The Baldur's Gate Saga (Solo) No-Death Challenge!
Bynary_Fission
Member Posts: 202
I've been a fan of the Baldur's Gate series since 2002...in that time, I've replayed the game countless times over and over, trying a whole range of different builds and difficulties as a means to challenge myself - my greatest accomplishment was beating BG2 solo on Insane (That includes Demogorgon!). I can't remember if I had the XP cap removed or not (I don't think so, but that was a few years ago). But I need a greater challenge - something that will *really* test my knowledge and skill at Baldur's Gate, and the challenge that comes to mind is to beat the entire trilogy without dying! So in light of the delayed release of BG:EE I've set up this challenge for myself to complete before Nov 30.
Now to clarify on my parameters regarding the challenge:
-No mods or cheats of any kind installed. I uninstalled and re-installed BG2 to get rid of TDD mod and the XP cap remover I had installed, and I re-installed BG1 to get rid of the XP cap-remover I had also installed. This is going to be done completely legit. That means TuTu isn't installed either, nor are any bug fixes. The most I will allow is a change in my character's appearence via ShadowKeeper, since it is a purely cosmetic change that does not affect my character in any way.
-When I complete a game in the trilogy, I don't replay it if I die in a later game (i.e if I make it through BG1 and die somewhere in BG2, I re-start at the beginning of BG2, not BG1). This also means that I don't export a character and re-import it at the beginning (ex: if I die in BG1 at level 3, I can't re-import him at level, he must begin anew at level 1).
-Reloads are okay. I want to clarify that this no-death challenge is NOT the same as a no-reload challenge - primarily since this is being done solo, I need a bit of leniency in that regard - I'm not playing it THAT hardcore, haha.
-Stick to the Core Rules difficulty. (this one was edited in later just to serve as clarification on that front).
-Charms, mazes, etc do count as deaths, if you get a game over screen. So in BG1, if you get charmed but there is no death screen you are fine (which is the case, thank god). Be sure to have protection against these spells, especially in BG2...
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The character
These are the stats rolled for my character. I chose a Fighter/Mage/Cleric because being that this is a solo run, I need access to as many classes as possible. Furthermore, Clerics gain a whole slew of useful and beneficial spells that can help prevent death and various status afflictions (aside from the obvious healing of course). In regards to the offensive aspect of spellcasting, that is why I'm also using a Mage. That and the fact that I almost always play a Mage combination of some sort. My character is brand-new when starting a new run: no items, extra spells or levels are afforded. However, I don't re-roll a new character every time I die: that just seems kind of dumb. I simply begin the same build (seen below) anew each time I perish.
I rolled some pretty sweet stats on this character (95 points, after about a half hour of rolling):
I didn't see the point of trying to go above 95 - I don't give a damn about charisma, maxing everything else is what really mattered. The strength is also not an issue - I will be acquiring a tome that will push it to 19 anyways (and in BG2 I get a second increase to 20).
Fact: Logan is my IRL name. I'm not doing any RP'ing for this quest - this is purely a technical challenge and I do not intend to arbitrarily limit my character for the sake of RP (i.e avoiding things my character might not have known, or limiting myself to certain quests and actions based on alignment). I choose Chaotic Good by default, but that in no way constrains what I will do in-game.
I understand that in BG1 my character will not be able to obtain level 4 spells, and in BG2 I cannot reach level 9 mage spells...I am perfectly willing to accept that. The cleric's defensive capabilities are the sticking point for me - hell, Death Ward and Chaotic Commands alone will stave off a whole lot of deaths/game overs in BG2. For BG1, I am not in particular need to have level 4 spells - the spells I personally find most useful are Mirror Image, Animate Dead (to summon a bunch of minions to take damage and distract my foes), Fireball (with Resistance to Fire cast beforehand, of course), Haste, Vampiric Touch, Magic Missile, Hold Person, DUHM, Aid, Dispel Magic, Knock and Melf's Acid Arrow (off the top of my head - it's been some time since I played BG1). All level 3 and below.
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The run
For the most part, it's going to be fairly bare-bones. I'm not completing any of the TotSC missions - they are not worth the extreme risk involved in getting a few marginally better items (some of which I can't even use anyways), in particular as I cannot disarm traps. I will be getting all of the tomes on this run - the more I can build up my character in BG1, the better off he will be in BG2 (I intend to use the same character up into ToB). Most side-missions and encounters will not be completed, unless they provide me with a useful item that will aid my conquest. I will also avoid any and all contact with any joinable NPCs, as this is a solo run. Imoen doesn't count, she forces herself into the party at the start of each game. :P But I do ditch her as soon as she joins.
