Hey guys,
Iv read lots of threads where people have asked about classes and most people reccomend the blade.I decided to try one out myself but was stuck on the stats.
He is half elf and they are as follows
STR 14
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 14
WIS 10
CHA 15 he has 35 HP at the base level

also what tactics should i use? fighter?spellcaster?theif?

Will he be able to survive?cheers

[ 04-23-2004, 05:59 PM: Message edited by: TheGodThatFailed ]

I'd say that those stats are extremely low. You've got a total of 81 points. Try to get at least 88 or so. Since you're a blade, pump some stats into strength (not too much, you're not a pure fighter), high dexterity and constitution, and do what you can for charisma since you're a bard. These are just from a roleplaying view, of course. If you wanted a more powerful dude, just pump up all your stats except for charisma, while wisdom and intelligence shouldn't go higher than 12.

That looks like a reasonable list of stats for a blade. I think i had a couple of points less (maybe 12?) for strength and a bit more in dexterity for my blade to reflect his greater agility and consequently lighter blows.

If you're not soloing, yes he'll survive fine because the rest of the party will cover until he gets powerful.

Soloing I found him to be quite a challenge, but it's certainly doable. I tended to play my blade as a 'sneaky' fighter in the earlier levels (eg hit and run, luring enemies away singly) but as he gets to a level where he can cast level 5 and 6 mage spells then he becomes a great fighter/mage and will go toe to toe with most other enemies no problem. Just be careful not to get too cocky - it's easy to do because the blade is such a flash fighter at high levels, but it's always worth remembering he's still a rogue character - it'll save you a few frantic retreats!

You may wish to pick up the rogue rebalancing mod as well which aims to bring the rogue classes closer to their pnp equivalents. http://www.gamesector.co.yu/avenger/

I found the blade to be a great character to roleplay with - it should be an enjoyable game.

[ 04-23-2004, 06:21 PM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]

He will probably fare pretty well, however:
You would want max dexterity. You cannot use platemails and should dual-wield making the dexterity AC essential. Remember that the bard should be up front using his spells.
If you solo you should pilfer as many scrolls as possible and also some gear. Steal things remotely valuable and fence it on the harbor. Use the dough to recharge the wands. Wands is your lifeblood. That should get you starting really good and make the acquisistion of Melodic Chain and other quite essential items easier.
You don't need that much strength - a belt will solve that. However if you DO have good strength you could wear the inertial belt. Your call.
I'd roll until you get something like
Str 12 (19 with belt)
Dex 18
Con 16 (vital. you'll not have many hp [1])
Int 18 (jeez. get something into that spellbook.)
Wis 7 (can't bookcast wish anyhow. why bother.)
Cha -- (what ever is left)
That is most definately attainable with a few rolls.
Learn to master the spins. When used correctly they are quite deadly.
I have just finished a solo blade and truthfully she rocked everything in her path. My stats where more or less as above with the exception of strength and intelligence. Both of these where 19 as she came through Baldurs Gate I.

[1] For the first ten levels a blade will have
3.5*10 = 35hp
on average and a fighter will have
5.5*9+3 = 52.5hp
If we consider constitution it looks like this
15 - 45 - 61.5
16 - 55 - 70.5
17 - 55 - 79.5
18 - 55 - 88.5
Analyze the numbers and you will quickly realize there is a significant gain in having 16/18 in constitution respectively.
Above this point the bard will gain 2hp pr. level and the warrior will gain 3.

[ 04-23-2004, 07:04 PM: Message edited by: mad=dog ]

STR: 12
DEX: 18
CON: 16
INT: 15
WIS: 10
CHA: 15+

Total: 87

Bards gain nothing extra from having a CON value higher than 16.

ok i used Dundees stats for a base, and i got
STR: 13
DEX: 18
CON: 16
INT: 15
WIS: 10
CHA: 18

51 HP, and already he has 53% of the partys kills.Hes one of the best iv played so far,but is there a way the makes him able to cast spells in armour?i remeber that Haer Delis(spelling?) wore armour and i think he could cast,was it melodic chain?am i gonna have to get him in the party and rob his armour?

