Imoen leveling for canon party

[bjack]

I'm running a full canon party in my first playthrough. (Jaheira Khalid Minsc Dynaheir)

Imoen is level 6 thief. When she leveled up, I dual classed her to mage and realized OOPS! no more trap/lock handling.

So should I reload and keep her pure thief, and continue plinking away with her shortbow?

[Wicket W. Warrick]

Not necessary. She will recover thief skills when she reaches level 7 for mage, that is 60k xp. Waiting or realoading it's up to you.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

When you dual-class Imoen, yep, you should pick up an alternative thief until her first class becomes available again. Safana, for example, is reachable early, and her personal quest can be solved in multiple ways. Stealth or invisibility as a highly recommended choice.

Perhaps even Montaron, if you don't go to the extreme with party reputation. Or Coran, provided you are far enough into Cloakwood at level 6.

[Hamish]

I must admit, I just keep her a thief. Dual Classing outside of picking up another thief or being a thief yourself is a pain in BG1. Plus she looks good in that shadow armour! Truth be told I don't keep her any more either, I like Coran better... just amazing with bows and can get his Pick Locks and find traps to 95 no problem in Enhanced Edition since when he joins, you can place 50 points in find traps right away, if the party average exp is 32k. two thief levels later he has 95 in both.

[mike_hanna211]

I would just leave her as a thief. She dual-classes into a mage in SoD automatically, so you're doing the effort early, and hindering your own play-through (assuming you're carrying on to SoD or BG2:EE).

I never have any issues with the canon party, and keeping her a thief. Dynaheir is perfectly capable by herself as an Invoker.

[bjack]

Well I stuck with mage dual class because it this is still a new experience for me with the whole 2nd ed rules in my first BG run ever. It was going just fine thief-less for a quite a while. I think she got 2 level ups into mage now. But now I just found myself magically teleported down inside a large maze. So I'm in a thief maze of traps with no thief.

OOF

I could be looking at an enormous amount of backtracking. I wouldn't remember were I could hire a new temp thief. And I don't think I can break up my party except for booting Imoen entirely?

[JC]

Where are people getting "cannon party" from? To my knowledge there isn't really a thing. Are you talking about people that show up in BG2? If so dynaheir would not be part of that.


I do find it odd though that people put Imoen in that category though, She was added to the GB2 as a thief/mage because it was a very popular power gaming move as she was basically a Custom class character that was one of the stronger ones verse an actual NPC. She has barks but that's it.

Imoen was only added to the game extremely late in development because they realized there was no "good" thief option early in the game. She basically is introduced, then may or may not show up to join the group depending on that, She never takes part again for the rest of the game.

IMO it's far more Cannon to leave her at candle keep and never know what happened till you find her in jail in BG2 but that's really not the issue here.. I just find it odd as all with how many people i've seen use the "cannon Party" phrase..

To me it's taking Jaheria, Kahlid, Xzar, and monty all the way to the end.. With lots of people changing as fillers along the way.

Oprindeligt skrevet af bjack:

But now I just found myself magically teleported down inside a large maze. So I'm in a thief maze of traps with no thief.

Use some magic resists, haste and trigger them with someone. It's traps and i forget what they are, but you gotta figure Fire and lightning are the most common and probably some summon triggers right?

[Clovis Sangrail]

I don't feel like anything is 'canon'; it's just 'the usual'. I picks who I likes.

And I don't feel like I have to have any continuity with BG2, either.

As for Imoen, I just pick her because we were buddies, and I figure we both stand a better chance if we stick together.

I tend not to dual her into a mage. If I'm playing a mage myself, there is no need to, and if I'm not a mage, I'll go get Neera just 'cause she's a hoot and leave Imoen as my thief.

I think I dualed Imoen once when I was playing a thief, and I didn't wait until level 6 either. I did it as soon as I could. if I recall correctly, she cannot be a specialist mage, so she cannot memorize as many spells as someone like Neera or Dynaheir.

But I don't play a thief very often, so Imoen generally just stays as a thief.

[JC]

No imoen can specialize, i forget which one it is.. Illusion i think though, it's been a long time since i did a play. I just grabbed the EE and getting ready to go.. I'm just finishing my current play through Dungeons of Naheulbeuk, what a fun little turn-based game and a bit simpler over all than the monster BG is.

anywho..

I'm trying to decide on my core group to, but there are so many fun little side quests.. The edwin/minsc/dynar which everyone knows but Garret/eldoth/ski is a major classic that a lot of people never see. I also just adore Alora and branawen (what's her name again lol) and the drow.. Wow totally drawing a blank, they have some really fun interactions.. Then toss in the gnomes/dwarves/druids and safana.. Yikes who do i choose lol

Maybe i should really map out my play first to get the max companions.. That could be a lot of fun.

[Clovis Sangrail]

Oprindeligt skrevet af JC:

No imoen can specialize, i forget which one it is.. Illusion i think though, it's been a long time since i did a play.

No. Imoen can only dual to a mage, not a specialist mage. I just tested it to make sure.

You are probably thinking of gnomes, the only race that can dual or multi as a specialist mage. Gnomes can only be Illusionists, so when you multiclass a gnome, your only options for a mage multi are fighter/illusionist, cleric/illusionist and illusionist/thief.

My current play-through is with Eddie, a gnome fighter/illusionist, and he is an awesome thing to behold. As a specialist mage, he started with 2 level 1 spells, instead of just 1, and with Evermemory, that's 4 level 1 spells right out of the starting gate. He can go hunt ankhegs by himself, but he takes Imoen with him in case there is a pocket that needs picked or a lock that needs unlocked along the way. Imoen also does the talking because Eddie's Charisma is a tad low.

