Exotic party compositions in BG?

[GarfunkeL]

Finally sorted out the BGT-mixup with the Big World shit and everything and thus decided to start yet another journey through BG-TotSC-SoA-ToB. But this time I went for a little more challenge and something different so I created an all-female party (except for the protagonist, durr hurr):

Imoen, to be dualed to a mage, ofc, providing ranged power,
Dynaheir, as the magical power (I usually don't have NPC mages in the party),
Shar-Teel, with a 2H-sword and an heavy xbow,
Safana, for sneaking and backstabbing, and
Faldorn, as the healing tank with trusty dire wolf.

What makes it possible at all is the npc-mod that allows you to reapply all the NPC skill-points/etc when you meet them and BGT which opens up Cloakwood immediately - so I gathered the usual suspects (Xzar, Montaron, Khalid, Jaheira) to act as meat-shields while I gathered the team (had Minsc and Edwin in party for a while as well after the original four meatshields had bought the farm). In any case, Faldorn and Safana are dualwielding scimitars and long/short swords respectively which fucks up their THAC0 pretty spectacularly as well, especially on low levels but it's already getting better now that I'm around lvl 6 and got some magical weapons. And since SCS already made many of the fights more challenging, it's quite fun to scour the country-side! Plus BG1NPC does bring them alive - most of the girls bitch horribly to each other all the time which is hilarious to listen to: Safana hates both Faldorn and Shar-Teel, Dynaheir despises Shar-Teel, Imoen tries to get along with everyone but everyone except Safana treats her as an airhead kiddie, Shar-Teel loathes Safana and finally Faldorn pretty much hates everyone. Like one big, happy, totally dysfunctional family. Yeah yeah, I got the cheat enabled that prevents them from leaving the party due to hostility.

You guys ever tried out weird, non-optimized parties? How have they turned out?

 

[octavius]

On my latest playthrough I played with Eldorn + Skie, Monty + Xzar, Viconia and, after Xzar bought the farm, Quayle.
The Zhents are great fun when using BG1NPC which adds a lot of content for them, but Eldorn and Skie was a bit disappointing, since Skie is the least fleshed out NPC of the mod and Eldorn is not much better.
SCS and BG1NPC are definitely among my all time facourite mods, and is the reason I replay BG every other year or so. Without them BG1 is rather bland compared to BG2.

 

[tehRPness]

I always made 6 of my own characters and moved the savegame to singleplayer. My inner min-maxer could never forgive me for playing with any NPC other than _maybe_ Sarevok in ToB.

 

[Erebus]

I've played BG2 with a mage-only team :

- A sorcerer PC
- Imoen
- Nalia
- Edwin
- Aerie
- Jan

I find spellcasters more entertaining than fighters in D&D games, so it was pretty fun. The firepower was quite impressive. I had to memorize more summoning spells than I usually do in order to provide meatshields. The fact that Aerie was my only cleric wasn't too much of a problem, since mages are supposed to avoid toe-to-toe combat anyway.

Obviously, having to fight several magic-resistant enemies (such as drows or golems) could be a pain in the ass. In ToB, many enemies had a fuckton of HP and I had to be careful not to exhaust my offensive spells against them too quickly. And, in SoA, it was difficult to find enough scrolls to provide all of my team with the spells I wanted them to have !

 

[Redeye]

I love this idea.

I've been planning for a long time to do a wierd-weapon party that only uses the off-color equipment.

Also, I was thinking of just getting the especially colorful NPCs which also aren't over-used (like Viconia and the 2 archer guys.)

I don't have the experience of their exploits because I haven't done it yet.

But here is what I would do:

Branwyn. I love having the statue be in my party, and her comments were amusing when I had her. Just too few- she should have had secrets, etc. that led to quests and so on.
Do the mods let me keep her later?

Quayle- just because I love his full of shit portrait.
Also he might be handy later, if I get to keep him.

That bard guy- can't remember his name. Just to have a handicap.
Also, do I get to keep him later?

Screw getting the Paladin, he annoys me. Perhaps Shar-Teel.
She has a good quest twist.

Not sure of the last one. Who should I get?

I would be a Cleric/Thief/Wizard because I love the way the HUD fills up with piles of icons/options.


Any advice?

 

[Ammar]

I always made 6 of my own characters and moved the savegame to singleplayer. My inner min-maxer could never forgive me for playing with any NPC other than _maybe_ Sarevok in ToB.

Meh, Edwin is overpowered as well. +2 bonus spells per levels in addition to the +1 for his Conjurer Kit is a huge advantage.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Redeye, the BG1NPC-mod adds lot of banter to them and also some little quests. Branwen has a quest to exact vengeance against the man who turned her into a statue.

