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Oki.
I was thinking about starting a party with 4 chars. does anyone have any suggestion on which? this will be single player.

i was thinking mageslayer/thief as pc
perhaps haer´dalis somewhere
uhm... jaheira?
and uhm... whut more?

pls fill me in with suggestions and ur experience with 4chars parties. by the way i intend to make a good-alignment-party.

Four member parties work fine and level up fast. And they're great to play because you don't have to manage six chars.

I'd strongly suggest to have at least one heavy duty tank in the party (Mazzy comes to mind). Since BG2 misses a good aligned wizard equivalent for Edwin, the spellcaster issue is the most difficult to decide. Aerie could prove a good choice, since she would also fill the cleric role you could think about Haer Dalis (more spells), Minsc or keldorn (both more brute force) as the fourth character.

With a dc wizard slayer / thief npc (probably awful strong combination at high levels) and good alignment I would go for Mazzy / Keldorn / Aerie. Having only one spellcaster means certain difficulties in battle preparation or battle itself, but I'm rather the "brute force" type player, so this is just a personal opinion, not necessarily a suggestion for the strongest possible party.

You could take Jaheira instead of Mazzy (that anyway is a good choice) so you can increase your spellcasting abilty (adding the druids spells) without losing a fighter (actually with the summoning capabilities of Jaheira you can even increase it).

My four would be, providing that you'll be the thief

Tank- Minsc, Keldorn, Korgan. Take your pick.

Mage- Edwin or Jan, with his useful crossbow. However maybe Aerie, gives you a wide selection of both mage and cleric spells.

Healer- Jahiera, excellent double tank and Harpers Call. Essential

You do remember that Wizard Slayers cannot use anything magical such as potions, so maybe taking Aerie would be more useful. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I believe they made it to where a wizard slayer can use healing potions now. I think it takes affect either with the ToB or the latest patch I am not sure.

My first character was a wizard slayer, and I hated him through most of SoA, but he got a lot better in ToB.

As far as who to take with you, it depends on you alignment.

Evil, I would take Korgan, Edwin, and Viconia. In my opinion, they are the best available in their classes.

For a good party, I would take Keldorn, Jaheira, and since you are already a fighter, I would suggest either Aerie, who is under rated in my opinion, or Nalia.

okay... guess i'll rule out the wizard slayer thing... then... any proposal for a pc? hmmm... fighter dual to mage? i bet those start kicking ass when the mage get lvl6 spells... heh... but... will they be better then a blade(bard) or same or will be the blade be even better?
or perhaps dualing from/to thief from/to something else? thief/mage? nah... that combination doesnt sound that rewarding. thief/fighter? or? ideas are WELCOME.

I'm playing a 4-character party myself:

• Arkanis - elven fighter-thief
• Minsc
• Keldorn
• Aerie

I've had great success with this multiplayer (all 4 homemade) party:

PC: half orc fighter (main melee char, could use a flavor of paladin as well or a barbarian, need someone to stand at the front)
Half orc fighter/thief (little extra melee power + thievery and ranged ability)
Ranger dualed to cleric (great dual wielder with warhammers/maces, almost as good close in as the main char)
Sorcerer (spellcasting, could use a regular mage or a kensai/mage)

This basically covers all the most important aspects and has 3 chars able to melee well.

I have this party:
PC Paladin (no kit)
PC Fighter/Thief
Imoen
Viconia

All is covered, and levelling up is fast!
Really, a party of 4 is the best!
Softaren, you can try a berserker/mage or kensai/mage,
my most beloved chars!!!
Be warned, they're TOO MUCH powerful!!

1) Wizardslayer/Thief
2) Sir Anomen
3) Jaheria
4) Edwin

Very heavy on spells. Both Anomen and Jaheria can tank for you, though.

Just noticed you wanted another suggestion instead of the Wiz Slayer/Thief. The party mentioned above would do very well with a backstabbing Assassin, if that interests you?

