Truck it, another character

Riderat

Hey!

I've been off the BG for a while and the nature was calling and I am back, hah. I need some ideas for a playtrough. I have finished the saga with a Berserker->Thief, and Thief/Mage, also finished SoA with an Undead Hunter. After about 6-7 months break, i want to roll another char. Note, that I will probably run with about 3 companions, it won't be a solo run.

Now it seems that I am shifting towards Fighter/Mage (or ->). Which of these seems more promising? I want to do a full run, thus include ToB as well. Any tips on what proficiencies should i go for if i am dualling? I was thinking of a dual wielding fighter with bastard swords (mainly because of the Wolfwares in TotSC) or katanas. Also what would be the best point for dualing? Is it the level 12, when you get 8 pips in specializations?

I was also thinking about rolling Cleric/Ranger, however, I can't figure how well it will perform at the end of the game.

Any input will be appreciated!

P.S. I am pretty much ready to roll any of these bad boys, just want to hear some input what would be more versatile, interesting, powerful etc.

JumboWheat01

Fighter/Mage or various dualclassings of Fighter (Kit) -> Mage seems to be the powergamer's choice. In fact, a lot of your characters seem to be a bit on the "heavy lifting" side. Have you considered a more supportive character, like a Bard? Or a Cleric/Mage? A Cleric/Mage (or preferably, a Cleric/Illusionist,) can still be a powerful character while having a lot of supportive power. And it covers two of the four character archtypes, letting your other party members be a bit more freely chosen.

alceryes

I agree with JumboWheat01. I see a bard, monk, or ½-orc shaman in your future.

Cleric/ranger is also great. Though I can't say how they fare in BGII, I'd imagine they stay a powerhouse throughout the saga. Especially if you make the config file change to unlock ALL the druid spells when the ranger get his spells. This was a bug (read: game engine limitation) in the original BG. Beamdog fixed it but was nice enough to make it a configurable option. From what I've heard, with the druid spells enabled, a high level cleric/ranger is nigh unstoppable.

JumboWheat01

I keep forgetting about a Shaman. They can be very powerful support characters and excellent at making walls.

sarevok57

Riderat said:

Now it seems that I am shifting towards Fighter/Mage (or ->). Which of these seems more promising? I want to do a full run, thus include ToB as well. Any tips on what proficiencies should i go for if i am dualling? I was thinking of a dual wielding fighter with bastard swords (mainly because of the Wolfwares in TotSC) or katanas. Also what would be the best point for dualing? Is it the level 12, when you get 8 pips in specializations?

I would go for level 13, at level 13 you get that extra half attack per round, so if you really want to max out on offensive output I would say that is the level that you dual at,

I do this with my human clerics, give them 13 levels of fighter, than dual them over to cleric, and then I stop gaining levels at level 7 ( for the cleric) then I skip all the way to level 14 so then I don't have to waste any of my proficiency points on level ups

so go for the 13, you will thank yourself later

alceryes

JumboWheat01 said:

I keep forgetting about a Shaman. They can be very powerful support characters and excellent at making walls.

I love that ½-orcs can be shamans - you get to skip right over all that exceptional strength nonsense.
With a pip in axe (melee and ranged) and a pip in single-handed style (take any AC bonus you can get), they make descent fighters for the first few levels. Their sorcerer-like spell mechanics and summons make them awesome supporters too.

JumboWheat01

I always preferred Spear and Two-Handed, I don't know why. Maybe it's because the spear needs more love.

sarevok57

JumboWheat01 said:

I always preferred Spear and Two-Handed, I don't know why. Maybe it's because the spear needs more love.

back in the SoA vanilla days half the time I made a barbarian I would choose spear just for the impaler, that spear just simply kicks butt

Riderat

Oh, i like the idea of the monk. Do you have any tips on how should i build it (which kit to chose) and what kind of party should it be surrounded by? Will it be good at the end game (namely tob, cuz beginning is pretty much cake-walk, and im not that concerned with bg1)?

Shamans, dont really seem my type of thing, nor does the c/m. I cant fit myself in those support shoes.

JumboWheat01

Monks are always very back-loaded classes. You're going to have some trouble in the beginning, but once they start taking off, they REALLY start taking off.

