Tell us about your choices of teammates, discuss various combinations for best teams, character opinions, criticisms, strategies, whatever you want.
I'll start. As of right now, this is what my party looks like:
Abdel (CHARNAME) Kensai- (to be dualled to mage at 13) currently dual wielding Varscona +2longsword+1cold and Ashideena +2warhammer+1electricity for loads of damage. Also grabbed the Constitution tome at level 1 so I get 15hp every level--I'll explain later how I did this if anyone is curious.
Dorn Il-Khan the Blackguard- decent powerhouse but no replacement to Minsc and I really wanted him, and Boo, on my team. But it doesn't seem like his 2H-er, Rancor, scales with his level and that's weak. Considering the most appealing feature of any paladin kit is the Holy Avenger Carsomyr +5/+6, and I doubt he would be able to use it, a blackguard doesn't seem to compare to the other kits. (I prefer Inquisitors)
Jaheira the Fighter/Druid- only healer class at the moment. I wanted her without Khalid and thought I'd be humane about that. Seeing as Khalid may or may not be killed sometime in the future, I thought I might as well petrify him for now. Instantly off my party and *dead* for all intents and purposes, but I could revive him at any time without Jaheira complaining. And she puts out so that's cool...
Imoen the Thief- You just gotta have Imoen, she's been like a... sister, to you. But really, she's a competent thief and will be dualled to mage at the standard time.
Neera the Wild Mage- I like the Wild Mage class a lot, the pros outweigh the cons in my opinion. But if you're going to be a squishy cloth-wearing pansy the entire first game, 16 Con and 18 Int are MANDATORY for any serious mage. As evil as Edwin is, it's possible to have him get along with Misnc and Dynaheir and overall he is still the best mage in the game. And nothing against Nicola Elbro, she has a very lovely voice normally, but Neera is the only new NPC that I can't stand to hear talk.
and last but not least
Rasaad yn Bashir the Monk- I thoroughly like this character, personality, story, and acting all done well. The stats could be a bit better, but the gauntlets of dexterity can be put to good use on him and they're easy to get. I really want to see his banter with Viconia, although I'm sure after a handful of "Selune this" and "Shar that", someone would be dead.
Pros/Cons- A Kensai in BG1 is very hard to play, but with the right stats and gear, you can overcome their lack of armor, chalk the kit option up to pro. I'm enjoying Dorn right now but he's a mix of pros and cons, I already mentioned I miss my ranger and miniature giant space hamster duo, and he and Dynaheir would fit better in my good aligned party. I can tell you what mage would get kicked for her to fit *cough*Neera*cough*. Neera is all Cons so far, the stats are a major deal-breaker and she doesn't bring anything to the table to make up for that. Rasaad is powerful but just like the Kensai it is difficult to play without armor this early on.
P.S. If you're curious how I got the Tome of Constitution: while at lvl 1 I bought a stone to flesh scroll from a temple asap and rescued Branwyn at the carnival. With the help of an invisibility potion and the sanctuary spell, Branwyn was able to singlehandedly slip past dozens of sirens, some flesh golems, and traps all to fetch this book at the lighthouse. Then I kicked her hah.
P.P.S If I really get sick of the new NPCs, I may possibly drop Dorn and Neera, pick up Minsc and save Dynaheir (I purposely got the gauntlets and tome of charisma but didn't save her) and I guess I'd have to drop another, pick up Edwin, petrify Dynaheir right next to Khalid and now I have a good caster, a good ranger and hamster, and one party spot to bring someone back if I want. I'll save this for another day.
I'll start. As of right now, this is what my party looks like:
Abdel (CHARNAME) Kensai- (to be dualled to mage at 13) currently dual wielding Varscona +2longsword+1cold and Ashideena +2warhammer+1electricity for loads of damage. Also grabbed the Constitution tome at level 1 so I get 15hp every level--I'll explain later how I did this if anyone is curious.
Dorn Il-Khan the Blackguard- decent powerhouse but no replacement to Minsc and I really wanted him, and Boo, on my team. But it doesn't seem like his 2H-er, Rancor, scales with his level and that's weak. Considering the most appealing feature of any paladin kit is the Holy Avenger Carsomyr +5/+6, and I doubt he would be able to use it, a blackguard doesn't seem to compare to the other kits. (I prefer Inquisitors)
Jaheira the Fighter/Druid- only healer class at the moment. I wanted her without Khalid and thought I'd be humane about that. Seeing as Khalid may or may not be killed sometime in the future, I thought I might as well petrify him for now. Instantly off my party and *dead* for all intents and purposes, but I could revive him at any time without Jaheira complaining. And she puts out so that's cool...
Imoen the Thief- You just gotta have Imoen, she's been like a... sister, to you. But really, she's a competent thief and will be dualled to mage at the standard time.
Neera the Wild Mage- I like the Wild Mage class a lot, the pros outweigh the cons in my opinion. But if you're going to be a squishy cloth-wearing pansy the entire first game, 16 Con and 18 Int are MANDATORY for any serious mage. As evil as Edwin is, it's possible to have him get along with Misnc and Dynaheir and overall he is still the best mage in the game. And nothing against Nicola Elbro, she has a very lovely voice normally, but Neera is the only new NPC that I can't stand to hear talk.
and last but not least
Rasaad yn Bashir the Monk- I thoroughly like this character, personality, story, and acting all done well. The stats could be a bit better, but the gauntlets of dexterity can be put to good use on him and they're easy to get. I really want to see his banter with Viconia, although I'm sure after a handful of "Selune this" and "Shar that", someone would be dead.
Pros/Cons- A Kensai in BG1 is very hard to play, but with the right stats and gear, you can overcome their lack of armor, chalk the kit option up to pro. I'm enjoying Dorn right now but he's a mix of pros and cons, I already mentioned I miss my ranger and miniature giant space hamster duo, and he and Dynaheir would fit better in my good aligned party. I can tell you what mage would get kicked for her to fit *cough*Neera*cough*. Neera is all Cons so far, the stats are a major deal-breaker and she doesn't bring anything to the table to make up for that. Rasaad is powerful but just like the Kensai it is difficult to play without armor this early on.
P.S. If you're curious how I got the Tome of Constitution: while at lvl 1 I bought a stone to flesh scroll from a temple asap and rescued Branwyn at the carnival. With the help of an invisibility potion and the sanctuary spell, Branwyn was able to singlehandedly slip past dozens of sirens, some flesh golems, and traps all to fetch this book at the lighthouse. Then I kicked her hah.
P.P.S If I really get sick of the new NPCs, I may possibly drop Dorn and Neera, pick up Minsc and save Dynaheir (I purposely got the gauntlets and tome of charisma but didn't save her) and I guess I'd have to drop another, pick up Edwin, petrify Dynaheir right next to Khalid and now I have a good caster, a good ranger and hamster, and one party spot to bring someone back if I want. I'll save this for another day.