is Xzar trouble? [SPOILERS ARE WELCOME]

[Koss_Tea]

I just invited some shady folks into my squad. Some necromancer and his bodyguard or something. Xzar is CE and his friend Monty is NE. Both have manners of street thugs. Meanwhile my dwarf is NG and def won't deal with dangerous hoodlums

Can I trust them? Or should I expect betrayal, backstab, amsush for me or any other innocent people from them? I am greatly curious but I do not want to speedrun their quest, nor that I know how.

[Sstavix]

Unless you are playing an evil character or trying for an evil playthrough I would dump any evil party members ASAP. There's a god chance they will end up fighting with any of the good NPCs you pick up, so if you want a harmonious, cohesive party it's best to avoid evil ones entirely.

Take all their equipment before you dismiss them, though. Money is money.

[Centurion]

Sadly, there is only one betrayal in the games, and it comes in BG2. Unfortunately, the original BG1 NPCs lacked the depth to betray you. Or have plots at all (except the whole Minsc-Edwin thing.) The BG1 NPC Project gives them a little more personality but no backstabbing (to you, anyway.)

The real trouble is that they are just really, really weak. Edwin is a much better evil wizard (or Baeloth) and there are tons of thieves better than Monty. They are more comical than anything else. However, there is a way (CD Tweaks) to make Monty an assassin, which is kind of cool. But, sadly, even then he will remain as loyal as Ajantis.

[cachmandrake]

"Good" characters will leave you if your reputation falls too low.
"Bad" characters will leave you if your reputation is too high.
Certain characters will fight each other if they're on the party at the same time.

I'm still on my first playthrough ever but so far I've been able to recruit and hold every character I've met (I dump them all on the Friendly Arm Inn when I'm not using them).

My reputation is getting a tad too high, maybe I'll have to murder a guard or two to avoid people bailing on me.

[Koss_Tea]

Originally posted by cachmandrake:

"Good" characters will leave you if your reputation falls too low.
"Bad" characters will leave you if your reputation is too high.
Certain characters will fight each other if they're on the party at the same time.

Ah, the classic of old RPG morality system, love it

[Unexpected]

do what the above posts said, if you are playing a good guy then dump the shady characters asap, you'll find good aligned companions with similar powers later anyways

[Peter]

Xzar and Montaron won't fight good companions if the MC has charisma 20. I've recently played with Khalid, Jaheira, Xzar, Montaron and Kivan in one group... they didn't start fighting each other. However, I wouldn't recommend this group to a new player.

[Nooneyouknow]

Originally posted by Peter:

Xzar and Montaron won't fight good companions if the MC has charisma 20. I've recently played with Khalid, Jaheira, Xzar, Montaron and Kivan in one group... they didn't start fighting each other. However, I wouldn't recommend this group to a new player.

This is a myth. Charisma doesn't have any affect in it, only banters, and those are completely random even though they seem like they should have an order. If you keep moving and don't waste a lot of time, there's a very high chance you can get through the entire game without any companion fights. Also aside from Ajantis, party conflicts aren't alignment issues, but specific pairs:

Jaheira and Xzar will fight start a fight in one specific banter

Montaron and Khalid will start a fight in a specific banter

Dynaheir will attack Edwin in a specific banter

Kagain will attack Yeslick in a specific banter

Ajantis will eventually attack any evil party member if Xan isn't in the group

There's also a couple of companions that just can't be in the group at the same time depending on the order you recruit them, but if you manage to get them in the party of the same time, with exception of Ajantis attacking Dorn, they won't come to blows.

Anyway, by default in the original BG2 and both Enhanced Editions, party banters have only a 10% chance of occurring every 10 minutes. Also The banters that cause fights to break out between pairs cannot occur in dungens, just towns and maybe fields iirc.

Edit: I missed one. Kivan will eventually attack Viconia.

[Centurion]

Don't forget that the EE NPCs DO have quests and personalities. Ajantis and Dorn are automatic!

