I'm playing a good party. I've realized that tanks are more important early on, and then the Mages start to really take over power-wise.

Gnorman (Gnome Fighter/Illusionist)
Aerie (Romance)
Keldorn (Tank)
Anomen (Healing/Tank)
Yoshimo/Imoen (handle locks and traps, Imoen adds more Mage power at just the right time)
Jaheira (Healing w/ a twist/Tank)

Any and all feedback is appreciated

Seems very melee focused yet it's balanced. You'll be fine.

I don't know that I'm good enough at this game yet to offer input on your party. My new crew is currently getting chewed on in the pit of the faithless. But here goes anyway.
It sounds like a good setup. I think you have a good balance b/t tanks and magic users. Keldorn is awesome.
I've only been using Jan for a few days tho', so I don't know too much about Illusionists. I'm wondering if you can use the Find Familiar scroll as a dual class. That would be cool. Especially since you won't have Boo.
I think everyone here will get along. I don't see any major problems. I've read that Anomen can be flirty but I don't know.
Also, your PC's name is very cute. I like it alot. :D

Thanks guys.

I've been looking at the party, and I think I might have too many mages. But I really want Imoen (eventually), and I want Aerie for the romantic reasons (and when she gets the robe of Vecna, she will just be NASTY with those buffs!).

I'm considering the same party, except playing a Fighter/Thief (NOT taking along Yoshi until I leave for Spellhold, and adding Imoen then). I might (alternately) drop Yoshi and use Minsc until then, just because he's a funny guy. :)

Will Aerie romance a disgusting gnome?

Your party looks fine.

No, Aerie won't romance a gnome. Only a human, half-elf or elf can have a romance.

Your party looks good. By the time you get Immy back and especially towards the end of SOA and into TOB will you be very glad you have more magic capable characters.

Yes aerie romances a gnome. And you have a decently balanced party. But you will run into trouble splitting equipment between Jahiera, PC and Anomen.

Yep, Aerie likes gnomes and can even romance gnomes (remember that she also worships gnome god)

Your party is very nice: more than enough spellcasters, so you won't run out of spells.

I don't think that you will problems with equipment: there are plenty of good plate armors in the game and almost everyone uses different kind of weapon.

I don't think that you have too many mages. In fact, I think many of your battles will be considerably easier having that many. If every character memorizes one lower resistance, the battles against dragons will be over in a hurry. If anything, I think you have a disproportionate number of clerics in the party. Aerie, Anomen and Jaheira is a little over-kill. I'd say keep the druid, and drop Anomen. Minsc is a better tank, or if you prefer a little stealth (based on the fact your Imoen is limited in her abilities) take on Valygar.

I think 3 arcane casters and 3 clerical casters is way too much. I'd drop Jaheira, make the pro a fighter/thief, and take either Minsc or Mazzy along.

you don't need both jaheira and anomen - one fighter/healer is enough

and with aerie around as well as imoen, your pc could be a different, more interesting class - like a blade or archer

but if you decide to go through with this current party, it is well balanced if a little redundant - but that just means you have more bases covered

pretty nice
though i would get rid of Jaheira since she is not your romance (because you are romancing Aerie and they both have healing based spells)

i would drop Jaheira,pick up Valygar

drop Anomen,since you already have a cleric(Aerie),and pick up Edwin(if you dont mind a bit of Evil in your party :D :evil: ) because he is a good spell-caster at higher levels

if you dont want Edwin, then get Jan Jansen
he is a great theif and a pretty good mage
IMO, he is a well-rounded Mage/Thief

@Earl Grey, IIRC, Aerie is friends with or has had some type of interaction with Baervan Wildwater(spelling?) and his friend Chiktikka Fastpaws, she says this if you are her romance, so she cna romance a gnome because she likes gnomes thanks to Baervan Wildwater(spelling?)

although a elf romancing a gnome that is half her size is pretty weird..

Yes, far too many clerics. Jahiera is not only a very good cleric, but I VERY good fighter. She could kick Minsc's ass.

I pitted Lady Jah again Korgan and he didn't even get through her Stoneskin before he died.

I'd be tempted to drop Anomen too. He is powerful, but he's alos the most annoying and with a fighter/illusionist character you really don't have to worry about any powerful NPC's.

You may think about taking Valygar rather than Anomen since his backstabbing ability is very useful, and you have no suitable thief for that.

although a elf romancing a gnome that is half her size is pretty weird.. Which puts the gnome's head at the perfect spot right at the end of the romance :love: .

