Is there a certain experience level I should shoot for before taking on Spellhold? I don't want to get in over my head...


Party is as follows:

Korgan
Mazzy
Cernd
PC - Assassin
Jan
Edwin

I think 12th level is fine for most characters (higher for rogues) -- somewhere around 1 to 2 million xp. You can go there with more and you can do it with less.

Just a note: With you're party you won't have room for Imoen and anyone you leave behind will be unavailable for the remainder of the game.

Spellhold will balance itself according to your party level, like most dungeons, hopefully.

There are not very difficult battles in the vanilla game's Asylum anyway. Well except that Umber Hulk trap, but that is avoidable.

I survived it with 'hardest spawns possible' and 'Improved Asylum' mods with a lvl 13 wild mage and his party. So it is doable with some luck, strategy and skill. (those 'noble' umber hulks killed two of my party but we were able to defeat them all in the end! :p )

Your party level will be high enough when you get there.
To get that party together you have had to earn more than enough quest XP. The only problem is that you don't have a cleric, so no "PfE 10' radius", no "raise dead" and no restoration when someone gets level-drained. You'll have to use "powerword: reload" if this happens unless you take a cleric along.
But you could probably solo spellhold with your assassin.
I recommend to buy important items before you leave, like the girdle of hill giant strength and the quarterstaff+4 from Ribald.

You'll gain a lot of XP during your trip, so if you want to change your party do it now.
If you leave someone behind before heading for Spellhold he won't be of any use when you meet him again once you're back anyway so kicking out for later use doesn't make sense.
If you are sure to take Imoen into your party again you can replace the character you want to swap with Imoen with Yoshimo, there's a little extra quest for him which might yield a few extra XP for your party there.

Going to Spellhold early was fun, and a nice change, plus a somewhat interesting challenge. I used to do all side quests before going to Spell hold, but in my current game (Timid Wild mage, MP created Shapeshifter15/Fighter X super dual, Loyal Jaheria, Wacky Kelsey who romances my male PC for some reason, Sweet Immy and her fiery lover Chloe) I went there ASAP, and it was fun regardless.

Killing two smarter liches at the same time was a challenge, after some reloads it was doable. Hardest encounter were those army of Noble Umber hulks, oh they were so tough, killed my two people, but a few succesful Dominate magic allowed us to win the fight! I had to stay clear away from the Asylum party though, I guess it was good RPing afterall. (Immy once again pickpocketed something though, can't stop her! :shake: )

You will encounter easier fights, since your game is hopefully unmoded, and thus I trust you can do it. Go for it! Go and save Immy ASAP!