Anymore kits in the future or just with Bg 2 EE?
DKnight
Member Posts: 307
I was thinking that a few thief/bard kits I really liked from mods (adventurer and acrobat) never made the call. I really think they need more kits that aren't just about offense. Right now only the swashbuckler kit has a defensive armor class component to it. Assassin-very much offense, bounty hunter-defense in setting traps, offense in that enemies are usually dead when done. Thief-meh, very much offense with either a bow style or backstab support. Shadowdancer-offense although there is a bonus to spell saves.
I really liked Adventurer class because it was like a thief that is able to master in anything and still pick up a few ac bonuses along the way. Im playing right now as an assassin and the skill point ratio is just terrible.
Acrobat was a cool variant for a bard because you were like the best character to draw away ranged weapon users away from party. Besides everyone usually always plays a blade or skald and not as many people play a vanilla bard or jester. Although jester is much better than it used to be.
What I'm hoping is that they add a few kits in bg 2 and they eventually slide them in here as well
Are there any plans to add a class or two to updates or is it likely to only come out in bg 2 ee?
I really liked Adventurer class because it was like a thief that is able to master in anything and still pick up a few ac bonuses along the way. Im playing right now as an assassin and the skill point ratio is just terrible.
Acrobat was a cool variant for a bard because you were like the best character to draw away ranged weapon users away from party. Besides everyone usually always plays a blade or skald and not as many people play a vanilla bard or jester. Although jester is much better than it used to be.
What I'm hoping is that they add a few kits in bg 2 and they eventually slide them in here as well
Are there any plans to add a class or two to updates or is it likely to only come out in bg 2 ee? 2
Comments
Keep in mind, PnP thieves are USELESS in combat....they can only BS ONCE per encounter, it's pathetically weak compared to the BG version (Only multiples the base damage of the weapon, nothing else, not even enhancement bonus), and maybe not even that. They're brought along exclusively for their spelunking skills. And to maybe accidentally hit something with a bow.
In city settings, they were much more useful, since most of the social NCP are in the rogue pool, though a bard is significantly better in that role.
At the end of the day, BG is not Torment.....it's more like IWD, but with a lot more quests.
People play the blade and skald because none of the bards have their proper penalties, or bonuses for that matter.
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/comment/316649/#Comment_316649 for a near complete list of what most of the kits SHOULD have.
cleric buffs to infinity
only mages are weak and this is iwd1 weak compared to bg2 spells with time stops wishes horrid wiltig and other spells of mass destruction
mage is only good for haste and sometimes fireball
It's the only Infinity Engine game where I'd consider running TWO Thief characters purely for the combat nastiness (F/T and C/T so it would be armored combat nastiness). With two Thief characters, one on either side of a victim, one of them would always be in position to Sneak Attack.
Compare this to Icewind dale which I just ragequit recently. This is where thieves are almost useless except in backstabbing and that's it. I thought it was like Baldurs gate where a thief could be a relatively decent fighter-wrong. Icewind Dale is meant to serve parties with rangers, fighters, paladins, clerics and spellcasters. There is no room for a bard or thief as a fighter as they just get squashed.
As you can see I cant stand icewind dale series. Im hoping they focus on BG and Planescape. Better not to waste time with IWD series.
Should be possible to implement the lost spell slots properly. Functions like a normal mage/specialist except as mentioned below.
From levels 13-18, you get to pick 1 new High Arcana Ability at each level, for a total of 5 from the list below. Spell-like Ability can be picked up to 5 times. (Options don't become available until the Archmage in question is high enough to lose a slot of that level (7th level requires 14+, 8th requires 16+, and the 9th abilities can only be chosen at 18)
Mastery of Counterspell: [Slot lost: 7th]. Infinite Use. Upon use it opens a menu with all currently memorized spells. You chose a spell and then choose a target (the spell has no cast time but does prevent other casting that round). The Target mage is afflicted with a debuff that either negates (spells that can't be reflected) or automatically reflects the next spell they cast, if it is equal or less then the level of the sacrificed spell.)
