I'm gonna try soloing again, with a bit of a different concept. I'm gonna hang back and let my summoned creatures do my fighting for me. I'm wondering what the best class/multiclass/dual-class for this would be. I'm thinking a cleric/mage, ranger/cleric or maybe beastmaster 13/cleric would be the best. Any ideas?

how bout a druid/mage or a cleric mage for aerial servants

I was thinking of a c/m. Unfortunately, in 2nd edition druid/mages aren't valid. :(
Druids would be perfect, but they miss out on many spells that a mc or dc would have. Does anyone know whether or not a ranger-dual-cleric gets ALL the druid spells? I seem to recall someone thought they should. If so, then a beastmaster-dual-cleric would be PERFECT for this role (I'm thinking lvl 13 for ToB.)

Ranger/Cleric-multiclass gets all spells...

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall that one of the (undocumented) changes that they made in ToB was that only true-class rangers and stalkers could dual to cleric. This may not be true, but I would test it out before planning to run a beast master/cleric combo.

Have you considered the totemic druid? His animal spirits are pretty powerful, at least in the early part of the game, and by the time he doesn't need them any more, he can summon elementals.

[ 09-22-2002, 08:19 PM: Message edited by: Desuma Malevois ]

What about Ranger\Cleric dual class?

A Ranger->Cleric will get all the Priest spells as well( once the Ranger class is reactivated).

Ah, forget all those cleric mc/dc s! A pure mage or sorcerer is all that you need! Early in the game you summon lots of spiders, and their poisonous attack (up to lvl12) makes them invaluable - mages suck, and so do fighters, 'cuz they are unable to hit, while taking constant damage.

Later in the game, you'll summon some fire/earth elementals. Haste them, and no one will be left alive in their path. I went through all the Planar Sphere inc. demon-place with earthies! easy job!

Later on, you'll get Skeleton Warriors. They may be considered to be the best summon of a mid-level mage: 95% magic resistance, immunity to normal and (maybe) +1 weapons makes them avesome in most situations in SoA, and hasted they kick dust even outta a Stone Golem!

Then, Mordekainen Sword. A +4 enchanted sword which floats in the air, completely immune to a great deal of mind-altering attacks (confusion-like, psionics, int drain, domination-like etc), IMO, immune to all weapons of +2 or lower enchantment (I may be mistaken, but even Mind Flayers get these cool "Weapon Ineffective" messages!) and they do kick a$$! 3 of them, protected from undead, killed Kangaxx in his Demi-Lich form without any trouble.

And, finally, if you have ToB, you will get Planetar Summons. Cool summons, wielding +3 Vorpal Swords.. No comments.

So see the difference!

By the way, what is the list of cleric/druid good summons?

<font color="gold">If you're planning to not do the fights yourself, and only summon servants, I suggest the Sorcerer.
IMO, he/she is perfect for soloing. They can choose from most Mage-spells, they have a super spell-system, etc. [img]smile.gif[/img]

If you want to do some fighting yourself, I also suggest the Ranger/Cleric. I havent tried soloing that class, but it is great with a party, and should be very good solo too, because of it's Fighting-abilities, and spellcasting-abilities. ;) </font>

I'm working on my first solo round right now as well, and went with the Kensai/Mage dual class. I placed as many proficiences in quarterstaff as I could and dualed after 9th level (don't have ToB). The best part is, after reading a bunch of scrolls to gain spells, I leveled as a mage to lvl 9 almost instantly. Had to perform a few quests for the remaining exp, but now have the kensai abilities back and I've only completed Nalia's Keep. Looking forward to the rest....