I also try and avoid using cheese, for the most part. I reload like mad to try and get as much HP as I can leveling up (the math with a tri-class character is tricky to figure out though, since there are a bunch of fractions involved). I've been aware of the glitch involving spellcasters getting interrupted when you pause since I first began playing...I am actually trying to avoid doing this, for the most part. Magic Missiles usually take care of that, though since I automatically pause on instinct every time I see a group of enemies it ends up happening anyways.
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Again, as I stated before my memory of the game isn't completely intact, so any pointers and reminders of anything I've missed would be beneficial and appreciated! I'll be sure to keep this post updated as I progress throughout the Baldur's Gate series - if I die (and I have several times before making this post), my next post will be a bit delayed as I spend the next few hours (or more, depending on how far I was) getting back to where I was...If that happens I'll be sure to post it. Feedback and comments as well are encouraged! I figure that you all here would appreciate better than anybody a challenge of this magnitude.
Now to clarify on my parameters regarding the challenge:
-No mods or cheats of any kind installed. I uninstalled and re-installed BG2 to get rid of TDD mod and the XP cap remover I had installed, and I re-installed BG1 to get rid of the XP cap-remover I had also installed. This is going to be done completely legit. That means TuTu isn't installed either, nor are any bug fixes. The most I will allow is a change in my character's appearence via ShadowKeeper, since it is a purely cosmetic change that does not affect my character in any way.
-When I complete a game in the trilogy, I don't replay it if I die in a later game (i.e if I make it through BG1 and die somewhere in BG2, I re-start at the beginning of BG2, not BG1). This also means that I don't export a character and re-import it at the beginning (ex: if I die in BG1 at level 3, I can't re-import him at level, he must begin anew at level 1).
-Reloads are okay. I want to clarify that this no-death challenge is NOT the same as a no-reload challenge - primarily since this is being done solo, I need a bit of leniency in that regard - I'm not playing it THAT hardcore, haha.
-Stick to the Core Rules difficulty. (this one was edited in later just to serve as clarification on that front).
-Charms, mazes, etc do count as deaths, if you get a game over screen. So in BG1, if you get charmed but there is no death screen you are fine (which is the case, thank god). Be sure to have protection against these spells, especially in BG2...
--------------------
The character
These are the stats rolled for my character. I chose a Fighter/Mage/Cleric because being that this is a solo run, I need access to as many classes as possible. Furthermore, Clerics gain a whole slew of useful and beneficial spells that can help prevent death and various status afflictions (aside from the obvious healing of course). In regards to the offensive aspect of spellcasting, that is why I'm also using a Mage. That and the fact that I almost always play a Mage combination of some sort. My character is brand-new when starting a new run: no items, extra spells or levels are afforded. However, I don't re-roll a new character every time I die: that just seems kind of dumb. I simply begin the same build (seen below) anew each time I perish.
I rolled some pretty sweet stats on this character (95 points, after about a half hour of rolling):
I didn't see the point of trying to go above 95 - I don't give a damn about charisma, maxing everything else is what really mattered. The strength is also not an issue - I will be acquiring a tome that will push it to 19 anyways (and in BG2 I get a second increase to 20).
Fact: Logan is my IRL name. I'm not doing any RP'ing for this quest - this is purely a technical challenge and I do not intend to arbitrarily limit my character for the sake of RP (i.e avoiding things my character might not have known, or limiting myself to certain quests and actions based on alignment). I choose Chaotic Good by default, but that in no way constrains what I will do in-game.
I understand that in BG1 my character will not be able to obtain level 4 spells, and in BG2 I cannot reach level 9 mage spells...I am perfectly willing to accept that. The cleric's defensive capabilities are the sticking point for me - hell, Death Ward and Chaotic Commands alone will stave off a whole lot of deaths/game overs in BG2. For BG1, I am not in particular need to have level 4 spells - the spells I personally find most useful are Mirror Image, Animate Dead (to summon a bunch of minions to take damage and distract my foes), Fireball (with Resistance to Fire cast beforehand, of course), Haste, Vampiric Touch, Magic Missile, Hold Person, DUHM, Aid, Dispel Magic, Knock and Melf's Acid Arrow (off the top of my head - it's been some time since I played BG1). All level 3 and below.
