Perhaps what you need is multiple games going on at the same time with different main character classes, rather than just one game. That way when you get bored you can switch to a different save game with different NPCs and enjoy the newness.
Shadowdancers are just wannabe Thief / Mages, and nowhere near as good.
A new build I heard about in another thread is Assassin / Mage with 100 detect illusion. They can detect enemy mages and apply poison works on MMM and Energy Blades which shut down any enemy caster.
Barbarian: one of the most powerfull class from the start of the game, till the end of the whole saga. With this one, you will be able to rush your ennemies, it is fun to play since he is always powerfull and you will enjoy crushing your ennemies all along the game (good for a first play).
Multi-class - Fighter/Cleric: you will be a very very strong and tough front-liner, and you will gain spells to buff/debuff ennemies/yourself/allies, you will progress all along the whole story, always having new habilities and new power. And you also will always be a fearsom fighter.
Bard - blade/skald: very fast leveling (so you will be happy to levelup him often), has mage spells, and will do more damage with his spells than a normal mage. On top of that he will be able to fight (not as good as a fighter).
A multi-class fighter thief's only disadvantage is slightly slower leveling. A say slightly because thieves already level quite fast so the slower leveling isn't all that noticeable. That is the only disadvantage and it's barely one at that. They get full thief skills, x5 backstab, and access to both thief and fighter HLAs. Along with good APR and THACO, The pros to this combo are ridiculous. I do like the stalker however but I still put it below fighter/thief. Just my opinion of course.
Better at the end is the Kensai(13) -> Thief. However, you do have the 13 levels of suboptimal suckage and have to somehow survive BG as a pure Kensia.
If you're going to do a level 13 fighter dual, thief is probably the least painful way to do it, as they hit level 14 roughly twice as fast as other classes. Surviving BG with a kensai isn't as hard as you'd think either, as the Shield Amulet is easily available and at higher levels you can have a party mage cast Spirit Armor when you need really good AC. I did it just fine with a dagger specialist. That said, if the OP finds both fighters and thieves boring, I don't think combining them will be any more interesting.
You could give the shadowdancer a try. Hide in Plain Sight has some interesting tactical applications that might help keep your attention. And if you get high enough stats, you have the potential to dual-class into something else to keep things interesting. While a Mage/Thief might be better in some ways, if mages are off the table, trying out the new HLA's @Illustair points out might be fun (if you don't dual class).
@Cantab mentioned Cleric/Thieves, which might be enough of a shakeup to your normal play style to make things interesting (multi or dual). You can alternate between support spellcasting and sneaky backstabbing to liven things up in-between whacking things with sticks.
@Mungri Just go multi class. The kensai/thief sucks until way late. You'll be doing lots and lots of baby sitting and you have to be a plain ol' human on top of that and you can't even wear armor till you get UAI. Multi class all the way. They're fantastic right out of the gate and just keep getting better. No down time. No baby sitting.
A multi-class fighter thief's only disadvantage is slightly slower leveling. A say slightly because thieves already level quite fast so the slower leveling isn't all that noticeable. That is the only disadvantage and it's barely one at that. They get full thief skills, x5 backstab, and access to both thief and fighter HLAs. Along with good APR and THACO, The pros to this combo are ridiculous. I do like the stalker however but I still put it below fighter/thief. Just my opinion of course.
Valid points, and I agree with you should I not want to take any of the thieves I mentioned above (who are some of my favorite NPCs), however, not only do Fighter/Thieves level slower than Stalkers, it also takes them 6 more levels to have the same amount of proficiency points, putting them considerably more behind, should one be a fan of duel wielding, which I am in this case. Not worth it to me unless I'm using Charname as my primary thief, in which case my first choice is certainly the Fighter/Thief, and probably a halfling at that, since they get the most bonus points. I have one ready to import into BG2 when I get the urge, actually.
