Starting an evil (probably neutral) playthrough...what class should I choose?

GoForTheEyesBoo

I have a Cavalier going right now with my fiancee and I'd like to try a less righteous path.

I think I'm going to go with Dorn, Edwin, the new magic user (B), the evil Dwarf (Korgain?) and need one more. But more importantly...

Any suggestions for my PC?

I was thinking maybe trying a Bard kit... to make it a little harder.

Nifft

Skald with two good front-line tanks is pretty strong.

Druids are Neutral, you could kick the tires on an Avenger.

Your party has no healer, so you could also go Cleric of Helm / Talos, or be an incredible hulk Half-Orc Fighter / Cleric (19 str, 19 con).

GoForTheEyesBoo

Thanks, I'm thinking perhaps a Half-Orc Fighter/Cleric.

Another question, if I Shadowkeeper Imoen to evil will she stop complaining about low reputation?

Madhax

Not taking Viconia? She's pretty darn good, and would nicely fit into your party as the main healer. That allows you to choose my personal favorite evil PC class: Fighter/Thief.

A fighter/thief allows your main character to fulfill thief support abilities, act as an offtank/damage dealer, scout, and backstab. That's a lot of demand for thief skill points, but with maxed dexterity and potion support it's entirely doable, especially if you know where all of the +stealth gear is. And then you can ditch Imoen.

Anyway, bards are fun, but you're primarily playing as an arcane caster in BG1 and you've already got two of those.

I'm not sure how altering NPC's alignments affects their complaining or quitting the party, but Imoen is ceaselessly loyal to you. She'll stick around regardless of your alignment, though she might bitch about it occasionally.

KidCarnival

With Kagain and Dorn, your frontline will hold. With Edwin and the sorcerer, you have the 2 best arcane casters. So for balance, you need a cleric or druid and a thief. Shar-Teel is amazing if you dual her as thief, especially if you want a party that is very different from your usual one. With her strength, she can use ranged weapons usually reserved for Kivan or Dorn or the weapons you never use because meh (throwing daggers or axes). I had her grab daggers from High Hedge on lower levels for the fun of it (before I could make her proficient in any ranged weapon). This would leave the divine caster role to you and fit well with a F/C.

Astafas

I play an evil Skald right now (Long Bow, Wands and Long Sword). My NPC:s are:

Dorn (Two-Handed Sword or Shield/Bastard Sword)
Viconia (Sling or Hammer, always with a Shield)
Montaron (mainly using X-Bow, backstabbing with a Short Sword)
Edwin (Staff/Daggers)
New NPC (Staff/Darts)

I find it to be well balanced, with plenty of magic to go around.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Quartz

Dwarven Fighter/Clerics kick the tar out of your Orcish Fighter/Clerics.

shawne

@GoForTheEyesBoo: Alternatively, there should be a Helm of Opposite Alignment in Durlag's Tower - I think it actually works in BG:EE, so putting it on Imoen would both nominally and functionally make her Neutral Evil.

As for your PC, I agree with @KidCarnival and @Madhax: your party requires a cleric and a thief, so it comes down to your own preference. If you prefer your PC to do the thieving, take Viconia as your healer; if you'd rather play the cleric's role yourself, Shar-Teel will serve you well if you dual-class her to thief (Safana is a useful thief too, but she's Chaotic Neutral).

KidCarnival

@shawne: Can Imoen wear helms? As thief or dual thief-mage, I think the helm slot is locked.

You could also play a thief-cleric, do both those duties and get a wild card for your last slot, like Eldoth (who never complains if you don't do his quest to rescue Skie) and see what you can do with that.

shawne

@KidCarnival: Whoops, I knew I'd overlooked something...

[Deleted User]

I played an evil Half-Orc Fighter/Cleric for a while. The thing is, a Fighter/Cleric (Dwarf or Half-Orc) is such a good tank that Kagain really starts to feel redundant. You're going to have better AC (until you get him the Gauntlets), better killing power, and nearly as many hit points. You can even copy his "full heal on rest or travel" regeneration by picking up Buckley's Buckler (or grabbing the Con tome). And that's before you start using Cleric buffs to boost your survivability. Then you start wondering why you're carting his whiny grandpa ass around everywhere when you're a better tank and both you and Dorn are better at dealing out damage.

You could always pick up Xzar and Montaron. Since the new guy is a Sorcerer, he doesn't need any scrolls to work his mojo, so you can easily fit 3 mages in your party, and three mages is hilarious. Monty's really dangerous in melee combat, and since you have three mages and a 19 Str to deal with the majority of locks, you can focus him on trap finding and backstabbery.

Fardragon

Human Assassin. Dual to Fighter once you have find traps maxed out (around level 5). Focus on bows or x-bow of speed. Shoot everyone with poison arrows/bolts. Pick up Viconia. Have Edwin learn Knock.

