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Hexxat or Haer Dalis for an evil playthrough

So having only finished the entire saga once with a good party I am eager to try my hands at an evil party (and those juicy evil NPC’s!). For a PC I’m thinking an FM or a FMT - powerful builds to be sure but power seems right for this kind of playthrough.

So I’m pretty set on:

Korgan
Dorn
Viconia (romance)
Edwin

And then it’s either FM + Hexxat or FMT + Haer Dalis. Maybe mr TOB will find a place in there when the time comes but that’s a later issue.

I can see the merit in both parties, but will neutral Haer Dalis feel out of place with these evil-doers? Is Hexxat a poorly written character? I’ve tried to do a bit of research but I don’t want to get too spoiled so I’m just hoping for a nudge in the direction that you guys think will be the most enjoyable. Having never used any of these NPC’s before Korgan will be as much of a novelty to me as Dorn and the same goes for Hexxat/Haer Dalis so keep that in mind.

Any thoughts are much appriciated as to which of these setups would be most fun/satisfying.

Comments

  • BorekBorek Member Posts: 513
    Hexxat gets a lot of stick, but her quests are good old fashioned dungeon crawls with plenty of enjoyable and challenging fights. It's just a huge shame she can't be dual classed as single class thieves are not spectacular, although her unique un-killable nature definitely helps at times, assuming it doesn't get bugged which can happen, so i advise regular save games just incase. Her banter and attitude are not for everyone, but i don't find her too annoying myself.

    HD is probably more powerful and i would say his banter is somewhat better over-all, however his quest is shorter and whilst having some challenging moments it's not up to Hexxat's level for difficulty/challenge.

    With your proposed set ups i would say the party would be stronger with Hexxat for the simple reason your Bhaalspawn will only have 2 classes, not 3, so the game changing mage spells will be available sooner and you'll get to cast more. Worth noting that Edwin will be an exceptional artillery Mage, so this is not a game changer, it really depends how you want to play the spawn, if you plan to be a Fighter with Mage protection/buff spells then F/M will be better as a tank due to higher levels in each class.

    FMT with HD and Edwin gives you 2x high level spellcasters, and with Dorn and Korgan to tank you can do some insane stuff with the spawn, such as Mislead-Backstab whilst an angry Korgan laughs off any spells sent his way and he and Dorn mow through the fodder. This seems the stronger option, but with a 6 person party and a triple class spawn it will take a while to level up to the point where you can really utilize the full power...and worth noting that by that point a significant portion of TOB and later SoA bosses are immune to backstab and can counter invisibility and the like.

    Either choice is going to be strong, really depends if you are prepared to wait a little longer for the triple class power to shine.
    SkatanOnePotatoNeverused
  • HenryNYHenryNY Member Posts: 42
    edited May 2018
    Solely in terms of power gaming -

    Given that
    FM > FMT
    Hexxat ~= Haer'Dalis

    we get
    FM + Hexxat > FMT + Haer Dalis


    Solely in terms of role play by a pure evil party -

    Given that hiring Haer'Dalis is a compromise

    we get
    Hexxat as an evil purified > Haer'Dalis as non-evil




    Certain details

    1) Hexxat is not a poorly written character. Her quest line is more interesting and more challenging, though maybe also more buggy, than Haer'Dalis's. However, with the latest update/patch, you should have no troubles reaching the end of her quest line.

    2) Hexxat, by the opinions of some "experienced" players, is disappointing, due to their belief that a single-classed thief is far less powerful than a multi- or dual-classed thief. However, they also tend to either overlook or downplay the fact that Hexxat is actually unkillable, or more accurately, only killable by YOUR hands, provided that your PC is able to stay alive. If your PC is able to survive all encounters/battles and you choose to party play, and if you don't want to be forced to reload due to your PC's failure to survive the entire game or your NPC's permanent death, having Hexxat as one of your companions is a unique, greatest blessing.

    3) Haer'Dalis, among the original NPC companions, are one of the less popular companions, due to the fact that he offers nothing unique that cannot easily be emulated by other companions. He is equivalent to a lesser fighter equipped with an invisible shield of elemental resistances.



