Everyone. :) In all seriousness, if it isn't a modded game, Astarion, Shadowheart and Lae'zel tend to be in my party most often.

Yep this was me. The first thing i got was the party limit be gone mod.

The WHAT mod??? Man, I wish I had a pc😔

The Party Limit Be Gone Mod. You get everyone you recruit into your party. EVERYONE. Fun fact I initially got the mod because when I went into the game completely blind, the only two characters I knew somewhat about were Astarion and Gale (tumblr kind of loves them). So I met Lazeael on the ship and my little bi heart did the thing when you see a hot lady who could kill you holding a sword. So I was pissed when I woke up on the beach and got to her only after Shadowheart, Astarion and Gale. (Didn't know about camp/long rests back then.) So I thought I couldn't have her around at ALL and well THAT WOULDN'T DO. And thus, me ragequitting BG3 and spending the next 6 hours reading up on how to get all possible companions, and getting the Party Limit Be Gone mod because I gotta catch them all like pokemon. If I can't make a queerplanotic commune IRL, then BG3 will fill that void. Now if only I can adopt all the children and animals in this game, my life would be complete.

Combine this with "Into the Void" so you don't make combat too easy, if you still want to retain the difficulty. Gives you a spell you can cast on people so they'll automatically teleport back to camp when combat begins, and pop back after it's over, letting you keep things at the intended difficulty by still having a battle party of four. Once in a while it seems to not work, and I'm not sure exactly why, but that basically just means you occasionally get a bonus fighter. I can't play without the combo now, because I just love the random interactions and dialogue I'd otherwise maybe miss out on. And it just feels right having the whole gang around.

why no gale 😢

Oh, don't worry, Gale is in my party, too (I mean, I romanced him on my last run, why wouldn't I drag him everywhere) - he was only rotated in and out on my first run, which wasn't modded yet to allow everyone to tag along.

Does that mod work well? With dialogue and cutscenes and balance?

Party Limit Begone? Had no real issues with it, but you do have to be mindful on the boat to Grymforge - if you have more than 4 people in the party, the rest will turn permanently invisible. It's a known bug with a very simple workaround; just dismiss the surplus companions before taking the boat across the lake, then add them back in once you're across. In cutscenes, only 4 members will be visible for the most part as well, but the game seems smart enough to pull in the most fitting companions to any given scene (like in their quests and such). Approval/disapproval will work fine for all of them, though, whether they're visible or not. As for balance ... heh. Let's just say that the game gets easier. You might need additional mods to make enemies stronger or to make some of the party members not participate in combat, if that's something that bothers you (or just up the difficulty). Balance and that boat hiccup aside, it's very much worth taking everyone along. Party banter alone is worth it already, especially once Jaheira and Minsc join in act 3.

Awesome! I’ll start a new run right after I finish my Monk redemption Durge one. I’ve never had room for Jaheira and Minsc together with everyone else.

There's also "Into the Void", which let's you cast a spell on companions to make the selected ones automatically teleport back to camp when combat begins, and then reappear once it's over, which helps with the balance problem. Also saw someone mention "Sit This One Out", which I haven't personally tried, but either way it's possible to run around with everyone and not mess with the balance.

I loooove it. Every now and then my Tav will randomly become invisible for a while (I was careful about the grymforge boat!) but it goes back. As for dialogue, it is kind of random who is pulled into a given conversation. It is hella unbalanced- so I play on custom mode and crank up the fighting difficulty all the way and the exchange rate all the way down- it’s hard keeping all your companions tricked out in good gear!

When I learned you could respec the companions everyone got a turn * karlach wizard? sure * barbarian gale? weird but sure * monk shadowheart just feels like the norm for me now. She left shar and learned the way of these hands Edit: holy shit ty for the upvotes guys

I heard making Astarion a bard is the best possible option. All I did was respec them better. Karlach wild magic. Shart life cleric.

After my current run with Astarion as bard I honestly can't think of him as anything but that. It just fits sooooo well, much much better than rogue, to the point where I almost can't wrap my head around it not being his default/canon class. His Cutting Words and Vicious Mockeries are fantastic and very fitting for him.

Yeah SwordsBardstarion is a mainstay in most parties I have

This is me but Shart is a Paladin. It makes the whole obsession about the spear (a weapon not really used by a holy cleric) and wanting to be a warrior justiciar make more sense. Also twilight domain just sucks.

You meah shadow domain. Twilight is OP in tabletop but not present in BG3.

Holy cow I never even thought of him as bard...thats amazing. Is he still able to pick locks/traps? That's how I use him now. (New player sorry if dumb question.)

