Canonical charname class?

ReadingRambo

This is very subjective of course, but what class do u guys think fits canon the best for charname?


Going off the canon bg 1 party of minsc, dyna, immy, jaheira, and Khalid I would think some sort of fighter cleric or fighter thief would balance out the party the most.

Which class do u guys feel would most balance the canonical bg 1 party?

Edit: not sure I agree with the canon party tho, a good alignment party without yeslick is heresy for me!

Splod

Well you're the spawn of a god, divinity is somewhat of a key component of your character. Paladin would be my choice, it's my current playthrough too. Loving the Cavalier kit especially.
I boot Jaheira and Khalid asap and replace them with Neera and Branwen. Swapping out Branwen the minute I find Yeslick.

Edwin

Is the presumptive motive to try and 'balance out' the party. If not, what else would serve as guidance in making such a determination?

Roller12

a human fighter dualled to cleric.


this is strictly a bg1 only cannon party choice.

ReadingRambo

Splod said:

Well you're the spawn of a god, divinity is somewhat of a key component of your character. Paladin would be my choice, it's my current playthrough too. Loving the Cavalier kit especially.
I boot Jaheira and Khalid asap and replace them with Neera and Branwen. Swapping out Branwen the minute I find Yeslick.

Yes I have a playthrough with a paladin cavalier as well, it fits my perception of charname well. I view him not having a diety necessarily, instead having natural paladin abilities. Cavalier in particular. Slaying powerful enemies in the name of "good", but in reality it's the bhaal Essence lusting to slay powerful enemies.

ReadingRambo

Edwin said:

Is the presumptive motive to try and 'balance out' the party. If not, what else would serve as guidance in making such a determination?

Perhaps my comment of "balancing" the party was unnecessary, rather I'm curious as to your opinion of how u view charnames class.

For instance, my brother loves the elven fighter mage thief, as it reminds him of a Demi god from the legends and lore sourcebook, and each of the classes he sees as having potential to "murder" well, following in the vein of bhaal. I, on the other hand, prefer the divine caster route, viewing charnames divinity as supplying a fount of natural divine magic.

Calmar

I'd say fighter fits best. It's a powerful frontline leader, but less specialised and more independent than a paladin or ranger. Sooner or later Charname's divine nature breaks through and I just can't picture him (her?) to be another god's devoted servant in such a way.

LordsDarkKnight185

Canon-wise Abdel Adrian is a Fighter, its in one of the old Dragon's.

Eudaemonium

[Delayed Double Post] See below.

Mykra

LordsDarkKnight185 said:

Canon-wise Abdel Adrian is a Fighter, its in one of the old Dragon's.

Those abominations of books do not exist in this dojo.

Personally, I would think the Charname would most likely be an Unaligned Priest (or, unwittingly supplied powers from Bhaal, whether he knew/prayed for them or not, but in no other divines service) or a Mage growing up in Candlekeep under Gorions tutelage. With the default party being Fighter, Fighter/Druid, Ranger, Thief/Mage, Mage, having Charname be a Priest seems the most 'balanced'.

However, how Charname was found, and the fact he could have been just a civilian in the 'keep and started on his path after Gorions death, I can easily see any class and any race being feasible and just as correct.

Kaltzor

Well, canonically in-game there is no class, but I think Human Male is assumed... There are novels for Baldur's Gate where CHARNAME is a Human Fighter called Abdel (Who actually is in-game as a pre-made character)

Eudaemonium

For me, the class that makes the most story sense is actually Bard. Or some type of Mage single/multi, or Sorcerer. I think that being raised by Gorion they would have some magical affinity. Bard fits for me because I think the whole 'jack-of-all' thing works with Charname's upbringing.

Failing that, some kind of divine caster also makes sense. Honestly there are only a few that I find it hard to reconcile with your upbringing. Ranger is one of them.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

ReadingRambo

Bhaaldog said:

I would think either a human male or female. Possibly a vanilla bard as growing up in Candlekeep would have presented opportunities to learn magic, limited fighting abilities and thieving skills. A pure class mage is also a possibility being tutored by Gorion.

I like the idea of a bard. Having a high lore makes a lot of sense being raised in a veritable mountain of books. But I just don't like the class all that well in practice hehe

Eudaemonium

Yeah, a lot of people dislike Bards. I've actually learned to love them recently with my Skald playthrough. I hope they add some cool new Bard kits in a future update.

Mykra

Eudaemonium said:

Ranger is one of them.

Gorion dies, you are stranded in the woods attacked by gibberlings, xvarts, bandits, and wolves. (And the rogue Ogre). You meet up with Khalid and Jaheira and travel with them for months, learning how to fight , and learning about nature (but not taking such a hardline stance on it as she does). You have to thrive and survive, and you will spend much of your time off the beaten path before the endgame. The Forest Runner kit from Divine Remix seemed to make perfect sense to me for a Charname in BG1.

