Favoite recruitable NPC's and why?

I love Qara - she is completely nuts! I know when I play my Sorceror I won't have use, but playing non-hardcore (i.e. no friendly fire) it is great to know that she is there to reign destruction with reckless abandon!

Oh, not recruitable (yet?) but had to share this:

I have definalty seen a post talking aobut how they loved the Bard, so it must be later in the game, not sure when so far not in the 1st chapter.

I don't like Qara as much, very annoying to talk to then I saw here alligment, certianly more accurate than the way Neeska is being played.

Edit
Opps wrong Bard, I hadn't left Neverwinter yet so it probably was the one you run into on the road.
It is very funny when you bring the two together, wish it would have been in a cutscence with voice acting.

Khelgar is probably my favourite, or Elanee(or however it's spelled, the druid). Elanee is incredibly powerful if used right - her AoE spells only affect enemies in most cases, unlike mage/sorcerer spells at hardcore difficulty. She's also a decent healer.

Sand is also hilarious, have to love that guy!

SPOILER:
You can get Deekin as a merchant in your stronghold later, but never as a party member.

I was glad to see Deekin in the game. Even if he isn't more then a merchant, it was just a nostalgic touch to see him. lol

Yep, and he's still cute, hehe.

Khelgar, Sand and Elanee ended up my favorites and Khelgar topped the list. It felt great to complete his trials.

I was sad that I could not get Neeshka and Qara to "grow up". Had that option been in the game I might have had more respect for them.

I was a bit sad they crippled Deekin I took him very far in HotU and I always felt he was destined for greatness.

Originally Posted by JemyM
I was sad that I could not get Neeshka and Qara to "grow up". Had that option been in the game I might have had more respect for them.

I soo much wanted to teach Qara the value of discipline and Neeshka the rewards of altruism. But in the end the "influence" system is just about agreeing with the NPC all the time. There are never any situations where you have a chance to change someone's opinion, etc.

I do think there should be SOME agreeing and encouragement to gain influence, but there should be ways to work in your own philosophy as well.

In the end poor Qara never learned and got what was coming to her (i.e. - my +3 arrows in her chest).

Originally Posted by elkston
There are never any situations where you have a chance to change someone's opinion, etc.

KotOR 2 had less of what felt like real influence but more opportunity to change others. I would love real symmetric influence.

Originally Posted by Acleacius
I have definalty seen a post talking aobut how they loved the Bard, so it must be later in the game, not sure when so far not in the 1st chapter…

Great, and I just sold all the killer Bard stuff that my party had been lugging around!

My favorite is Khelgar the Dwarf

I love Khelgar and Casavair…though that's purely romantic for my female character LOL! I do like Qara though for her spells. I just don't talk to her so she doesn't annoy me too much. I also like Jerro though he's a jerk too. My party's usually:

Khelgar
Casavair
Qara
Zhjaeve who is occasionally interchanged for Jerro

I would imagine that a party is largely dependent on the type of character YOU'RE playing. Mine is a fighter/NW9 so I like to bring casters and Zhjaeve for healing.

Ammon Jerro, Bishop and Qara for having both personality and attitude. I didn't really find the NPCs on the good side of the spectrum that interesting, but Khelgar was nicely fleshed out, despite being the embodiment of one of the oldest fantasy clichés. I was rather bummed when I finished his quest and turned him into a monk, finding that his use had suddenly greatly diminished.

Actually, he can be as powerful as a monk as he is as a fighter, but only later in the game when he's properly equipped and reaches full monk potential. I finished almost the entire 2nd phase of the boss fight with Khelgar as a monk alone, because the rest had been butchered, something I could not have done with him as a fighter(I tried during my 2nd run through the game; I've had him as both a fighter and monk in the final fight).

Oh yeah, you have to give him 15 dexterity and circle kick in order to make him good as a monk. Give him a decent robe, pendant of wisdom +4 or more, and belt/gauntles of Ironfist and he's a great tank, even as a monk.

I plowed through the original NWN, Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark as a monk so don't underestimate the power of the monks. Heck, Kelgar himself told you that the only time he'd really gotten a beating was by monks

Of course, it doesn't hurt things either that there is a small bug in the game that allows you to keep all the strength attribute increases at 4/8/12/16/20 level you probably have given him as a fighter even as you're getting new increases when you level him as a monk.

I have to admit that when talking to Zhavee about her race and she mentions Dakkon I got shivers running down my spine

I really suck at playing evil characters (it just feels so wrong most of the time) so I think I'll be hard pressed to "allow" myself to gain any influence with Bishop but some of the comments he's made so far are really striking … in a sadistic "I'm a real *sshole" kind of way

I do agree that the choice of party members is heavily based on your own class. Currently I'm a fighter/NW9 like Kalia so I haven't spend much time with Casavair and without spells or lockpicking ability I NEED Neeshka and with 2 melee units already the remaining slots are usually reserved for spell casters.

I can't wait to replay it as a Warlock … and a monk … and a dual wielding ranger … and cleric … and … well, I guess I'll have plenty of opportunity to get to know the lot of them intimately

You don't actually need Neeshka. I prefer to bring along an extra healer instead, and simply march over traps and bash chests/doors, then use the healer taking Neeshkas place to heal the few hitpoints lost due to traps. Either that or take Khelgar as a monk and run around, his dodge chances and such are so high that most traps either miss him or is resisted so he takes 0 damage.

Ever since BG2 I've found the rogue class to be somewhat useless compared to the alternatives. In BG2 rogues were absoluttely needed, due to certain traps that killed instantly and could not be disarmed by anone other than rogues.

Sort of like Bards. Ever since they lost their spins and stoneskin in BG2, they're simply not as useful anymore. Don't get me wrong, their songs and spells are still useful, just not as useful as the alternative: High level clerics, wizards or sorcerers casting high end spells(wail of the banshee, bombardment, meteor shower, mass heal etc).

The thing is: Obsidian also made KoTOR2 and just like in that game there is high probability of ending up with quite a nice collection of "Broken Items" in NWN2 if you choose to bash the locked containers.

Of course you don't NEED the items that breaks (it would be a pretty glaring flaw if plot items could be broken like that) but still ….

I have to admit that I was actually well into Act 2 before I figured out that the right click menu actually DID work if you just hold down the button until it appears. So the first act and a half I really did NEED Neeshka since I didn't know you COULD bash doors/containers

You can change how quickly the menu pops up!!

There's always Knock, if you have a wiz or sorc around.

Originally Posted by Corwin
You can change how quickly the menu pops up!!

Ah Nuts! I never even considered that option was for the right click menu. I imagined it was for something else entirely so I've never even tried changing the delay timing. D'oh!

Well, I'm off to try it out. Thanks for the tip

That's what we're here for!!

Bishop hands down! I was disappointed that he is not actual romance option so I've downloaded bishop romance mod and enjoying it!

Apart from Bishop I like sand… that's about it. Rest are all annoying esp Casavir…