CONTEST: Give me your best off-the-wall character builds!
Frogman
Member Posts: 153
THE PRIZES: 1st place gets the unofficial title of Supreme Ruler of the Cosmos! 2nd place: My eternal gratitude and I will let you slap me in the face in the parking lot of a Carl's Jr. 3rd place: I will mail you a bag of hair.
THE JUDGE: Me. totally subjective. 3 winners will be chosen by Monday!
THE CONTEST: Send me one or two of your favorite off-the-wall character builds!
WHAT IM LOOKING FOR: My favorite thing in BG2 is to create custom parties of unconventional character builds. My favorites include Dragon Disciple Tank, the Blackguard Shortbow Archer, and the Half Orc Axe-chucking Kensai! Anything unconventional and fun along those lines. I'm planning a play-through soon with a group of characters such as these and am in dire need of suggestions from you sexy people! Please provide some info on how to play these characters (items to target, proficiency points, spells you use, strategies, good partners, etc.) Note: I like powerful characters, but these don't have to be powergamey ideas. Maybe you like a Monk who for no good reason gimps himself by using a scimitar! Maybe you like a gnome barbarian who dual wields daggers! No idea is a bad idea! FUN and UNCONVENTIONAL trump POWER in this discussion!
3....2....1..... GOOOOOOOOOOO!
THE JUDGE: Me. totally subjective. 3 winners will be chosen by Monday!
THE CONTEST: Send me one or two of your favorite off-the-wall character builds!
WHAT IM LOOKING FOR: My favorite thing in BG2 is to create custom parties of unconventional character builds. My favorites include Dragon Disciple Tank, the Blackguard Shortbow Archer, and the Half Orc Axe-chucking Kensai! Anything unconventional and fun along those lines. I'm planning a play-through soon with a group of characters such as these and am in dire need of suggestions from you sexy people! Please provide some info on how to play these characters (items to target, proficiency points, spells you use, strategies, good partners, etc.) Note: I like powerful characters, but these don't have to be powergamey ideas. Maybe you like a Monk who for no good reason gimps himself by using a scimitar! Maybe you like a gnome barbarian who dual wields daggers! No idea is a bad idea! FUN and UNCONVENTIONAL trump POWER in this discussion!
3....2....1..... GOOOOOOOOOOO!
2
Comments
No armour, specializes in quarterstaff. It's like a monk only not using the monk class.
Assassin -> Fighter
Sniper specializing in poisoned ranged combat.
Archer -> Cleric
Sling specialist of his religion. Cannot get grand mastery but other archer class features still apply.
Has many of the strengths of the more traditional fighter -> mage duals, but grows into a powerful melee combatant with some nice defensive magic (mainly Mirror Image) rather than a powerful mage with some physical combat abilities. The main weakness compared to a vanilla fighter is the loss of AC and hit points, which means the character is gonna be pretty reliant on Mirror Image for survivability.
Skald or Jester tank
Played very much like the DD tank, but instead of attacking enemies you run in and start singing. That way you get tanking and buffs/debuffs at the same time. You can even kite as you do so to become even more durable. Just make sure you get in there before anyone else does, because to borrow an MMO term, you're gonna have trouble holding aggro.
Legal Ideas:
Shadowdancer to Mage: Stupidly good... Hide after casting spells for defence. True Sighted by an enemy mage? Just hide again when they start casting to interrupt. Backstab as necessary.
Specialist Mage to Figher: You wanted off the wall, right? You get some nice buffs, can use scrolls/wands etc, and can fight as a fighter. Its better than it sounds, and almost as good as it is weird. Can cast Knock and Invisibility likely, very handy if you want to run a dualed out thief, as he serves as a poor man's Fighter Thief Mage. Don't dual too late or getting fighter levels to regain your casting will be profoundly unpleasant. 4th lvl spells are likely good enough, but 5th can get Breach iirc, which can be a lifesaver.
Illegal Build (requires much fiddling):
Kensai Avenger multi. Your shapeshifted forms will be deveststing, including Elementals later. Druid spells rock too, especially Avengers, who are decidedly awesome.
Legal Build Nobody Sane Would Want To Run, Especially With a Full Party:
Assassin to cleric, dualed after Use Any Item. The payout is solid melee abilities due to buffs, poisoned Energy Discs, the best backstabbing abilitie and ability to use non-cleric weapons proficiently, IE speed weapons.
