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Old 10-20-2000, 09:12 AM   #21
Desdoicado
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I went with this first time.
My fighter (Imported from BG1 with quite a few stats at 19) and kitted in BG2
A kitted Paladin
The fighting version of the thief which was cool as he can get to specialise in weapons.
Good Cleric
Conjurer
Sorcerer

I reckon 2nd time I play I'll go for something different. Monk / Bard / Druid / Sorcerer / Thief plus 1 NPC
 
Old 10-20-2000, 07:26 PM   #22
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I am thinking about this:
Cavalier
Illusionist
Archer
Monk
Thief/Cleric (this guy seems very good in stats, but I never tested him
1 NPC

I was going to have a sorcerer, but I hear you need NPCs to get some quests. I want to use the archer because I like archers in any game. And the idea of any game is to have fun. How does this sound? Is one NPC enough? Thanks for all the help. What are some good NPCs to get quests from also?
 
Old 10-20-2000, 07:52 PM   #23
Glorick the Half-Orc
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Um, in response to the dual from thief to fighter:
1. You can use any weapon the fighter can use.
2. You can put on armor any time you want - u just can't use your thief abilities while in armor.
3. If you dual at level 8, for example, you would have 112 hps starting as a fighter. A thief would have 64. That is a HUGE difference.

Yes going up in levels with the fighter is better for thaco, but you would have been better off with a pure thief. Get the X5 back stab and 100% in everything.

IMO, a thief is kinda useless unless you are role-playing, all u need from them is find/remove traps. That's why a thief/mage makes sense - better hps for the mage plus bow ability, and you double as the find traps expert. In fact, I don't know why anyone whouldn't dual a mage in this game. Doesn't matter what the class! Cleric/mage for better hps and healing for your mage, thief/mage for better hps and find traps, fighter mage so you can waltz around in your globe of invuln with a two handed sword and have over 100 hps - Ranger/Cleric for specialization in blunt weapons and access to druid spells.

In fact, the way this game starts out the first chapter is pretty easy with tons of xp points - your ENTIRE group could start as fighters and immediately dual. Use Imoen for traps in the beginning and minsc for fighting if you want. After chap 1 you will have a bunch of chars with over 100 hps and their new class skills - thief, mage, cleric, whatever!

Dual class is the way to go for this game. BG1 was harder to do this since you start from level 1 and you would prob dual a lot earlier, but this game is PERFECT for dual. Right now I'm playing again with only 4 chars so I can get those 9th level mage spells (Imoen only got to level 15 when I played while my primary fighter got to 19th), and I want to try out all those cool spells.

4 person party:
Half-Orc pure fighter
thief/mage
fighter/mage
ranger/cleric

This combo would probably beat most 6 member parties by the end of the game.
 
Old 10-20-2000, 09:13 PM   #24
Tobbin
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Ok, I understand your point now. You must not use the thief's backstab ability much. That's mainly why I chose a thief. That and the ability to hide in shadows (stealth). I combine THAT with the fighting ability of the fighter. HP's don't matter if you never get hit. (Not saying he doesn't, but he does move around enough and I protect him enough he doesn't get hit much). Like I said, I have used this 1 character to take on an entire dungeon before (does take longer than using a full party, but it's easier for me to both control and protect). I will admit that I do use the Open Locks and Find/Remove Traps option too, but not as much as I do my BACKSTAB. Whatever I hit FIRST, I kill. So I am pretty much guaranteed that at least the 1 hardest enemy, I can take out right away. Should I decide to attack from range, I do have my Fighter with his BOW stats, or he can waddle up and use mult attacks with his specialization to quickly take someone out. Again, he doesn't have too many hitpoints/granted, but I don't really need them.
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Old 10-21-2000, 12:17 AM   #25
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I don't like the barb bec. the best armor they can wear is splint mail. My front line fighter needs to have really low ac. That, along with lack of specialization steered me clear of the barb. Wasn't worth the extra 18 HPs. A low level barb is absolutely a great char - would have been awesome for BG1.

I did make a 1/2 orc barb for fun, but since they can't specialize, I figured a pally or ranger was a better addition than a barb. I don't like the fatigue thing either.

As to the thief/fighter thing, if you were going to play just one char all the way through, that would be a good choice. Since direct assault is not an option with one or two chars, that backstab and the better attack rate of a higher level fighter would indeed be good. I will concede that point. But for a larger party (4 or more), I would go the other route. Also, while you are leveling in your fighter class, you would be absolutely useless (and you would need the NPCs). And your ONLY option is hiding and backstabbing. But if that's what you like, it does make sense. 19th fighter, 9th thief would do some NASTY damage. Only prob is you would HAVE to use the cloak of non-detection or you would be scried, thus you wouldn't be able to use the cloak of reflection... I'm actually a bit intrigued by the potential. Only a thief/fighter combo would be able to have any real chance of this game solo... But I foresee a LOT of restarts.
 
