I cleared out the Mines and met Xan. When I played the game before I had a full party and so didn't worry about him. This time I did the mines with four so allowed him to join. He seems weak, but I admit the sword is neat. Any thought about him or when I get back to town where I was going to pick up Minsc and Edwin for the Gnoll Fortress quest. But is Xan a keeper?

Bob

There's 2 serious problems with Xan.

1. He's an Enchanter. That means he does not have access to the most powerful offensive spells, since his opposition school is Evocation.

2. His horribly low CON means he's as fragile as a dewdrop on a hotplate.

On top of that, he's expected (so far as his proficiencies go) to go toe-to-toe, since he's initially proficient in small swords.

I was reading some other sites that use him for support. I think I'm typical in that I set a football team approach to set battles--- a front line (the tanks); support (range weapons), then the Mage for the big spells. But Xan is used to upgrade the fighters who then deal the most damage. I think I'll try a couple maps to see it is an good way to play.

Bob

Another thing about Xan is that he is the only one who can use the Strongest Long Sword in the entire game.

The problem with support mages in BG1 is the dearth of spell slots. When he's cast his 2 spells, what does he do? Sits there and watches. The only (expensive) alternative is to equip him with wands. Personally, I don't find them very practical at all. Now a specialist conjurer is a different matter.

Absolutely. He can learn Sleep - Dynaheir can't. He can throw daggars effectively [high Dex, small swds prof] twice per round, which is twice as good as those using slings.

Unless you have a fetish for Fireballs, he makes a fine single class mage. He just casts disabling spells, rather than damage spells.

Just don't have him fight with his Moonblade - like any other mage, he should not be wading into melee.

Erm...how to put this? Given that Minsc is Dynaheir's bodyguard, sworn to protect her, and that Edwin introduces himself by attempting to recruit you to kill Dynaheir, and that Dynaheir is in the Gnoll Fortress...doesn't this strike you as likely to cause a problem?

I guess you could get rid of one of them just before encountering Dynaheir, but still, is it possible to keep Minsc and Edwin from each others' throats long enough?

I remember having both of them heading to the Gnoll Fortress last time. They got heated once in a while. But, at the Fortress, I dropped Edwin for Dynaheir. He walked around angry. But hey. That's the break. I'll try it again. Going to drop Xan. It would be easier to keep a new born alive on a battlefield than that mage. But it is a cool sword.

In terms of the storyline, I just figured I want to meet Dynaheir first to determine which witch see really is. Can't trust Edwin, but I'm not going to take the word of a guy who talks to rodents either.

Bob

He's a half-decent second mage after Edwin or Dynaheir. The lack of Magic Missile and Fireball isn't as crippling as it seems, since you're probably filling your other mage's spellbook with Magic Missile and Fireball anyways. That being said, he's still squishy as hell and his moonblade, while neat, is more of a gimmick than anything.

Both Web and Stinking Cloud are of the Evocation school, I believe, so in fact Xan cannot use these.

I agree that Xan is not very useful, Dynaheir and Edwin are both a lot better. Mages in BG1 are rather limited, even more so at lower levels. Take along Xan if you want a more "exotic" party member, or if you want some self-imposed challenge. If you absolutely want to take him along for the ride but you don't want to be handicapped, using a mod or Gate/Shadow Keeper to give him a different specialisation or to make him a sorcerer is also an option.

I remember once I had a party where him (unmodded) and Garrick were my only magic users, just to make the game a bit more challenging...fun times were had.

Yup. They did become Conjuration spells in D&D 3.0e, but that's not going to help Xan in any way.

And they also happen to be in the Evocation school. Sleep and Emotion are probably Xan's only useful AOE spells, and sleep is completely ineffective for anything with 4HD+3... and undead of any kind.

Huh, never noticed these are evocation in 2E. I stand corrected. Yet another note to file into my brain for edition differences.

Not for Xan cos "life is so hollow". Low CON means low hit points which means it's easier to kick the bucket which means not living which means Xan will no longer be able moan about how life stinks.

Works for Xan, but maybe not for the PC ;)