Assassin/Cleric Musings.

[Butterfingers]

Been thinking about this for a good bit. Not just for the cheese potential, but, also from the role playing view. A child of the Lord of Murder becomes an Assassin, and, after time embraces the divinity within himself.

In another post, I mentioned the Draw Upon Holy Might and Rightious Magic to bring combat stats to 25 for wicked backstabs. It was mentioned that backstabbing is a little broken. Strength bonus does not factor in properly. However, with 25 str, THAC0 stops being an issue for an Assassin. Now, one could backstab with either clubs or staves, both of which are weapons a cleric could use. For SoA only, I see a few good options. Blackblood, the Gnasher, or the Staff of Rhynn. I love the Gnasher... It is a wicked violent evil weapon that leaves painful burning splinters in somebody, and is one of the best mage killers in the game, something most anybody will agree with. Combine the Gnasher with some of the Assassin's poison, and, I see real potential for serious ouch.

As for thieving skills, using buffs to raise your dex will increase your thieving skills, much in the same way potions of thievery will work. Temporary yes, but, effective. Hide in Shadows and Move Silently would be the two skills to focus on the most, as you can not backstab with Santuary.

Now, the real question I ask the pros here, is what level to dual. I don't have ToB. Some of the Assassin's HLAs look great, but, I wont be getting those. So I have to look at what I can get at a reasonable level. Poison, backstab damage, etc. Any opinions?

I realize I could go as a Cleric First, then dual to a thief, however, I don't have a character ready for that. I took a human thief through Baldur's Gate and achieved the following stats, which I think will make for a good Assassin.

Str 19.
Dex 19.
Con 16
Int 13.
Wis 20.
Chr 13.

He is also Chaotic Neutral.

All of those numbers are after the books of course, I don't have ToSC so I don't have the extra book of Wisdom.

Thanks in advance!

[Pyrenk]

Good idea, I've been thinking about it as well. The roleplaying factor is quite good, as Bhaal was an Assassin in his mortal form. He will be quite strong, but not strong enough to mow down everything in his path.

I can't recommend a dualling level, as I have never played without ToB (got SoA and ToB at the same time). However, I recommend that you install the Item Upgrade mod if it allows SoA only. There is an item called the PitchWife +5. It is a merging of the Blackblood and the Gnasher, and retains their abilities. Quite useful, imo. Blackblood acid+splinters+poison...ouch indeed.

Please post anything of interest when you play it. If it works out, I may try as well.

Good luck, and god-speed [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Pyrenk]

Well, congrats, Item Upgrade will work without ToB. Here are the Pitchwife's stats:

Blackblood+Gnasher+15,000 Gold=

Pitchwife +5

+5 acid damage, slivers: 3/round for 4 rounds,
25% acid resistance

[Pyrenk]

Sorry, I realize the number of posts is annoying, but I just keep finding new information. This is a guide for the Swashy/Cleric, but it may help a little.

http://www.gamebanshee.com/baldursga...klercleric.php

[Butterfingers]

I use a Mac. Most mods are out of my reach, as are the bonus merchants it seems. Can't seem to find a way to get them working.

Any ideas for plain vanilla Shadows of Amn will do [img]smile.gif[/img]

BTW, Pitchwife sounds fantastic!

[Pyrenk]

http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~weimer/bgate/item.html

The mod states that you can use Virtual PC to use it on the Mac. Use the link and check the bottom, under installing. Should be the first line.

[Butterfingers]

I don't do Windows. Period. Like an angry housewife. It all goes back to having a beef with Microsloth way back in the 80s. The first version of windows was down right traumatizing, never ever want to relive those moments. You can't polish a turd. No virtual PC with Windows. (Although I do tinker with Linux)

[Pyrenk]

Oh well. No pitchwife for you then

It is just a nice feature anyway. You'll survive. BTW, did the Swashy/Cleric guide help any?

[Desuma Malevois]

Basically, I would dual your assassin after he gets a backstab multiplier increase at either 13th, 17th, or 21st level. It depends on how long you want it to take before you get your assassin abilities back.

One weapon you could consider, BTW, is the Staff of Striking. Since it does 1d6+9 damage the backstabbing potential is awesome! True, it is a charged item, but if you use it only for backstabs and then sell it and then buy/steal it back whenever necessary, you'll have a weapon that is very useful until you get to ToB and get the Staff of the Ram.

[Cerek the Barbaric]

For what it's worth, Butterfingers, I am currently playing an assassin that I plan to dual over to a mage. Personally, I will dual him at either level 21 (for the max Backstab damage of x7) or level 24 for the ultimate cheese of "Use Any Item" {A high level assassin Backstabbing with Corsamyr }.

I've installed Weimer's "Ease of Use" mod which removes the Exp Cap, so I will still have plenty of time to surpass my level as a mage.

Perfect example....I am just now clearing out the Slaver's Boat and my assassins is already 11th level (thanks to Improved Ilyich and Friends [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] )