-------------------
The run
For the most part, it's going to be fairly bare-bones. I'm not completing any of the TotSC missions - they are not worth the extreme risk involved in getting a few marginally better items (some of which I can't even use anyways), in particular as I cannot disarm traps. I will be getting all of the tomes on this run - the more I can build up my character in BG1, the better off he will be in BG2 (I intend to use the same character up into ToB). Most side-missions and encounters will not be completed, unless they provide me with a useful item that will aid my conquest. I will also avoid any and all contact with any joinable NPCs, as this is a solo run. Imoen doesn't count, she forces herself into the party at the start of each game. :P But I do ditch her as soon as she joins.
I also try and avoid using cheese, for the most part. I reload like mad to try and get as much HP as I can leveling up (the math with a tri-class character is tricky to figure out though, since there are a bunch of fractions involved). I've been aware of the glitch involving spellcasters getting interrupted when you pause since I first began playing...I am actually trying to avoid doing this, for the most part. Magic Missiles usually take care of that, though since I automatically pause on instinct every time I see a group of enemies it ends up happening anyways.
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Again, as I stated before my memory of the game isn't completely intact, so any pointers and reminders of anything I've missed would be beneficial and appreciated! I'll be sure to keep this post updated as I progress throughout the Baldur's Gate series - if I die (and I have several times before making this post), my next post will be a bit delayed as I spend the next few hours (or more, depending on how far I was) getting back to where I was...If that happens I'll be sure to post it. Feedback and comments as well are encouraged! I figure that you all here would appreciate better than anybody a challenge of this magnitude.
Post edited by Bynary_Fission on
4
Comments
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And now...for the first comment of my progress. I didn't want to post this immediately (I've had it as a draft for a few days now) until I made it far enough to offer a convincing chance that I could make it. As it currently stands, my character has just made it out of the Nashkel mines almost entirely unscathed (thank you Find Traps and Mirror Image!) I spend several hours training my character and scouring the entire map for all sorts of items and spells that would benefit my character and extend his lifespan. As it stands, these are my current stats as of the start of Chapter Three:
And these are my current inventory items:
I don't have the Helmet of Defense since it required having a companion to take the fall...and that violates the "solo" aspect of this challenge. That, and I certainly didn't want to die by getting the kiss of death either! But aside from that, I think the equipment I have should best serve me up towards the end of the game. The only issue I have is my THAC0 - it's not horrible, but given my character's uncanny ability to get long streaks of single digit rolls...
I'm likely going to make a straight beeline for Baldur's Gate - the bandit camp shouldn't be too hard, and neither should the Cloakwood Mines (plus I get the Boots of Speed there, which I could REALLY use - the slow walking speed of BG1 is frustrating, even at 60 fps...). As it stands I am nearly maxed out for the levels I can attain for my character given the XP cap - I can gain one more level in each class, good for about 10 more HP. Unfortunately, I won't be getting a new class of spells, nor my extra 1/2 attack. But I knew that when I made this character - hopefully it won't be an issue once I get towards the end of the game.
My spells are my character's greatest strength. My fighting abilities are mediocre, especially since I can't hit that critical 7th level of Fighter. Mirror Image is my greatest ally - it enables my character to take a bit of a beating in any instance, especially valuable considering that my character doesn't have tons of HP to spare. Perhaps any of you guys have suggestions on what other spell combinations to use? I make extensive use of my cleric buffs - Aid and DUHM give me a decent-sized bonus to damage, health and THAC0, but they don't last that long. I'm considering buying some higher-level spell scrolls (from Ulgoth's Beard most likely) and casting from those in the final battle, which will certainly be difficult, especially to avoid dying.
- You're not playing the BGT mod, but rather playing the entire saga vanilla (you might want to edit the title accordingly).
- It's okay to reload; however...
- if you die you start from the beginning of the game you're in (games in the trilogy you have already completed do not have to be replayed).
- Basically, although you can reload you're not allowed to go back to your previous save if you die. (You must then start from the beginning of that leg of the trilogy.)
Sounds interesting. I'm always intrigued by the ways fellow fans find to keep the replay experience fresh. I would say that something that would surely result in death should count as a death.Out of curiosity do you export your character and start all over if you die or do you start fresh from level 1/1/1 or 6/6/7 in the case of TotSC.
Also are you allowed to quick save, quick load abuse in order to get a successful pickpocket?
