Given her backstory, I think she should either have :
* a level or 2 of cleric, or * enough wisdom to duel to cleric without using a tome, or * a more interesting cleric spell special ability than Slow Poison, or * be an illegal human multiclass cleric/mage
As she is, she is just too dull (in both ability and personality) compared to the other mages in the game.
@SassyGoldElf I totally agree. I told him to go find his own adventure after I had rescued Dynaheir without him. He went off on his own.
I really wish he hadn't been one of the characters to come back in BG2. So many better personalities who could have been fleshed out. But comic relief, I suppose
Here's what happens when I get Dynaheir at the knoll stronghold: she politely removes all of her gear and goes alone on a pacifist's quest to explore the nearby xvart cave.
I can't say I have anything against her, but she's basically a means to getting Minsc and there are other, more entertaining mages in the game.
Dynaheir has always been one of my favorite NPCs in BG1.
From an efficiency standpoint, she can rival just about any spellcaster in the game (though admittedly I haven't tried Baeloth yet). I'd definitely go out on a limb and say she's the best non-evil mage in the game. Unlike Edwin, she can identify items in the field, which I've always found to be a rather irritating Achilles' heel for Edwin. She can also cure poison as an innate ability (a very useful trait that gets overlooked when people discuss her) and isn't squishy like most of the other mages in the game.
From a personality standpoint, she has a sexy accent, a distinctly confident, haughty personality, and a certain mysterious aura about her - all of which are perfectly captured by her character portrait IMO. I also think she has the hottest-looking paperdoll, if that's possible.
Ironically, the one main problem that I have with Dynaheir is Minsc, who is probably the most overrated NPC in BG1 IMO (what's the point of having 18/93 strength if you're too squishy and hittable to get close enough to use it??). During my current playthrough, a full-HP Minsc was killed by a single kobold arrow in the Nashkel mines. I was so frustrated that I never bothered to resurrect him, and now I have Dynaheir and don't have to worry about losing her once I inevitably remove Minsc from my party anyway.
Like most of the other characters, she's bland outside of her voice. Jaheira is sarcastic, Khalid is "cautious", and Minsc has his hamster, but Dynaheir? She's just sort of there.
These are the reasons I love Dynaheir (in no particular order):
Comes equipped with her very own Minsc (and by extension Boo) Isn't a suicidal mage who thinks that starting with a Quarterstaff or a Dagger is a good Idea Is an Invoker
Downsides to Dynaheir:
Means I can't be an invoker (but considering a sorc run using her)
I like Dynaheir. Scholary and noble, yet kind. Also voiced by Jennifer Hale, which also does Mazzy, Naomi Hunter (Metal Gear Solid series) and female Shepard.
Weird, through over 10 years of playing the series, I don't really recall ever having her in the party. Will read this thread and then decide whether or not give her a chance in my next playthrough. That would be my first proper play of BG1EE btw, still waiting for some crucial mods to be implemented before I tackle it.
I like her. Her romance in the BG1NPC project is very well done, too, if you can accept the premise- which, if you charm Dyna, should be easy to accept.
She's probably the person in your party with the most knowledge about the situation, considering how she came down to the Sword Coast specifically to find a Bhaalspawn. I often think how BG2 would be if she and Khalid survived instead of Minsc and Jaheria- personally, I like both Dyna and Khalid more, so that would be a win to me, if not to most people out there. And she's full of unanswered questions (like why did the gnolls capture her and not eat her in the first place?).
Also, I really like her voice. Jennifer Hale = win, to me.
Hm...if both Dyna and Jaheria survived instead I'd be ok with that. I just love Jaheria above everyone else - bossiness and all, she's just endearing.
I remember someone pointing out once that it was strange to have a "witch" from Rashamen as lawful good, which sort of stuck with me. Playing "Mask of the Betrayer" I guess I just fell into an uneducated premise that mages and the like there were more neutral and shamanisitic so it surprised me. As does her constantly sounding like she fell of the left page of a "Making Shakespeare Easy..." book
I like to think she was more or less wandering about in her quest to investigate aluando's prophecies about Bhaal. She was just as much looking for Sarevok as she was Charname, whether she knew it or not.
I think the romance plays it as Dyna has a very strong suspicion, but doesn't know for certain, which I can accept as canon. But yeah, Dyna was looking for Sarevok (and Imoen, for that matter) just as much as she was CHARNAME. She just found CHARNAME first- or, really, CHARNAME found her.
I use her but I dislike her personality. At some points she's obedient and kind, and next she's like a nagging wife. "'Do this, do that!' What about *my* needs!?"
Am I the only one who can't stand her bad Renaissance fair grammar? Why the hell couldn't the writers get "thy", "thou", and "hath" straight? And why the hell did they keep using them without knowing what they meant? So no, her voice is not sexy. She sounds like an idiot.
She is a mage, though. It's unfortunate that she comes saddled with a ranger - making it impossible to get six non-evil mages without killing off Minsc.