Anaximander

Blade is a great class ;D Monty should be your thief or perhaps Shar teel.

DarkDogg

Go with an evil thief or an evil cleric.
Or cleric\thief multiclass :-)
If you take the Bard class, then there is not enough place in your party for a thief AND a cleric.

Kortok

I would dump Dorn for Viconia and roll a swashbuckler.

Fardragon

Kortok said:

I would dump Dorn for Viconia and roll a swashbuckler.

I've tried playing a swashbuckler, and found them basically worthless. A Fighter (streight, beserker or kensai) dualed to thief, even at level 2, is better in almost all repects.

ReadingRambo

Fardragon said:

Kortok said:

I would dump Dorn for Viconia and roll a swashbuckler.

I've tried playing a swashbuckler, and found them basically worthless. A Fighter (streight, beserker or kensai) dualed to thief, even at level 2, is better in almost all repects.

They really start to shine late game. All those +s are awesome plus UAI

GoForTheEyesBoo

Thanks everyone. I think right now I am leaning on a multi fighter thief with Dorn, Edwin, new npc, korgain and Viconia. But I am still open to suggestions. Is multi fighter thief good?

shawne

Takes a bit longer to level up, but it's a viable build.

Nifft

F/T is quite viable, yes.

Half-Orc is great, as are all the shorty races (due to the +5 save bonus they get at Con 18).

Lemernis

A multi Fighter/Thief is a great character. You should have a fun time with that party. (It's Kagain in BG1/EE. Korgan is in BG2.)

GoForTheEyesBoo

Lemernis said:

A multi Fighter/Thief is a great character. You should have a fun time with that party. (It's Kagain in BG1/EE. Korgan is in BG2.)

Thanks, I can never keep them straight.

So I should probably go halfling?

Nifft

GoForTheEyesBoo said:

Thanks, I can never keep them straight.

So I should probably go halfling?

Halflings: 17 Str, 19 Dex, 18 Con (con grants bonus to saves)

Elves: 18 Str, 19 Dex, 17 Con (bonus to longsword and bow attacks)

Dwarves: 18 Str, 18 Dex, 19 Con (con grants bonus to saves)

Half-Orcs: 19 Str, 18 Dex, 19 Con

I only pay attention to Gnomes when making a multi-class Illusionist, but IIRC they're a fine option too.

Lemernis

Well, for me I like a Fighter/Thief to be monster backstabber. So what I'm looking for is massive Strength. Hence my own preference would be half-orc.

One other option you might want to consider is a half-orc Cleric/Thief. With cleric buffs the backstabs can be astounding. And believe it or not quarterstaves are some of the best backstabbing weapons in the game. But you could also dual-wield maces. (sorry, getting tired, lol)

Nifft

Lemernis said:

One other option you might want to consider is a half-orc Cleric/Thief. With cleric buffs the backstabs can be astounding. And believe it or not quarterstaves are some of the best backstabbing weapons in the game. But you could also dual-wield maces.

If you play Good (or at least high Reputation), you'll have access to Draw Upon Holy Might, which is a fantastically brutal Cleric buff. You'll get this as CHARNAME no matter what class you play.

What other Cleric buffs are you thinking about?

Lemernis

@Nifft For a half-orc in BG:EE it's mainly DUHM. Beyond that, at level 4 Holy Power lowers a half-orc's Strength from 19 (presumably that's what one rolled for a half-orc) to 18/00. Although that's a loss of only one point of damage (the damage modifier is +7 for Str 19 , and +6 for Str 18/00; it's +3 to hit for both those Strength levels). On the plus side, the Holy Power spell description states the cleric's "THACO becomes that of a fighter of the same level, and he gains 1 temporary hit point for every level he has attained." So it's probably worth it in the balance.

Doesn't an evil PC get Vampiric Touch instead as the last Bhaalspawn ability, though?

[Deleted User]

There's nothing big for a Cleric/Thief in BGEE aside from DUHM. In BG2, though, you get Righteous Magic, which gives you maximized damage backstabs along with your Str boost (and with a much longer duration than Kai).

And then there's just the utility of being able to find and disarm traps while under Sanctuary, which is handy for those times when a monster infested area is also littered with traps.

GoForTheEyesBoo

Hmmm cleric/thief also sounds good. If I go that way, ill go with staffd. But if I go fighterthief, what its a good backstab weapon choice?

[Deleted User]

GoForTheEyesBoo said:

Hmmm cleric/thief also sounds good. If I go that way, ill go with staffd. But if I go fighterthief, what its a good backstab weapon choice?

Staff is universally a good backstab choice, actually, but if you're planning on dual-wielding, scimitars are also a good option.

Nifft

Longswords are great for a Fighter/Thief, especially if you put ranks in Set Trap, because there's an excellent +2 Longsword available early.