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Advice for evil party composition of SoD/BG2EE run

HoopleDoopleHoopleDoople Member Posts: 23
in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
I am planning to start an evil playthrough of Siege of Dragonspear and continue into BG2EE. My main character will be a neutral evil male Dwarven Defender. I already know a few of the companions I want to use, but I could use some advice on filling out my party for maximum enjoyment and effectiveness.

Ignoring the brief interludes in the city of Baldur's Gate and chateau Irenicus, my party composition would go as follows:

Tank: Dwarven Defender
Thief: Safana -> Hexxat (-> Imoen?)
Cleric: Viconia
Mage: Baeloth -> Neera
Secondary warrior: ? -> Dorn
Flex: ? -> ? -> ?

For thief my intention is to use Hexxat in BG2EE, but if she proves too annoying or I'm desperate for additional mage power I'll switch over to Imoen when she is available. For my secondary warrior I don't really have any great options pre-Dorn. I could either see if Rasaad will tolerate me or just make do with something that doesn't fit the role like M'Khiin.

My flex pick is very much uncertain. Initially in SoD Corwin would be a strong option, but I don't know if she'll put up with my malevolence. Later on I'd like to switch over to either Jaheira or Voghiln, but I am again uncertain how well they'll tolerate me. In BG2EE I have a lot of options that could work, but Jaheira or Haer'dalis certainly stand out. I'm definitely open for suggestions here.

Finally, I need to determine which romance to pursue in SoD. As a Dwarf I believe my only female option in BG2EE is Neera, which is why I've selected her over Edwin in my party. In SoD I have more options, including Neera. I don't think there's continuity between the two games and my evil Dwarf certainly doesn't care, so I'm simply looking for the most interesting option to pursue.

Comments

  • FrancoisFrancois Member Posts: 452
    I would definitely take Dorn and Neera because they have interesting quests in BG2. For SoD I suggest trying M'Khiin, but you can't take Baeloth at the same time, so I would go with Edwin then switch to Neera when you find her. For BG2, I would leave the 6th place open to rotate different companions until you get to ToB.

  • shawneshawne Member Posts: 3,239
    Francois said:

    I would definitely take Dorn and Neera because they have interesting quests in BG2. For SoD I suggest trying M'Khiin, but you can't take Baeloth at the same time, so I would go with Edwin then switch to Neera when you find her. For BG2, I would leave the 6th place open to rotate different companions until you get to ToB.

    You can absolutely have M'Khiin and Baeloth in the same party if your CHR is high enough to persuade her.

    HoopleDoople said:

    For thief my intention is to use Hexxat in BG2EE, but if she proves too annoying or I'm desperate for additional I'll switch over to Imoen when she is available.

    The nice thing about Hexxat is that you can get all her quest content done before going to Brynnlaw, so if you do that and see that it's not working out, just drop her for Yoshimo so you can do the Spellhold swap and get Imoen afterwards.
    HoopleDoople said:

    For my secondary warrior I don't really have any great options pre-Dorn. I could either see if Rasaad will tolerate me or just make do with something that doesn't fit the role like M'Khiin.

    Or you could do what I did, and use the BGEENPC Tweaks to move Dorn to the start of SoD. Because of the way the game is designed, he'll only start bantering when you actually reach the area where you're supposed to pick him up; but on the other hand, it really is the best option for a stable evil party in the early game.
    Francois said:

    My flex pick is very much uncertain. Initially in SoD Corwin would be a strong option, but I don't know if she'll put up with my malevolence. Later on I'd like to switch over to either Jaheira or Voghiln, but I am again uncertain how well they'll tolerate me. In BG2EE I have a lot of options that could work, but Jaheira or Haer'dalis certainly stand out. I'm definitely open for suggestions here.

    For SoD, I'd recommend M'Khiin as the sixth party member - there aren't any Shaman NPCs in BG2, so it'd give you an opportunity to try out a different class (and she has some unique abilities and items you wouldn't find with a Shaman PC). As for BG2EE, Haer'Dalis seems like the best bet: you don't necessarily want Neera to be shouldering buffs and utility spells like Haste because those wild surges will throw the occasional wrench into your plans.

    (You're also right that there's no continuity between SoD and BG2, so picking up Neera in the latter changes nothing.)
  • WowoWowo Member Posts: 2,064
    Could be a female dwarf and romance hexxat?
    Anybody can romance Dorn im pretty sure, he's not fussy haha.
    If you played through BG1 as well you could use a certain helm to corrupt whichever good character you wanted (perhaps Glint to cover thief skills instead of safana).
  • GallowglassGallowglass Member Posts: 3,356
    I concur with what's already been said, M'Khiin would be a good choice for your open slot in SoD.

    Certainly Dorn for your other front-liner in SoD. Mod him to the start if you wish, of course, but personally I wouldn't bother, because a Dwarven Defender ought to be a sufficiently solid tank to handle your melee needs on his own up until the first major battle ... and your opportunity to recruit Dorn is shortly before the first big battle, so you're fine waiting until then for him.

    I'd be tempted to keep Dorn in BG2 as well, although a credible alternative would be complete his SoA questline early (before setting off to rescue Imoen) and then dump him to take Korgan.

    How to fill your open slot in BG2 depends upon whether or not you keep Hexxat. Either way, you really ought to have some arcane caster who can buff your party without the risk of killing them all. Thus if you keep Hexxat, then I'd recommend Haer'Dalis for the vacancy (as @shawne says). On the other hand, if you replace Hexxat with Imoen, then the arcane need is obviously dealt with by her, so I'd recommend Jaheira for the vacancy. On the third hand, if I had that party and found myself not getting on with Hexxat, then I might replace her with Jan rather than Imoen (because he's a good enough secondary caster and a much better thief than Imoen), although I'd probably still take Jaheira for the open slot.

    On your SoD romance options, I'm not sure since I haven't (yet) played SoD with a dwarf protagonist. Certainly Neera is okay with any species in BG2, so presumably also in SoD. But SoD also makes Safana a romanceable companion, and she might also be okay with dwarves, I don't know.
  • HoopleDoopleHoopleDoople Member Posts: 23
    Wowo said:

    Could be a female dwarf and romance hexxat?
    Anybody can romance Dorn im pretty sure, he's not fussy haha.

    Both are certainly options, but neither fits for the character I have in mind.

    Anyway, based upon the advice so far my party will go as follows:

    1. Dwarven Defender
    2. Safana -> Hexxat
    3. Viconia
    4. Baeloth -> Neera
    5. Rasaad -> Dorn
    6. M'Khiin -> Haer'dalis

    If I get the mod up and running I'll be able to skip right to Dorn and Neera. In BG2 Imoen/Jaheira may swap in for Hexxat/Haer'dalis depending on how things go.

    The only question remaining is the SoD romance. Romanceable NPCs in my party are apparently Safana, Viconia, and Neera. Presumably Viconia is off limits to dwarves in SoD, but I wouldn't be certain. Is Safana amusing enough to pick or should I simply stick with Neera for the entire run?
  • FrancoisFrancois Member Posts: 452
    I found Safana's romance kind of obnoxious. Not the kind of deal I expected from her. I prefer Neera, both in SoD and BG2. She's more of an easygoing romance, and is not a comple emotional ball and chain like the others. Honestly I would try Glint in SoD instead of Safana, even if you're evil. Glint is also romanceable if your dwarf is into gnomebeards. If not at least you have an amusing side-kick.
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