Well, it will probably look instantaneous but that doesn't necessarily mean that they'll attack straight away. In 3rd edition, it can take an entire turn to swap weapons fully (you know, without hastily dropping them), but Baldur's Gate obviously doesn't really abide by these rules. So you probably have to just use your imagination when your character swaps out his bow for a sword and shield, because they can't slow down the animations for that to the length of a turn. I ... I've lost my train of thought haha
Edit: my favourite thing about 3rd edition (pen and paper that is) was being able to have a buckler permanently attached to your off hand, which meant you could use bows and crossbows and still get the AC bonus without penalties. You did however incur a -1 to attacks if your off-hand had a weapon. My Rogue used to wield a whip and a dagger, he was awesome.
From an RP-ish perspective I can almost see quickly swapping a bow for a one handed weapon or a two-handed weapon such as a staff, spear, or greatsword... at least maybe once per fight... It would depend on how the bow and other weapon are secured on the body, of course... there would almost have to be a way of securing them both somehow on the upper back, I would think...
But switching out from bow to a one-handed weapon plus shield would be rather tough in the blink of an eye. I know the game mechanics and GUI allow it. But I don't think I would use that feature if it would be almost physically impossible to 'actually' do in that world.
Hope that makes sense. That's just me being an anal RPer though.
Bow to one-hander makes a lot of sense, considering the bow is usually held in the off-hand, and shot from with the main, so when you're not shooting, you technically always have your main hand free to do things, including pulling a weapon out. It's not as if you're dual wielding either, and if you're using a dagger, shortsword or longsword, your off-hand would normally be used to carry a shield, for example (which doesn't provide penalties to hit), but instead, carries the bow.
A two-handed sword, on the other hand, would require you to put the bow away in order to wield it effectively, and switching from bow to sword AND shield might take even longer than switching to two-hander alone.
@Anduin Maybe an elven mage-thief for a future game.
But the first time through BG:EE I definitely want to 'commemoratively' revisit to the very first PC build I completed BG1 with, i.e., this half-elven Fighter-Mage, and use all the knowledge I have acquired since to have a great run with it. I'm treating it the same as I would an NPC, i.e., the character has his or her inherent flaws and strengths, both.
I realized also that I can have a familiar this time, which will help early on in BG1, no doubt. Familiars are based on alignment. And regardless I was considering adjusting the PC's original alignment from CG to TN because I'll be assembling a mixed alignment party:
PC Imoen Viconia Rasaad Neera Dorn
Anyway, either CG or TN is a close enough fit to how I envision the character. Other alignments don't really fit him.
What's the difference between AC bonus here? Is it that the Fairy Dragon sets AC to a base of 4, whereas the Rabbit reduces the base AC by 4 points?
I recall that I'll get half of the familiar's HP added to mine. So Fairy Dragon wins there. The once daily bonus castings of Invisibility 10' Radius and Mirror Image looks pretty sweet too.
The main advantage to the rabbit seems to be AC...
On an elf F/M, I start with 2 pips in dual wield, not 3, and 2 pips in longsword. The main hand is then at normal THAC0, +1 for being an Elf with a longsword, +1 for being proficient, and with an extra 1/2 attack which I prefer over an extra +2 on the offhand.
On a gnome F/M, I'll typically go two-handed sword, because it's easier to swap out a bow, and the thought of a gnome with a greatsword is hilarious.
I don't think familiars change AC, to my knowledge.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but the ferret familiar is one to consider. It has a 75% pick pockets, which is good enough to do most of the games' thievery if you don't have another thief in the party (eg: imoen).
The Fairy Dragon is pretty superior IMO. Having a familiar that can cast invisibility in a pinch is really great. You can't do much with the rabbit besides pilot it away from death.
I know this probably sounds silly, but will wolves and bears go hostile on a rabbit familiar? Actually, that would add to the fun for me. I wouldn't necessarily complain if it were so.
Actually, as BG:EE is using the ToB engine, there are differences for the higher level play of ToB. I wonder how familiars will be implemented for BG:EE given that the character is starting at level 1.
Familiars have there uses... Ferret, very good for pick pockets. Rabbit very good at spotting traps ahead of the group... Both rubbish in fights. That resistance the rabbit has makes it tough against the same said traps though. The Fairy Dragon is a better scout, better at surviving when it is discovered. That 32% magic resist is pretty good... Fly it to the mage and let the mage blast at it, instead of you... Only early on though cause they soon, whatever familiar you are using, turn pretty crappy as they are so underwhelming in the power stakes... Unless you go Lawful Evil and get an imp... They recieve Polymorph Other... And the Mustard Jelly is totally magic resistance... So send them up to lIches and watch them waste all there spells... Then run in to finish the worthless lichy (Bichy?) off...