I definitely wouldn't recommend the base monk. It's fine and all, but like with Paladins, the kits really bring out better things. Sun Soul, limited to Lawful Good, is the more offensive Monk, with blasting powers, while Dark Moon, limited to Lawful Evil, is a more defensive Monk, thanks to having Blur and Mirror Image baked into the kit.

I haven't had much experience with the Dark Moon monk, but I've played the Sun Soul one a few times, though never a complete run. It is quite fun.

alceryes

Riderat said:

Oh, i like the idea of the monk. Do you have any tips on how should i build it (which kit to chose) and what kind of party should it be surrounded by? Will it be good at the end game (namely tob, cuz beginning is pretty much cake-walk, and im not that concerned with bg1)?

Shamans, dont really seem my type of thing, nor does the c/m. I cant fit myself in those support shoes.

If you don't mind using EEKeeper, I'd suggest a ½-orc dark moon monk. The 19 STR makes them much more survivable. There's even a cool pic for one -

Riderat

hah, thanks for the input. I really liked the Sun Monk, but it didn't have that 1-hit wonder skill. I took a regular monk, to see how it goes, and when rolling stats, with some 3rd or 4th roll i managed to get 93 hah. Good luck to me he is now at 18/18/18/16/13/10.

But daym, its actually much harder than I had anticipated. His fists are strongest weapons thus far. And boy more often than not he is being the first target of enemy groups due to his speed (he kinda scouts ahead).

I am currently surrounding myself with Imoen, Jaheira (Khalid, got petrified hah. Not that it was my intention, but he did, well better for me), Neera, and Kagain. Im thinking swapping Neera for Edwin and Jaheira for Branwen. Gonna do this as soon as I get to Nashkel.

Maybe there are some nice alternatives for Kagain? He is cool and all, but thus far he is not being super tanky nor he is providing decent damage.

Hah, for a while I had Kivan in my party. But that bloke is completely messed up. He has 2 pips in halberds and 2 pips in two weapon fighting. A weird combination if you ask me.

Anyways, hopefully, i will be able to clear out Nashkel really soon.

alceryes

Riderat said:

hah, thanks for the input. I really liked the Sun Monk, but it didn't have that 1-hit wonder skill. I took a regular monk, to see how it goes, and when rolling stats, with some 3rd or 4th roll i managed to get 93 hah. Good luck to me he is now at 18/18/18/16/13/10.

But daym, its actually much harder than I had anticipated. His fists are strongest weapons thus far. And boy more often than not he is being the first target of enemy groups due to his speed (he kinda scouts ahead).

I am currently surrounding myself with Imoen, Jaheira (Khalid, got petrified hah. Not that it was my intention, but he did, well better for me), Neera, and Kagain. Im thinking swapping Neera for Edwin and Jaheira for Branwen. Gonna do this as soon as I get to Nashkel.

Maybe there are some nice alternatives for Kagain? He is cool and all, but thus far he is not being super tanky nor he is providing decent damage.

Hah, for a while I had Kivan in my party. But that bloke is completely messed up. He has 2 pips in halberds and 2 pips in two weapon fighting. A weird combination if you ask me.

Anyways, hopefully, i will be able to clear out Nashkel really soon.

Good choice in companions and birdbaths
Wild magic can be fun but if you want more power and stability Edwin's got that in spades.
As far as cleric's go, my preference is Yeslick > Viconia > Branwen > Jaheira (keeping Branwen until you get Yeslick).
If you want an alternative to Kagain look no further than Dorn.
Ranger's get the two pips in two-weapon fighting by default, regardless of weapon choice. With some it's very useful. With Kivan it's not.
Truthfully, I find the monk speed 'bonus' to be more of a 'detriment' in a party. I usually remove the effect with EEKeeper. He should be able to walk at a normal pace if he wants to.

Out of curiosity, how often is your stunning fist hitting? I've never gone far with the standard monk.

Riderat

@alceryes ahm. Can't say that I've made a representative research, but it seems that about 30% of hits stun the enemy.

And the speed is all right. I bet that when you have maxed out HiS/MS and someone can cast invisibility on you, monk can be a decent scout.

I kinda followed your advice, and swapped Jaheira for Viconia and Kagain for Dorn. Also, added Edwin. Have to check how it will go. Neera, will probably have to go at some point of time. Im thinking that when I will be able to recruit that drow sorcerer.