Weapon Proficencies Sorcerers

Laicamir

Greetings, I have recently acquired this game and I find it greatly entertaining there is however one thing I am curios about.

My character is a sorcerer and I am, trying to make him mirror my Dungeons and Dragons character as much as possible however it appears I cannot use a sword. So my first question, is there any way at all for a sorcerer (or perhaps a mage) to use a sword?

If there is no way for that to be done then I would ask another question, are daggers a viable weapon option as so far they have all been vastly inferior to my staves.

Thank You For Helping!

Stargazer5781

I've no idea what your D&D build was like, but if you're swinging around a longsword when you run out of spells a la Gandalf you might consider multiclassing or dual-classing a fighter/mage (kensai/mage dual class in particular is very popular).

Short of that you can certainly use daggers and there are some decent daggers in the game, though I'll caution you using a pure mage in melee in Baldur's Gate tends to be a recipe for a lot of struggle.

TJ_Hooker

Daggers are decent choice in that the proficiency also lets you use throwing daggers, so you are proficient with both a ranged and melee weapon with only one proficiency point. Just be aware that carrying a sufficient stock of throwing daggers can get pretty heavy.

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Laicamir

Thanks, I will look at those spells.
How do dual classed mages work, I don't really wan't to use the sword in melee, the build I was referring to just uses the longsword as an implement. How magically focused are multiclassed mages?

Thanks again for all the help!

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atcDave

Dual classing from Mage to fighter is generally a bad idea, the other way around works much better (you don't want Mage hit points on a fighter!).
Single class mages and sorcerers really don't want to melee unless its an emergency anyway, but quarter staff is generally a better option when forced into it than dagger. But really, I think the best weapon for any kind of single class wizard is sling. It keeps them out of melee range (well, usually).

Laicamir

Okay thanks, I will probably just stick to a straight out caster for now, thanks for all the help!

Dee

If you're playing a sorcerer, be sure to give yourself a high (~18) Charisma, and buy the quarrel of crossbow bolts for the Candlekeep guardsman.

Why it's worth it:

You'll get a +1 Dagger as a reward if your check result is high enough; which, if you have an 18 Charisma, is pretty much guaranteed. That's the earliest you can get a magic weapon in the game, and it also makes it so you'll never have to worry about your weapon breaking.

There is also at least one magical throwing dagger with the "returning" property, which means that once you find it you won't have to worry about carrying fifty pounds of throwing knives. I don't recall if it's in BG1 or if it's just in BG2, though.

PugPug

I would generally suggest taking the Sling proficiency first, but if you want a blade, well, people have said what to do.

Aosaw's tip is a good one, though I respectfully disagree that 18 Charisma nearly guarantees success. I don't think it'll be enough for an evil character, which starts with lower reputation. Though there is a random element to NPC reaction checks, as well. I know I have failed with a 16 Charisma Neutral Good dwarf. Lawful Good and 18, though, and I don't think failure is possible.

Dee

Oh, that's an excellent point--for a "guarantee", you'll want to be Lawful Good, 18 Charisma, and have the Friends spell cast (which, for a sorcerer, is generally not a great idea).

I seem to recall that the reaction check generates a value between 10 and 20 in order to favor better results, and I think the result needed for the crossbow bolt reward is 16 or better. A good alignment and an 18 charisma should do the trick.

Laicamir

Will an item or spell that modifies charisma help, I have a ring of +8 and the friends spell. However I only put 10 into it at the start and my alignment was chaotic neutral, would it be worth starting again. Which quest is this a reward for?

Dee

It's a quest in Candlekeep; so if you're out of Candlekeep, you're out of luck.

At the same time, though, if you're out of Candlekeep, you're probably a bit closer to finding a magical dagger in your travels anyway. But for starting a new character with the dagger proficiency, be sure to go to the guard barracks in Candlekeep and be nice to the captain there.

Laicamir

I may have forgot to mention I am playing the second game, sorry about that.

Dee

Ah.

In that case, there should be a +1 dagger...

Inside the painting on the wall of the room in the starting area with the non-hostile golem.

Laicamir

Okay, Thanks to you very much!

ZanathKariashi

Technically speaking, every body should be capable of using any weapon, but only able to become proficient in weapons their class can use (other then druids or clerics who have religious vows preventing weapon use). Though has a single class mage or a sorcerer you'd have a -6 thac0 penalty, which basically makes melee combat pointless with non-proficient weaponry...which is why I assume they didn't include the ability to do so (though they really should have anyway, so you could benefit from equipped bonuses, if you couldn't fight with them for shat).

It's one of those things basically none of the CRPGs allows (except ToEE), even though it's totally legit in PnP.

So other then druids/clerics or kits that have restrictions everyone should be able to wield any weapon. (Since the above classes are supposed to temporarily lose class abilities/spellcasting, or recieve no xp from encounters where they invalidate their vows)