Baldurs gate - how should I start.

[Traianvs]

You don't need bards in BG1.. they won't contribute much as you are playing low level characters throughout the game anyway so the bard is far from powerful.

As has been told many times before: simply get a lot of rangers with nice composite bows
I found mages pretty useless too actually.

Now I think of it: I did most of the slaughtering with my main character, the rest was just backup (imoen for opening locks, a mage for a few magic missiles, a druid/fighter for the healing spells and some more losers)
You can see the amount of kills and XP that particular character has made throughout the game somewhere in your character details I think.
At the end of the game for example, my mage had 3500 XP earned in kills just to give you an idea

my ranger owned everybody's ass!
especially if you can lay your hands on the boots of speed

[Jamski]

Go to the Firewine dungeon and kill kobolds till you can't carry any more fire arrows. Then equip whole party with bows and fire arrows. You now RULE

-Jam

[lord of the mark]

ok, i got the idea, bows are overpowered. Somehow making a party of several bowmen fighters strikes as exploiting that TOO much - a tad cheesy, shall we say?
OTOH, I might make my main character a bow specialist, rather than a sword specialist as in my current game.
Would work better than Imoem with a short bow, and Garrick with a cross bow.

[lord of the mark]

Went into the hills west of Nashkell,

Spoiler:

ran into the Xvart camp

and lost the whole party.

Reloaded and went back this time

Spoiler:

making sure Imoen had magic arrows highlighted, and not going all the way into the camp

This time only lost Minsc and Khaled. So im taking myself, Imoen, Jaheira and Garrick back to Nashkell. Have barely enough money to resurrect and reequip both fighters, asssuming i sell weapons ive captured, but not jewels. This is an expensive way to get XP's.

A walkthrough has shown me 2 things to do in Nashkell before heading out [spoiler] go into the manor house, and find a magic items in a hole near one of the farmers cottages [spoiler] after that its into the woods south of town for, i hope, some easier xp's.

[lord of the mark]

So whats generally the best makeup for a party - Ive got 2 fighters, a ranger, a fighter/druid, a thief and a bard?

A mage would be good. The bard is unneeded. A thief and a priest seem to be good. Beyond that do i need 3 warriors? Is 2 enough? and if so, what should get instead of the 3rd warrior?

[Jon Miller]

I have an archer, fighter, cleric, mage, theif and myself (who is worthless)

JOn miller

[Jon Miller]

the archer, fighter, thief have all the xp too, if that tells yuo anything

(but curing spells are nice, and maybe the mage will be nice at some poitn also)

Jon Miller

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
the archer, fighter, thief have all the xp too, if that tells yuo anything

(but curing spells are nice, and maybe the mage will be nice at some poitn also)

Jon Miller

Ive used jaheira alot. The bless spell seems to help in combat, then the shillelagh lets her fight. and the curing spell can come in handy.

OTOH i think ive not used her well, since ive left her equipped with a club - should really give her a ranged weapon, like a sling.

[Jon Miller]

I gave her a Quarter Staff +1 early

but she was only marginally useful, like the current cleric

so I guess I am just hoping that the Cleric will be better later

Jon Miller

[centrifuge]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
So whats generally the best makeup for a party - Ive got 2 fighters, a ranger, a fighter/druid, a thief and a bard?

A mage would be good. The bard is unneeded. A thief and a priest seem to be good. Beyond that do i need 3 warriors? Is 2 enough? and if so, what should get instead of the 3rd warrior?

Generally I have 2 fighter types, a thief, a cleric, and a couple of mages. The mages, IMHO are the "meat" of the group since their spells can change the outcome of a battle significantly, just keep them protected!!! The cleric is also indispensable, mainly because of the healing spells. In Baldurs gate I'll take a cleric's spells over a druid's anytime.

[Jamski]

At the low levels of BG1, mages don't really become that useful. Ok, they can help a bit, but they don't rule. I'd take one, either Edwin, or myself, or dual-class Imoen at level 5. Clerics/Druids, don't leave home without them. At low levels you need the healing. I like Jaheria 'cos she can fight a bit too. Someone who can pick locks and find traps is needed too. Either a PC thief/fighter multiclass, or a multiclass Imoen. There's no lock in the game hard enough that you need a pure thief.
Then fill up with three fighter types : Rangers, paladins, fighters, as you like. Minsc, Kivan & Ajantis are all good and can be found early on. Give Ajantis (for example) a sword and sheild and the gloves of dexterity, and he's to hold the line while the others support with magic and ranged weapons. The 3 fighter types are the ones getting the kills, the others are helping them stay alive.
I use magic to aid my team and disable the enemy. The damage spells aren't that effective.

-Jam

[Marid Audran]

The question about ideal party composition is as old as D&D itself, and about as tiresome.

2 Warriors (Fighter/Ranger/Paladin), 1 Priest (Cleric/Druid), 1 Thief (preferably multi-classed; a fighter/thief archer works nicely), 1 Wizard (Mage/Specialist Mage), and 1 "Auxillary" character (A Bard or a multi-classed characer) is the most balanced.

I disagree with everyone about bards; I'm quite fond of them. They can pick pockets, absolving your thief from donating points to this ability. They can cast the odd spell, and fight a little (using any weapon and armor up to chainmail). More importantly they can sing that luck-boosting song at any time ("luck" is a flat term encompassing a bonus or penalty to all of one's THACO, damage, AC, morale, and saving throws). Their lore ability is very nice to identify magic items immediately, though it takes a few levels for it build up sufficiently to be useful. Bards aren't a powerplayer class, but were never meant to be.

On low levels the boring fighter types rule the day obviously, but that changes. If you're planning to keep Minsc LOTM, go rescue Dynaheir at the Gnoll Fortress. She's an invoker and will solve your problem of needing a wizard. By 5th level they really start pulling their weight; I wouldn't do without 'em.

If you're not planning on keeping Minsc, you should pick up Edwin or Xan (the elven prisoner from Naskel Mine).

[centrifuge]

Originally posted by Jamski
At the low levels of BG1, mages don't really become that useful.

They get to be more useful after they get their 3rd level spells IMHO. I may be in the minority, but I always try to use mages to their fullest extent. I love magic missiles. It is a mainstay of almost every battle that I fight in these games.

[Jamski]

Sure once a mage hits level 5, he starts being pretty tasty. Skulltrap, Fireball, Haste, Lightningbolt.... some of the best spells come now. HOWEVER, A mage needs more XP than anyone else to get to level 5, and then they'll only be really useful for the last part of the game. But not at the very end *grrr magic resistance* That's why I'd only take one... or MAYBE dual Imoen for 2 or MAYBE play as a fighter/mage myself and at least I can use a bow when I'm out of spells, and maybe hit something with it...(very weak in BG1, but turns good in BG2)

-Jam

[DarkCloud]

But if you can purchase good enough stuff- then mages are useful from level 3 onwards

Another good idea- pick up a mage when your party is level 4 or higher- you won't regret it.

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Just a basic baldurs gate question here- Do the monster's strength levels increase when your characters levels increase... at least those that ambush you when you camp outside cities at night?