    4) Given that you will hire the following two NPCs, you should have no big troubles fighting through the entire game. So, I'd suggest you pick other NPCs solely based on your role-play goals.



    Korgan: being the most powerful companion warrior in entire game, is your only NPC companion who can solo most dungeons with little help from others from the start of SoA all the way to the end of TOB. Only Mr. S, if you have the patience to dual-class him to mage to let him have innate abilities to cast his own Time Stop and then initiate Greater Whirlwind attacks, can outmatch Korgan in terms of pure melee destructive power.


    Edwin: being the cheat-augmented, most arrogant mage companion, is the best of the best mages you can ever hire in entire BG2, who has so much magical prowess that he can only be matched (but not outmatched) by Aerie late in the game. (BTW, Aerie, is a vastly underestimated NPC companion. Being the same class/kit as the most powerful end-game boss of TOB, Aerie is about the only spellcaster companion that can solo most late-game dungeons on her own for your whole party. She can also be relied on for leading a 6-memeber party on the Insane difficulty all the way through the end-TOB final boss fights. With a little help, Edwin should be able to do the same too, can do it even better than Aerie, though obviously he's less self-sufficient.)

    OnePotato
  • NeverusedNeverused Member Posts: 803
    Most of the flak for Hexxat, as far as I can tell, is that she can only fit on the Evilest of Evil parties. Playing as a Neutral character, I can justify picking Edwin or Korgan or any other original evil character. Hexxat (and Dorn) are written in a way that I can't. If you're playing an Evil CHARNAME and have few or no qualms about more... morally dubious situations, I think Hexxat should be fine in terms of writing. There's also a couple complaints that the OTHER NPCs don't react in-character to her, which I don't know too much about since I've never made it through with her.

    Also to the above, Haer'dalis is actually considered one of the stronger NPCs at tanking, since low HP doesn't matter when you're casting Mirror Image and Stoneskin and later Protect from Magic Weapons. Offense is also doable with Offensive Spin or Improved Haste + whatever defensive spells you want.
    OnePotato
  • OnePotatoOnePotato Member Posts: 8
    First of all thanks for these really insightful and thorough replies! I certainly feel that Hexxat is a viably choice now as a character and it would be nice (well nice is perhaps not the right word) to have a soley evil party.

    I like the FMT as a protagonist from a RP perspective, a bit of nature and nurture combined, extremely talented at most persuits but lacking the discipline to excell in any one area. Mage representing a draconian Gorion forcing extensive study, much resented by the PC whose potential is endless but hates being stuck inside with a book unless obsessing over something that excites him. Fighter being represented by a natural urge to fight, getting into fights regularly and Gorion giving in to allow him to supplement his studying with regular training with the watchers - hoping they can teach him discipline aswell as being a controlled outlet for his aggression. Thief further represents the PCs tendency to get into truble, his restlessness, sense of adventure and biological heritage.

    Talented, eager, foolish and naive when leaving Candlekeep, he’ll need plenty of guidance and even more slappes in the face by the ”real world” before he starts realising his potential (and a few wisdom boosting tomes). Thus he’ll be more of a fighter/thief initially and squandering his magic talent on manipulating people (friends) and identifing things to show how clever he is. He’ll eventually realise that magic can compliment rather than hinder his fighting skills and start a long quest for ever more power as he realises that he needs to gain power to survive but also enjoys power in itself more and more. With increasing power comes increasing fatherly influence aswell as an increasing emotianal distance from ”regular folks” with whom he can identify with less and less and thus allowing for an easier time commiting evil acts. Especially when surrounded by these npcs!

    Hmm I think I just derailed my own topic with my ramblings, but I think I just figured out which PC I want to play :blush:
    UnderstandMouseMagicAerakar
  • dunbardunbar Member Posts: 1,603
    Just FYI my current party, which I've put together specifically to take on Draconis in ToB, consists of:

    F/M charname, Korgan, Dorn, Viconia, Edwin and.........Hexxat.

    Together they are a truly formidable combination.
    Aerakar
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