Swashbuckler good enough to tank in BG1 and 2?

raxtoren

yes/no?

I already made a fighter/cleric and liking it a lot in BG1, however, realizing that you can reach very high levels in Bg2 I suspect the bonuses per level will make it a stronger tank...

SionIV

Short

BG 1 : Not really
BG 2 : Yes

Long

BG 1 : They only get +2* AC at level 10 (BG1 cap) and there aren't really any fantastic leather armors. You can get another +2 AC from drizzt scimitar but you'll still be worse than a character with a full plate and large shield +1.

BG 2 : You can get your hands on some really great leather armors here, and as you level up your bonuses will increase fast. You will be able to reach max AC (-24) but when you get to ToB they have good enough Thac0 to get through that, and then you might want someone to tank with damage reduction instead.

* Been such a long time since i last played swashbuckler so i can't remember if they get the third AC at level 10 or 11.

raxtoren

thanks for your input. so I assume in BG1 it will only work as a off-tank?

SionIV

raxtoren said:

thanks for your input. so I assume in BG1 it will only work as a off-tank?

Yes.

You'll still be able to tank decently with shadow armor, drittz scimitar and your class bonuses.

[Edited]: There are also some really nice small shield / bucklers in Bg1 you can use. I would use a small shield in BG1 and dual wield in BG2.

raxtoren

What weapons are best for dual-wield, for a swashbuckler? longswords or a mixture of longsword+ something?

SionIV

raxtoren said:

What weapons are best for dual-wield, for a swashbuckler? longswords or a mixture of longsword+ something?

You will want scimitar for belm (BG2) and longsword is great to pick as there are some great longswords early in the game and late in the game. You can't go wrong with longsword on a swashbuckler.

raxtoren

Just a question,

So lets say I pick swashbuckler (specced for being an off-tank in BG1 and BG2) I bring with me Khalid,Jaheria,Neera - that's 4 characters, 2 slots over for who?

Branwen and Raasad? Branwen and Imoen?
Minsc or Dynaheir would be a great team but then I lack healing ofc...

SionIV

Swashbuckler : Ranged damage (early) of tank (mid game).
Khalid : Main tank
Jaheira : Grab healing spells on her, give her a shield and a sling.
Neera : Magic

You got healing with Jaheira already and you don't NEED more, sure it's a bonus to have more but it isn't needed. You can pick anything you want really. I wouldn't pick Minsc and Dynaheir as you don't need dynaheir for her magic and you can get other people for the damage.

Perhaps pick Branwen and Kivan? And put Kivan on bow duty.

Remember the + Damage and Thac0 also works with ranged weapons on your swashbuckler. So he's actually really great with a short bow too.

zur312

i think fighter/cleric being fighter and cleric could outtank any non spellcasting thief
only better tank could be mage
in bg1 you could easily get 100 life with f/c and i think 61 life as thief?
in bg2 f/c really outtanks thief but they can use really nasty stuff