Kensai-thief [ToB installed], when to dual ?

[daan]

I know, dualling questions are getting old by now .. but I really did try to search for it and ended up with nothing.
So, with ToB installed, when would be the best time to dual a kensai to a thief ?
( he's starting out with warhammers and flails, switching to a certain staff for nice backstabs later on .. watch out for this guy )

[Xen]

13

[Alson]

Level 13 is considered the ToB default, due to the extra half attack and the bonus to saving throws. Check out the "Which is better through TOB?" topic on the ToB board. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Jim]

13 smirteen! Be different .

Dual at level 25 kensai, which will allow you to get to level 27 thief. This will give your character superior combat bonuses through both THAC0 (kensai and fighter base) and damage (kensai), better saving throws, more hitpoints, more weapon proficiencies (20 in total...that's right 20!! that's more than a straight warrior could ever get!!) and 5 HLA's from the warrior pool (which the level 13 character would never get...GWW and hardiness are essential). This still gives you 4 HLA's from the thief pool (so you could get use and item and a few of the powerful traps). In my experience, this makes for the ultimate warrior! Although this of course assumes you will be soloing, which you may well not be! Otherwise, you probably won't hit the high XP required for this character.

[Alson]

Blah, give me a Halfling Fighter/Thief anyday. You're right, though. Late duals are powerhouses -- cf. Dundee's Wizard Slayer->Thief.

On a side note... Do you really consider any Fighter/Thief combination to be a superior fighter to, say, the Fighter/Mage (or Kensai->Mage)?

[ 02-22-2003, 11:09 AM: Message edited by: Alson ]

[Jim]

Originally posted by Alson: ....On a side note... Do you really consider any Fighter/Thief combination to be a superior fighter to, say, the Fighter/Mage (or Kensai->Mage)?

Hmmm, this is a tough one to call. I would probably say that a warrior with magical backup would own anything, but the way I play I prefer raw melee power (which a armour/gauntlet wearing kensai has plenty of!). Blades and fighter/mages are extremely powerful. Stoneskin/mirror image/tensors transform/protection from (magical) weapons/improved haste/timestop+GWW all help you to rush in, strike everything down and not take a single HP of damage. On the other hand, the fighter-thief can still cast spells using scrolls, but the more powerful ones are short in supply....

So, in a word (or a few), a fighter/thief is definately not superior to a fighter/mage, bot they are both awesomely powerful if used correctly.

[daan]

Im running a party of three :

-Shapeshifter druid
-Assasin
-Kensai --> thief

So my assasin'll cover the traps-department. I think this party's small enough for Jim's idea, so I'll stick with 25 then [img]smile.gif[/img]

[SixOfSpades]

Why on earth would you do a Kensai-Thief when you've already got a full-time Assassin? And where's your Wizard? Now, Assassin->Mage, that I can see.

My Power Party:
Half-Elven Ranger/Cleric
Elven Fighter/Mage
Elven Fighter/Thief
Half-Elven Cleric/Mage
Elven Thief/Mage
Half-Elven Fighter/Druid

Human Version:
Stalker->Cleric (since there's no reason that Stalkers can't Dual, I'll pretend they can)
Kensai->Mage
Wizard Slayer->Thief
Priest of Helm->Mage
Swashbuckler->Mage
Totemic Druid->Fighter

[daan]

I cant stand wizards anymore,.. been playing an all-mage party and always had mage-heavy parties. If I ever see one more skulltrap explode I'm going to cry.
I do wanna dual my kensai into something though and I dont have the wisdom to be a cleric

Ah well, maybe I'll use shadowkeeper to bypass that little problem.. I'll think about it [img]smile.gif[/img]