I would definitely go with Stalker if I'm planning on using an NPC as my thief since the Stalker can't fill those shoes as you've already stated. But if you want your character to be the thief then there's no real comparison. The fighter/thief can do everything the stalker can do and then some. I never noticed any proficiency point issues in my games. I guess cause I already know what weapons I'm going to use and grab the proper proficiencies right from the beginning so there isn't any waiting. But I tend to play more my fighter/thieves more like thieves as opposed to fighters. I'll utilize backstab and traps frequently and even go single handed specialization with a bow. But I get what you're saying. If you want a non-thief character that has some thief abilities then stalker is the way to go. I also found the stalker's stealth didn't rise high enough for me compared to a thief. I dunno. Different strokes for different folks.
@OperativeNL I have been playing a jester and I've found it strangely satisfying so far.
You keep looking forward to things. You look forward to casting spells. You look forward to hitting 50 Pickpocket, or 90, or whatever threshold makes you happy. You look forward to getting your Lore to the point you never need an Identify spell again (achievable in late BG1:EE). Right now I'm looking forward to casting 6th level spells in BG2:EE.
After that? I'm looking forward to getting my HLAs: Use Any Item, Scribe Scroll, Brew Potion, and then some traps. I'm excited to try the trap that stops time as my own mini-Time Stop to cast spells. I'm already hoarding scrolls of high level spells to cast AS scrolls with my bard for particularly memorable fights. It takes a lot more effort to build yourself towards the late game using limited resources this way... but it's exciting. It might be what you're looking for.
Until I *just can't melee anymore* I use my jester as one of the primary frontline fighters. Once I got the amulet that makes you immune to level drain I was good to go. Veraka has more HP than Minsc and better immunities with her gear, she holds the front line next to Korgan. The only role she can't serve is cleric.
Oh, and when you're feeling snarky... there's the jester song, too. =D
Also playing a Jester, but I've added Rogue Rebalancing this time around. Anxious to see how it plays out, and like you, I keep looking forward to things.
Also playing a Jester, but I've added Rogue Rebalancing this time around. Anxious to see how it plays out, and like you, I keep looking forward to things.
You're tempting me, @jackjack , tempting me very much. I'm curious if you notice any bugs cropping up from the mod in BG2:EE. If not... I might have to see if it would interact with my current saved game.
The only thing I've noticed is that one of the NPCs toward the end of the Skinner quest wouldn't show up - I had to console him in - but it's been fine so far, before and since.
cleric/mage is a really cool multiclass, especially the cleric/illusionist.
If Louis Armstrong were alive and played this game, he'd make a song called "It's A Wonderful Multi-Class". Ace of Base would make one called "It's A Beautiful Multi-Class", and another one called "Happy Combination". But seriously, I like those two. But but, you said you don't want to play a mage again, so~ What could go wrong with Fighter/Thief?
Aside from mages (which the OP has ruled out), I find the following two classes to be interesting over the long-run:
1. Avengers: more diverse spell options than other druids; some interesting alternative shapes; cool druid HLAs.
2. Blades (or any bard kit really, but I've only played blades): decent combat abilities; spells; pickpocket ability; bard song; cool HLAs.
Those two classes, along with mages (esp. illusionists) are my favourites. I'm generally not a fan of multi-class or dual-class characters myself (except, maybe, the cleric/mage), but obviously those would open up more options.
So right now I have a problem; I have such a hard time deciding which character class I want to do an entire trilogy run with. It's gotten so bad that at the moment I haven't even reached Baldur's Gate yet in BG1.
I've tried several classes but have a severe case of rerolleritis. So I would like to know, which classes stay interesting for a long time (hopefully the entire saga)? by interesting i mean: that even at higher levels, they still gain some really cool new ability which opens up the possibility for new tactics.
I ran into the same problem when playing BG:EE for the first time(s). As others have suggested here, I eventually tried playing as a fighter-thief multi (the first time that I had ever played a multi-class), and it was like a whole new door had opened for me. They have the potential to be immensely versatile and are useful and fun in both combat and non-combat situations. At character creation I pumped all my thief skills into opening locks, and from the beginning I was able to open chests and doors that would normally be unopenable to me at that stage of the game.