Mastery of Elements: [Slot Lost: 8th]. Toggle-able. All elemental damage dealing spells deal magical damage instead of their original type while in effect.
Mastery of Shaping: [Slot Lost: 6th]. Toggle-able. All AoE spells ignore non-hostile targets while in effect.
Arcane Reach 1: [Slot Lost: 7th]. Passive. All touch range arcane spells, now have a range of 30 ft.
Arcane Reach 2: [Slot Lost: 7th]. Passive. Requires Arcane Reach 1. Extends range to 60 ft.
Spell Power +1: [Slot Lost: 5th]. Passive. All spells gain a -1 save penalty. Stacks with all other sources.
Spell Power +2: [Slot Lost: 7th]. Passive. All spells gain a -2 save penalty. Stacks with all other sources.
Spell Power +3: [Slot Lost: 9th]. Passive. All Spells gain a -3 save penalty. Stacks with all other sources.
Arcane Fire : [Slot Lost: 9th]. Infinite Use. Opens a menu containing all memorized arcane spells. A spell is sacrificed to shoot a bolt of raw magical damage that deals 5d6 + 1d6 per level of the sacrificed spell at the chosen target. This abilities has a cast speed of 1, regardless of the spell used (It is always considered 9th level, regardless of the spell used).
Spell Like Ability: [Slots Lost: 5th, and chosen spell's level]. When used, a menu with all currently memorized arcane spells is opened. You pick a spell which becomes a spell-like ability you can cast 3x per day, but permanently lose a slot of that spells level. The new ability replaces Spell-like Ability. It can be chosen to up to 5 times. The same ability can be chosen more then once as long as total penalty for lost spell slots doesn't exceed the maximum for that level. (Normal Mages have a maximum of 5 lost slots at each spell level, specialists have 6).
Penalties----
In addition to lost slots, cannot dual or multiclass. Does not get the extra spell slot HLAs.
I kind of want to see the Warlock class.
Most of those above effects should work, as Naehl's already modifies some spells in those exact manners.
While I'm adverse to adding more 3rd edition inspired kits...the problem arises from the fact that the mages kits are pretty...well....not really compatible with BG. It's too combat heavy and most of them focus on using spells or effects that don't work in BG, with few actually being combat oriented enough to consider.
The Archmage would actually be fairly balanced, since it performs pretty much Identical to the 3rd edition version, but unlike the 3rd edition version, you can't get bonus spell slots from high int, and epic abilities, making you pay a genuine price for those extra perks.
What I would like is a Bard kit with Open Locks, Find Traps and Disarm Traps ability. This way, you could opt to choose a bard for your party instead of a thief. It wouldn't scale so quickly, you would miss out stealth, backstab, traps and detect illusion. Could also get some penalties ofc, although lower lore would definetly not fit such kit, seeing that these type of bards are most likely very much into adventuring and treasure hunting.
Would be a bit like a swashbuckler (no backstab), but instead of the combat bonuses, it would have spell casting!
OH I'm all for adding proper 2nd edition kits (and fixing that OP mess of current kits)...it'll never happen, but I'm all for it......but if I have to choose some POS 3rd edition class, i might as well pick one I actually kind of like.
And no, your idea of a bard runs entirely counter to 2nd edition. Thieves LITERALLY just exist to open locks (without using spells), possibly scout (without using spells), and find/disarm traps (without using spells or summon minions, henchmen/followers, or 10ft poles). They have no other useful purpose that a bard can't do 10x better. BG actually grossly buffed their combat abilities and basically gutted the Bard class.
What bards do, they do better then thieves, and in fact, in PnP are one of the strongest, most versatile classes in the game (Hence their ridiculous stat requirements). Their kits actually sacrifice pretty much all that versatility for more specialized areas of focus.