Quarterstaff Fighter

Hermanson

So I can imagine this idea is kinda odd, considering there is a monk class...

But I was thinking it would be fun to have a fighter with full Quarterstaff skill.

A: What is the best Quarterstaff in BG:EE?
B: Is there any foreseeable drawbacks with a Quarterstaff ? (ie Weapon not effective on something a sword would)
C: What are your guys thoughts?

Corvino

A) There's a bit of a toss up between the +3 quarterstaff that you can buy in the Ulgoth's Beard Inn and the Staff of Striking from Durlag's Tower.

The Quarterstaff +3 is available early and is pretty good all-round. The Staff of Striking is hard to get hold of and uses charges, but does an absolute ton of damage. There's an arguement for the Staff Mace +2 as pretty damn good too, but again it's available pretty late on.

The main drawbacks of the quarterstaff are that it stops you using a better weapon. D6 base damage isn't that high compared to a 2-handed sword with a base damage of D10 and +2 and +3 versions available. Similarly, if you use a 1-handed weapon instead you can either use a shield or offhand weapon for more defense/offense. Quarterstaffs can be interesting but the alternatives for a fighter are usually better.

Hermanson

Alrighty thanks for the input.

Just a question I did a quick search but I did not find out...What do the charges on the Staff of Striking do?

Corvino

Every time you hit with it, 1 charge is used up. When you've used up all the charges it's exhausted and I think it vanishes.

It's a very nifty backstab weapon for a thief as you only need 1 big hit per combat to get the most from it.

atcDave

For a fighter the Staff of Striking would be very effective for those special, major encounters. Then use the regular +3 as a matter of routine.

I like the staff choice. By the numbers it's not the very best choice, but it's completely doable.

Arizael

Played F/M dual class focused on staff and bow. Best playtrough ever.

Hermanson

@Corvino Ahh I see then...must be a good weapon then

Corvino

Jaheira does very well with the aforementioned staff mace +2 as it does pretty mean damage and can be combined with a shield to offset her poor Dex in BG1.

uglyducklynn

I love playing around with weapon proficiencies. I had a swashbuckler dual to a fighter with pips in quarterstaff, I was very pleased. I recently made a fighter that uses throwing daggers, I am also very pleased.

I like the idea of a fighter with quarterstaff because usually a mage or a cleric have the crushing damage type weapons. I like to mix it up, instead of having all of my fighters deal slashing with 2h sword and piercing with halberd or bow, I like the thought of wreaking havoc on their bodies with a big stick.

CTKnightOwl

The +2 Staff/Spear that you find on the Demon on the top floor of Durlag's tower deals 1-8(+2)dmg although it is piercing which makes it a poor choice against Mustard Jellies and skeletons.

I use quarterstaff for my archer because I dislike constantly having to go to inventory to switch from missile to melee. Either way, staff is a great weapon for a fighter who also wields a 2 handed missile weapon. Early on in BG1 it is great because it is one of the 2 melee weapons that will never break. You will find a +1 quarterstaff on Silke's twitching corpse as well.

If The staff of striking can be sold to a shopkeeper, they will recharge it and you can buy it back fully charged. Also, don't underestimate the power of the 2 handed weapons skill. This increases attack speed and makes a 19 a critical hit and that is just with 1 slot

Frosty

once you make it to BG2 there are a lot of staffs that have special ability's that require cleric/mage/druid levels. so you might want to start has a cleric and dual to fighter at L3

Blackraven

Frosty said:

once you make it to BG2 there are a lot of staffs that have special ability's that require cleric/mage/druid levels. so you might want to start has a cleric and dual to fighter at L3

Very interesting. Same with Mage. Just take a few levels, up to level 3, 4 or 5and then dual. When you dual you'll be a fighter who can use wands, memorize a couple of cool spells (Grease, Identify, Web, Inivisibility, Find Familiar, Prot. from Evil, Knock if you solo, Mirror Image), cast from scrolls, and wield the best staff in the Game (Staff of the Magi)!

booinyoureyes

HH2 said:

Jaheira is a stick fighter.

Stop spoiling her romance storyline!!!

Honestly I am disappointed in the monk not being able to use a quarterstaff. My favorite new portrait is the chick with the shaved head from BG1EE, and I would love to use it for a Dark Moon Monk. However, the fact that she has a staff just drives me nuts, lol.

Since you are looking for this kind of thing, I'll share a suggestion someone else gave me on this forum. They said that if you make a kensai that specializes in the staff then dual him to a cleric, he could fill the role of a monk-like fighting character who uses a quarterstaff.

Otherwise, this is a good option for a new kit, either mod or EE. Bows get their own specialized kit in Archers, so I think that other weapons, like the staff, could also be a good fit for this sort of project. Another poster on this forum (bbear) has posted a topic about a lancer kit here: https://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/30928/new-kit-lancer

It would be interesting to see a quarterstaff equivalent of this.

bob_veng

good idea. a ranger/monk sorta hybrid, maybe "warden"

edit: ranger kit, beastmaster disadvantages + no stealth, has staff grandmastery and has some monk abilities

meagloth

booinyoureyes said:

HH2 said:

Jaheira is a stick fighter.

Honestly I am disappointed in the monk not being able to use a quarterstaff. My favorite new portrait is the chick with the shaved head from BG1EE, and I would love to use it for a Dark Moon Monk. However, the fact that she has a staff just drives me nuts, lol.

This.
It's completely bonkers that monks can't use quarter staves. I do like the kit idea though. You could have a staff monk thout could only use quarter staves and fists, but got an AC bonus and stuff. I'd play that.