Just started bard again...got sick of my Cleric Ranger (or should I say multiclass chars, they level up SOOOOOOO slow! [img]graemlins/1pissed.gif[/img] )

Just to play this "interestingly" [img]smile.gif[/img] , I made a chaotic neutral bard.
(rate it, please?)
Name: Kyris
Race: Human
Class: Bard
Alignment: CN
Stats:
str 15
dex 18
con 16
int 18
wis 10
cha 18

And what should I wear throughout the adventure? What could my party consist of to make it interesting? (Remember, my char. is CN so a party that could be interesting, not some entirely Good or Evil)

Another powergamer...
The most interesting thing is to have random stats, ie. keep pressing "reroll" as much as you like, but without adjusting any of the abilities. Having 18/18/18/... (for warriors) or 18/18/16/... for non-warriors is very unrealistic. That is almost godlike, no person in the world has such stats.

No, not an ordinary person. But a child of Bhaal, a semi-god... Why not? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

One more thing: you are roleplaying, right? So your chaotic neutral bard can think of Drizzt as a drow in surface and therefore a threat. I mean, you'll kill the man, right? So take his armor. It's ideal for Bards 'cause (not sure of this, correct me if I'm wrong) you can cast spells while wearing it.

The "best natural" style of rolls (keep hitting Reroll as much as you want, but don't use the + or - buttons to move points around) has always been my favorite way to roll. This allows you to have stats that are MUCH better than the average bear, but not so stupid as 18(00)/18/18/10/10/3.

There is *NO* armor in BG1 that will allow a Bard to cast spells. So your best bet is to fill your spellbook with non-combat spells, pre-combat spells, or spells that you can safely cast from out of the enemies' sight range (Identify, Invisibility, Mirror Image, Haste, Resist Fear, Fireball, Web, etc), and let someone else handle the direct-damage stuff (Magic Missile, Flame Arrow, etc). Of course, you can always wear armor while using Wands.

Suggested party:
You
Kagain
Kivan
Imoen
Tiax
Branwen
2 Goods, 2 Neutrals, 2 Evils.
2.25 Warriors (Kagain, Kivan, Bard)
1.5 Clerics (Branwen, Tiax)
2 Thieves (Tiax, Imoen, Bard)
1.75 Mages (Imoen, Bard)

And...if I take her to BG2, what would be the suggested kit?

The Blade kit slaps the Jester and Skald around so hard, it ain't even funny.

I just started a new evil bard in BG2, and I chose straight bard. i didnt want the penalties of the kits. i usually do the same thing with rangers and mages, i find the penalties often out-weigh the advantages of specialists.

I also just finished a run-through of BG1 and I'd have to say, my favorite NPC was coran, the fighter/thief in the cloakwood. minsc is always fun as well, but you might be looking for a change. the mage at the end of nashkel mines is also pretty funny in his eternal gloominess [img]smile.gif[/img] (Xan i think) plus he has a cool moonblade.

I decided to go for:

Kivan
Kagain
Safana
Xan
Branwen

I got Kivan, Kagain, Branwen and Montaron (soon - to - be replaced :D ). That makes 1 good, 4 neutral and 1 evil, which is a good neutral party (Not the TRULY neutral party as it is impossible with the no. of neutral aligned members... [img]graemlins/1pissed.gif[/img] )

[ 03-23-2003, 11:06 PM: Message edited by: D*Ranged ]

Another powergamer...
Yes - and? (I am a powergamer too, and I am proud of it [img]graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] . I do not see powergaming as the opposite of role playing. A character/player can easily contain both 'philosofies')

The most interesting thing is to have random stats
Remember that this is YOUR opinion. Some like to play a super man/woman while some like to play an underdog

keep pressing "reroll" as much as you like, but without adjusting any of the abilities
Others think that it is cheating to roll more than once. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Having 18/18/18/... (for warriors) or 18/18/16/... for non-warriors is very unrealistic. That is almost godlike, no person in the world has such stats.
Which world? The posibility to roll Str 18, Dex 18 and Con 18 is:¨
1/6 * 1/6 * 1/6 * 1/6 * 1/6 * 1/6 * 1/6 * 1/6 * 1/6 = 9.92*10^-8. Which also can be written as 1 in a 10,077,696 chance. If there are 6 billion people in the world (the world the players live in) that would result in approximately (on average for worlds of this size) 595 people having the 18/18/18 score. If on the other hand we talk about the world where the characters live there are some special rules applied here. In fact 18s are much more common than some might think. Even 19, 20, 21 and so on are not that uncommon :D

I am sorry to chop your post to pieces, but sometimes I just cannot resist ;)

[img]graemlins/greenbounce.gif[/img]
Insane

[ 03-24-2003, 04:45 AM: Message edited by: InsaneBane ]

that post reminded me of a pet peev of mine. composite longbows need S-18 ? why ??? that means that only people of 'superhuman' strength can use one. news flash: I am not superhumanly strong, but I can certainly draw a composite longbow.

