Build Questions (Dwarf Fighter/Cleric)

parinho7

I've played with a Dual Kensai(13)/Mage but I abandoned the game (I played until shahuagin city) because it was tiresome to wait until Mage level 14. Also, I wasted points for Katana Proficiency and later I found out that there were no +5 (or better) katanas in the game.

So, I am about to start all over again from BG1 to ToB with a Dwarf Fighter/Cleric.

I want to figure out the build before I begin playing to avoid ending up missing something that could ruin my game again.

So here are my questions:
- Does a Fighter/Cleric get epic level abilities?
- What is the best weapon for this build? (from what I've read I think is either Crom Faeyr or Flail of Ages but I need confirmation)
- What is the best item for each one of the item slots?
- What are the maximum HP for each level?

Thanks in advance!

Mitchfork

Yeah, dual-classing can get pretty tedious if you're doing it at level 13. Katanas aren't a total wash though, there are only a few things Celestial Fury can't hit and Hindo's Doom has nice abilities as well.

1. Yep, it pulls from both the Fighter and Cleric pools. You'll get them at 3mil XP (1.5mil in each class).
2. Crom Faeyr is a good weapon, but Draw Upon Holy Might (level 2) and Righteous Magic (level 5) will put close to or at 25 STR anyway so it's a bit redundant with the class. Flail of Ages is probably the most solid pick, with the Defender of Easthaven as an off-hand for the damage resistance. Mace of Disruption (+2) is also great for undead that you can't pop with Turn Undead. Save Crom Faeyr for someone who can't buff their own strength.
3. Can't really comment too hard here, I don't pay too much attention to most of the equipment and just equip the best stuff that I find. Some of it is going to depend on your party composition as well.
4. Max HP is 1-9 for levels 1-9 (assuming both classes get a level-up), and you'll get 2.5 for every level after (I'm not sure how the game rounds this). You'll get a bonus for high constitution as well, which uses the warrior table (look here: http://playithardcore.com/pihwiki/index.php?title=Baldur's_Gate:_Races_and_Stats#Constitution).

Dragonspear

Dwarven Fighter/Cleric is right up there with Ranger/Cleric and Fighter/Mages in terms of strength (in my opinion).

2.Crom Faeyr (especially when you get it) is the highest damage possible from a weapon. As @Mitchfork notes however, you may wish to save it for someone who can't self buff strength. FoA and MoD are both great choices, and offhanding Defender of Easthaven (in BG2) is rather nice. There are also nice Warhammers (Ashadeen Warhammer +2, +1 lightning damage) and Maces (stupifier +1, 25% chance to stun the target on hit with no save) in BG1.

The route I personally went with mine (who's still in BGEE due to being sidetracked), is starting with Warhammers and Flails at ++ each, and I'll get 2 ++ in TWF by the end of BGEE. My first 2 proficiency points in BG2EE will go into maces, but Mace of Disruption will probably be saved for Minsc.

3. Honestly, this is variable in MOST slots. But some things to pay attention to:

a. Full Plate Mail + Ring/Cloak of Protection (Fairly Certain you can get the ring earlier) is better in most cases than Magical Full Plate. Unless you need the Charisma/HP from Plate of Balduran (doubtful) or the Fire Resist from Red Dragon Plate (more on that in a second), keep to regular Full Plate.
b. Rings: Ring of Gaxx + Either Ring of Protection or possibly a resist ring. Alternatively, you can use your Stronghold Ring (+1 level 1-4 spells) until you get your HLA Ring (level 25, +1 level 6 and level 7 spell).
c. Amulet of Power: allows you to give your MoD to someone else and shortens the insanely long cleric cast times a little.
d. First Choice you can get in Irenicus's dungeon, and that's the Helm of Balduran (Thac0, Saves, HP, protects against critical hits). Other good choices are Helm of the Rock (fighter exclusive, nice resists), Helm of Glory (saves and resists) and Dragonslayer Helm (resists)
c. Boots of Speed
d. Cloaks: Until you can get a Cloak of protection +2 (to free up a ring slot and even better when its improved), anything which grants you resists or saves is a great choice.
e. Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise or Extraordinary Weapon Expertise: Most of your damage is done in melee via cleric buffs. This helps
f. Belt of Interial Barrier honestly. You won't be very far into SoA before you have enough level 2 priest spells to sink a battleship, so DuHM will be up a lot. If you import from BGEE it gets even better as you can have 19 str before that even happens.

The Fighter/Clerics main strength relies on scouting (unless you wanna heavily meta game) and pre-buffing before wading into battle. MOST of your prime priest spells are going to take 9 to cast, so having things like blade barrier up mean that you're less likely to be interrupted. Also, outside blade barrier (which you might not even use, its a hassle but I personally love the spell), you'll be memorizing self or single target only buffs. Things like chant, bless, etc are going to be extremely hard for you to pull off once in combat, and they don't tend to last long. The only party term buffs I'd consider picking up are Prot Evil +10 (lvl 4), Defensive Harmony (lvl 4) and Resist Fear (lvl 1). You'll really want another divine caster who can pick up the party wide slack (Aerie makes a good choice since she can wear robes of vecna) so you don't have to.

Anyway, sorry for the novel, I hope this helps.

jackjack

Outstanding class: you will be a powerhouse with great saves, draw upon holy might, and an epic beard.

nano

It's a little known fact but when a dwarf goes Super Saiyan rather than his hair turning blond and spiky it's his beard