how do you mix your party

[Dummy]

Hey,

im just curious how do you usually mix your party ?

i always try to have a funny group.
I really like Keldorn / korgen, or Arie / Vico / Jahe

but this is my way to mix my group.
I try to have a working group, not like okay i will play 6 mages or sth like that.

This time i will try some "new" npc,

I neither tried hear nor Jan for a long time i kind of disliked them, but since you all seem to like jan i will try him
i also never tried mezzy, looks like im a bit rassism in this point ^^

So this time i will try hear and jan

my group for now looks like that.

Me ( kensai )
Hear ( Blade )
------
Cernd ( Druid )
Jan ( Illu / thief )
Arie ( Priest / Wiz )

feel free to help me with a 6th i dont know who is in good synergie with Jan/hear

i just now hear and arie are flirting, but nothing else

so my core questions are,
1. how do you mix your party
2. which 6th char should i choose

[CFM]

Originally Posted by Dummy

1. how do you mix your party

Hello Dummy!

On my run through the game, I had:
Priest of Lathander
Jaheira (completed the romance too)
Minsc (and Boo)
Keldorn
Yoshimo (then later Imoen)
Aerie (then You-Know-Who from ToB)

Knowing what I know now, I'd adventure with NPC's that have more banter with each other (more than most, anyway). Mazzy and Korgan, Aerie and Haer'Dalis, Keldorn and Anomen, maybe other pairs, are all examples of NPCs that have alot to say when in a party together.

My next party would be something like this:
Fighter/Mage (da Bad Guy)
Mazzy (lots of banter with Korgan)
Korgan (my Bad Guy protagonist would dig his attitude)
Viconia (to see one of the game's other romances)
Edwin (to have all the evil NPCs covered)
Imoen (curious if she reacts differently to an evil protagonist)

After that, in subsequent games, I too would recruit NPCs that I've never had before.

Originally Posted by Dummy

2. which 6th char should i choose

If you've never had Mazzy before, then she would be a good choice. Plus her class fits well into the makeup of your party.

[bipbap]

Originally Posted by Dummy

my group for now looks like that.

Me ( kensai )
Hear ( Blade )
------
Cernd ( Druid )
Jan ( Illu / thief )
Arie ( Priest / Wiz )

feel free to help me with a 6th i dont know who is in good synergie with Jan/hear

i just now hear and arie are flirting, but nothing else

so my core questions are,
1. how do you mix your party
2. which 6th char should i choose

With this party, I think your biggest need is a good tank. Mazzy is a good choice. Minsc and Keldorn also make good tanks. Oh and since this is TOB, that new NPC you meet at the very beginning of the game makes a good tank.

[Thrifalas]

I tend to have a setup like this:

Fighter
Fighter
Fighter
Caster
Caster

Out of all parties I've tried, this one is by far the most efficient one. I simply put my Fighter's on the regular attack script and occationally change their targets and use their abilities, while focusing almost all my attention on my 2-3 casters.

Bards, fighter/mages, thieves and the likes are good for solo play, but when it comes to a party, I definately prefer it like this.

[Klorox]

My setup is a little unconventional:

I've always preferred 3 or 4 man parties. I feel like I can concentrate on the characters better this way, the navigation is easier, and it reminds me of my old days playing D&D in my friends' basement. You also advance in levels a little bit faster, which is nice.

Ideally, I'd like:

1 primary arcane caster
1 thief
1 divine caster (I prefer Clerics over Druids)
1 arcane warrior (F/M, multi or dual, F/M/T, or a Blade)
as many melee warriors as possible.

This is obviously too many roles for just 3 or 4 characters, which is where dual or multiclassing comes in.

For instance, my latest party is only 3 people:

Anomen (warrior & divine spellcaster)
Imoen (thief & primary arcane spellcaster)
Berserker > Mage protagonist (arcane warrior)

The only thing I feel I'm missing is thief skills other than handling the locks and traps, but you really don't need that in a party.

Another fun party I have going is one I nicknamed "multi-class madness". It's a bit more magic oriented than most of my games, and it's a ton of fun:

Gnome Fighter/Illusionist protagonist (arcane warrior)
Jan Jansen (arcane spellcaster & thief)
Jaheira (warrior & divine spellcaster)
Aerie (arcane & divine spellcaster + romance)

[GawainBS]

In every Infinity game, my setup "has" to include these roles:

2 Tanks, 2 Divine Casters (at least one single classed), 2 Arcane Casters (idem), 1 Thief.

With a bit of multiclassing, this is no problem, even when limiting yourself to 5 people.

