So what IS Rasaad good for?

Bigfish

So I'm working on something of a Strategy Guide for Baldur's Gate EE and as part of the section about building a party, I've broken everyone down in to basically front line fighters, archers, arcane casters, divine casters, and thieves, and everyone fits in to one or two roles quite nicely... except Rasaad. He doesn't hit hard, he can't cast spells, he can't do thieving stuff, and you don't want monsters taking a swing at him. I'm trying to figure out just what good is he? The only thing I'm coming up with is loading him up on darts of stunning...

Does anyone else have something interesting they do with Rasaad that makes him something more than dead weight?

HaHaCharade

He will show you justice?

OrlonKronsteen

Hmmm... kiting?

tbone1

With darts he can disrupt spell casters. Really, monks don't come into their own until SoA/SoD.

WarChiefZeke

He makes a good statue in the basilisk lands

PaulGreystoke

He can use the Wand of the Heavens - unless you give him the belt from his quest.

Arctodus

Cast Spirit Armor on him or let him drink one of the defense potion and he'll have a rock bottom AC (potentially better than a fighter with a shield, actually). He'll still be vulnerable to crit, though.

Give him the Big Fisted Belt and he'll deal good damage, even moreso with his Flaming fists ability (and he'll go right through Stoneskins, though not for long).

His Sun Soulray is good at disrupting spell casters and dealing with trash mob (you can hit more than one creature if you aim right).

At level 8, his Greater sun ability, coupled with two rings of fire resistance, let you cast fireballs on him without worries (it will heal him, actually).

With the right gear, he can be a decent scout.

Give him the boots of speed and no one will ever be able to catch him (great for kiting).

Even at lower levels, monks can be useful in BG1. Nothing too spectacular, but useful nonetheless. They need micromanagement, though. At least, Rasaad can be more than a dead weight...

JuliusBorisov

I'd suggest looking at NPC guides by @elminster

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/23248/npc-guide-to-bgee
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/26371/npc-guide-to-bg2ee

cbones9889

My favorite use for him is to send circle around and hit the enemy spell casters/archers from the rear. Normally able to kill a few before the rest of my team is able to engage.

Bigfish

Thanks for the input everyone! I think I'm going to snuggle him in to the ranged weapons category using Darts of Stunning/whatever and Wands of the Heavens.

batoor

You know it's funny that you can probably take a fighter go for unarmed combat into the Dark moon area and still beat them at their own game^^ Well the ones who fight hand-to-hand anyway.

I always chuckle a bit at how easy it is due to your high level..Oh fear the power of the dark moon!

DJKajuru

His special sun soul fire-something ability , available from early levels, has speed 0 and can disrupt enemy mages or anyone whose armor class is too high for a low level party, it is also powerful against undead who are resistant to weapons (skeletons) or should be killed before getting close (ghouls, ghasts).

As for his fighting abilities, it is unfair to judge him from his skill at low levels, I mean, even tough guys like Kagain lack good armor class or thac0 at low levels. Like a close combat fighter, rasaad needs decent AC and strength, so by the time you get to chapter 5 you might have enough money and resources to provide him that with items and potions, just like you'd do with any fighter.

Xavioria

I've used him a couple times to disrupt mages, also used him to knock archers into melee weapons since he moves so fast. I DO feel as if this character should have been introduced SoD and/or SoA since monks are kind of underpowered til then.

WithinAmnesia

Girdle of Spiritual Healing (Unreleased Content)


I forged this Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition item to augment the utility and power of the 'currently' (03/05(May)/2016) under performing early level Monk class (more specifically Rasaad) in the medium of significant party healing and supplementary poison control.

Item Lore / Description -Not Currently Completed-

STATISTICS:

Special Abilities:
- Five times per day allows the wearer to cast Cure Medium Wounds upon a selected target up to a combined total maximum of 70 hit points restored per day
- Once per day allows the wearer to cast Slow Poison upon a selected target

Cure Medium Wounds
(Necromancy)

Level: 3
Sphere: Healing
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Casting Time: 5
Area of Effect: 1 creature
Saving Throw: None

By casting this spell and laying hand upon a creature, the caster heals 14 points of wound or other injury damage from the creature's body. This healing cannot affect creatures without corporeal bodies, nor can it cure wounds of creatures not living or of extraplanar origin. Curing is permanent only insofar as the creature does not sustain further damage; caused wounds will heal—or can be cured—just as any normal injury.

