So I'm doing my first playthrough from the start of BG1 through to ToB, and trying out the fabled Kensai/mage combo. I want to bring Sarevok in when I get the chance. But I'm not sure which of my party members to drop for him. I'm going through Shadows of Amn with these:

- Imoen
I like her, she's tied to the main storyline and she's a decent mage. I don't want to drop her.
- Jan Jansen
I like him. I could stand to drop him, but I don't think Imoen's lvl.7 thief skills are going to cut it after SoA and Jan's my only other thief.
- Viconia
I like her, I'm trying for the romance and by the time I've got all the gear for her she's going to be terrifying.
- Edwin
He's okay. I'm not that attached, but obviously he's a top-notch mage. I do have me, Imoen and Jan though. I'm also thinking of dual-classing Sarevok to Mage if it's viable, but I'm aware that it's probably not.
- Cernd
I know Cernd isn't a popular choice, but I enjoy the flexibility of being able to use him as a caster or a frontline fighter. I could stand to lose him, but - (see attachment)

Sarevok can be dualled to either mage or thief. But it will take all of ToB before he gets his fighter levels back. Also, you already have enough arcane magic.

Imoen can cover your needs for a thief in ToB but you'll need rings/potions for the most difficult traps and locks. So dropping Jan is an option. Thing is, I like that he gets thief HLAs.

With Jan being a better thief and Edwin a better mage, dropping Imoen is also an option. Also, she doesn't really fit into what looks like a neutral / evil party. But story-wise I'd like to keep my little sister around!

Which leaves Edwin, who is the best mage in the game. Thing is, he's a one-trick pony; not anything BUT a mage. In ToB you'll need some fighters to deal some heavy damage, so I'd drop Edwin for Sarevok.

3 mages are more than enough. So I'd drop Jan, Imoen or Edwin, based on personal preference.

With those restrictions and for story-wise I'll have the trinity of bhaalspawns together and drop Edwin. The magic of Iomen and Jan should supply the farewell of Edwin. Also, this way Cernd can dedicate some spells before getting into the battlefield.

I say keep Imoen for story/character arc reasons (with this being your first full run through the game). Also, in my one and only run through the game, Imoen (with Yoshimo) was my only thief the whole way, and I don't remember any traps or locks she couldn't handle.

I say keep Viconia for story/character arc reasons (especially with you hitting on her). Also, Viconia is a single class drow cleric, which is cool on many levels.

That's leaves Jan and Edwin, who compliments Imoen, and Cernd, who compliments Viconia.

Between priests, wizards, and rogues, dump whatever class you find least interesting. If it's priests, then dump Cernd. If it's wizards, then dump Edwin. If it's rogues, then dump Jan.

You want to keep Imoen, so she's off the drop list.

Viconia and Cernd both provide divine magic. Of the two, Viconia's version is probably a little more important, being cleric. Also, you need her around if you're trying to romance her. ;)

I'd keep Jan for the thief levels. Spike traps are crazy OP, as is Use Any Item. He also won't have to worry about potions or whatever to use thief skills effectively.

With CHARNAME, Imoen, and Jan all providing arcane casting, you can easily afford to dump Edwin. There'd be less competition for scrolls that way, too.

I'd say dump Cernd or Edwin. I hear that the greater werewolf eventually won't cut it on the frontline, meaning both Cernd and Edwin are somewhat redundant. I'd probably drop Cernd, keeping Edwin for more offensive power, but if you like werewolves...

Keep Sarevok as a frontline fighter instead of making him a Mage. Give him the biggest weapon you have that he knows how to use and let him go to town on things.

Yeah, I mean, does anyone ever really have *enough* arcane spellcasting? But yeah, I'm happy to lose Edwin. Even if Imoen's thief skills are sufficient, I still like Jan better than Edwin.

As for it being a neutral/evil party, you do have a point, and I was planning to make this my "evil" run, but I still don't like to subscribe to the D&D oversimplification. Evil people can still care about each other. I like to think that my character cares about very little besides Imoen and maybe Viconia, depending on how things play out. But I'm not super strict about it, tbh. I do play tabletop games as well, and this being a video game that keeps tabletop RPGs constantly in mind really serves to highlight how confined roleplaying choices in video games necessarily are. For example, I'm Lawful Evil, and I really wanted dialogue options that would let weasel information out of Tolgerias without actually giving my word that I'd fultil the quest. Now if I "roleplay" my alignment, I have to keep my word and miss the entire planar sphere quest.

I was thinking how hardcore Sarevok would be as a fighter/mage, but I guess the reality is that he'd just be a mage for most of the time I have him. So yeah, I guess it's not worth dual-classing him. It's probably that attitude from the first sentence of this post bringing a bias to my strategy.

I've heard that werewolves won't cut it in the endgame too, but I'm willing to give it a shot and fall back on Cernd's spellcasting if it's true. I've looked up a bunch of forum arguments about whether or not Cernd is viable and I'm thinking if I play again, I might use the shapeshifter rebalancing mod alongside the tactics mod. It does look like the originally intended werewolf forms were pretty OP, but hopefully tactics will balance that out so it's still challenging. I do like the idea of being able to go hell for leather on the mechanics and have the game still be challenging.

Thanks for the input, everyone.

Jan or Cernd.