this is the first time I've played BG2, despite having been around when it was new. My question pertains to the strategic benefit of two particular party characters: what are the benefits of having Imoen in your party as opposed to Nahlia? I have had Nahlia in my party before, but she chose to leave when I showed more interest in the sewer quests than in the fate of her family. I have just lost Haer'Dalis to the bounty hunters of the planar prison and am contemplating leaving to do other quests just to boost my stats... however, I currently do not have a mage in my party. Should I simply do the story line that allows me to rescue Imoen, or should I go and recover Nahlia? My main character is a true neutral, and most of the current members of my party lean in that direction, give or take an affiliation point... However, I also have Kelgorn (meaning that I have a party of five at present moment), because I began the Cult of the Unseeing Eye quest and got scared off when I reached the part where you're bombarded w/ undead (not enough protection spells, and very little money).

The quest to rescue Imoen is a fair chunk of the game, it'll be quicker for you to go and pick up Nalia.

Well, ideally you should probably have two mages in your party long term, so you can alternate casting anti-magic spells to take down enemy mages a lot faster. (Not that you must, it just really helps)

You cannot rescue Imoen immediately, it takes some time. Therefore I'd recommend getting another mage, either get Nalia back, or pick up Jan Jensen, or Aerie, or Edwin. Decide who you want to take to the end, and get them sooner rather than later, otherwise you're just wasting XP rewards. Nalia is very similar to Imoen, so if you want to keep either one, you might get more value out of the multi-classed Jan or Aerie as your second. Jan can become a great trap-setting back-stabbing thief, and Aerie can get an absolute ton of spells. Best choice depends on who else is in your party.

Also, you probably should have one pure class mage, as they level faster, getting you access to the high-level spells quite a lot sooner. (And you really need them, the anti-magics in particular)

So, since I currently have no mages in my party, were should I go to find the best advantage?

Do you mean where in the game to get them, or who to get? (As I said, who to get depends on who else is in your party, but this should be your decision. They all excel in their professions)

Sorry... I'm trying to find the best options for my decision. I meant where to find the characters you mentioned. But I now realize that I should probably just find them myself.

there aren't too many guides that tell you the chosen subkit of various mage npc's. Is that even a thing? Do I need to worry about specification when choosing my mages?

Mate, there's only a couple of mages to pick from... ;)

And you can probably rule out Edwin, as he's evil and won't get on with Keldorn.

Thanks "mate". My concern is whether the mages that i have to choose from are bidden to subkit strictures. That's all I chose to be a druid But I definitely won't accept edwin as long as I have Keldorn. Not that that matters. I'm true neutral, and most of my party falls on one end of that spectrum or the other...

I think the only one that has a kit set is Jan, who is an illusionist.

Otherwise; Edwin is a sorcerer, Imoen and Nalia are both dual-class thief / mages and Aerie is a multi-class cleric / mage.

You're worrying about it a lot more than I ever did on my first play-through!

Edwin is a Conjurer by default, and the most powerful mage out of the NPCs; however if you have a high reputation he won`t stick around for long. Jan and Aerie are both secondary mages, and for a first playthrough it`s a good idea to have at least one single or dual class mage in the party. Since you won`t be getting back Imoen anytime soon, (unless you rush with the main plot) and if Edwin does not fit your party, Nalia is your best bet. (Personally, I can`t stand her.)

Conjurer, sorcerer - same difference... ;)

Honestly Nalia is just Imoen Lite™, but she's the best mage available for good/neutral parties before you get Imoen. The only advantage Nalia gets is an increased carry weight, for everything else Imoen is better. I'd suggest keeping Nalia at least for a while, and then dropping her once you get Imoen back.

For first-time players, I also really recommend Aerie, as she's extremely versatile and gets bajillions of spells. Just be aware that she's incredibly frail, so be very careful with fireball placement and the like. Stoneskin, Mirror Image, and Sanctuary can generally keep her alive through most everything, though.

Imoen vs Nalia - Imoen has more thief levels, enough that between the various magical items you will rarely need to use potions for thief skill enhancement. She's also the more likable of the two for my money. To her credit, Nalia has a VERY nice ring that only she can wear and she is available very early in the game. They are functionally similar though, Neutral Good aligned, short bow wielding, more or less pure class mages.

Edwin - Edwin is, as most people can agree, the single strongest mage in the game. He's even got what most consider to be the best of the mage kits, the Conjurer kit. He also gets more spell slots than even a normal Conjurer. His only draw backs are that he is evil and is ONLY good at casting spells.

Jan, Haer'dalis, & Aerie - These three are your secondary casters, unless you're going with a smaller party. They all sacrifice casting power for versatility, but that's works for a secondary caster. Jan, as a gnome, can only be a mage of the Illusionist kit, but this is a bonus, as due to this gnomes are the only race that can multiclass a mage kit. He is also a damn fine thief and can get Thief HLA's. Haer'dalis isn't really a mage at all, but can cast lower level mage spells and at a level higher than mages due to his level progression being as fast as a thief's. He also has his bard song, thief HLA's and with some buffing can be pretty good at combat. Aerie is nice in that she is basically a secondary mage and a secondary cleric all in one. Being half cleric allows her use of helms and shields, which is also nice. Being able to load cleric spells into mage sequencers and contingencies is fun too. Note: Jan and Haer are Chaotic Neutral, Aerie is Lawful Good.

It's up to you which you prefer, but I might take Nalia up until you get Imoen back and then swap her out. And of course, have one of the secondary casters along as well.

Not really. Missing a few spells is not an issue if you have two mages anyway, since the primary can pick up the slack.

I've had short sessions with every caster except Edwin (I'll be getting him for my EVIL play through), but I eventually settled on Jan Jansen. He has since become perhaps my favorite NPC. He loves to tease everyone and rambles on with long pointless stories that go wildly off-topic, much like myself. As a multi-class, his Thief abilities keep improving, getting 5x backstab, while being invulnerable with the help of spells. And if you add proficiency points to set traps, does huge damage before the enemy even knew what hit them, followed by massive damage with HLA traps. He makes unique crossbow ammunition that stuns and insect swarms enemy mages. His armor gives 25% physical damage resistance, and with the right items can get at least -5 AC, practically on par with my front-line fighters. And as an Illusionist, gets the extra spell per level and lots of "white" spells to complement his sneaking. Downside is he cannot learn Necromancy spells, and he levels rather slowly, so you really do need a single/dual class mage as the primary.

(Edited: I've been spelling his name wrong this whole time!)