I will definitely launch battles with disabling spells from the back row. Then I'll wade in and slap those 'up-close-and-personal' spells. (Ghoul Touch and Vampiric Touch in particular.) I'll finish by meleeing.
But I'm still mulling over which weapons profs to invest in...
I know dual-wielding will be the 'safest'. No doubt I can max the damage the character doles out via dual-wieding with long sword + scimitar. And that will satisfy.
But I'm tempted to try something different like darts (of stunning) and quarterstaff. He then won't be as formidable a meleer. But it might be more fun in an offbeat way. Darts of stunning in addition to Ghoul Touch could be pretty neat. Maybe darts and dual-wielded swords?...
My guess is quarterstaff won't be nearly as satisfying as dual-wielded swords. It will be a vanilla game, so I won't be have DSotSC's cool 'Bonebreaker" stave that Slows the target...
Darts and swords? Or bow and swords? Lol, can't decide.
Since you're a half elf it actually expands your choice of weapons compared to mine. Starting with long swords and bows makes the most sense to me from a combat perspective.
That said I'll likely take quarterstaves next myself simply because they're a really useful weapon type to have. Staff of the Magi, nuff said
I'm going with an (Lawful or Neutral Evil) elf Fighter/Mage party for BGEE, ideally the same composition as yours, will try to keep reputation around 9 or 10, so that I can a) keep everyone at least neutral, if not happy, so they don't leave the party and b) so that I can decide to take the evil or good Bhaal Power choices*, as preferred, for the dream sequences (I prefer Larloch's Minor Drain to Cure Light Wounds, but would like to pick up at least one Slow Poison and Draw Upon (un)Holy Might). Whether I go LE or NE depends on choice of familiar, really - can't decide whether Imp would be better (can polymorph, but lower HP until TIOB) or Dust Mephit (can class Glitter Dust and "Ghost Dust", whatever that is, and has more HP, but lowerr AC).
The only advantage to a Helf over an elf is tht they can be multiclassed druids. For a fighter / Mage an Elf would be much better for the weapon bonuses, of a gnome if they can do Fighter / Illusionist (not sure if thats valid for gnomes).
Half-elf is also the only race that can be a cleric-mage. Aerie breaks the rule, although I've heard it said that Avariel as a race isn't really the same as a regular PC elf.
My opinion is that the racial restrictions on classes is completely arbitrary and makes no sense. It's the one thing that I dislike most about 1st and 2nd edition rules. I know that Gygax's thinking was that it would take longer than a human's short lifespan to master two classes enough to use in adventures, plus, he was worried that multiclasses would be too strong relative to the other players in a group, so he imposed a lot of arbitrary restrictions - but I think he went too far.
As for the fighter-mage class, I don't see a good reason to give up the elf's charm protection and dexterity bonus in favor of being a half-elf, unless you have a role-playing idea about mixed parentage. The main reason for rolling a half-elf, in my opinion, would be because you want to play one of the multiclasses that only the half-elf can play (fighter-druid, cleric-mage).
The only advantage to a Helf over an elf is tht they can be multiclassed druids.
And Ranger/Cleric
For a fighter / Mage an Elf would be much better for the weapon bonuses, of a gnome if they can do Fighter / Illusionist (not sure if thats valid for gnomes).
Yes they can, they get more spells/day than elves and get the shorty saving throw bonuses for spell/wand saves, but can't use Necromancy spells (some of which I love), and don't get the elf +1 bonuses for swords/bows, which are nice for a F/M. Elves also get 90% charm resistance.
Weapons: I used one-handed swords, shields, and darts; other proficiencies, I went "whatever!" and played shell game. Well, to be fair, having a mace helped with undead like skeletons. If I were to redo things, I'd pump into maces for The Stupefier, and then darts again. And then dual wield it up later on with something else that gave me an unfair advantage. Or use a two-handed weapon like a halberd. For darts, I went with wounding and stunning, greatly preferring wounding. I bet the elemental darts in EE will be awesome in BG II EE, once mages start popping stoneskin.
