Should Kivan have had the archer class kit?
BG:EE changes Branwen into a Priest of Tempus, since it fits her character perfectly. Following this logic, why wouldn't Kivan be changed into an Archer?
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I'd rather he be kept versatile as non-kitted. That way he can wear stuff like Platemail and fight both up close and from the back. He really doesn't need the help as an archer.
Branwen is also a bit different because she doesn't lose out on anything by being made a Priest of Tempus.
I don't like elves in full plate generally, but I can see that it'd be a good choice if you can use it.
Most players use him as an archer, as in most people use him to fire bows, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's the archer kit.
Even in BG2 Mazzy had grandmastery in shortbows but she wasn't an archer. Valygar was about as proficient in longbows as Kivan, and he wasn't an archer. So on and so forth.
I'd rather see him have more useful weapon choices myself. Halberds are a waste for a ranger...
Stalkers are rangers who blend with the common folk ,specially in villages and urban areas in order to spy and gather information. Canonically, Kivan ain't doing any of those.
BGEE Kivan is a regular ranger who hates and hunts Tazok and other bandits ,he could be of any bow-permitting kit.
NPC project Kivan is an archer through and through, so is his Bg2 mod.
Eh, strictly speaking halberds work as well on a ranger as on anybody else. They just don't make use of the ranger's free two weapon style pips, which didn't exist in vanilla BG1.
Minsc with a 2 handed sword is a fan favorite.
I second that.
And I prefer Coran as a Ranger (Archer) than as a Fighter/Thief.
His very little characterization mostly revolves around hunting and cheating on his girlfriends, so it's not like a ranger wouldn't make sense lore-wise, but gameplay-wise I feel like it would be a major loss to switch his class.
In the NPC project he has dialogues with charname where he talks about his role as an archer back in shilmista . If I recall correctly he also mentions it in a banter with Imoen. Not to mention that he had a magical bow . 'Sides , in his BG2 mod is written by the same person and he is an archer there. But as I said that's according to the mod,canonically he could have any kit whatsoever since nothing is too clear about it.
Insofar as his portrait portrays him using a bow, but plenty of characters use bows and aren't archers.
I think they're grim folk that don't say much and take to the wild more than they take to people.
Hate sounds like a favoured enemy. You've even got the back story of someone who has done the ranger brutally wrong in the past.
EDIT: I thought you were talking about him not being a ranger. I should get more sleep at night and pay better attention. Never mind.
I once had a cleric who's portrait featured a blade!
Branwen is canonically a priest of Tempus, hence applying the kit to her squares with existing game lore. This isn't the case with Kivan.
It wasn't really planned that way, in case you're wondering why other clerics (e.g. Viconia) don't get the same treatment. The Tempus kit was developed for IWDEE since it made sense, story-wise, and then was ported to BGEE. At that point it made sense to simply kit her.
There wasn't really any complicated martial art built around halberds or anything.
Regarding martial arts, they were extensively used in the East, and had very skilled users. I don't think polearms were popular to train with unless you're an actual soldier though, since you can't easily carry around a 10ft weapon in a crowded city, let alone in doors.
BTW, the European halberd likely evolved as much from the bill as the pike, and the bill relies on a hooked blade to work. These were developed for pruning trees actually, and people thought they'd be handy in battle, or at least more practical than most weapons.