I should have had this on the other post but figured I'd make a different one. I'm wondering which NPC's fit the storyline best. I'm assuming jaheira will but that's my other dilema. I have yet to complete the game so I'm not sure which romance is better, the drow chick, or jaheira..something about the bossy/bishy drow seems more fun. Well, jaheira seems pretty opinionated, so that could be a rl chick really :p

Imoen. She's the reason for most of the game plot - her kidnapping and rescue, Irenicus' need for you (and her). Every other NPC has no real bearing.

I also think that Yoshimo is critical to the storyline. Yes, you CAN go through the game without him in your party, but I think the game designers intended for you to take him along.

Jaheira and Minsc also get an honorable mention because they were captured along with you and that makes them different from say...Anomen or Korgan. They are definitely the next most important NPCs, plot wise.

Yeah, it is pretty much only Imoen and Yoshimo who seem to be key characters to take for plot purposes.

Jaheira and Minsc have more of a reason for actually wanting to go up against Irenicus than most characters but you don't really lose anything by giving them the boot.

I don't think Yoshimo is vital to the plot. The game doesn't stall if you leave him in the first dungeon. You can't complete the game without getting Imoen, whether you want her or not.

Actually you don't need to take anyone along. Imoen is built into the game however.

If this is your first time through the game I would take Imoen, Yoshimo, Jaheira and Minsc. Others are definitely optional.

Standard:

PC
YoshImoen
Jaheira
Minsc

Past that, it's a matter of choice. Though I think the 'canon' revolves around grabbing everyone for their subplots and then letting them go on their way. (For example, grab Keldorn for the Unseeing Eye and then let him return to his family when you get to the Government District.) Haer'Dalis gets a permanent spot, and then Sarevok when you get to ToB.

Haer'Dalis can be replaced by Jan if you don't like the bard, but the whole "rescuing from prison" thing and then him not going with his friends just screams that he ought to go with you. Combine that with Aerie leading you to him, and it seems like everything is pointing you toward Haerry. And Sarevok is pretty clear. Right when all the NPC quests stop, they present you with another NPC, who you are forced to give a part of yourself (or Imoen) to. Someone who you are linked to intimately. Someone who, like Belkar from the OotS, must be kept track of lest they cause more trouble like they did before. And lastly, someone who can be so dramatically redeemed (CE to CG) in an otherwise Good party.

It depends on your character's alignment.

I really think the game was designed with a good protagonist in mind -- it practically screams 'pick a Paladin.' However, the game also supports playing any alignment and any character type.

A good aligned protagonist would certainly put rescuing Imoen as a top priority. While an evil protagonist would want revenge and would most likely dump the NPC's who were useless when you were first captured. Such a protagonist would surround himself/herself with powerful allies (Edwin, Korgan, Viconia, et.al.) and may not be concerned with rescuing Imoen.

Which NPC's fit the storyline best? Any of them, depending on how you play your main character.

As far as the romances are concerned.... It really depends on your own personality, they are all very well written. Aerie needs compassion and encouragement, Jaheira needs a friend to help her through her loss (and help fill a void now in her life), and Viconia wants to be understood and accepted for who she is. Anomen, the romance for the female PC, is simply in need of guidance.

Right when all the NPC quests stop, they present you with another NPC, who you are forced to give a part of yourself (or Imoen) to. Someone who you are linked to intimately. Someone who, like Belkar from the OotS, must be kept track of lest they cause more trouble like they did before.Yes, giving a piece of your soul (or Immy's if you have her) to Sarevok is an annoying sticking point. But as for needing to watch over him? :shake: You don't hear anymore from Sarevok if you refuse his aid.

I still contend the only necessary NPC is Imoen, and only for a chapter and a half of the game.

Agreed about Sarevok. How much trouble is he going to get into stuck in the pocket plane, anyway? Although from a purely "story" standpoint, it seems criminal not to take him.

Obviously, you don't NEED to take ANY NPC, or else there wouldn't be so many people soloing. However, in terms of story, I'd agree with the majority that you "need":

Imoen
Yoshimo
Minsc
Jaheira

They've all lost something due to Irenicus, and they've all (excep Yoshimo) been with you since nearly the beginning. In terms of continuity, I'd argue that you "need" Viconia and Edwin as well, since they were also around from day one. But, of course, everyone's party differs in BG1 just like in SoA.

I think the most compelling "new" NPCs, story-wise, are Aerie, Anomen, and Valygar. They're all at kind of a crossroads in their lives, and they're all searching for something, be it solace, validation, or purpose.

Agreed about Sarevok. How much trouble is he going to get into stuck in the pocket plane, anyway? Am I the only one who's seen him warp out when you tell him to go to hell? :skeptic:

Imoen is the only plotline NPC. She's the only one that is integral to the Base Storyline. Every other one including Minsc and Jaheira just add to it.