No, you don't get to keep them in BG2, not even if you use BGTrilogy. There is a mod that transfers many BG1 NPCs to BG2 and allows them to join you but I haven't tried it out, so...

As to your party, sounds good. Garrick is probably the bard you mean. Try different NPCs out, it's half of the fun. Now that you can order them to stay in an inn you specify, you don't even have to worry that they disappear with your equipment or anything.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Also, Shar-Teel has a nice little twist in the end of BG, concerning her heritage.

Updatan!

Instead of going to BG2, I created a new party in BG - this time it's "DEM SHORTIES!"

Yup.

-Protagonist, dwarven fighter/cleric
-Kagan, axe+shield dwarf fighter
-Montaron, the backstabber halfling
-Alora, the bow-using party halfling thief
-Quayle, the cleric/illusionists

And then I'm gonna add that dwarf you rescue in the Cloakwood Mine as my sixth one when I get there - currently Imoen is the placeholder, though I might rotate Kivan into her role. So far they have had a decent amount of banter amongst themselves plus I've never really used these guys much either. Unfortunately I didn't get Tiax as my reputation was too high and you don't get another chance to recruit him

Am I missing a gnome/halfling/dwarf? I think there's only these six in the whole game.

 

[SCO]

I would be a Cleric/Thief/Wizard because I love the way the HUD fills up with piles of icons/options.
Any advice?

There actually isn't a Cleric/Thief/Wizard

: x

 

[Decado]

I just installed that "Happy Party" mod for BG2 so I can have whoever I want in the party, regardless of alignment, and they won't fight with each other and they won't leave the party due to reputation.

Right now I have me (Inquisitor, every time I play I need a pally because I can't pass up Carsomyr), Minsc, Anomen, Viconia, Nalia, Yoshimo/Imoen.

It's been interesting so far. I'm not used to playing the game with so many fighters -- give Viconia the right gear (Mauler's Arm, for example) and she becomes quite passable as a fighter.

My next play-through I'm going to use more evil party members, but I also want to try out Mazzy.

 

[octavius]

I also want to try out Mazzy.

So does Korgan. :D

 

[Decado]

I also want to try out Mazzy.

So does Korgan. :D

Heh.

I've always gone with kinda boring party compositions. I have a hard time playing "evil" characters as I always end up feeling like a dickhead. So most of the evil NPCs are ones I've never used.

The first time I beat BGII was with my Swashbuckler, Keldorn (for Carsomyr), Minsc, Anomen (for Crom Faeyr), Jaheira and Aerie. And now that I look back, theres really been very little variation in that. I played with Jan once, and he was okay, but he was too specialized as a thief, I thought. Cernd is okay, but if I'm going to play a werewolf I'll roll my own (they have retarded stats, like 23 strength and 21 dex when in Greater Werewolf form, seriously, it's sick).

Mazzy was always cool, but I could never fit her in anywhere. She really shines as an archer, but I don't really play with archers.

And Valygar's got all the personality of a ruined hand job. He's the worst NPC in the whole goddamn game, and setting up his back stabs is annoying.

That leaves Edwin and Korgan as the two I've never really "sampled". Maybe I'll roll them in the next time I play through.

ETA: I forgot about Haer' Dalis. Which is okay, because he's an annoying worthless piece of shit.

 

[RK47]

edwin and korgan is pretty powerful. And hence I always use them as the core party.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

When I played BG1, all cNPCs were expandable. I remember ending up with some unconventional party compositions because of that.

 

[waywardOne]

funnest i ever did was edit all party members to be thieves, either single, dualled, or multi. overall levels were gimped but being able to ghost through much of the game was both challenging and hilarious.

random banters knocking them out of hiding was a bitch.

 

[zool]

Also, Shar-Teel has a nice little twist in the end of BG, concerning her heritage.

Updatan!

Instead of going to BG2, I created a new party in BG - this time it's "DEM SHORTIES!"

Yup.

-Protagonist, dwarven fighter/cleric
-Kagan, axe+shield dwarf fighter
-Montaron, the backstabber halfling
-Alora, the bow-using party halfling thief
-Quayle, the cleric/illusionists

And then I'm gonna add that dwarf you rescue in the Cloakwood Mine as my sixth one when I get there - currently Imoen is the placeholder, though I might rotate Kivan into her role. So far they have had a decent amount of banter amongst themselves plus I've never really used these guys much either. Unfortunately I didn't get Tiax as my reputation was too high and you don't get another chance to recruit him

Am I missing a gnome/halfling/dwarf? I think there's only these six in the whole game.

I've been meaning to do that for a while, should be fun. I've already completed a full BGI-BG2II playthrough with an elf-only party. That was pretty gay, and Xan annoyed the shit out of me.