Old 10-21-2000, 02:36 AM   #26
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Hmm I can't understand why none wants to use a barbarian.
They get d12 for HP.
Rage makes them immune to many nasty things.
They get some resistance at higher levels.
Think about a half orc barbarian with 23 Str and Con equiped with the
cloak of reflection.
 
Old 10-21-2000, 06:14 AM   #27
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It's not that barbarians aren't strong. They can be a really good option to play too. The only thing I really like about the thief class is the stealth and backstab. If you choose a thief alone though, you are really limited. A really good combo is a fighter/thief. You don't have to dual-class a human to get this option either. A really good choice would be a dwarf. They may not have as high a dexterity, but they do get the con bonus and aren't usually too shabby as a fighter. I just prefer humans though. If you could class change from a thief to a barbarian, I'd say all for it. But I can't even change from a thief to a Ranger. Well, when the new games come out (3rd edition) we will have better options. They allow characters (any) to multi-class. Even humans. I really do like the BERSERK option of the Barbarian too btw. This is what you called RAGE. And yes, they definitely get good hitpoints.
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Old 10-21-2000, 08:37 AM   #28
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the thief dualed to fighter is really good, specially if you use boots of speed as you can run in do the hit, then run around the corner go back into the shadows then finish them off. even better if you make the thief an assasin, then you get the poisoning. if you leave the dual till 9th level you get *4 backstab and you can still get to 19th level with your fighter which means a lot of proficiencies in one class ie lots of damage and lots of attacks for your backstab.
 
Old 10-21-2000, 11:55 PM   #29
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Yes, you are very correct there. When I changed the thief to a fighter, it was a LONG route to getting everything how I wanted it. I couldn't backstab, but I could wear armor. That helped a lot. Also, I did use NPC's to BEEF up and I used the de'Arnise hold as a way to gain levels. You see, I already had a Ranger/Cleric that I had raised up. He was my protection. I also had Nalia, Jaheira (though she was cursed, she did add to hitpoint totals.), Minsc, and Yoshimo. Yoshimo was my ACTIVE thief until my thief/fighter TRULY dual'ed. At this point, my thief/fighter took his position in the front of the party. As for a cloak of non-detection, I didn't really need that. Once I gained the cloak of mirrors, he was effectively protected from direct spell cast. I mean fireball or something could still affect him, but I was able to scout him around that. Actually, the levels started getting worse and worse (magic was coming faster and deadlier), so I just started using him to scout out areas. With the boots of speed, he was able to get out of range fast enough that I could let him go inviso (stealth) again. Granted, there were a few really tough fights, but eventually, perserverance and time became my allies. A direct assault may have been faster, but I would have lost too many party members. I remember a couple of times I attempted a direct assault and Minsc was DISINTEGRATED. Gone, totally, with no chance for resurrection. Then Yoshimo got ate. GONE, totally, no chance for ReSuRrEcTiOn. I gave up direct assaults. The game penalizes you for this. So I started going into stealth mode (constantly - used thief script). Then I would sneak in and check out a place (most couldn't detect me, though there were a few that could see inviso people), but once I found the cloak of mirrors, that was not as bad a problem. Normally, you will see an area effect spell go off, so you had a chance to get out of range. With the boots of speed that wasn't too hard. Then I would sneak out and go stealth again. I kept the NPC's around though because I ran into another problem. I couldn't carry enough. Jeez, is this the monty-haul campaign or what? LOL. I mean, if you sneeze in the wrong direction while you are walking around gold pieces will fall down. I keep a party of six and usually end up with more items than they could all carry together. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't keep any members with me. I had 3 of the scroll boxes and 3 gem boxes and a bag of holding and I still filled them up and five other party members slots. They musta looked like pimps or something by the time they got out of an area. I ran out of regular backpack slots so I started having them WEAR the jewelry and stuff they found (preferred magical jewelry over regular though). I ended up throwing away so much stuff that a pauper could have been king if he were following behind my party. JEEZ. Anyways, it's a really awesome game that fills in til I can get a real PnP adventure started.
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Old 10-23-2000, 02:32 PM   #30
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I would recommend making either 3 or 4, and adding the other from the NPC pool.
My current party is:
Human Ranger(Stalker, rangers shouldn't wear heavy armor anyway!)
Dwarf Fighter/Cleric
Human Figher Dualed to Mage
Human Mage dualed to Thief

This way I can keep all the sub plots available, as well as keep some flexibility with the party.
 
 


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