50 replies to this topic

[Nix]

Imoen...she just annoys me. Partially her fault, partially not...she's unserious to the point of frustration where you just want to break her nose to get her to think straight, and in BG2 she's all broody and nuts.

Ya know, I've often wondered if she's on something illegal. Black lotus or something, you reckon?

I'm halftempted to make a mod that just removes Imoen from the game entirely

*raises hand* I'd play it. Especially if it also allows you to keep Yoshimo past the point where he was unceremoniously displaced when Imoen was clumsily foisted upon the party. I remember reading that Bioware had originally intended for Imoen to be the one to die.

Jaheira. I decided to take her through BG2 for the first time (and I've had the game for 3 years) and we're at the underdark and she is really starting to annoy me. It galls me how the romance seems to have progressed just by me not telling her to STFU. That's not being romantic, it's called being considerate.

That's pretty much the case for each of Anomen, Aerie, Jaheira, and Viconia though. One has to wonder what planet they're on to interpret "Okay, tell me about your background" as a romantic come-on.

[Amaurea]

I take Cernd along to the druid grove, then bring him to Athkatla, get his son, and never look back. That way, I can blissfully ignore the fact that he'd be willing to leave a toddler who recently lost his mother alone with perfect strangers.

In his defense, I do believe his child was still pre-toddler. He did not believe that the few months he would yet remain with Charname would be that much difference, especially from a child who didn't even recognize him as "dadda". And better, I think, to make sure that there was a world for the boy to grow up in.

That makes it worse!

[Nix]

Just think of it as putting the son up for adoption, eh? There, feel better now?

[Amaurea]

Cernd - rarely take him all the way, but I do still like him. He needs a bit of a personality spruce, and maybe a better kit, and then I'd take him far more often.

In a recent run, I had him along for a bit to see some banters, and I had used Lvl1NPC's to make him a Totemic Druid. He was MUCH more useful that way.

[Kellen]

Anomen, Jaheira, Aerie, and Imoen, plus Minsc

Heh, depending on my PC I usually take that party.

[Nuuskamuikkunen]

Anomen, Jaheira, Aerie, and Imoen, plus Minsc

Heh, depending on my PC I usually take that party.

We could never have anything in common with each other.

[Choo Choo]

Ohhhh, there's a lot of NPC's I can't stand and never have in my party (except for completing their quests), so without explanation, since I'm lazy..

Montaron, Eldoth, Skie, Safana, Ajantis, Kagain, Shar-Teel, Alora (can anyone spell OVER THE TOP?), Mazzy, Jan, Cernd, Korgan and.. I *think* that's it.

My party members are usually Minsc, Khalid/Anomen (but just waiting until I can have Darian for BG2 instead), Jaheira, Xan, NPC for quest/Yoshimo/Imoen. Oh, and my <CHARNAME>.

[princesspurpleblob]

My fav party without mod NPCs are: Anomen, Keldorn, Minsc, jaheira and Yoshimo/Imoen. Bit lack of mages there but hey... I don't like any of wizards NPCs


Including mods my fav groups are: Cleric PC, Anomen, Keldorn, Tsujatha, Kelsey, Yoshimo/Imoen (I'd say it's really well balanced party as well!) or Fighter/Mage PC, Tsujatha, Anomen, Keldorn, Xan, Yasraena (just missing a thief)

[berelinde]

princesspurpleblob, your ideal non-mod party is very similar to mine. But I'd cycle through NPCs in Jaheira's place.

Edited by berelinde, 18 May 2008 - 03:22 PM.

[Amaurea]

As seems to be a pattern with me...what berelinde said.

[princesspurpleblob]

And we are Anomen lover too For the reason berelinde have mentioned so well in previous posts =)

[DavidWallace]

If the main worry about Haer'dalis is his usefulness in a fight, some quick thoughts (we're using him at the moment; he's entertaining in a cynical kind of way and his romance with Aerie is sweet):

- The difference between with-Offensive-Spin and without-Offensive-Spin is dramatic, and he gets loads of them. Use them all the time.
- Give him Belm, the Scimitar of Speed you can get from the Spectator in the underdark, in his off-hand; the extra attack per round makes a big difference
- Make heavy use of Protection from Magic Weapons and Stoneskin: you can keep him almost indestructible with a bit of work
- Use Improved Haste lots
- Don't forget to take a second off in mid-melee to snap off a magic missile or suchlike

(and if you're not above a little light use of Shadow-Keeper, move his bonus proficiency in Shortswords to something more interesting - longswords or scimitars, say)

[Scipio]

If the main worry about Haer'dalis is his usefulness in a fight, some quick thoughts (we're using him at the moment; he's entertaining in a cynical kind of way and his romance with Aerie is sweet):

I'd rather have a fighter. I'd rather romance Aerie myself.

