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NPC Page
Notes and advice on acquiring each of the BG II NPCs
click on the portrait above or the name below
Aerie, Anomen Delryn, Cernd, Edwin Odesseiron, Haer'Dalis, Imoen, Jaheira, Jan Jansen, Keldorn Firecam, Korgan Bloodaxe, Mazzy Fentan, Minsc, Nalia de' Arnise, Valygar Corthala, Viconia DeVir, Yoshimo
NPC Summary 1 - stats, attributes, etc
NPC Summary 2 - location and skills
Aerie is located in the Circus Tent next to the Adventurer's Mart in Waukeen's Promenade. You have to have some minor battles but they are pretty easy. If you don't have a fighter or fighter type class, you may have to use Minsc to help kill the two doppelgangers. Until you kill them, Aerie won't join your party.
Once you get Aerie to join, have her memorize 'Haste' (you did remember to buy a haste spell before you entered the circus, didn't you) and 'Magic Missile.' You can then zip straight through the first level without having to worry about the Doppelgangers. Have your fighter types attack the Gnome with melee weapons. Aerie should get in a couple volleys of Magic Missile. Ignore all the monsters except for the Gnome. Pretty easy, really.
If you dump Aerie, you can always find her back at the Circus.
Anomen is in the Copper Coronet. As long as you don't piss him off, he will join your party. If you make him really mad, he will stomp off and disappear forever. However, the responses of 'None of your business' will allow him to stay in the Copper Coronet until you really want him.
He will also return to the Copper Coronet if you remove him from your party.
Cernd can be found in Trademeet. You open up the Trademeet area by talking to ???? in the City Gates.
When you arrive in Trademeet, you will have to fight (or run from) some wild animals. Visit (or run to) the Mayor's office and talk to Logan. He will open up the cell so that you can meet Cernd.
If you get rid of Cernd, you will have to travel to the Druid Grove to pick him up again. Very inconvenient.
Edwin is a mess to get. Even though you never have to leave Athkatla, you have to do a small series of quest before he will join.
First, talk to Renal Bloodscalp in the Docks area. Minsc and other goodly types may complain about dealing with thieves but they will stick with you. You then visit Mae'Var, Edwin, Edwin and Mae'Var again for some quests.
The quest to kill Rae Gethras can be quite difficult. He has a very annoying habit of casting Stoneskin and the only spell to break it, Breach, is not available to anyone yet. I think (but am not quite sure) that Flame Strike and other fire based spells may work... unless he has cast some spell protections.
One cheesy tactic is to send one fighter in and force Gethras to use up a couple of spells; if you make your saving throw, scoot downstairs to your buddies (and hope he doesn't follow you). Once you have made Gethras use most of his nasty spells (Finger of Death, Confusion, etc.), make a mad rush (that is, use 'Haste') and have all your characters pummel him until he falls.
This works pretty well but twice I lost Minsc in these battles. No big deal, just bring him to the temple and get him resurrected if he didn't get blown to small chunky bits.
Another issue are the golems on the second floor. Usually you can buff up a cleric (or someone else with a mace); Haste does wonders. Small hint: Minsc can wield a Mace (two '*') and there is a Mace+2 available in the small Thieve's Guild.
Edwin hangs out at the Copper Coronet if you dismiss them but I doubt that he likes anyone there, either.
I found Haer'Dalis to be the toughest NPC to acquire. The first problem is the thugs in the sewer that are partially blocking the entrace to Melkrath's Tower. Once you get past those guys, Melkrath himself is no slouch. Low or mid-level characters can struggle quite a bit with him and his nasty wizard spells.
A couple of 'cheesy' tactics exist, however. To get by the sewer thugs, you can always cast Invisible (assuming you have a Mage) and just sneak by them. Haste also helps because one of those guys seems to cast 'True Seeing' occasionally. If you don't have a Mage, you will have to fight them. Luring one out a time is very helpful, but sometimes they attack in force which creates some very ugly problems. I also tried to lure them to the center of the sewer, and then dodge around them in the other direction so that I could enter the tower without interference. I never got that tactic to work well but I believe it can be done.
A really easy way to get at Melkrath is if you have a mage or cleric that can summon animals. Just keep throwing your summoned creatures into his little lair. After you run out of summoning spells, rest and repeat. You never actually have to enter his lair except for the first time to initiate the contact. Eventually (about the third or fourth summoning), Melkrath will throw a Lightning Bolt or Chained Lightning after his protection has run out and he basically just commits suicide. You can then saunter in and pick his goodies, and then talk to Haer'Dalis.
