What is your favorite Warrior/Cleric

Kneller

Edit: Just to be clear (based on some of the responses), this character is going to start as some kind of warrior class, then dual over to a cleric (possibly kitted with SK) at some point between levels 7 and 9.

I'm working out a build for a new character. I'll be using the canon party (Imoen, Jah, Khalid, Minsc, and Dynaheir) for BG1, though I'll probably send Dynaheir to visit Firebead so I can pick up Safana when I dual Imoen. For BG2, it will be Jah, Minsc, Yoshi->Imoen. Now, I'll be SKing post-spellhold Imoen into a Sorcerer, which means I'll need a thief. For this, I'll be taking Jan (who I'm going to SK into a Thief/Wild Mage). The final slot will be NPC rotation for quests until I eventually pick up my old bro, Sarevok.

I'm also not against using SK to tweak kit options for the PC. Namely, I don't have to pick a kit for the first class, I can pick one for the second class instead. This party does need some cleric help, and so that will be the PC's role, as a dual-classed warrior/cleric. He will dual somewhere between level 7 and 9, depending on the first class. I'd like to keep at as low of a level as possible for maximum benefit to reduce the down time while the cleric catches up. For RP reasons, I also want to time it so that I dual as soon after escaping Irenicus as possible/practical, the idea being that the PC discovering his true roots along with the imprisonment/torture by Irenicus being what inspired him to take a more positive spiritual path.

Lastly, I threw in my own tweaks, so it actually is possible to dual any kitted ranger over to a cleric. However, I'm also tweaking the game so that Ranger/Cleric combos don't get druid spells past the third level (so, no ironskins).

Feel free to elaborate in the comments. Your motivations for your choice is as important as the choice itself.

revaar

While I love ranger/clerics, berserker/clerics are just so incredibly powerful.

Eudaemonium

Berserker/Cleric is probably more overpowered, but I personally find it a richer RP and gameplay experience to kit the second class in a dual, so its really down to what you prefer. I like the idea of starting as one thing and then becoming more specialised in your second class as you go on, rather than the other way around. In PnP this is sometimes permitted, but often requires several months or a year to be taken out of the adventure for your (re)training, but since this is BG we can make some minor allowances I think. In many ways this works well with the Cleric kits, since you can RP it as a newfound devotion to a specific God.

I haven't played a Cleric of Lathander personally, but I have heard that they are good and I like the idea of the combination and its RP possibilities.

Lord_Tansheron

Are you sure that you can even do Ranger/Cleric of Lathander? I always thought that you couldn't dual into Ranger, just out of it. I might be wrong, though.

Personally I prefer no clerics, but if I must pick one... probably Cleric of Lathander 12 -> Fighter dual. I find little use for high-level cleric spells (since my mods fix Greater Restoration to no longer be a super fast long range party-wide full heal... yeah, fair), but the low- and mid-level buffs (DuHM, Righteous Magic, etc.) are pretty great.

elminster

Priest of Helm -> fighter?

artificial_sunlight

Berserker-Priest of Talos abilities
I play a multi-dwarf and it's powerfull :P

ryuken87

I think Fighter -> Cleric of Lathander is going to be the most powerful there since you will eventually be able to get 5 apr and 10 with Improved Haste.

Lord_Tansheron

@ryuken87: you can do that with CoL->Fighter, too, and you get the fighter HLAs as well which is handy given that you can't use APR offhands (they are all sharp weapons). Cleric HLAs aren't amazing.

KidCarnival

I assume you'll stick with good alignment, so I won't suggest anything involving Priest of Talos, which is the kit I usually play as cleric or cleric/fighter. Roleplay-wise, it just makes more sense to start out as a fighter who experiences the traumatic torture and turns to a deity than being already specialized as a fighter and turning to unspecified faith.

Felspawn

Ranger Cleric stinks of Cheese. Having a character whose sole claim to fame is exploiting a bug doesn't make it worthwhile in my eyes (i know plenty of people disagree).

Kneller

@Felspawn I agree with you, which is why (as I said in my original post), I would be modding the class so they don't get full access to druid spells.

Felspawn

out of curiousity is that something thats going to be corrected in the next patch/BG2:EE?

Eudaemonium

Felspawn said:

out of curiousity is that something thats going to be corrected in the next patch/BG2:EE?

No. As far as I am aware there is zero intention to ever change this (as there is no intention of changing the Fighter dual grandmastery issue, but I exploit that one a lot so I don't really mind.)

Schneidend

Dual-classing is already nauseatingly overpowered. Why widen that gulf even further with SK shenanigans?

Freche

@Schneidend because it can be fun?

Schneidend

Freche said:

@Schneidend because it can be fun?

Agree to disagree.

Mornmagor

Berserker/Cleric is legit, compared to some others, and while it is OP, it is nowhere near anything/Mage.

Saying that, i never liked dual/multiclassing of 2nd Edition. But then again straight clerics are not that good compared to 3rd and beyond editions.

