Oh Boy...

Northraven · 04-10-2005, 05:43 AM

Okay so after reading through various posts and studying up on spell use strategies I decided to create a Cleric/Mage and see if they really were the powerhouse everyone says they are...before you all scream "of course they are you fool!" please keep in mind that I haven't played this game for 2 years [img]smile.gif[/img]

Okay so bearing in mind that I am only just out of Irenicus's dungeon I can already see where this PC is going...right over everything like a hot knife through butter. Once I got over my tendancy to want 4 tanks to bash on everything and trained myself to just barf spells at my opponents with no thought for conservation it became clear to me just how devastating magic is in this game. I mean I am only at the low levels but I can just imagine the hurt that this guy will be laying down at higher ones.

Okay now that I'm done raving just a few questions:
1. how's this for a party: Me (Mage/Cleric), Jahiera, Korgan, Anomen (I am thinking of replacing him with Haer'Dalis), Yoshimo (at least for now...), and Edwin who I have yet to get. Do I need another cleric or will the party be better served by Haer'Dalis' extra arcane abilities...I am leaning towards Haer but wanted some advice. (Possible spoiler ahead)
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When Yoshimo outs and Imoen comes back into the fold will the combination of her, Edwin, Haer and myself be too much or will it just contribute to more butt-kicking through superior magical firepower? Also will anyone in this party I just mentioned try to kill anyone else?

2. With HLAs will my character be able to pick from both Cleric and Mage ones when I hit 3M XP? And what ones should I get? Any suggestions would be welcome.

OK, time to go back to playing a piece of magical artillery...

White Lancer · 04-10-2005, 09:04 AM

OK. lets try sort this one out.

1A. With regards to magical fire-power, the more the merrier. The bad guys cant hurt you if they're already dead. Having said that, you may have trouble finding enough scrolls to go around. And i dont believe anyone in that party will try and kill each other.

2A. I believe that you will be able to pick from both pools, and you will be able to chose from either pool no matter which class levels up. (correct me here if im wrong) Not having seen the cleric HLAs (never played a cleric that high) i cant comment on those, but Improved alacrity is a must.

mad=dog · 04-10-2005, 09:57 AM

1) Personally I'd say you don't really need a tank. Perhaps for the first few levels, but otherwise no. One bet could be Hear'Dalis as point. He can buff himself with Mirror Image, Mislead, Stoneskin and that lot to compensate for low HP and still deal some fine damage with the right equipment. Later on he can do tricks with offensive spin and traps. I'd take Jan as the thief. You don't need that much thieving skills anyhow and Hear'Dalis will have the pickpocket side covered so you can invest Jans points elsewhere. Once Hear gets UAI he can lend Jans gear to boost his pickpocket skills on a need basis. Top up with your favorite wizards if you want to. Edwin (a natural pick), Imoen (if you can stand her yapping), Nalia (if you can stand her yapping), Aerie (for an extra C/M super killer).
My two cents. If you are more comfortable with something up front to suck damage please do so.

2) Yep. Furthermore your Cleric HLAs are counted as level 8 and can go into your contingencies and sequencers as such. Nasty nasty nasty.

Northraven · 04-10-2005, 04:39 PM

Thanks for the advice so far...I think that I will be keeping Korgan and Jahiera simply because I am too set in my ways to abandon tanks completely

What I have been doing is looking over who is constanly contributing to a fight and who is being left idle...now Jah and Korgan are always on the front lines holding enemies back from the casters (so far just me) and archers (Yoshimo) but Anomen is usually sitting around for most of the battle doing nothing. Some of this may be due to the fact that he only just got a magic weapon (I am early in the game) and I was fighting through a slew of enemies that were magic weapon only to hit.

Can I get some people to weigh in on who would be better: Anomen or Haer'Dalis and more importantly WHY they think one or the other would be better? I am still interested in roleplaying vs. powergaming even though I am enjoying this character's power so if one or the other has better plots that would matter to me as well. (I seem to remember that you could turn Anomen to evil and that would be kind of fun...) Regardless of which of those two I end up picking I will be using Edwin to fill the sixth slot in my party for extra spell-casting goodness.

Sir Goulum · 04-10-2005, 04:52 PM

Hmm... I'd take Haer'Dalis myself. He's a better fighter, IMO, and he has better spells (I like mage spells more than Cleric spells). Plus he's more interesting than Anomen, and doesn't have that annoyance factor.

SixOfSpades · 04-10-2005, 06:08 PM

Anomen is the better fighter. For one, he's part actual Fighter, and for another, Priests have better hitpoints, THAC0, Saving Throws, and weapon proficiencies than Rogues do. Anomen can achieve Grandmastery.

Anomen + Jaheira + C/M sounds like Priest overkill to me. Then again, Edwin + Imoen + Haer'Dalis + C/M sounds like Wizard overkill. You make the call.

Northraven · 04-10-2005, 11:24 PM

SixOfSpades I see your point with the Cleric/Mage overkill...do youthink the game would be beatable with either of those two parties and any suggestions on another character to take to avoid the overkill?