The latter one is especially important to me as I believe that a fighter/mage/thief, even more so than a fighter/mage/cleric would benefit from using web and then ring of free action funtimes.
The reason I (personally) would choose FMT over FMC is because of the extra Elven thaco for longswords and bows. Furthermore it allows you to load up on potions of invisibility and easily take care of Sarevok since he is backstabable.
I can definitely see how Sanctuary would be a godsend in the early levels though.
The most intriguing playthrough I've read was not a no-deaths one, but one with 5 level 1 gnomes in IWD starting on insane difficulty. Over the course of the game, they guy would tone down the difficulty when he couldn't get beyond a point and eventually he was on the easiest. But still, it was quite a feat considering he never leveled up!
I tend to overdo the stuff too often though - Shoal on Level 1, Basilisks on level 3, etc XD
As for class, easiest solo class is very much possibly fighter/mage in BG1. An elf, with bow more specifically. Should keep any random variable at distance, although meetings with groups like the Amazons, the Bandit camp leaders and Davaeron (for his two little puppies besides him) scare the crap out of me if I am to focus on ranged.
On the other hand, Bow plus Web = win win!
Damnit, I am really confused... should I go for it or should I eat a cookie?
FMT has the advantage of setting traps. Four spike traps should be able to kill any single monster in the game. Also, time trap can be exploited to create a temporary timestop. Pre-cast mislead and whirlwind attack enemies crazy. The only merits for a FMC in bg2 is better protections (chaotic command, death ward, free action), turn undead and some good summons (deva, elemental). But undead can be easily destroyed (wear the amulet that prevents level drain), and there are already good summons (animate dead - magic resistant skeleton and that lv 7 sword - physical damage resistant sword)
Although it is very cheesy and exploitable, I will rely on the mislead spell for monsters such as mindflayers, liches and dragons. The shield of balduran is reserved for beholders slaughtering.
Fighter/Mage/Cleric:
Probably the best early option, in particular for sanctuary and the ability to heal yourself. Also ends rather nicely due to Draw Upon Holy Might (Even if you get to level 12 as a cleric its still +4 for str, dex and con, which after BG1 Tomes and Machine of Lum the Mad would still allow you to hit 24/24/24 in all those stats. Also allows you to have Armor and Protection From Evil at the start (If I remember correctly FMC only gets 1 mage spell at the start of the game, which means your mage can't cast both).
Fighter/Mage/Thief:
Gives you the ability to backstab casters, which can help a lot versus casters. Also gives you a much wider weapon selection than a cleric (Not limited to blunt weapons). If you want to backstab though you're still limited to the regular thief weapon kit. Perhaps the most useful parts of FMT however are Use Any Item and Time Stop Trap. Furthermore, by using pick locks and remove traps you actually gain xp faster than with a FMC.
Ranger/Cleric:
Allows you to be an all around divine powerhouse. While you lose out on MANY useful mage spells (I'm looking at you Mirror Image) you gain the ability to wear armor.
Fighter/Mage:
Allows you to reach your highest level spells which FMC and FMT both won't give you. If you want extra solo cheddar you can go Kensage.
When you are planning your character, the temptation is to plan them as if you are playing at max level, or close to it, which you shouldn't do.
Some of the suggestion for character choice in the above post seems to be Access to HLAs or level 9 spells.
Realistically however, 80-90% of your playthrough you will not have access to these things. High level content has a tendency to be easier overall anyway, since you have had the chance to obtain some of the cheesier and easy to exploit items in the game, and have nearly limitless resources for purchasing consumables.
This is doubly true if dying is going to set you back a very long way - you have to plan for earlier in the game. What you want is a character build that is going to be competent and powerful through the widest possible range of levels, and then plan your run so that you use some of the more easy to get experience in to game to quickly boost you through any levels that your character is less than effective.
I would try this but I'm to bad in this game. I have to constantly reload after some minutes... maybe I don't level up enough? Good luck! I hope you can do this
It really surprises me how many people choose to go through bg1+2 without a thief
Besides, 8000 XP is a LOT. I just need to hit as many levels before doing the mines and I'll be fine!
I'll be entering with a rather unique character... which might fail dramatically. At any rate, here we go :
It's a straight fighter which on level 2 is going to be dualed into mage. Course of action is actually quite obvious if I may say so myself - go straight to High Hedge, rescue Melicamp, get sleep spell and go pay a visit to Shoal. If sleep spells fail, it doesn't matter, I can always cast on her while she's not agressive!
