Character Op Board

SirK8

Is it possible to get a character op category/board for discussion on character/party optimization? I know not everyone is a power player, but this topic comes up all the time and I do enjoy a good discussion around it. Also, character op questions don't always have to be around power playing - some people still have legitimate questions around character creation and character/party builds without the intent to power play. Something like, hey I plan to try out a half-orc backstabbing fighter/thief that specializes in quarterstaff and two-handed weapon fighting, what are some limitations I'm going to run into?

ajwz

General is a pretty good place for discussions like this. There are quite a few threads talking about character build around.

SirK8

But that's my point, general is pretty... well general, kind of a catchall. Since this is a frequently discussed topic, I was suggesting to put it in it's own category so we have a go to place to discuss it. Also for someone interested in the topic they can peruse that specific category and read various threads regarding it. Whereas in general, posts on that one particular topic would be buried under all other topics. Just a suggestion

Pantalion

Considering how rolls are entirely random, and there is no variety in "build" once class and stats are assigned outside of skill points and proficiencies, I'd imagine such a forum would be simply new threads with old information very swiftly.

claudius

Ok, I'll bite just to get the ball rolling even though I haven't analyzed the game overly nor synthesized into an optimal party.

My pc is a gnome F/T with 18s in all physical stats. The other choices were: elf, half-elf, dwarf, halfling, and half-orc. half-elf didn't seem to get much bonus although no penalties either. Elf would raise dex and thereby thieves skills, but I didn't even want longswords/bows and no shorty saves + loss of hp/con in return for the dex.. though I did like the dex bonus to thieves skills. Halfling also had the dex and shorty saves, but it was a dealbreaker to miss +3 hit/ +7 damage for a 19 STR with tome. Dwarf I overlooked because losing dex hurts a thief skill. And finally half-orc boosts STR and Con but no shorty or saves bonus which is quite important. A 19 will still chunk things relative to a 20. Also it is harder to roll up a half-orc than a gnome.

So there is my personal essay of why I think gnome is a good choice for F/T


As far as my party I choose Adjantis with gauntlets of dex as a tank also boosted by protection from evil. My pc as a off tank, archer, and flanker. Imoen and Kivan as archers. With 2 thiefs we can cover the huge terrain of thiefs skills in that stealth for both and traps for both is handy. Kivan is another off-tank. And the final slots of Branwen and Neera. Dynaheir might be better than Neera but I wanted the dialogue.

SirK8

@claudius - thank you for sharing, and that's one example of the type of information/discussion that could be in a "character creation" section of the forums. Other examples are posts like these:

http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/13056/do-not-be-afraid-of-dual-classing-in-bgee
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/13171/swashbucklermage-strength-or-charisma-as-dump-stat

@Pantalion - I will politely disagree that the thread will all just be old information. I've come across several conversations on these boards about character creation and party combinations, what class is best for solo play, what NPCs work best for a certain play style, whether to dual class at x or y level or whether multiclass is a better option, what weapon weapon proficiencies work best for what combinations or depending on what items are in the game, whether or not it's worth the extra point in Z stat. Some of this information is static and can be answered once, but a lot of it is up for discussion depending on play style, party combination, whether or not your power gaming, etc. Baldur's Gate has been around a long time and yet these discussions keep happening. That is the basis for my suggestion for a subsection of the forums that would be the go to place for discussion, questions and interesting reading on the subject.

Anyway, if the suggestion doesn't have any support, there's no use in pushing the issue.

LordRumfish

Here's my brief thought for party optimization: if you can't be bothered to have a high Charisma with CHARNAME, use Ajantis or Safana as party leader to gain better quest rewards and prices. This is one way you can optimize your experience along one axis of gameplay.

Another consideration I often have for "party optimization" is that most of the NPCs in the game can't carry very much, so if you need to grab a dead body for a quest or carry ankheg shells, there's a limited number of NPCs who can help you. Consider grabbing one or more of the following to help you carry the load: Dorn, Minsc, Shar-Teel, Kivan, or even Ajantis as a distant 5th. In this regard, Ajantis serves you now on another gameplay axis aside from quest rewards.

Third thought: I've recently begun a game for each alignment of your party, meaning each person in the party is of the same alignment along one axis (I've won the game with a good party, I started a neutral party and an evil party, I have not yet tried a chaotic or lawful party). When I made the neutral party, it became rapidly apparent to me how important it is to have *someone* be the frontlinesman. I'm making do with Jaheira and Branwen as my tanks (neutral CHARNAME is a cleric/mage whose main tanking ability is hit points due to a familiar), but composition of roles is important. Many characters can serve as damage dealers, not so many can soak up damage. You *need* someone to perform thief skills if you ever want to see all of the blessed stat tomes you keep talking about, you *should* have some characters who have the hit points and armor class to take the initial salvos from hobgoblin elites and kobold commandos, and it's *nice* to not rely on a crateful of potions weighing you down and eating up your money so a cleric or druid is handy. I'm going to argue that mage isn't a necessary role, but it makes certain encounters easier, you just have to micromanage your game experience more and think.

There are more cross-sections we could examine this from, but from among these 3: Ajantis and Safana are special in terms of Charisma, but CHARNAME could replace them. Carrying weight is fairly important, CHARNAME can help in this regard but it may mean investing in a useless stat if you are a mage-type. I'd take at least one high-weight-capacity NPC even if CHARNAME is strong. With the above in consideration, Ajantis serves as a tank, a mule, a speaker (Cha), and Lay on Hands reduces dependency on heals and potions. Safana serves as a thief and a speaker. Minsc, and to a lesser extent Dorn, Kivan and Shar-Teel serve as tanks and mules. The other characters in the game are also useful but do not work as speakers or mules with the same effectiveness.