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SixOfSpades · 02-07-2004, 09:48 PM

DOHHH!!!

Here I was, sitting all comfortable and secure in my ivory tower, secure in my knowledge that MY character was SO much more pathetic than YOUR characters. And then I double-checked it last night, and it all came crashing down. But, for the moment, we'll pretend that that didn't happen, and raise this character up as the true epitome of the Great Sucking Sound.

Dundee was the closest: The character is a Fallen Beastmaster->Cleric!! (Dual at Level 2 to really maximize the comedic value.) Played correctly, the Beastmaster->Cleric is by no means a weak character: Warrior Hitpoints, Saves, THAC0 and ApR, bolstered with the power to cast damn near every Priest spell in the game, plus the ability to Stealth and Turn Undead, and you've got yourself one powerhouse of a Bhaalspawn.

But one Cloudkill later....just one badly placed Cloudkill....it doesn't even have to be the player's fault: It's not like you can control where those damned Commoners wander around. If they want to walk straight into a cloud of poison gas, that should be their own dang fault. And, like I said, in a no-Reloads game, that would be pretty much that.

Now, let's see what the PC is left with!

ADVANTAGES:

Has a Familiar

DISADVANTAGES:

Can't use jack for weapons (Clubs, Staves and Slings only)
Armor selection isn't much better (some magical gear gives decent AC, but no Stuff of Protection means crappy Saving Throws)
Base ApR of 1 (assuming the Dual was before Level 7), and cannot use any items that increase it
Cannot Stealth
Cannot Turn Undead (strange but true!)
Cannot cast any spells. That's right, I said ANY! You can still memorize all the spells you want, but when you Fall, your "Cast Spell" button is permanently greyed out! WooHOO!
Inability to cast spells means no ToB High-Level Abilities

Oh, YEAH, baby! Let's hear it for the Fallen Beastmaster->Cleric!

But, now we must return to the one little flaw that brings this whole beautiful theory tumbling down like a pack of cards: The 'Quick Spell' button. The primary Cast Spell button has indeed been disabled, but the player can still cast the full battery of Priest spells through the Quick Spell Button. It takes more clicking, of course, but the ultimate result is that this character doesn't suck all that much. Phoooey!!

Oh, and Userunfriendly: Generic Archers can indeed Grandmaster in Slings, and Darts too.

02-07-2004, 09:48 PM	#55
SixOfSpades Dracolisk Join Date: September 16, 2001 Location: Bellingham, WA, USA Age: 46 Posts: 6,901	DOHHH!!! Here I was, sitting all comfortable and secure in my ivory tower, secure in my knowledge that MY character was SO much more pathetic than YOUR characters. And then I double-checked it last night, and it all came crashing down. But, for the moment, we'll pretend that that didn't happen, and raise this character up as the true epitome of the Great Sucking Sound. Dundee was the closest: The character is a Fallen Beastmaster->Cleric!! (Dual at Level 2 to really maximize the comedic value.) Played correctly, the Beastmaster->Cleric is by no means a weak character: Warrior Hitpoints, Saves, THAC0 and ApR, bolstered with the power to cast damn near every Priest spell in the game, plus the ability to Stealth and Turn Undead, and you've got yourself one powerhouse of a Bhaalspawn. But one Cloudkill later....just one badly placed Cloudkill....it doesn't even have to be the player's fault: It's not like you can control where those damned Commoners wander around. If they want to walk straight into a cloud of poison gas, that should be their own dang fault. And, like I said, in a no-Reloads game, that would be pretty much that. Now, let's see what the PC is left with! ADVANTAGES: Has a Familiar DISADVANTAGES: Can't use jack for weapons (Clubs, Staves and Slings only) Armor selection isn't much better (some magical gear gives decent AC, but no Stuff of Protection means crappy Saving Throws) Base ApR of 1 (assuming the Dual was before Level 7), and cannot use any items that increase it Cannot Stealth Cannot Turn Undead (strange but true!) Cannot cast any spells. That's right, I said ANY! You can still memorize all the spells you want, but when you Fall, your "Cast Spell" button is permanently greyed out! WooHOO! Inability to cast spells means no ToB High-Level Abilities Oh, YEAH, baby! Let's hear it for the Fallen Beastmaster->Cleric! But, now we must return to the one little flaw that brings this whole beautiful theory tumbling down like a pack of cards: The 'Quick Spell' button. The primary Cast Spell button has indeed been disabled, but the player can still cast the full battery of Priest spells through the Quick Spell Button. It takes more clicking, of course, but the ultimate result is that this character doesn't suck all that much. Phoooey!! Oh, and Userunfriendly: Generic Archers can indeed Grandmaster in Slings, and Darts too. __________________ Volothamp's Comeuppance Everything you ever needed to know about the entire Baldur's Gate series......except spoilers.