My favorite and closest alter-ego would be Cleric/Illusionist with Avenger Druid being in close proximity. I find fighter types pretty boring for charname even if powerful (in some situations) and never ever played or had in party a Paladin of some sort even though I always play good characters. As I use Thieves only for scouting/traps/locks/detect illusions and always have Imoen and Nalia in my team this role is closed to me as well. When we created our Avatars characters back on Bioware forums some online tests showed that I'll be a Neutral Good Blade or Sorcerer and I choose the former as we already had a Mage character. I like that experience - arcane caster with some (not too powerful) melee output and able to handle almost any situation. As a team leader and on RP grounds I always have high Charisma with Strength being a dump stat. Spell choices are usualy defensive and disabling/debuffing/removing bad conditions.
Some kind of F/T, Stalker, T/M or Bard classes mostly. What I want is a kinid of FMT but leveling as a single class, but since that doesn't exist I have to be creative. Lately I realized I want the Thief skills a lot more than I have in the past, so nowadays I've played more variations of thieves, ie T/M or T/I and less bards. The bard with thief skills and a thievery button would be a dream come true. I'd trade the bard song for thief skills in a heartbeat. That would be the ultimate character for me. I've created my own kit (in excel) but since I completely lack modding skills I haven't created it in game yet. It breaks immersion having to exit to eekeeper every time I level to manually add the 'kit' abilities, so I tend to stick to adding kits on MCs etc to simulate the second best option.
I have played pretty much everything over the decades and mostly I have come to love druids, bards and thieves. Utility classes I suppose.
My signature character is a transmuter who only memorises alteration spells and uses evocation scrolls. It is my go to character when I get lost deciding what to do.
Optionally, s/he dual classes into anything. But for sure, transmutation all the way. It is the utility school of magic
My signature character is a blatant cheat that I used to play on BG1 but haven't tried yet on BGEE because I haven't got a game editor installed. She is always called Hope and she always uses this portrait from IWD:
She also always uses the same voice set - the one from IWD that says: "I am prepared. I hope," and "My aim shall be true."
She starts out as a Lawful Good fighter with 10 WIS and 16 CHA and I play her as a knight errant who wants to become a paladin. And once she has got the tomes to raise her wisdom and charisma that is exactly what she does become (coincidentally by this time she has already achieved Grand Mastery in either Long Swords or Two Handed Swords, which is where the cheating comes in).
To be honest, I'll be dawged if I even know Good question. Depends on whatever wild hair the restartitis virus comes up with while playing through BG. ---- Regardless I like to have a good crook and esp a good pickpocket on hand to join when needed.
I am really getting to like the shaman and sorcerer's different way of learning spells and having all spells on hand, so other than a gypsy bard (a favorite), might be hard for me to go back to regular 'pick my spells for the day' caster thing again.
Hmmm, it would appear after my last run, I really like to use summons (esp with Spell Revisions) and be able to buff the summons as well. Given that, I like to get in on a lil melee with said summons, as long as they are taking some of the heat. The odd dagger chucked at the enemy or smack up side the noggin with a club or staff is always nice to add for a shaman, sorcerer, or bard.
If I had to say, probably summons n kitted song use are tops with me.
Mine actually changed for me fairly recently. When I first started playing (I think it was 1998?), Paladin was definitely my signature character. Up close sword & Board and making the coast just a little bit better place. When the EE's came out Ranger and F/M/T were my go to's. But in the last year Bards have utterly won my heart. It's so much fun to be able to interact with the game in so many ways. My dream would be a Ranger/Bard but you know how these things go. Luckily with Might and GUile's Meistersinger (a druidic bard) I can fudge a ranger bard fairly well. Build as a melee fighter and focus on summoning and debuff magic.
I would be a total Mary Sue, or uh, Martin Sue, because I am very specific. Or actually Mary, because I most of the time in RPGs create not me, but my ideal girlfriend. Because I am a weirdo.
That said, the TL:DR real me in BG would be a berserk / warlock*, with a slight tinge of monk. Now, warlocks dont exist in AD&D and anyway it us an illegal combination, but eh who cares.
*No, not the annoying whiny emo kind of warlock like Shinji (but with spells) from NGE but a cool one, like Leezar from Your Highness.
I strongly favor melee classes not only for my PC but even for my choice of companions, because I find the spellcasting systems and playing spellcasting characters in the older D&D editions to be very tedious and exasperating. I also really like having a lot of flexibility with my main character. So my two go-to characters are dual-wielding fighter-thief multi or sword & board paladin.
I've played most things at one point or another, but I think the closest thing to a signature class for me would be Thief, actually. I like being able to perform at maximum capacity all day, unlike spellcasters, and being able to deal out big bursts of damage with backstab, before retreating and hiding in shadows again. As far as I'm concerned, the best defense is a good offence, and the second best defense is not allowing the enemy to attack you in return, which is why I favor thieves and archer rangers.