I don't even take Minsc and Jaheira in BG1 most of the time. They don't truely add anything to the main storyline other than where they are found and a bit of sob story flavor to the first Dungeon.


the Storyline of SoA practically revolves around Imoen for a good ammount of the Game though and if you want to give that full respects I'd say if any of them really link into the story past her it would be Yoshimo. Yoshimo's betrayal links into Imoen in so many ways it's not even funny. Conveniently picked up in the first Dungeon. Works as your best thief but the Storyline takes a twist with him when you get to Imoen. It's all running along the same rail there.

Sarevok doesn't play as much unless you have Ascension installed. Then he seems to play a bigger Role since he was a Bhaal Spawn too.


After these three really the only one that I can see further ARgument for is Jaheira. She's romancable and you pick her up at the beginning of the game. Previous history to the PC thanks to the way the BGII writers took things. Something you don't have to have with Viconia or Edwin at all. It's your choice. But she is also the NPC that adds the most extra Content to the Game thanks to the Harpers Hold stuff as well as her little plot with Plumber or whatever his name is in the one bar in the Docks District.

Minsc's annoying drivel. Well if you liked him in BG1 and he didn't drive you buggy as all hell. You might like him with his whole new range of stupidity in BG2. Otherwise use him until you find somebody else or if your willing to sacrifice 3k xp. leave him in the damned cage. Minsc adds no additional tangible content to the plot other than previous connection unless you have things like Unfinished Business installed. All pc's give interjections to different things so that doesn't count.

Anomen, Nalia, Korgan, and Aerie are all easily findable through the regular storyline or basic exploring as if you were new to the game. Haer Dalis is easy to find through Aerie. Their all just added flavor and nothing by the timing on which you can come across really makes them truely canon.

they didn't do as good of a job in BG2 but that's what I liked about BG1. We can surmise a cannon party but it's really whatever you want the party to be. BG2 does revolve a lot around Imoen though.

Edit: No your not. Seems to me that if Imoen is not the party you don't necessarily have to give him part of your soul at all. She's just a softy.

Am I the only one who's seen him warp out when you tell him to go to hell?I've seen him do it. Doesn't mean he's playing havoc across the Realms, either.

Am I the only one who's seen him warp out when you tell him to go to hell? [skeptical]No, the most of the time, I don´t take him.

You get the most value plotwise out of imoen and yoshimo. That Spellhold scene with Yoshimo is a killer though. First time I saw it, I blurted out WTF?? just like in the twist scene in KotOR and the note about Morte in PS:T.

I've seen him do it. Doesn't mean he's playing havoc across the Realms, either. /me taps kuemper's forehead with a knuckle
Um, hello, it's Sarevok. Remember BG1? Two nations' worth of havoc; it's just what he does.

And he's still Chaotic Evil when you revive him.......

WARNING SPOILER!!!!!!!


But he can chance his alignment to CG with banters.

That was part of my argument, actually. And being as it won't happen unless you take him under your wing, some might consider you responsible for unleashing Sarevok's evil on the world again. (Especially as your/Imoen's 'donation' made it all possible. ;) )

/me taps kuemper's forehead with a knuckle
Um, hello, it's Sarevok. Remember BG1? Two nations' worth of havoc; it's just what he does.:confused: We must be playing different games then because Sarevok seems to have learned not to **** with anything while my PC is around. And just because someone did something before doesn't mean they will do it again. (Some people actually *learn* from their mistakes. ;) )

We must be playing different games then because Sarevok seems to have learned not to **** with anything while my PC is around. That's kind of my point. Sarevok is a lot tamer when he goes with you than he would be elsewhere.
And just because someone did something before doesn't mean they will do it again. (Some people actually *learn* from their mistakes. ) That's right. It'll be worse. It will be better planned, better executed, and a whole hell of a lot more dangerous. I believe the saying goes that "prison only teaches them to be better criminals".

That's kind of my point. Sarevok is a lot tamer when he goes with you than he would be elsewhere.You have no proof of that, Fel. You're basing your argument on Sarevok's past actions, which can be valid in some situations, but Sarevok is highly intelligent. Even if he is only acting for the benefit of the person(s) who murdered him, he is hiding it well and I don't think he's that great of an actor. As he says (to Viconia), "When Bhaal held sway over my soul, I reveled in the bloody carnage I wrought. But my will was not my own." In talking with Anomen, Sarevok states, "It is no act, cleric."

Of course, we're arguing over personal perceptions of the game. You seem to prefer judgement based on the past while I prefer judgement based on the present.

I believe the saying goes that "prison only teaches them to be better criminals". Just to be even more o/t, though - they don't learn much since they only congregate with other criminals that got caught. (The 'better criminals' get away with their crimes...)

But on the issue of Sarevok, the 'dragnet' summary you get at the end of ToB refers to him wandering off and acting a little like the "High Plains Drifter" - saving Berdusk from an invading humanoid army, then wiping out Westgate's rulership and taking over briefly before just up and leaving on a similar whim that spurred his conquest, etc.