Playing as a fighter-thief also eliminates the need to have another thief in your party, which resolves the lack-of-viable-thieves issue in BG2 (plus pure class thieves come to feel rather weak by BG2), and also gives you greater liberty with what you can do with other NPC thieves, i.e.: dualing Imoen to a thief or Yoshimo to a fighter.
Comments
Personally I'd like a HLA for blades that gives -4 Thaco and +1 attack per round instead of the song.
A new build I heard about in another thread is Assassin / Mage with 100 detect illusion. They can detect enemy mages and apply poison works on MMM and Energy Blades which shut down any enemy caster.
Barbarian: one of the most powerfull class from the start of the game, till the end of the whole saga. With this one, you will be able to rush your ennemies, it is fun to play since he is always powerfull and you will enjoy crushing your ennemies all along the game (good for a first play).
Multi-class - Fighter/Cleric: you will be a very very strong and tough front-liner, and you will gain spells to buff/debuff ennemies/yourself/allies, you will progress all along the whole story, always having new habilities and new power. And you also will always be a fearsom fighter.
Bard - blade/skald: very fast leveling (so you will be happy to levelup him often), has mage spells, and will do more damage with his spells than a normal mage. On top of that he will be able to fight (not as good as a fighter).
No fighter HLAs, but you only need assassination really.
You could give the shadowdancer a try. Hide in Plain Sight has some interesting tactical applications that might help keep your attention. And if you get high enough stats, you have the potential to dual-class into something else to keep things interesting. While a Mage/Thief might be better in some ways, if mages are off the table, trying out the new HLA's @Illustair points out might be fun (if you don't dual class).
@Cantab mentioned Cleric/Thieves, which might be enough of a shakeup to your normal play style to make things interesting (multi or dual). You can alternate between support spellcasting and sneaky backstabbing to liven things up in-between whacking things with sticks.
Just go multi class. The kensai/thief sucks until way late. You'll be doing lots and lots of baby sitting and you have to be a plain ol' human on top of that and you can't even wear armor till you get UAI. Multi class all the way. They're fantastic right out of the gate and just keep getting better. No down time. No baby sitting.
You keep looking forward to things. You look forward to casting spells. You look forward to hitting 50 Pickpocket, or 90, or whatever threshold makes you happy. You look forward to getting your Lore to the point you never need an Identify spell again (achievable in late BG1:EE). Right now I'm looking forward to casting 6th level spells in BG2:EE.
After that? I'm looking forward to getting my HLAs: Use Any Item, Scribe Scroll, Brew Potion, and then some traps. I'm excited to try the trap that stops time as my own mini-Time Stop to cast spells. I'm already hoarding scrolls of high level spells to cast AS scrolls with my bard for particularly memorable fights. It takes a lot more effort to build yourself towards the late game using limited resources this way... but it's exciting. It might be what you're looking for.
Until I *just can't melee anymore* I use my jester as one of the primary frontline fighters. Once I got the amulet that makes you immune to level drain I was good to go. Veraka has more HP than Minsc and better immunities with her gear, she holds the front line next to Korgan. The only role she can't serve is cleric.
Oh, and when you're feeling snarky... there's the jester song, too. =D
Not being able to access the basic attack spells of a mage makes you fight rather differently...
But seriously, I like those two. But but, you said you don't want to play a mage again, so~ What could go wrong with Fighter/Thief?
1. Avengers: more diverse spell options than other druids; some interesting alternative shapes; cool druid HLAs.
2. Blades (or any bard kit really, but I've only played blades): decent combat abilities; spells; pickpocket ability; bard song; cool HLAs.
Those two classes, along with mages (esp. illusionists) are my favourites. I'm generally not a fan of multi-class or dual-class characters myself (except, maybe, the cleric/mage), but obviously those would open up more options.
Playing as a fighter-thief also eliminates the need to have another thief in your party, which resolves the lack-of-viable-thieves issue in BG2 (plus pure class thieves come to feel rather weak by BG2), and also gives you greater liberty with what you can do with other NPC thieves, i.e.: dualing Imoen to a thief or Yoshimo to a fighter.