Plain Jane But Coolish:
Avenger as the PC! Play him as a progressively more embittered Shadow Druid, culminating in taking an evil path in Hell so you can wear Human Leather. Avenger is strong as heck spellwise, so this is solid. If desired, combine with the idea @Reticent suggested, dualing to Fighter. Druid weapons are good enough to be pretty effective (ie several great clubs, Belm, Staff of the Ram), and both Web and Chaos are always powerful, and get no better really as you gain levels. SWS boosts shifted forms btw.
An invisible jester.
You just go around invisible under the effect of the spell, singing constantly and not touching anyone (well, almost anyone). The main idea is to get the least involved into actually hitting an enemy possible. Let you song kill them. Let them fight with each other and die. You get your experience from the quest-givers and only those enemies that have to be finished by your hand.
As you can see in my cleric thread, they are ridiculously powerful and efficient in melee with their ability seeking sword.
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/31481/team-cleric-trilogy-bg2-no-reload#latest
Throw in some self buffs and your Priest of Helm will deal more damage than your warrior for much of the game, have better AC, better resistances, more damage reduction and many powerful spells to help out the party with.
Very underestimated kit.
It's actually shameless promotion since I've updated it to work with the EE. Don't choose the 2nd Priest of Lathander kit.
AAAAAnd, I claim the Wizard Slayer/Enchanter/Sharpshooter (from Song and Silence, using Multikit mod) and the Kensai/Conjurer/Assassin builds. Besides the Strifeleader of Cyric/Bounty Hunter (CN boss), the Wizard Slayer/Assassin (ultimate WS), the Kensai/Wild Mage/Battleguard of Tempus (and the Barbarian/Wild Mage/Battleguard of Tempus), and the classical half-orc Berkserker/Assassin builds.
backstab the hell out of your God's enemies!
Clubs and crossbows. Later you take daggers for your shanking.
The trick is to be a thug. While your more talkative party members handle interacting with others you just hang back and glare while slapping your club in the palm of your hand.
You shoot that crossbow gangsta style. Only 1 pip in that.
He would have been a better fighter, but his father forced him to follow his lineage footsteps.
With 9 dex and 13 int. High Con and Str.
Using only set traps and wands for combat.
I can't believe you made one of these! I am running one now in BG1:EE. Strength of 19, Con 19, dex 18. Dumb as a brick though. Can't dual class, no worn armor but a ton of HP and heavy damage infliction. A pretty one dimensional character, although the Bhaalspawn perks are useful. And the throwing axes get around the prohibition against Kensai using missile weapons quite nicely. Being able to carry 500 LBs of gear means I can tote around dozens of them.
There were so many great entries - we're going to have to start off with the honorable mentions.
Honorable:
@Schneidend 's Fire-Soaking Tank! This will be a fun party setup.
@Reticent 's Wyvern Lord! Hilarious. Sounds fun too.
@FinneousPJ 's Poisonous Sniper. ALMOST made it into the reward section. LOVE this.
@DreadKhan 's Slippery Sneaky Shadowdancer Mage! Almost TOO fun. Will def try.
@bengoshi 's Invisible Jester. I had heard of it before but it def belongs on this list!
Now for the rewards:
3rd Place - @typo_tilly 's Skunk Disciple. Love the idea of this guy just vomiting filth and toxins all over the battlefield. Allies be damned! Your bag of hair is in the mail (it is mostly human hair fyi)
2nd Place - @SionIV 's Warrior-Priest Tank. Started a run with this guy immediately after messaging SionIV privately about how he builds him. Love the idea! It's not the craziest setup you've ever heard, but it is undeniably effective and a blast. You have my gratitude sir! Also, send me the address for the nearest Carl's Jr. to you and we can reenact the titular scene in NBC's thrilling new drama 'The Slap' !
1st Place - @Roach 's Gangster Thief. SUPREME RULER OF THE COSMOS. Love this guy as your textbook THUG class. He needs a thug name like 'Arn' or 'Brutus'. Thanks for the idea! You now have the power to control every living organism in the entire galaxy. Each breath we take is a token of your generosity. I'm sure you won't let this go to your head.
Thanks fellas! All hail the bg forums!
...I'll see myself out now.