I'd drop either Anomen or Jaheira and pick up Minsc (or Korgan). You might find yourself having some problems in melee. I'd drop Jaheira, because she's somewhat redundant in this party, but that's your call.

Which puts the gnome's head at the perfect spot right at the end of the romance :love:
nice one Rastor
ROTFLMAO!!!!!

Just remember: You're the same height laying down.

I partly came up with this idea just to bring out this weird romance. I kinda like it.

Thanks for all the input, everybody.


Edit below:

I've thought of dropping Anomen from this party, and adding Minsc (I don't know much about Valygar). I think I can deal without the high-level cleric spells, and I want to keep Jaheira (I like Druid spells).

So, here's my modified party:

Gnorman (Ftr/Ill)
Minsc (Ranger)
Keldorn (Paladin)
Aerie (Mage/Clr)
Jaheira (Ftr/Drd)
Yoshimo/Imoen (Thief-> Mage/Thief)

[ November 25, 2003, 00:11: Message edited by: Klorox ]

Personally i'd drop Aerie and take Edwin. You've already enough healers and he is the better arcane spellcaster. You can always romance Jaheira instead. The only problem is the alignment but as long as you don't go over 18 reputation, Edwin should stay.

You can always romance Jaheira instead.Gnomes can only romance Aerie.

Oh yeah I forgot you were a gnome.

Aerie had wings, y'know.. :) Propably she has told that to EVERYONE. I think she is more Faery than an Elf (Even her name implies that (F-Aerie)). Faeries are shorter than elves, and it is known that females are shorter than males, so there would be a good chance that Aerie and Gnorman would be the same height.

All in all it's what you want, half the fun in this game is playing with bad parties and discovering what went wrong!

Faeries are shorter than elves, and it is known that females are shorter than males, so there would be a good chance that Aerie and Gnorman would be the same height. Aerie has an elf avatar, and her description says elf. Aerie could also be a modified form of aerial, a word for flying.

Avariel are Elves with wings in the D&D game. Aerie is an Avariel.

She can romance a gnome, probably because of Uncle Quayle. She's learned to love him, so why not take it a step further into romantic love?

:yot: Aerie is also an alternative spelling (British English I believe) of eyrie, a bird nest in a high place.

I gave your party an 87. It has a good beat and I can dance to it.

I gave your party an 87. It has a good beat and I can dance to it.LOL! Only a B+... how do I get an A?

I made up the number since I was just having some fun. :D American Bandstand was a fine show.

I generally don't comment on topics like this because everyone has their own style of playing. I follow the Minsc philosophy: "Magic is impressive... but now Minsc leads. Swords for everyone!" I run very melee-heavy, very few buffs, and generally only use mages for removing combat protections. I would drop probably both Anomen and Jaheria for Minsc and Valygar/Mazzy, since Aerie can handle all of the party's cleric needs, and the mage bits are covered by Aerie and your PC.

Faeries are shorter than elves, and it is known that females are shorter than males, so there would be a good chance that Aerie and Gnorman would be the same height. Gnomes are typically 4 to 5 feet tall. Aerie is probably 5 feet tall, since she's a female elf. She's also got a kind of look about her that's hints she's pretty short.

Aerie and a gnome could be pretty close in height.

I think she is more Faery than an Elf (Even her name implies that (F-Aerie)) I really don't think she's a fairy. And what the hell is a faery? Like Faery-fire? I've never seen it spelled that way before.

That is the traditional spelling. Anyway, you can keep Jaheira, drop Anomen (see notes above on too many spellcasters.) and pick up Korgan!!!

I can't beleive no one has promoted the great fury from below! Korgan is an invincible warrior that can take you all the way home, and has the best conversation out of any of them.

You dirt eatin daisy lovers!

Perhaps nobody's suggested Korgan since it looks like that party will be good aligned. Plus Korgan will try to kill Aerie.

I understand him.

I'm considering dropping Minsc, and adding Mazzy.

