Just trying to plan my proficiencies ahead of time, since I've never played a fighter/cleric I'm not quite sure what I'm able to do. I'm limited to only the weapons a cleric can use right? What's the max pips I can get in any weapon? Looking at the weapons in vanilla BG + TOSC, I'm considering quarter staff but don't want to rule myself out going two weapon style in BG2 where there's a greater number of real top quality weapons. Will I get enough pips to max out staffs, two handed weapon style, two weapon style and two other weapons, probably flail and hammer/mace?
It's a little tough to answer about weapons profs because reportedly there's going to be a wider choice of weapons available in EE.
Dual-wielding something like hammer/mace, flail/mace, or hammer/flail feels pretty cool for this type of character. Because a cleric can only use blunt weapons, IIRC, you'd be restricted to quarterstaff for two-handed style. And that doesn't sound nearly as fun as dual-wielding.
In the vanilla game there's the war hammers and maces +1 and +2, and flail +1. In BG:EE perhaps there'll be a flail +2? We'll see soon enough!
@SwordsNotWords: children in Candlekeep? really? where? I had always thought of the place a bit like a monastery, ie without families and children not allowed within the compound (bar the obvious exceptions: you & Imoen).
I completely get where you're coming from, there does seem to be an absence of children in Candlekeep. Perhaps they've all just reached adulthood at exactly the same time as charname :P Perhaps families have moved away to safer climes due to the 'impending' war with Amn? Who knows? But heck, as I'm roleplaying it I can imagine children, no not like that...
Never played a half-orc before this so perhaps I'm not best placed to comment but I believe in BG2, half-orcs were supposed to be able to romance Viconia but they messed up the code or something, but I'm pretty sure there was a mod to fix this, which I presume they'll apply to BG2:EE.
Well i know for a fact Half orrcs could not romance anyone in BG2 cause i was a half orc when i played the game and because of that i never new about the romance feature till years later.
From what I gather Dorn is more likely to drag you down the evil path rather than you managing to redeem him. It seems he is thoroughly and unrepentant evil to the core. Good luck with that.
The name you chose sounds good, I like how it could easily be a name that Gorian had given you considering your real heritage.
Morning Star for the win! Since you can't go above 2 stars in weapons, you can diversify more. Anyway, I like the idea of a spiky ball-wielding warrior (Paladin or FTR/CL) to lay the pain on evil-doers everywhere.
Sword & shield (2 stars) and 2 stars in the weapon would be a good start, I think (don't you get 4 stars to work with even though you're dual-class?)
I guess a morning star is basically a mace with a spikey head. And a flail is okay for clerics, all of which are spiked in the BG series. So spikes are okay and maces are okay, hence it should be usable by a cleric.
One last thing before rolling in half an hour (fingers crossed), has anyone come across any quality (half) orc portraits? I've struggled especially for one which would fit this character.
One last thing before rolling in half an hour (fingers crossed), has anyone come across any quality (half) orc portraits? I've struggled especially for one which would fit this character.
There seems to be a lack of quality Half-Orc portraits.
The 4e portrait pack here has a couple I really like that would probably work for your character. I believe they're labelled garm and dakka. They're made for BG2 dimensions, so you'll have to resize them to the new dimensions yourself.
Should be very effective stats for the class, although I do feel a little disappointed in myself, just got a bit greedy and went for effective stats rather than properly roleplaying it, so may roll again at some point.
For the character in a roleplay sense, dexterity should really be the dump stat, and he should have a high charisma if he wants to be a paladin, plus from all the learning he did at Candlekeep you'd think he'd probably have higher than 10 intelligence.
Ah, I love this idea. As I speed through my Assassin play-though I think I'll play a Paladin Half Orc want-be too. Except he shall be Neutral Good and occasionally "smite" good people. Hes struggling with his Half-orc blood lust and being a bhaal spawn on top of that.
It actually sounds pretty awesome. Starting with Cleric Spells + STR 19 makes you super tanky + crazy accurate right at level 1. Very OP and yet very awesome. lol
Hes great for a limited save game run. I like to limit save games to only inns for extra challenge. Not as hardcore as pure no reload but certainly an extra challenge.
