Defense of Xan

[Miah]

I see a lot of comments on here that (unfairly, in my opinion) dismiss Xan, say he sucks, or the like. Now, as an Edwin fan myself, I think if you compare him to the likes of Edwin, yeah, he's going to look pretty bad. However, that's judging him based on criteria he's not well suited for, rather than looking at his own merits, which is what I'll attempt to do here.

The first two things that stand out to people who look at Xan are the Moonblade and the Enchanter: Moonblade being a sweet +3 Long Sword Dagger exclusive to him that also gives a bonus of 1 to his AC and 50% Fire Resistance, and Enchanter being "that awful" subclass that keeps him from casting Magic Missile and Fireball. My argument is people underrate the former, and overrate the later.

Let me show first why Enchanter is not as bad as people say it is, as I think it'll make the awesomeness that is the Moonblade that much sweeter. Depending on how quickly you acquire him (it's perfectly reasonable to beat Chapter 2 still level 1 if you know what you're doing), there's still plenty of time to teach him Sleep, and between a single memorization of Armor and filling the rest of his slots with Sleep, that's the ideal spell list of most early-game Mages anyway when Magic Missile isn't pulling its weight yet. He's not barred from using Protection from Petrification, so can assist in basilisk Hunting, and really isn't losing a whole lot thus far. Come Mage 3, he's able to cast Glitterdust, an AoE party-friendly blind. He can still cast Melf's Acid Arrow to further counter Mages. He can still cast Web. He can still cast Mirror Image. He can even cast Strength, if you feel so inclined. There's not a spell he loses at this tier that he cares about losing. Mage 5, however, is when a lot of people argue he loses the almighty Fireball, and descends into "sucks".

So what? Xan can't cast Fireball. He still gets Skull Trap, Haste, and Invisibility 10' Radius. He also has a more unique niche than casting a spell most of the Mages and Bards in the game can cast.

- and it all comes back to Moonblade. Without a single spell cast, as early as you can recruit him, you can have him equipped with Moonblade, Batalista's Passport, and a Mage Robe of Fire Resistance. That's 110% Fire Resist. That's healing from Burning Hands, Aganazzar's Scorcher, and Fireball. That's how you use him.

Combat starts. He's casting Glitterdust because any combat able to be trivialized by Sleep isn't worth discussing. Meanwhile, your other mage is casting Aganazzar's Scorcher on Xan. Now he's constantly healing and every enemy between him and your other mage is taking fire damage. Your enemies are now blinded, and it's pretty safe to go in and engage in melee, especially with Armor (spell) or Bracers of Defense AC 7 on. He's perfectly capable of casting Strength and Haste on himself. He's perfectly capable of casting Protection from Fire on himself if you wanted to rock the Robes of the Neutral Archmagi. He now gets to use that sweet weapon while your other Mage freely nukes the front with Burning Hands and Fireballs without fear of friendly-fire. Got a Fighter? Icingdeath, Gift of Peace, and a second Batalista's Ring are all obtainable in game. Now you've got your frontline, immune to fire, and ready to let your party use all the Fireballs they could ever wish to.

Fireball is a lot better when you don't have to worry about friendly-fire. Unless you're an MC Dragon Disciple, Xan is your only option for a second character immune to fire damage without spending spell slots. Xan may not be able to cast Fireball, but he sure does love it. Xan rocks.

Oh, and he also lets you use Ajantis in evil parties, if you ever wanted to do that. Xan will talk him out of killing them, so that's neat.

[Gustuv Wynd]

I think it is pretty easy to get a spot for him...in BG1 enchantment magic is better than damage or defensive magic most of the time. Really all of the time unless you are fighting something undead and enemies take a -2 penalty from enchantment spells cast from Xan.

I tend to take Edwin or Neera because I like the continuity of having the same characters throughout the game. If you are only playing BG1, Xan would actually be one of the better characters to take from a power gaming point of view. Though, like I said, just toss the moonblade and give him throwing daggers or a sling.

[Jaxom]

Originally posted by Gustuv Wynd:

I think it is pretty easy to get a spot for him...in BG1 enchantment magic is better than damage or defensive magic most of the time. Really all of the time unless you are fighting something undead and enemies take a -2 penalty from enchantment spells cast from Xan.

