Assuming you don't find enough, or any, suits of Elven Chainmail (I'm determined to never replay any random item drops), what's the best robes, or other protection items, for a Fighter/Mage multi- or dual-class?

(Stress on "items," I know there are some pretty good spells for protection too)

<font color = lightgreen>Robes of the Archmagi (of the appropriate alignment, of course), those robes that give the mage an 18/99 strength (no, I don't know the name at this time), or the robes that make the wearer immune to umber hulk gaze (useful in several places). At least, those are the ones I keep in my mage's inventory. </font>

Agreed with Azred. The set I use the most is the Robes of the Watcher (I think that's what they're called) - they give AC 3 and are taken off of Malavon's corpse. Ogi-Luc's Great Robe is the one that gives huge strength and AC 4, if the Str gain is not redundant from other items (Gauntlets of Ogre Power, e.g.) given to a F/M. The Shadowed Robe (AC 4, some magic resistance) isn't bad either, and it's found relatively early in the game (Severed Hand) - it's random, though.

A F/M will never have the best AC in the party unless it takes armor incompatible with spellcasting, so the protective spells of mage and cleric are the keys to making the character a melee force in the mid to late game stages.

<font color = lightgreen>Ah, the Great Robe. I couldn't recall the name; thank you. [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img] Give that one to a cleric/mage, drink a potion of Fortitude, and then cast Draw Upon Holy Might for truly superhuman stats before a fight. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] </font>

Hmm, anyone know of a mod that allows BG2 kits for IWD? I can see a K/M being whoopass in this situation. Also, Azred, will it matter about his stats, seeing as how the C/M can't use decent weapons that allow him to use those stats? (I'm a nub in case you can't tell).

I'm pretty sure there's no BG2 kits allowed in IWD. I would have heard about such a mod if one existed. Sorry. :(

The C/M can use clerical weapons - and there are some stellar maces in this game. A C/M could also cast Haste and Righteous Wrath of the Faithful as buffs before combat for extra attacks to go along with high stats. ;)

Will they have the THACO needed to go toe to toe effectively, or will the sheer craziness of HoW/HoF not permit that, and give benefit to the ability to cast/tank? What about a loss of concentration (lost hill)?

HoF mode (enemies with vastly multiplied hitpoints and damage-dealing capabilities) is very different from HoW (an expansion).

I wouldn't send a cleric into melee that often. I very much favour the ability to cast and tank combined in the same character - the F/M and F/C (or R/C) and F/D are some of the strongest class combinations as either multiclass or dual class. A cleric has a decent enough thaco, but the real kicker is the attacks per round - one just doesn't cut it; a high level cleric will usually be more effective casting spells than fighting in the front line.

Spells can be lost mid-casting quite easily - there's no concentration skill to be pumped up, and I'm not sure exactly how the game determines if you lose a spell (probably a saving throw of some kind). Generally, it's better to cast all the spells you're going to cast with a tanking/casting character before entering melee. The only exception to this is the F/M, as Mirror Image allows impervious casting from the front row.

I could be wrong, but isn't the great robe only available to single class mages?

Come to think of it, I believe you're right, Marty.

Robes are mostly to be worn for any nice extras they give. Most of them don't give better AC than around 4, which can be duplicated with the AC 6 Bracers and a good Ring of Protection.