Themed Party ideas for BG, SoD, BGII, ToB
Chad
Member Posts: 90
Did a search, but nothing recent. Wondering what kind of themed parties others have done or plan to do? Parties where you introduce some flaw by doing so or otherwise take either an RP approach or some other thought process and apply it to which NPC's you will accept. We all know a balanced party with some combination of Fighter/Thief/Cleric/Mage works best ins D&D... Usually combining classes to provide further synergies to have a couple tanks, a couple damage dealers, someone to deal with traps and a couple crowd countrol/group damaging mages... But what have you ran, or considered running through the game with where your party was not balanced? here are some ideas I have for parties:
Nature Party: PC Ranger, Ranger/Cleric or Druid Kit + Kivan, Minsc, Jahiera or Faldorn. Issues would be no one to take care of traps and no one to deal with mages, provide buffs/debuffs, etc. Could be somewhat mitigated by letting Imoen tag along since she is your sister or maybe Coran since he's certainly a hunter, though not a Ranger. In the second game the same issue exists in that you could have Minsc, Valygar, Jahiera and Cernd but unless you make an exception you have no mage spells and no one to deal with traps. Anyone done something like this? Is it fun, too difficult, boring?
All Thief Party: I have long considered doing something like this: PC - F/M/T, Imoen - Thief->Mage, Viconia - EEK in to Cleric/Thief, Coran, Shar-Teel F->Thief and then rotate the last spot so long as anyone in the party has thief levels or maybe allow Garrick in for some comic relief. I actually think so long as you don't mind Vicky as a Cleric/Thief this is pretty easy to pull off in both games. In BGII you would have PC, Yoshimo/Imoen, Jan, Nalia, Vicky and for EE you have Hexat. Actually have 4 wizards in BGII this way, but in both games only one cleric (and that only by EEKeeper). I think it could be pretty fun using stealth/invisibility to have everyone start battles by setting traps and then backstabbing. You could end up cutting the number of enemies in half right off the bat, then lead the remainder in to your traps. Obviously you could no longer do this against certain enemies in ToB especially, but when you could it would be a lot of fun!
All Mage Party: Could be tough in the first game against undead, but you can avoid them until you get Web on a few of your party members... There are so many mage options in both games you can end up with a full party. You can have Imoen be Thief->Mage to handle traps and for any battle you could open with 6 casts of sleep/web/fireball/whatever to ensure everything is disabled or destroyed. could be fun to make Charname F/M then have Imoen, Edwin/Neera, Dynaheir, Xan and Quayle or you could replace one or more to pick up Xzar or even Garrick if you wanted to (or Baeloth for the OPness). In BGII you could go with PC, Nalia/Imoen, Edwin/Neera, Jan, Aerie and Haer'Dallis/Sarevok (in ToB). Seems pretty easy in both games to have an all mage party while still having a tank (if PC is F/M), a healer (Quayle/Aerie) and a Thief (Imoen, Nalia, Jan).
All Cleric Party would be more difficult as there just aren't as many clerics to chose from (Quayle, Viconia, Branwen and Tiax in the first game unless you open it up to Cleric/Monk/Paladin and/or Druid in which case you get more options).
Any way...these are just a few simple/class based Themes, but what type of themes have others come up with and ran through the game? Any enjoyable/funny/terrible moments you'd care to relive?
Nature Party: PC Ranger, Ranger/Cleric or Druid Kit + Kivan, Minsc, Jahiera or Faldorn. Issues would be no one to take care of traps and no one to deal with mages, provide buffs/debuffs, etc. Could be somewhat mitigated by letting Imoen tag along since she is your sister or maybe Coran since he's certainly a hunter, though not a Ranger. In the second game the same issue exists in that you could have Minsc, Valygar, Jahiera and Cernd but unless you make an exception you have no mage spells and no one to deal with traps. Anyone done something like this? Is it fun, too difficult, boring?
All Thief Party: I have long considered doing something like this: PC - F/M/T, Imoen - Thief->Mage, Viconia - EEK in to Cleric/Thief, Coran, Shar-Teel F->Thief and then rotate the last spot so long as anyone in the party has thief levels or maybe allow Garrick in for some comic relief. I actually think so long as you don't mind Vicky as a Cleric/Thief this is pretty easy to pull off in both games. In BGII you would have PC, Yoshimo/Imoen, Jan, Nalia, Vicky and for EE you have Hexat. Actually have 4 wizards in BGII this way, but in both games only one cleric (and that only by EEKeeper). I think it could be pretty fun using stealth/invisibility to have everyone start battles by setting traps and then backstabbing. You could end up cutting the number of enemies in half right off the bat, then lead the remainder in to your traps. Obviously you could no longer do this against certain enemies in ToB especially, but when you could it would be a lot of fun!
