Do I take a penalty for removing party members?

[leafs43]

I'd like to collect and do all companion quests (I am a bit ocd like that).


But to do so I'll need to constantly reform my party.

I do know that you shouldn't remove a romance from a party or have certain party members with other party members. But I wanna know if just by removing regualr, non-romantic members has a penalty.

[ÄmJii]

"non-active" party members won't gain EXP.

If you drop level 2 Ranger from your group and come back when your party is roughly level 4-5, that Ranger is still at level 2.

[Hopper]

This link goes into detail about removing companions.

http://baldursgate.wikia.com/wiki/Companion

[Hentaru]

You can collect them all. You just have to know which route to go (for instance which order to recruit due to quests or who you need in the party to recruit them, etc). Basically, there is no penalty for kicking them out unless:

-They kicked themselves out... meaning leave on their own accord for various reasons (reputation changes, disputes with other NPC party members, you did not complete their quest in time, etc). They leave permanently.
-You kick them out as part of/result of a quest... they may become upset and perma-leave.
-You recruited them with a proper repuation (low for evil, high for good, etc) but when you remove them your reputation is out of their range... they will insult you and perma-leave. Just keep rep mid-range for everyone.
-You missed your chance to recruit them... some NPCs will only offer/be available once and will leave if you don't immediately accept them into your party... keep this in mind when adventuring with a full party.
-As mentioned above, they will not gain XP when not in the party (after kicking them out). They will "gain" XP (auto-level) based on the level you recruit them at but....
-Whatever level (higher/lower) you recruit them is how much the computer will auto-level them (to match your level range). There a FEW NPCs that are good at slightly higher levels because the game auto levels them with nice spells or whatever but overall its best to nab the ones you really want asap and so you can choose their abilities/proficiencies for yourself.

Thats all I can think of. As long as they don't leave on their own (inparty conflicts, quest choices) and your reputation is within their range they should just stay whereever you leave them and happily rejoin later. I generally collect them all and drop them off around the tables at the bar area of the Friendly Arm Inn (in groups that I feel would "like/associate" with each other lol).