[ 04-24-2004, 06:52 AM: Message edited by: TheGodThatFailed ]

Only the elven chain mails (the green ones) enable you to cast spells if you disregard the dark elven ones for a second. There are four types of elven chain in the regular SoA - at least that I have found. Elven Chain, Elven Chain +1, Melodic Chain +3 and Bladesinger +4. All these allow spellcasting and are absolutely must-have as soon as they are available. The Mithril Chain +4 allows pickpocketing, but not spellcasting.
[SPOIL] You don't need to whack Haer'Dalis. Rescue him instead and behold: You have super boots and armor. [/SPOIL]
My recent post "Ramblings of a solo Blade" includes a list of items I have used in chapter 2 along with a lot of suggestions on how and where to get better gear.

cheers :D

bah...


the game has min values high enough that your not gimped even if you reduce somthing vital to your class.

There's a lot of talk the talk about not pumping class stat's and so forth, but not much walking that line when it comes to playing..

I'd suggest keeping the first random roll you get when making your char, and playing with it.. With a party to cover you your char does not need to have mega stat values.

Get UAI and Robe of Vecna if you're soloing. Keep a good armor behind for backup and you're set.

Well. This being the SOA and not TOB forum you cannot jump out and assume HLA's are available. But otherwise sure. Use Vecna when you are in high spellcasting areas, use the best armor when you are hacking things apart and finally use Aslyferund when you have to do both at the same time.

=/ Okay. Well, I don't even know if he's soloing or in a party, or if he has ToB or not, so I can't really give any advice.

im soloing with ToB and UB installed

If you are soloing... what do you mean by this?

[ 04-25-2004, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: Dundee Slaytern ]

i started agin with a new char dundee,becuase when i had the other stats i had a party and thaught itd be more fun to solo...i was right too :D

[ 04-25-2004, 11:05 AM: Message edited by: TheGodThatFailed ]

See above for my suggestion. Also, play him more as a light, tactical fighter/mage. He can dish out damage like a Fighter with the right stuff and spells, and he can defend like a Mage. But be prepared to run for your life if you run out of protection spells. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Hey just wandering , has anyone made a spell list for blades?

I mean there are some spells that when combined with defensive of offensive spin would really help.

A spelllist as in "How much intelligence do I actually need"?
Let me see. In the early game you'll probably need some stinking clouds and fireballs to loosen up the enemies. Cheezy, but it does the job at least partially along with a few low level offensive spells. Chromatic Orb quickly becomes a death spell due to rapid leveling, though you'd want to cast a malison spell first to make it work better.
Dispel Magic, Secret Word, Pierce Magic and Breach to remove as much magic defence as you can and Summon Nishru to ruin other spellcasters spellbook. True sight is a nice way to get rid of assasins and their eternal backstabs and the ever present Mislead contingency.
Stoneskins is a must. Combine with offensive spin, greater evasion(HLA) and other defensive spells and into the fray you go and chop more or less everything apart. Use Belm or Scarlet Ninja-To (after the HLA UAI) in the off-hand to give extra damage. Throw in a Tenser's Transformation and you rock.
Minor spell trigger and contingency are also nice. I think I had 2 stinking clouds in my early spell trigger, but I currently have blur+invisibility and I usually release it along with offensive spin when battling annoying and difficult foes. I have stoneskin@25%hp in my contingency. Remember that you can always use scrolls to get better triggers and contigencies up. These will still restrict you to you memorized spells, but worth a thought none the less.
Protection from normal weapons and higher versions of the same is also pretty nice. Quite a lot of hardhitting foes only use normal weapons.
DoT area effect spells can also be nice. Cloudkill to name one.
This is straight from the top of my head. There are other spells for sure. It's just to get the ball rolling.

EDIT: Forgot Tenser's. How could I?

[ 04-26-2004, 01:37 PM: Message edited by: mad=dog ]

... Stoneskin, Blur, and Mirror Image for the beginning. Protection from Magical Weapons and Spell Immunities later on.

Improved Haste and Mislead are both really good, as well as Breach and Dispel Magic. Magic Missile for the early goings will serve you well, and if you ever have an open level 5 slot, slap in a Sunfire spell. Skull Traps/Flame Arrows wouldn't go amiss, as well as the highly underestimated Glitterdust. Don't forget that Find Familiar spell for that extra bit of toughness. ;)

Once you gain the ability to use level 6 spells... 90% of all fights can be resolved with one spell.

Mislead.

Unless you dislike the taste of cheese of course. ;)

I was thinking more along the lines of Otiluke's Resilient Sphere after casting a malison on sight of enemy , get into combat and if u wanna get rid of a pesky enemy for a while just cast it and go for the others.

Emotion:Hopelessness after Greater Malison is a better combo.

indeed...like this you can disable many enemies and hurt them aswell! Otilukes Sphere is crap in comparison