... oh, yes -- I don't like him anyway.

Edited by Scipio, 18 May 2008 - 11:42 PM.

[Cal Jones]

Mm well there are bound to be varying opinions on all counts.

Sarevok - absolutely love him. All the "Death comes for you...feel its icy breath!" stuff gives me a lady bone. No, seriously. He's great. OK so he's a little grumpy but wouldn't you be after being tortured in Hell for the past year or so? The only time I wanted to thump him was when I was romancing Angelo and Sarevok was really mean to him. Eventually I got them to work out their differences, though. Running Ascension helps his dialogues trigger a bit more evenly, and I felt so proud of him when he told Smellysan to stick it during the finale. You go, big bro!

Anomen - Gah, hate him hate him hate him! How can any sane woman fall for this idiot? I don't understand! He can't deliver a single line without shouting like some sort of half-deaf moron. He's rude, arrogant and idiotic. Just look at the way he reacts to the slayer transformation in Spellhold. No "are you alright, dearest? Here, let me give you a hug. We'll work this out." He's just a prat.
I've tried playing with him again just this once to see his Chaotic Neutral incarnation but he's really no more tolerable. Admittedly, I mainly took him because I'm trying Romantic Encounters for the first time and wanted to see his reactions. The more he reacts, the more slutty and amoral my PC becomes. I am getting quite a sadistic thrill from cuckolding the fool. (When I romance Angelo, though, my PC is 100% faithful...it would just feel wrong to me to cheat on him, whereas with Anomen, it not only feels right, but it feels soooo good... )

Aerie - needy, whiny bitch. Hate her. Only time I've taken her is when I've wanted to try the romance. I deplore the way she treats Jaheira.

Haer'Dalis - I've taken him once through SoA and never through ToB so I will have to do this once at least (I know he contributes to the Angelo romance so I'll need to see this for myself at some point). I don't mind him but I never feel much need for a bard.

Cernd - a neglected and rather dull character. I've played through with him once, recently. He wasn't bad but didn't really inspire me to take him again (although he's worth taking once with Edwin, just for the hilarity of his Edwina banters). Hopefully SConrad's friendship mod will help, whenever it's done.

Mazzy - taken her through SoA but not ToB. She's alright - quite funny with Korgan - but I don't like the way she treats Val.

Valygar - love him and take him often. Wish he had a bit more content. I've played Kulyok's semi-romance in RE 3.0 and it's a welcome addition although it's just whet my appetite for a full romance, should Corthala Romantique get finished (please please!)

Keldorn - as you can see, I don't like the lawful good types, but Keldorn, perhaps because he's older and a bit wiser, is the exception. I don't always have him along (in fact, more ofthen than not I feel a bit sorry for him and let him go back to his wife) but he's good value when I do take him.

Edwin - yes he's a bit snarky but I love him. He is the best mage without question, but I also find him highly amusing.

Imoen - I used to hate her but she's grown on me. I almost feel quite affectionate about her now. She is darker in SoA, but she is highly traumatised from torture, so it's hardly surprising. I rarely complete a runthrough without her in party now. It just feels wrong to leave her behind.

Jaheira - she's bossy and annoying but of the Bioware NPCs, she is my favourite to romance. She does mellow out a fair bit.

Viconia - the best cleric but she can be a right bitch so I need to be in the mood for her. I do love it, though, when she hits on Sarevok and he blanks her. Serve her right!

Korgan - try as I might, I really can't like him. He has one or two funny things to say but I find him a bit tedious to be honest. Good fighter, but since I prefer to play a fighter myself, and will always take Sarevok in ToB, then I have little need of him. I've completed a few games with him, so can't say I've not given him a chance.

Nalia - never completed a game with her. There are better mages and more appealing characters.

Minsc - always loved Minsc but I've grown tired of him recently. His character is fun, but I've seen enough of it to know most of his dialogues by heart, and he doesn't have any extra quests, nor are his stats particularly good. If I want a ranger now I'll generally take Val, though Minsc and the other canon NPCs will get a runthrough with Angelo in party before too long.

