[IA 6.2] Advices for a melee-oriented party Options

[Tarnesh]

Heya all !

I've been playing BG since its release back in the days, and I started playing modules 10 years ago or so.
Been trying a lot of them, but I must admit Improved Anvil is simply the best - by far - I've ever been given a chance to play.

I could probably discuss this for hours, but this is not the point here, as I'm simply after some advices for my new party composition. Tried out Vagrant and Necro runs lately, both on core difficulty, but I always end up getting bored once I get out of Underdark, my parties being suboptimal for the hardest fights coming up then. I underestimated the importance of damage resistance, and the lack of stoneskinned characters got my party nuked within a few seconds in several fights (in Watcher's Keep especially, and against golems in general).

I also tend to make as much items as possible, even if some are actually pretty irrelevant, so I eventually miss money for the best ones. I'll use a crafting planner for my next runs !

Even though i LOVE the riskbreaker kit, I also try to play with as much Bioware NPCs as possible, I like the banters, makes my party feel alive. Obviously, IA is not the mod for roleplay, but I'd like at least half of it to be vanilla toons.

Anyway, here is what I'd like in my party, knowing that I really tend to favor melees over casters, which tends to be a mistake I guess, given my brutish playstyle (stoneskin helps, again).


Melees : I like having 3 warriors, but I end up having to choose between Valygar and his awesome items, and 1 or 2 riskbreakers, knowing I also would like to have a potent 2-hander to wield those great halberds.

Divine : I love Jaheira's kit, the Avenger. Exactly the kind of divine caster I'm looking for, and she is a great 2-hander too. So Jaheira is maybe THE character I want to have in my party. But I find Cernd pretty awesome too, and I'm wondering if the lack of a proper cleric (greater restauration, and general undead protections) might not make the game harder. Or is Jaheira + Cernd a decent combo healingwise, then I'd have to rely on... something else for restauration purposes.

Arcane : I guess Necro protagonist is the way to go if I want a melee-oriented party, but then I can forget Judgment Day, which kind of BOTHERS ME ! (maybe there is a way to trick this with NearInfinity ? not really into this stuff but heh, I love dat sword !). Do I need another caster or can a Necro handle all the casting by himself ?

In other words, is this party any viable ?

Necro PC
Valygar
Riskbreaker
Riskbreaker -OR- Minsc/Custom Half-Orc Barb -OR- Berserker ***** halberds -OR- Kensaï ***** halberds -OR- Half-orc fighter/cleric -OR- Berserker 9 dualled to mage.
Jaheira
Cernd

My post my be a wee bit unclear overall, feel free to ask for more accuracy. I don't think I've been spoiling anything here, but if need be, erase/hide the spoilish parts.

Thanks again for this wonderful mod, I can't wait to play it seriously with a relevant party.

[bulian]

About GR, i guess i'll still grab a cleric somehow, C/R seems perfect anyway. Is a multiclass R/C eventually a good choice, assuming I make it to late game when he starts having warrior HLA and lvl 7 spells ? Or is early GR too much to give up ? Cause I'd be then happy to have him or her dual-wield (Crom Fayer ! : ) ) as a ranger, and be my actual ranger in the party (thinking boots mostly, would give up on Valygar then... well maybe tongue.gif)

Both RC multi and dual have different strengths. The dual doesn't have the combat effectiveness of the multi but has a lot more GR spellcasting abilities and has higher level buffs that can't be dispelled as easily, which is quite important for some fights. Once you have about 3 GR, you should be able to make it through almost every fight in the game with the proper strategy.

Long term (WK 5 and beyond) the multi is better due to having many CS and +1 APR, but I would probably recommend the dual class for you.