Ok i have been using a thief for BG1 and i really like it because of the stealth and backstab damamge. I would send my thief out first(in shadows) and scout and if there is a group ill take out the short bow kill one of them, run and re-stealth, my problem is what to do when there is a group of enemies should i continue picking them off or should i try to backstab them and possibly take some (or alot) of damage.

Also i am using a regular thief and possibly changing it to a fighter/thief so i can have way more HP can i do this or do i need to start over? And any good suggestions for a thief that has a lot of HP, good damage and can backstab for a lot of damage.
Any help is appreciated

If you're a human you can dual to fighter but you'll gain no more exp. to your theif class!

Otherwise you'll have to create a new character (unless a bit of shadowkeepering is donehttp://www.tgeweb.com/ironworks/cgi-...miles/wink.gif)

I like to position my theif behind the mages of the party(s) and backstab them, which will hopefully take them out whil the rest of my party moves in to mop up the rest. But thats me.

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Ok thanks but i am a Elf thief. (bummer) what thief class would be better for sneaking around? and what do u think i should start off for stats(i.e STR DEX and the thieving abilities)
thanks

Well no theif class has an advantage in the stealth factors (correct me if i'm wrong) but it depends on how u play the game.

Assassins are cool for the backstab posion damage but only get 15% to distribute between theif skills.

Bounty Hunters are great for laying traps then leading the enemy into them! Though some people preffer the normal theifs traps to the special one but its all the same in the end!

Swashbucklers are more about fighting but can still stealth (but CANNOT!!! backstab)

As to stats: Dex is a must! 17+ at least, since dex increases theif skills.
Strength is useful for lugging things around and backstab but it dosent have to be that high. 15-16 is fine but if youre a human and u want to dual 17 is needed. Hope that helps.

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Thanks Jerome, can u explain duel classing for dummies

No problem man!

Dual classing can only be done by humans. Dual classing means that at a certain point in your characters career you can change class, but you start at level 1 and your abilities from your First class cannot be used until your new class reaches 1 level above the previous one!

(try reading it several times, it'll make sense sooner or later!)

Example:

Human theif lv.10 dual classes to fighter.
Human becomes fighter lv.1 and cant use theif skills.
When human reaches lv.11 as fighter, theif skills can be used again.
From then on; only fighter class gains exp.

This is basically the same as multiclassing except YOUR FIRST CLASS DOSENT GAIN ANY MORE EX. OR GET LEVEL UPS, though its skills can still be used.

The advantage of this is that you can include subclasses with this (i.e. assasin\fighter) But as far as i can remember Paladins, Barbarians, Sorcerors or Monks cannot dual.

If you need it simpler just ask!

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Ok so if i start with a level one thief and he gets a level up i cant use any thief skills but i can use fighter skills and then when the fighter gets a level up i cant use fighter skills, now i can use the thief skills again is that right?

Erm, yes i think..... Someone else wanna help out?

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Not quite. 1st lvl thief: thief abilities available. Dual->Fighter: 1st lvl fig abilities, NO thief skills available. 2nd lvl fighter: have abilities of fighter plus thief but: Cannot use thief skills in heavy armour. Cannot backstab with large weapon.

Not quite. I think... http://www.tgeweb.com/ironworks/cgi-...es/biggrin.gif
I thought you could only dual class from 3rd level and up... still, that only makes a difference if you're playing BG1
But then it would be
1st level thief to 3rd level thief: everything is normal
3rd level DUAL CLASS
then 1st level fighter, no thief abilities
When you reach 4th level fighter, you regain your thieving abilities.
Like Lord Shield said, you cannot thieve while wearing anything larger than studded leather. You can backstab with the following: shortsword, dagger, longsword, katana....no blunt weapons etc

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Melusine
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Your voice is ambrosia

Read Jerome's description again...-he/she explains it rather well.
If you're starting as a thief,you'll be starting at level 7 ,NOT level 1.
Maybe ,if you want HP and strength, and ALL thieving skills,then start as a fighter and dual to thief right at the begining of the game,....after a few quests you'll get all that strength,hitpoints and weapon skill back.(Damn! why didn't i think of that earlier!?-Sounds good to me!).

(edit), mmmm? ,just noticed....you already DID think of that!

[This message has been edited by white heron (edited 03-09-2001).]

thanks everbody for he info
I did a Fighter/Thief and thats working out better than i thought, especially when i backstab with my katana(more damage and better THAC0) also i can use better armor than studded if i wanted to but without thieving abilities i find know that i am using her more than the team

Also i ditched Imoen when i got her what happens when i get out of the dungeon???

Hello DarkJedi, glad to see another thief http://www.tgeweb.com/ironworks/cgi-...iles/smile.gif

Some things to rember is the armour can affect our skills, and certain races do get a bonus with some of the thief skills. Page 232 will show some of the adjustment abilities, and some of the readings will tell you about bonuses races get when not using the thief ability in detection of traps, hidden doors, and the what not.

If you put on better than Studded leather (or some of the magical ones later on) you can loose your theivin' abilities, until it is removed.

I started out as a human fighter, then went to level 9, then duel classed him to a thief. Playing a straight thief or a sub-set of thief is very rewarding, but can be frustrating because you will have to rethink how you are gonna attack, and how you will keep people off your thief, some say it is frustrating, I say it is fun.

For a thief, you want dex, str, con, to be up as high as possible. I also use the auto pause function for enemies and traps, that way i can set myself and the party up for maximum effectiveness.

Hope that helps

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Drink and be merry http://www.tgeweb.com/images/forum/icons/beerchug.gif
Jimbo [img]http://www.tgeweb.com/images/forum/icons/ninja1.gif
"Renegade, Rebel, and Rogue"

Bah I go assassin always http://www.tgeweb.com/ironworks/cgi-...iles/smile.gif. Heh a dual class would probably be better. I'll probably start one when I finally beat this game. Grr still in chapter 7...

Thieves are really cool characters IMHO. I had a Fighter/Thief with 19 dex (elf) and he kicked ass!
SPOILER
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I remember in the shadow lord dungeon there was an area with a bladed skeleton (the one with the long blades on its arms) and my fighter/thief kept running behind a pillar and disappearing and then backstabbing the skeleton till it died. Cool stuff!

Im also not an original PnP player, so I dont really like getting into the intricate details of when to dual class a character to get maximum benefits or what character class combination to play to get best results and all that sorta stuff. It just seems like power gaming to me. Feel free to disagree, since I have nothing against people that do that, but I just like to keep it real instead of trying to manipulate the system instead of just going with the flow. I know its accepted, but its not something I rather enjoy so my parties always have pure class or multiclass characters.
Play the Game, not the numbers.
Sorry for the rant http://www.tgeweb.com/ironworks/cgi-...les/tongue.gif

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Why?

Fighter/Theif gets my no. 1 vote!!

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"Watch your back" - Sylent
Master Theif of the OHF