Human Single class-Thief
Velkir
Member Posts: 70
Now Iv been reading up a bit and I know its not the "optimal" thing to do to single class a human but I would still like to get some pointers on how I could make this work better then attempting to do it as my newbie self.
Good pointers would be gear, group composition and tactics
And yes it is simply for rping reason that i want to play single class human Thief
Good pointers would be gear, group composition and tactics
And yes it is simply for rping reason that i want to play single class human Thief
0
Comments
You may prefer a straight thief for RP reasons, though.
Single-weapon fighting is good for thieves who want to backstab, as doubles the critical hit chance with the first pip and improves AC by one for each pip. Given the paucity of magic bucklers and that buckers aren't very good anyway (not missile *or* piercing damage protection bonuses, unless using the Sword and Shield weapon style, which IMHO is not worth it).
If you decide to dual-wield and backstab, be careful, as its the fastest weapon that is used to backstab, which might be the one in your off-hand (if, say, using a longsword in the main hand and a shortsword or dagger in the off-hand), in which case it would be the off-hand that tries to make the backstab, which could give you -4 or worse THAC0 and may not be your best weapon either.
Thieves can only backstab with melee weapons and only those a thief can use (a point worth remembering if ever playing a fighter/thief or cleric/thief, or a dual-class, for examples) i.e. daggers, short swords, long swords, scimitars (and ninja-tos etc.), clubs and quarter staves
BTW I know you said you wanted to play a human, but elves and halflings arguably make the best thieves, as can have 19 Dex, elves get +1THAC0 with *all* swords (including scimitars...) and bows (not crossbows), halflings get +1THAC0 with slings (and thieves need all the help they can get to hit at higher levels, as have poor THAC0 progression), elves also get 90% resistance to charm and sleep spells, and both get good bonuses to thieving skills.
Half-orcs can be good if wanting to cause maximum damage, as can have 19 starting strength, though I would still recommend going for 18 starting strength if playing an elf (halflings can only have 17) as there is something in the game that can permanently increase your strength to 19, which is *much* better for thieves, which don't benefit from 18/xx Strength like fighters can.
Humans can, of course, dual-class - from a power-gaming perspective it can be worth taking 3 levels of fighter (or even the Berserker kit, though it reduces your ranged weapon potential), as you get five weapon proficiency point before duelling, the possibility to put proficiency points into weapons a thief can't normally use (e.g. long bows) and the possibility to specialise in weapons, whereas a normal thief can only put one point into each weapon proficiency/style. They also would benefit from the extra HP, ability to use fighter-only potions, use of helmets (preventing critical hits) and all shields and heavy armour, if they have the required strength (though can't use most thieving abilities when wearing heavy armour). All this for very little downside long term, as those first three fighter levels don't take many XP. BTW if duelling, before you get your fighter levels back *don't* put any proficiency points into anything you've put points into as a fighter, as you will lose them. It's safe to do so after you get your fighter levels back (at level 4, in this example), however, in fact you can even put more points into something you've already put pips into, going all the way up to Grand Mastery (though you won't have enough proficiency points to do this until BG2).
Thieves are fun BTW!
You'll want to make sure to get proficiency with a ranged weapon at the start along with a melee weapon.
Shortbow and Crossbow are both very good. The best thief dagger in BG1 is the Dagger of Venom since you can backstab with it and have a good chance of poisoning your target. The initial strike might kill a mage and the poison will keep him from casting magic as the damage will interrupt his casting. The staff of striking is the best backstab weapon overall. It's like a +3 Weapon that expends charges whe you hit with it. So multiplying the damage with a backstab gives you the best use of it.
For skill points, throw all your points into Open Lock when making your guy. That will get you near 100 which will let you open most locks in the game (including the ones in Candlekeep with some hidden loot). You can recruit Imoen right outside of Candlekeep. When she hits level two dump all her points into Find Traps. That will give your party almost maxed out Open Locks and Find Traps between the two of you. At that point you can probably dual class Imoen into a mage so you get her thief skills back with a quickness before you hit any traps you really need to disarm. With two levels of thief Imoen only needs three levels of Mage to gain back her thief stuff.
Now with:
PC (Thief)
Imoen (Thief/Mage)
You have your thieving covered. You need a fighter type or two. Another mage would be good. And you'll probably want a cleric.
Find Traps and Pick Locks soft cap at 100. You can raise them as high as you want but there aren't any traps or locks worse than 100 difficulty and thief skills wrap around at 251 so don't raise any higher than 250.
Two mages for back up... Edwin, Xan would be my choice. Edwin gets most spells, Xan gets a big sword.
A cleric for healing... Viconia is my choice, but Jaheria will do in a pinch.
You do not need another thief as YOU are the thief. You should actually carry a bow early on and backstab later, when your stealth ranks / invisibility becomes available.
This I believe would be optimal near game end...
At the very beginning you can share thieving responsibilties with Imoen and choose a stat to specialise in. Imoen usually becomes my open locks and disarm traps gal... While I become the stealth and spot traps man.
An archer is also useful when THACO is low at the start and wading in is not a good idea... Kivan, Coran and Khalid come into play here, although Khalid will run away alot and Coran is late in the game.
Personally go multi or dual for a more balanced thief (They do level up fast in BG2 and ToB, past lvl 20 benifits drop... multis get HLA's a lot more early not following the normal rules of past 20 to get them)
But roleplaying a thief is fine... You must have grown up in Candlekeep robbing all those Nobles looking for an education! Shame you never were caught and forced into a fight or read any of the books around you to become a mage... That's how I roleplay it
Boots of Stealth
Shadow Armor
Short Sword of Backstabbing (fancy name for Short Sword +3)
Eagle Bow OR Light Crossbow of Speed
Kiel's Buckler
Cloak of Non-Detection
Manual of Quickness and Action
I would place pips in:
Short Sword
Bow OR Crossbows
Long Sword
Single Weapon Style
Think of swashbuckler as a fighter/thief without the leveling penalties. IMO, for a pure thief and first time player, this is the route to go. Also, if you do end up deciding later on to dual-class, say in BG2, the swashbuckler will be a much better base to add another class onto. Almost every class can benefit from the bonus AC and bonus to hit and damage.
Swashbucklers need 2 speed weapons (no melee ones till BG2 (3 total), and they're only +2 (except the monk one that requires UAI which is +3 with a chance for poison)) to even begin to compete with a F/T..sure you level faster but your base number of attacks and thac0 still suck, you can't backstab, and they had a much higher str (most likely) for most of BG1, and if you dual-low enough to get your abilities back in a timely manner, you're barely more then a thief anyway, except you can't whip out a 3-4X backstab for lulz if you want to)