Yoshimo - I don't often take him (until I leave for Spellhold anyway) but when I do, I really enjoy him. I just long for a dialogue option where you can give him a hug and tell him you forgive him. Alas, poor Yoshi...

Jan - I have a soft spot for Jan and would always take him rather than Imoen back when I hated Imoen. But now I take her more often than not, he tends to get left behind. A pity for Jan as he is quite funny (and the only thief who can advance...)

Edited by Cal Jones, 19 May 2008 - 05:15 AM.

[Vicen]

I basically like all of the npcs in BG2 though I hardly ever have Korgan in my group and have never tried Mazzy or Haer' Dalis

Edited by Vicen, 23 May 2008 - 06:34 PM.

[Amaurea]

Hi Vicen, I can't bring myself to play with Korgan either. I've been trying to run a game for playtesting to see a certain NPC's reactions to characters he doesn't get along with in the flow of the game, and I've had to stop and restart for several reasons. I did it about 3 times with Korgan up until day 4. I just can't do it anymore.

[Vicen]

(Heya Just found this site and started playing again!)

Yeah besides doing his opening quest in the graveyard I cant stand him...Which is too bad since hes the only dwarf

[Azri]

Characters I don't really drag around anymore..hm..

Aerie-can be sort of sweet behind all the whining and emo fest, and somewhat grows up throughout the game (when we were in Hell and about to face Irenicus for the last time, Aerie's words just sort of made me go 'wow, you go aerie!') Don't really play her that much, but I always take her when I play the Kivan mod - It's just cute the way Kivan needs someone to fuss over and Aerie certainly needing to be fussed over :3 . However, I simply cannot stomach her when my PC is a guy, where the whinings took on a whole new level altogether. On this account I agree wholeheartedly with Cal on her treatment of Jaheira. It just feels so...highschool ^^; sort of shows that as a woman she is definitely not on the same level with Jaheira

Haer dalis- Simply put, I don't trust the guy. It just doesn't feel comfortable to be travelling, fighting, and getting into life-threatening situations with someone as...flighty as Haer dalis. Throughout a game with him I keep expecting him to just disappear in the most convinient moment without anything more than an airy bye-bye (something on the lines of 'it is time this sparrow should fly away' or something XD) Even when he was being all sweet romancing Aerie I can't help having a sinking feeling that one day Haer dalis is just going to disappear on her too. heheh, perhaps I'm just being paranoid

Mazzy-My logical mind kept saying that there's actually nothing wrong with Mazzy, but somehow I just can't stand her in my party for too long. I guess it's just that she reminds me so much of people who, without anyone asking them to, goes around busily telling people what to do and what is best for them-to the tiniest, most painstaking details. Somehow with Keldorn (who is also lawful-good) I don't feel this kind of overwhelming pushiness- I don't really understand it myself And again I agree with Cal on the way she treats Valygar, it's a bit disquieting to me.

I don't usually bother to pick up Korgan or Edwin...after brief run throughs with them, they just don't really sit well with me at all ^^; while in the case of Keldorn and Cernd, I usually left them to be together with their families (in the case of Cernd the same way that Amaurea did ^^)

[Scipio]

(Heya Just found this site and started playing again!)

Welcome, Vicen! I think I already said that, but this time I said it out loud. Somehow the words came our differently and were addressed to Tiny Tiny Cakey Kitten: "Yes, you're hell of a cute, but I can't see the monitor when you sit on the keyboard."

This is the best site I've found since Google started. I'm sure you're going to enjoy it.

On thread: Everyone here will explain how you lose points if you say anything nasty about Aerie.

[Cal Jones]

Well, I generally like to play a neutral character (unless I really want to play a class that demands a certain alignment... *sigh*) so on the whole I prefer characters who are not too extreme. Val's good, but he's fairly mellow (unless you're a wizard...), even to the point he accepts Sarevok when everyone else is throwing up their hands in horror. He's all, "yeah, he's big, he can come."
Keldorn has the wisdom of age...apart from when it comes to relationships...so he's not as in your face as Mazzy or Anomen.
The overly evil characters are a bit tedious, to be honest, but Edwin is at least funny with it and I have a soft spot for him. The whole Edwina episode leads to the most amusing banters in the vanilla game.
I'm currently trying his romance by Laufey and it's a terrific laugh so far. I'm sure it could convert the most anti-Eddie players.

And sorry, Scipio...I just don't like Aerie (and I've given her plenty of chances).