03-06-2003, 07:20 AM
Some more commentary, WarLocke, just because I feel Mith's position deserves a bit of a refutation.
Regarding party members, I tend to assemble ones including both Imoen and Nalia because I really like arcane magic, and the two of them both have great stats for a mage. Two mages, especially once you hit ToB, are absolutely invaluable. Nalia and Imoen annoy many people, but they don't annoy me (I can't stand Aerie, personally...). Nalia's interesting in that she has dialogues mostly triggered by locations and other people. Try entering the Hall of the Radiant Heart with Keldorn and Nalia in the party.
Cernd and Valygar have flat personalities, so it's not a good choice to pick them, really...except that Valygar is probably the best fighter in the game after Korgan (even then, if you open with backstabs, it's a toss up). Give him Celestial Fury in his right hand and his family blade or any other good katana in his left, and he rips straight through all opposition. He's better than Cernd, at least, who really does have no personality. Bring along Mazzy and Viconia and you'll get plenty of chatter from Valygar.
Haer'Dalis and Jaheira really aren't that good; Haer'Dalis is a pathetic fighter even though he literally breaks the rules for his class and kit. Bio purposely cheated HD's stats and he still bites as a fighter. He doesn't really have that much personality, either, he just speaks with a certain tone, and hell, Cernd does that, too.
Anomen is, frankly, the best cleric in the game. His personality isn't too good, his response sounds are terrible, etc, etc, but he is technically the best cleric in the game; he can grandmaster weapons and advances as a cleric, but with an extra half-attack from his fighter levels, so much that I'd say that of the dual-classed and multiclassed allies, Anomen is very close to being a full fighter even though he's a cleric. There's a romance with him if you're female. Otherwise...well, you can bring along Jan for some conversation with him. If you're evil you can have him fail his test, that changes his personality (though passing it also does; it's up to you which kind of Anomen you want).
Jan is popular because he has the funniest dialogue in the game. If you can accept having one of the worst characters in the game, bring him. I often do, because his dialogue is great fun. But objectively Jan isn't much use. Thief skills, I guess, but there's a reason there's only one full thief in the game and that's because thief skills are so absolutely unnecessary. You need a bit of disarm traps, and a bit of open lock. Oh, and Jan carries a giant load of trap cheese in ToB, but you really don't want to win that way.
Regarding party members, I tend to assemble ones including both Imoen and Nalia because I really like arcane magic, and the two of them both have great stats for a mage. Two mages, especially once you hit ToB, are absolutely invaluable. Nalia and Imoen annoy many people, but they don't annoy me (I can't stand Aerie, personally...). Nalia's interesting in that she has dialogues mostly triggered by locations and other people. Try entering the Hall of the Radiant Heart with Keldorn and Nalia in the party.
Cernd and Valygar have flat personalities, so it's not a good choice to pick them, really...except that Valygar is probably the best fighter in the game after Korgan (even then, if you open with backstabs, it's a toss up). Give him Celestial Fury in his right hand and his family blade or any other good katana in his left, and he rips straight through all opposition. He's better than Cernd, at least, who really does have no personality. Bring along Mazzy and Viconia and you'll get plenty of chatter from Valygar.
Haer'Dalis and Jaheira really aren't that good; Haer'Dalis is a pathetic fighter even though he literally breaks the rules for his class and kit. Bio purposely cheated HD's stats and he still bites as a fighter. He doesn't really have that much personality, either, he just speaks with a certain tone, and hell, Cernd does that, too.
Anomen is, frankly, the best cleric in the game. His personality isn't too good, his response sounds are terrible, etc, etc, but he is technically the best cleric in the game; he can grandmaster weapons and advances as a cleric, but with an extra half-attack from his fighter levels, so much that I'd say that of the dual-classed and multiclassed allies, Anomen is very close to being a full fighter even though he's a cleric. There's a romance with him if you're female. Otherwise...well, you can bring along Jan for some conversation with him. If you're evil you can have him fail his test, that changes his personality (though passing it also does; it's up to you which kind of Anomen you want).
Jan is popular because he has the funniest dialogue in the game. If you can accept having one of the worst characters in the game, bring him. I often do, because his dialogue is great fun. But objectively Jan isn't much use. Thief skills, I guess, but there's a reason there's only one full thief in the game and that's because thief skills are so absolutely unnecessary. You need a bit of disarm traps, and a bit of open lock. Oh, and Jan carries a giant load of trap cheese in ToB, but you really don't want to win that way.