Numbers crunched. I created a Multiplayer party and did some Shadowkeepering: All characters had their snapshots taken at 89,000, then 2,500,000, and finally 5,000,000 EXP. All of their stats except Constitution were 9s.
Dwarven Fighter with 18 CON
Level 7: 5/7/11/12/8
Level 18: 0/0/4/4/1
Level 28: 0/0/4/4/1
Dwarven Fighter with 19 CON
Level 7: 5/7/11/12/8
Level 18: 0/0/4/4/1
Level 28: 0/0/4/4/1
Dwarven Fighter with 12 CON (the minimum)
Level 7: 7/9/11/12/10
Level 18: 0/2/4/4/3
Level 28: 0/2/4/4/3
Dwarven Fighter/Cleric with 19 CON
Levels 6/6: 4/8/12/13/9
Levels 13/13: 0/2/6/5/3
Levels 18/19: 0/0/4/4/1
Gnomish Fighter/Cleric with 18 CON
Levels 6/6: 9/8/12/13/9
Levels 13/13: 5/2/6/5/3
Levels 18/19: 2/0/4/4/1
Gnomish Cleric/Illusionist with 18 CON
Levels 6/6: 9/4/11/13/5
Levels 13/13: 5/2/8/11/3
Levels 19/16: 2/0/5/8/1
As can be clearly seen, the Dwarven Fighters with high CON rule the day, although the Gnomish F/C is only slightly behind--he just takes forever to get there. In this set, the only character that can be said to have
bad Saving Throws is, not coincidentally, the only one that is not a Warrior. You can see for yourself that the Cleric/Illusionist near the
end of SoA has Saves comparable to a Dwarven Fighter with high CON at the very
beginning of SoA.
What surprised me about this is that the Dwarven Fighters with 18 and 19 CON had identical Saves--I was sure that that extra point of CON counted for an extra Saves bonus. I'll do some more testing.
Fighters, Barbarians, and Rangers all use the same Saves table; but of course Rangers gain levels a bit slower, so their Saves take a bit longer to get there. Paladins also use the same table, but get -2 bonuses to all Saves right from the start; so their average Saves are roughly equivalent to a Dwarf, but since the Dwarf's bonuses are mostly in Save vs. Death and Save vs. Spells--the only two that matter--the Dwarf is still better. Halfling Warriors get the exact same bonuses as Dwarven Warriors.
Monks use the Cleric's Saving Throws table, but get additional bonuses on top of it. I've never played a Monk, but I hear their Saves are quite good, although I doubt many people ever get a chance to see them, under all that Magic Resistance.
Quote:
Originally posted by Andraste:
Only a half elf can be a mage/cleric multiclass(why not an elf, I wonder - anyone know?).
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Traditionally, Elves cannot be Multiclassed Clerics because they are too devoted to their gods to split their devotion like that. (Yes, Aerie is illegal.) Personally, I think they should be allowed to be Druids, Fighter/Druids, and Fighter/Clerics (not to mention BARDS), but what do I know.
Quote:
Originally posted by Klorox:
Firestorm (I think that's what it's called) is just as good as ADHW
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Incendiary Cloud does nice damage over a good area and duration, but roughly half the enemies worth using it on have some Fire resistance. Most importantly, I feel it pales in comparison to ADHW simply because it's not party-friendly: It's great for specific situations when you know ahead of time that you're going to use it, and have time to buff at least 1 party member up to be immune. . . but you can pop off an ADHW whenever the heck you want to, even when there are Innocents about. And the only people immune to Magic damage are (Tactics) Mages.
Fire Storm is a Level 7 Priest spell: Short duration, but very heavy damage per round, and most notably it ignores Magic Resistance.
Quote:
Originally posted by Leslie:
My vote goes for F/M/C as the most powerful class. Obviously with TOB installed...
This is in my opinion the true Child of Bhaal
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I'd go for F/M/C if only the EXP cap (and, following that, the HLA tables) would allow them to get Improved Alacrity. Without that, a spellcaster simply cannot essentially throw his entire spellbook at his enemies, not in the way a C/M (for example) can. I'd take a F/M and a C/M over two F/C/Ms any day. Tripleclassed characters do make good backup party members, just don't expect them to do much on their own.
And I'd say that the
true Child of Bhaal would be a NE or LE Assassin->Cleric, Dualed after getting UAI to retain the ability to use Daggers. (Hang on. If I'm a god, and a Cleric, do I have to pray to myself for permission to grant myself spells?)