Equipment: Anything that helped me avoid missile attacks was nice to have, because it sucked casting a useful spell, and then getting hit with an arrow; so were, well, robes of the archmagi. Potions, oh lord, you had better believe I had those, but that's a given, and that's because I had Garrick shoplift a bunch of merchants (one that I Unfinished Businessed in had a lot of them ). Wands, I kept in good quantities. Especially of horror and of paralyzation. Also, Rings of Wizardry and Amulets of Metaspell Influence. Wear them. I would also wear one of the Rings of Fire Resistance and suck down a potion of fire resistance or two for fireheals!
Spellbook: I made liberal use of crowd control and area spells. I'd also stack acid arrows with any other mages that were present, timed just so. With any mage, working in tandem with another mage was always good. If you plan on beating up Aec'Letec, scribe yourself a copy of Otiluke's resilient sphere, Hoss.
EDIT: Also by every god in a million pantheons as soon as spell sequencers become available use those.
Well I've already beat BGEE (no mods) with a Half-Elf Fighter/mage, and he will be my first run in BG2EE. This is one of my favourite builds, powerful and versatile, specially in BG2. You need a good set of stats though. I make him Half-Elf so he can romance Viconia in BG2. As for fighting styles, I like to dual wield long swords right from the beggining and never ever wear any armor other than elven chain (I prefer elven chain, but if I have no other mage with the same alignment the robe of archmagi is also good choice). As the main char, I give him the best protective items, specially the ones with AC bonus. For spellcasting I focus in defensive/buffing magics, I always have at least another mage in the party who focus in debuffing/damaging spells. For instance I tanked Sarevok with him (vanilla BGEE) and neither mr bad guy nor his crowd could even touch my F/M. I used potion of defense, scroll of minor globe of invulnerability, stone skin, minor spell deflection and several instances of mirror image and blur.
Comments
Well, it will probably look instantaneous but that doesn't necessarily mean that they'll attack straight away. In 3rd edition, it can take an entire turn to swap weapons fully (you know, without hastily dropping them), but Baldur's Gate obviously doesn't really abide by these rules. So you probably have to just use your imagination when your character swaps out his bow for a sword and shield, because they can't slow down the animations for that to the length of a turn. I ... I've lost my train of thought haha
Edit: my favourite thing about 3rd edition (pen and paper that is) was being able to have a buckler permanently attached to your off hand, which meant you could use bows and crossbows and still get the AC bonus without penalties. You did however incur a -1 to attacks if your off-hand had a weapon. My Rogue used to wield a whip and a dagger, he was awesome.
A two-handed sword, on the other hand, would require you to put the bow away in order to wield it effectively, and switching from bow to sword AND shield might take even longer than switching to two-hander alone.
But the first time through BG:EE I definitely want to 'commemoratively' revisit to the very first PC build I completed BG1 with, i.e., this half-elven Fighter-Mage, and use all the knowledge I have acquired since to have a great run with it. I'm treating it the same as I would an NPC, i.e., the character has his or her inherent flaws and strengths, both.
I realized also that I can have a familiar this time, which will help early on in BG1, no doubt. Familiars are based on alignment. And regardless I was considering adjusting the PC's original alignment from CG to TN because I'll be assembling a mixed alignment party:
PC
Imoen
Viconia
Rasaad
Neera
Dorn
Anyway, either CG or TN is a close enough fit to how I envision the character. Other alignments don't really fit him.
So my choices of familiar are:
Chaotic Good - Fairy Dragon, 4 AC, 24 HP, 32% magic resistance, casts Invisibility 10' Radius & Mirror Image 1/day
and
True Neutral - Rabbit, -4 AC, 16 HP, 50% Detect Traps, 30% Stealth, 75% resistance to fire, cold, electricity.
What's the difference between AC bonus here? Is it that the Fairy Dragon sets AC to a base of 4, whereas the Rabbit reduces the base AC by 4 points?
I recall that I'll get half of the familiar's HP added to mine. So Fairy Dragon wins there. The once daily bonus castings of Invisibility 10' Radius and Mirror Image looks pretty sweet too.
The main advantage to the rabbit seems to be AC...
Thoughts? Thx
On a gnome F/M, I'll typically go two-handed sword, because it's easier to swap out a bow, and the thought of a gnome with a greatsword is hilarious.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but the ferret familiar is one to consider. It has a 75% pick pockets, which is good enough to do most of the games' thievery if you don't have another thief in the party (eg: imoen).
The Fairy Dragon is pretty superior IMO. Having a familiar that can cast invisibility in a pinch is really great. You can't do much with the rabbit besides pilot it away from death.
FYI, this is the source I referenced:
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/familiars.php
I know this probably sounds silly, but will wolves and bears go hostile on a rabbit familiar? Actually, that would add to the fun for me. I wouldn't necessarily complain if it were so.
