Open Locks & Find/Remove Traps

[krunchyfrogg]

When is enough enough with these two skills?

I'd love to have a human get "enough" in these skills to handle all of the locks and traps in the game, and then dual class into a Mage.

TIA

[ 09-25-2005, 12:05 AM: Message edited by: krunchyfrogg ]

[ZFR]

If you want to handle all locks and traps in the game then 100% is enough. So I believe that with 18 in dexterity that would be dualling at level 7 (I'm assuming thiefs get 20 points per level in IWD... can't remember).

If it bothers you to dual so late you can give some 80% in each. That would be enough to open most chests and disable most traps. And for the rest you can easily use knock spell for locks and avoid or simply save and set off traps.

So I think it all depends on wether you playing HoW. If yes, I would go for 100%. You get plenty of XP, thiefs level up fast and it will save you later a lot of hassle if you try the harder HoW locks and traps. If you play IWD only, consider dualling earlier, otherwise you might spend most of the game without your thief skills anyway.

[krunchyfrogg]

I'm playing both HoW and have TotLM installed, so XP shouldn't be a problem (the downtime without a Thief might be, though).

I figured level 6 or 7 would be ideal.

I remember reading that a thief has a chance to make a saving throw vs. area effect damage and if that save is made, s/he will take no damage, instead of half like everybody else. This ability sounds fantastic! What level does that one kick in (I would hate to miss it!)?

[ZFR]

Originally posted by krunchyfrogg: I remember reading that a thief has a chance to make a saving throw vs. area effect damage and if that save is made, s/he will take no damage, instead of half like everybody else. This ability sounds fantastic! What level does that one kick in (I would hate to miss it!)?

Evasion is gained at level 7. Which is another very good reason to wait till that level.
It works against effects that can be evaded (like fireball, lightning bolt, etc.) like this: a thief makes a save vs breath to completely avoid the effects. If that is failed, the spell works normally, including another save for half damage if it is normally allowed.
Please keep in mind that a thief cannot use evasion to evade his own effects. So your thief/mage won't be able to evade fireball cast by himself.

One more thing. In IWD you can dual into a specialist mage. You might find this useful.
Here is the list of the ability scores needed to be able to dual class to particular specialist mage (I'm adding this here since it's not mentioned in the manual)

Abjurer: WIS 15
Conjurer: CON 15
Diviner: WIS 16
Enchanter: CHA 16
Illusionist: DEX 16
Invoker: CON 16
Necromancer: WIS 16
Transmuter: DEX 15

Remember that to dual to any specialist mage (or normal mage) you also need to be human, have INT 17 and 15 in the primary ability score of your class (dexterity for thief).

[krunchyfrogg]

Thanks a lot, ZFR. With the added restricted schools, I don't know if I'll dual-class to a specialist (although I will be adventuring with a Bard who can handle the other spells... we'll see).

I'm also considering an "out there" idea of dual classling my Thief into a Fighter, making that character my "archer." I know there are some awesome bows out there, and they won't be available right away.

Eh, come to think of it, the Mage is probably a better bet, especially considering you can really do without one the first few chapters.

[Aerich]

yeah, mage is a better bet than fighter (Edit: if dual classing from thief).

The frustrating thing about dualing from a thief to anything else is that the area that causes the most grief to a thief-less party is right smack in the middle of the sweet spot for dualing. I'm referring to Dragon's Eye level 5 - the traps reset themselves, so you can't even get rid of a trap by running over it, with or without Mirror Image.

That's one of the reasons why I'm a big fan of multiclass thieves, particularly fighter/thieves, as a slightly lower level fighter doesn't have the same proportion of reduced effectiveness as a slightly lower level mage. A couple of levels don't matter too much to a fighter/thief focusing on archery. Also, a F/T has access to all the good longbows and crossbows.

[ 09-26-2005, 03:08 AM: Message edited by: Aerich ]

[ister]

If you have a bard you can max out skills at 90% because you'll have access to the song that adds 10% to all thieving skills soon enough.

Also the spell "Cat's Grace" will add another 10% to all thieving skills.

I son't think open locks is such an important skill. Most locks can be bashed by a fighter, and if you memorize one strength spell you can almost always bump the strength up enough to get into the chest. And the great thing about opening locks is you can always follow Robert the Bruce, try, try and try again.

If I'm doing a T-M dual I'd push everything into find locks (because I often can't be bothered to change songs all the time), and put most of the rest into stealth. Sure invisibility can substitute and allows you to look for traps, but stealth is still handy, and lots of items increase it.

And for a thief dual Orrick has a nice item to increase lock-pick and trap finding skills. Worthless to a SC or MC thief of course.

[Klorox]

level 7 is perfect to dual from thief.

dualling into a fighter normally would be a bad idea, but if you are going to use the character as only an archer, he would prolly be pretty sweet!

ister: who is orrick?

[ZFR]

Originally posted by Klorox: ister: who is orrick?

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The mage in the tower in Kuldahar. The one who sells stuff.

[Zaleukos]

Will a DC Thief7/Fighter x be able to stack more than 2 points in weapon proficiencies?