Chances are, I'll probably always have Edwin on my team. He's the best mage by a long shot in both games, and some of the stuff he says in the second game is pretty hilarious. Of course, he fights with Minsc in BG2, so I can't really have both in my party...

Aw shit I'm really sorry, I was just so used to knowing that I completely forgot that others didn't. Hope I haven't ruined the game for you. :(

Well.... Anomen awsoem cleric/fighter with cromfayer is awsome
Imoen cause shes mah best bud :p
Jaheira cause continuity and i loves her :)
Minsc.... I mean minature giant space hamster nough said
and well... usually aries... cause i think she is sweet even though her voice gets annoying
if i had a 7th slot i would probably take edwin cause i love his special plot.


also spoilers






i take aries because i prefer her romance over jaheiras in the tob expansion, and i could nver take vakieras (spelling?) because of how it ends with her makes me sad panda....T~T

Is okay, I forgive you. And no it didn't ruin the whole game ;)
But DANG that is a sweet plot twist!

*possible spoiler ahead* (But honestly, the whole thread could be considered spolier-ish.)


BG: Kivan - I have a soft spot for archers but can't stand Coran. Besides when I ditch Jaheria I get a feeling Kivan is the most mature member of my party ;)
BG2: Keldorn - Basically because I consider him a well written, wise NPC - which is rather rare with paladin / 'holy' types. Plus, I like his ToB ending.
ToB: Sarevok - Just for being Sarevok ^^. I cannot imagine playing ToB without my sarcastic little brother.

I should add that my choices are probably influenced by G3 NPC mods, as it was a really long time since I played vanilla BG(s).

That's good to hear, how far are you into the game? Not wanting to mention anything that might spoil things but yeah it is a good plot twist. :D

I'm at the beginning of chapter three, but I didn't hurry to get the 15,000 gold. I'm a lawful good paladin, so it was kinda hard for me to roleplay the choice you have to make. Decided to side with the creepy people though.
[VERY MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD]
So i kinda cheated myself and found out the +5 sword for a paladin is in the windspear hills. What level should I attempt to go there with? My current level range is levels 10-13.

@blackakari
Without ruining the secret of Windspear hills for you, you should be able to get the sword. Depending on your tactical skill it might be difficult but at level 10-13 with a full party it is certainly possible. Good luck if you try.

As for indispensable characters....

It depends on the alignment I take. Generally I play through both games and expansions as one long experience and the characters vary greatly (I think I have probably given all of them a chance at one point).

When playing my default character (chaotic good mage or fighter/mage/thief), I usually go with the following and when playing my default character they are all non-negotiable:

BG1 and TotC:
PC
Imoen
Jaheira
Khalid
Minsc
Dynaheir

BG2
Imoen/Yoshimo
Jaheira
Minsc
Aerie
open for rotation*

*I rotate in all of the other npcs for their specific quests, it gives the game an episodic feel as each section has a new "character of the week". I usually settle for Viconia after using all of the others.

ToB
Imoen
Jaheira
Minsc
Viconia
S******


regards,
IT

We're all doomed!

I can't play through BG1 without Xan in the party. I think he is hilarious and my only beef with BG2 is that Xan isn't in it.

Apparently you weren't the only one to think so.

I would say for any good/neutral party Imoen is non-negotiable.

None. I never play with the pre-existing NPCs; I always generate my own and control the lot of them. I'm sure I'd have a different experience and come to like a few of them if I used them, but the fact that they argue with and kill each other is not enjoyable. Personally, I find it less immersive if I have to play babysitter than if my party members are robots.

you miss a fair bit of story if you don't take some NPCs - if you don't want them fighting then either use a mod or just pick characters of similar alignment (aforementioned BG1 team of PC, Jaheira, Khalid, Imoen, Minsc, Dynaheir won't fight at all).
NB: I've only played through BG1 once (used that party) and am currently on my first try at BG2 (also with a team that don't fight each other - Minsc, Jahiera, Aerie (romance clash but you can stop it by only going for one), Imoen, Keldorn)

Not sure I'd say any are indispensable though - if any, I'd say Imoen for story but if/when I replay I'll try an all-evil party and not take her along. Not sure who I'd have for BG2 in that case though.

There are only a few specific people that will actually fight each other, and they're all good vs evil things. Also, it's absolutely worth it to have Jan in the party for his crazy stories and how he picks on and irritates everyone else. If you can get over not having Minsc in your party, Edwin is also wonderful, especially when other people pick on him (which is often). Edwin also has a... transformation... as part of his personal quest. The transformation is reversible, but he gets a whole new set of character sounds (which are GLORIOUS) and there's quite a few dialogs with other party members that only happen while he's transformed. Honestly I always have to debate whether or not to actually return him to his original state.

tl;dr the companions add a LOT to the game. Back on topic, I don't have any "must have" NPCs, but my favorite is probably Mazzy. She's got a lot of insightful stuff (though fairly generic) to say, and she's a veritable hurricane of destruction with both bow and sword.

Its strange how we develop a feel for some of the chars in the game that we cant leave them behind really :) but after all we do spend many hours together in the realms with them :)
In baldurs gate 1 i allways play with the same party , for some reason i cant play evil its not in my nature and i tend to love paladins , guess thats the reason xD so :
Pc
Imoen
Jaheira
Khalid
Minsc
Dynaheir

and then in baldurs gate 2 i havent finished it many times im on my first run with a female now so i guess depend of the sex of my char is the party
male :
Pc
Jaheira
Minsc
Yoshimo ,i love this char a lot :)
Imoen after she can join again ,
Keldorn is in my female party and i think i will have him allways from now on,
Aery was my last romance and i enjoyed the expirience all till trone of baal

Female :
Pc
jaheira
Minsc
Anomen whanted to kill him at first but now hes better then i tought at first
Keldorn he has great lines with Anomen
Yoshimo if only he could remain forever :D

Still i have plenty of chars to try , read in the web Viconias romance is hard but will give it a try when i finish the Female play , there are to many chars and thats great since it adds a lot of life to the game , i just cant leave people behind so will need to do a few play troughs :P