[Rancour]

Usually,I don't care about how strong my party will be.I choose characters basing on how interesting their dialogues are,their interaction with the group and the leader.
The leader is usually powerfull enough to do all the monster killing job.

I like to mock Jaheira.What I like about her is that she wants to be the leader and when you begin to tell her to know her place,she does not leave as she wants to adventure with you.I despise "feminizm" in her.

Haerdalis is a nice choice.

Edwin and his "transformation" story are interesting,so I often take him.

Aerie - for romance.

[Jedi_Sauraus]

Easiest playthrough:

Mage/Thief
Ranger/Cleric
2x Sorceror
2x Kensai 13>Mage

This party would be nearly indestructalbe

For roleplaying reasons using Bioware NPC's

Berserker 13 > Cleric
Jaheira
Edwin
Jan
Korgan
Imoen

(Mr S) is over rated. Korgan has a better personality and dwarven saving throws rule. This Party has q good balance between Arcane and Devine power plenty of tanking NPC to keep things simple

Edit: to answer your other question, get Edwin. you obviously lack Arcane Power to a great degree. 2 multiclassed mages do not equal 1 single classed mage. Power increases exponentially with additional level 9 slots, and your still on the low end of the curve with only 2 slots, which is when your multiclasses will max out.

[Thrifalas]

Mr.S has twice the stats of Korgan, way better personality and the deathbringer assault. He is definately not overrated and should be used in all bioware-parties, RPGers and powergamers alike. :P

[Dummy]

yes i know i was lacking high level arcane power, but i really enjoyed this runthrough i took mazzy btw

[Jedi_Sauraus]

@Dummy: As long as your enjoying the game, you've made an excellent choice. While I prefer Arcane power, people have solo'ed the game without it so you shouldn't run into difficulties.

@Thrifalas: The only reason Mr S. has deathbringer assult, and the stats he does, is to appeal to powergamers. The only aligment that would reaonably accept an archenemy into the team is chaotic neutral. Good aligned charecters would be wary of him, while evil aligned characters would bear a grudge and send him back to hell anyway.

As far as Korgan's stats go, he has 25 in strenght due Crom and 19 constitution both better than S. AC and therefore dexterity are irrelevant in ToB. S's Deathbringer assult is really the only reason to take him, however your losing enrage, which is useful in any fight against anything that can disable you in anyway. Not to mention those uber Dwarven saving throws...

[Celacena]

it's been ages since I had Korgan in a party - if I had him from BG, he could have crom freyr and axe of the unyielding

[Thrifalas]

Originally Posted by Jedi_Sauraus

@Thrifalas: The only reason Mr S. has deathbringer assult, and the stats he does, is to appeal to powergamers. The only aligment that would reaonably accept an archenemy into the team is chaotic neutral. Good aligned charecters would be wary of him, while evil aligned characters would bear a grudge and send him back to hell anyway.

As far as Korgan's stats go, he has 25 in strenght due Crom and 19 constitution both better than S. AC and therefore dexterity are irrelevant in ToB. S's Deathbringer assult is really the only reason to take him, however your losing enrage, which is useful in any fight against anything that can disable you in anyway. Not to mention those uber Dwarven saving throws...

With items, yeah. Then I can say that you can dual Sarevok into a fighterthief and get him 50% MR and a dispel on hit ability AND he can backstab and set traps and he can dual into a mage and and be immortal if he wishes!

About the alignment, he's a good choice for any alignment. Good doesn't have to be wary around him, he can see it as an opportunity to make him repent for his crimes and stuff like that. Evil can simply be powerthirsty. I can come up with thousands of reasons to keep him whatever alignment you are.

Korgans only strenght over Sarevok is that he's a berzerker whereas Sarevok is an ordinary warrior. I'd say that his dualclass options beats the saving throws. However, they're both awesome fighters and in the end it comes down to a matter of choice, I'd say.

[Jedi_Sauraus]

Spoilers ahead, you have been warned.

I agree. I like Korgan so much because of his personality, that I totally overlooked dualing Sarevok to a Thief or Mage. Dualed, there is no doubt he outclasses Korgan by large margin. Especially when dualed to a mage. Then again, since he starts out at a highish 17, He'd be a liability for a good chunk of ToB.

I still question the roleplaying motives behind his joining the team however. Having recently completed BGI tutu, I can tell you that all the reasonable dialogs, even the evil ones lead to a fight. They really made him out to be an evil bastard in BGI, for whom there is no redemtion. Even Irenicus had traces of humanity in him. One is almost compelled to feel sorry for him at the end, when the story of his lost love, Ellesime, is laid bare. Kind of reminds me of Anakin Skywalker in episode III.