How's this look:

Gnorman (Fighter/Illusionist)
Aerie (Mage/Cleric; romance; fast cure spells with Robe of Vecna)
Jaheira (Tank/Druid; Jaheira can raise dead, while Cernd can not).
Mazzy (mini-Tank; great ranged combat, adds a tiny bit more healing -- there's no full-class healer in the party)
Keldorn (Tank; he's my favorite NPC)
Imoen (When I get her; Yoshimo covers thieving stuff until then and gets dropped for "Personal quests")

[ December 10, 2003, 17:52: Message edited by: Klorox ]

Looks a better party. Minsc is a good fighter, but Mazzy is much better. You will need to get her a belt to be better in melee, but she can be the best fighter in the game. Plus, Keldorn is a better choice then Minsc - his abilities are better and he's worth it just for the sword.

your modified party seems fine. Just don't rely too much on Yoshimo as your Thief. You never know...

your modified party seems fine. Just don't rely too much on Yoshimo as your Thief. You never know... Or sometimes you do ;)

Mazzy (mini-Tank; great ranged combat, adds a tiny bit more healing -- there's no full-class healer in the party) You know, Mazzy can't heal others.
Your party looks fine. Keldorn and Mazzy should have quite a few conversations here and there.

No, I did not know Mazzy could not heal others. I had assumed her 'Lay on Hands' ability was identical to the Paladin's ability.

Are you sure she can't heal others? Because that will definitely be the clincher here...

Just take who you like... I always do that.
f.example:
fighter
Minsc
Aerie
Viconia
Jaheira
Imoen

Magic is impressive, even when Minsc leads...

wtf.
you need a character capable of casting higher level mage spells.
you realise that your pc cannot cast spells in combat, will have little hp and will die very, very easily in melee combat.

keep Jahiera and Anomen as they work well together
keldorn is a good tank and can soak up plenty of dammage.

You IMHO need to reshape your spell casters especially your pc.
I would recomend that you be something other than a gnome and definately something diferent than a fighter/illusionist.

I would recomend and archer as your pc and having Jan as a thief/back up mage and Nalia as your mage as she can get to higher levels than Immy

I would recomend and archer as your pc and having Jan as a thief/back up mage and Nalia as your mage as she can get to higher levels than Immy Is that true? What if you rescue Imoen ASAP?

Stu...
you realise that your pc cannot cast spells in combat, will have little hp and will die very, very easily in melee combat. WTF? Since when is a fighter/mage not allowed to cast spells in combat? It's not like you switch into your armour when you get into a battle! (Do you?) And since when will a fighter/mage have little HP. A multiclass will only be 1 or 2 levels behind their single-class counterparts, so he'll have almost as much HP as Minsc or Keldorn. A F/M is one of the most powerful characters in the Infinity Engine games!

Yes, with mirror images, stoneskins and such bestialities.

Anyway, Nalia can't level higher than Imoen. She can be more xperienced by the time you rescue Immy, but you'll reach XP cap so quickly in the higher chapters it doesn't matter. And she's a family, after all.

I'd keep the gnome f/m in place, but I'd keep him out of danger until you find him some good protection ie. robes, cloakc etc.

Quote:
I'm playing a good party. I've realized that tanks are more important early on, and then the Mages start to really take over power-wise.

Not if you want to go to the Throne of Bhaal. There fighters are all you need, the more the better. Even in the SoA I wenr through with only one mage (Aerie) and one healer - Jaheira. IMHO her romamnce is better developed and longer than those with other (it takes her forever to get over that jerk husband of hers). I personally always concentrate on fighters and do just fine. Usually like this:
Main Character - Fighter, sometimes Paladin
Yoshimo (he can fight)
Minsc (love him)
Valygar or Mazzy
Aerie
Jaheira.
Also
Quote:
Jaheira could kick Minsc's ass ????
Have you ever tried to do that? I have certain doubts. [TofB spoilers removed ] - Beren

[ December 17, 2003, 21:18: Message edited by: Beren ]

Oh most definetly Lady Jah can wipe the floor with any Fighter or Ranger. Cast Ironskins and it's all over. Maybe throw a doom in there for extra quickness. Even without Ironskins, Jaheira will always have a much lower AC than Minsc (especially if you keep him in leather) and if you give her Belm and a Girdle of STR then she'll be dishin' 3 per round and hardcore damage. Before anyone takes offense, try it yourself... I think you'll be surprised.

Erebus...

Why do people keep saying the F/M is weak? Throw a stoneskin on 'im! He's better protected than any other character (Scythesong this is not your que to jump in and yell BLADE ;) )

JESTER!
The party's okay by all means. I've played a similar one myself and as far as ToB goes you'll have enough things to ponder on.

Lady Jah is underrated. I could start a whole thread on how she can be the most useful NPC in BG2, but its been done too many times already.
It's like an F/M combination with a clerical twist. ;)