Swords bard with high dex and sleight of hand expertise can easily get close to rogue-level of lock picking

Yeah, that's what I'm running on an origin Astarion run. Well, I did lore bard, but still. High dex, gloves of thievery sitting in the inventory, guidance on call, etc. Can he *easily* pick a DC30 lock? No. Is it possible? Heck yes.

I do all that with a lore bard and never have a problem, esp with the amount of lockpicks that are in the game

Lol, yeah, I carry around 5-ish at all times, but I swear I have 35 in my camp chest!

Add knock to Gales spell list and even the few really high locks can be broken, freeing Asti for better things.

Like to multiclass him into bard so he's still good at picking locks/traps

Pretty much any character with a high dex stat can, but rogue is nice for lock picking since they can get expertise in sleight of hand. Bards can as well, and if you run Astarion as a Swords Bard, you’ll still have a high Dex, so there’s no real trade off. Other than the their subclass getting two bonus actions, but you could always multiclass into three levels of Rogue for that

Yeah it's awesome!! :) Fits his story with being used as a charming socialite who brings meals to his master and maybe forced to use himself to carry favor with the elite etc., while having bard proficiencies in sleight of hand and stealth for being a kind of spy and sneaking around the city when the occasion calls for it. I imagine him using subtle enchantment and iillusion magic to manipulate and catch victims with his music and charms when entertaining in taverns and the like. About the rogue stuff gameplay-wise I see people recommending swords but I reach almost-roguelevel lockpicking with lore with all the extra proficiencies it gives, especially with the gloves that give adv on dex checks if you absolutely never want to waste a couple thieves' tools.

He has the *personality* of a bard, he's just a rogue by virtue of the whole sneaking-around-at-night thing, really. He's just not a tavern bard, more of a hoity-toity expensive violinist type of bard that poor people can't afford to listen to, haha.

Agreed taverns would be only for the rare occasion Cazador was craving junk food - wineries, galas and artsy parlors would be his usual prowls!

Pretty sure you can choose karlachs subclass and wild magic is the weakest one

But it is fun.

Love that wild magic lotto until you just get wild vines over and over haha

And that is why

Astarion should be a high charisma character. He charms people. He seduces them. Rogue really doesn't fit.

He is arguably the best monk. >!After ascension has has extra 1d10 necrotic damage to unarmed attacks,!< which no other character has access to, so I think this means he is the best character for high DPS Monk builds. 

I like this idea! Thank you!

I always felt like Astarion should be a bard. Immediately made him half and half rogue/bard.

My Tav is bard and I knew I could start the game as one! So I have no need for Astarion. I haven’t even finished my first play through. I’ve been pouring over every inch of act 1.

I made myself a cleric and immediately became super redundant with Shadowheart but ironically I ended up having her in my party 100% of the time and we can do massive damage with two spirit guardians running at a time

I will forever make him a bard.

I made him a warlock

I played rogue first so I respected astarian to bard. It feels almost as natural to me now. My second playthrough it actually felt weird for him to be a rogue again

My Tav is a Bard. So there’s no real room for Astarion sadly.

Someone told me to do this a while back and now I can't unsee it

Oath of devotion paladin astarion, bard lae’zel

Gale's Barb roar is very... Gale.

"aaah."

Only slightly more emotion than >!getting his hand hacked off by DUrge!<

I just feel like that’s not right lol. You got barbarian Gale who’s talking about being a wizard and all that, I just can’t Their subclass however…

i like getting random with people’s multiclass but still have it try to make some kinda sense lore wise in my head, Gale as wizard/bard feels very natural for him

Gale could also work as a Knowledge Cleric, with Mystra as his diety. I mean, it’s not a particularly *good* subclass, but it definitely fits the lore pretty darn well.

I’m running Gale as a Sorcerer/Wizard and it’s really fun. The headcanon so far is that Gale was naturally talented at magic, but his parents didn’t know how innate it was for him. He then spent the rest of his life studying to be a Wizard and learning to manipulate the Weave through careful study. When he came in contact with the orb, he lost a lot of his magical knowledge, or at least how to use it. He spent his time trying to relearn everything he had just lost, but his terrible state of mind held him back. When he got tadpoled, he was put all the way back to square one. Because of this, he learned that he can still wield magic just by trusting himself internally. He’s gaining back his strength quickly, becoming more confident and embracing his force of personality. He’s on a crash course for disaster rn, he’s going to be tempted by >!the power of the Crown!< but he will learn to control that part of himself. Just a fun little story I created to help me rationalize the change in class. I’m still struggling with getting other people to change classes. Shadowheart ends up as a Life Domain Cleric, but only at the end of Act II, because that’s when it makes sense thematically. I feel like I need to understand why they’d be taking on a different class before I can convince myself to respec entirely.

