To be honest, I like Gnome Illusionst/Thief. Improved Invisibily, Improved Haste and go (back) stabby stabby. I imagine a leprechaun Bill Burr going on a psycho-serk shouting POW POW, HOE YOU LIKE THAT LADY, POW POW POW, HOW ARE YOUR CUPCAKES NOW, POW POW POW
My personal default is a neutral good female wizard with pale skin, bright blond hair, a cool hat, blue clothing and an overall cute aesthetic. She is usually Divinator if possible and tries her best always. Pacifist if possible, always tries to mediate and wants to get along with everyone.
For years, I'd always roll a cavalier, usually with a two-hander. No matter how many other classes I might try, the rerollitis would kick in and I'd be back to a frontline paladin. I really liked the idea of the Sarevok fight being a bit of a mirror match; it just never felt right to have a utility class going into that final showdown.
That also reflects my general playstyle; I'm not tactically gifted and tend to just charge in headfirst. No SCS no-reload attempts for this guy.
I've lurked on the forums for a while, but had to signup just to be a part of this cool discussion! ; )
I recently came back to BG, owned the original back in the day (ALL THOSE DISCS!). I always played a Bard in my playthroughs back then, and after not playing for who knows how long, I'm enjoying another playthrough with....A BARD!
Back before I quit playing BG2 (having never beat it) I remember I was playing a Jester and that was the most fun I'd had. So now I'm playing one throughout BG1 and I remember why the Jester was my fave.
I love bards for their supportive role and jack-of-all-trades ability. I am similar to this description in life. The Jester however allows me to tap into something a bit more...well evil is not really what I'm looking for but perhaps, mischievous.
I play him as the leader,Chaotic-Neutral, (I consider myself the leader type but of the Neutral Good side of thinking) whose main responsibility is to cause mismanagement (Im also the management type) in each encounter. We can call it crowd-control I suppose for lack-a-better term. You can often find him chugging invisibility potions to scope out the scene and identify the major threats, following up with a casting of glitter dust, playing a round of his hilarious Jester's Song to further debuff the fools, before throwing darts into the jugular of his victims, or crushing the disoriented mage over the head with a club!
I could continue this forever, but back to the point....IRL I'm a Bard/Loresinger, but in my mind I long to be the Jester!
Actually, playing a CN Bard has one addendum. You get to have a cat familiar.
I also enjoy bards. Ever since I played my first IE game, IWD1 in 2001, I always had a bard in those teams. In BG1&2 are not as useful, but I did finish the game twice with a bard.
Of course, bards are in IMO far better in IWD1&2 and in BGs I only used non-kitted bard or skald. I don't like Blades.
Acrher. I tend to play archers in games in general. It's very convinient to shoot enemies before they get close to you (unless they got range weapons, too)
The game just can't handle me, the entirety of my playthrough literally involves me trying to cause as much chaos as possible. I still remember when I broke my game, posted about it here and no one could explain it.
It would be a mix between Fighter-Mage and Paladin. Combat-wise, I like mixing up and switching between melee, archery and magic to get the job done in combat, but quest-wise I always like to choose the options that do the most good. Just like I would want to do in real life, but am restricted in. I can do in a game what I really can't do here on Earth and that is save the world from injustice. Gaming, especially playing rpg's, is my exhaust valve for frustration with the real world. Waive a sword and spells to save the world, that's me. Fighter-mage-paladin dual class it is then, my signature class, even though AD&D doesn't allow it.
In BG2, CN Dwarven Berserker drunk on cocktails of potions is what I do best
In a lot of other games I most enjoy playing a stealthy dual-wield backstabbing human rogue.
PnP I used to play human mages a lot but that's a long time ago now.
I've never liked playing any divine caster type classes. Even now, clerics/druids/paladins etc do nothing for me. Maybe it's the deity/religion bit that doesn't work for me - my characters are too free-willed and want to do things their own way (must be an extension of my own personality!)
Human bard or elven wild mage. No other options. At least in BG1 and BG2.
If we're talking IWD and IWD2, and most other fantasy RPGS, I'm most likely to set my party leader as a divine caster, usually a human but sometimes an elf or other race. In order of most to least frequency: Paladin, Cleric, Ranger, Druid. The only major exception to this rule was the one time in IWD2 I started out with an elf ranger in the lead but before we left Targos the tiefling necromancer had become the permanent party leader and stayed that way the entire playthrough.
If I am not a divine caster in any game I will likely default back to mage or bard.
This is a good measure of my tabletop behavior as well, unless you stick me with a DM who lets me play a githzerai monk because given the option I WILL play a githzerai monk. The only thing that's kept me from doing that in IE games is the absence of the option.
My go-to RPG fantasy RPG character in Baldur's Gate
Actually, it's some variation of this in MOST fantasy settings.
Lady Arveene Dragonspear Human Female Paladin Lawful Good
Always more than a little sarcastic, including to superiors.
I'm a Cavalier in BG, but that's only because I don't like how Inquisitor is implemented. In reality, I'd like to be a Paladin of Mystra, and still get my priest spells + some arcane spells.
Preferred weapons are Greatsword/Two-Handed Sword, Spear and Warhammer. With some longsword to spare.
My default evil character is prolly a Human Female Blade, dual wielding either longsword shortsword or dual longswords.
And finally, since the Paladin/Wizard combo is impossible in most high fantasy. My default arcane caster, is pretty much a wannabe War Wizard, Specialist Mage (Invoker). I've considered trying to get a few points in fighter, just to give it some longsword skill. This character can be either male or female, but tends to gain the moniker "Walkingzippo or The Walkingzippo"
The paladin/ wizard can be approximated by Might & Guile's gallant. A scroll- reading fighter with an aura to help allies.
