BEST 1-MEMBER PARTY (contain spoilers)

[el_kalkylus]

Ok, father Bronze inspired me, so now I have begun a game playing solo with an elven fighter/mage/thief on normal difficulty. This is the most powerful player I have ever played (maybe becuase the difficulty). This guy has an elf's resistances, is a good thief, is a mediocre mage, and is a mediocre fighter. It is really nice to be able to backstab, pick pockets, set traps (not now, but soon), find traps, open locks, hide in shadows, use stoneskin etc, have a fairly good THACO and be specialized in weapons.

This is my guy el_kalkylus, I was really lucky when I rolled him:

Neutral evil fighter/mage/thief: level 9/11/11
str 17 (I plan to get girdle of giant strenght)
dex 19
con 17
int 18
wis 15 (it was either this or the 18/71 in str, but 15 in wis is a lot better than 14)
cha 8 (human ring of influence fixes this, but charisma is not that important anyway)

Weapon proficiencies: single weapon style+, Katana++ (I plan to get Celestial fury), short bow++ (Tuigan bow!), flail++ (flail of ages!)
Thief skills: pickpocket 70, find traps 100, open locks 100, hide in shadows 70, move silently 40, set traps 30, detect illussions 0.
Mage spells: spell immunity, stoneskin, emotion, magic missile, chromatic orb, etc (up to 5th level so far)

With some items (eg boot of stealth, and shadow armor), there will not be a problem to hide in shadows and stay there. I plan to get the mercykiller ring, and raise the set trap ability. I can stay at 70 in pickpocket, because there are a lot of potions that you can buy/steal to improve that skill.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? What do you think is a good 1-member-party?

[Accord]

With the exp cap remover installed, this should be a fairly well rounded character. Get Night's Gift (studded leather armor) instead of Shadow Armor, it offers better hide in shadow. Boots of Speed (or Boots of Stealth) is a must, you might also want to consider Cloak of Elvenkind (although you can only get it late in the game). The only problem I see is that you will have to frequently switch between armor and robe (or wear an elven chain armor). You might want to concentrate more area effective offensive spells to soften up enemies, since your fighter is being developed at a slower stage, also beef up on defensive spells like Stoneskin (which you have said). Make sure you have lots of acid and fire arrows, doesn't hurt to carry more.

[el_kalkylus]

Ah, yes. I forgot to say that I plan to get the boot of speeds as quick as possible. Money isn't any problem anymore, so I can do as you say Accord and get the other studded leather armor, but I think I will give him the robe of vecna and the mercykiller ring instead, since the mercykiller ring also gives some bonuses to hiding. This way, he don't have to switch armor all the time. With blur and ghost armor, he will be fine.

The xp-cap is removed, so I think he will be pretty good in the end-game. This is cheating I know, but it is pretty fun. I have played the game 2.5 times already, so I think I am allowed to cheat just a little bit this time.

[Patriarch]

What would be the easiest straight class to play solo?
I'm thinking a thief, with decent stats and good items...

[el_kalkylus]

Easiest thief? Hmm, I think a the kit that lay special traps is good...what's it called....!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, then you can throw the special traps at the monsters

[Accord]

I would actually consider a paladin to be one of the better pure class characters (no I am not using CAP LOCK). He is a decent tank and have good saving throws compared to general fighters. Can cast cleric spells at later level. Got decent HPs....and a mighty (but over-rated) sword...that is, if possible to get at all in a pure solo character (yes I know a powerful mage and thief can do that without too much trouble, but I am talking about the whole game in general, not a single specific quest). *sign* This is just my 2 cents.....

[el_kalkylus]

Yes, you could use a paladin, but that is not as fun as a mage or a thief. No wait...the paladin cannot use wands like summon monsters or cloudkill!! How will it survive without these?? Besides, the paladin can just cast the spell detect traps, but it cannot remove the trap. How on earth could the paladin survive? Otherwise the paladin can be quite a useful fighter if it is with people.

By the way Accord, you must think I imported this character. I didn't, I started from scratch.

[Accord]

Not at all, although I am expecting you to play a second game with your multi-class fighter/thief/mage.....that's where Cloak of Elvenkind pops in.
Got a question regarding thief: "Hide in shadow" helps you hide in shadow (of course), but it has nothing to do once you are hidden and start to move around, right? This is where the attributes on "move silently" comes in, right?

[el_kalkylus]

Yes, I think so. He can stay in shadows with "move silently", because no one will hear him coming.

[Accord]

Thanks, it's good to be confirmed.