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Valygar or Imoen

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2001 11:58 pm
by will2k
Wright im going to spell hold to day and was wondering if i should drop valgar for imoen. Valygar is the only party member that isn't pulling his weight. Here is my party : Me (paladin undead slayer), Minsc, Jaheira, Aerie, Jan, Valgar. But if I take on Imoen I will only have two tanks is this enough? and will have 2 mage/thiefs.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:07 am
by polaris
You can tank out Jaheira very well. She can wear any armor/shield a fighter can, and wields a *mean* belm+2 in my games at least.

Her only weaknesses are her low hits (but unlike your *other* tanks she has ironskins so that is not a big problem), and her low strength (give her the bracers of orgre strength or a giant strength belt).

Other than that Jaheira is a great tank.

-Polaris

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:10 am
by will2k
Well ni my party she is wearing the nights gift +5 and useing that blue +4 staff. I always use her in fights It's just cos of her low HP that i dont use her as my front player. So should I let Imoen join?

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:19 am
by polaris
I would say, yes, let Imoen join if Valgyr is simply not pulling his weight. She is your sister, right? ;)

Seriously though, even without enhancements, Jaheira is strong enough to wear any armor in the game.....and given her low hits, there is no real good reason not to. I generally have Jaheira in some kind of full platemail (with the +2 ring if the plate is non-magical), with the Belm +2 as her primary weapon (and the Blackblood as backup for those pesky critters that need to be hit with +3 weapons) and the shield of harmony. [Of course my pros tend to use T-H weapons which is why I give the shield to Jaheira.]

Marry that with the sling of seeking and a girdle of hill giant strength, and I think you will be very pleasently suprised at how well Jaheira tanks.

*Remember* that she has ironskins which means that the first few blows won't *hit* her. I find that that makes up for low hits in general (especially with a very low AC...Jaheira has a great Dex).

-Polaris

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:26 am
by THE JAKER
If you like casting Magic, then you should probably get Imoen, then your party has basically 3 mages, 4 so - so clerics. right now you don't have a pure wizard, although Jan does pretty well, for sure. However, bringing Imoen on lowers your average HP.

It sounds like Valygar is not living up to his real potential - maybe he just needs some better equipment? Or maybe he isn't backstabbing? Maybe he could wear the night's gift if his stealth isn't cutting it. Do you have celestial fury? I think with Aerie and Jan in a party, you might not want another weakling.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:27 am
by will2k
But jaheira is a druid they can't wear anymore than leather armour. And I dont want to disable her spells.I dont have celestial fury and i dont back stab (I dont know how). Where do i get the celestial fury from? Origionaly i intended on leaving imoen out. But does having her around make the plot alot better?

[ 08-08-2001: Message edited by: -=Merlin=- ]

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:35 am
by Musashi Miyamoto
I use plate mail all the time and can still cast spells with jah so *shungs*

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:36 am
by Astafas
Originally posted by -=Merlin=-:
<STRONG>But jaheira is a druid they can't wear anymore than leather armour. And I dont want to disable her spells.I dont have celestial fury and i dont back stab (I dont know how). Where do i get the celestial fury from? Origionaly i intended on leaving imoen out. But does having her around make the plot alot better?
[ 08-08-2001: Message edited by: -=Merlin=- ]</STRONG>

Jaheira is a *Fighter*/Druid and can wear all sorts of armor while still being able tp cast spells. Give it a try and you'll see for yourself. CF you get from the Guarded Compound in the Temple District (quite a fight though so be well prepared). Jaheira has the best personal quest of them all (the Harper Quest) and is well worth having around. Add to this the possibilty of a romance.

[ 08-08-2001: Message edited by: Astafas ]

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:41 am
by will2k
I was never gonna drop Jaheira anyho but I was wondering Is Imoen nessacery in the party for a good plot?

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:44 am
by Path of Wind
Originally posted by -=Merlin=-:
<STRONG>I was never gonna drop Jaheira anyho but I was wondering Is Imoen nessacery in the party for a good plot?</STRONG>
Spoiler
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She IS YOUR SISTER. That means she IS CHILD OF BHAAL also. And since all this is about Bhaal and his children, I think she is important.

[ 08-08-2001: Message edited by: Path of Wind ]

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:47 am
by will2k
But that means I have to boot someone but who?

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:51 am
by polaris
It is a pity you don't have a straight cleric in the group. IF you did, I would stay ditch Aerie 'faster than chicktafastpaws'. Aerie can be useful, but I generally find her to be a wasted space better filled by a full cleric.

-Polaris

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:54 am
by will2k
I've tought aerie loads of wizard spells and I romanced her. she's the best mage in my group.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 12:59 am
by nael
then dump jan, why do you need 2 mage/thieves?

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 1:02 am
by will2k
yeah I think i will dump jan. I've his quest and he doesn't know any decent spells which aerie (apart from haste Where can I buy this?) He is an ok thief but not amazing his gloves help with that and that ring I nicked off the shadow theives leader.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 1:13 am
by will2k
What stats does imoen have if you egt her back at level 11?

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 1:38 am
by polaris
Actually, dump *everyone* that has a lower character level than your protagonist before picking Imoen back up. *Her* level need not be 11. It is based on the average level of the party when she is picked back up. Reinvite everyone you want back.

Of course since you are *romancing* Aerie (you poor, poor man.....I did that once and HATED it), this is not a real good option since that will kill the romance...and Aerie likely has the lowest levels in the party (as a multiclass).

-Polaris

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 2:06 am
by seanthony
Ditch Valygar! haha.. I mean, you've got 2.5 tanks.. Paladin, Minsc and Jaheira (I consider as a half). Actually your party is a lot like mine, except I have Mazzy instead of Minsc. Anyway, Imoen is always good to have, as it's always better to have more magic than less, right? haha.. and Valygar.. er.. you might as well get Mazzy instead of him, really.

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 2:29 am
by TecnoPaladin
Valygar can rock, especially when he's using Celestial Fury and Crom Faeyr :) First time around, I didn't realize I had the potential to put 3 spots into Dual Wield... if so, and using Montecristo's cloak, I can actually get -0 Main Hand / -0 Off hand! Looking forward to trying it.

I haven't played with Jan yet, but from what I know of him, yeah, I would get rid of him, especially if you did his quest already. There is no reason to have two mage/thieves in the party (which is why I nixed Nalia my first time through).

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2001 5:12 am
by Astafas
Jan is excellent (I actually voted for him as most useful NPC in that thread a few days ago) but so is Valygar. Should one of them leave for Imoen I'd recommend Jan. Why? Since Imoen can take care of all traps and locks and Valygar is an amazing back stabber with CF and the Corthala Family Blade (which seems to work fine even without Kevin' s patch since ToB). Personally I would rather see Minsc leave but you haven't suggested this so...