I tend to take Edwin or Neera because I like the continuity of having the same characters throughout the game. If you are only playing BG1, Xan would actually be one of the better characters to take from a power gaming point of view. Though, like I said, just toss the moonblade and give him throwing daggers or a sling.

Saying Xan is one of the better characters is a stretch - Edwin is just strait a better mage. You can make a case for him for your 6th spot, but I think think there are much better options.

[Gustuv Wynd]

Originally posted by Jaxom:

Originally posted by Gustuv Wynd:

I think it is pretty easy to get a spot for him...in BG1 enchantment magic is better than damage or defensive magic most of the time. Really all of the time unless you are fighting something undead and enemies take a -2 penalty from enchantment spells cast from Xan.

I tend to take Edwin or Neera because I like the continuity of having the same characters throughout the game. If you are only playing BG1, Xan would actually be one of the better characters to take from a power gaming point of view. Though, like I said, just toss the moonblade and give him throwing daggers or a sling.

Saying Xan is one of the better characters is a stretch - Edwin is just strait better the him as a mage. You can make a case for him for your 6th spot, but I think think there are much better options.

You can't even roll a character with more spell casting ability than Edwin, but most power game run throughs abuse the rest system anyway...and -2 on enchantment saves from Xan probably will mean more than an couple extra magic missiles.

Plus there is the case when they aren't casting spells...Xan will have a much better chance getting a sling bullet to land since he has a decent dex. People often over look the auto attack damage. In BG1 it can mean the difference of that gibberling being dead or chewing on your dead mage's leg in an ambush.

[Gnarl]

One of my favorite parties was pc-Thief, Branwen, Coran, Faldorn, Imoen, and Xan.

Xan getting a charm or control spell off was only way I could really win the big battles. After that run I'll never discount Xan.

But Xzar, I've never had luck with.

[Jaxom]

Originally posted by Gustuv Wynd:

Originally posted by Jaxom:

Saying Xan is one of the better characters is a stretch - Edwin is just strait better the him as a mage. You can make a case for him for your 6th spot, but I think think there are much better options.

You can't even roll a character with more spell casting ability than Edwin, but most power game run throughs abuse the rest system anyway...and -2 on enchantment saves from Xan probably will mean more than an couple extra magic missiles.

Plus there is the case when they aren't casting spells...Xan will have a much better chance getting a sling bullet to land since he has a decent dex. People often over look the auto attack damage. In BG1 it can mean the difference of that gibberling being dead or chewing on your dead mage's leg in an ambush.

You can't really make a point for Xan saying people abuse the rest system then make another point for him saying he does more auto attack damage. If you are abusing the rest system you are not auto attacking. -2 to some of his spells doesnt make up for the fact his spell book is the worst and I would disagree that its better than more spells.

I'm not saying he is terrible i'm just saying there are better options.

[Gustuv Wynd]

While abusing the rest system...you will not rest successfully every time. Some times you will get ambushed several times in a row attempting to rest. Even if you you always try to go back to town you will get ambushed. So even while exploiting the system you will have times that you can't rest.

Plus even if a person was abusing the system, I don't think they would want to be dropping a level three spell on every gibberling or kobold...or any level spell for that matter. That would make for a really long game. Having a sling bullet aimed a bit better will probably be enough.

I am sure most people play a middle road of abusing the rest system and using auto-attacks when they make sense. Xan fits in really well there.

[Gustuv Wynd]

Originally posted by Gnarl:

One of my favorite parties was pc-Thief, Branwen, Coran, Faldorn, Imoen, and Xan.

Xan getting a charm or control spell off was only way I could really win the big battles. After that run I'll never discount Xan.

But Xzar, I've never had luck with.

Oh no, not Xar. Well in defense of Xar...with one Tome of Wisdom he turns into the best cleric in BG1. I will dual him at level 3 typically...or was it 4...been a while since I've used him...but it allows him to get to max level cleric with having a few mage spells in the mix. Makes for a potent combo. Plus his selection voices...pure gold, though I know some people are annoyed by him. I like him. I was so disappointed he wasn't playable in BG2. Plus it is the higher levels where necromancers start really shining. You don't really get a benefit out of one in BG1...not much beyond any other mage, anyway.

[Immortal Reaver]

I found out that having Xzar, Xan and Edwin is perfectly great way to play.