Versatility is what it boils down to. Whether that's a fighter/mage/thief, a bard variant, a sorcerer, a shaman, a cleric/mage, a swashbuckler... I like a character who can accomplish a wide range of things. I am also quite fond of spellcasting, and it takes a VERY versatile character (like a swashbuckler) to tempt me away from spells for long.
I've decided that I like spontaneous spells vastly more than prepared spells, so sorcerer and shaman are becoming fast favorites of mine. If you could multi-class them together, I would do that in a heartbeat. I would also love to see Favored Soul from D&D 3.5 get converted into the game (a cleric variant who casts like a sorcerer, and they get a few bonuses like elemental resistances to make up for losing turn undead). I put up with prepared spells for bards because bards are so cool, and I put up with cleric/mage (or cleric/illusionist) because I love spells even if it means having to go through all the preparation.
Well, a buffed up Cavalier with a full Durlag's Goblet can outlast Sarevok. And a Wizard Slayer can kite if he actually lands an arrow of dispelling before Sarevok manage to get in melee range.
A wizard slayer can kite him even without arrows of dispelling - one of the slight oddities of wizard slayers is that they can actually use magical boots. The boots of speed give you the same speed as a hasted Sarevok and that makes kiting possible - using the pillars makes getting enough distance for a shot easier than if there were no obstructions.
Martial characters who can stealth (fighter/thief, ranger, monk) can very quickly take Sarevok down by hiding round the pillars and stealth-attacking.
Any fighter with a full complement of potion buffs, i.e. speed, mind focusing, power / heroism (multiple copies give you extra HPs), strength, invulnerability / defense will have a pretty much guaranteed victory without even kiting or using healing.
If you want to make hostile use of traps you can use a green scroll of PfM and trigger repeated skull traps to destroy anyone trying to follow you around .
Most games I'm the typical fighter who runs in without thinking smashing stuff up and worry about the consequences later. Why cast spells when u can charge in and deliver a mace to the face.
Always have fond memories of my gnome warrior pvp on WoW before that game went down hill during WotLK.
For me its always something Efficient...must be the German in me.
why play a Mage if i can be a Swashbuckler6/Mage and remove the need for thief's in my Party. why a Pure fighter if a Fighter/Thief or Fighter/Mage gets the job done better. why a pure cleric if just 2lvl of fighter beef up the class so much.
but if i toss gear pre-planing and meta knowledge out the window and just pick what i think is the coolest it would be a Shapeshifter.....its a bloody werewolf damn it ! i just wish NPC would actually react to it.
A ranger. I still remember making my very first character at my friends house (who bought the old 5 disc set of BG many moons ago that took AGES to install on our old Pentiums), seeing Kivan's portrait and thinking that he looked awesome. I grew up surrounded by bush land as well so the idea of a protective woodsman just stuck with me.
And I loved Rangers even more when BG2 came out and I could choose a ranger that could backstab
I try to mix it up, but in the long-term I'm guessing that Arcane classes take priority. I have done plenty of Sorcerers, specialist Mages, generalist Mages dualed to and from the Thief class, as well as a multi-class Thief/Mage, and a Fighter dualed to a Mage once as well.
I have played several melee characters as well, although not of every class. Still, given the number of playthroughs I have done, the most noticeable omission is probably Cleric. I know I once completed the game with a Cleric/Ranger, but that was well over 10 years ago and I don't remember playing one since..!
I try to mix it up, but in the long-term I'm guessing that Arcane classes take priority. I have done plenty of Sorcerers, specialist Mages, generalist Mages dualed to and from the Thief class, as well as a multi-class Thief/Mage, and a Fighter dualed to a Mage once as well.
I have played several melee characters as well, although not of every class. Still, given the number of playthroughs I have done, the most noticeable omission is probably Cleric. I know I once completed the game with a Cleric/Ranger, but that was well over 10 years ago and I don't remember playing one since..!
i would probably play clerics up and down all day if you could actually choose your favorite deity and wield bladed weapons like in later editions.
When I was younger, I was a big fan of Druids. Not really sure why, maybe it had something to do with me playing Icewind Dale constantly when I was younger, where they were a bit better. Nowadays I tend to a thief of some sort, usually an assassin. Even with the poison weapon changes, there's something so satisfying about landing a backstab, getting yourself out of there and watching the poor bastard die in the text box.
(That is horribly morbid reading it back to myself LOL)
When I was younger, I was a big fan of Druids. Not really sure why, maybe it had something to do with me playing Icewind Dale constantly when I was younger, where they were a bit better. Nowadays I tend to a thief of some sort, usually an assassin. Even with the poison weapon changes, there's something so satisfying about landing a backstab, getting yourself out of there and watching the poor bastard die in the text box.