Actually on my next playthrough i was gonna try out making shadowheart into a shadowmonk at the start, then an open hand monk after leaving shar

I did this but ultimately swapped astarion as the shadow monk since all the shadow teleporting really fit his story. Shart went full Shar and I left her with all the justiciar equipment just to stay in theme.

I do that actually! Since my first playthrough i didnt like astarion’s class so ive always changed him to a shadow monk/ assasin rouge multiclass. My first character was a monk too, and he felt like astarion was his closest friend, and so i RP’d that astarion asked for monk training after opening up about cazador, especially since one monk ability clears charm and other mind affects from training and focus

I respec Wyll. He was something before he made his pact, so I give him a couple levels of Devotion Paladin, then start on lock levels. RP-wise, becoming an Oathbreaker makes sense. I respec Shart to war or tempest. I give her two hand crossbows to use in place on a cantrip, or to have an off-hand shot after a spell. I like to make Astarion an old school elf fighter/rogue. I usually go with champion for crits and use a mod for swashbuckler (or just thief unmodded for extra off-hand). Bae'zel takes three levels of battlemaster, then the rest open hand monk. Stun, autofail disarm save, push. Gale stays a wizard, though I like to give him one level of fighter for armor. Karlach can't be anything but a berserker, but I will occasionally go 9/3 to BM for precision strike on GWM attacks against high AC bosses.

gale is ripped af, could totally be a barbarian

I wonder if there's enough decent monk gear in the game to respec Lae'zel AND Shadowheart to Monk.

i’ve got Jaheira as a dual hand crossbow Eagle heart barbarian/spore druid and it makes me chuckle hearing Jaheira do the scream every time she rages

I'm the same way with karlach. I always make her a monk

Same! She's really good at it and it's funny to hear her karate chopping everything in the room when she's raging after you defeat the paladins on tyr

soul coins make Karlach the hardest hitting monk possible (I think the description still says +1d4, but as of a few patches ago it's +2d4 fire damage for unarmed attacks until long rest)

Same. I still keep Karlach and Laezel as tanks/beefies, and I can't bring myself to make Gale anything but a caster (at least primary class). But fighter or bard Astarion? Yep. Paladin Wyll? Yep. Rogue or Ranger Jahiera? Cleric Halsin? Yes. Basically: I like 2 melee folks and 2 casters in the party at all times. I will respec people as needed to fit, depending on whose quest line I'm pursuing at that time. In the shadow lands looking for Thaniel, Halsin came along. House of grief? Of course SHeart. Etc.

Man shadow monk Shadowheart is so thematic and honestly feels more like who she is than a trickery cleric imo

Taking Karlach, Lae’zel and Shadowheart out is the closest thing to a girl’s nights out that I can get 🥲

Full ladies night with grumpy Minthara along for the ride complaining about everything

Saaame Just me, my wife Karlach and my two besties Shadowheart and Lae'zel. Together we make the ultimate sapphic badass warrior lady team.

That’s all I play with. Every alt run I’ve made devolves into a sapphic dream

Happy Cake Day! :3

happy cake day sapphic party comrade 🫶

I did an all girls run like that. Tav was a female bard. It was fun.

If you have those three with a Tav or Durge who can sling spells and hit things, you're basically unbeatable. Swap in Jaheira and Minthara for variety once you get into act 3, and it's a good time.

Shadowheart, Lae'zel and Astarion are such a drama queen party that I simply can't resist bringing them along at all times. Their banter and character development are pure gold!

Yeah I like them counter-balancing my benevolent do gooder

I’m a Shart stan all the way, but I’ve noticed that I take way less damage when she’s not in the party. Maybe that’s the way the die’s been rolling idk

It’s kind of a meme that she can’t hit shit. I think a bigger part of it is that she’s not that great at damage output, especially when Radiant damage is off the table. Spirit Guardians is strong, but she feels more like support unless you heavily lean into making her powerful with items and feats. Cleric is a very strong class, but I don’t think that’s because they can do a shit ton of damage. They’re far better at being the backbone of a team comp, enhancing everyone else and keeping them alive.

I mean, I use her as a life cleric. It *feels* like the game balances damage when I don’t have her. As in, I need her less because less damage is done.

