Long ago I played through the original BG series as a Neutral Good Cleric. In BG1 I had Imoen, Khalid & Jaheira, and Minsc & Dynaheir. This seemed to be the 'assumed' party, based on how BG2 starts. In BG2 I had Jaheira, Minsc, Keldorn, Aerie (later switched with the ToB NPC), and Yoshimo & Imoen.

If I play again, I'll be looking for ways to switch things up, to experience as much of the game as possible (i.e. story, characters, etc.)... without mods, and without that Enhanced Edition.

I'll probably do my second go-round as a multi-class Fighter/Mage (either Elf or Half-Elf), which will cover playing three of the main classes in two play-thru's.

And I'll also probably try different NPCs. Several of the evil-aligned NPCs look interesting. Kagain, Edwin, and especially Viconia look like fun.

This made me start thinking: maybe I should be Neutral Evil, to offset the Neutral Good alignment of my first play-thru.

I understand that going around smokin' everybody will essentially break the game. That's certainly not what I'm looking to do. I'm looking to play evil in whatever capacity would make the game work with a party of evil alignments.

For the original (non-EE) BG1, does anybody have any experiences or recommendations for playing with a party of evil alignments?

I did an evil playthrough last year. Played as an evil dwarf fighter.

He used a hammer and a shield. Kagain used axe and sheild, so I had two tanks. Shar-Teel behind them using a two handed sword\bow. Viconia as my cleric. Montaron as my thief - using a longbow, and Edwin as my spellcaster.

That party worked like a charm. No real problems. Well...money was a bit of a problem since doing evil things made my reputation drop, and that golem inside High Hedge attacked me on sight.

A lot of the quests do give you a reputation bonus, so you party will get unhappy at times because of it. But you can solve it by just killing a commoner now and again.

The golem inside High Hedge is always hostile before you talk to Thalantyr, no matter what your reputation, or alignment is.

Playing as evil in Baldur's Gate can be a bit problematic in my opinion, especially if you want to role-play based on your alignment. The reason is, well, many dialogue options that are evil, are actually more "asshole-like" than "evil". It can be fun, but if you're trying to be "smart evil" that can be quite tough, though. Plus, the evil options have lower rewards, so the game might be a bit more difficult.

Other than that, it's really nice to approach the game from a different angle, especially in terms of joinable NPCs. The ones with evil alignment tend to be quite amusing and some like to argue with others (mixing all types of alignments in your party is even more fun).

Sticking to one party composition is way stronger, but changing things as you travel will let you have a lot of possibilities. Some of my most memorable playthroughs were, when I only reloaded because my PC died. I got to the point where I had almost every available NPC in my party during the course of the game.

As for party recommendations, there are many options, but my favourites are: Montaron (with crossbow and short sword, as both thief and backup fighter) and Xzar (my main wizard) I enjoyed a lot, but they're not very strong at first. Shar-Teel is great front line, but a bit vulnerable. Even though they're not that strong, I enjoyed having Eldoth and Skie in my party, I like their quest and having Shar-Teel argue with Eldoth was fun.

Anyway, good luck with your endeavour.

No. The Golem only becomes hostile if there are evil characters present.

Not true. The Golem ALWAYS becomes hostile, whoever is in the party, unless and until you speak to Thalantyr, and he agrees to let you see his wares -- he dismisses you initially. If you go in with a totally good party and just look around, ie. don't talk to Thalantyr, the Golem will find you and attack.

Well it didn't attack my Good party yesterday. It walked straight past my party before I talked to Talanthyr.

The Golems' scripts are set to:
1. Become enemy of anybody who attacks Thalantyr OR are Neutral and global 'Golem' is not set to 1.
2. Become enemy of anybody who attacks them OR are Neutral and global 'Golem' is not set to 1.
3. Change allegiance towards party to Neutral if global 'Golem' is set to 1 (ie. you spoken to Thalantyr).

Well it didn't attack me. I only had characters with Good aligment in my party, though.

I nearly always play good/neutral and if, as can happen, you're blocked from getting to Thalantyr they WILL attack. Are you playing vanilla, and/or do you have mods installed?

Vanilla classic version. No mods installed. Human cleric, Kivan, Minsc, Dynaheir, Imoen, Ajantis in my party.

This is really strange, as far as I can remember the golems were always hostile, no matter what was the alignment of my party members. Now I'm curious, I'll try to check it in the evening.

I can't find a video online that doesn't consist of playing in TuTu/BGT/EE, so the only confirmation I can offer is Dudleyville walkthrough: http://www.forgottenwars.com/bg1/ar3200.htm
"(3) Thalantyr and Melicamp
Enter High Hedge AR3202 and quickly talk to Thalantyr, this will stand down his otherwise hostile golems. "

That's what I was thinking of using as my evil party, except I can't decide between Montaron & Xzar, or Edwin and one of the other thief NPCs. I'm not too worried about money. During my play-thru as NG, I don't think I spent a single gold piece. I kept holding out and waiting to see something really good to buy, and before I knew it, it was over.

(I also didn't use any consumables, like potions and wand charges, in order to save them for the really tough fights... then alas, it was over.)

In fact, I'm not too worried about experience points either. I remember being maxed out long before the endgame (I don't grind, but I also leave no stone unturned), so I wouldn't think it a big deal to miss some experience here or there because of dialogue choices.

All good points, especially about "asshole-like" dialogue options. You got me thinking: Neutral Evil certainly doesn't mean being a rude dick with every last person you come across. The scariest villains hide in plain site with the most pleasant of smiles, and bring out the ruthlessness when it is most needed or beneficial. Maybe I can take that angle: heroic quest do-er, but will kill for my reward! It sounds like if you can keep your Reputation score somewhere in the middle range (like say between 9 and 12), then any combo of NPCs will stay together, without turning hostile or otherwise leaving on their own. Would you all agree with that?

imo best quest ever and pays... Rescue damsel from her wicked fathers home then blackmail the father to NOT de-flower his little girl