Viconia. I call her VIkky, because that's how I roll. Not cool enough for an RPG video game message board? Deal with it. :P
I think @KidCarnival was referring to the fact that you responded to a post making fun of you mispelling Viconia's name by mispelling her name a different way.
Viconia. I call her VIkky, because that's how I roll. Not cool enough for an RPG video game message board? Deal with it. :P
I think @KidCarnival was referring to the fact that you responded to a post making fun of you mispelling Viconia's name by mispelling her name a different way.
I guess I did, and that's certainly nice for those that are forced to use slings. It's still a very slow weapon, with a low ROF and limited bullet variety. It's nice that they added some elemental damaging bullets, but nothing compares to the arrow selection. Fire, Cold, Acid (2d6 plus the arrows damage), explosives, dispelling, and poison. Pretty fast weapon with many easily accessible magical bows. The +3 sling is likely an end-game item at the bottom of Durlag's
Oh, I love a 4-man party, especially the Fighter, Mage, Thief, Cleric combo, with CHARNAME as the Thief, Imoen (or Edwin) as the Mage, Viconia as the Cleric and Minsc as the Fighter (although I would much prefer Mr. ToB in that spot).
Another reason why I prefer a 4 member party is that it seems that the majority of other parties that are battled are 4, so it just seems more fair to them. I don't feel so accomplished beating a 4 top with 6 party members;)
The way I usually play is to micromanage the heck out of my PC and, when needed, run back to the party for support, so 4 or 6 makes no real practical difference. But a 4-member party does feel more "optimized".
@thespace - no thief can master all needed thief skills in BG1. Even when I play with thieves, I usually focus them on stealth or traps + utility. So when my main covers traps, I have Imoen do the lockpicking. Usually, I dual her after she gets 100% in the needed skill and maybe few points more in pickpocket or so. When she's not the only thief - lvl 4 or 5. When she is - lvl 6.
@thespace - To give you some more ideas, you should decide what magic items you plan to equip your thieves with, think about how each skill behaves in the game, break out the calculator, and plan accordingly. Imoen can reach a maximum level of 6 as a rogue and still reach casting level 5 as a mage. 5 levels of thief x 25 points per level = 125 points to distribute. If you go this route, use other NPC mages in the meantime, because it will take awhile for her to reach level 7 as a mage to reactivate those level 6 thief skills.
Take my current party for another example: charname is a half-orc f/t, Shar-Teel is dual class f3/t, Kagain is my current tank, and Viconia tags along.
Half-orcs are devastating assassins, but they are not blessed with natural bonus points like elves and halflings. So I should factor items like the Shadow Thieves Armor and the Boots of Stealth into the equation. To further complicate matters, I want to eventually rob Drizz't of his +4 Mithril Chain and combine that with a pair of boots of speed to make my charname a mobile stealth tank. To gain a 100 in Move Silently and Hide in Shadows I will only be able to bring a third skill up to about 75. I choose Open Locks as that skill and I will use my 19+ str score, knock spells, or potions to deal with tougher locks later on in the game.
An often overlooked fact about Find/Remove Traps and Set traps, is that you can wear any armor and still activate those skills. You don't have to deal with the annoyance of taking your armor off every time you want to search for a trap. I will have Shar-Teel wear full plate and take the point, maximizing both of the trap skills with her.
After awhile, I will kick Kagain out and replace him with Baeloth. He can cast a ton of spells, especially Knock and Invisibility. Shar-Teel can backstab while invisible and her high strength score makes her good at it. Giving me two mobile stealth tanks that can neutralize spells casters before most fights begin.
Plan to raise your Dexterity with a tome or the gauntlets. As a general rule, each point in DEX above 17 gives you a +5 to each rogue skill. Since it's pointless to raise skills like Find Traps and Open Locks above 100, you should stop at 95 if you have not yet used the tome.
Do you duel Imoen to mage ASAP when using your PC as thief? If not, when?
Depends on the thief. Right now I'm playing as a Bounty Hunter, so I focused on Set Traps and Hide in Shadows/Move Silently, so I left Imoen as a Thief for as long as I could.
Playing four member parties is fun, as you don't have to keep track of as many characters and you advance in level more rapidly.
