In my first BG1 playthrough I played without the "haste" spell since I read about characters aging permanently in the gold box manuals. I didn't use the spell playing the Gold Box games either although it's extremely powerful.

Did the Gold Box games actually implement that rule, or was that just fluff in the manual?

I remember the Might and Magic games having spells that magically aged the caster, but there were ways to reverse that.

The haste spell (or potions of haste) did age your characters by one year, but age penalties weren't implemented in the Gold Box games, there were also potions of rejuvenation available (but very rarely) .

Was death from old age implemented, or could you keep aging until age capped or overflowed? In the latter case, what was the cap or point at which age overflowed?

From what I've read no one ever died of old age in those games even those who tried.

I kinda like your style of play. Its close to mine. I make decisions based on the game.

Have you ever kept him past that part? (Yes, it is possible, especially if you're good at polymorph teleporting.)

No. Several reasons.

1) I never thought my way round the problem.
2) I was dumbstruck. Yoshimo was MY character. We'd adventured for ages. They couldn't just... could they ?
3) I did need a party slot for Imoen.

S.x.

I don't recognise this. There are only three evil companions in SoA: Edwin (mage), Viconia (cleric) and Korgan (fighter). There are no fighter/thief companions. Further, I don't recognise the scenario as you describe it. *confused*

Xzar and Montaron, I believe.

That's not Shadows of Amn. Neither are companions in SoA, and it's the other way around: the evil wizard wants to free the evil fighter/thief, plus he's not the first companion, far from it.

Well, they appear in a quest in SoA where one asks you to rescue the other (I believe that Monty is the one who is actually trapped, but memory is not so good :P), they are the only combination of evil F/T and wizard and, without considering Imoen, they are the first two joinable NPC's in the saga, unless you ignore the road.

So yes, there are some obvious technical flaws, but I think it's the better explanation nevertheless.

Unless of course there is another combination of a group of evil F/T and mage which are recruitable at an early point of the saga AND being asked by one of them in SoA to go and rescue the other from the Harpers. I can't grasp it tough :/

No, as I said, far from it. First, and most importantly, they are *not* joinable NPCs. The very first persons you're likely to come across -- not counting Imoen, Jaheira and Minsc, and even before the non-joinable Xzar & Montaron -- are Aerie, Nalia and Anomen.

I can see there's confusion... much confusion, which is why I said I didn't recognise it.

Why do you assume it has to be party member / joinable character at Shadows on Amn? He didn't say it was a quest given by party members / joinable characters at Shadows on Amn.

Monty and Xzar still are, at least as far as I know, the only duo of evil F/T and wizard which are joinable party members at one point on the saga (and the most likely first additions to charname and Imoen's party while at it), that in Shadows of Amn, request you to rescue someone form the harpers. Which actually is what guardofhull said.

But yes, I know Monty and Xzar are not joinable in BG II. I knew it when they didn't join my party and didn't appear on one of the joinable characters' charts, thank you very much. And I know that, again, in the second part, the 4 first potential party members are Imoen, Jaheira / Minsc and Yoshimo. What I don't understand is how a duo which fulfills all requirements is "far from it".