party composition

speedball · Post by **speedball** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 7:19 am

I've got a question about my party composition, and was wondering if I could get some advice.

I'm playing with ToB installed. I'm in Chapter 2, but the only quests I've done so far are the slaver guild in the slums and Nalia's keep. My current party is:

skald (me)
Minsc
Jaheira
Anomen
Yoshimo
Nalia

I plan on picking up Keldorn shortly, so my question is: should I drop Nalia or Yoshimo? If I drop Nalia, then my skald is my only spellcaster until Imoen turns up. If I drop Yoshimo, then I've only got Nalia's low theiving skills until Imoen returns.

Any suggestions/advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 7:29 am

Drop Nalia and go rescue Imoen as soon as possible. You'll manage with wands and the few spells you've got til then. Make sure to save scrolls for Imoen. Why drop Nalia? Because she's very much like Imoen anyway, only with less thief skills. I normally prefer to use Nalia instead of Imoen (since you can have her from start and cause she's my cutie) but then I only use her as a mage.

ThorinOakensfield · Post by **ThorinOakensfield** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 8:28 am

Drop Yoshimo and just have your spell casters break locks, and run over the traps.

speedball · Post by **speedball** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 8:51 am

Thanks for the suggestions. Some other related questions I've been pondering here at work:

Does the Knock spell actually open ALL locks? I've never used the spell before, so I don't know how it works.

If I want to take on some of the tougher baddies like the dragons or liches before Spellhold, without Nalia, am I looking at very difficult fights? I know there are some easy-cheesy ways to beat these guys even without a lot of spells, but I'm trying to avoid using those tactics.

Nightmare · Post by **Nightmare** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 9:48 am

I take you are using Jaheira for romance. Drop Yoshimo for now and buff up Nalia's thief skills for now. When you are leaving, drop nalia for Yoshimo. Switch Yoshimo for Imoen when you get her.

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 9:50 am

Originally posted by ThorinOakensfield:
<STRONG>Drop Yoshimo and just have your spell casters break locks, and run over the traps.</STRONG>

Man, how boring. And running over traps, how realistic is that, really? Still, as long as you're having fun...

Knock will take care of all locks that can be opened with the Open Lock skill.

Do you want Imoen in your party or not? if you wait too long, in other words do the big quests before leaving, she will be far lower than your other NPCs.

speedball · Post by **speedball** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 10:26 am

I've played the game through doing all the side quests before reaching Imoen, and from what I remember, I think she turned out okay. Is having her some levels lower going to make ToB more difficult?

Based on the advice from you all and a little more thought on my part, it looks like Nalia is the better bet for now. With the various rings, potions, and the Knock spell, I should be able to get by. Thanks to everyone for their input!

Ajax · Post by **Ajax** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 11:06 am

What about Jan? surprised its taken this long for his name to be dropped.

Lets face it, your just killing space until you get Imoen back, so Jan's limitations wont be as great a liablity for you.

Advantages of Jan. Part Spell Caster (adds a few party xps for learning some duplicate scrolls you have laying around) Best all around NPC theif (again so more party xps for picking locks which you wont get with Nalia's knock) And some fun interations and dialogs to make your gaming experience more enjoyable.

just my 2 gp

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 11:20 am

As for Jan as an alternative, see the current thread about him.

speedball · Post by **speedball** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 12:00 pm

Jan probably would be the best solution, but I'm just not in the mood for his character right now. Maybe if I try my "all evil or neutral" party...

Actually, all this thinking about different NPCs and character interactions brings something interesting to mind:

Does anyone else have a hard time not including Imoen, Minsc or Jaheira in their party?

I know that from a pure gameplay perspective, these characters aren't everone's first choice, but from a role-playing perspective (at least for me) it would be hard to justify kicking your long-term companions from your group. After all, they were original characters from the first game, and stuck by you through thick and thin, even with all the bad stuff that has happened to them.

Surely other stuff would come into play in making the decision, such as alignment or the personality of the PC, but I was just curious if others felt the same way.

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Mon Aug 13, 2001 12:43 pm

The second time I went through BG1, Minsc wouldn't even talk to me so I don't know if he can truly be considered a long time companion.