Dualing Assassin

[Cerek]

I am thinking about creating an assassin to dual to another class. I have an assassin I'm playing now, but I'm not interested in dualling him because of the way his game has progressed.

I originally wanted to take the assassin up to Level 21 in order to get the maximum Backstab multiplier, but I was afraid it would take too long to regain my abilities if I decided to dual that late (I also wanted to get the "UIA" Ability). But I am playing a solo Skald right now and he has already made it to level 24 after just doing a few of the quests (Trademeet, Circus, Haer'Dalis & Astral Prison, Umar Hills and Cult of Unseeing Eye). I know a solo assassin would gain levels even faster and would get his HLA's sooner, but I don't know if I would even have enough experience to regain my assassin abilities if I dual.

I plan to dual to either a figher or mage - but these two classes require the most experience to gain new levels. Still, if I could gain my assassin levels quickly enough, I could dual over to fighter or mage in time to take on the tougher quests (like Planar Sphere and De'Arnise Keep).

So tell me what you think. Would I even have enough XP available to regain my assassin abilities in SoA? As far as I know, I DO have the XP Cap Remover installed. Also, WHICH class do the members here think would be best to dual to? All suggestions are welcome.

[LennonCook]

There should be enough XP for your second class, yes. But be sure to leave some of the easy quests for after the dual class, to help you up to a more competent level.

As for which class, I would say Mage. They will both be extremely powerful, but a Thief -> Mage ("which spell should I use here - should I try to backstab with invisibility, or should I perhaps launch a fireball?") will offer some variety in tactics than a Thief -> Fighter ("Go invisible. Backstab the strongest. Wack, wack, wack, Strong Monster: Death").

[Cerek]

I have to admit I was thinking about the combination of "Improved Invisibility/Backstab" myself. Hmmmmm...if I use IMPROVED Invisibility, would I be able to backstab multiple times, since the target still couldn't see me? I believe the game says that you become "partially visible" when you launch an attack, but your opponent still can't target you with spells because you are still invisible.

You're right that the fighter class offers less tactical options, but it also offers a better chance of surviving those first few quests after I dual.

Another question. If the thief has a Str of 18, does it get modified to exceptional strength if I dual to fighter??? I'll check that one out myself later by creating a "rough draft copy" of the assassin and dualing immediately in the Chateau.

[LennonCook]

I don't think you could use Improved INvisibility to backstab multiple times, no. After you make that first attack, you are visible, just untargetable. But, it depends entirely on how the game handles backstabbing. It may check STATE_INVISIBLE (like See(OLAYER*) would), or it may check STATE_INVISIBLE and STATE_IMPROVED_INVISIBLE (like Spell(O:OBJECT*, I:SPELL*SPELLS) would). If the latter, you will be able to backstab multiple times.

As for the strength issue, I doubt it would convert it. You don't reallocate stats at dual classing, and so I would assume that they aren't even touched past determining what you can dual to.

[JayS]

Try the combination of Mislead/Backstab. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Leslie]

Mislead can potentially take all the fun out of the game since 99% of the enemies in the game cannot see through invisibility.

Even with your Skald you can cast Mislead a little away from your enemy and go whack at him while he wonders what the hell happened.

And if you happen to be able to backstab too that's one big cheeseburger. Heh, but it's fun too in some way. [img]smile.gif[/img] A solo F/M/T can wipe out the whole Sahuagin city with one Improved Haste and one Mislead.

[Dundee Slaytern]

You can continously backstab while under the influence of Mislead. Particularly evil if you are a Assassin->Mage with Poison Weapon.

An Improved Haste + Time Stop + Mislead + Backstab combination is a virtual annihilation of the target or targets, save for immunity to backstab.

[Cerek]

Hmmmm....so far, nobody seems in favor of dualling to a fighter (or are we just exploring the different possibilities if dualled to a mage?).

I created a practice assassin and dualled him over to fighter immediately. LennonCook is right, the stats don't get reallocated - so I still just have regular "18" Strength.

One thing that DID surprise me were the alignment options. I was allowed to choose ANY alignment except for Lawful Good. So I could actually choose to play a Neutral Good or Chaotic Good assassin. I know that seems like a contradiction, but we actually had a discussion about this among my PnP group a while back - and one member pointed out that a "good" assassin was possible. It would be similar to a member of the Special Forces in the military - or perhaps a sniper. They are trained to "take out" enemy targets as efficiently as possible. And even though they are considered the "good guys" to us, there is no denying that there primary purpose is to "kill" - and their target (or friends of their target) most likely DO consider them "assassins".

BTW, Leslie, you are right - Mislead has become one of my Skald's favorite spells. It is a bit cheesy, but I'm playing him solo, so he needs all the "tactical advantages" he can get.

Dundee - that definitely sounds like a "deadly combination" of spells and tactics.

[TheGodThatFailed]

The "special forces" style assasin sounds like quite a good idea. I am running several games atm, but half gave up on my assasin, and might restart for that purpose, she isn't very far AT ALL. I hate having to come up with reasons for myself as to why i took that quest when i'm evil...

[Link]

Mislead is beyond a 'tactical advantage' Cerek [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I'm beginning to notice you're becoming more and more cheesy lately. Why is that? You're letting the game get the best of you? Or are you becoming a bit weak due to you age [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I wouldn't know the first thing about dualing possibilities, but I would like to see an Druid -> Assassin (or the other way around). I don't know if it's possible, but it would sure make a nice combo story wise. Imagine a powerful assassin who knows ALL about poisonous herbs. Gives some nice background ideas about his Poison Weapon ability.