I blame Icewind Dale 2 here. It spoiled me with it's Paladin of Mystra option. And the nice thing about how IWD2 handled that combination, is that it was actually kinda hard to make yourself overpowered stat wise, if you wanted to be halfway decent as a paladin and as a Wizard.
Honestly, I'd even be down for Inquisitor over Cavalier, as Dark Wizards are even worse than Dragons and Demons to a degree. But I can't really see a Paladin without the upper level priest spellcasting.
Chaotic Neutral Mage/Thief - Probably an elf with a keepered in kit rather than playing as a gnome (which is for powergaming only).
Sneaky kleptomaniac that wanders around everywhere on a whim doing pretty much anything possible not to advance the plot while accumulating Real Ultimate Power. Finishes up trying to do everything and does a pretty decent, but not perfect, job of unnecessarily emulating the roles of party members while those party members are standing right there in the party for no reason except to show that it can be done.
Comments
Belkar is the sexy, shoeless god of war of D&D.
That also reflects my general playstyle; I'm not tactically gifted and tend to just charge in headfirst. No SCS no-reload attempts for this guy.
...basically...Half-Orc or Human Thieves or Fighters, Lawful Evil aligned.
I recently came back to BG, owned the original back in the day (ALL THOSE DISCS!). I always played a Bard in my playthroughs back then, and after not playing for who knows how long, I'm enjoying another playthrough with....A BARD!
Back before I quit playing BG2 (having never beat it) I remember I was playing a Jester and that was the most fun I'd had. So now I'm playing one throughout BG1 and I remember why the Jester was my fave.
I love bards for their supportive role and jack-of-all-trades ability. I am similar to this description in life. The Jester however allows me to tap into something a bit more...well evil is not really what I'm looking for but perhaps, mischievous.
I play him as the leader,Chaotic-Neutral, (I consider myself the leader type but of the Neutral Good side of thinking) whose main responsibility is to cause mismanagement (Im also the management type) in each encounter. We can call it crowd-control I suppose for lack-a-better term. You can often find him chugging invisibility potions to scope out the scene and identify the major threats, following up with a casting of glitter dust, playing a round of his hilarious Jester's Song to further debuff the fools, before throwing darts into the jugular of his victims, or crushing the disoriented mage over the head with a club!
I could continue this forever, but back to the point....IRL I'm a Bard/Loresinger, but in my mind I long to be the Jester!
I also enjoy bards. Ever since I played my first IE game, IWD1 in 2001, I always had a bard in those teams. In BG1&2 are not as useful, but I did finish the game twice with a bard.
Of course, bards are in IMO far better in IWD1&2 and in BGs I only used non-kitted bard or skald. I don't like Blades.
The game just can't handle me, the entirety of my playthrough literally involves me trying to cause as much chaos as possible. I still remember when I broke my game, posted about it here and no one could explain it.
Also trying to be a dragon
In a lot of other games I most enjoy playing a stealthy dual-wield backstabbing human rogue.
PnP I used to play human mages a lot but that's a long time ago now.
I've never liked playing any divine caster type classes. Even now, clerics/druids/paladins etc do nothing for me. Maybe it's the deity/religion bit that doesn't work for me - my characters are too free-willed and want to do things their own way (must be an extension of my own personality!)
Arrows of Dispelling, Arrows of Explosion, Potion of Invisibility (as many as possible) and Staff of Striking.
Too bad the Thief Stronghold in BG2 is so lame.
If we're talking IWD and IWD2, and most other fantasy RPGS, I'm most likely to set my party leader as a divine caster, usually a human but sometimes an elf or other race. In order of most to least frequency: Paladin, Cleric, Ranger, Druid. The only major exception to this rule was the one time in IWD2 I started out with an elf ranger in the lead but before we left Targos the tiefling necromancer had become the permanent party leader and stayed that way the entire playthrough.
If I am not a divine caster in any game I will likely default back to mage or bard.
This is a good measure of my tabletop behavior as well, unless you stick me with a DM who lets me play a githzerai monk because given the option I WILL play a githzerai monk. The only thing that's kept me from doing that in IE games is the absence of the option.
Actually, it's some variation of this in MOST fantasy settings.
Lady Arveene Dragonspear
Human Female
Paladin
Lawful Good
Always more than a little sarcastic, including to superiors.
I'm a Cavalier in BG, but that's only because I don't like how Inquisitor is implemented. In reality, I'd like to be a Paladin of Mystra, and still get my priest spells + some arcane spells.
Preferred weapons are Greatsword/Two-Handed Sword, Spear and Warhammer. With some longsword to spare.
My default evil character is prolly a Human Female Blade, dual wielding either longsword shortsword or dual longswords.
And finally, since the Paladin/Wizard combo is impossible in most high fantasy. My default arcane caster, is pretty much a wannabe War Wizard, Specialist Mage (Invoker). I've considered trying to get a few points in fighter, just to give it some longsword skill. This character can be either male or female, but tends to gain the moniker "Walkingzippo or The Walkingzippo"
Honestly, I'd even be down for Inquisitor over Cavalier, as Dark Wizards are even worse than Dragons and Demons to a degree. But I can't really see a Paladin without the upper level priest spellcasting.
Sneaky kleptomaniac that wanders around everywhere on a whim doing pretty much anything possible not to advance the plot while accumulating Real Ultimate Power. Finishes up trying to do everything and does a pretty decent, but not perfect, job of unnecessarily emulating the roles of party members while those party members are standing right there in the party for no reason except to show that it can be done.
- Cut down trees
- Wear high heels
- Suspenders
- And a bra
And perhaps hire six members of the RCMP to follow you around, singing harmony.OTOH, this will be possible in NWN, IIRC.