Ironworks Gaming Forum - View Single Post - Is This Game Inordinately Hard or What!?!

NobleNick · 10-25-2002, 06:47 PM

pritchke, you're right: bard can only be straight class. (I found this out after trying to dual class one!)

Dual classing a fighter to mage is a wonderful idea: The extra hitpoints keeps these guys from being a defensive liability. And, if the situation calls for it, your mage can ditch the wand, pull out the blade and armor, and "Viola'! A fighter!" See several recent threads on this. Ditto for when to dual over.

Level 9 is one of the "sweet spots" for dualing a fighter over. (Sweet spots [really sweet = bolded] are at levels 3, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, and 15.) If you've thought ahead, your level 9 fighter has either bows/missiles at +++ and a melee weap at ++++, or bows/missiles at ++ and melee weap at +++++. I would wait until level 13, if playing HOW or thinking of HoF mode; but most people don't have that kind of patience and would dual over at level 3 or level 7. You are sitting right in the middle: hard to make a mistake at this point.

Dual classing a fighter to a druid would make a real kick-assassin character; but to make it work well you need at least 89 ability points (and 90 is better), which can take a while to roll. (Expect to spend at least 30 minutes re-rolling.) Having just done this, I've been educated by several studious and experienced gamers (see recent thread in this forum). For an 89 point roll, your points should be distributed as follows:

STR = 15
DEX = 18
CON = 18
INT = 3
WIS = 18
CHA = 17

You need STR=15 to wear best armor, and (IIRC) need STR=14 or more to dual out of fighter). DEX=18 gives best AC mods (-4) for ability. CON=18 gives max bonus hitpoints gained per level. WIS=18 gives max spells and better saving throws; and you need WIS=14 or more to dual class to druid. CHA=17 or more is needed to dual class to druid.

Your strategy with the above build would be to use potions and spells to get extra STR when you need it. (If you get extra points (roll a 90 or better) put them in STR.) An alternate strategy is to max STR (STR = 18/xx) and use potions and spells to get DEX when you need it. DEX dramatically affects your armor class, and STR dramatically affects the amount of damage you dish out (and what armor you can wear, if STR is less than 15.) So the choice is yours. I chose to max out STR during character roll, and then augment DEX in the game as needed; but folks whose opinion I respect chose to max DEX, and augment STR as needed. There are plenty of potions, spells and magical items around to augment either.

Party On!

10-25-2002, 06:47 PM	#15
NobleNick Quintesson Join Date: February 5, 2002 Location: Huntsville, AL, USA Age: 65 Posts: 1,045	pritchke, you're right: bard can only be straight class. (I found this out after trying to dual class one!) Dual classing a fighter to mage is a wonderful idea: The extra hitpoints keeps these guys from being a defensive liability. And, if the situation calls for it, your mage can ditch the wand, pull out the blade and armor, and "Viola'! A fighter!" See several recent threads on this. Ditto for when to dual over. Level 9 is one of the "sweet spots" for dualing a fighter over. (Sweet spots [really sweet = bolded] are at levels 3, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, and 15.) If you've thought ahead, your level 9 fighter has either bows/missiles at +++ and a melee weap at ++++, or bows/missiles at ++ and melee weap at +++++. I would wait until level 13, if playing HOW or thinking of HoF mode; but most people don't have that kind of patience and would dual over at level 3 or level 7. You are sitting right in the middle: hard to make a mistake at this point. Dual classing a fighter to a druid would make a real kick-assassin character; but to make it work well you need at least 89 ability points (and 90 is better), which can take a while to roll. (Expect to spend at least 30 minutes re-rolling.) Having just done this, I've been educated by several studious and experienced gamers (see recent thread in this forum). For an 89 point roll, your points should be distributed as follows: STR = 15 DEX = 18 CON = 18 INT = 3 WIS = 18 CHA = 17 You need STR=15 to wear best armor, and (IIRC) need STR=14 or more to dual out of fighter). DEX=18 gives best AC mods (-4) for ability. CON=18 gives max bonus hitpoints gained per level. WIS=18 gives max spells and better saving throws; and you need WIS=14 or more to dual class to druid. CHA=17 or more is needed to dual class to druid. Your strategy with the above build would be to use potions and spells to get extra STR when you need it. (If you get extra points (roll a 90 or better) put them in STR.) An alternate strategy is to max STR (STR = 18/xx) and use potions and spells to get DEX when you need it. DEX dramatically affects your armor class, and STR dramatically affects the amount of damage you dish out (and what armor you can wear, if STR is less than 15.) So the choice is yours. I chose to max out STR during character roll, and then augment DEX in the game as needed; but folks whose opinion I respect chose to max DEX, and augment STR as needed. There are plenty of potions, spells and magical items around to augment either. Party On!