[Peter]

Originally posted by Nooneyouknow:

This is a myth.

No, it's not. I've finished BG1 so many times with mixed parties, that I'm 100% convinced that charisma has a huge impact on relationships. If the MC has charisma 20, the bloodshed will never happen (this means in 30-40 hours of playing BG1). The only exception is the conflict between Ajantis and Dorn.
It's very easy to check the effect of charisma directly in the game. Just start playing with a new character that has charisma 3 and then compare it to another character that has charisma 17. I will see a huge difference in the behavior of your companions. 😉

[Nooneyouknow]

Originally posted by Peter:

Originally posted by Nooneyouknow:

This is a myth.

No, it's not. I've finished BG1 so many times with mixed parties, that I'm 100% convinced that charisma has a huge impact on relationships. If the MC has charisma 20, the bloodshed will never happen (this means in 30-40 hours of playing BG1). The only exception is the conflict between Ajantis and Dorn.
It's very easy to check the effect of charisma directly in the game. Just start playing with a new character that has charisma 3 and then compare it to another character that has charisma 17. I will see a huge difference in the behavior of your companions. 😉

It is 100% a myth. Open banttimg.2da in nearinfinity, or just a text editor, change the probably to 100 from 10 and lower the timing and watch the two pairs fight within minutes. Charisma has nothing to do with this file at all.

[Peter]

Originally posted by Nooneyouknow:

Originally posted by Peter:

No, it's not. I've finished BG1 so many times with mixed parties, that I'm 100% convinced that charisma has a huge impact on relationships. If the MC has charisma 20, the bloodshed will never happen (this means in 30-40 hours of playing BG1). The only exception is the conflict between Ajantis and Dorn.
It's very easy to check the effect of charisma directly in the game. Just start playing with a new character that has charisma 3 and then compare it to another character that has charisma 17. I will see a huge difference in the behavior of your companions. 😉

It is 100% a myth. Open banttimg.2da in nearinfinity, or just a text editor, change the probably to 100 from 10 and lower the timing and watch the two pairs fight within minutes. Charisma has nothing to do with this file at all.

After dozens of no-reload runs, I haven't seen a single fight between good and evil companions. I'm not changing anything in the game files.

[Nooneyouknow]

Originally posted by Peter:

Originally posted by Nooneyouknow:

It is 100% a myth. Open banttimg.2da in nearinfinity, or just a text editor, change the probably to 100 from 10 and lower the timing and watch the two pairs fight within minutes. Charisma has nothing to do with this file at all.

After dozens of no-reload runs, I haven't seen a single fight between good and evil companions. I'm not changing anything in the game files.

You aren't seeing the fights because the chance of banter is low, happens very infrequently, and fight banter can't happen in dungeons at all.

[Peter]

Originally posted by Nooneyouknow:

You aren't seeing the fights because the chance of banter is low, happens very infrequently, and fight banter can't happen in dungeons at all.

Now you are wrong. I have seen Montaron constantly provoke Khalid throughout the campaign. But they didn't fight. 😉

[Nooneyouknow]

Originally posted by Peter:

Originally posted by Nooneyouknow:

You aren't seeing the fights because the chance of banter is low, happens very infrequently, and fight banter can't happen in dungeons at all.

Now you are wrong. I have seen Montaron constantly provoke Khalid throughout the campaign. But they didn't fight. 😉

Again, that's because only one specific interaction can cause the fight to start, not just verbal jabs. They don't add up over time. Charimsa affecting party morale and stopping party members from fighting is just something from the original manual that was never implemented. Just like the dexterity reaction adjustment also affects absolutely nothing.

I've told you how easily you can test this, but you refused to do so.

[Koss_Tea]

Honestly, I was just asking if Xzar gonna try and betray me, or suddenly assault innocent NPCs out of impulse, but I guess he won't. I have enough experience in RPGs to develop paranoia towards strangers asking for help, lol