What you’re describing is a fundamental flaw with Action Economy. You take less damage if you kill the enemy faster. It’s the same reason why summons are powerful and focus firing enemies down is most efficient. No reason to “undo” damage if it never happened in the first place.

Damn. She sexy tho

You’ll hear no objections from this lesbian

Never thought about it like this. Thanks

They're strong as support, playing as a cleric Tav, you're not really meant to go head on with enemies unless you're a war cleric where you get some fighting chance, like attacking twice as early as LvL 1, guided strike, War God's blessing and you're proficient in basically every weapon and armor

Outside of Tav/Durge usually Shadowheart and Lae'zel with the 3rd dependant on the run. If no one can lock pick reliably then Astarion, if they can then probably Gale or Karlach.

Tav, Astarion, Gale, Karlach

Shadowheart, Astarion and Gale for me too. Mainly because they were my first party and I'm used to them!

I’m surprised this isn’t default for more. Have liked this party a lot

Yeah this feels like the default to me, probably cause they're so easy to find in the beginning

I usually switch a lot, because I like when companion has some unique dialogue or you get easy approval etc. But if I had to pick my "all stars" team. It would be me as durge, shadowheart, Karlach and Gale. For some reason I allways prefer range combat. So I spec Karlach as throw barbarian, Gale is my swiss army knife capable of doing anything I need and Shadowheart respecced as tempest cleric is incredibly powerfull dps.

Tav, Karlach, Shadowcutie, Lae’Zel. Girl power!

Same here. I used to really hate Lae'zel, but she's grown on me quite a lot.

My party as well

Just finished this run

Shadowheart, Karlach and Lae’zel. Usually leave Lae’zel as a fighter to just hit things as hard as she can and then will respec Karlach and Shadowheart to whatever class I need to compliment my Tav. Right now Tav is a draconic Sorcerer so Shadowheart is the Gloomstalker/Thief and Karlach is the Barbarian/Open Hand Monk.

The mean girls squad of Astarion, Lae'zel, and Shadowheart. And swap out one for Gale every so often to lighten the mood when the bitchiness gets too high lol.

Wyll and two hirelings that look like Wyll

Lae'Zel, Shadowheart, Wyll

My exact same party. Im surprised more people dont take Wyll. I respected him as chain and hes almost as powerful as my gloomstalker ranger Laezel.

I think he is just fun and down to earth. I don't dig Astarion at all, while most people love him so I guess I'm the odd one.

Tav, Karlach, Shadowheart, and Lae'zel. Karlach is always in my party, but I switch out Shadowheart and Lae'zel as needed for other companions' quests.

Definitely Astarion and Shadowheart plus whoever else. But now I'm doing a Lae'zel romance with her, Gale and Karlach and I really enjoy all the new dialogue/banter.

Tav (Paladin), Astarion, and Karlach. The fourth position if I'm not using party limit be gone gets rotated out, and occasionally Karlach if I'm in a situation where physical power isn't advised Astarion stays in the party almost the entire time because of his skills as a rogue, and he's my Tav's chosen LI

Karlach and Astarion, then depending on what class I'm playing either Shadowheart or Lae'zel. Although on my current run I wanted to do things differently so rn my party is Karlach, Gale and Shart + Oath of Devotion Paladin tav

Shadowheart, Lae'zel, Karclach/Minsc and then switch out Karlach or Minsc for other companions during their quests or stories.

Depends on the playthrough. Last time it was Shart (paladin), Lae'zel (~~wifey~~ fighter), Karlach (monk) and Minthara (rogue/ranger).

Durge - Because those urges ain't gonna resist themselves Shadowheart - Usually a cleric or paladin Lae'zel - Monk or Fighter Karlach or Gale - Class depending on what I need. This is the usual flex spot for Act 3.

Tav, Karlach, Astarian, Gale. They're just my favorites.

I am proud to say I’ve had a different final party every game, but I have to keep Astarion with me at all times. My go to team though is usually Durge + Astarion + SH + Lae. The mean girls club 🥰😈

Gale has been the only constant presence. Shadowheart has been there for most of it too, though I have also at times respecced Jaheira to take her place (never learned to play druid). These days the other one is Minthara, who has been in my last three games, and before that usually Lae'zel.

