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Swashbuckler>Mage strength or charisma as dump stat?

gustonguston Member Posts: 70
in New Players (NO SPOILERS!)
I've rolled two human swashbucklers with the intent of dualing them to mages at lv 15 in BG2EE. They both have the same stats (15 con, 18 dex, 18 int, 15 wis) everywere exept one has 11 str and 18 cha. While the other has 12 cha and 18 str. Heres were i come to a crossroads. On the one hand a mage ultimately has no use for high strength and with high charisma he can be my party face. On the other hand he is gonna use the staff of the magi anyway and a swashbuckler 15/mage with 19 strength (18+tome) might actually do some damage with it.

He can get + 3 to hit and damage from swashbuckler levels, +3 to hit and +7 damage from strength bonus, + 1 to hit and +2 damage from specialization in quarterstaffs, and finally + 1 to damage and -2 speed and the ability to critical hit on a 19 from two handed weapon style. Though with crappy mage THAC0 it might still not be enough.

So which one do you think is best? Is giving a mage herculean strength a dumb idea or is it a stroke of genius? The other guy knows crossbows and shortbows. With high dex and swashbuckler levels its will be good enough for when he runs out of spells.

Comments

  • secretfiresecretfire Member Posts: 63
    I choose Cha just for roleplaying value. Its completely useless as far as I can tell, except in saving money, which is never an issue as I don't think I've ever had to buy anything, ever, in BG2, since loot is so high quality and common. But I'm so trained to want 'persuasive' characters I choose Cha anyways. Mechanically, your probably better off with Str.
  • MadhaxMadhax Member Posts: 1,416
    Can't go wrong with strength. You've got fifteen levels of swashbuckler already, might as well compliment your potential for melee damage.
  • AlsnAlsn Member Posts: 97
    edited December 2012
    Also, while not particularly important, it's really annoying to not be able to carry heavy items such as dead quest NPCs or ankheg shells.
  • gustonguston Member Posts: 70
    I'm gonna go with the strong guy. Charisma is not that important anyway.
  • ZanathKariashiZanathKariashi Member Posts: 2,869
    Well considering there's a ring that sets your charisma to 18 you can get for free right after the prelude...dump charisma (with a nymph cloak or blade of roses you can have 20 charisma which is maximum usable amount). While at the end there are plenty of str belts to go around, they're fairly rare early on (till about the half-way point), and since a swashy relies on direct combat damage rather then massive BSs, you really need all the thac0 and damage you can get. Even after becoming a mage, you'll still likely need str, since the firetooth (dagger) allows a str bonus and a respectable 2 attacks per round (and hit's like a +3 flaming bastard sword). There's also another returning dagger you can get that would also benefit from the str bonus.
  • Arabus13Arabus13 Member Posts: 102
    Not to mention a decent strength allows you to carry all the treasure around without being encumbered and slowing down the party!
  • gustonguston Member Posts: 70
    Does a throwing dagger get a bonus from single weapon style?
  • DinsdalePiranhaDinsdalePiranha Member Posts: 419
    guston said:

    Does a throwing dagger get a bonus from single weapon style?

    nope, only 1h melee weapons.
  • gustonguston Member Posts: 70
    DinsdalePiranha said:

    guston said:

    Does a throwing dagger get a bonus from single weapon style?

    nope, only 1h melee weapons.
    k
  • ZanianZanian Member Posts: 332
    @ZanathKariashi Well the reaction modifier scales all the way up to 25 Cha, (Add Plate of Balduran for an extra boost ^^), but that's not exactly all that important.
    Isn't the 19 str belt obtainable from Ribald though? Fairly early imo.

    Still agree Str>Cha though of course.
  • ZanathKariashiZanathKariashi Member Posts: 2,869
    @Guston
    Throwing axes and throwing daggers do, cause they're considered melee weapons, slings and darts don't.
  • gustonguston Member Posts: 70
    ZanathKariashi said:

    @Guston
    Throwing axes and throwing daggers do, cause they're considered melee weapons, slings and darts don't.

    Aha! That's how I was hoping it would work.
  • gustonguston Member Posts: 70
    Zanian said:

    @ZanathKariashi Well the reaction modifier scales all the way up to 25 Cha, (Add Plate of Balduran for an extra boost ^^), but that's not exactly all that important.
    Isn't the 19 str belt obtainable from Ribald though? Fairly early imo.

    Still agree Str>Cha though of course.

    Yeah but other people need it more. I usually give it to Jaheira after she gets ironskins or to another frontline fighter.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,675
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  • The_New_RomanceThe_New_Romance Member Posts: 839
    I'd say strength. Having Charname be the party face is great, and I usually give him good charisma (and then use strength spell, equipment and all that stuff to get him up). However, I believe you'll be better served with high strength, as charisma-improving items are easier to find (and in most of the cases CHA doesn't matter that much anyway).
  • TeflonTeflon Member, Translator (NDA) Posts: 515
    I think this question worth a poll. But many ppl will choose STR I suppose.
  • DeathKnightDeathKnight Member Posts: 93
    Hey, can i ask something? Why didn't you dump charisma? Why didn't you put 16 to con? Why didn't you try to have 18 wisdom for those crucial, wish spells to function properly...? There is a ring that gives 18 to charisma anyway...
  • MadhaxMadhax Member Posts: 1,416
    You can ask, but seeing as how the original poster hasn't been active on these boards in almost a year, I doubt you'll get an answer.
  • FafnirFafnir Member Posts: 232
    DeathKnight said:

    Hey, can i ask something? Why didn't you dump charisma? Why didn't you put 16 to con? Why didn't you try to have 18 wisdom for those crucial, wish spells to function properly...? There is a ring that gives 18 to charisma anyway...

    Because of Tomes, obviously.
    Now, did you REALLY have to necro a year old thread just to ask this?
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    @DeathKnight
    Fafnir said:

    DeathKnight said:

    Hey, can i ask something? Why didn't you dump charisma? Why didn't you put 16 to con? Why didn't you try to have 18 wisdom for those crucial, wish spells to function properly...? There is a ring that gives 18 to charisma anyway...

    Because of Tomes, obviously.
    Now, did you REALLY have to necro a year old thread just to ask this?
    That's why, BG1 tomes, I started with a M/T, and he had STR10 DEX19 CON10 INT18 WIS14 CHA14, but for my swashbuckler ->thief...
    STR18 DEX18 CON15 INT18 WIS15 CHA10.
    While my Elven F/M
    STR18/50 (exactly 50)DEX19 CON17 INT18 WIS15 CHA8.
    And, one day, I don't know why, but I got a 101 with a Jester.... Best roll ever (after six hours, :P)
    STR18 DEX18 CON16 INT18 WIS13 CHA18, looks cheesy, but it was well worth the 6-hours of rolling like an idiot, oh, and I only took out two points from CON to WIS, what left me such a nice roleplayer feeling, since I'm a powergamer :P well, not always :P
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