I like this idea, I had a similar one when I had a half Orc paladin in IWD 2. On a side note, I've always wanted to play a cleric but I'm partial to swords and find the cleric weapon restriction totally stupid. Did the d&d designers have any idea what these blunt weapons do to a body? You dont bump someone on the head with a mace so they get knocked out for an hour and wake up with a slight headache and a knot on their head. The logic of using "non bleeding" weapons and instead using only weapons that cause massive internal bleeding (and quite a bit of external bleeding too) makes absolutely no sense. Ok rant over lol!
Great role play idea it makes me want to do a similiar character too!
I like this idea, I had a similar one when I had a half Orc paladin in IWD 2. On a side note, I've always wanted to play a cleric but I'm partial to swords and find the cleric weapon restriction totally stupid. Did the d&d designers have any idea what these blunt weapons do to a body? You dont bump someone on the head with a mace so they get knocked out for an hour and wake up with a slight headache and a knot on their head. The logic of using "non bleeding" weapons and instead using only weapons that cause massive internal bleeding (and quite a bit of external bleeding too) makes absolutely no sense. Ok rant over lol!
Great role play idea it makes me want to do a similiar character too!
It is a weird restriction, though it makes sense for a class based game. They did try giving blunt weapons bonuses to hit heavier armor, which I think is included in BG, albeit simplified.
Warning, this build is OP AS ALL HELL though that also means its great for solo/Ironman games.
I think I'll be instead a Half Orc Neutral Good Fighter/Cleric. Not quite Lawful Good because he has the mind set of "doing whats necessary". This is my excuse to add evil characters into my party like Dorn.
My role in the party is to be the tank but being multi-class fighter I'm also a combat beast. Look at my stats:
Name: Ezekiel Isaiah (Got to have have a proper clergy sounding name lol) Portrait: One of the new EE portraits of a man with golden armor. Perfect for this character.
STR 19 DEX 17 (no need for 18 when theres a dex to to get the max -AC DUHM will get me 21 for the next -AC) CON 19 (CON tome and I shall passively regen HP) INT 10 (INT tome will give me 11 but thats just for BG2 vs Mindflayers) Wisdom 16 (3 tomes will give me 19 but the lower spells are most important since I level up slowly) Charisma 8 (I could have made my CHA lower to buff my Wisdom but that doesn't add much. Mostly I keep it at 8 for roleplaying reasons to represent the natural unease people might have with a giant half-orc in full platemail.
The funny part is that this is only a total of 89 points. lol
Note: this is pretty OP. Especially at the start of BG1. It sort of balances out latter on in BG2 but its still pretty OP. One of the best fighters in a game.
Keep in mind the most useful cleric spells are Low Level. Command word die, Protection from evil (works on all enemies which means this spell makes you a super tank), Doom, and Armor of Faith (useful near the end of BG2 but mostly TOB) are all level 1. DUHM and Hold Person (fantastic spell) are level 2 and Holy Smite and Dispel Magic are level 3. Theres not much disadvantage to being a multi-class since the low level cleric spells are amazingly useful.
Proficiency Points:
For BG1 EE, I go with Warhammers and Maces (For that stunning mace) Put two points into Dual Wielding (DUHM means you can wait on getting that 3 point) then get 2 points into Flails for Flail of Ages) then finally add the last point into Dual Wielding.
Is that stunning mace a new BGEE item? Or did I just never find it in the vanilla game?
I considered going neutral good for my character since in a way he does what's necessary as you say, since he wants to redeem 'monsters' I plan on recruiting evil on top of good npcs.
I like this idea, I had a similar one when I had a half Orc paladin in IWD 2. On a side note, I've always wanted to play a cleric but I'm partial to swords and find the cleric weapon restriction totally stupid. Did the d&d designers have any idea what these blunt weapons do to a body? You dont bump someone on the head with a mace so they get knocked out for an hour and wake up with a slight headache and a knot on their head. The logic of using "non bleeding" weapons and instead using only weapons that cause massive internal bleeding (and quite a bit of external bleeding too) makes absolutely no sense. Ok rant over lol!
Great role play idea it makes me want to do a similiar character too!
I suspect it's simply a flavour carry through from the practices of Spanish Inquisitors. These buggers were allowed to 'question' suspected heretics about their faith as long as they spilled no blood in doing so (the Roman Catholic Church forbade this).
Questioning methods of choice included racking, burning, branding, crushing and bludgeoning. Nasty nasty people.
I like your idea a great deal and hope you have a blast. I'm almost done with my Half-Orc Fighter/Cleric (Chaotic Neutral and RPing a Priest of Tempus) and it's been a lot of fun. I tend to spent A LOT of time rolling so his stats came out like so -
(#'s) are after tomes.