[Wicket W. Warrick]

Oprindeligt skrevet af JC:

Where are people getting "cannon party" from? To my knowledge there isn't really a thing. Are you talking about people that show up in BG2? If so dynaheir would not be part of that.

Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Dynaer and Khalid are the NPCs that you find dead or alive in Irenicus dungeon at the beginning of BG2 , so in the second chapter they are supposed to be your companion so far (and SIege of Dragonspear explain why). That's why everyone (but you...) refer to them as "canon" party. It's also a powerful and well mixed party for good or neutral PC, easy to get very early in the game.
Then you can play with anyone you like, I think I never played with the full canon party.

[Teratus]

I always play with the canon party too, and I just don't bother duel classing Imoen.
Dynaheir covers my mage needs and I don't like having multiple of the same class in my main party. (unless it's my main)

All the other characters in the game I do pick up and use for brief periods of time, usually to complete their quests.
For example I take Xzar and Montaron to the Nashkel Mines.
Kivian and Ajantis I take to the Bandit Camp.
Branwen I take to fight Tranzig.
And I do the quests of the new NPC's such as Dorn etc.

While Minsc and Dynaheir do become part of the main party I tend to leave them until later in the game once I have collected most of if not all the extra characters and stashed them at the friendly arm inn which I use as a kind of Hub for NPC's lol

[Hamish]

Oprindeligt skrevet af JC:

Where are people getting "cannon party" from? To my knowledge there isn't really a thing. Are you talking about people that show up in BG2? If so dynaheir would not be part of that.

The Term "Cannon Party" may be older than you, I am sure I have seen it used as far back as 1999 at least. It simply refers to Jaheirs, Dynahair, Minsc, Kalid and Imoen because they are your first encounters in Johnny's dungeon i.e. you were travelling with them before you got caught by him.

[JC]

Oprindeligt skrevet af stef.corsi:

Oprindeligt skrevet af JC:

Where are people getting "cannon party" from? To my knowledge there isn't really a thing. Are you talking about people that show up in BG2? If so dynaheir would not be part of that.

Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, Dynaer and Khalid are the NPCs that you find dead or alive in Irenicus dungeon at the beginning of BG2 , so in the second chapter they are supposed to be your companion so far (and SIege of Dragonspear explain why). That's why everyone (but you...) refer to them as "canon" party. It's also a powerful and well mixed party for good or neutral PC, easy to get very early in the game.
Then you can play with anyone you like, I think I never played with the full canon party.

Ahh so it was added in Siege of Dragonspear then. In the original versions they just here there. No one knew how they got there, nothing was explained. He could of just as easily tracked down your known associates and those were the ones he found first before he found you and stopped. Lots of your other companions are around the city as well with no backstory on why they are there as well. It was an early RPG, but still it had a ton of plot holes between the first and second.

You killed him at the end of BG, then the start was everyone was in a dungeon with no clue how they got there. It is the one part of the game that i thought was poorly done, the way the import of the games went. When ya play a game 50 times before the second and it has zero reasons why those are the ones that are there, "cannon" doesn't really come to mind. Maybe i'll change my mind after playing Dragon spear.

Oprindeligt skrevet af Clovis Sangrail:

Oprindeligt skrevet af JC:

No imoen can specialize, i forget which one it is.. Illusion i think though, it's been a long time since i did a play.

No. Imoen can only dual to a mage, not a specialist mage. I just tested it to make sure.

then this was changed.. In the original she could actually specialize in a bunch of them. I was thinking illusion or enchanter because that is that is what i made her. (i recalled it was one of the ones that had white scrolls), but she can be a transmuter, conjurer, invoker as well. So i guess i will count this as another thing that has changed. Her stats are the same, but i guess they must be using different rules.

Oprindeligt skrevet af Teratus:

While Minsc and Dynaheir do become part of the main party I tend to leave them until later in the game once I have collected most of if not all the extra characters and stashed them at the friendly arm inn which I use as a kind of Hub for NPC's lol

No way.. the Jovial Juggler is where it's at.. You get a whole room all to yourself to stash your loot! *upstairs in the back :)

[Wicket W. Warrick]

Oprindeligt skrevet af JC:

When ya play a game 50 times before the second and it has zero reasons why those are the ones that are there, "cannon" doesn't really come to mind. Maybe i'll change my mind after playing Dragon spear.

I think you misunderstand the meaning of "canon" (and not "cannon" :) ).
In fictional universe it means a part of the plot that is considered (by famdom most of the time) true to the original story. In movie, in comics, in games, etc..
In BG it is something that the community uses to refer to this particular party composition since more than 20 years. It isn't something "in game", it's just that in the "Baldur's game multiverse" (with multiverse being all the possible playthrough), the playthrough with the canon party is the "universe" that best matches the story as it is presented to the player, at least for all of the millions of players (except you) in the las 20 years. If you play BG with the canon party, the very beginning of BG2 will be more dramatic and the story seems more "right" than consider them a group of unknown people.
Then you can play all the saga, ignoring them all (except Imoen), even killing them and there will be no major hole in the plot, as I said I never play the complete "canon" party. It isn't something related with the game, it's what the famdom thinks "right". It doesn't matter if you or I consider it canon or not, it matters that the famdom considered it to be so for almost 25 years. So the term is now of common use.
SoD was created years later, and it adds some reason to consider this party "canon", but this doesn't change anything, the "canon" party was worldwide recognized years earlier.

[bjack]

Oprindeligt skrevet af JC:

Oprindeligt skrevet af bjack:

But now I just found myself magically teleported down inside a large maze. So I'm in a thief maze of traps with no thief.

Use some magic resists, haste and trigger them with someone. It's traps and i forget what they are, but you gotta figure Fire and lightning are the most common and probably some summon triggers right?

This is a good idea. I shall buff up and "brute force" my way through the maze for now.