I just entered Spellhold, went through the dream and defeated the "Bhaal creature".

And this is where it gets interesting..

I can't decide whether I should choose Nalia or Imoen. I have had Nalia by my side ever since I met her.

Nalia's levels are Thief(4)/Mage(17)

Pros: She is near to her High Level Abilities, has A LOT of good spells to cast. She is a good character and I find her very useful.

Cons:
Her thieving skills suck big time...


Imoen is a Thief(7)/Mage(11)

Pros: She is a lvl 7 Thief, more stealing (Yay!)

Cons: She is also only a lvl 11 Mage, it will take A LOT of time to get her as good as Nalia. She does not have as many spells as Nalia has, I have a lot of money, but I dont think it would be very wise to throw Nalia out and have an (almost) unusable mage to protect me (or so, considering that I am a Kensai(13)/Mage(15)).

Do you have any suggestions, comments or answers to the above?

What do you think?

Simple answer here. If you have someone else you're using to handle your Theiving abilities, then go ahead and keep Nalia. Otherwise, grab Imoen. Seeing as how you are capable of throwing spells as well, you won't be hurt too terribly by the loss of Nalia's spells. And it really won't take too long for Imoen to advance anyways. If you plan to follow through into TOB, and don't have someone else in your partying with Theiving skills, Nalia just won't cut it.

In order for Imoen to be worth it, I think you have to make it for spellhold ASAP in order to minimize the XP disadvantage.

If you plan to follow through into TOB, and don't have someone else in your partying with Theiving skills, Nalia just won't cut it.Then you've never given Nalia a chance. The only thing that Nalia is not good at is pocket picking. Other than that, I can only recall a few traps that she could not disarm and for those, there are items to help her out.

Dont give up Nalia, shes to advanced right now. If you really want imoen drop someone else. Whats your full party?

Imoen can be a lot better then Nalia if you get her asap, which is possible but easier the longer you leave it, and even easier if you use Yoshimo or Jan and guve them some potions to sell and steal until you can buy a few uber items.

I played a game with Tashia and Imoen both in my party at once and one Sorcerer is enough spell power to not need any other mage, so half the fights I was in I gave Imoen Simulacrums and Tensors to turn her into a F/T for the duration. And with stoneskin activated in advance, and Belm + Kundane she had over 6 attacks a round Improved hasted and became one bloody good fighter when she had her strength enhanced.

So if your playing a Sorcerer and have at least one more backup mage apart from Imoen/Nalia I think Imoen would be more usful in melee but that's just my playing style no one has to agree or anything.

If you really want imoen drop someone else. Whats your full party? Thats the whole case, I dont have any other in my party other than Nalia and myself, and I dont want more party members, thats why I asked :)

The only thing that Nalia is not good at is pocket picking. Other than that, I can only recall a few traps that she could not disarm and for those, there are items to help her out. AND Pick Locks. She really sucks at that too, I almost cant open any chests without breaking the lock with my Kensai.

Dont give up Nalia, shes to advanced right now I dont think I will. I think I will keep Nalia, she has been a good ally afterall and I dont think I will grow tired of buying potions of "Master Thievery".

Thanks for your help everyone :)

If it is JUST the two of you in a party, then with the vast amount of EXP you two are sharing, it won't take long for that level difference between Imoen and Nalia to seem insignificant.

However, if you want to keep her for sentimental reasons, then great. Keep her, and deal with the Theiving she can't handle as it comes.

Well, why don't keep Imoen at the back-up stage. After all, she will advance quite well after Underdark. And her advantage is quite bigger if you have the Ascension mod in you. Keep her in the back-up stage. She'll make 2 or 3 levels why you are in Underdark. She'll help you well against Irenicus I think. After that you'll get stuck with her in ToB. At least she's your sister, morality is another topic that drives me not to fire her.