Kensai > Mage and a roll of 98. Advice on point allocation, pip choice, and when to duel?

Stormvessel

I got an amazing roll using the autoroller - a roll of 98.

Human Kensai, Lawful Neutral

I have the game running but I thought I would ask for some quick opinions on where to put the stats. I am going through the first game, so I know I will have some tomes to obtain. Here is what I was thinking:

18/76
18
18
17
15
12

I was thinking INT could be kept at 17, eventually getting it to 18 and finally 19 via the machine in BG2.

I was thinking Wish is useful, so I would eventually get my wisdom to 18 and finally 19, and I could dream sacfrice it back down to 18, as 18 is all I will need - if Wish benefits cap at 18, that is. I am not sure they do.

And I am not sure if I will ultimately need 19 int for a dueled mage. How many spells are really useful? The main thing I am worried about is whether I can go with such low charisma - I don't want to use the ring. I am going to want a mix of evil and good characters so I am thinking charisma might come in handy. I am definitely going to want Serevok and Keldorn both, which may not even be possible.

And then there is the issue of where to put the pips. I am think scimitars (for one of Drizzt's weapons and Rashard's Talon), along with duel wield. Then I can grandmaster scimitars in BG2 and start putting points in Katana for Celestial Fury + Belm (and Belm + Spectral Brand for enemies requiring +5). Is that even the best plan?

I am pretty set on dueling at 13 for the extra half attack. Unless someone can convince me of why I should do it sooner.

I have the game running and will surf the web letting it run awhile. I could use some advice if anyone happens to be on and can give me advice on what to do.

Onestep

That's a great roll, and I hope to get a similar one later on when I roll my new character.

My only concern is just how long you'll be a fighter for. Fighters are not terribly interesting in Baldur's Gate (At least until they become 10 attack threshers of death), and you might find yourself getting a bit bored. If you dual at 13, you probably won't see your 'proper' Kensai/Mage until after the Underdark.

I would advise instead dual classing at 9 (So you can start building up that magic early in BG2) or perhaps more extremely, at level 3. While that might sound absurd, the early levels are the most punishing for Mages, and starting as a fighter before becoming a mage gives you access to higher HP, slightly better resistances, and the ability to shove more pips about with less effort.

kensai

what's autoroller?

Shikao

@kensai, Autoroller

kensai

Shikao said:

@kensai, Autoroller

Hmm, for me this program is like using cheats or correcting stats in keeper.
And there always something charming in rolling those attributes and getting angry then you miss the moment

Onestep

kensai said:

Shikao said:

@kensai, Autoroller

Hmm, for me this program is like using cheats or correcting stats in keeper.
And there always something charming in rolling those attributes and getting angry then you miss the moment

While I agree, and wouldn't use the thing myself, let the man play as he likes.

Practically, he's doing nothing that he couldn't do with sufficient patience anyhow.

Stormvessel

As for the autoroller, editing stats using EEkeeper just doesn't feel legitimate, whereas using the autoroller does for me. The way I see it, is that the game gave me those stats. The autoroller didn't force the game into giving me that roll - the game ended up giving it of it's own accord. No file hacking required.

But I can see why it would seem illegitimate to some. To each his own.

I ended up going 18/76, 18, 18, 17, 15, 12. It will end end up being 19, 19, 19, 18, 18, 13. Wisdom will go up to 19 using the machine and that will be my pick for dream sacrifice. If I have to use the ring of human persuasion (or whatever it's called) from time to time I will do it.

I am going to gm scimitars and put pips into katanas. I will duel either at 9 or 13. Either that or scimitars and flails for FotA. But that can't be hasted I don't think. I still have plenty of time to decide in either case.

Thanks guys.

Lord_Tansheron

Stormvessel said:

And then there is the issue of where to put the pips. I am think scimitars (for one of Drizzt's weapons and Rashard's Talon), along with duel wield. Then I can grandmaster scimitars in BG2 and start putting points in Katana for Celestial Fury + Belm (and Belm + Spectral Brand for enemies requiring +5). Is that even the best plan?

The most damaging 1h weapons in the (unmodded) game are:

#1 Flail of the Ages+5 (ToB; unequip before you use Improved Haste, then re-equip)
#2 Club of Detonation+5 (needs ToB or a mod to craft ToB items in SoA, components are available; may damage party)
#3 Angurvadal+5 (ToB)
#4 Foebane+5 (ToB)
#5 Stormstar+5 (ToB)

If you go by weapons available before the Underdark, it's:

#1 Daystar (only really good vs. evil or undead, but that's most of the enemies; guarded by a Lich)
#2 FoA+3 (trivial to get, tied with Daystar in damage, possibly better due to slow)
#3 Celestial Fury+3

As you can see, Flail and Long Sword offer the best selection out of the two. Flail especially is really strong, because FoA is so ridiculously easy to get and VERY powerful. Note that Celestial Fury is about as good as it gets for Katana, it's not a hugely damaging weapon but the stun is very powerful; in ToB the +3 enchantment level may be a concern, and the +4/5 Katana are not very good sadly.

There's also the special case of Crom Faeyr, which has the potential to be VERY powerful, but is contingent on many factors (party composition, class, race, stats, etc.) since most of its power derives from the 25 STR it confers.

For offhand you can use CF or one of the +APR weapons (Belm, Kundane, Scarlet Ninja-to). They really are the best choices and should be used over pretty much anything else. You don't need pips for the offhand really since it's hard-capped at 1 APR anyway and such a small portion of your damage. Whether CF or +APR is the best choice depends on many things (see above).

Stormvessel said:

I am pretty set on dueling at 13 for the extra half attack. Unless someone can convince me of why I should do it sooner.

While an extra 1/2 APR is certainly great, I would not dual at 13 unless in a solo game or very small party (2-3 max) with heavy XP metagaming. Yes 13 is more damage, but it comes at a very steep price, 1,000,000XP. That is nothing to sneeze at, and in my opinion not worth it for what you gain by 13 over 9. I would strongly recommend simply dualing at 9, and saving yourself a lot of headache.


[everything assuming unmodded game of course, mods may change things considerably; also I may have faulty information in places since I haven't played the game unmodded in about ten years so be careful and double-check ]

Onestep

I'm inclined to agree with Lord_Tansheron.

Simply put, playing a 13 Kensai > Mage from BG means that you'll be spending more than a third of the series as a pure fighter, and nearly another quarter catching up on your XP, leaving you with little more than the SoA endgame and ToB to enjoy your Kensai/Mage. The fact that you have the tomes from BG alone (and thus a natural 19 STR from the get go) will more than make up for 4 levels of Kensai.

A Kensai who capped XP in BG can walk out of Irenicus's dungeon, quickly run through the Slum sewers and Copper Coronet Slave Freedom quest to hit lvl 9. Dual class, scribe some scrolls, rescue Aerie, maybe do De'Arnise Keep or Trademeet, and you'll be back with both classes in less than a couple of hours out of Irenicus's dungeon.

It's simply more fun, if not as powergamey.

Stormvessel

Okay, I will duel at 9. In that case, I am only going to specialize in scimitars (I already have done that), and only put two pips into two weapon fighting. Any other pips from here on are going into Flail for FotA. I will get two more pips for flail and hopefully I will get at least 3 as a mage so I can GM.

Thanks guys.