Who says Marnid and Borcha are useless?!

[Hirokache]

Personal Skills stack.
Party skills are the highest of your *heros*. The party skills of regulars don't count.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding your use of the terminology. But personal skills do not actually stack do they? Since the question was how they work in regards to the party , this seems to mean that my "power draw" skill and so forth would be equal to that of all the sum of all party members.

Also, at least one party skill does seem to stack: training. Adding one point of training to a hero who did not yet have the skill increased the experience I was seeing each day.

 

[okiN]

Hirokache, that's exactly what he meant. You see, training is in fact NOT a party skill, it's a personal skill. See?

 

[tsuken]

I always took Borcha because of his handy world-map-skills (tracking, spotting,pathfinding). Now he's also doing tactics for me because his int isnt high enough yet to get those map skills up.

I didn't take Marnid untill I had a leadership skill of 5/6. Because I need the room to train my troops:
1. peasent
2. footman
3. veteran
4. infantry
5. guard

But now I also have Marnid and he is the priest of the team, always getting me back to good health between fights He's concentrating on surgery, first aid and wound treatment. After reading this post, when Marnid has points to spare, I'll make him a trainer too.

My own hero has leadership, athletics and shield mostly. He only has a horse skill of 2 because all I want is a courser anyway and mostly I'm on foot with my team. I tell "dismount" and "follow me" at the start of a battle and shoot at the first attackers with my sniper crossbow. Then when the horses get close I take out my spear and order a charge. I poke my spear in the horse a few times and it's over fast, even with dark knights.

 

[Vinz Klortho]

I didn't take Marnid untill I had a leadership skill of 5/6. Because I need the room to train my troops:
1. peasent
2. footman
3. veteran
4. infantry
5. guard

I take Marnid and just suck up the expense of buying 2nd tier tavern recruits, rather than peasants.

 

[okiN]

The expense is nothing, the only problem is that militias/watchmen/footmen are much more scarce. It's annoying. :S

 

[Wanderer]

I didn't take Marnid untill I had a leadership skill of 5/6. Because I need the room to train my troops:
1. peasent
2. footman
3. veteran
4. infantry
5. guard

I take Marnid and just suck up the expense of buying 2nd tier tavern recruits, rather than peasants.

Not that I didn't hire militia, but there were times it was easier since I'm trying to max leadership to hire a crapload of peasants and convert them simultaneously (just about everyone would flip to the next level at once after 2 days, fire the 1 or 2 who don't make it (out of 30)).

Perhaps I am misunderstanding your use of the terminology. But personal skills do not actually stack do they? Since the question was how they work in regards to the party , this seems to mean that my "power draw" skill and so forth would be equal to that of all the sum of all party members.

Also, at least one party skill does seem to stack: training. Adding one point of training to a hero who did not yet have the skill increased the experience I was seeing each day

Power draw, if all three characters could affect the same bow, would stack, however, since that's not the case...

All three heros, however DO affect the same party with training, therefore, it stacks. It is definately not a party skill, however, it's a personal skill. Party skills use the best out of your heros. Personal skills are on a per-person basis.

 

[Hirokache]

Ahh, nifty, I see now where I was confused.

 

[Havokk7]

When they level up (They get that same plus sign next to their names as the regular soldiers), just talk to them in the party screen and ask them to tell you about themselves.

I've never seen that. Then again, looking at the XP numbers its possible they've never levelled up since I got them (Borcha is lvl 13, Marnind is lvl 6, my character is lvl 6).

And I'd like to answer the thread title…

I think they are useless. I'm sick of seeing "Borcha is knocked unconscious by River Pirate". So far their worst showing is when me, Borcha and Marnind went against three river pirates. After both Borcha and marnind were both knocked out there were, you guessed it, three river pirates chasing my archer.
Mutter grumble.

 

[Wanderer]

Which is entirely my point. Combat wise, they're so so. Not worth a stack for their simple combat merit unless you train them to be so.

However, they have other power, other ability, that more then make up for it.