(That is horribly morbid reading it back to myself LOL)
When I was younger, I was a big fan of Druids. Not really sure why, maybe it had something to do with me playing Icewind Dale constantly when I was younger, where they were a bit better. Nowadays I tend to a thief of some sort, usually an assassin. Even with the poison weapon changes, there's something so satisfying about landing a backstab, getting yourself out of there and watching the poor bastard die in the text box.
(That is horribly morbid reading it back to myself LOL)
Uh, you don’t work the government, do you?
Indeed I do, and I tell all the secrets only to my trusted confidant Jan Jansen.
My primary character has always been a fighter, more specifilcy a Beserker. Stems from me getting BG2 the same time I first started playing tabletop. I was assigned the role of the party's Fighter, and just took that as my defalt class.
Comments
My signature character is a transmuter who only memorises alteration spells and uses evocation scrolls. It is my go to character when I get lost deciding what to do.
Optionally, s/he dual classes into anything. But for sure, transmutation all the way. It is the utility school of magic
She also always uses the same voice set - the one from IWD that says: "I am prepared. I hope," and "My aim shall be true."
She starts out as a Lawful Good fighter with 10 WIS and 16 CHA and I play her as a knight errant who wants to become a paladin. And once she has got the tomes to raise her wisdom and charisma that is exactly what she does become (coincidentally by this time she has already achieved Grand Mastery in either Long Swords or Two Handed Swords, which is where the cheating comes in).
----
Regardless I like to have a good crook and esp a good pickpocket on hand to join when needed.
I am really getting to like the shaman and sorcerer's different way of learning spells and having all spells on hand, so other than a gypsy bard (a favorite), might be hard for me to go back to regular 'pick my spells for the day' caster thing again.
Hmmm, it would appear after my last run, I really like to use summons (esp with Spell Revisions) and be able to buff the summons as well. Given that, I like to get in on a lil melee with said summons, as long as they are taking some of the heat. The odd dagger chucked at the enemy or smack up side the noggin with a club or staff is always nice to add for a shaman, sorcerer, or bard.
If I had to say, probably summons n kitted song use are tops with me.
When the EE's came out Ranger and F/M/T were my go to's. But in the last year Bards have utterly won my heart. It's so much fun to be able to interact with the game in so many ways. My dream would be a Ranger/Bard but you know how these things go. Luckily with Might and GUile's Meistersinger (a druidic bard) I can fudge a ranger bard fairly well. Build as a melee fighter and focus on summoning and debuff magic.
That said, the TL:DR real me in BG would be a berserk / warlock*, with a slight tinge of monk. Now, warlocks dont exist in AD&D and anyway it us an illegal combination, but eh who cares.
*No, not the annoying whiny emo kind of warlock like Shinji (but with spells) from NGE but a cool one, like Leezar from Your Highness.
I've decided that I like spontaneous spells vastly more than prepared spells, so sorcerer and shaman are becoming fast favorites of mine. If you could multi-class them together, I would do that in a heartbeat. I would also love to see Favored Soul from D&D 3.5 get converted into the game (a cleric variant who casts like a sorcerer, and they get a few bonuses like elemental resistances to make up for losing turn undead). I put up with prepared spells for bards because bards are so cool, and I put up with cleric/mage (or cleric/illusionist) because I love spells even if it means having to go through all the preparation.
Martial characters who can stealth (fighter/thief, ranger, monk) can very quickly take Sarevok down by hiding round the pillars and stealth-attacking.
Any fighter with a full complement of potion buffs, i.e. speed, mind focusing, power / heroism (multiple copies give you extra HPs), strength, invulnerability / defense will have a pretty much guaranteed victory without even kiting or using healing.
If you want to make hostile use of traps you can use a green scroll of PfM and trigger repeated skull traps to destroy anyone trying to follow you around
Always have fond memories of my gnome warrior pvp on WoW before that game went down hill during WotLK.
why play a Mage if i can be a Swashbuckler6/Mage and remove the need for thief's in my Party.
why a Pure fighter if a Fighter/Thief or Fighter/Mage gets the job done better.
why a pure cleric if just 2lvl of fighter beef up the class so much.
but if i toss gear pre-planing and meta knowledge out the window and just pick what i think is the coolest it would be a Shapeshifter.....its a bloody werewolf damn it ! i just wish NPC would actually react to it.
And I loved Rangers even more when BG2 came out and I could choose a ranger that could backstab
I have played several melee characters as well, although not of every class. Still, given the number of playthroughs I have done, the most noticeable omission is probably Cleric. I know I once completed the game with a Cleric/Ranger, but that was well over 10 years ago and I don't remember playing one since..!
(That is horribly morbid reading it back to myself LOL)