/muttering

The composite longbow was a 6' monstrosity, stiffer than hell, not the modern compound bow you can buy in any sporting goods store. But while it did require some strength to pull, one didn't have to have superhuman strength. If that was the case, I'm sure it would have never hit on so good. So yes, that rule is pretty unrealistic. But, in a world where men can throw flame from their hands, and survive an axe cleave from a 20' tall humanoid, or better yet, where a 5 ton reptile can fly and spew flame or acid or other such abrasive stuff from it's mouth, who needs realism, you know?

Archaelogists can recognize the skeleton of a professional longbowman by the unnatural twist to the spinal column caused by the strain of pulling back the bowstring a few thousand times. So maybe you'd need an 18 strength to prevent back injuries.

A common longbow were made of solid yew wood (or other hard wood such as ashwood). It required many years of training to be able to hit hard and precise with such a bow. Actually kids were brought up to be longbow men.

The composite bow was working much the same way as the common longbow. It was not made by solid wood though. Some of the best compound bows of the middle age were made in Asia. They made compound bows of three layers: The inner layer (the part of the bow that is squeezed, when drawn) was made of horn, the outer layer (the part that is stretched) was made of sinew and the middle part was made of wood.

A compound bow is a modern bow, where tackles are used to reduce the force that must be maintained while the string is fully drawn. On the longbow and the composite bow the force required to pull the string is bigger the more the string is pulled.

[img]graemlins/greenbounce.gif[/img]
Insane

I just finished a game with a Bard and I had stats that were quite similar to yours. I was going to do solo but it was just a bit too hard, so I used two Bards instead. One thing I noticed was that having 18 INT was of no real benefit. I would have been better off putting a couple of extra points into STR and CON. And just to put a different idea, you don't always have to use a party of six, if there aren't enough Neutral NPC's for a balanced party, then play with less.

If you will be playing with DSotSC you will pick up some interesting items, including armor designed especcially for Bards. If not you may be better off almost naked using amulets, and rings.

Early on, the armor spell will be your saviour. I learned that soloing a fighter/mage/thief through IWD. Which, I might add, was a LOT of fun.

No. I don't have DSotSC.

I realise that, really. For ALL people who are at least part - mage.

The bard and his armor: I havent tried in in a while, but I seem to remember that the Drizzt's chain could be worn and it would allow the casting of spells - but only in the unpatched version.

Ummm... you might want to scroll to 3. post on this topic and read what it says. Then read Spades' answer. And it can't be worn in unpatched version either.

powergaming...
I see what you imply, but powergaming is sooo laaame nonetheless IMNSHO.

random stats...
Of course it is my opinion, but I am pretty sure that D*Ranged asked for our opinions [img]tongue.gif[/img] .

reroll...
Some people consider cheating even using debug console for debugging. Others think that there can be no cheating versus AI.

Having 18/18/18/...
In our world. However, IMO that Forgotten Realms world is very earth-like, even considering magic, pantheon and monsters from every single source.
18 strength implies:
carrying 55 kg (110 pounds) and moving at the same speed as carrying nothing (some people could);
lifting 127.5 kg (255 p) over one's head (some people could).
18/00 strength implies:
carrying 167.5 kg (335 pounds) and moving as carrying nothing (a bit too much);
lifting 240 kg (480 p) over one's head (I think that the world's record is around 200-230 kg. Do you know the exact record?).
Inteligence of 18 enables the character to learn seven languages, apart from his native one.
Other abilities have no such universal indicators.
More than 18 in STR, WIS or CHA and 19 in CON, DEX or INT can be obtained, but only by extraordinary (magical) means.

chop your post to pieces...
I am not angry, you're a good fellow ;) anyway.

Flaming fister- I read it. So? I seem to remember garrick using it and casting spells. If not. Who cares. Its just a game.

About Elven Chain: It may be possible that DSotSC turns Drizzt's mail into Elven Chain, enabling such things as Stealth and Wizard spellcasting while it is being worn. (I wouldn't know, I've never downloaded DSotSC.) It is also possible that not patching your game allows those skills to be used, but I doubt it, because I didn't patch my BG1 game for ages, and never noticed any spellcasting or Steath abilities.

But the fact remains that in official BG1/ToSC, Drizzt's Mail is NOT Elven Chain. Even if you Export your Fighter/Mage into BG2 and try to cast spells there, it still won't work. So, madjim, if you remember Garrick casting spells while wearing Drizzt's mail, you were either using DSotSC, or casting directly from a scroll (which can be done in any armor).

18/00 strengh: Ogre strengh. So this means Ogres can carry 167.5kg without any struggle?
(Oh and weightlifters may have 18 strengh :D )

18 int. I heard 1 int was IQ 10. So a person with 18 int would have IQ 180.
As for Cha, u might need to improvise. Perhaps a CHA of 18 = An uber - BRILLIANT Orator+Leader+Celebrity+Handsome/pretty face+swinder...