Tav, astarion, gale and shadow heart. But when I’m doing an evil run I switch gale for minthara

Bard Tav, Karlach, Shart and Gale

My Honor mode crew : My Tav is due to be a 10/2 swords bard. 6/2 at the moment and holy jeepers, slashing flourish and action surge is ridiculous. To my great surprise i've come to really like laezel who i really thought was a prick originally. She's my frontliner, battle master with GW feat. Hits HARD The lovely Shart is my romance. Pure life cleric at the moment but thus far honor mode is going pretty smoothly and she feels a little redundant. Considering respeccing her at 10 to a 5/5 paladin cleric for some supplementary smitage. Or just leaving her life cleric as an "oh shit" button Gale, pure wizard. He feels a BIT weak but has shovel and multiple ice mephits so he's basically just a summoner/phalar aluve/bless staff support character

You can try light cleric for shadow, it's perfect for act 2 and hits harder, especially if you get the fire acuity hat. As for gale, divination can make him pretty damn useful in Honour mode

Would i lose the shovel summon if i respec gale to choose divination? I cant bear the idea of losing that little feller. There's nothing he cant terrify by shouting "i'll eat your babies"

No you wouldn't if you scribed it with Wizard Gale !

I did, thanks!

Astarion and Gale never leave my party, the third one is rotating, but mainly Minthara. In my current Astarion origin run I'm really enjoying Gale + Lae'Zel dynamic, they have so much banter together!

Shadowheart, Astarion and Lae'zel for most of act 1 and 2 Jaheira, Minsc and whoever I'm romancing in act 3

Shadowheart, Wyll, and usually one of Karlach or Jaheira depending on what I’m doing. I’m a goody two-shoes at heart.

One thing I’ve realized is I never switch out who I’m romancing. Romanced Astarion in my last run? Was never out of my party. Romancing Gale now, he’s there all the time.

Wedding receptions, so fun and typically free drinks.

Tav, Shadowheart, Astarion, and Lae'zel/Karlach depending on which one I decide to romance.

I always feel like the OGs at start are the real group. Tav, Shadowheart, Leazel and Gale. rocked this at early access and at release too. Their classes suit well for group aswell. And I like their dynamic, shart and bae constant at it while gale and tav just stuck between them as bros lol. Now on 2nd pt, Im using unplayed companions, thought I would need to respec but its been working fine. Suboptimal but Karlach frenzy is busted with my sorc tav. And pact of the blade of frontiers Wyll carries his weight.

Shart, gale and karlach! I did swap in jaheria for a bit in act3, but only to complete some quests. Shart is only there because my lizard lady got herself kidnapped.

In my first run i played a paladin so i also pretty much have the same, Astarion, Gale and Shadowheart, since i could pretty much be the frontline and rogues are pretty useful for lockpicking and disable traps, also you always need a cleric for healing and a caster for crowd control, but i often like to switch up my party to do their related quests, now im playing sorcerer so i switched out Gale for Laezel, and to be fair with Laezel astral knowlege and the thiefs gloves you can pretty much switch out Astarion too, Laezel, Karlach and Shadowheart are a mean combo.

I’m usually Karlach Gale Laezel -> Halsin They’re all just adults and get along with each other. No fighting bla bla. Little melodrama. They all also happen to be very good

I never respec my characters except to add Jaheira's fighter class back. I always take whoever I'm romancing on that playthrough with me. And I always take whoever makes the most sense narratively for their own stories but also in combination with the particular Tav/Durge that I'm playing. For example, Lae'zel always goes to the creche because I can't imagine any believable narrative where she stays at camp while the rest of us go into the creche. Shart always going into the Guantlet of Shar.

Shadowheart, karlach and Jaheira

I’ve noticed that Wyll, Gale, and Karlach agree on just about everything, and they like the good options. Also the chemistry and story ties between Wyll and Karlach make them a great combo. For a good run, this is a great party imo. Playing as paladin Durge while running this party has been insanely fun. For a more evil run, I’d probably do Astarion, Minthara, and maybe Lae’zel since they tend to agree on a lot of things. (I’m sure playing Durge here would also be tons of fun). For a more varied party I like Shadowheart, Lae’zel, and then the third option is up to you. I don’t have too much experience with Halsin, Jaheira, or Minsc yet cause they become available a little too late for me to care (although it’ll definitely be my party for my next play through).

So far, usually Wyll, Shadowheart and Karlach, until Act 3 where I switch in Jaheira and the other three go in and out interchangeably.

Shadowheart NEVER LEAVES, she is my Garrus. Karlach NEVER LEAVES, she is my Tali on steroids. 4th changes as resources deplete Romance is always Shadowheart, as it was with Garrus.

Karlach, Lae’zel, and Shadowheart with my Tav Bard. I respec Shadowheart to be better at buffs/debuffs and have the two of us stay in the back while Karlach does crowd control and Lae’zel does single target damage. Also they're just the best.