That's how I'd see a PC Ranger. (s)He was a Level 0 Civilian in Candlekeep, and didn't grow into an Adventuring class until after the ambush.

ReadingRambo

Mykra said:

Eudaemonium said:

Ranger is one of them.

Gorion dies, you are stranded in the woods attacked by gibberlings, xvarts, bandits, and wolves. (And the rogue Ogre). You meet up with Khalid and Jaheira and travel with them for months, learning how to fight , and learning about nature (but not taking such a hardline stance on it as she does). You have to thrive and survive, and you will spend much of your time off the beaten path before the endgame. The Forest Runner kit from Divine Remix seemed to make perfect sense to me for a Charname in BG1.

That's how I'd see a PC Ranger. (s)He was a Level 0 Civilian in Candlekeep, and didn't grow into an Adventuring class until after the ambush.

That's a really good justification for ranger, I like it!

Eudaemonium

Ah, that makes a lot of sense. I guess I have a hard time figuring a Ranger *in Candlekeep*, but as something which evolved over time it makes sense. Of course you still start the game as a level 1 Ranger with a bunch of Ranger skills and a stat sheet that says 'Ranger' on it.

I don't see any issue with, say starting BG2 as a Ranger, for example.

ReadingRambo

And then u can dual class from ranger to cleric after bg 1 as you begin to master your latent divinity. Who also just so happens to be able to cast every divine spell . Very nice character idea, I might make a new playthrough starting off as human ranger

Eudaemonium

I still want them to release an evil ranger kit. Or at least unlock the 'Must be Good' requirement on ones like Stalker.

Roller12

if you intend to play this character in bg2 later, i would start with a sorc. This class is loads of fun. For bg1 specifically, the cannon party lacks critical divine and arcane spells which the cleric all possesses. In particular animate dead, hold person and the healing line. You do not want to miss on these spells. The fighter part is there for the cleric not to suck in melee and gives him most of the fighter's abilities for the course of the game, and its free anyway.

scriver

Fighter is likely. Monk is likely. Cleric is likely. Sorcerer is likely.

My vote view to cleric/ranger though. Schooled as a cleric in the halls of Candlekeep, becomes a ranger after he left with Gorion as in @Mykra 's theory.

FrozenCells

Whatever it is, I doubt it's a Druid. Stuck inside a non-naturey keep with rubbish spells to look forward to and an amusingly humble biography "you helped in the stables" lol. Everyone bow down in fear to the Bhaalspawn shit-shoveller *snigger*

Roller12

Candlekeep is a library, not much divine material. I could imagine him as some fighter boy, or a mage, if a girl.

Eudaemonium

Because, y'know, girls can only be mages. -_-;;

mlnevese

Actually there are priests of Oghma in Candlekeep. It wouldn't surprise me if charname became one as well.

Roller12

Not to forget lots of locked chests, so a rouge path is very likely as well.

DJKajuru

As far as I noticed, Candlekeep was estimulating for nearly any class , specially the pure classes such as fighter, mage, thief or cleric. I believe it depends on your character's motivations .

BlueSorceress

I think it was left open enough that there was never any indication of a "canonical" class for Charname. The canonical BG1 party of Dynaheir, Minsc, Imoen Khalid and Jaheira has all the basic party roles covered. Jaheira can cover the healer/divine caster role pretty effectively, and makes good back up for Minsc as a melee fighter and Khalid as your ranged fighter. Dynaheir fulfills the role of mage, supplemented by a dual-classed Imoen who fills the role of thief. On their own the five of them already make a very well-rounded adventuring party, so Charname could be any class without creating problems in party composition.

I usually play fighter/fighter kit, but that has more to do with habit than anything substantive. My first Charname was a kensai in BG2, and that's the character I always return to for my first run when I pick the game up again. With BG:EE I've been branching out.

A multiclass cleric/mage doubles the party's casting power if you leave Imoen as a single-classed thief, and playing a single-classed thief Charname means that you can dual Imoen without worrying about losing that role while she levels up as a mage. The only role that I think is more than adequately covered is that of fighter, which is filled by a single-classed fighter, a fighter multiclass and a ranger that might as well be a fighter.

What the canonical BG1 party does tell you about Charname is that he or she is probably good or neutral-aligned. You're with a lawful good wizard, a neutral good fighter, ranger and thief, and a true neutral druid who, if this game were recreated with 3E rules regarding class/alignment restrictions, would probably be neutral good as well.

-Blue

iKrivetko

LordsDarkKnight185 said:

Canon-wise Abdel Adrian is a Fighter, its in one of the old Dragon's.

/thread

Madhax

iKrivetko said:

LordsDarkKnight185 said:

Canon-wise Abdel Adrian is a Fighter, its in one of the old Dragon's.

/thread

/unthread. Those books never existed.

I'd think Sorcerer makes the most sense for Charname, it's the perfect class to represent power from an unknown source gradually growing within oneself.