Str 19(20) Dex 18(19) Con 19(20) Int 10(11) Wis 18(21) - Gotta love THREE Wisdom tomes in BG/TOTSC Cha 5(6)
Gorion's ward was raised in Candlekeep, a library fortress on the Sword Coast, after the ward was found as a baby by the sage. All Gorion's ward knew about his past was that Gorion was his foster father due to the death of his half-orc parents. Gorion's ward had always been bigger and stronger than the other children of Candlekeep but under the tutelage of Gorion he never let himself become a bully but instead used his physical prowess to protect those weaker than him. Nevertheless, the ward's orc heritage often led to himself feeling as an outsider among the fortress, and while he could defend himself physically, in private he struggled to come to grips with his differences to the other children. This led him to seek guidance from the many knowledgeable scholars of Candlekeep, among them the priests of Oghma and occasionally Tethtoril, the first reader. These wise men aided the ward in his search to find more about his people. The ward's studies of the tomes of Candlekeep led him to the belief that often those who are monstrous are not necessarily evil and that sometimes even those who are evil became that way because of circumstances and misfortune. This inspired the ward to conceive that it is his destiny to take up these misunderstood creatures as his cause, standing up for the monstrous creatures and, when possible, leading them to the light. Inspired by the knights and paladins who would occasionally visit the fortress, the ward modelled himself after them using his natural strength to develop a formidable fighting style, with the aid of Hull and Fuller of the keep guard. Additionally to his growth as a warrior, the priests of Oghma who had told him so many stories, also assisted the ward in developing his spiritual side as both protector and healer.
Race: Half-orc Class: Fighter-Cleric Alignment: Lawful Good
Comments
Dual-wielding something like hammer/mace, flail/mace, or hammer/flail feels pretty cool for this type of character. Because a cleric can only use blunt weapons, IIRC, you'd be restricted to quarterstaff for two-handed style. And that doesn't sound nearly as fun as dual-wielding.
In the vanilla game there's the war hammers and maces +1 and +2, and flail +1. In BG:EE perhaps there'll be a flail +2? We'll see soon enough!
Perhaps they've all just reached adulthood at exactly the same time as charname :P Perhaps families have moved away to safer climes due to the 'impending' war with Amn? Who knows? But heck, as I'm roleplaying it I can imagine children, no not like that...
The name you chose sounds good, I like how it could easily be a name that Gorian had given you considering your real heritage.
Sword & shield (2 stars) and 2 stars in the weapon would be a good start, I think (don't you get 4 stars to work with even though you're dual-class?)
The manual says "May only use non-bladed, non-piercing weapons (war hammer, club, flail, mace, quarterstaff, sling)."
"[Cleric] May only use non-bladed, non-piercing weapons (war hammer, club, flail, mace, quarterstaff, sling)."
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/index_portraits.php
The 4e portrait pack here has a couple I really like that would probably work for your character. I believe they're labelled garm and dakka. They're made for BG2 dimensions, so you'll have to resize them to the new dimensions yourself.
I hope that helps.
Oooh, but now Lemernis has thrown a spanner in the works.
Decisions...
http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&global=1&q=half+orc+paladin#/d2fawky
Orcish enough?
Strength 19
Dexterity 11
Constitution 19
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 18
Charisma 10
Should be very effective stats for the class, although I do feel a little disappointed in myself, just got a bit greedy and went for effective stats rather than properly roleplaying it, so may roll again at some point.
For the character in a roleplay sense, dexterity should really be the dump stat, and he should have a high charisma if he wants to be a paladin, plus from all the learning he did at Candlekeep you'd think he'd probably have higher than 10 intelligence.
What stats would everyone else give the HOP?
He can have a low CHA, he is just naturally disadvantaged in this manner regardless of his wishes.
It actually sounds pretty awesome. Starting with Cleric Spells + STR 19 makes you super tanky + crazy accurate right at level 1. Very OP and yet very awesome. lol
Hes great for a limited save game run. I like to limit save games to only inns for extra challenge. Not as hardcore as pure no reload but certainly an extra challenge.
On a side note, I've always wanted to play a cleric but I'm partial to swords and find the cleric weapon restriction totally stupid. Did the d&d designers have any idea what these blunt weapons do to a body? You dont bump someone on the head with a mace so they get knocked out for an hour and wake up with a slight headache and a knot on their head. The logic of using "non bleeding" weapons and instead using only weapons that cause massive internal bleeding (and quite a bit of external bleeding too) makes absolutely no sense.
