Shiny Armor for Fighter/Mages?

[Karrde]

Hey there,
im just restarting BG2 & ToB again and wanna try the F/M multiclass.

He'll be a dual-wielder in blades, maybe Longswords and later on Scimitar?
Not sure which progression i should use first, especially if i reconsider the availability of certain weapon within the game.

So I'm looking for general advices which blade combo would be fine. Using 2 weapon proficiencies should be okay, so I'm not restricted to only one weapon class.

Furthermore, I wonder where you can get some good armor in the earlier stage of game. I want to use him as a Fighter, so i dont use robes. Armor Bracers may help, but i prefer a shiny nice (chain) armor.

I only recall Bladesinger's Chain and some other Elven Chainmails, but u ll get them pretty late. The melodic chain is restricted to bards, so I cannot take this one either.
The certain mithril chain mail wont be available aswell, and i dont recall any further armor which allows you to spellcast while you wear it.

And no, i dont wanto to take off my armor when casting spells (especially within the battles )

[Dirty Meg]

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As I recall, the quickest way to obtain elven chain is from the aristocrats in trademeet. (You have to kill them though - if it's any comfort, they attack you first).

[CamDawg]

If you want a new spin on spellcasting in armor, try G3 Tweaks' Allow Arcane Casting in Armor component. You can cast spells in any armor, but with a miscast penalty. I found it adds a new dimension to playing multi- and dual-class mage characters.

Caveat: as the author, I may have a biased opinion. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Karrde]

Hmm, didnt know that u can get one in Trademeet, thats not bad, though i dont wanna kill this guy instantly (AL NG) [img]smile.gif[/img]

@CamDawg: I ve installed the G3 Tweaks already, and they seem to have imported the D&D3.x rules for casting.. Hmm, this could really get surprising to cast within Full Plate Armor [img]smile.gif[/img]

On the other hand, elven chain does fit better with the PCs' race (halfelf) and so with his elvish background.

Regardig the sword style, i m still not sure if i stay with 2 longswords or with longsword plus smaller blade, like scimitar, short sword..

I just dont like the imagination how in the nine hells you could use 2 longswords effectively. They are pretty large and therefore difficult to swing while having a small off-hand weapon seems to be more logical.
I know that D&D 3.x uses the penalty for off-hand weapons which are not one size smaller than your character. Is this rule in any kind implemented in 2nd AD&D (or say: BG2) so that i would get a real benefit when using 2 different weapons (and therefore spending way more weapon prof. points) ?

[ 11-08-2005, 04:19 AM: Message edited by: Karrde ]

[Armen]

in BG2 you get the same two weapon bonuses or penalties if you're using two bastard swords or two daggers or any combination - the game doesn't care what weapons you use or how big you are

[Kyrvias]

You could... *GASP* Shadow keeper or CLUA in a set of Drow Chain. or Adamantium chain. that armor also increases your spellcasting time.

[Iron Greasel]

I recall buying chain mail I could cast spells with from the bridge district. I think it comes with the Bonus Merchants.

[Zarr]

Originally posted by Iron Greasel: I recall buying chain mail I could cast spells with from the bridge district. I think it comes with the Bonus Merchants.

The bonus merchants are only located in the slums and Adventurers Mart. The only chain mail that enables you to cast spells in armour found in the Bridge District is the melodic chainmail. But this can only be used by bards as Karrde pointed out.

Bracers of defenseAC3 and ring of protection +2 are your best bets IMO Karrde in SOA until you get the Bladesingers chain. It has always annoyed me how little armour there is early game for fighter/mages early game.

[ 11-09-2005, 01:39 PM: Message edited by: Zarr ]

[Karrde]

Yeah, Ive thought about using AC3 bracers, but on the other hand, I have Edwin in my party and he really needs AC [img]smile.gif[/img]

Well, at least there are still the AC 4 bracers..

Well, Ive decided to freeze the idea using the fighter/mage, instead im playing the fighter/assassin. I ll have many arcane support later (Edwin, Imoen, Solaufein, maybe Haer'Dalis) and I wont need to fill a thief slot.
And yet, Assassin and Fighters work well together.
I've edited my PC a bit to make the assassin class more like D&D 3.x Assassin presige class, so i gave him the innate ability to cast improved invisibility 1/day. It's pretty handy and does fit with the kit.

@Regarding further "arcane chains" (cool name, eh? )
Hm, but im not sure if Drizzt's Mithril Chain does support spellcasting..

And maybe it would be better if you could also cast arcane magic with the Jester's Chain (the one u can get from the slot machine in spellhold).
Why better?
At this stage of the game, you wont need this colorful chain, there are way stronger chains available.
To balance this (and interpreting the background of a chain for bards) I'd propose for any further item upgrade mod to be able to upgrade jester's chain (let's say AC 0 or 1 and some bardic improvements like extra spells/ level, additional bardic songs or such stuff).

[Kyrvias]

I prefer the Drow chain... But thats just my 2 cents.

[ 11-09-2005, 07:55 PM: Message edited by: Kyrvias ]