The Wiki page Importing describes which items can be carried over, and a bit about where they will appear in BG2 if successfully brought over.

I can't comment on the importance of a thief since as I mentioned above, I don't have Siege of Dragonspear. However, I'd be a bit surprised if the game let you get by without one. I recall reading that there are other options for thieves in Siege of Dragonspear, so even without Imoen, you have the option of having a thief in the party.

If your hero is not specifically resistant to missile damage, then he is probably just enjoying the effects of having such good AC that archers can only strike him with a critical hit.

imo you will have a harder time in Tob without mages apart from your sister of course but you clearly like melee

as for special items there is the Locket of Embracing and a very nice outfit for Imoen that is easy to get with a thief and almost impossable without because traps count as +3 magic... Sod on normal does not NEED a thief because you can open locks with a spell and traps are not so deadly. I still think a thief is worth taking but you don't need one

p.s, its easy to reach -10 armour in BG1 with the items I have already posted... assuming you are also happy to carry a shield then your pally can getto -11 max in Bg1 & by the time you reach Bg2 armour doesn't matter as much unless you have a blade which can max out at -25 and -20 is pretty easy for that class so you normally don't need to max out armour after Bg1

I seem to remember reading that, in BG2, AC can't go below -24.


Aerie is also a mage, and with the ability to put cleric spells in sequencers, can do tricks that no other companion can.

Iron Skins is 5th level. (Same level as that Raise Dead knock-off that she gets.)

Once you get 4th level, there's a spell that can summon a monster capable of casting Mass Cure (which is a 5th level healing spell); that may be preferable over just casting Cure Serious Wounds yourself.

Interestingly, in BG2 classic (not EE), there was actually a brief moment where you could access your inventory before the script runs; this would allow you to put your items on the floor, and therefore transfer them.

(This reminds me of a similar glitch in Final Fantasy Legend 2, though that glitch wasn't useful, as the only thing you could do there was to get an uninitialized party member that's (initially) weaker than a starting character.)

Well, I managed it years ago, so who's to say I won't manage it again? SoD and the necessity (or lack thereof) for a Thief are more of my concern.

Close to finishing Chapter 5. Everyone's at least level 7 (if not one or two level 8 characters ATM). Before I handled the Seven Suns and all that, I'm trying to get side stuff and TotSC content done. Of the latter, Ice Island is done. I'm eyeing Durlag's Tower next and then probably finish up with Werewolf Island, because I remember I need +3 weapons for the final boss of the latter. I'm starting to regret having my hero take War Hammer proficiency instead of the Bastard Sword. Definitely aiming to have him using Longswords (at least for early on in the game, and so I can at least use the Blade of Roses for dealing with merchant prices), Flails (for the Flail of Ages) and Two-handed Swords (Carsomyr, anyone?) for BG2. I may be tempted to download EEKeeper to fix that. A shame this version of the game doesn't have the lump-together proficiencies like the original version did, because then my Cavalier or Khalid could just easily use Kondar and the Sword of Balduran no problem. :(

I realize I'm showing up rather late, but hopefully my commentary isn't entirely outdated.

Also, I'm using the non-EE version, so YMMV.

I just checked my relatively end-game save, and my Dwarf Fighter (no kit) has an AC of -9, so your -7 may be pretty close to the max.

My AC stuff:
18 Dex
Full Plate
Ring of Protection +2
Large Shield +2 (+1 vs Missile)
Cloak of Balduran
Girdle of Bluntness (+4 vs Blunt)

The character screen reported the following (probably mostly from the Full Plate and the Girdle)
Crushing: -4
Missile: -4
Piercing: -3
Slashing: -4

Good luck with Durlag's! That one was pretty rough.

Keep in mind that Proficiency with a weapon just removes the penalty for wielding it as a weapon; as long as your class isn't blocked from using Long Swords (ex. Mage), then you can hold the Blade Of Roses for the merchant bonus just fine, and you can swap to something else for actual combat.

If you want to go into Two Handers, there's a decent one in Irenicus' Dungeon you can use instead of spending proficiency points in both Long Swords and Two Handed Swords. I used Long Swords the whole time in both of my SoA runs; there are plenty of viable long swords around.

Well, from my previous experience in SoA, I found profiency in Longswords to be useful for the following:
1) The Blade of Roses (as mentioned previously).
2) Daystar (for fighting undead).
3) Dragonslayer (for dealing with Firkraag).

I generally went through SoA with my Cavalier having the following profiencies: Longswordx2, Two-handed Swordsx2 (Carsomyr, of course!), Flailsx1 (for Flail of Ages), 2h style x2 and (if memory serves; we're talking almost 20 years ago) Sword and Shield Stylex1). Still, BG1EE makes it so you can't adjust proficiency from BG1 to BG2, so you NEED TO CHOOSE CAREFULLY. :(

If I remember correctly you can get AC to -13 (or was it -12) in BG1. In addition to your setup, you need claw of kazgaroth, a shield from Durlag's tower, and kill drizzt and use of his weapons. That should decrease your AC by 4.

And if you add to that helm of Balduran then maybe you can reach -14. I haven't played BG1 in many years to my memory is hazy. But -13 is definitely achievable.