One conversation line with Haer'Dalis requires you to go back to the Five Flagons Inn, which is too much of a nuisance. (In fact, one time I did that but forgot to bring back the gemstone required - bummer). Just talk to Haer'Dalis in the same goofy manner in which he speaks and he will join up.
Haer'Dalis will return to the playhouse at the Five Flagon's Inn in the Bridge District when removed from your party.
Imoen is the ony character you cannot keep from joining your party. You can dump her after she joins up but I usually only do that for my solo characters. She has a couple of valuable spells (Haste and Fireball) and carry stuff to the surface for you. Anything she is carrying will be dumped on the ground near your party after your encounter with Irenicus.
Those parties that require Imoen will obviously not be able to get for some time, so will have to wander around Imoen-less.
Jaheira is one of the first dungeon NPCs and thus very easy to pick up. I like her for her 'Protection from Fire' spell which I usually cast on Minsc before I send him into a fracas where I can then lob a Fireball or two.
Jaheira will also not give you a second chance in the conversation mode if you remove her from your party. However, she can always be found in the Docks area.
Jan Jansen can be found in the Government District pushing his turnips and spouting turnip philosophy. You have to tell a small lie in order to get him but that's about it. And of course, you have to listen to his incessant ramblings about turnips, family history and pretty much any other subject in the world. I find him exceptionally humerous but many others can't stand him. Including Mazzy.
If dismissed, he can be found tending turnips is the slum area.
Keldorn is easy to get if you are careful. You can only find him in the Sewers after you the 'Unseeing Eye' encounter in the Temple District and then visiting the appropriate temple. If you are a weak character, stay to the southern route to avoid the more nasty monsters in the north and central part of the sewer. Either 'Invisible' or 'Haste' (potions or spells) will get you through. Once he joins you, he is strong enough to take care of the minor monsters you find in the sewer.
When you release Keldorn, he returns to his Order (of the Radiant Heart?).
Korgan is one of the three NPCs in the Copper Coronet and is easy to pick up. Just agree to go on a little Tomb Raiding expedition with him.
Great strength, lousy attitude (unless you like killing everything). If you get tired of him, he will return to the Copper Coronet.
Mazzy can be tough or relatively easy to get depending upon your party makeup. You need someone who is good at fighting Undead as I haven't found a way to sneak by and get her free (yet).
To start the mission, you need to talk to the little boy in the center of the Government District and agree to save his town. This opens up the Umar Hills area. When you get to the Umar Hills, you can stay to the far south of the map (to avoid the contact with the village if you don't want to start that quest yet) and then just head due west. When you enter Merella's cabin, read the note to update your map with the 'Temple Ruins' region.
When you get to the 'Temple Ruins' you will have to deal with the Shades protecting the dungeon entrance. If you don't want to fight them, just Haste or Invisible someone to turn on the mirror, and then just lure all the baddies onto the little platform where they will be automatically fired. Too bad you don't get any experience points for them.
Inside the dungeon, you have to face a few shade wolves, skeletons and a couple of other Undead. This can be tough unless you have a good strong fighter to handle them (or a Cleric you can buff up).
Mazzy herself is a great fighter, especially with Bows (five '*'); also she can cast 'Haste' on herself which is very effective.
When dismissed, she returns to her family in Trademeet.
I really, really like Mazzy. Hmm... I wonder if she's busy Saturday night?
Minsc is undoubtedly the crowd favorite. Easy to pick up (in the first dungeon) and has some very valuable early game skills (two-handed sword, long bow and mace, all two '*'). You can also find the Sword of Chaos+2 in the first dungeon, which makes Minsc almost mandatory for some of the weaker groups starting out.
If you dump Minsc (and Boo), you will find him lounging about at the Copper Coronet.
It's just my personal preference but I don't really like Nalia. I only include her when I have to. She does have reasonable Thieving and Magic skills so she is of some use. But her condescending attitude bugs the hell out of me.
You can find her easily enough at the Copper Coronet but she will nag you incessantly about visiting her home to rescue everyone. She is the only character I have had walk out on me because I waited too long to visit her home on her quest. It was easily fixed as I just visited the de'Arnise Keep and had her rejoin. Give her a song-and-dance about fixing her problem right away but then go about your business (in this case, I was still trying to pick up Haer'Dalis). That seemed to quiet her down for a few more days.
Man, what a pain in the butt.
But if you must find her after removing her from the party, she can be found at the Copper Coronet.
