Rasaad?
Lewis244
Member Posts: 26
Hey all, I've played through the original Baldur's Gate more times than I'd like to admit, and I picked up Enhanced Edition the other day and I'm playing through as an Invoker. I decided to give Rasaad a go, since he's a new character I've never used before, and I'm looking for some tips for getting through the game with him? Is he good, bad, or terrible? Hahaha thanks in advance!
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That said, he's an interesting character with some great voice acting and arguably the most interesting NPC side quest in BGEE, so I'd say he's worth taking along at least once to see how you like him.
Level 8
HP 37
AC -2
THAC0 10
Damage 7-16, with 2 attacks per round
Most fights he just stands back and uses the sling or magic missle wand, and sometimes casts the Sun Soulray ability to quicky dispose of trash. He has a near death experience each time I try to use him in melee, which makes his Flaming Fist and Greater Sun abilities pretty useless.
Essentially the only use for Rasaad is to give him a ranged weapon proficiency (since he doesn't start with one... irritating), I suggest darts for the high number of attacks and since there are some decent types of darts like wounding and stunning and no other npc really uses them, put him in the back row and just forget about him. That, or you can have him use his fast movement speed to basically run up, get all the bad guys attention then run around while they chase him and have the rest of the party fire at them with ranged weapons. With this strategy you have to hope that the enemies don't have ranged weapons themselves or Rasaad will be a pin cushion in no time.
Once he gets to the end of the game, I think he had around -6 AC and an ok THAC0 (much less than my F/C, Yeslick, and Dorn) and was a passable party member, but would have been better replaced by ANYONE else.
In BG2 however, he shines. The Monk class quickly becomes powerful once you get to level 9+, so I'd suggest using him then. In BG1 I suggest you endure one playthrough with him, just to experience his dialogs and unique quests and then forget he exists for any other playthrough... I know I have.
With the help of this guide: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/21205/i-punch-dopplegangers-aka-bgee-monk-guide in parts that can be used for Rasaad he'll be a solid character.
Yes, not powerful but still you don't always take NPCs because of mere power, do you? His quest in BG1 is rather interesting and brings you some funny dialogue and a powerful item.
So, go for it!
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=183524786
My best advice would be actually something thought up by Tresset. If you use Relair's Mistake (its a cloak that turns you into a wolf) you can continue using your abilities, get virtually the same amount of damage per hit, but get an extra attack per round out of it.
In the first few levels he is very weak, but with AC bracers, the Str belt in his quest and a few other items he is quite solid.
I had a blast playing with him last time
It works great that way, he has good saving trows, so spellcasters beware.
For the tough fights, potions of defense or invulnerability make him a reliable tank for some time, add strength potions to the mix and he will do great in melee. His vulnerability to critical hits hurt a lot, though. If you can afford the spells, use spirit armor+improved invisibility+strength spell on him and he will do great. Punches are fast and have good reach. You will need a magical sword for the monsters immune to normal weaponry, though. He can still hurt them with his sunsoul abilities.
In bg2 he quickly becomes a strong fighter, as every level up really beefs him up. Monks really improve with levels, other fighters gain a few hit points and THAC0 bonus, while monk continues to improve its AC, number of attacks, magic resistance, and special abilities.
His quests are great in both games, and have good magical items as reward. He has a deep, interesting personality too, especially in bg2.
Is his quest-line working for you guys? I can't get the Docks encounter to trigger. He's been in the party for like 30 days, talked to him TWICE, what am I missing?
(side note: I rolled up a 97 point Invoker-NINETY SEVEN!)
As far as unique party role, I found that he makes a great mage killer. His basic movement speed, being faster than normal, allows him to get up on back fielders super quick and start swinging away. And if he's quick enough the enemy mage will just never get a spell off.
Buffs are necessary, if you also have jaheira, putting her level two spells into barkskin is a good idea, espeically since most other druid lvl 2 spells aren't super useful. Also potions, heroism, str buffs, stoneskin, all are awesome for him, and I always have a bunch of those.
Overall, a lot of fun, good chacter specific quest and definite role that requires a little care and item distribution, but not much more than everyone else.