Slow Poison
(Necromancy)

Level: 2
Sphere: Healing
Range: Touch
Duration: Instant
Casting Time: 1
Area of Effect: 1 creature
Saving Throw: None

When this spell is placed upon a poisoned individual, it greatly slows the effects of venom, actually neutralizing all but the most deadly poisons.

Weight: 2

Only Usable By:
Monk

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UnderstandMouseMagic

Absolutely Nothing........Say It Again...........

(sorry couldn't resist)

[Deleted User]

Well, it can distract enemies. A meat shield basically, gives you time to do useful stuff.


Just kidding, I think he's pretty ok, but of course, in BG2 is where he really shines.

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ThacoBell

Garrick > Everyone

tbone1

ThacoBell said:

Garrick > Everyone

*ahem* Tiax would like a word with you.

brunardo

He's good when you get him to TOB...for the sole reason him and Sarevok will likely conflict with a little push from PC and he chunks quite nicely under the deathbringer assault

Nimran

tbone1 said:

ThacoBell said:

Garrick > Everyone

*ahem* Tiax would like a word with you.

Ah, another true believer!

All hail Tiax! Tiax rules all!

Wesboi

A pack mule.

Zaghoul

IMO, going to the snow covered troll infested lands down in the cloudpeaks for his quest. Looks real 'purdy' down there in them thar hills.
Just never fits my parties makeup but I suppose there is a place for all NPC's depending on how you want to roleplay things.

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The user and all related content has been deleted.

Zaghoul

I reckon Rassads LG alignment should drop if he kills a good ranger,asking for help vs evil gnolls, drow or not (if we were playin by the book)

Pokota

Unfortunately, Alignment Shifts have to be scripted in. He can potentially become a fallen monk if you make it a feature of the Sun Soul kit to act more like a Paladin, but he'd still be LG.

Zaghoul

Pokota said:

Unfortunately, Alignment Shifts have to be scripted in. He can potentially become a fallen monk if you make it a feature of the Sun Soul kit to act more like a Paladin, but he'd still be LG.

Now THAT would be good, to have fallen monks. In 1st Ed AD&D if the monk ever lost his lawfulness he immediately lost all his monks powers.

Sunder

Xavioria said:

I've used him a couple times to disrupt mages, also used him to knock archers into melee weapons since he moves so fast. I DO feel as if this character should have been introduced SoD and/or SoA since monks are kind of underpowered til then.

I am so glad they did not wait to add him. 1. He is not exactly alone in the category of underwhelming join-able NPCs. 2. One of the things that do irritate me about the original series is the limit options for NPCs to grow with Charname from the beginning to the end of the series. 3. The characters being join-able are all about role playing, banter, side quests, more realism. If it is just about who is more powerful, then we'd better off creating a 4-6 person party and skip the NPCs all together anyway. 4. The more options for party members the better.....more fun on successive plays to keep trying out different NPCs and party combinations to see how it unfolds. 5. The only monk NPC even available to recruit.

I haven't played a monk other than the one I created for SOA and at level 17 and just getting started in the underdark, he is amazing. That said, I am not sure I'd enjoy a monk as the charname all that much for a full play thru of Baldur's Gate. So I do like the option for playing around with Rasaad at times. As an aside: great character to join a female paladin, and look forward to completing that has my 1st "trilogy run (least I am leaning that way after being level 5 atm & debating that or either my level 4/5 mage/assassin or my level 7 stalker.......decisions, decisions).

Rasaad can be great to pair with a mage or ranged based charname and/or party. While a bit cheesy he is hard to surpass for early game kiting. I have been playing around with trying to use more of a minimal party of 2-4 characters and he is extremely valuable in that capacity.

Allbrother

Scouting and kiting generally. What I did since he was annoying me getting infron't of the entire party, was send him out to explore the map. When he runs into trouble, he kites the monsters back to my firing line of my Archer, Imoen, Kivan and Neera. Nothing takes more than a few steps once it's in range.

TheArtisan

No one's mentioned giving him Relair's Mistake to tide him over for the first few levels? That's been suggested to me before.