Oh well.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Kneller

Is there a good reason to specialize in backstab weapons? I would think that one is better specializing in regular melee weapons and only having a single pip in a backstab weapon to avoid a penalty.

@schneidend a totally legit berserker/cleric is way more OP than a SK fighter/cleric of lathander.

@kidcarnival I agree with the whole traumatic experience leading the PC to turn to a deity. I wish Ilmater was in this game. He would be the perfect choice.

Schneidend

@Kneller
Specializing in clubs will take your far in BG2/ToB.

I did point out that dual-classing in general is OP.

KidCarnival

You could always make your own Priest of Ilmater "kit". Dual to unkitted cleric with appropriate alignment, then add abilities that fit the theme. The cleric "kits" have zero downsides, unless you count the alignment restriction, so adding something that matches Ilmater and doesn't strike you as OP isn't any different than dualing into Lathander, Helm or Talos.

nano

What do you have to do to dual class into a kit? Merely changing the label in SK is not enough and you have to add the new abilities manually, right?

KidCarnival

nano said:

What do you have to do to dual class into a kit? Merely changing the label in SK is not enough and you have to add the new abilities manually, right?

EEkeeper has a button to add (or remove) kit abilities. After dualing, you assign it to the new class.

Kneller

@Schneidend
I know there's blackblood and the +5 one n ToB, but that can't be better than a FoA/DoE combo.

As for the whole MC/DC thing, I think it's all totally meta and should never exist in D&D. It detracts from setting and theme and most players exploit it to be uber. OTOH, I also have to make a cleric that can do something more than cheer on his companions.

Lord_Tansheron

The Club of Detonation+5 does very impressive damage. It's pretty close even to FoA, though of course its damage is more random and can backfire in interesting ways. Then again, it can also hit multiple enemies...

KidCarnival

It depends on the player if a dual/multiclass is "meta" and "über". You don't have to max your prime stats, you don't have to pick profs based on "what ultra powerful weapon is available for the class/es". So frankly, I don't get how you can dismiss DC/MC as "meta" and in the same posting concern yourself with which weapon is "better".

Schneidend

Kneller said:

@Schneidend
I know there's blackblood and the +5 one n ToB, but that can't be better than a FoA/DoE combo.

As for the whole MC/DC thing, I think it's all totally meta and should never exist in D&D. It detracts from setting and theme and most players exploit it to be uber. OTOH, I also have to make a cleric that can do something more than cheer on his companions.

Can't backstab with an FoA/DoE combo.

Kneller

KidCarnival said:

I don't get how you can dismiss DC/MC as "meta" and in the same posting concern yourself with which weapon is "better".

At the hopes of avoiding a rant, I'll keep it simple. To an extent, it's impossible to avoid the metagame of an RPG. But, there's a big difference between understanding the game and building a character within those limitations and flat out exploiting it for it's munchkin potential. Now, I didn't really complain that DC/MC was meta, but that it was -too- meta.

Schneidend said:

Can't backstab with an FoA/DoE combo.

No, but at level 9 before a dual, you can have 2W+++, Flails++, Hammers++, and Maces++, take Staff and Sling for your first cleric weapons and be set for backstabbing when you get you Stalker levels back. Having ordinary melee weapons specialized is going to be a bigger benefit than having your backstabbing weapons specialized.

btw, you still haven't voted.

Schneidend

Kneller said:

No, but at level 9 before a dual, you can have 2W+++, Flails++, Hammers++, and Maces++, take Staff and Sling for your first cleric weapons and be set for backstabbing when you get you Stalker levels back. Having ordinary melee weapons specialized is going to be a bigger benefit than having your backstabbing weapons specialized.

btw, you still haven't voted.

Sounds boring as hell. I'd rather focus on my backstab weapons.

nano

Kneller said:

KidCarnival said:

I don't get how you can dismiss DC/MC as "meta" and in the same posting concern yourself with which weapon is "better".

At the hopes of avoiding a rant, I'll keep it simple. To an extent, it's impossible to avoid the metagame of an RPG. But, there's a big difference between understanding the game and building a character within those limitations and flat out exploiting it for it's munchkin potential. Now, I didn't really complain that DC/MC was meta, but that it was -too- meta.

I don't get it. If it's too meta, then why are you picking one instead of a single classed cleric?

Kneller

In BG, the protagonist is the protagonist. The leading man. It just doesn't make sense for the leading man to have a supporting role in the party. But, that's what a single-classed cleric is. I could have the PC in a more instrumental single-classed role, but in playing with the canon party (which I also want to do), that's going to leave some gaps in the party roles. Fighter. Cleric. Mage. Thief. Honestly, I'd be happy if I could just have this. Four core members, everyone single classed, all the bases covered. But, no, Jah has to be a Fighter/Druid. Druids only half fill the cleric role, and she's only half a druid at that. I would just SK her into some kind of cleric, except her being a druid is kind of a core piece of her subplot. There are other problems with the core party, but they're all negligible compared to this one.