Creating Chracater

Lelo

I'm getting ready to play BG EE and I want to play a half elf fighter/mage but I'm not sure what I should put into strength, wisdom, intelligence, etc......could someone give me some advice?

Fandraxx

A fighter/mage would benefit from the strongest skills of each class: Strength and Intelligence. However, since you can't cast spells while wearing armor other than robes, it's wise to put some points into Dexterity and Constitution to help you defensively.

Lelo

So, a fighter/mages would rely on strength, intelligence then dexterity and constitution?

Fandraxx

Yes, a higher intelligence gives you the ability to cast more and higher level spells, and strength will dictate how hard you hit things. A dexterity of 15 or higher will lower (and continue to lower) your armor class. A constitution of 15 or higher will give you more hit points per level. Each stat is important, and each should be given a decent score.

Example Stats
Strength: 16
Dexterity:17
Constitution: 16
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 10

Lelo

Okay, that gives me a good idea of how to setup my character.

Fandraxx

Glad I was able to help!

Twenty

This is a useful guide too:
http://playithardcore.com/pihwiki/index.php?title=Baldur's_Gate:_Races_and_Stats#.22Shorty.22_Saving_Throws

Skatan

The easy answer is to always aim for the highest possible stats

Personally, if I don't have enough points to spend on all abilitites, for a F/M I prefer to go lower on CON. Sure, HP is always great but with mage protections it's not as necessary as for pure fighters. I don't take tomes into account here.

So I would aim for:
18:91+ strenght preferably, but spells and items can help with this. But high starting STR means less hazzle and it's convenient.
18 dex, AC is always great to have and the best armor for a F/M has lower base AC than for regular fighters, if you even wear armor at all that is.
7 or 15+ CON, the higher the better of course. I'd put in the rest here if you reach to 15 or more, otherwise you won't get any HP bonus anyways
18 intelligence, you're a mage after all
~10 wisdom (for roleplay reasons you can go both higher and lower depending on what character you want to play)
~10 charisma, higher is better but not needed per se. Items and spells can increase this.

So a roll of 81+ with a good STR-score is enough to create a strong character, but the more the merrier of course. You can even go lower on WIS and CHA if you want it for roleplay reasons or just don't want to roll for high stats. Some people tend to have trouble roleplaying characters with low stats due to how it should affect their character's persona, for me I tend to play low-wis characters every now and then and play them out as reckless persons who don't really think before they act etc. Same with low-charisma characters, you could choose dialogue options based on your characters low charisma etc, meaning you have trouble knowing how to communicate in a polite way and tend to always answer the "wrong" way.

If you just want to play a really strong character then don't gimp out on any stat, roll for more points to distribute instead.

JuliusBorisov

Just on the contrary to @Skatan, I try to up CON because the more HPs you have the better. And I usually dump STR for a x/mage character - there's a spell Strength from the second spell level that sets it to 18/50 and lasts very long (1 turn per level of the caster). That spell is enough till you get a STR-enhancing item, and the game provides them.

Lelo

I usually play a straight fighter but I thought I'd give a fighter/mage a shot. It just sounds a little interesting. In EQ2 I played a conjurer and wizard and soloed them but I don't think that would be possible in BG. Anyways, I just want to make sure my character is strong enough that he won't get his butt handed to him every time he gets into a fight.

moody_mage

Powerbuild your little heart out and spend 10 mins rolling to give yourself the following;

STR - 18/xx (the higher the xx the better but when you get a certain item is no longer important)
DEX - 19 (elf right? else 18)
CON - 17 (again elf? else 18)
INT - 18
WIS - Whatever
CHA - Whatever

However tactics are key. You'll still get your ass handed to you regardless of stats if your playstyle isn't up to scratch.

Lelo

decado said:

Powerbuild your little heart out and spend 10 mins rolling to give yourself the following;

STR - 18/xx (the higher the xx the better but when you get a certain item is no longer important)
DEX - 19 (elf right? else 18)
CON - 17 (again elf? else 18)
INT - 18
WIS - Whatever
CHA - Whatever

However tactics are key. You'll still get your ass handed to you regardless of stats if your playstyle isn't up to scratch.

Well, I'm a little rusty on my D&D but once I get into it I'm sure it come back to me. Besides, I'm sure I'll get my butt handed to me in the beginning.

moody_mage

Happens to us all. Tarnesh still gets lucky now and then as well...

Re-read your OP, you'll want to go with straight 18's across your 4 main stats rather than the 19/17 elf variants.

Also solo-ing is possible. I've soloed a sorcerer through to ToB and I'm not even that great a player. I have however played for many many years, I wouldn't recommend it for the first few run throughs.

Lelo

I played BG back when it first came out but never played BG2. I just don't remember how things go because it's been so many years and now BG is BG EE so it's going to be like playing a new game.

Eadwyn_G8keeper

Elf is a better choice for Fighter-Mage because of the bonuses to Bows and Long Swords. Archery is perhaps Overly dominant in BG1 and an Elf with 19Dex is very comforting when you are still unfamiliar with the Story-line.

I feel that any Fighter [single or Multi-class] should always be at least 18/51+[gets an additional +1ToHit bonus]. Those extra bonuses from the 01-00 percentile points above 18 are clearly there for a reason and only Fighters get them. Of course, role-playing a not so strong fighter is always fun and @bengoshi makes a good case. On the other hand that Strength spell could just as well be cast on some other member of the party, a Cleric perhaps.

Also, any 90+ roll where you get a desirable Strength score should not be 'dissed' as too power-gamey since the innocent younger foster-sister, Imoen, obviously slated to be your designated sidekick ~ starts off with an 87pt roll. [Note: Imoen is not essential to successful game play]

And the higher rolls avoid what are to me the unsatisfying craftsmanship of dump stats in Wisdom and Charisma. Currently I am playing a 92 pt FMT with 12 Wisdom and 9 Charisma. ~Enjoy