SixOfSpades · 04-11-2005, 12:36 AM

Well, considering that you're looking for alternatives to your "tendancy to want 4 tanks to bash on everything" and trying to train yourself to "just barf spells at my opponents with no thought for conservation," I'd say go for both: Korgan, Jaheira, Anomen, Cleric/Mage, Imoen, Edwin.

The game is beatable with any party, even one containing Cernd.

White Lancer · 04-11-2005, 09:30 AM

You can beat the game with Cernd!? Six, what are you smoking? Anyone who can beat the game with Cernd in their party is already insane. Cos playing with him will send you nuts.

04-10-2005, 05:43 AM	#1
Northraven Manshoon Join Date: July 13, 2001 Location: Currently a land called Weyrth... Age: 46 Posts: 195	Okay so after reading through various posts and studying up on spell use strategies I decided to create a Cleric/Mage and see if they really were the powerhouse everyone says they are...before you all scream "of course they are you fool!" please keep in mind that I haven't played this game for 2 years [img]smile.gif[/img] Okay so bearing in mind that I am only just out of Irenicus's dungeon I can already see where this PC is going...right over everything like a hot knife through butter. Once I got over my tendancy to want 4 tanks to bash on everything and trained myself to just barf spells at my opponents with no thought for conservation it became clear to me just how devastating magic is in this game. I mean I am only at the low levels but I can just imagine the hurt that this guy will be laying down at higher ones. Okay now that I'm done raving just a few questions: 1. how's this for a party: Me (Mage/Cleric), Jahiera, Korgan, Anomen (I am thinking of replacing him with Haer'Dalis), Yoshimo (at least for now...), and Edwin who I have yet to get. Do I need another cleric or will the party be better served by Haer'Dalis' extra arcane abilities...I am leaning towards Haer but wanted some advice. (Possible spoiler ahead) * * * * * * * When Yoshimo outs and Imoen comes back into the fold will the combination of her, Edwin, Haer and myself be too much or will it just contribute to more butt-kicking through superior magical firepower? Also will anyone in this party I just mentioned try to kill anyone else? 2. With HLAs will my character be able to pick from both Cleric and Mage ones when I hit 3M XP? And what ones should I get? Any suggestions would be welcome. OK, time to go back to playing a piece of magical artillery... __________________ \"Before the world was bent but after the great contagion, there was a civilization built in the image of the First Age. It sought to emulate the splendor of the bygone Golden Age, but it was in all ways less. It was a time of sorcery and heroism, of fabulous wonders and treacherous betrayals. Ruled by a decadent empire, it slipped inch by inch into barbarism and darkness, until one last cataclysm blotted it out forever. Yet, in it\'s sunset, it was a splendid thing, and glorious were the deeds of the Exalted.\"<br /><br />[url]\"http://www.sloganizer.net/en/\" target=\"_blank\"> [img]\"http://www.sloganizer.net/en/style7,Severed-spc-Fist.png\" alt=\" - \" /></a>

04-10-2005, 09:04 AM	#2
White Lancer Drizzt Do'Urden Join Date: August 30, 2002 Location: Australia Age: 39 Posts: 628	OK. lets try sort this one out. 1A. With regards to magical fire-power, the more the merrier. The bad guys cant hurt you if they're already dead. Having said that, you may have trouble finding enough scrolls to go around. And i dont believe anyone in that party will try and kill each other. 2A. I believe that you will be able to pick from both pools, and you will be able to chose from either pool no matter which class levels up. (correct me here if im wrong) Not having seen the cleric HLAs (never played a cleric that high) i cant comment on those, but Improved alacrity is a must. __________________ It deons\'t mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, it olny mtaetrs taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be croecrt. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it. The huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

04-10-2005, 09:57 AM	#3
mad=dog Avatar Join Date: April 18, 2004 Location: Copenhagen Age: 49 Posts: 549	1) Personally I'd say you don't really need a tank. Perhaps for the first few levels, but otherwise no. One bet could be Hear'Dalis as point. He can buff himself with Mirror Image, Mislead, Stoneskin and that lot to compensate for low HP and still deal some fine damage with the right equipment. Later on he can do tricks with offensive spin and traps. I'd take Jan as the thief. You don't need that much thieving skills anyhow and Hear'Dalis will have the pickpocket side covered so you can invest Jans points elsewhere. Once Hear gets UAI he can lend Jans gear to boost his pickpocket skills on a need basis. Top up with your favorite wizards if you want to. Edwin (a natural pick), Imoen (if you can stand her yapping), Nalia (if you can stand her yapping), Aerie (for an extra C/M super killer). My two cents. If you are more comfortable with something up front to suck damage please do so. 2) Yep. Furthermore your Cleric HLAs are counted as level 8 and can go into your contingencies and sequencers as such. Nasty nasty nasty. __________________ [url]\"http://www.dsr.kvl.dk/~maddog/isur.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">Ooooookay. I surrender.</a><br />Sometimes I get the eerie feeling that my computer is operating me and not the other way around.

