you do the TotSC content first, you are both under-levelled for TotSC, and over-levelled for the BG1 content (as well as having better equipment). That doesn't mean that you can't possibly do Durlag's Tower first, but there are obvious downsides. The same applies to the other TotSC content.

    In my experience, which seems to correspond to what I've seen other posters suggest, the beginning of Chapter 7 represents a very good point at which to do the TotSC content, both for power level considerations (in TotSC and Chapter 7) and from a narrative standpoint.

    There are two segments of TotSC content that are a little easier to squeeze in amongst the BG city exploration in Chapter 5, if you want to mix things up: (1) the upper floors and the small cellar/basement level of Durlag's tower; and (2) the smallest TotSC quest that you're given by someone named Shandalar, in Ulgoth's Beard.
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    Thank you, So BG city it is. I will wait till charter 7 before doing durlags towers. Just did the ankheg level and got some nice XP. I Just arrived at BG bridge. I'll keep updating as I progress
  • The_Baffled_KingThe_Baffled_King Member Posts: 147
    You're welcome! I'm gonna take a break from answering here and let other people give you some advice, if needed. Hope you enjoy the rest of the game.
  • DeeKayNLDeeKayNL Member Posts: 110
    Thank you for all your reactions!

    Currently doing Quests in BG city. Everything seems to be going quite well.
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