[Aerich]

True, but read on...

As I understood Roboghost's post, he was intending the PP progression to be **crossbow and **axe to start, followed by **mace, then adding the final 3 stars to axe, then 3 more to mace. This strategy gives you 5 PP in axe at lvl 15, along with early specialization in crossbow (ranged fire) and mace (for skeletons).

I suggested **axe, *crossbow, *mace to start, followed by another * in mace at lvl 3, then the next 3 stars in axe, getting to 5 PP at lvl 12. My reasoning for this progression is as follows, with #3-5 being the most important:

1) ** in crossbow doesn't add much over just * - additional chance to hit isn't really necessary if he is not doing HoF with a rookie party, as the +2 for 18 Dex and the Thaco of a single-classed warrior will provide enough bonus.
2) There aren't many good crossbows in the game, and certainly not early in the game (I define a "good" crossbow as one capable of more than one shot/round).
3) A pure fighter will be either the #1 or #2 melee option and so won't spend much time shooting a crossbow anyway.
4) With 18/00 Str, a pure fighter will do loads more damage in melee compared to ranged fire with a crossbow (no Str bonus to attack or damage).
5) An axe specialist is only going to use a crossbow a) before getting the returning axe from DE lvl 4 or b) after getting a multiple att/round crossbow and some magical bolts, which will be in the mid-to-lategame stages of IWD before the expansions.

[ 11-15-2005, 01:26 AM: Message edited by: Aerich ]