[Gustuv Wynd]

I don't know if I would take all three as mages...but I used to take Xan along with one of them a lot. Xan isn't so good in the boss fights when it is a demon or undead...but then Edwin shines. Though in a more normal fight against Ogres or something...have Xan cast Chaos and the battle is over. Having both rocks...and I typically have two arcane casters in my BG1/SoD games. In BG2 I will usually have four...at least three and I would have loved if Xan could have been one of them.

[Immortal Reaver]

Originally posted by Gustuv Wynd:

I don't know if I would take all three as mages...but I used to take Xan along with one of them a lot. Xan isn't so good in the boss fights when it is a demon or undead...but then Edwin shines. Though in a more normal fight against Ogres or something...have Xan cast Chaos and the battle is over. Having both rocks...and I typically have two arcane casters in my BG1/SoD games. In BG2 I will usually have four...at least three and I would have loved if Xan could have been one of them.

I have them so I don't need to rest as much, and at same time I can disable in every fight and having Xan helps with killing them quicker.

[Gnarl]

Originally posted by Gustuv Wynd:

Oh no, not Xar. Well in defense of Xar...with one Tome of Wisdom he turns into the best cleric in BG1. I will dual him at level 3 typically...or was it 4...been a while since I've used him...but it allows him to get to max level cleric with having a few mage spells in the mix. Makes for a potent combo. Plus his selection voices...pure gold,

WoW, I never thought of dualing him! Yeah I like he's bonkers. And watching Montaran start fights and kill good npc's in the party was always a treat to me.

[Gustuv Wynd]

Originally posted by Gnarl:

Originally posted by Gustuv Wynd:

Oh no, not Xar. Well in defense of Xar...with one Tome of Wisdom he turns into the best cleric in BG1. I will dual him at level 3 typically...or was it 4...been a while since I've used him...but it allows him to get to max level cleric with having a few mage spells in the mix. Makes for a potent combo. Plus his selection voices...pure gold,

WoW, I never thought of dualing him! Yeah I like he's bonkers. And watching Montaran start fights and kill good npc's in the party was always a treat to me. :MMWhataday:

I will invis a character into the second floor of Durlag's Tower to get the Tome of Wisdom. I feel like it exists just for Xzar since you can get there easily and early in the game. With 17 Wisdom he will have the most bonus cleric spells of any NPC in the game plus the few mage spells.

[Jaxom]

Originally posted by Gustuv Wynd:

Originally posted by Gnarl:

One of my favorite parties was pc-Thief, Branwen, Coran, Faldorn, Imoen, and Xan.

Xan getting a charm or control spell off was only way I could really win the big battles. After that run I'll never discount Xan.

But Xzar, I've never had luck with.

Oh no, not Xar. Well in defense of Xar...with one Tome of Wisdom he turns into the best cleric in BG1. I will dual him at level 3 typically...or was it 4...been a while since I've used him...but it allows him to get to max level cleric with having a few mage spells in the mix. Makes for a potent combo. Plus his selection voices...pure gold, though I know some people are annoyed by him. I like him. I was so disappointed he wasn't playable in BG2. Plus it is the higher levels where necromancers start really shining. You don't really get a benefit out of one in BG1...not much beyond any other mage, anyway.

This, I never thought of doing this, but its a great idea!

[Miah]

I am confused about all the people saying Xan has the worst spell book when both Xzar and Dynaheir both exist.

[Godsarm]

Comes down to tactics, what works for one player and party may not suit another. I typically use the spell casters to buff the party and protect themselves. In combat my spell casters are mostly using Wands as a first strike (they go off immediately) and chipping away with some damage to the best protected or most dangerous enemies. I let the fighters carry the weight in BG1 with mostly ranged attacks. We don't take a lot of damage because we don't melee a lot and we certainly don't let enemy spell casters get a spell off to ruin our day. Even Daveorn found this out and he has all the advantages in his battle including being able to initiate dialog when you are invisible.

It works perfectly well for me, but others might not want to play that way. So if you found a great way to use a character that most of us never take, that's great. I found this out playing BG2 again a couple of years ago when I took Jan. I always looked down at him because he couldn't get Horrid Wilting, Skull Trap, Animate Dead etc...I forgot that he could still level as a Thief and when he got the HLA "Use Any Item" it totally changed things for him.