Hey everyone,
This is my first post on the board...in case you were interested...

Anyway, my question...

I just finished ToB and now I wanted to knw what party to create to play through SoA AND ToB...

Please keep the custom characters (made in Multiplayer) to a Maximum of three and also give me some builds which arent really the cookie cutter types which have been done to death, like say... 5 Kensais and a Berserker, dual two to mage, dual one to thief, dual one to cleric and dual the other to god knows what...

I don't like such parties as such, and would like to stay away from Dualling as much as possible, I mean, if I want a kit, I can Shadowkeeper it in.

Multiclasses are cool, multiclasses I like...duals I dont.

Also, which three NPCs do I need to add to the party to round it off ? Because NPC interactions are the next most important thing other than gameplay difference due to class which lends BG its replayability...this was sorely missed in NWN which is why I hated that game....

Anyway, before I ramble too much...could you guys help out please ?

I'd prolly go with:

PC-Cavalier Maximize strength, dex, con. Don't worry about the other stats (just don't let int get too low).

Custom Char 1-Elven Sorcerer. Max int, dex, and get wis and con as high as you can.

Custom Char 2-Assassin. A dedicated thief would come in handy, and these are prolly the best. Dex and Strength are most important here.

Viccy-She'll be your cleric and can melee if needed. The cav can also romance her if you're so inclined.

Imoen-Your little sister and a darned good mage.

Minsc-You need another fighter, he's prolly the best.

That party shouldn't be so ridiculously overpowered that you won't have any fun, but it is strong enough for you to win the game without howling in frustration.

Good or Evil? That makes all the differnce when deciding your NPCs. Regardless, you won't find any powerful thieves, so I recommend an assassin for the HLAs in ToB and the higher backstab multiplier. Assassination and Time Stop Traps are a deadly combo. Other than that, it depends on your alignment. Jahiera has always been a great summoner/healer/fighter, so she's a nice addition for the well rounded party. I give her a good Scimitar, a nice shield, and a decent sling. There aren't any fights that she can't participate in. Mages are covered as far as NPCs are concerned. Edwin,Immy,Jan, or Aerie, your choice. All of them will get HLAs by ToB,although Jan is neutral and gets the UAI thief abiliity.That's a plus. Anomen is your cleric, as you can alter his alignment. Now you just need a more focused fighter. Kensai/thief allows for armor at higher levels,and allows you to backstab and assassinate with grand mastery proficiency. I have to mention Archers, they rarely miss at higher levels. I would take Keldorn as my Paladin, and if you go the evil route...I would create a vanilla fighter. The kits really weaken the meat and potatoes of a pure bred fighter,IMO. Sarevok would be perfect for this role, but you won't be seeing him for a long time.

Undead hunter using two handed swords and mace & shield (mace of disruption and shield of balduran), thus you get an character that can take on any undead creature with both his\hers hands tied up at the back. also the shield of balduran allows you to reflect beholder rays.

This allows your undead hunter to be lethal against both undead and beholders.
And wielding carsomyr is nice when you don't fight undead or beholders.

half elf cleric\ranger with warhammer and shield (up to you which weapons you use though).
You will be able to fight pretty good (ranger class) and cast cleric spells and heal your party. Clerics also have some other nice spells such as doom and greater elemental summoning.

Bounty hunter or assasin.

Every party should have a thief who can pick lockets and detect\disable traps.

The assasin can backstab as well (really good at it) while the bounty hunter have the special traps that will maze opponents when your bounty hunter is level 20, which is really nice since you can put out many enemies and take on fewer at a time which makes battles much easier.

Though if you wish a more fighter oriented thief, take a multiclass or take the swashbuckler.


as for npc's

good: aerie, jan, imoen or nalia for spells.
take jan for some hilarious dialogues if you wish.

mazzy or minsc for more meele power (not keldorn since you already have the undead hunter).

the last if of your choice, though haer'dalhis is interesting.

Evil: Edwin for spells

Korgan for melee

Vicionia for cleric spells.

In tob you can also bring in sarevok.

[ September 29, 2003, 11:19: Message edited by: Death Whisper ]

PC - Monk
Keldorn
Minsc
Jaheira
Imoen
Jan

First time I take Keldorn through SoA and ToB, but the others are regulars... PC class changes everytime just to try every class that appeals to me :)