In my experience, Nalia seems to be one of the less popular (dare I say, disliked) NPCs in BG2. The typical complaints about her are:
1. She's "annoying."
2. Her thieving skills are inadequate.
3. Her Signet ring prevents another ring from being worn.
4. She's basically just a poor man's (or poor girl's?) version of Imoen.
I won't argue that there are valid criticisms to be made of her, but I think people focus too much on her perceived "flaws" and overlook some of the benefits to her. For example:
-Her Signet ring grants big bonuses for a char whose armor options are otherwise very limited.
-She is, essentially, the second best pure mage in the game after Edwin - yes, even better than Imoen. The reason: Nalia has less exp points spent in her old thief class than Imoen does, so she has the potential to gain more exp as a mage before hitting the level cap (meaning that, ironically, her less developed thieving ability is actually an advantage in this sense). Plus, with Imoen locked away in Spellhold for half the game, you don't get the opportunity to develop her char and spellbook the way you do with Nalia.
-While she may fall just short of Edwin as a pure mage (who doesn't?), I would argue that she is a better and more useful all-around char than Edwin. She has much better dexterity (vital for someone with limited armor options), her greater strength allows her to carry more weight, and (most notably) she has a greater choice of weapons, including bows. She makes a decent and useful archer. Plus, she won't clash with other party members.
-While her thieving skills are admittedly inadequate, they can theoretically be beefed up with potions and used in a pinch, if you ever somehow find yourself in a situation without a thief. Plus, if give her the ring of danger sense, her find traps ability will be just high enough to detect most traps in the game, which is perhaps the only truly crucial skill of a thief (locks can be opened using knock spells - thus, Nalia's mage skills actually offset some of her thieving deficits).
In terms of personality, I think Nalia is underrated there as well (though I may be the only one who feels that way). Yes, I know she can seem annoying with the snotty way she complains about "not doing enough" to help the poor, etc., but I think there's a lot about her character that's actually likable, if not admirable (yes, I said it!). Consider: she was from a wealthy noble family, and could've easily chosen to spend the rest of her life in safety and comfort, living lavishly in her giant castle, but instead she fearlessly and selflessly chooses to risk her life in the slums of the city - knowing full well that this could easily cost her her life, since it also cost her mother's. While she may seem a bit socially awkward at times and unfamiliar with the outside world (her bio admits as such), she's clearly NOT naive and innocent like Aerie, nor is she a wimpy, spoiled whiner like Skie. Rather, in conversations with other chars, she presents herself as genuinely brave, intelligent, and intuitive. Nalia is, in effect, the realization of what Skie merely fantasized about being. As a random example, notice how, when Renal Bloodscalp is explaining his quest to you, Nalia will brazenly interrupt him to ask a question. Renal is actually a bit taken aback by this and stutters as he begins his next sentence (yes, I know this may sound silly to some, but I appreciate subtle character interactions like that). Nalia will also deduce when another char may be untrustworthy, or will provide some inside info or warnings on certain chars (i.e: Firkraag in the Cooper Coronet).
Nalia is also associated with some of the best quests and subplots in the game IMO - especially if your char is a fighter.
All in all, I've always felt a certain fondness for Nalia, even from my very first playthrough of BG2, and I've always regretted any time that I chose not to keep her in my party.
Thoughts? (other than me needing a life, LOL).
1. She's "annoying."
2. Her thieving skills are inadequate.
3. Her Signet ring prevents another ring from being worn.
4. She's basically just a poor man's (or poor girl's?) version of Imoen.
I won't argue that there are valid criticisms to be made of her, but I think people focus too much on her perceived "flaws" and overlook some of the benefits to her. For example:
-Her Signet ring grants big bonuses for a char whose armor options are otherwise very limited.
-She is, essentially, the second best pure mage in the game after Edwin - yes, even better than Imoen. The reason: Nalia has less exp points spent in her old thief class than Imoen does, so she has the potential to gain more exp as a mage before hitting the level cap (meaning that, ironically, her less developed thieving ability is actually an advantage in this sense). Plus, with Imoen locked away in Spellhold for half the game, you don't get the opportunity to develop her char and spellbook the way you do with Nalia.
-While she may fall just short of Edwin as a pure mage (who doesn't?), I would argue that she is a better and more useful all-around char than Edwin. She has much better dexterity (vital for someone with limited armor options), her greater strength allows her to carry more weight, and (most notably) she has a greater choice of weapons, including bows. She makes a decent and useful archer. Plus, she won't clash with other party members.
-While her thieving skills are admittedly inadequate, they can theoretically be beefed up with potions and used in a pinch, if you ever somehow find yourself in a situation without a thief. Plus, if give her the ring of danger sense, her find traps ability will be just high enough to detect most traps in the game, which is perhaps the only truly crucial skill of a thief (locks can be opened using knock spells - thus, Nalia's mage skills actually offset some of her thieving deficits).
In terms of personality, I think Nalia is underrated there as well (though I may be the only one who feels that way). Yes, I know she can seem annoying with the snotty way she complains about "not doing enough" to help the poor, etc., but I think there's a lot about her character that's actually likable, if not admirable (yes, I said it!). Consider: she was from a wealthy noble family, and could've easily chosen to spend the rest of her life in safety and comfort, living lavishly in her giant castle, but instead she fearlessly and selflessly chooses to risk her life in the slums of the city - knowing full well that this could easily cost her her life, since it also cost her mother's. While she may seem a bit socially awkward at times and unfamiliar with the outside world (her bio admits as such), she's clearly NOT naive and innocent like Aerie, nor is she a wimpy, spoiled whiner like Skie. Rather, in conversations with other chars, she presents herself as genuinely brave, intelligent, and intuitive. Nalia is, in effect, the realization of what Skie merely fantasized about being. As a random example, notice how, when Renal Bloodscalp is explaining his quest to you, Nalia will brazenly interrupt him to ask a question. Renal is actually a bit taken aback by this and stutters as he begins his next sentence (yes, I know this may sound silly to some, but I appreciate subtle character interactions like that). Nalia will also deduce when another char may be untrustworthy, or will provide some inside info or warnings on certain chars (i.e: Firkraag in the Cooper Coronet).
Nalia is also associated with some of the best quests and subplots in the game IMO - especially if your char is a fighter.
All in all, I've always felt a certain fondness for Nalia, even from my very first playthrough of BG2, and I've always regretted any time that I chose not to keep her in my party.
Thoughts? (other than me needing a life, LOL).