Am I the only one who can't stand her bad Renaissance fair grammar? Why the hell couldn't the writers get "thy", "thou", and "hath" straight? And why the hell did they keep using them without knowing what they meant? So no, her voice is not sexy. She sounds like an idiot.
She is a mage, though. It's unfortunate that she comes saddled with a ranger - making it impossible to get six non-evil mages without killing off Minsc.
Gotta admit, after playing through the Saerileth Mod, Dynaheir's speech patterns brought back bad memories.
Here's the thing though: In BG1, I almost always go with the 'canon' party. That's simply because it feels weird importing into BG2 otherwise. Despite this, I recognise that Dynaheir is probably the most boring mage in the game. Xzar, Edwin and Xan are all more interesting personality wise and have better specializations. Minsc isn't even that great, though he is Dynaheir's redeeming factor. Kagain is pretty much entirely better.
I like to think she was more or less wandering about in her quest to investigate aluando's prophecies about Bhaal. She was just as much looking for Sarevok as she was Charname, whether she knew it or not.
Despite this, I recognise that Dynaheir is probably the most boring mage in the game. Xzar, Edwin and Xan are all more interesting personality wise and have better specializations.
I would contest this: while Xan may have a more in-your-face personality, he does not have a more interesting one. There is much room for interpretation with Dynaheir, as regards her personality and outlook, as well as the dynamic she shares with the Bhaalspawn and with Minsc. Xan is a face value character in terms of how vibrant his personality is.
I will admit to being an odd case. I played SoA before I ever played BG, so my first play-through in BG, I picked up the canon party. After playing through SoA with the deeper character development she was just... not very interesting to me (for some reason I still adore Khalid). Still, as the only good aligned mage in BG, she comes along in my good aligned parties sometimes.
Usually if I bring her, I offload Minsc and pick up another fighter-type instead. She is also an integral part of the all LG party I would sometime like to play now that the addition of Rasaad has made it somewhat more feasible (Dynaheir, Yeslick, Ajantis, Rasaad, and Imoen as the token so I have someone that can disarm traps).
Despite this, I recognise that Dynaheir is probably the most boring mage in the game. Xzar, Edwin and Xan are all more interesting personality wise and have better specializations.
I would contest this: while Xan may have a more in-your-face personality, he does not have a more interesting one. There is much room for interpretation with Dynaheir, as regards her personality and outlook, as well as the dynamic she shares with the Bhaalspawn and with Minsc. Xan is a face value character in terms of how vibrant his personality is.
Not only do I agree with this, but I would argue that the same could be said of all the other mages except maybe Neera - their personalities are more flamboyant, but also somewhat superficial and lacking in depth.
I'm playing with Dynaheir now mainly because I want to play a "canon" party. Besides, the alternatives suck IMO. I can't stand any of the other mages in the game. Neera seems interesting though, at some point I'll have to give her a try. She kind of reminds me of Veronica in Fallout: New Vegas, probably my favourite companion in that game.
Gonna do a slight necro since I've been thinking about this and found the topic. If it was feasible to dual-class her before you can (you have to get two tomes) it would be fun as heck to have as a Invoker/Cleric. The problem comes that if you pick up Minsc you are gonna get her at level 2 (maybe 3) and she is going to be much weaker than Neera at that point in the game. For instance, right now I have a Cavalier main, with Ajantis, Minsc, Imoen, Neera, and up til saving Dynaheir, Kivan. Assuming you want to keep Neera in your party it's often hard to justify keeping a second mage around, especially if your character isn't a Cleric or Druid. At this point I'm likely gonna send her as a sacrificial lamb into a house in Nashkel where a guard is still waiting for me for stealing from a chest. I like her style, but she won't always fit what you've built up to the point you find her.
I use her but I dislike her personality. At some points she's obedient and kind, and next she's like a nagging wife. "'Do this, do that!' What about *my* needs!?"
People don't believe me, but on the CD version I still sometimes play (no mods, no patches, no updates, nothing) Dynaheir NEVER bitches about her needs, or tells me to watch where I stick my pointer (certain lines of other characters' dialogue aren't present for whatever reason, either.) I liked Dynaheir a lot in that version, and she used to be my go-to mage. She's a bit grating for me now.
I use her but I dislike her personality. At some points she's obedient and kind, and next she's like a nagging wife. "'Do this, do that!' What about *my* needs!?"
People don't believe me, but on the CD version I still sometimes play (no mods, no patches, no updates, nothing) Dynaheir NEVER bitches about her needs, or tells me to watch where I stick my pointer (certain lines of other characters' dialogue aren't present for whatever reason, either.) I liked Dynaheir a lot in that version, and she used to be my go-to mage. She's a bit grating for me now.
BG:EE apparently uses a lot of select/action dialogues that were unused in the original versions.
Personality-wise ,the NPC Project mod makes her a truly interesting character as you get to know her better.
Gameplay-wise , I don't know why people say she's a bad mage. Mages aren't supposed to be frontliners, therefore AC isn't that important, and her lack of charm spells is compensated by a storm of magic missiles and magic fire.