Wish me luck, I will kinda need it XD
Edit : Also, character's gonna be a Berserker>Mage in Shadows of Amn,... if she makes it THAT far
Quicksaves and re-loads can be used - it is a bit cheesy but of course with having no NPCs to help you out it's sort of a bonus for this challenge. :P
You bet! But you can only export and import from BG1 to BG2 - you cannot do that in BG1, as your character must restart at level 1 if you die.
You can...but trust me, as somebody who has already died over a dozen times is isn't as easy as it looks.
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@Cheesebelly: Nice build, though I imagine having no spells is gonna be really tough for this leg of the run. I've found that having mage and cleric spells has saved my ass on more than one occasion - you better make sure you roll max HP for every level to compensate. :P But best of luck - let's see how far you get!
Now a Fighter/Mage is a wicked build - that's what I almost always go with. It's great to have Mage Spells early on - those spells like Blind, Magic Missile, Protection from Evil and Mirror Image are SO useful to have! You're still doing a dual-class, right? I personally would go with a Multi-Class, since your character is weakest in BG1 and needs the benefit of all his classes earliest on, in my opinion. And of course, without Cleric Spells your Mage can reach Level 4 spells in BG1 and Level 9 in BG2...beneficial all around since my guy can do neither haha.
Woo...time to load up and start kicking ass. Baldur's Gate or bust!
So, the course of action was as follows : Stolen everything I could from Winthrop's inn and bought a composite long bow plus arrows, went out of Candlekeep. As soon as Chapter one kicked, made my way to Melicamp. The wolf died easily, I had to take a rest and had to kill a skeleton, no biggie though. In High Hedge I had my perfect luck going on and Melicamp got turned back to human without any faults (except for his clunkiness of course)
Made my way to Shoal as a Fighter and Dual Classed into a Conjurer since it was available (can't say no to extra spells). Spell picks were Magic Missiles, Blind and Sleep. Through Blind, I was able to Dart down Shoal in a few seconds, which caused me to become Mage 3, Fighter 2 (so I got my fighter levels back, YAY!)
Beregost : Helped Marl and Firebead, killed 4 huge spiders with help of sleep spell (worked wonders, knocked 3 of them down) Arrowed to death Ogrillions, killed hobgoblin with boots of stealth and returned respective quest items, killed Silke by casting Blind on her and arrowing her to death and... RANDOM VARIABLE - during Karlat's fight, my bastard sword broke. WHOOPS! Benny Hill episode ensued as I were running around trying to hit him with an arrow (which was successful at the end without getting hit)
Also killed the Flaming fist mercenary south of Beregost for gratis Plate Male and coolhelm XD
Friendly Arm Inn : By the time I hit this area, I was strong enough to kill the Ogre on my way there and loot a ring of prot. +1. Here I killed Mercguy and returned respective quest items to owners (belt + boots, spider and wine) as well as helped Joia with her Flamedance ring. No biggie!
Basilisks and Mutamin : I am an expert at that area, can do it at level 1, so I had no trouble, except for one time where a Lesser basilisk walked back away from me (meaning that he'd engage in petrifying gaze) but the last second he aimed at Korax instead. Phew. Magic missile barrage works wonders on Greater Basilisks. The group of adventurers kept untouched (or should I say "spared for later"?) KATCHING, 22K XP easily!
Bassilus : It was time to deal with that guy, with my newly bought Hold Person spell. RANDOM VARIABLE - BUG : I chose the dialogue option to kill all zombies and skellies, but it didn't work. I held Bassilus as soon as combat started and then I arrowed everyone else to death with ease.
So far...
One more question: what weapons are you using? Since you aren't using a divine class, you can use whatever you want. If you specialized in large swords, go and kill Greywolf for his sword...or if you have lots of ammo, potions of haste and balls of steel, try and kill Drizzt for his enormously beneficial Defender sword. I wouldn't dare try, I'd probably get creamed...and I can't use his scimitars anyways so.
Now for my status update:
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On the Road Again
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SUCCESS! The bandits didn't stand a chance against my character's might golden hammer. The bandits fell quickly, even the main bad guys in the bandit tent didn't stand a chance amidst the skeletons I spawned and the Magic Missiles that went flying. The buffs I am using (DUHM, Aid) are very useful and help a lot in trying to hit opponents with my single-digit rolls and bad THAC0. I was especially eager to get through the Cloakwood, since at the end awaited me...the BOOTS OF SPEED! At last! No more having to crawl through the game...
