Just thinking of an idea for a different playthrough of Bard's Tale 2.

Basically, we have these rules:
* No dungeon other than Dark Domain may be entered with more than 1 standard party member. Also, entering the Sage's Hut with The Secptre in your inventory and more than 1 standard party member is also forbidden. (Standard party members include the premade characters, any you create, and any you import from BT1 or other games.)
* Monsters and illusions do not count as standard party members, and are therefore allowed without limitation.

Already, there's the question of which version:
* In the remaster, you level up faster (because special party members don't take a share of the XP), but you can't save monsters at the inn (my biggest complaint about the remastered trilogy), and I don't remember if monsters can carry items.
* The Apple 2gs and DOS versions are similar. Differences are that the 2GS version makes casting the Dreamspell (to turn illusions into monsters, for example) easier (you don't need to step on that square), but doesn't allow any spellcasting in the crypt. (DOS lets you do that via item or monster, while the remaster allows it via item only.)
* The Commodore 64 version is out; there's a nasty bug that prevents special party members from using their spells or breath weapons unless there are no enemies present.

Any thoughts?

In my experience, this doesn't seem to be particularly true for much of the game. Thing is, at least in the DOS version, the one I'm most familiar with, balance seems to be a bit borked, in a manner that's favorable to the player:
* Physical attacks from enemies tend to miss. Through the mid-game, in my experience playing normal parties, you don't get hit at all after the early game, until you reach the crypt.
* Magical attacks also fail. Your saving throws are very good compared to that of enemies, to the point where enemies can repeatedly blast your party with Mangar's Mallet, and your party will survive unharmed.
* On the other hand, physical attacks from monster/illusion party members are quite accurate. This, in particular, includes attacks aimed against other party members; this means that areas with squares that make your monsters hostile are *deadly*. You are going to need to avoid such squares (mark them on the map; I don't remember if the remaster's Journal indicates them in any way) until you can get some Kato's Bracers for your monsters.