This is probably going to sound like a lame question, but here goes:
How do you backstab? I thought a thief could do it, but I have Safana and I just can't figure out what it means to "backstab" someone!!

Smoot,
Backstabbing is SO pathetically simple I almost want to wretch at this question. Step 1: hide in shadows or become invisible. Step 2: get behind target. Step 3: attack target. Congratulations you have just backstabed an opponent.

P.S. backstabbing is an extremely over-rated tactic that rarely works in my experience. Maybe others have had better luck with it.

I don't think backstabbing is overrated, sometimes when i'm playing and scouting the area out with my thief.. i'm usually hidden of course. and if i see a monster (if it's not too powerful) i just walk up and kill him with one swing. I once took out a party of gnolls by backstabbing, running away, then coming back.. picking them off like flies. feels like cheating almost. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Firestorm, I don't know whether you know smoot in r/l or not and are just taking the piss, but lighten up huh. His was a perfectly legit question and he's not the first to ask it.
I'm with sixofspades in the stoned thread aswell.

How about sharing your knowledge in a nice way [img]smile.gif[/img]

Sorry mate. I was frustrated after being thwarted by Karoug multiple times in battle. Hopefully all I need is a full stock of spells and I should be able to take him, and probably be done with the frustration.

The beautiful thing abvout backstab is that as your thief gains level, he/she will do more damage backstabbing - up to a max 4x damage iirc.

(Minor spoiler)
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I was in Delgroden's house, and fought all the mosnters there, or so I thought. I sent Imoen to explore the place & I found one more doom knight (ir some such monster) in the kitchen.
Imopen his in shadows, approached the back of the knight, & back stabbed for 20 pts damage, ran away & hid in shadows. The monster, not being able to see Imoen, didn't give chase. So she approached (still hidden) and backstabbed again, this time killing the monster.

No fuss, no muss.

Personally, the highest damage I've done on 1 hit was a Critical Quadruple Backstab, in the final battle of BG1, no less.

144 points of damage. On a Mage. Ouch.

:eek: That mage must've been chunkified!!

Oh, yeah. You bet he was. Poof, gone.

She was a Level 6 Fighter Dualed to Thief, I believe, with 19 STR and 4 points in Large Sword. Boo-ya.

P.S. I know of a really cool site out there: The theme is "Things That The NPCs Would Never, Ever Say."

There's only one for Semaj: "I can speak and tell you all about myself!"

I just assumed that to backstab, there was a button. Thanks for clearing that up for me.