class confusion

Fysh

I see lots of threads where people are discussing weird classes like skald, assassin, etc. Are these classes from BG1EE or are they just convenient names for particular configurations?

CaptRory

They are kits. For example, let's say you're rolling up a character and choose your class. You pick Thief. It shows you all the different thief kits that are available. Kits change the way a given class functions. Like, choosing the Swashbuckler Kit for Thief removes your ability to backstab but improves your combat abilities in different ways. Its sort of like playing a Fighter/Thief but just being a thief.

Fysh

So are kits available in the original BG1 or just the EE?

Awong124

Just EE. EE is essentially BG1 running on the BG2 engine, so it includes all the kits from BG2.

atcDave

Also note that kits are only available to single class characters. If you multi-class, the screen won't even come up.

franco

I tend to refer to the kits as sub-classes of the original class, just to keep my thinking straight. They add a great deal of variety to the game. These sub-classes tend to have special abilities (that the characters have apparently practiced and developed) making them unique in ways that add to their appeal.

The players' desire to see and use some of these kits with their special abilities, tends to increase their enthusiasm for the game. For years, I would most often play a vanilla warrior, and a couple of times a fighting cleric in IWD2. And my interest in the game would wane after awhile. But now, with the introduction of BGEE, I have 4 parties currently going at the same time: a Cavalier, a Blade, a Sorcerer and an Illusionist, and I look forward to trying others.

The designers of BGEE deserve a great deal of credit for rejuvenating and refreshing a classic game, and in fact preparing the whole BG world for further expansion.