I like her. She is a member of most of my goodly aligned play throughs. As much as I adore Edwin he doesn't fit in with my usually good parties. I feel Dynaheir and Minsc are much better fits, at least personally, then say Kagain and Edwin would be. She's a perfectly capable mage, sure she has one less then Edwin because of his cheaty necklace thing but still! I don't find her personality annoying at all. I play with the NPC Banter mod so she has a fair bit of chat. I rather like her, I wouldn't mind seeing her back in BG2 as a pure good aligned mage. (Damn you raise dead!)
I can't stand Minsc and as there are so many other mages in BG I've never had a reason to recruit her. Her portrait certainly doesn't do anything to make me reconsider.
By Bhaal, she looks so overbearing and arrogant. I get the feeling that if she joined me, her and Minsc would have enjoyed a painful, fiery death together.
Comments
* a level or 2 of cleric, or
* enough wisdom to duel to cleric without using a tome, or
* a more interesting cleric spell special ability than Slow Poison, or
* be an illegal human multiclass cleric/mage
As she is, she is just too dull (in both ability and personality) compared to the other mages in the game.
I really wish he hadn't been one of the characters to come back in BG2. So many better personalities who could have been fleshed out. But comic relief, I suppose
I can't say I have anything against her, but she's basically a means to getting Minsc and there are other, more entertaining mages in the game.
From an efficiency standpoint, she can rival just about any spellcaster in the game (though admittedly I haven't tried Baeloth yet). I'd definitely go out on a limb and say she's the best non-evil mage in the game. Unlike Edwin, she can identify items in the field, which I've always found to be a rather irritating Achilles' heel for Edwin. She can also cure poison as an innate ability (a very useful trait that gets overlooked when people discuss her) and isn't squishy like most of the other mages in the game.
From a personality standpoint, she has a sexy accent, a distinctly confident, haughty personality, and a certain mysterious aura about her - all of which are perfectly captured by her character portrait IMO. I also think she has the hottest-looking paperdoll, if that's possible.
Ironically, the one main problem that I have with Dynaheir is Minsc, who is probably the most overrated NPC in BG1 IMO (what's the point of having 18/93 strength if you're too squishy and hittable to get close enough to use it??). During my current playthrough, a full-HP Minsc was killed by a single kobold arrow in the Nashkel mines. I was so frustrated that I never bothered to resurrect him, and now I have Dynaheir and don't have to worry about losing her once I inevitably remove Minsc from my party anyway.
Comes equipped with her very own Minsc (and by extension Boo)
Isn't a suicidal mage who thinks that starting with a Quarterstaff or a Dagger is a good Idea
Is an Invoker
Downsides to Dynaheir:
Means I can't be an invoker (but considering a sorc run using her)
She's probably the person in your party with the most knowledge about the situation, considering how she came down to the Sword Coast specifically to find a Bhaalspawn. I often think how BG2 would be if she and Khalid survived instead of Minsc and Jaheria- personally, I like both Dyna and Khalid more, so that would be a win to me, if not to most people out there. And she's full of unanswered questions (like why did the gnolls capture her and not eat her in the first place?).
Also, I really like her voice. Jennifer Hale = win, to me.
I remember someone pointing out once that it was strange to have a "witch" from Rashamen as lawful good, which sort of stuck with me. Playing "Mask of the Betrayer" I guess I just fell into an uneducated premise that mages and the like there were more neutral and shamanisitic so it surprised me. As does her constantly sounding like she fell of the left page of a "Making Shakespeare Easy..." book
She is a mage, though. It's unfortunate that she comes saddled with a ranger - making it impossible to get six non-evil mages without killing off Minsc.
Here's the thing though: In BG1, I almost always go with the 'canon' party. That's simply because it feels weird importing into BG2 otherwise. Despite this, I recognise that Dynaheir is probably the most boring mage in the game. Xzar, Edwin and Xan are all more interesting personality wise and have better specializations. Minsc isn't even that great, though he is Dynaheir's redeeming factor. Kagain is pretty much entirely better.
*Arundel voice* She will be missed...
Ah, hell, I'll use her in my current playthrough.
Usually if I bring her, I offload Minsc and pick up another fighter-type instead. She is also an integral part of the all LG party I would sometime like to play now that the addition of Rasaad has made it somewhat more feasible (Dynaheir, Yeslick, Ajantis, Rasaad, and Imoen as the token so I have someone that can disarm traps).
Gameplay-wise , I don't know why people say she's a bad mage. Mages aren't supposed to be frontliners, therefore AC isn't that important, and her lack of charm spells is compensated by a storm of magic missiles and magic fire.
She's a perfectly capable mage, sure she has one less then Edwin because of his cheaty necklace thing but still! I don't find her personality annoying at all. I play with the NPC Banter mod so she has a fair bit of chat. I rather like her, I wouldn't mind seeing her back in BG2 as a pure good aligned mage. (Damn you raise dead!)
By Bhaal, she looks so overbearing and arrogant. I get the feeling that if she joined me, her and Minsc would have enjoyed a painful, fiery death together.