For me, this has always been one of my biggest dilemmas when playing either BG1 or BG2 - trying to find a balance between having an effective, efficient party and having party members I actually like and enjoy.
On one hand, if you put together a party based on entertainment value, you may enjoy the banter and/or corresponding subquests, but on the other hand, you may find the game frustrating to play - especially if you previously had a more efficient party at your disposal.
On the flipside, if you have a party full of members you don't like, the gameplay may feel bland, routine, and repetitive.
As a few random examples:
Every time I see Xan or see people talk about him, I always get an urge to use him in my party, because of his unique personality. But ultimately, I typically end up using Dynaheir or dual-classed Imoen as a mage, and don't have use for another mage in my party (unlike BG2, in which I like to have at least 2 mages in the party).
I always look forward to having Skie and Eldoth in my party, because they bring an interesting subquest/subplot to the game. But once I finally have the opportunity to get them in my party, I find that they just don't fit in the party composition and/or result in a substantial decrease in the overall efficiency of the party.
By contrast, I think Yeslick is one of the best NPCs in BG1, but whenever I have him in the party, I regret that I usually replaced a more likable or colorful NPC with him (i.e: Branwen). Yet, if I don't have Yeslick in my party, there will undoubtedly be times when I think, "Damn, I wish I had Yeslick in that situation."
When playing BGs, I typically have always made my PC lawful good irrespective of char class, simply because it gives your PC the best starting bonuses to rep, reaction, and lowering costs of items. But then I feel strange when I murder innocents like Drizz't or Bjornin to get their items. Ultimately, it makes my PC's stats feel irrelevant, and thus diminishes any sense of individuality or attachment I might feel for the PC.
I think much of the cause for my dilemma in BG1 is that there is such a wide disparity in efficiency among NPCs. BG1 has clearly defined "useful" NPCs (i.e: Yeslick, Coran, Kivan) and mediocre or poor NPCs (Skie, Eldoth). BG2 corrects this problem by giving every NPC unique and clearly defined strengths, so that there are very few, if any, genuinely "weak" NPCs (with the possible exception of Cernd). Thus, a party can always be reformed to accommodate almost any NPC without a substantial decrease in efficiency.
However, the problem I find in BG2 is that I become attached to the earliest NPCs I meet, and I hate to part with them. Typically, my early party will feature Minsc, Jaheira, Yoshimo, Nalia, and Aerie. I was never too crazy about Minsc (though I like him far better in BG2 than in BG1), so I don't mind replacing him with Anomen, which introduces an interesting supquest and also allows my female PCs to have a romance option. However, I don't want to get rid of someone like Aerie, for example, because I find her to be a sympathetic character and I feel a sense of responsibility for her (and admittedly, I find her mix of mage and cleric abilities to be fairly useful). Likewise, I don't consider Jaheira to be among the best NPCs in the game (I'd prefer to have Keldorn, Valygar, or Mazzy instead), but I can't bear to get rid of her because of the extent to which she intertwines with the story, her associated subquests, and the fact that she sacrifices everything (including her husband) for my PC. Perhaps the most awkward moment comes when I rescue Imoen, and I still have Nalia in my party. I don't have room for both of them (especially if I still have Aerie at that time), yet at that point I feel attached to Nalia and don't want to toss her aside for someone I haven't spoken to for most of the game to that point - yet I would feel incredibly weird telling the person that I just spent the entire game trying to rescue that I don't want her in my party!
Recently, while awaiting the release of BG:EE, I've been playing BG2. In contrast to my usual PC creations, in which I typically start off with my preferred char class and then built the details around that, I actually started off with just a portrait that I liked and then built my class and everything else around that. I made my PC chaotic good, rather than the typical lawful good, because I felt it suited my PC better (she's a barbarian). I find that this decision has given my PC a sense of personality and individuality that I don't think I've ever quite felt about a PC I created before, and to more surprise, I seem to be enjoying the game more.
Thoughts?
On one hand, if you put together a party based on entertainment value, you may enjoy the banter and/or corresponding subquests, but on the other hand, you may find the game frustrating to play - especially if you previously had a more efficient party at your disposal.
On the flipside, if you have a party full of members you don't like, the gameplay may feel bland, routine, and repetitive.
As a few random examples:
Every time I see Xan or see people talk about him, I always get an urge to use him in my party, because of his unique personality. But ultimately, I typically end up using Dynaheir or dual-classed Imoen as a mage, and don't have use for another mage in my party (unlike BG2, in which I like to have at least 2 mages in the party).
I always look forward to having Skie and Eldoth in my party, because they bring an interesting subquest/subplot to the game. But once I finally have the opportunity to get them in my party, I find that they just don't fit in the party composition and/or result in a substantial decrease in the overall efficiency of the party.
By contrast, I think Yeslick is one of the best NPCs in BG1, but whenever I have him in the party, I regret that I usually replaced a more likable or colorful NPC with him (i.e: Branwen). Yet, if I don't have Yeslick in my party, there will undoubtedly be times when I think, "Damn, I wish I had Yeslick in that situation."
When playing BGs, I typically have always made my PC lawful good irrespective of char class, simply because it gives your PC the best starting bonuses to rep, reaction, and lowering costs of items. But then I feel strange when I murder innocents like Drizz't or Bjornin to get their items. Ultimately, it makes my PC's stats feel irrelevant, and thus diminishes any sense of individuality or attachment I might feel for the PC.
I think much of the cause for my dilemma in BG1 is that there is such a wide disparity in efficiency among NPCs. BG1 has clearly defined "useful" NPCs (i.e: Yeslick, Coran, Kivan) and mediocre or poor NPCs (Skie, Eldoth). BG2 corrects this problem by giving every NPC unique and clearly defined strengths, so that there are very few, if any, genuinely "weak" NPCs (with the possible exception of Cernd). Thus, a party can always be reformed to accommodate almost any NPC without a substantial decrease in efficiency.
However, the problem I find in BG2 is that I become attached to the earliest NPCs I meet, and I hate to part with them. Typically, my early party will feature Minsc, Jaheira, Yoshimo, Nalia, and Aerie. I was never too crazy about Minsc (though I like him far better in BG2 than in BG1), so I don't mind replacing him with Anomen, which introduces an interesting supquest and also allows my female PCs to have a romance option. However, I don't want to get rid of someone like Aerie, for example, because I find her to be a sympathetic character and I feel a sense of responsibility for her (and admittedly, I find her mix of mage and cleric abilities to be fairly useful). Likewise, I don't consider Jaheira to be among the best NPCs in the game (I'd prefer to have Keldorn, Valygar, or Mazzy instead), but I can't bear to get rid of her because of the extent to which she intertwines with the story, her associated subquests, and the fact that she sacrifices everything (including her husband) for my PC. Perhaps the most awkward moment comes when I rescue Imoen, and I still have Nalia in my party. I don't have room for both of them (especially if I still have Aerie at that time), yet at that point I feel attached to Nalia and don't want to toss her aside for someone I haven't spoken to for most of the game to that point - yet I would feel incredibly weird telling the person that I just spent the entire game trying to rescue that I don't want her in my party!
Recently, while awaiting the release of BG:EE, I've been playing BG2. In contrast to my usual PC creations, in which I typically start off with my preferred char class and then built the details around that, I actually started off with just a portrait that I liked and then built my class and everything else around that. I made my PC chaotic good, rather than the typical lawful good, because I felt it suited my PC better (she's a barbarian). I find that this decision has given my PC a sense of personality and individuality that I don't think I've ever quite felt about a PC I created before, and to more surprise, I seem to be enjoying the game more.
Thoughts?