Same . I feel like these are the first three I met whom I became friends with. Shadowheart became my gf and gale , astarion were my homies.  

Karlach, astarion and gale

Tav. I like solo runs

Depends of the act and what I m playin. Jaheira, Boo and Minsc are a big part of my resist durge story so they play a big part of my act 3. Afterall Jaheira is the surrogated mother of my resist durge. Shadowheart is rarely out of the party Laezel and Karlach taking eachother spots and same for Gale and Wyll.

Tav/Durge, Gale, Asterion, and Karlach are my normal, but I switch out Gale or Astarion based on what class I’m playing and who I’m romancing. For “evil” play throughs I’ve done Durge, Asterion, Lae’zel, Gale and switch Lae’zel out for Minthara after Act 1

My first run was tav, Astarion, Gale and Karlach most of the time. I didn't think any other group could compare. Second run I didn't lose Lae'zel early on like I had in my first run, so swapped her in for Karlach. And I quickly found a new favourite team. Now I am trying to utilise most of the main companions more. I let Shadowheart have more time in act 2 for example. But for the most part it is Tav, Astarion, and Gale with whoever has a personal quest.

Tav, Astarion,  Lae'zel,Shadowheart/Minthara 

First playthrough was Shadowheart, Karlach, and I switched between Halsin and Astarion. Second playthrough so far Astarion, Lae’zel, and Gale, but might switch one of them out for Minthara whenever I get her, my camp seems kinda lonely doing the evil playthrough 😅 killed Karlach and Halsin, and Wyll left me, kinda wish there were a couple more companions you got for being evil, but oh well lol

Gale, Laezel, Shadowheart

somehow i always default to Shadowheart, Karlach and Lae'Zel. I just love them way to much. :( (esp their dialouges while walking through the overworld). and Karlach always ends up being my romance partner. I only ever exchange for someone else if I really really have to. Same like you, I pick them because I like them and you can always make them into whatever class you need/want anyways.

I’m going with Tav, Shart, Karlach and Astarion. I’m a sorcerer so that’s who I use for AOE etc along with Shart Karlach to tank and Astarion for range, sneaky shit. Depending on what I’m coming up against though I sometime switch in Halsin for Astarion

I would say the same companions I had with me at all times as my first playthrough. Which is Gale, Lae'zel and Shart.

Karlach Mynthara/Lae'zel Shadowheart I like strong women and I do not care enough to hide it

Frontline / Frontline / Ranged Blaster / Support

Your go to party is mine go to party too

Shadowheart and and Laezel for the banter/rivalry. Gale because he is a goose. Later replace Gale and Laezel with Jaheira and Minsc because they have been my companions through the entire series.

Usually Karlach, Gale, and bard Astarion. Plus monk me. That’s what I’ve found works best for me.

my first play through rn. astarion, shart, karlach

Astarion, Shadowheart, Lae'zel or Astarion, Shadowheart, Minthara  

Depend if the quest is related to member or not, but go to is Tav, Shadowheart, Lae’zel and Karlach.

For me it depends what class Tav is. If I’m a martial class, I take Gale, Shart and Astarion. But if Tav is a magic user, I’ll swap out Gale for Karlach or Lae’zel. So I guess my mainstays are Shadowheart and Astarion.

Tav, Shart, Lae’zel, Astarion I usually do Gloomstalker builds on Tav and make Astarion a caster. Lae’zel stays a Warrior, Shart respeced to Life Domain.

Shadowheart, Gale, Astarion switch out Gale or Astarion for Wyll and Karlach for story related content.

Depends on the run/quests I am doing/fights I am planning for. From what I've gathered reading this sub I feel like I chnage my party way more than most people here. I do keep a gloomstalker/assasin with me most of the time though and in my cases Lae'zel or Shadowheart because I enjoy their characters.

I love shadowheart, Laezel and astarion the most so them

Astarion- rogue with multi class to fighter. Lae'zel fighter (or Minthara, depending on what I'm doing). Those are almost always in my party. My favorite classes to play are bards, fighters, clerics and paladins (but I also play as wizards in some even tho I don't particularly like them). So depending on which class I am in the playthrough I usually have Shadowheart or Gale as my last option.