All Mage Party: Could be tough in the first game against undead, but you can avoid them until you get Web on a few of your party members... There are so many mage options in both games you can end up with a full party. You can have Imoen be Thief->Mage to handle traps and for any battle you could open with 6 casts of sleep/web/fireball/whatever to ensure everything is disabled or destroyed. could be fun to make Charname F/M then have Imoen, Edwin/Neera, Dynaheir, Xan and Quayle or you could replace one or more to pick up Xzar or even Garrick if you wanted to (or Baeloth for the OPness). In BGII you could go with PC, Nalia/Imoen, Edwin/Neera, Jan, Aerie and Haer'Dallis/Sarevok (in ToB). Seems pretty easy in both games to have an all mage party while still having a tank (if PC is F/M), a healer (Quayle/Aerie) and a Thief (Imoen, Nalia, Jan).
All Cleric Party would be more difficult as there just aren't as many clerics to chose from (Quayle, Viconia, Branwen and Tiax in the first game unless you open it up to Cleric/Monk/Paladin and/or Druid in which case you get more options).
Any way...these are just a few simple/class based Themes, but what type of themes have others come up with and ran through the game? Any enjoyable/funny/terrible moments you'd care to relive?
2
Comments
BG1:
Silke, Garrick and Eldoth (both bards will fight for her affections. Load up on wands to make them both into great mages). Take Neera and romance her. Play a swashbuckler (ie: a charming duelist)
BG2:
Neera, Aerie, Haer'Dalis, Korgan, Mazzy
You will have a love...square? Romance both Neera and Aerie. Haer'Dalis will romance Aerie as well. Korgan will romance Mazzy. Eventually give up Aerie to Haer'Dalis and choose Neera. Also, by being a swashbuckler, you get to keep a full party. You will take care of the traps (and can fight in the front lines). Korgan and Mazzy bring the muscle, Haer'Dalis is a blade (a good all rounder) and you get 1.5 mages and .5 cleric. All the healing and magic you'd ever need.
The Shorty Party
BG1: Dwarven Fighter/Cleric (By Moradin's Hammer!), Yeslick, Alora, Quayle
BG2: Dwarven Fighter/Cleric, Korgan, Mazzy, Jan...Wilson?
Yes, you bring the healing. You get 2 front liners (you and Korgan), a ranged specialist, and a illusionist/thief. If you really need a 5th (which you just well might) add in Wilson to keep Jan company. At least he isn't a long-legged adventurer.
The Holy Party
I've done this, and it works quite well.
BG1: Cavalier, Imoen, Branwen, Ajantis, Yeslick, Raasad
BG2: Cavalier, Imoen, Keldorn, Anomen, Raasad, Mazzy
Imoen brings the magic/trap removal. Everyone else is a holy (wo)man. You can replace Raasad with Valgyar if you like, as he ends up being Mazzy's reluctant squire. Though doing so makes it more of a 'knight' party than a 'holy' one.
BG1: The Elven Party
Elf Archer, Kivan, Coran, Xan, Jaheira, Khalid
The two half-elves take point as the party tanks. Then you have three great elven archers sitting back, murdering everything. Xan does crowd control.
Doesn't work as well in BG2, as there is only 1 elf NPC and 2 half-elf NPCs. You could use Haer'Dalis and Wilson...but HD is a tiefling and Wilson is a bear. It kinda sorta works, but not really.
Everyone is, at least in part, a rogue of some kind (either a thief or a bard). Valygar is the exception, but 'stalker' is a pretty sneaky class. (Replace with Hexxat if you think that stalkers shouldn't count.)
The SoD component is quite limited in 'rogue' options. Maybe add Rasaad and/or Dorn for some muscle? (Monks have some thief-ish abilities, and blackguards aren't members of respectable society.)
