Hi, Wild & Lemming,
Heh, I just couldn't make up my mind what to do with that team, so, while I was thinking about it (and waiting for feedback from here), I... created a new character. :p
Typical pattern with me and adventure/rpg games. Create so many characters, I never finish the game. But, I have lots of fun anyway!
I had been thinking about Jaheira's build, thinking that a fighter/druid was a wierd mix, that a fighter/cleric would be better (however, at that time, I had the wrong impression of what armor a fighter/druid could wear - it's better than I first thought). So, I went to the char creation screen, mostly just to play around, thinking of trying a fighter/cleric build, and somehow, it morphed into a Gnome fighter/illusionist char. Still don't know how that happened! :p
Anyway, after about 5 minutes of rolling I got a 92 roll (the highest I've ever gotten), so I decided I better actually create a character, and take advantage of that roll. Karnos has 18/50 STR, 18 DEX (IIRC), 16 CON, 18 INT, and WIS & CHR around 9-10 each.
The very first char I created in BG was a plain fighter, and I got very frustrated on the way to the FAI, with how much damage he took, and no healing available but a couple of potions. That's why I moved to a mage/cleric build. Now that I know better how to play the game, that wasn't as big a problem.
I decided to try something different. This time I recruited Ajantis, dumped Montaron and Xzar at the FAI, added Khalid and Jaheira, and went with a 5-person team to Beregost. That wasn't a problem, so I stuck with it to see how it went. Well, I ended up clearing most of the sectors around Beregost AND Nashkell with just the 5. Only a couple of battles gave me much trouble (Greywolf was actually pretty easy).
I had bought the Sling +1 from the Beregost smithy, and gave Jaheira the Staff +1 (from Silkie?). I bought a long bow for Karnos to use fairly early, then a Comp. long bow (he has specializations in bow and long sword). Then I bought a short bow +1 for Imoen. This gave me a pretty potent ranged attack. For quite a while, Ajantis and Khalid had to stick with plain swords, but eventually Ajantis got Varcona from Greywolf, and Imoen's lock pick ability got high enough to get the bastard sword +1 from the smith's chest. Eventually I realized that Jaheira could wear Splint Mail (an extra I had on hand), and wasn't restricted to lighter armor as I had thought for quite a while. Since she has specialization in blunt weapons, with the quarterstaff +1, she can do melee in a pinch, as can Karnos.
I was quite pleased with this bunch (well, except for some personality issues
). Herding 5 around the landscape was just a bit easier and quicker than 6. I lost a little carrying capacity (though Karnos has a carrying capacity of 280, which partly makes up for only having 5 backs). And this way, these probably-permanent characters level up a bit faster (I decided early, not to waste any more level-up points on Montaron/Xzar than I had to).
I suspect that this group wouldn't have much trouble getting through the Nashkell Mines, but I decided to add someone, anyway. But who? Minsc or Branwen? But then I had another thought. I had gotten a halberd +1, and stashed it, rather than selling it right away. I looked through a list of NPC's for spear users (only 3, IIRC), and lo-and-behold, Kivan has specialization in spear (the only one who starts with 2 dots in spears, IIRC). So, I went to High Hedge and recruited Kivan, giving him the Halberd +1, better armor, and a Comp. long bow.
So, Ajantis is my usual point man (btw, I gave him Algernon's cloak, so he has CHR of 19!). Kivan usually does melee, but can use bow when the battle allows. Khalid usually does bow, but can melee when necessary (as can Jaheira or Karnos). Rep is 18 already, and I'm not out of chapter 2!
I'm not positive I will keep this team through the game. I still might dump Khalid and/or Jaheira. But I think this is a possible finishing team. It might be a bit of a waste to use Kivan mostly as a melee fighter, when he could be a great archer. Maybe Minsc & Dynaheir would be a good addition, then shift Kivan to mostly bow. But Khalid makes a good archer, too, and Jaheira's healing skills are certainly handy, so I just might stick with this team to see how it plays out, and consider dumping Khalid/Jaheira with the Iolanthe party, if I get back to that team. For the moment, I find this team more interesting, and will probably continue with this one.
Thanks for your answers, I will try to get back to respond to some of your specific comments, but I'm out of time.
Regards,
Dako-ta