04-10-2005, 04:39 PM	#4
Northraven Manshoon Join Date: July 13, 2001 Location: Currently a land called Weyrth... Age: 46 Posts: 195	Thanks for the advice so far...I think that I will be keeping Korgan and Jahiera simply because I am too set in my ways to abandon tanks completely What I have been doing is looking over who is constanly contributing to a fight and who is being left idle...now Jah and Korgan are always on the front lines holding enemies back from the casters (so far just me) and archers (Yoshimo) but Anomen is usually sitting around for most of the battle doing nothing. Some of this may be due to the fact that he only just got a magic weapon (I am early in the game) and I was fighting through a slew of enemies that were magic weapon only to hit. Can I get some people to weigh in on who would be better: Anomen or Haer'Dalis and more importantly WHY they think one or the other would be better? I am still interested in roleplaying vs. powergaming even though I am enjoying this character's power so if one or the other has better plots that would matter to me as well. (I seem to remember that you could turn Anomen to evil and that would be kind of fun...) Regardless of which of those two I end up picking I will be using Edwin to fill the sixth slot in my party for extra spell-casting goodness. __________________ \"Before the world was bent but after the great contagion, there was a civilization built in the image of the First Age. It sought to emulate the splendor of the bygone Golden Age, but it was in all ways less. It was a time of sorcery and heroism, of fabulous wonders and treacherous betrayals. Ruled by a decadent empire, it slipped inch by inch into barbarism and darkness, until one last cataclysm blotted it out forever. Yet, in it\'s sunset, it was a splendid thing, and glorious were the deeds of the Exalted.\"<br /><br />[url]\"http://www.sloganizer.net/en/\" target=\"_blank\"> [img]\"http://www.sloganizer.net/en/style7,Severed-spc-Fist.png\" alt=\" - \" /></a>

04-10-2005, 06:08 PM	#6
SixOfSpades Dracolisk Join Date: September 16, 2001 Location: Bellingham, WA, USA Age: 47 Posts: 6,901	Anomen is the better fighter. For one, he's part actual Fighter, and for another, Priests have better hitpoints, THAC0, Saving Throws, and weapon proficiencies than Rogues do. Anomen can achieve Grandmastery. Anomen + Jaheira + C/M sounds like Priest overkill to me. Then again, Edwin + Imoen + Haer'Dalis + C/M sounds like Wizard overkill. You make the call. __________________ Volothamp's Comeuppance Everything you ever needed to know about the entire Baldur's Gate series......except spoilers.

04-10-2005, 04:52 PM	#5
Sir Goulum John Locke Join Date: February 7, 2002 Location: Edmonton, Canada Age: 36 Posts: 8,985	Hmm... I'd take Haer'Dalis myself. He's a better fighter, IMO, and he has better spells (I like mage spells more than Cleric spells). Plus he's more interesting than Anomen, and doesn't have that annoyance factor.

04-10-2005, 11:24 PM	#7
Northraven Manshoon Join Date: July 13, 2001 Location: Currently a land called Weyrth... Age: 46 Posts: 195	SixOfSpades I see your point with the Cleric/Mage overkill...do youthink the game would be beatable with either of those two parties and any suggestions on another character to take to avoid the overkill? __________________ \"Before the world was bent but after the great contagion, there was a civilization built in the image of the First Age. It sought to emulate the splendor of the bygone Golden Age, but it was in all ways less. It was a time of sorcery and heroism, of fabulous wonders and treacherous betrayals. Ruled by a decadent empire, it slipped inch by inch into barbarism and darkness, until one last cataclysm blotted it out forever. Yet, in it\'s sunset, it was a splendid thing, and glorious were the deeds of the Exalted.\"<br /><br />[url]\"http://www.sloganizer.net/en/\" target=\"_blank\"> [img]\"http://www.sloganizer.net/en/style7,Severed-spc-Fist.png\" alt=\" - \" /></a>

04-11-2005, 12:36 AM	#8
SixOfSpades Dracolisk Join Date: September 16, 2001 Location: Bellingham, WA, USA Age: 47 Posts: 6,901	Well, considering that you're looking for alternatives to your "tendancy to want 4 tanks to bash on everything" and trying to train yourself to "just barf spells at my opponents with no thought for conservation," I'd say go for both: Korgan, Jaheira, Anomen, Cleric/Mage, Imoen, Edwin. The game is beatable with any party, even one containing Cernd. __________________ Volothamp's Comeuppance Everything you ever needed to know about the entire Baldur's Gate series......except spoilers.

04-11-2005, 09:30 AM	#9
White Lancer Drizzt Do'Urden Join Date: August 30, 2002 Location: Australia Age: 39 Posts: 628	You can beat the game with Cernd!? Six, what are you smoking? Anyone who can beat the game with Cernd in their party is already insane. Cos playing with him will send you nuts. __________________ It deons\'t mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, it olny mtaetrs taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be croecrt. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it. The huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

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