BG1:
PC (swashbuckler > mage)
Imoen (thief)
Coran (fighter/thief)
Garrick (bard)
Eldoth (bard)
Skie (thief)
SoD:
PC (swashbuckler > mage)
Safana (thief)
Volghlin (skald)
Glint (cleric/thief)
BG2:
PC (swashbuckler > mage)
Imoen (thief > mage) [replaces Yoshimo (thief > fighter) after Spellhold]
Hair' Dalis (blade)
Jan (thief/illusionist)
Nalia (thief > mage)
Valygar (stalker) or Hexxat (thief)
PC (F/M/T)
Imoen (T>M)
Viconia (C/T)
Coran (F/T)
Shar-Teel (F>T)
Rotate (Safana, Garrick, Alora, maybe even remove Coran or Shar-Teel for a while to get Eldoth/Skie, etc.)
In SoD I agree, can't really get a full party, but in BGII I think I would again make Viconia a C/T for a little balance to the party. I wonder how popular this type of idea is? I figured not very since most players consider any more than exactly 1 thief to weaken the party, but seeing as you came up with a similar theme to one of the ones I posted maybe it's a more popular party concept than I thought...
Everyone is a mage preferably a specialist of some kind:
BG1: PC (mage or sorcerer), Edwin, Dynaheir, Neera, Qualye, Baeloth, Xan, Xzar
BG2: PC; Aerie, Edwin, Neera, Jan and Imoen (too bad Imoen can no longer be a specialist mage in BG2) and Wilson can be the party familiar
Tree Hugger Party aka the All Green Party:
BG1: PC (druid or ranger), Jaheria, Faldorn, Kivan, Misnc and toss in Corn (he's an elf and they like trees)
BG2: PC (druid or ranger), Jaheria, Cerad, Valygar, Minsc and Wilson
Too Many Gods Party aka cleric party:
BG1: PC, Qualye, Viconia, Yeslick, Branwen and Ajantis or Dorn or even Rassad
BG2: PC (cleric multiclass); Viconia, Keldorn, Anomen, Aerie and/or Mazzy and/or Dorn and maybe even Rassad
Forced to be together but would prefer to kill each other party aka the Dysfunctional Group:
BG2: Dorn, Keldorn, Anomen, Viconia, Hexxat
or
BG2: Edwin, Misnc, Neera, Hexxat or Dorn or Viconia and Keldorn or Anomen
Probably won't survive completing all of the quests in BG2 Chapter 2 Party aka the Micro-Management Party or even called the Don't Use AI or die Party:
BG2: PC (beast master, shape changer, pure druid or shaman), Cerad, Rassad (picked up as early as possible), Jan, Nalia and maybe Haer Dalis (using offensive spin is considered micro-management) or Yoshimo
The Too Much Muscle NOT enough Brains Party aka Too Much Meat Party:
BG2: PC (male barbarian), Korgan, Anomen (having failed his test), Dorn, Wilson (maybe) and Misnc and Keldorn
Every character is dual-class!
BG1
PC (any dual-class) [But a fighter in the mix may be helpful, given the other characters' classes.]
Imoen (thief > mage)
Safana (thief > mage) [Must use tome of intelligence.]
Shar-Teel (fighter > thief)
Branwen (cleric > thief) [Must use tome of dexterity.]
Dynaheir (invoker > cleric) [Must use 2 tomes of wisdom.]
SoD
PC (any dual-class)
Safana (thief > mage) [From the BG1 game.]
Dynaheir (invoker > cleric) [From the BG1 game.]
BG2
PC (any dual class)
Yoshimo (thief > fighter) –-> To be replaced with Imoen (thief > mage)
Nalia (thief > mage)
Anomen (fighter > cleric)
Sarevok (fighter > thief)
BG1 is easy (indeed, there also is Xzar, who could be dual-classed to cleric with a tome of wisdom). SoD, though, is tough. If trying out this theme, I'd probably have to 'relax' the rule for that component.
BG2 includes 3 dual-class characters already. Unfortunately, you can't keep Yoshimo, otherwise a full party of dual-classed characters would be possible by ToB.
Huh. I'm actually tempted to try this one! (Given the difficulty with SoD, though, I'd probably let Dynaheir 'keep' Minsc in both BG1 and SoD [use Minsc instead of Shar-Tel perhaps, for a more consistent alignment composition], and keep Minsc in BG2 to fill out the party.)
I don't like triple-class characters myself (a F/M/T will never get to use 9th level spells, so it's off the table for me), and quite like bards. Also, for the sake of the exercise I wanted to refrain from using EEkeeper. Hence my somewhat different party compositions from the ones you proposed.
