triple bishop

thanks to everyone for their feedback following the dwarf/rawulf spellcasters. they are now retired to ascension peak, to enjoy their g(l)ory years wreaking revenge on their enemies.

the discussion has spawned a 3 bishop, 1 ninja party, around the strategy of slow levelling. i didnt have the guts to go 4 bishop, so i included a ninja for muscle and lockpicking. i'm starting a separate thread to follow their exploits.

so far, they've made it to the upper monastary, are level 5, and working incredibly well together. i've picked 3 different races for the bishops (gnome, elf, human) and i'm developing their stats and spellbooks differently to see how much of a difference it makes. all are going for powercast right away - each took level one as a mage, to help with this. if i get to trynton early, each will have powercast by level 7/8.

this is my second try with the party though. the first time they died quite quickly. to help, i started the ninja as a samurai (for the katana), then swapped her out (ie not dual-classed) for the ninja. it's been a huge help.

i'm also developing this ninja slightly differently to previous ones. challenging the "specialism" wisdom i've spouted in that other thread, this ninja is dropping 3 in strength each level up (as the party needs the damage capability), but splitting the other points evenly in dex, spd, and sen. so she started with 60 each in strength, dex, spd, and sen. and by level 14 will have maxed strength, and have around 75 each in dex, spd, and sens. by level 22, she'll have around 90 in each.

it will be interesting to see if she can be as effective without the expert skills - if, in fact, the benefits of running up the primary attributes compensate.

[Scatter]

I once ran 3 Bishops without anyone else. They ended up fighting a lot, two with Mauler/DE and one with Doom. (they all cranked Dual Wield up--and stealth--during a Rogue level)
I recommend Reflextion for the Ninja--the AC boost is worth it.

[dplax]

I don't know whether you've thought about it, but the ninja when he gets high stealth won't be good as a meat shield, so high AC might be good for the bishops.

thanks, scatter and dplax. that's good advice.

i brought the ninja along to help clean up the stragglers that get through the triple bishop wall of death. but i hadnt really considered their role as a meat shield, thinking of stealth. my setup has the ninja in front, alone, and the three bishops in the center. no one is on the flanks, but if someone gets hurt, i figure i can fan out across the middle and put the injured one in the center until they're healed, and then cycle around as needed.

the bishops arent using extended weapons, but all three are learning mace, so once i get access to some extended maces i might change the approach. all three are throwing, though, and i expect that to be their primary non-magic attack.

regarding reflexion, i wont get it with my current build strategy. it will be interesting to see if the additional attacks/swings/initiative/hit/pentrate bonuses of building all three of dex/spd/senses compensates for the lower AC through the mid/late game.

the "three men and a ninja lady" party have made it to arnika without a scratch. if anyone remembers, i'm one of those people who take every level up when it comes, and dont hold back for *safety* reasons.

well, it turns out that when we finished the monastary, we had 25,102 xp. to make level 6, the ninja needed 25,600, so she was out of luck. but the 3 bishops had spent a level as a mage. so they only needed... 25,200 xp. so we hit the arnika road at level 5. would it make a difference?

lo and behold it was the easiest run i've ever had on the arnika road. 2 encounters the whole way, including the 1 with the rogues guarding the piercing pipes chest. although the other encounter was a whopper, including a half-dozen 75 hp rogues, some plants and two wasps, we managed to wedge ourselves in a crevice, keep the ninja healed, and lob cherry bombs, noxious fumes bombs, and use our magic missile scrolls to get ourselves out of it.

most importantly, we didnt need to rest/camp and reload the monsters in the region. we're now resting safely in the braffit basement and getting ready to clear arnika of felons... and all the cash we can carry

[Halsey]

Perhaps one of my favorite parties was three Bishops and a Bard. I started them (the Bishops) off as rogues (one level) and built up their stealth to 80+ outside the landing zone. Converted them to Bishops and tried to make each one an 'expert' in one of the realms. Again, like you, I didn't hesitate to level up - and the trip to Arnika was mundane. I used the same combat formation you mentioned. Threw superman and guardian angle on the bard and kept her pumped up. I actually turned out to be a potent party. Glad to hear someone else had the same scenario.