The following chart sets out the name, sex, race, character class, starting level and magic items (for new characters), alignment, and other noteworthy traits for each potential companion:

 

 

 

 

Name, Race, and Sex	Character Class and Level	Alignment	Starting Magic Items or Other Noteworthy Traits
Aerie, winged elf female	Cleric/mage 13/13	Lawful good	Traveler's robe, sling +2, cleric's staff +3, ring of protection +1, bullets +1 and +2, five potions of extra healing One of the potential romantic companions if carried on in the original game
Anomen, human male	Fighter/cleric 19/7	Lawful neutral	Plate mail +1, Deryn family shield+1, mace+3, sling +2, bullets +1 and +2, potion of extra healing One of the potential romantic companions if carried on in the original game
Cernd, human male	Shapeshifter (druid) 14	Neutral	Cloak of the high forest, staff of the high forest, cleric's staff +3, sling +2, bullets +2, sunstone bullets +1, ring of protection +1, five potions of extra healing Shapechange into werewolf or greater werewolf
Edwin, human male	Conjurer (specialist mage) 16	Lawful evil	Adventurer's robe, ring of protection +1, cleric's staff +3, sling +2, bullets +1 and +2, five potions of extra healing None
Haer'Dalis, tiefling male	Blade (bard) 21	Chaotic neutral	Elven chain mail, Entropy (short sword), Chaos Blade (short sword), darts of wounding, darts +1, five potions of extra healing. Blade abilities of defensive and offensive spins
Imoen, human female	Mage/thief 16/7	Neutral good	Elven chain mail; short bow +2; dagger +3, +2, and +1; arrows; five potions of extra healing Like your main character, Imoen is a Bhaalspawn, which lets her contribute to a number of encounters
Jaheira, half-elf female	Fighter/druid 13/13	Neutral	Chain mail +2, large shield +2, scimitar +3, sling +2, bullets +1 and +2, five potions of extra healing One of the potential romantic companions if carried on in the original game; shapechange to black or brown bear or wolf
Jan, gnome male	Illusionist (specialist mage)/thief 13/15	Chaotic neutral	Jansen adventurewear, Jansen techno-gloves, Jansen spectoscopes, Flasher Launcher (crossbow), short sword +3, bolts +2, flasher master bruiser mate, ring of protection +1, five potions of extra healing Set snare traps, create bruiser mate ammo
Keldorn, human male	Inquisitor (paladin) 16	Lawful good	Firecam full plate armor, Hallowed Redeemer (two-handed sword), two-handed sword +2, heavy crossbow +2, bolts +2, bolts of lightning, five potions of extra healing Ability to cast dispel magic and true sight
Korgan, dwarf male	Berserker (fighter) 18	Chaotic evil	Plate mail +1, medium shield +2, battle axe +2, battle axe +3, five potions of extra healing Ability to use enrage ability
Mazzy, halfling female	Fighter 18	Lawful good	Chain mail +2, bow of Arvoreen, sword of Arvoreen, short sword +3, arrows +2 and +1, five potions of extra healing Can cast haste, strength, and lay on hands; can invoke courage
Minsc, human male	Ranger 16	Chaotic good	Plate mail +1, two-handed sword +2, composite long bow +2, arrows +2 and +1, five potions of extra healing Can cast charm animal and use berserk ability
Nalia, human female	Mage/thief 16/4	Chaotic good	Adventurer's robe, leather armor +3, short sword +3, short bow +2, arrows +2 and +1, D'Arnisse signet ring, ring of protection +1, five potions of extra healing None
Sarevok, human male	Fighter 18	Chaotic evil	Full plate mail +1, two-handed sword +3, light crossbow +2, bolts of biting, bolts +1, five potions of extra-healing Very high strength attribute
Valygar, human male	Stalker (ranger) 12	Neutral good	Corthala family armor, Corthala family blade, spear +3, long bow +2, arrows +2 and +1, five potions of extra healing Charm animal
Viconia, elf female	Cleric 19	Neutral evil	Chain mail +2, small shield +2, mace +3, sling +2, bullets +2 and +1, five potions of extra healing One of the potential romantic companions if carried on in the original game

Choosing the Best Party

If you're playing a group of characters of good alignment, and your main character is a fighter, paladin, ranger, or thief, an excellent party consists of Keldorn, Minsc, Imoen, Aerie, and Anomen. If your main character is a mage or sorcerer, you should probably replace Aerie with another fighter such as Valygar or Mazzy or a druid such as Jaheira or Cernd.

Keldorn is arguably the most valuable companion to a good-aligned party, since he can wield either of the powerful holy avenger swords and cast true sight and dispel magic, both of which are necessary incantations when facing mages. Anomen can use his high-level undead turning ability and cast priest skills; plus, he is also a capable melee combatant, especially when equipped with the flail of ages or other powerful artifacts imported from the original game. Imoen is a strong mage and possesses the basic thievery skills you need, while Aerie can provide both supporting mage and priest spells. If you equip Mazzy with one of the girdles of giant strength or another item capable of raising her strength, she can be more effective in combat than Minsc or Valygar because of her ability to specialize in weapons and the additional number of attacks she gets. Minsc is always good for a laugh, however, especially when grouped with Jan.

Evil aligned parties will definitely not want to pass up on Sarevok because of his tremendous attributes, although he won't supply much banter during the course of the game. Edwin, Korgan, and Viconia are all capable characters in their respective classes. Your best evil party will likely consist of Sarevok, Korgan, Edwin, and Viconia, supplemented by Jan or Haer'Dalis if your main character is a capable fighter, cleric, or thief or by Jaheira or Cernd if your main character is a mage.

Generating Your Own Companions

While the non-player character companions have developed backgrounds and add context or humor to many encounters, you can create a more powerful party by generating your own companions. To do so, just start a multiplayer game and assign all the permissions to yourself. You must bounce through an additional interface screen every time you load a game, but you can generate characters with higher attributes and more complementary character classes. The NPC interactions are one of the game's best features, however, so you'll be sacrificing some entertainment in exchange for a more formidable party. Then again, Throne of Bhaal is all about making difficult choices.
 

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