BG1: Khalid, Jaheira, Alora/Coran, Yeslick/Quayle, Neera OR Dorn, Kagain, Montaron, Viconia, Baeloth
SoD: Khalid, Jaheira, Glint, M'Khiin, Neera OR Dorn, M'Khiin, Glint (or wait for the Tiax mod), Viconia, Baeloth
BG2: Jaheira, Mazzy, Jan, Wilson, Neera OR Dorn, Korgan, Hexxat, Viconia, Haer'Dalis
This is actually one of the parties I originally beat the game with long ago when I was quite young. The "canon" party was actually my first party; although back then before BG2 we didn't know there was one.
I loved the idea of having all the races.
PC human fighter ->Mage
Jaheira -half elf fighter Druid (Khalid suffered an "accident")
Kivan- elf ranger
Alora- halfling thief
Yeslick- dwarf fighter cleric
Quayle- gnome illusionist cleric
With the inclusion of Dorn and half orcs in EE, I would probably swap out Jahiera for Dorn, or have a half Orc PC with Immy instead of Jahiera. Half elves seem the most dispensable race in that context.
SoD includes lovely Mhkin which adds yet another race to the pool. Glint is quite an upgrade over Quayle.
BG 2 is tricky due to Aerie and Korgan being incompatible, limiting elf/dwarf relations. Maybe have Viconia, Haer'Dalis or Jaheira fill the elf spot.
Half Orc PC fighter cleric
Korgan dwarf fighter
Jan gnome illusionist thief
Viconia Drow cleric
Edwin human Mage
Mazzy halfling fighter
That's actually a really balanced party lol
The Giggly Girls: Charname, Imoen, Neera, Safana.
Amazones of the Sword Coast: Charname, Jaheira, Shar-Teel, Dynaheir, Viconia. Of course you'll need to "lose" Khalid and Minsc along the way. Say, in Mutamin's garden. After one of them fights Shar-Teel to get her to join up.
The Love Triangle ... Square ... I mean Penta...HEXAgon! (BG2): Charname (male), Aerie, Neera, Jaheira, Viconia, Dorn. Four ladies plus Dorn vying for Charname's attention. As Neera says, "Stand back and watch this!"
Anastacia of Astora
----------------
Cleric
"A mute woman from a village in Astora, her tongue has been removed so that she can't say any god's name in vain."
Knight Lautrec
------------
Fighter/Thief
"A knight from Carim and a devout of the goddess Fina. His love for Fina makes him a psychopath who doesn't care about other people and readily kills them after they served their purposes." In my headcanon sworn to Anastacia like Eygon is to Irina in DS3.
Siegmeyer
---------
Paladin (kit?)
"Siegmeyer is a knight from Catarina, who has come to Lordran seeking adventure and excitement, even if he isn't totally prepared for it and his daughter is against it."
Sieglinde
--------
Fighter(/Cleric)
"Sieglinde is the daughter of Siegmeyer of Catarina. She came to Lordran to look for her adventurous father."
Marvellous Chester
----------------
Bard (kit?)
"Marvellous Chester is a human who, like the player, was dragged into the past from an unknown time and place."
Lady of the Darkling
-----------------
F/M (dual or multi)
"The Lady of the Darkling is Anor Londo's Fire Keeper, bound to the bonfire to keep it lit. After becoming Undead, she visited the Dark Sun Gwyndolin, became a Blade of the Darkmoon, and assumed the flame-keeping duty. She received the Brass Set armor, which hides her hideous form and helps her hunt the guilty. She also acts as a guide for the city of Anor Londo, giving directions to the Chosen Undead."
quotes from http://darksouls.wikidot.com/
I faked it and keepered Mazzy for slings instead of bows, but it shouldn't change the viability of this motley crew.
Athos: Custom NPC, half-elf fighter-mage
Porthos: Custom NPC, half-elf fighter-thief
Aramis: Custom NPC, half-elf fighter-cleric
d'Artagnan: PC, half-elf barbarian, two-weapon style, swords, short swords, katanas, and scimitars only
The Three consider d'Artagnan a barbarian because he leaves his family in Candlekeep (read Gascony) and travels to Athkatla (read Paris). Jan Irenicus is, of cause, Cardinal Richelieu in disguise. Lady de Winter hides as Bodhi.