The mines weren't a big issue. I did overstep my boundaries a few times with big mobs, but fortunately I remembered where them and any traps were, so I wasn't ever taken by surprise. Since my Cleric has hit level 6, I have memorized a second Animate Dead, giving me a grand total of 12 skeletons to conjure up. Coupled with Haste, they make a formidable set of minions. :P
I had a few semi-close calls in the Mines, as a few times I got pushed down to about 30% health, all during Mage encounters. Davaeorn was a bit tricky, since he once flanked me with a surprise lightning bolt that kind of hurt...His Battle Horrors were also a bit tough, but with Mirror Image and buffs I disposed of them quickly, and I did the same with Davaeorn as well. The spells he has in his chamber rock! I've been waiting to acquire them the whole game.
These are the items and stats that I am currently sitting on at the start of Chapter 5:
^ My inventory is bursting full of items, but otherwise my equipped items are the same. That is set to change, as I am going to go straight for Ramazith's tower, the +4 v. missiles shield, the Helm of Balduran and anything else I can think of. A question: how do you legitimately get the Cloak of Balduran off Quenash? I always stole or pickpocketed it off of her, but I'd like not to have to do that this time around...
^ I've reached my max levels for BG1. Boo.
As it stands, I am currently sitting at the edge of Baldur's Gate and the start of Chapter Five. Let's hope nothing goes wrong - there isn't anything particularly dangerous here (I'll have to keep an eye out in Ramazith's tower though), but now that I've gotten this far I'd HATE to have to re-do everything again. Best of luck!
I don't mind the restart (accidently took armor as a first level spell forgetting there was one right next to Winthrop), but its going to suck that I lose my amazing stats. I have that character exported at Level 1 but I want to see if I can get the same stats or better and do it again. My initial stats were 18/30, 19, 17, 18, 10, 11. I'd really like Max charisma that way I don't have to rest and memorize a friends spell whenever I want to deal with shopkeepers. I'm also trying to decide if I want to go quarterstaff instead of swords first. Probably not worth it.
@Bynary_Fission : I use Large Swords and Bows right now, with one + on Short Swords and Darts (from mage levels). Currently using a Two Handed sword +1 from the area south of Ulcaster, will most probably be using the Bow of Marksmanship and Spider's Bane for most of the game (admitedly, Free Action is a life saver and the only clerical protection from BG1 that a mage doesn't have, and one of the few that a mage doesn't have in BG2 - Protection from Evil protects from charm spells after all! )
I could attempt a Drizzt kill, but seeing that I am a dual class instead of a multi one, I highly doubt I could do it. The THAC0 is very weak for me.
A Fighter/Cleric/Mage can do it with ease though, in Melee. And it's possibly the only class capable of doing it so easily too!
That's true. The reason I went sword first is because you can get the Longsword +2 off Greywolf and you need Flametongue, Sword of Balduran, or The World's Edge (Greatsword +3 from Durlag's) in order to combat the Greater Werewolves on Werewolf Island. Besides I think the first thing I should probably invest in money wise is Robes of the Good Archmagi (even if I plan on doing some evil options in hell I figure starting out as Chaotic or Neutral Good is prolly the best option).
Unfortunately the FMC can't make use of The Defender off Drizzt. I don't think a FMT could solo Drizzt either, even if they used a bow and chugged a Potion of Speed ><
Edit: One of the hardest things about all this is not just Gatekeepering your character ><
Also, F/M/T can rely upon a Storm Giant Potion, something C/T cannot.
So, Drizzt has 96 health. Staff +3 deals 1D6 + 3 damage, which is in fact 4-9 damage. 24 Strength gets +12 damage bonus, meaning from 16-21. For being a level 5 thief you need 30,000 XP (for x3 Backstab Multiplier). So a max damage backstab with a possible critical hit should deal... 126 damage?
...
That can't be right. Perhaps Strength Damage bonus *is* added only after multiplications, so if that's the case, we'd have 9x3x2 = 54 + 12 = 66.
Well, one of these should be correct, I would tend to pick the latter. In any case, without critical hit, 3 backstabs and Drizzt is dead.
And more: How do you gonna survive in BG2 without a thief? Not only traps are deadly in BG2 but the xp you get from them are exremly important.