I've never played a thief before and I'm thinking of giving it a go. I don't want a thief who stands in the back and just shoots a bow. I want a guy who can sneak around and backstab, yes, but who can be a front line fighter as well. So I'm going to try a dwarf fighter/thief. I have a few questions though. First, I'm not sure what fighting style to go with, though I'm leaning towards dual weilding. Is that the best option? Second, I'm not sure what weapon proficiencies to go with. I love the battle axe wielding dwarf, but you can't backstab with an axe. What weapon types would work well? Lastly, do you have any general (not looking for spoilers) tips on how to play a fighter/thief (am I crazy for thinking I can use him as a front line fighter as well)? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Fighter/thief: an excellent class, cause it can backstab and them fight some more. [img]smile.gif[/img] What is important that you can not wear that good armor if you still want to be using your thieving skills. Shadow Scale armor is the best in SoA, if you are evil, kill Drizzt for his chainmail, works as well. The best fighting style for a fighter/thief is either singleweapon style or dual wielding. Single weapon gives you extra AC(which is quite handy with not-so-good-armors) and a higher chance to critical hit someone, that means, extra chance to critically backstab!!! Dual wielding nets you an extra attack, which is quite nifty as well, as I've mentioned somewhere else, extra attacks are what make fighters gods... And you can then proceed by using an axe in the offhand, and a thief weapon in the main hand, so you can still backstab. Maybe a plain longsword?

Hmmmm...

We be talking about a Dwarf here. Weapon choice based on roleplaying depends on how stereotypical you want to be.

Katanas, naaaah... ...
Daggers, no Dwarf worth his salt will be caught dead using this as a main weapon.
Quarterstaff, yah, maybe if he wants to pole-vault or something.
Long Sword, not really a typical Dwarven weapon, but they do use it.
Short Sword, makes more sense.
Clubs, if it is a big mean club, yeah, sure.
Scimitar, Hell no.

For a Fighter/Thief, I would personally choose to Dualwield. The additional ApR vastly makes up for the loss of Grandmastery. I would select Short Swords and Two Weapon Style for my initial weapon proficiencies. Clubs would be next for the blunt damage, followed by Long Swords. Crossbows last for range.

dual wielding short swords is a good option

a fighter/thief with decent early armour and items can do just fine in the front lines - especially if he can work as a flank attacker once you've got the bad guys concentrating on you armoured buffoon - i find a good technique is to position your F/T for backstab and walk you armoured buffoon up to the bad guy and then have the thief backstab during combat

EDIT: actually - dwarven F/T is shaping up to be my powerplay solo of choice - let us know how it goes

Dundee's suggestion of short swords, clubs, and dual wielding is a good one, but don't forget that a Fighter/Thief doesn't have to be totally restricted to backstabbing weapons. Feel free to take a slot or two in Axe as well, so in battles where you don't want to backstab you can your classic battle-axe wielding dwarf. It's as good in melee as a long sword, and in addition, there are throwing axes you can use as missle weapons. Just be a little careful since your Fighter/Thief will only have 8 slots to play with under the SOA XP cap, but you could still manage:
** Axe
** Short Sword
** Club
** Two-Weapon Style

Well, Hammers are also Dwarven weapons and not a bad chance in SoA :D

ooh, and a solo fighter/thief can usefully use a point or two in mace ;)

Thank you all for your great suggestions. I think short swords is the way I'm going to do it. Thanks again.

Especially if you are a Dwarf looking for a ranged weapon. ;)

[ 11-02-2003, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: Leslie ]

Especially if you are a Dwarf looking for a ranged weapon. ;) </font>[/QUOTE]True...although, I always felt that Half-Orcs should have a ranged weapon: dwarf.