[Klutz]

Definitely consider a pureclass Kensai. There's tons of Kensai information on the boards, but relatively little of it pertains to the pureclass Kensai. I'm not familiar with the items in the mods you listed, but for a pureclass Kensai in SOA/TOB, good weapon proficiencies include:


Good two-handed options (base SOA/TOB with bonus merchants only):

Staff: Staff of the Ram, and there's plenty of good staves available early on to assist until then.

2H-Sword: You can't use Carsomyr without dualing to Thief and getting UAI, but for a neutral or evil Kensai Soul Reaver +4 is an underrated option: its THACO penalty to the target is a great benefit for a Kensai.

Spear: Impaler +3 is one of the most damaging weapons in SOA, and you get the upgraded Ixil's Spike +6 in TOB.

Halberd: Decent in SOA (Dragon's Breath +4) but doesn't improve till very late in TOB (Ravager +6).


Good dual-weapon Kensai options (base SOA/TOB with bonus merchants only):

Flail: You can use two: with bonus merchant Joluv you get Defender of Easthaven, which is a great off-hand Flail providing AC and damage resistance bonuses, and the Flail of Ages is a fantastic primary flail for both SOA and TOB.

Scimitar, Short Sword: Different proficiencies but for the same reason: Belm +2 (Scimitar) and Kundane +2 (Short Sword) have the incredibly powerful ability of granting +1 attack per round. When used in the off-hand they grant that extra attack to the primary hand weapon. Pair these with whatever your favorite 1-handed weapon is, and it becomes that much deadlier.

Axe: Great for SOA (Stonefire & Frostreaver both +3 with +2 elemental damage and easily obtainable early on) and gets better in TOB (upgraded Axe of the Unyielding +5 Vorpal). If you're good-aligned you get Azuredge +3 early in SOA as both a ranged option and a nice undead slayer.

Dagger: Best ranged option for a Kensai: use the returning throwing dagger Firetooth +3 for best results. Subpar in melee though, so if you're really role-playing your Kensai as a pure melee character it's not worth choosing.

Bastard Sword: Few good options in SOA but the upgraded Foebane +5 in TOB is very good.


Again, this is all for unmodded SOA/TOB + Bonus Merchants. Mods like the ones you listed may add, remove, or modify weapon options to make other choices better than what I've listed. Also, some mods greatly reward Grandmastery (unmodded SOA/TOB grants only minor bonuses for weapon proficiency beyond specialization) so if you have those mods try to minimize the number of weapons you select so you can Grandmaster in them.

Regardless of your mods, be sure to take some proficiency in a blunt weapon for use against foes that are resistant or immune to edged weapons. Also, keep an eye out for items and especially potions that improve your base AC. (Potions of Defense and Invulnerability are especially great for pure Kensais.)