Who gets the strength tome?

pixie359

So I have a self-made party for my current run through of BGEE on android, and have picked up the strength tome from the Candlekeep Catacombs. I'm not sure who will get the most benefit from it - the relevant people are:

Monk, strength 18
Cleric / Ranger, 18/20
Swashbuckler, 18
Kensai, 18/30

The cleric/ranger gets DUHM, so doesn't need it, and won't have boosted apr to maximise it. The Swash has limited APR, so won't benefit that much. The Kensai will be a kensage when BG2EE hits android, so will occasionally take time out to cast. The monk, as party leader, gets DUHM as a bhaalspawn power, but only one.

So, who should I boost? I think it's either the monk or kensai, but am not sure.

JuliusBorisov

I would use it on a monk. You use a monk for a mere role of killing fast. And with +2 THACO and +5 damage if compared to STR 18 your monk will do his job much faster and much more efficient. With DUHM as a bhaalspawn power you will improve it even better

elminster

If you are planning on eventually dual wielding with the swashbuckler then I would say give it to them. Otherwise go for the monk. At this stage though you can buy lots of strength potions for the monk, and use up to 2 castings of innate DUHM very soon, so getting high strength isn't as big of an issue for it.

pixie359

Thanks both. @elminster The swash is already dual wielding, but I think the limited apr might just swing it in favour of the monk. I know that he can raise strength through DUHM, but that's an occasional thing, and the single point strength boost will more likely make life easier against mobs rather than bosses.

Also, given that the monk is faster, he's likely to hit more often, as he'll be in combat while swashie is jogging to keep up.

Unless swashie is scouting of course... Hmmm...

elminster

After level 5 a Monk can't be hasted however. So APR wise the swashbuckler will probably be better and quite possibly faster as well. There are ways to get around its limited APR with the monk but they reduce the reliability/effectiveness of their attacks late game (examples would be using Relair's Mistake or equipping a weapon in your offhand slot).

JLee

There are so many strength augmenting items that it really won't matter that much in the end. I think the boost in the short term to the monk makes it slightly more advantageous vs the others, but they will all end up in a similar place anyway.

the_spyder

Here's another way of thinking about it. If Monk is the Bhaalspawn, and you plan on eventually going to BG2, it makes the most long term sense for the Monk to get the boost. At least in my book it does.

kcwise

Fight to the death. The last character standing gets the tome!

Nimran

kcwise said:

Fight to the death. The last character standing gets the tome!

Narrow down your options.

Wowo

Swashbuckler all the way. In BG1 the Swash has 2 or 3 APR which is 1 behind the kensei. That strength difference will make a huge difference to his effectiveness.

RAM021

Monk
-Higher APR ensures a better return on the investment
-DUHM stacks higher total STR
-Inability to use many of the other STR items

GamingFreak

Should also mention that there's a cursed belt that will raise your strength to 19 and lower your intelligence to (I think) 6. I would probably give the belt to your monk and the tome to your swashie. If for some reason the monk CAN'T equip this, give the belt to the swashie and the tome to the Monk.

Klorox

Monk. No doubt.

Feytor

1) I always put ALL tomes on my Bhaalspawn

2) I would put it on my monk being a martial arts lover irl.

3) but if you use:

kcwise said:

Fight to the death. The last character standing gets the tome!

Then first one dying gets the tome