Edit: Oh, and there is a mod which introduces Finch, a female gnome bookworm with a nice portrait and a few banters. You might wanna try it. Other than that, I think you've listed all the shorties in BGI.

 

[ghostdog]

Jansen is a great addition to the party IMO. He has all the thieving skills/stats you need, plus he's a mage/illusioninst, plus he makes his own custom ammo for his crossbow. I used to ingore him but when I tried him, I liked him a lot. Ditch yoshimo as soon as possible for him.

Add Edwin, Viconia and Korgan and you have a superpowered, albeit evil, party. Better yet, have minsc instead of Korgan and watch him fight with edwin until one kills the other. Fun. Also, if you want a really good female mage just leave Edwin as "Edwina".

 

[Sergiu64]

Meh, I'm playing BGT with a custom Multiplayer party atm:

Inquisitor
Undead Hunter
Shapeshifter that will be dualed to Fighter at 15
Swashbuckler that will be dualed to Mage, not sure when yet.
Skald
Archer

It's pretty fun to be mowing through things.

 

[Mastermind]

Shapeshifter that will be dualed to Fighter at 15

I thought I was the only one who did that.

 

[Decado]

Shapeshifter that will be dualed to Fighter at 15

I thought I was the only one who did that.

I thought about doing this once, but decided against it. Does it make a huge difference? IIRC, the greater werewolf has insane strength and dex, making his Thac0 pretty ridiculous. I was under the impression that the fighter bonus didn't stack, is that incorrect? If so, I'll be trying that next. My SS was an ass pulping machine at end-game, I can't imagine him dualed to fighter.

 

[octavius]

Jansen is a great addition to the party IMO. He has all the thieving skills/stats you need, plus he's a mage/illusioninst, plus he makes his own custom ammo for his crossbow. I used to ingore him but when I tried him, I liked him a lot. Ditch yoshimo as soon as possible for him.

Add Edwin, Viconia and Korgan and you have a superpowered, albeit evil, party. Better yet, have minsc instead of Korgan and watch him fight with edwin until one kills the other. Fun. Also, if you want a really good female mage just leave Edwin as "Edwina".

Jan is definitely my favourite thief in BG2. He's hillarious and since he's also an Illusionist he's useful.
Korgan and Edwin are also among my favourites since they are not only very useful party members, but also funny with good voice acting.

On my latest playthrough I had in my party Korgan, Edwin, Viconia, Jan and Keldorn. Keldorn and Viconia has some great banters, but Viconia's weakness is very low HP, so she definitely was "the weakest link". Keldorn I held on to because he was the only one who could wield a certain sword.

Mazzy and Korgan is also a good mix if you want fun banters.

Cernd and Valygar are probably the dullest NPCs, but Valygar has some interesting quest(s).

Haer Dalis is OK. Not very funny, but has som great combat moves.

And if you play an evil character nothing is better than turning Anomen tp the dark side.

 

[Decado]

Meh, I'm playing BGT with a custom Multiplayer party atm:

Inquisitor
Undead Hunter
Shapeshifter that will be dualed to Fighter at 15
Swashbuckler that will be dualed to Mage, not sure when yet.
Skald
Archer

It's pretty fun to be mowing through things.

Bro you have no heals in this party haha. You must rest like 3 days at a time.

 

[Moray]

I've always been partial to full-thief parties - be they of various kits, preferably - which may possibly include rangers as well due to their ability also to use hide-in-shadows. Though, I'm usually more inclined to a pure thief party.

As someone already mentioned, being able to "ghost" through virtually everything is surprisingly fun. My combat style is almost entirely based upon backstabs, luring, and missile weaponry.

 

[Sergiu64]

Meh, I'm playing BGT with a custom Multiplayer party atm:

Inquisitor
Undead Hunter
Shapeshifter that will be dualed to Fighter at 15
Swashbuckler that will be dualed to Mage, not sure when yet.
Skald
Archer

It's pretty fun to be mowing through things.

Bro you have no heals in this party haha. You must rest like 3 days at a time.

Shapeshifter is a druid kit.

 

[Decado]

Meh, I'm playing BGT with a custom Multiplayer party atm:

Inquisitor
Undead Hunter
Shapeshifter that will be dualed to Fighter at 15
Swashbuckler that will be dualed to Mage, not sure when yet.
Skald
Archer

It's pretty fun to be mowing through things.

Bro you have no heals in this party haha. You must rest like 3 days at a time.

Shapeshifter is a druid kit.

Yeah I realized it after I wrote that. I never used my SS for heals. I don't think I took him out of WW form the whole game.

ETA: Or maybe it was that I didn't use his heals spells? I remember there was some fierce competition for shit like insect plague, etc.