Ok rant over lol!
Great role play idea it makes me want to do a similiar character too!
I think I'll be instead a Half Orc Neutral Good Fighter/Cleric. Not quite Lawful Good because he has the mind set of "doing whats necessary". This is my excuse to add evil characters into my party like Dorn.
My role in the party is to be the tank but being multi-class fighter I'm also a combat beast. Look at my stats:
Name: Ezekiel Isaiah (Got to have have a proper clergy sounding name lol)
Portrait: One of the new EE portraits of a man with golden armor. Perfect for this character.
STR 19
DEX 17 (no need for 18 when theres a dex to to get the max -AC DUHM will get me 21 for the next -AC)
CON 19 (CON tome and I shall passively regen HP)
INT 10 (INT tome will give me 11 but thats just for BG2 vs Mindflayers)
Wisdom 16 (3 tomes will give me 19 but the lower spells are most important since I level up slowly)
Charisma 8 (I could have made my CHA lower to buff my Wisdom but that doesn't add much. Mostly I keep it at 8 for roleplaying reasons to represent the natural unease people might have with a giant half-orc in full platemail.
The funny part is that this is only a total of 89 points. lol
Note: this is pretty OP. Especially at the start of BG1. It sort of balances out latter on in BG2 but its still pretty OP. One of the best fighters in a game.
Keep in mind the most useful cleric spells are Low Level. Command word die, Protection from evil (works on all enemies which means this spell makes you a super tank), Doom, and Armor of Faith (useful near the end of BG2 but mostly TOB) are all level 1. DUHM and Hold Person (fantastic spell) are level 2 and Holy Smite and Dispel Magic are level 3. Theres not much disadvantage to being a multi-class since the low level cleric spells are amazingly useful.
Proficiency Points:
For BG1 EE, I go with Warhammers and Maces (For that stunning mace) Put two points into Dual Wielding (DUHM means you can wait on getting that 3 point) then get 2 points into Flails for Flail of Ages) then finally add the last point into Dual Wielding.
I considered going neutral good for my character since in a way he does what's necessary as you say, since he wants to redeem 'monsters' I plan on recruiting evil on top of good npcs.
Questioning methods of choice included racking, burning, branding, crushing and bludgeoning. Nasty nasty people.
(#'s) are after tomes.
Str 19(20)
Dex 18(19)
Con 19(20)
Int 10(11)
Wis 18(21) - Gotta love THREE Wisdom tomes in BG/TOTSC
Cha 5(6)
He's a wrecking ball.
Achtar
Gorion's ward was raised in Candlekeep, a library fortress on the Sword Coast, after the ward was found as a baby by the sage. All Gorion's ward knew about his past was that Gorion was his foster father due to the death of his half-orc parents. Gorion's ward had always been bigger and stronger than the other children of Candlekeep but under the tutelage of Gorion he never let himself become a bully but instead used his physical prowess to protect those weaker than him. Nevertheless, the ward's orc heritage often led to himself feeling as an outsider among the fortress, and while he could defend himself physically, in private he struggled to come to grips with his differences to the other children. This led him to seek guidance from the many knowledgeable scholars of Candlekeep, among them the priests of Oghma and occasionally Tethtoril, the first reader. These wise men aided the ward in his search to find more about his people. The ward's studies of the tomes of Candlekeep led him to the belief that often those who are monstrous are not necessarily evil and that sometimes even those who are evil became that way because of circumstances and misfortune. This inspired the ward to conceive that it is his destiny to take up these misunderstood creatures as his cause, standing up for the monstrous creatures and, when possible, leading them to the light. Inspired by the knights and paladins who would occasionally visit the fortress, the ward modelled himself after them using his natural strength to develop a formidable fighting style, with the aid of Hull and Fuller of the keep guard. Additionally to his growth as a warrior, the priests of Oghma who had told him so many stories, also assisted the ward in developing his spiritual side as both protector and healer.
Race: Half-orc
Class: Fighter-Cleric
Alignment: Lawful Good
Worships: Lathander
Strength 19
Dexterity 11
Constitution 19
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 18
Charisma 10
Weapons Proficiencies:
Sword and Shield Style ++
Spiked Weapons ++