I will definitely launch battles with disabling spells from the back row. Then I'll wade in and slap those 'up-close-and-personal' spells. (Ghoul Touch and Vampiric Touch in particular.) I'll finish by meleeing.
But I'm still mulling over which weapons profs to invest in...
I know dual-wielding will be the 'safest'. No doubt I can max the damage the character doles out via dual-wieding with long sword + scimitar. And that will satisfy.
But I'm tempted to try something different like darts (of stunning) and quarterstaff. He then won't be as formidable a meleer. But it might be more fun in an offbeat way. Darts of stunning in addition to Ghoul Touch could be pretty neat. Maybe darts and dual-wielded swords?...
My guess is quarterstaff won't be nearly as satisfying as dual-wielded swords. It will be a vanilla game, so I won't be have DSotSC's cool 'Bonebreaker" stave that Slows the target...
Darts and swords? Or bow and swords? Lol, can't decide.
That said I'll likely take quarterstaves next myself simply because they're a really useful weapon type to have. Staff of the Magi, nuff said
* see: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/comment/120615/#Comment_120615
For weapon choices I'm thinking something like:
Level 1
Two-handed Swords++
Longbow++ (maybe shortbow, as the BG2 ones are better)
Levels 3 & 6
Two-handed fighting++
[Level 7 - 1.5 Base APR]
Levels 9 & 12
Staves++
[Level 13 - 2.0 Base APR]
Levels 15 & 18
Crossbow++
Levels 21 & 24
Halberd++
Perhaps switching the last two around, and perhaps taking staves before the second (-2 speed only) two-handed fighting pip
My opinion is that the racial restrictions on classes is completely arbitrary and makes no sense. It's the one thing that I dislike most about 1st and 2nd edition rules. I know that Gygax's thinking was that it would take longer than a human's short lifespan to master two classes enough to use in adventures, plus, he was worried that multiclasses would be too strong relative to the other players in a group, so he imposed a lot of arbitrary restrictions - but I think he went too far.
As for the fighter-mage class, I don't see a good reason to give up the elf's charm protection and dexterity bonus in favor of being a half-elf, unless you have a role-playing idea about mixed parentage. The main reason for rolling a half-elf, in my opinion, would be because you want to play one of the multiclasses that only the half-elf can play (fighter-druid, cleric-mage).
Weapons: I used one-handed swords, shields, and darts; other proficiencies, I went "whatever!" and played shell game. Well, to be fair, having a mace helped with undead like skeletons. If I were to redo things, I'd pump into maces for The Stupefier, and then darts again. And then dual wield it up later on with something else that gave me an unfair advantage. Or use a two-handed weapon like a halberd.
For darts, I went with wounding and stunning, greatly preferring wounding. I bet the elemental darts in EE will be awesome in BG II EE, once mages start popping stoneskin.
Equipment: Anything that helped me avoid missile attacks was nice to have, because it sucked casting a useful spell, and then getting hit with an arrow; so were, well, robes of the archmagi.
Potions, oh lord, you had better believe I had those, but that's a given, and that's because I had Garrick shoplift a bunch of merchants (one that I Unfinished Businessed in had a lot of them
Wands, I kept in good quantities. Especially of horror and of paralyzation.
Also, Rings of Wizardry and Amulets of Metaspell Influence. Wear them. I would also wear one of the Rings of Fire Resistance and suck down a potion of fire resistance or two for fireheals!
Spellbook: I made liberal use of crowd control and area spells. I'd also stack acid arrows with any other mages that were present, timed just so. With any mage, working in tandem with another mage was always good. If you plan on beating up Aec'Letec, scribe yourself a copy of Otiluke's resilient sphere, Hoss.
EDIT: Also by every god in a million pantheons as soon as spell sequencers become available use those.
I make him Half-Elf so he can romance Viconia in BG2.
As for fighting styles, I like to dual wield long swords right from the beggining and never ever wear any armor other than elven chain (I prefer elven chain, but if I have no other mage with the same alignment the robe of archmagi is also good choice).
As the main char, I give him the best protective items, specially the ones with AC bonus.
For spellcasting I focus in defensive/buffing magics, I always have at least another mage in the party who focus in debuffing/damaging spells.
For instance I tanked Sarevok with him (vanilla BGEE) and neither mr bad guy nor his crowd could even touch my F/M. I used potion of defense, scroll of minor globe of invulnerability, stone skin, minor spell deflection and several instances of mirror image and blur.