Skip to content

Anyone playing a jester?

szbszb Member Posts: 220
edited November 2012 in Archive (General Discussion)
Thinking about trying a chaotic neutral jester for my first BGEE play. I always liked bards for roleplaying reasons and this kit seems interesting.

The have no disadvantages and their song seems a lot better then the plain bard song.
As most of the games enemies are fighter type, the song should work on the majority of foes even with the penalty and I can always use spells to lower the saves.

Playstyle would be staying at the back using missle weapons and control type spells combined with the jester song.

It sounds good to me in theory but if someone who played this class could share their experience it would be great.

Comments

  • LadyEibhilinRhettLadyEibhilinRhett Member Posts: 1,078
    Yeah, I played a CN Jester in BG2 once. Personally, I thought it was really fun. Makes for a great crowd control type guy. I mean the kit feels a little less versatile as a whole than a straight-up bard does, but it's a great one to play.
  • eksterekster Member Posts: 234
    I love playing one, and will do it on my next playthrough.

    Only thing to keep in mind is that this class is not for people who absolutely need CHARNAME to be actively fighting and be on the front lines all the time. He will need to stay in the back. And he will not be as kickass as some fighters and mages... and if you're okay with that, the jester can make a huge difference and easily turn the tide of the battle when needed.
  • hajimodottirhajimodottir Member Posts: 63
    edited December 2012
    Let's refresh the thread. I'm playing Jester now, because I wanted to play class I never played before. My party is: Imoen with shortbow, Neera and my Char with the familiar. That combination makes the game really tough. My standard tactic is: Me runnimg and playing around, and Imoen and Neera attacking from distance but as I said: It is tough.
    I consider attaching some warrior to my party. (Maybe Dorn? I want single warrior, not with his wife/which).
    Playing Jester is fun.

    EDIT:
    I discovered a new technique: invisibility (by scroll or potion), then go into crowd of monsters (or whatever you fight with) and play song. Wait while foes kill each other.

    Some people can consider Jesters song useless but I read on other forums that jesters song upgrades and causes other effects like slow or sleep.
    Post edited by hajimodottir on
  • DaelricDaelric Member Posts: 266
    @hajimodottir
    *WHOOOOOOSH*

    Thread: refreshed.
  • SCARY_WIZARDSCARY_WIZARD Member Posts: 1,438
    edited December 2012
    YEP. Doing it right now with the Neera Expansion mod installed. Feels good, man. I love me some crowd control spells, makes fights that should be difficult a lot easier, and I can imagine once I get my hands on greater malison it'll feel even gooder.
    Plans involve the cross bow of speed, and anything to make my Jester a fast-moving target.

    Man.
  • hajimodottirhajimodottir Member Posts: 63
    @Daelric
    Thanks.

    @SCARY_WIZARD
    I'm collecting gold for crossbow of speed. with my rep it costs 12000. Still too expensive for 4 lvl char.

  • leeho730leeho730 Member Posts: 285
    edited December 2012
    Works quite well for an enemy group of 4 or more (those assassins), invisibility and bard song mesh well, I usually wait until fighter type guys stray from the group and pick them one by one and while waiting for spell casters to get confused. It's fun. May not have worked well in BG2 due to everyone having low saves but in BG1 it works quite well, I mean, even mighty Loup Garou have saving throws vs. spell of 12-14... They need to roll 10 or better...

    There are tough-to-confuse enemies but their numbers are rather limited: Tazok, Sarevok, Drizzt, Shandalar, Davaeorn, Denak the Red Wizard (3, although I think it's a bug and should be around 13) etc and bard song conveniently ignores magic resistance... most enemies seem to have saving throws vs. spell around 12-19 so yeah, it works rather well... And although duration is short (7 seconds), enemies have to make saving throws every round... Can't complain much considering the fact that Jester can cast it from level 1 and once Jester can cast invisiblity from level 4 and onwards, it's even more fun... and in BG1 enemies do not actively search for hidden enemies...
    Post edited by leeho730 on
  • Oxford_GuyOxford_Guy Member Posts: 3,729
    edited December 2012
    hajimodottir said:

    @Daelric
    Thanks.

    @SCARY_WIZARD
    I'm collecting gold for crossbow of speed. with my rep it costs 12000. Still too expensive for 4 lvl char.

    is this the cost *after* having your Jester cast the Friends spell (+6 Charisma) on him/herself? If not, could be cheaper after that. From Charisma 20 (which with Friends a Bard can easily achieve) the cost is only 75% of base* (possibly even less if you have a high reputation, as this also reduces shop prices).

    * see: http://playithardcore.com/pihwiki/index.php?title=Baldur's_Gate:_Races_and_Stats#Charisma

    Later on in the game the Heavy Crossbow of Accuracy would be very nice for a Bard, as you can get off a shot (preferably with some good ammo) that is almost guaranteed to hit and then resume bard song before it fades.
  • RhomkinRhomkin Member Posts: 3
    I know this thread is a little old - but, I figured I'd put in my two cents.

    I enjoy soloing with the Jester / Wild Jester (if you've downloaded the custom kit from the RPG Dungeon Kit Pack). After you level him to 20-24, it's fun to play the rest of the Saga with one or two other party members. My party was pure Chaotic Neutral: CHARNAME, Haer'Dalis and Jan Jansen.

    I recommend the Robes of Vecna (ultra fast spell-casting and the goofy colors are perfect), AC3 Bracers / Bard Gloves, Ring of Kangaxx, Celestial Fury + Dak'kon's Zerth Blade, and Cloak of the Sewers. I placed three slots into Dual-Weapons, and another into Katanas. Your character can now be invisible at any time, confuse the hell out of enemies before fighting, cause major damage with his instant spell-casting, and mop up enemies with the Ring's Improved Haste + Celestial Fury.
  • dementeddemented Member Posts: 388
    Threads like this one have made me see the awesomeness of Jesters so I'm planning to play BG: EE with one. Before I do, I have a few questions.

    1. I've heard that Improved Bard's song deletes Jester's song if taken. Is this still true in the enhanced edition?

    2. What race would you suggest for a Jester (Elves seem to be the best with a 20% pickpocket bonus, but for some reason aren't allowed to be bards).

    3. How useful is a Jester in the later parts of SOA and TOB? I'm not into powergaming, but I still want my character to be relevant to the party.

    4. Are Jesters the ultimate Spoony Bard?
Sign In or Register to comment.

2024 Overhaul Games, a division of Beamdog. © 2024 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Baldur's Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, Baldur's Gate, Wizards of the Coast and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries, and are used with permission. Hasbro and its logo are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. and are used with permission. © 1998 BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. BioWare, the BioWare Infinity Engine and the BioWare logo are trademarks of Bioware Corp. Black Isle Studios and the Black Isle Studios logo are trademarks of Interplay Entertainment Corp. Atari and the Atari logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.