My current favorite lineup is:
PC (female Necromancer) Viconia Shar-Teel (dual to Thief at 7th level) Dorn
I solo my PC until 5th level (which isn't that difficult, especially with the Imp familiar), pick up a 6th level Shar-Teel (while donning the Girdle of Masculinity/Femininity), kill some basilisks and ankhegs, then pick up a 6th level Viconia and Dorn. My PC is usually 9th level by the end of Cloakwood.
Cavalier (2h Swords. 2h Style. Maybe also Bastard Swords with the fix to let you use them 2h as well) Neera Viconia Alora (Put in early to actually use her and get some say about her development)
Dorn ends up just ripping everyone to shreds while my jester controls the field. Viconia helping with holds and Safana chucking darts and stabbing people. My C/M controls also, letting Imoen fire arrows and the two fellas tear the rest up.
When I for some reason found this game difficult, I finally managed to beat it with a Cleric charname, Kagain, Imoen, and Edwin. Certainly a badass party. Nowadays I would go for Dorn over Kagain, although Kagain is still the best at tanking. Dorn would just manage to kill stuff fast enough it wouldn't matter.
Comments
Let's talk about your #1.
If Vikky is a "no", than you must be a YESlickian? Vikky is better.
ilusionist/fighter bow
kivan bow
coran bow
montaron bow
4 multiplayer created
kensai/mage
ilusionist/thief
inquisitor
berserker/cleric or fighter/cleric dwarf
the ROF and missle selection for slings, is lacking. and the halfling +1 to hit doesnt make up for the lack of decent magical slings.
I guess I did, and that's certainly nice for those that are forced to use slings. It's still a very slow weapon, with a low ROF and limited bullet variety. It's nice that they added some elemental damaging bullets, but nothing compares to the arrow selection. Fire, Cold, Acid (2d6 plus the arrows damage), explosives, dispelling, and poison. Pretty fast weapon with many easily accessible magical bows. The +3 sling is likely an end-game item at the bottom of Durlag's
Usually, I dual her after she gets 100% in the needed skill and maybe few points more in pickpocket or so.
When she's not the only thief - lvl 4 or 5. When she is - lvl 6.
Take my current party for another example: charname is a half-orc f/t, Shar-Teel is dual class f3/t, Kagain is my current tank, and Viconia tags along.
Half-orcs are devastating assassins, but they are not blessed with natural bonus points like elves and halflings. So I should factor items like the Shadow Thieves Armor and the Boots of Stealth into the equation. To further complicate matters, I want to eventually rob Drizz't of his +4 Mithril Chain and combine that with a pair of boots of speed to make my charname a mobile stealth tank. To gain a 100 in Move Silently and Hide in Shadows I will only be able to bring a third skill up to about 75. I choose Open Locks as that skill and I will use my 19+ str score, knock spells, or potions to deal with tougher locks later on in the game.
An often overlooked fact about Find/Remove Traps and Set traps, is that you can wear any armor and still activate those skills. You don't have to deal with the annoyance of taking your armor off every time you want to search for a trap. I will have Shar-Teel wear full plate and take the point, maximizing both of the trap skills with her.
After awhile, I will kick Kagain out and replace him with Baeloth. He can cast a ton of spells, especially Knock and Invisibility. Shar-Teel can backstab while invisible and her high strength score makes her good at it. Giving me two mobile stealth tanks that can neutralize spells casters before most fights begin.
Plan to raise your Dexterity with a tome or the gauntlets. As a general rule, each point in DEX above 17 gives you a +5 to each rogue skill. Since it's pointless to raise skills like Find Traps and Open Locks above 100, you should stop at 95 if you have not yet used the tome.
My current favorite lineup is:
PC (female Necromancer)
Viconia
Shar-Teel (dual to Thief at 7th level)
Dorn
I solo my PC until 5th level (which isn't that difficult, especially with the Imp familiar), pick up a 6th level Shar-Teel (while donning the Girdle of Masculinity/Femininity), kill some basilisks and ankhegs, then pick up a 6th level Viconia and Dorn. My PC is usually 9th level by the end of Cloakwood.
Viccy in a Cavalier's party? Whhuutt?
PC - Fighter/Thief
Kivan
Imoen, switch to Skie when available
Baeloth. Edwin would be a good choice too except I don't think he can use Identify.
If Cleric/Mage (Lawful Good), Imoen, Kivan, and Ajantis.
My C/M controls also, letting Imoen fire arrows and the two fellas tear the rest up.
Imoen, Thief
Viconia, Cleric
Baeloth, Sorcerer