Although a huge fan of the Bard (my favourite class by far), the Bard can't compete with a Fighter(any kit)/Mage when it comes to Mage spells. Main reason: the Bard will never get spells higher than level 6. His strenghts lie elsewhere: no inactive class (if you meant to dual), higher level results in more damaging spells (Burning Hands, Skull Trap etc), can pick pockets, may use instruments and sing Bard Songs, very nice high level abilities (UAI, Set Trap, Enhanced Bard Song), high Lore and Charisma and so on.

The Skald is/was a great kit in SoA. However, with Enhanced Bard Song available (ToB) for all kits, the Blade is now to prefer IMO. For RPG reasons I often find myself playing a True Bard , though (just like it better).

A four level party with a PC Bard could include the following.

1) Blade/True Bard
2) Sir Anomen
3) Jaheira
4) Imoen (need someone to take care of traps and open locks)

hmmm...

after some thinking i've deciced to make a berserker... that duals to mage at lvl9.
so... for other party members... hmmm... this haer'dalis dood just seems so cool... but then...

first i need a healer, i was thinking aerie but i want jaheira for a 'steady' romance and that insect plague is nice vs mages/clerics/priests

second i need a thief... jan jansen is proberly the best... besides, i'm tired or partying with nalia every party i make

and fighter... hmmm... either haer'dalis using celestial fury or keldorn using carsomyr? keldorn has this true sight that comes in handy often i think... but still... i've never had haer'dalis other then very short times in my party. whuts he like?
which would you prefer? any comments about this party?

I had an evil party that worked rather well:

Torgrimm Egeskjold - F/M Multiclass badass
Korgan - F dualwielding axes
Edwin - nice spell slinger
Viconia - drow nuff' said

Here we go:

A Berserker/Mage is a good combo but makes no sense RPG-wise IMO. Level 9 is the right time to dual though!

Jaheira has a good romance and a good personal quest, too. As your only Priest, you will miss out on the Clerical spells, though.

Jan is by far the best thief and also an excellent backup Mage (and a specialist at that!).

Haer'Dalis can't tank in the way you normally mean when using the word tanking. He's dependant on his spells and they won't last forever. Very good for those extra nasty fights, but then you may need to protect him a bit.

Keldorn does very well as tank after you equip him with Gauntlets of Dex and Carsomyr. However, I find him boring. Anomen still is a good alternative and he would provide you with those Clerical spells as well. Or, if you mean to step up in front with your own PC and Jaheria, why not use Mazzy as an archer? Should you like to sneak around and backstab, definately go for Valygar.

Re: hmmm...

Originally posted by softaren
and fighter... hmmm... either haer'dalis using celestial fury or keldorn using carsomyr? keldorn has this true sight that comes in handy often i think... but still... i've never had haer'dalis other then very short times in my party. whuts he like?
which would you prefer? any comments about this party?

If you want a pure fighter, I think you should go for Keldorn. However, I usually used Haer'dalis because of his lore ability, which allowed him to identify most items automatically (especially at high level) and his bard song, which makes your party immune to fear effects. And lastly, I used him to breach a wizard's defenses with Breach and then go into an offensive spin to beat the hell out of the wizard, along with another fighter. I think he's a good back-up if you have another fighter (single, dual- or multi).

rumagent.

how did u manage without a thief?

Originally posted by softaren
rumagent.

how did u manage without a thief?

You can walk right through most traps and accept the damage. You can use a spell to find them and then walk around them or use fodder to set them off. Chests can be smashed or opened with spells. Not a very realistic way to play (I for one would like to have a thief scouting for traps and ennemies) but it works. I can't see why you would play like this, though, especially when having two slots to spare. You'll level up fast enough anyway.

Originally posted by softaren
rumagent.

how did u manage without a thief?

When you have two rods of resurrection, pain doesn't really matter much... If I was to replay BG2/TOB I doubt I would include a cleric in the party... Blame the rod

The only downside is that you cannot steal in shops, but then again who has played bg2 and not ended up with way too much money?