I know that Aerie and Korgan probably hate each other, but I seriously doubt they'll come to blows considering their personalities, so that might actually be interesting to go through. I think I've decided on Aerie as the love interest for the main character, so she'll take up a slot in my final party as well. I've completed the Harper quests for Jaheira and removed her curse, so I could probably go ahead and switch her out for someone else, despite her obvious attraction to the hero--and despite how fun her constant bickering with Aerie is. The only other druid available to me is Cernd and I'm not sure I've used him before. Still, he has a quest or two to complete so there's no harm in trying him out. It would be helpful to have at least one druid in my final party because Insect Plague is a pretty handy spell.
I really want to have Jan Jansen in my party, because he's an absolutely hilarious character. I can't remember what quests are available to him, but I'm sure he has something. Even if I don't keep him for good, I'd like to travel with him for awhile, at least. I might swap him into Nalia's spot once I'm done with her--but then what about Imoen? Is she a mandatory member of the party once you rescue her from Spellhold? She doesn't have any quests specific to her, but she is a main character and features prominently in the plot. I feel like my experience might be lessened if I don't use her. Still, I imagine the game progresses reasonably well without her, since she doesn't have much of a spot in an Evil-aligned party.
If I'm dead set on having Korgan in my party, Keldorn the paladin certainly can't be a permanent fixture. I'm almost certain that they will fight to the death if both are in the same group for too long a period of time. I might go ahead and tackle the quests involving the Cult of the Eyeless with Keldorn in my party before I decide to grab Korgan. This might also be a good time to use Anomen, who does have some interactions with Keldorn since he's an aspiring paladin. Still, neither will likely end up in my final party.
Who else could I use? Edwin is probably the strongest pure spellcaster in the game. If I could somehow Frankenstein him into the party, he would be of great use. He also has a great (and hilarious) subquest. My main character is a pure melee fighter, so having two spellcasters (the other being Aerie) wouldn't be a terrible idea. No idea how Edwin would get along with some of my other potential party members, but I think it would be pretty funny to see those interactions. Aerie, though goodhearted, isn't likely to leave the party over having to travel with a couple of disreputable folks. Mazzy considers herself some kind of bastion of justice if I remember correctly, so there might be some problems there.
Let's look at the cast of BGII and figure out which characters I'm going to use and which will become permanent:
- Aerie: Still have a quest involving her uncle Quayle at the circus tent left to complete. Currently planning her a final party member.
- Imoen: I've never been a big Imoen fan, but features heavily in the plot. Will attempt to avoid if possible.
- Keldorn: Will take on as a temporary party member for Cult of the Eyeless quest.
- Mazzy: Want to find out what kind of interactions Korgan and Mazzy have, so trying to fit her into the final party.
- Minsc: Great character who I've used both in the original and the sequel extensively, but has no subquests associated with him. Will replace him soon.
- Nalia: Almost done with subquests, will sub out soon.
- Valygar: Probably will use as a temporary party member for the Planar Sphere quests and keep him around until I find someone else to use.
- Anomen: Was thinking of grabbing him temporarily while I have Keldorn in the group, but no interest in keeping him for good.
- Cernd: Could be a viable replacement for Jaheira. I'll have to decide if I really need a druid in the group. Could be temporary or permanent.
- Haer'Dalis: No subquests other than the quest to acquire him, but he does have some interesting interactions with Aerie. Could be a temporary party member.
- Jaheira: Will have to decide if I want Jaheira or Cernd in my final party. Done with all her subquests.
- Jan: Amazing character that I'd love to have in my final party... if possible.
- Yoshimo: For plot reasons, he can't be in my final party (until ToB). He's pretty cool, but I wouldn't have had any desire to keep him anyway, since my main character will be a dual-classed Kensai/Thief.
- Edwin: Pretty hilarious evil character that I'd like to use if I could. I'm worried about her interactions with Mazzy/Aerie.
- Korgan: He has a good subquest and is a very strong fighter. Planning to make him a part of the final party.
- Sarevok: Doesn't show up until Throne of Bhaal, at which point I might consider replacing one of my fighters. His alignment can be changed.
- Viconia: It would actually be really nice to have her in my party as she's the only pure cleric in the game and drow are cool. She's evil, though, and would definitely come into conflict with Aerie and Mazzy.
So far, I plan for my final party to be:
- Protagonist - Neutral Good Human Fighter (Kensai) / Thief
- Aerie - Lawful Good Avariel (Elf) Cleric / Mage
- Mazzy - Lawful Good Halfling Fighter
- Korgan - Chaotic Evil Dwarf Fighter (Berserker)
- ?
- ?
I just realized that totally overloads me on fighters, not that that's such a bad thing. Still, that means my last two slots should definitely be spellcasters of some kind, and it would be nice if I had a druid. Druids are neutral and unlikely to come into conflict with Korgan. One of the slots should be Jaheira or Cernd and the other should be Jan, Edwin, or Viconia. I probably don't need two clerics, so that leaves Viconia out. It would be nice to have a backup thief (Jan is a thief/illusionist) but it would also be pretty good to have a non multi-classed spellcaster in Edwin. Both of them are going to be in my party for short periods of time so I guess I'll just make my decision as I play the game.
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