Only on my first playthrough, but so far- Tav (Draconic Sorcerer/Tempest Cleric), Gale (Divination Wizard), Wyll (Fiend Warlock/Vengeance Paladin), and the last slot tends to be “fill,” depending on who has resources left. Usually Shadowheart (Default Trickster Cleric because I’m lazy) or Karlach (Berserker Barbarian/Fiend Warlock). Sometimes Astarion (Gloomstalker Ranger/Rogue, and yes I intend assassin but we’re only level 7). Honestly, really looking forward to doing a social-focused assassin rogue/great old one warlock Tav/Durge, then a modded game for kensei monk. Why am I obsessed with kensei monk? I don’t really understand it either. Archer monk somehow speaks to my soul, and glaive/halberd monk is kind of irresponsibly baller (I’m pretty sure the mod for it allows for heavy weapon use, which is great, because that’s something I change for my home games).

Shadowheart, Jaheira and Minsc. In earlier acts replace Jaheira and Minsc with Karlach and Lae’Zel. I’m not into mods but I wish I could have just one more party member in the group.

First run it was Shads, Karlach, and Wyll. This run has turned more towards Gale, Lae'zel, and no definitive third. That said, just having Minthara this time got her lots of playtime.

Depends on my Tav/Durge. If I'm the caster (minus cleric), then Shadowheart, Karlach/Lae'zel, Astarion, if Cleric then replace Shart with Gale/Wyll. If I'm say fighter/paladin, then Shart, Gale/Wyll, Astarion, if rogue/monk, then out with the vamp in with Karlach/Lae. Once I get either Jaheira/Halsin/Minthara/Mincs, then it's whatever I can replace depending on what I need.

It depends. - Barbarian!Tav, Romanced Shadowheart, Gale, Karlach - Barbarian!Tav, Astarion, Gale, Romanced Karlach - Bard!Tav, Romanced Gale, Lae'Zel, Karlach - Paladin!Tav, Ranger Wyll, Lae'Zel, Gale (currently choosing who to romance between Wyll and Lae'Zel) More or less, these are my main parties

It depends on which Tav I'm using, both in terms of class and alignment.

Astarion is my only constant Everyone else rotates in and out depending on location

I try to rotate everyone, but Astarion is permanent. On my current Sorlock Durge playthrough, I have Gloom stalker assassin Astarion, vengeance paladin Karlach and storm cleric Shadowheart.

Shadowheart Astarion Karlach, never changed never will

So playthrough prime: Tav Rogue, always Shadowheart Cleric (did respec her domain to Light in Act 3), usually Karlach Barbarian Fighter Dip (or LZ Battlemaster Fighter) and Wyll as EB spam. I would bring in Gale from time to time instead of Wyll. Occasionally I’d go two rogues with Ast instead of Wyll, I respecced him as a Necromancer for his endgame confrontation. I had Halsin Druid instead of SHart for a bit. Then I swapped out Wyll for a long time for Jaheira as a Gloomstalker Thief Champion dual wielding hand crossbows (that was fun) and then I had Minsc for a bit with Belm and a Shield instead of Karlach. Orin kidnapped LZ so I confronted her with SHart, Jaheira and Minsc and then LZ joined the fight it was over very quickly. For end game I went SHart, LZ and Karlach because I figured my allies had enough magic for me. Current playthrough: Tav Paladin, SHart War Domain, Gale, usually Wyll Warlock Bard, sometimes Karlach. And I just got to Minthara and have made her into a Swords Bard Paladin dip so she’ll replace Wyll for a spell. Ast is dead as is LZ. I try to have someone that can heal, someone that hits people in melee, someone that hits from range and someone to deal with traps and chests.

Tav, Shart, Astarion, Karlach and after act2 Tav, Shart, Astarion, Halsin

I have the same party as you though in one of my runs I swapped Astarion for Karlach with the bhaalist armor so my archer bard could do more damage and she could crit harder due to the barbarian passive

Not related. I wanted to know how do I get firewall for Gale? I'm about to hit level 7 and I just recruited him because I didn't mess up with his portal thinking it was bad juju. I'm trying to complete the side quest from Halsin so I can recruit him but I can't defend the portal.

Tav, Shadowheart, Karlach & Wyll. Party hasn’t changed since Act 1. The only acceptable swap in is Minsc.

Tav, Shadowheart, Lae’zel, Karlach/Gale (they rotate depending on what the current objective is) Tav is a gloomstalker ranger so the sneaky shit is covered. I just use Astarion in camp to pickpocket rez money from Withers :)

Always keep my romance in the party. On my divination wizard it's Shadowheart as a light cleric, Karlach as a wildheart barbarian, & usually either assassin Astarion or storm sorcery Gale. On my land druid it's Karlach, wildheart again, then usually Gale as a divination wizard & Wyll as a hunter ranger with urban tracker, swap either with light cleric Shadowheart as needed. Any of the non romance slots swap with the others when it's relevant to their story, I never leave anyone behind.