Seems to me he simply acted (away from CHARNAME) in a chaotic neutral manner rather than good or evil; seeing as he starts CE, I'd say CHARNAME has an influence on him, even if not keeping an eye on the boy and persuading his change to CG... (and before you say he was an evil despot, c'mon - it's Westgate! The city was MADE for tinpot dictators! ;) )

You have no proof of that, Fel. Just the fact that his entire outlook can be changed so radically in less than two weeks is ample proof of the PC's effect on Sarevok.
You're basing your argument on Sarevok's past actions, which can be valid in some situations, but Sarevok is highly intelligent. Even if he is only acting for the benefit of the person(s) who murdered him, he is hiding it well and I don't think he's that great of an actor. You forget the "highly intelligent" part rather quickly. It's not that he can't act, it's that he chooses not to almost all the time.
As he says (to Viconia), "When Bhaal held sway over my soul, I reveled in the bloody carnage I wrought. But my will was not my own." You may dismiss that as being only Bhaal's influence, but guess what? He's still CE. He still revels in the bloodshed and demands to be given something to kill if you stand around too long. And that's even with the PC's influence working on him!
In talking with Anomen, Sarevok states, "It is no act, cleric." Choose your quotes a little more carefully, m'lady. That's CG Sarevok you're talking about. Not even close to what would be released upon the Realms.
You seem to prefer judgement based on the past while I prefer judgement based on the present. Not quite. I base my judgement on his acts to date (past), up to and including his speech at you at the beginning of ToB. Meanwhile, you're basing your judgement on an alternate future, which has almost no bearing on the future we're talking about. (For someone to base their judgement on the "present", we'd have to know exactly what it is he does.) Travelling with the PC has a profound effect on Sarevok, and you cannot compare any attitude during that time to what his attitude would have been if you had simply dismissed him after your first meeting in the Pocket Plane.

EDIT:
I think this is another case of the "cuddly" syndrome. You look at Korgan, and he's so ridiculously tame. Get past the insults, and he could be downright neutral. Same goes for Edwin and Viconia. Evil doesn't seem to mean the same thing for NPCs that it does for the rest of the characters in the game. Everyone who follows you suddenly becomes a *****cat, bowing to your wishes and being as good as you are. And then people form their opinions off of that.

It's complete bulls***. Remember that story Korgan tells about killing off his party members? That's what his evil is like. But he doesn't do anything even remotely close to that in-game. Despite his derision of Aerie's skills and his opinion that she's completely worthless (which he later revises in ToB, likely also partially due to the PC's influence), who is the only one who will chase her around trying to kill her? Anomen! The "CN" reject of the Order acts more evil than Korgan, for crying out loud!!!

And for all of Edwin's talk of plotting to overthrow you, what does he do? Nothing. (Unless you consider the Nether Scroll thing a plot to seduce you. :shake: ) And Viccy? What a joke. Not only does she never do anything evil (advising you how a drow would act isn't even necessarily telling you to act a certain way or else), but they actually allow you to turn her neutral!

Does that mean that deep down, these characters aren't evil? Of course not. But the effect of the PC cannot be denied. All three of these thoroughly evil PCs get pretty much neutralized (in more than one sense of the word) when they join with your group. The same thing happens to Sarevok, and if you ask me, he's the worst of them. Korgan + Deathbringer + intelligent = one serious danger to society.

EDIT2:
Hehe, it censored pu$$ycat. :hahaerr:

[ June 09, 2006, 16:29: Message edited by: Felinoid ]

Looks like another circle argument here.

It's not the PC has to be with Sarevok all the time, which is what your point is coming across as. My point, since it isn't clear here, is Sarevok keeps his business clean knowing what the PC has done and can do again.

But again, this isn't about Sarevok's redemption or lack of. It's about NPCs necessary to complete BG2. There is only one and she is Imoen.

Looks like another circle argument here. If you mean circular as in "consistent", then yeah. But anyway ... blackpotsayswhat? ;) Really, neither of us can know exactly what he would do when left to his own devices, but I think my scenario is much more likely than your "he sits quietly in the corner" scenario (though you no doubt would think the opposite).
It's not the PC has to be with Sarevok all the time, which is what your point is coming across as. My point, since it isn't clear here, is Sarevok keeps his business clean knowing what the PC has done and can do again. Missing the highly intelligent part again, are we? The PC has their own stuff to deal with; they're not going to be policing Sarevok and he knows it. Why would he feel at all hesitant to be as bad as he can be when he knows you've got bigger fish to fry?
But again, this isn't about Sarevok's redemption or lack of. True enough. My trying to 'correct' your 'misconception' does get slightly off-topic, but it still relates to whether or not you "should" take him, story-wise.
It's about NPCs necessary to complete BG2. There is only one and she is Imoen. If we ask that question, the answer is "Noone." Anyone who's soloed can tell you that. ;) No, I think the original question was "who helps complete the plot", or "which NPC's fit the storyline best". Now, noone in their right mind is going to argue that Imoen doesn't belong in that category, but surely others rank as having at least some connection with your story too? Like Yoshimo and his tale of *spoiler*. Or Minsc and Jaheira as fellow captives who have followed you even before this unfortunate event.

[ June 09, 2006, 22:45: Message edited by: Felinoid ]