Valygar is easy to get but the logistics are slightly messy. First visit the boy in the Government District to open up the Umar Hills. Then you have to travel across the map to the Northwest corner to his cabin.
You will run across some Rangers who I usually just avoid but that means giving up the goodies they carry. But unless you have a strong party, those Rangers will probably take you down.
(The character Mokin Glott will have to face them as they carry one of his 'Class Quest' items. Once they disappear, they don't come back.)
If dismissed, Valygar returns to his cabin in the Umar Hills.
To get Viconia to join, you must save her from burning at the stake by releasing her and then fighting three tough crowd members. If you are unprepared, you will be toast (heh-heh). But proper care should get you through. Have a strong, hasted fighter attack the archer in the northwest corner will the others attack the other archer. I ignore the third guy (a Cleric?) until the first two fighters are down.
You will lose two reputation points for saving Viconia but the conversations between her and the other NPCs are priceless. I particularly like the ones she has with Jan.
For some odd reason, Viconia hangs out in the Graveyard District of Athkatla when dismissed. No accounting for taste...
Yoshimo is the last character to pick up in the first dungeon. If you need a Thief type, Yoshimo is a great choice. He uses Short Bows and has good thieving skills. He is the only character I allocate some points to traps as he is a Bounty Hunter and can do some cool stuff with them.
If Yoshimo is dumped, he will return to the Copper Coronet.
NPC Summary
Summary 1Name Location Melee Weapon Skills Missile Skills Weapon Style Aerie Circus Club+, Mace+, Qtr Staff+ Sling+ Anomen Copper Coronet War Hammer+, Mace+ Sling++ Sword & Shield Style+ Cernd Trademeet Jail Scimitar+, Dagger+, Qtr Staff+ Sling+ Edwin Docks District Dagger+, Quarter Staff+ Haer'Dalis Mekrath's Tower Short Sword++, Dagger+, Dart+ Two Weapon Style++ Imoen Irenicus Dungeon Dagger+, Qtr Staff+, Dart+ Short Bow+ Jaheira Irenicus Dungeon Scimitar+, Club++, Qtr Staff+ Sling+ Single Weapon Style+ Jan Jansen Government Dist. Short Sword+, Dagger+, Qtr Staff+ Crossbow+ Keldorn Temple District Long Sword++, Two-Handed Swd++ Crossbow++ Korgan Copper Coronet Axe+++++, Hammer+ Mazzy Temple Ruins Short Sword+ Short Bow+++++ Minsc Irenicus Dungeon 2-Handed Sword++, Mace++ Long Bow++ 2-Weapon Style++ Nalia Copper Coronet Short Sword+, Dagger+, Qtr Staff+ Short Bow+ Viconia Government Dist. War Hammer+, Mace+ Sling+ Valygar Umar Hills Katana++, Spear++ Long Bow++ 2-Weapon Style++ Yoshimo Irenicus Dungeon Katana+, Dagger+ Short Bow+ Single Weapon Style+
Name Class Race/Sex/Alignment HP AC Str De Co In Wi Ch
Aerie Cleric/Mage Elf Female LG 42 7 10 17 9 16 16 14
Anomen Cleric/Fighter Human Male LN 101 2 18:52 10 16 10 12 13
Cernd Shapeshifter Human Male TN 80 9 13 9 13 12 18 15
Edwin Conjurer Human Male LE 58 10 10 10 16 18 10 10
Haer'Dalis Blade Tiefling Male CN 65 7 17 17 9 15 13 16
Imoen Mage/Thief Human Female NG 57 6 9 18 16 17 11 16
Jaheira Fighter/Druid Half-Elf Female TN 51 7 15 17 17 10 14 15
Jan Jansen Illusionist/Thief Gnome Male CN 51 6 9 17 15 16 14 10
Keldorn Paladin Human Male LG 118 0 17 9 17 12 16 18
Korgan Beserker Dwarf Male CE 138 2 18:77 15 19 12 9 7
Mazzy Fighter Halfling Female LG 110 1 15 18 16 10 13 14
Minsc Ranger Human Male NG 69 8 18:93 16 16 8 6 9
Nalia Mage/Thief Human Female NG 57 6 14 18 16 17 9 13
Valygar Stalker Human Male NG 112 -2 17 18 16 10 11 10
Viconia Cleric Drow Female NE 72 6 10 19 8 16 18 14
Yoshimo Bounty Hunter Human Male TN 38 4 17 18 16 13 10 14
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