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Party question

CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
edited November 2014 in Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
Hey everyone, my first post. Great board. Im playing BGEE, and my party consists of Me (Human Cavalier), Minsc, Branwen, Coran (who is actually a pretty bad ass archer), Garrick, and Dynaheir. I wanted to go through the game with some different NPCs than usual, so I dropped Khalid and Jaheira early, and never picked up Kivan, who is usually a DPS beast as an archer. I'm at the Cloakwood mines right now. I was wondering, should I ditch Garrick for Faldorn? I think Faldorn's spells could come in incredibly handy, even though her stats appear relatively weak and she only has 22 HP right now. I wanted to go through with Garrick, but his spellcasting ability is so weak with the limited amount of spells he can memorize, that I think Faldorn might be a better option with her bonus spells. Especially as an additional healer, as I am resting too much for my liking right now. Plus, Garrick's bard song ability really doesn't help much since I have Remove Fear as a special ability with a cavalier. Any suggestions?

Also, should I drop Branwen for Yeslick in the mines? I always feel bad that someone has to get drowned in the mines LOL, but oh well ;)

My next playthrough (while I wait for BG2EE on android...) will be an evil party likely consisting of Me (unknown class/race), Xzar, Montaron, Viconia, Edwin, and Kagain, at least early in the game. I'm thinking I will have to be a tank/DPS guy as my main character, but don't really know. I would like to have Dorn, obviously, but where the hell is he? Can I get him early in the game? Also, Shar-Teel could sub in here. Thief would be an option too, that way I wouldn't have to have Xzar/Monty, but I don't really want a PC thief. I also want to keep the natural pairs together. Any suggestions for my PC class/race?
Post edited by CField17 on

Comments

  • OurQuestIsVainOurQuestIsVain Member Posts: 201
    I usually pick up Yeslick. I like his dispel magic innate ability. You could always dump Branwen in the guard house before you enter the mines.

    I find that Garrick's greatest strength is his ability to use wands. By the time I reach Baldur's Gate I usually have a whole backpack filled with wands because when I've finished using one, I will find another of the same kind. Although having Faldorn's divine spells would be pretty sweet too.

    I'd just go with whatever makes you happy and not worry much about powergaming.

    You can get Dorn really early, just make sure you talk to him in the Friendly Arm Inn and you will be able to recruit him later (he's impossible to miss).

    There isn't much selection for thieves if you want to go evil. However, if you don't want Monty, you could pick up Safana (I believe she is a neutral alignment) or you could dual class Shar-Teel.

    I think a tank/DPS type would be just fine with an evil party. Pretty much any class would be good with an evil party since all your bases are covered by the NPCs.
  • CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
    Hmm thanks, I think I will pick up Faldorn and just keep her out of the melee mix until she levels up. Can she use wands clerics can use? (wand of fear, etc.) I forgot Yeslick had the dispel magic ability, see ya Branwen!

    I never saw Dorn at FAI... and I am pretty thorough in my BGing. Come to think of it, isn't Neera supposed to be in Nashkel? I never saw her either. Rasaad was there, but no Neera. Is this a bug? I am playing on Android.
  • dreamriderdreamrider Member Posts: 417
    From your description of the party dynamics that you have/want, Yes, you probably will feel better taking Faldorn over Garrick. (Note that she is a real nasty b***h, however, and her hit points never become great.)

    By this point, Branwen vs Yeslick is pretty much a toss-up.

    No one has to drown in the mines if you talk to EVERYONE, and play the right story options. (Well, except maybe some bad guys.)

    You can get Dorn quite early. Talk to him when you first visit the FAI. He's in the common room. He won't be interested in a newbie nobody like your CHARNAME, but you will meet him again, with more options, before so very long.

    If you don't know who to drop out of that evil party, you probably don't need both Xzar AND Edwin. And if you don't know which of THOSE two to park in an empty house (or petrify), you aren't reading the character descriptions closely enough.

    If you plan on dropping one of the NPC mages, and plan to pick up Dorn, then you will have the flexibility to make your CHARNAME almost anything, depending on how you want to tilt the party's play style.

    If you don't want to kill/petrify/house trap Xzar without Monty for some reason, you could pick up Safana as a Monty replacement.

    Oh, and the conventional wisdom on an evil party CHARNAME that can play through both games doing lots of stuff, and filling in all the skill shortages in various portions of the game(s) is:
    Fighter/Mage/Thief.
    But with the above party adjustments, there are lots of other options. Swashbuckler? Blade? Assassin? Barbarian? Sorcerer? Pure school mage? Priest of Talos or Helm? (Talos for r/p, Helm for powergaming.)
  • CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
    Can you have an evil priest of Helm?
  • dreamriderdreamrider Member Posts: 417
    edited November 2014
    Not exactly, but Helm is neutral.
  • CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
    Ok. I just checked FAI and Dorn was nowhere to be seen. What gives??
  • dreamriderdreamrider Member Posts: 417
    Are you playing BG:EE, or vanilla?

    Dorn only exists in BG:EE.

    In the FIRST visit to the FAI, Dorn is in the front right corner of the room, near the chest against the wall.
    ( I think he is there every time you visit, if he isn't in the party, but I can't be sure.)
  • CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
    I'm playing EE for Android. Dorn was never at FAI for me. Also, is Neera an exclusive EE NPC? Where is she supposed to be? Rasaad was in Nashkel, but I haven't seen the other 2...
  • dockaboomskidockaboomski Member Posts: 440
    I personally like Garrick from an RP standpoint, but if you want to powergame, ditch him. I would choose Yeslick over Branwen, too, just for better melee capability (assuming you are using Branwen as a third melee character).
  • OurQuestIsVainOurQuestIsVain Member Posts: 201
    I haven't looked at BGEE for Android but does it even include the new EE NPCs or do you have to buy those as DLC?

    Neera is in Beregost, just walk around and she will approach you. Dorn should be in FAI and then appear in an area on your way to the Nashkel Mines.
  • CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
    I just checked you are right... Dorn and Neera are DLC.
  • CField17CField17 Member Posts: 122
    edited November 2014
    So I'm thinking my evil party will be me (some sort of thief kit), Edwin, Viconia, Kagain, Dorn, and Shar-Teel. This sounds like a pretty boss party with 3 pretty good melee characters, although I would like a ranged character in there. Depending on stats, someone will have to fill this role. I think I'd like to pick up Eldoth in Cloakwood, probably ditching Shar-Teel or Kagain so I can do the Skie quest, which I've never done before. Afterwards maybe I'll add Tiax LOL since I will have too many party members with Skie.

    Any suggestions on what the best thief kits are? What about shadowdancers? I want to explore the backstab ability, because I've never really done this before. Any suggestions here? Can i have an effective backstabbing thief with high lockpick/find traps abilities?
    Post edited by CField17 on
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,724
    For good backstabbing I would suggest a fighter/thief multiclass.

    You'll have enough thieving points to cover find traps, picklocks and hide in shadows/move silently even if you have only 1/2 of a thief. But with a fighter part, you'll get much more better THACO and damage for your backstabs.

    A fighter/thief is probably the best option for trying the backstab ability for the first time. You'll like it!
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