The Undeniable Power of Gnome Fighter/Illusionists
HaHaCharade
Member Posts: 1,644
Gnome Fighter/Illusionists are just ridiculous. Does anyone else ever give them a try? They are my main in BG1 in the rare occasions I play good align, and I *always* make one for the party when I play IWD, where they are even more ripped. A fighter type with a bonus spell slot (specialist mage), 19 intelligence, Blur/Mirror Image/Stoneskin yourself after slipping into your Elven Chain (at least in IWD) to become basically unhittable, and then hit them with a magic missile just for fun as you're swinging on them. Plus the high dex pre-req means you get good stats more often then not.
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Half-Elves gain a small bonus to resist enchantment spells. That's it.
Regular elves get the fun bonuses to large swords, but 19 dexterity doesn't help any more than 18 does in melee and you lose out on HP per level from 17 vs. 18 constitution.
Hard to argue with 19 intelligence when playing with core rules. 18 int = 85% success rate scribing spells (roll of 1-3 on a d20 fails) and 18 spells per level cap known. 19 int = 95% success rate (only nat 1's are a fail) and no limit on spells known.
And then there's that +5 to saving throws vs. Spells and Wands. It's REALLY hard to understate how awesome that is.
I guess we could throw humans in here because dual-classing leads to some pretty broken combinations. But that's not multi-class!
Dual-class, ah, the boon of the power gamer.
I have often thought about playing a Gnome instead. But I like ending up with 21 dex, any further bonus to my AC to counter fighter/mages low HP is welcome. In regards to Elves con - By the end of BG2 I end up with 21 con as an Elf anyway, so I'll have the same amount of HP as a gnome would. I also enjoy a greater range of spells, I like my PC to be less limited.
Gnomes are great, fighter/mages are powerhouses. I'm just usually an elf. It's always been a race/class I say I'll be next time, guess I'm too much a creature of habit.
It comes down to whether or not you value the extra bonuses to longswords + necromancy vs. the extra saving throws + an extra spell slot per day. My money is on the extra saving throws. I'm cool with losing Vampiric Touch and Horrid Wilting on my fighter/mages because I tend to use them as the recipients of buffs to make melee attacks wreck things. Damage by way of attacking rather than by way of the actual spells themselves, you know?
Give it a shot, long story short!
Daystar, Dragon Slayer LS, Daystar (Useless but still a nice +3 longsword), and The Equalizer.
I'm trying to think of other non-generic longswords in SoA. Sword of Flame +1?
I also heard a rumor that in the BG and BG2 engine elves were screwed up and allowed extra Thac0 on bastard swords and greatswords as well. Those would nicely increase your options.
Gnome F/I is a fair sight better, what with the saving throws and bonus spells and all.
Dual-class is still the most powerful of all, but I think that goes without saying.
An option I actually prefer, and one I use all the time in Icewind Dale, is the Gnome Illusionist/Thief. The all-around support character. Plus Invisibility is far more reliable than Stealth, and you can find and disarm traps without breaking it. In terms of raw power, probably not as good as the F/I, but in terms of overall usefulness? Fantastic, in my books.
Of course, this, too, falls prey to being inferior to its dual-class brother. But really, what doesn't?
I guess it's true there are a lot of good long swords in BG2. There are a bunch of good +2 ones, but you're limited to Blade of Roses (useless +charisma) and the Equalizer whenever you need a weapon that breaks +2 enchantment immunity or better. I suppose it is the most situational weapon type. Is that fair to say? Daystar is amazeballs for the fights against undead opponents but doesn't really help you much against regular Joe Shmoe the übermensch. I really wish Adjatha The Drinker was a +3 sword. It'd be sooooo good.
And now I just considered the insanity that a dual wielding Longsword/Mace Undead Hunter would have with Daystar and Mace of Disruption +2. Also I thought Daystar was +3 or was it only +3 for purposes of hitting undead?
Daystar is a +2 sword, +4 when hitting evil opponents, double damage against undead.
I need to stop trusting my memory and start looking all this stuff up again.
I hope that means Daystar can hurt Kagaxx in BG2EE since it doesn't atm.
Right you are - then I guess the Daystar needs fixing in BG2EE.