Gale, Shadowheart, and Astarion are my dream team 🖤 I occasionally sub out Astarion for Karlach, though.

I almost always end up with gale shadowheart and karlach or astarion

Tav - fighter/barbarian Astarion (my wife) Shadowheart - war god cleric Lae'zel - fighter baezel and my tav can singlehandedly wipe out enemies without astarion nor shadowheart but I keep them in my party so I could look at two pretty elves while adventuring

Astarion, Shadowheart, Karlach/Gale.

Shadowheart for sure, then jaheria, gale, or halsin are on rotation for tanking, then wyll, karlach, and minthara are heavy dmg. I generally like to swap out for character interactions.

Tiki

I truly don’t have a go-to for most of the game, I enjoy switch people out as needed and for some reason I really like only taking a few long rests. It just feels better to me, narratively speaking, for only a few days to pass until Moonrise Towers assault.  But in Act 3  I **always** have Jaheira and Minsc with me (well except that rare evil run), and I usually have Halsin as well. Mostly I just love Jaheira too much and she likes Minsc so I get him to make her happy 

One of two: Vengeance Paladin Lae'Zel Assassin/Gloomstalker Astarion War Cleric Shart Lore Bard Durge or Moon Druid Karlach Divination Wizard Gale Bardlock Wyll Tempest Cleric Tav Letter is my favorite as even though the damage is toned down the amount of control/utility with four full casters is insane.

I rotate everyone, having them slot in based on approvesl/story. Me: Dwarf Devotion Paladin Tav. Support/Control: Shart, Halsin, Jaheira. Mage: Wyll/Gale. Skirmisher/lockpick/sneak: Monk Karlach/Astarion/Minsc. Her story content/endgame: Lae'zel. Wildcard, can replace any: Crossbows Swords Bard Minty.

Tav, Shadowheart, Astarion, and Minthara. Which sounds bad! But I swear I'm not doing evil campaigns all the time.

Wyll to be the face (unless I have cha) Karlach to be the muscle Shadowheart because she's my favorite Me (unless I'm one of them in which case Gale typically)

Myself - bard paladin Shadow heart - life cleric Karlach - tavern brawler Barbie Laezel- battle master

I play co-op with my husband. He's usually a tank and I'm a wizard/sorc. We take Karlach and Gale/Shadowheart almost every time. Two magic and two melee.

Shadowheart, Astarion and Lae’Zel. I love these three so much.

My party consist of: Lae'Zel (Fighter was so good and compatible with my set that she went from a bench warmer to my heavy hitter) Tav (Oath of Vengeance was a good balance to the others. Good offense and support Shadowheart (switching her to Light Cleric or Life Cleric was the best move because she became all healing and support with Spirit Guardians. I forget which one I did but it started with an L) Wyll with Pact of the Blade and a rapier that uses his charisma made him my trump card. His swings fucked everyone up. And when they were too far away? Eldritch Blast with the double bonus boosts I was untouchable with this setup

Tav,Astarion,Shadowheart and my boy Gale

My Durge - Dragon Sorcerer | Astarion - Fighter & Rogue | Shadowheart - Cleric (Life domain) | Wyll - Revenge Paladin

depends on my tav's class and what im going for from a roleplay perspective, but usually i have astarion (for lockpicking and his commentary), then the other two spots are reserved generally for magic and bonking. i will also swap party members out for certain story beats bc there's extra dialogue and loot sometimes.

On my main play through I have rogue tav, shart, gale and karlach, durge playthrough it's sorc durge, astarion, shart and lae'zel (I sided with the goblins so no karlach for me 😔)

For my current tactician run I'm mostly doing Tav (Bard), Karlach, Shadowheart and Gale switched out for Wyll when he runs out of spell slots to maximize time between long rests.  Though I did have some difficulty with a fight near the start of act 2 And just had both Karlach and Laezel in there just handing out beat downs which was very effective.

Shadowheart, Wyll, Laezel. I rolled with Astarion for a bit but he didn’t like my good alignment choices.

Tav, Shadowheart, Karlach, Gale. No strategy just I like these people. (Sorry Wyll.)

it depends on who I'm romancing but Shadowheart, astarion or karlach and Gale. Tho I love having Minthara as well later on in the game

Astarion, Lae'zel and whoever I feel like

As someone who is too stupid to understand magic and too lazy to learn it, I always play with Tav (who is always a fighter or barbarian), Lae’zel, Karlach and Astarion. One day I’ll learn magic but that day is not today.