Next Charname suggestion?
ElysianEchoes
Member Posts: 475
Hi guys.
I've played my shadow dancer from BG1, SoD, and BG2 up to the fish people, and I've started growing bored with it. The One Gift Lost barely touches anything, now, and backstabbing has gotten tedious.
So, I'm looking for another character to try while I take a break from the shadow dancer. I tried a berserker, but was bored with that before nashkel.
I have a hard time with the npc spellcasters I've used. I stare at their spellbook at a loss. I've tried reading spell guides, but I guess I just don't have the head for it.
What might you suggest for someone like me?
Thanks in advance.
I've played my shadow dancer from BG1, SoD, and BG2 up to the fish people, and I've started growing bored with it. The One Gift Lost barely touches anything, now, and backstabbing has gotten tedious.
So, I'm looking for another character to try while I take a break from the shadow dancer. I tried a berserker, but was bored with that before nashkel.
I have a hard time with the npc spellcasters I've used. I stare at their spellbook at a loss. I've tried reading spell guides, but I guess I just don't have the head for it.
What might you suggest for someone like me?
Thanks in advance.
1
Comments
Some ideas anyway:
- A fighter/priest of some variety. Spend your spell slots on buffs and healing, the buff up and wade into battle. After battle, heal the party. The cleric and druid spell lists are a lot less intimidating than the mage lists, and selecting spells to go with this playstyle is fairly simple.
- Paladins and rangers. Mainly a warrior, but just enough special abilities and spells to spice things up.
- A bard. You've got spell slots, but you don't actually need them to succeed. The kits are nice here too; blades for direct combat, skalds if you'd rather sing all the time and seriously buff your party, jesters for offensive song.
- A big enough party is going to have a wide range of options, no matter what any one character is. Plan a party rather than just a single character, and cover all of the standard roles. Recruitable NPCs are preferred, but if there's a role you can't fill that way, just hit the "create party" button and start off with two or more characters.
My highest-level party has lots of spellcasters - only the fighter/assassin protagonist doesn't have spell slots of some kind. And then, I hardly use most of those slots. Most of the time, it's plain attacks that kill everything. Spells are there to deal with the tougher challenges, not to consume all of a character's actions. Even Aerie, with level 7 cleric spells and level 9 mage spells, spends a lot of combat rounds just attacking with a sling or flail.
So, that's one way to handle a spellcaster - ensure they can do something useful in combat, and only use the spells when it's a tough encounter you need that extra edge for. When you do - well, there are a lot of spells that you can just win an encounter with straight up. Prepare a variety, and later change things up to prepare more of whatever you found useful.
Most of the later game spells have analogs at lvls 1-4 so once you learn the ropes there you kind of get a sense for how to use the more advanced stuff, but there are also some really cool high level spells that do really unique things, and once you've played around with those it makes it kind of hard to go back to a basic fighter or rogue type. Each spell level achieved as a caster has a couple dozen new things on offer, whereas other character types sometimes have to advance like 5 or 10 lvls before they gain a new game changing ability.
There are few workhorse combat/utility spells that are really useful and others that are more like one offs.
For Mages I think Sleep and Blindness are probably the most potent combat spells at lvl 1 along with Minor Drain to interupt other spellcasters. Invisibility and Horror at lvl 2. Lvl 3 spells are all pretty major especially Holding and Haste, Skull Trap and Fireball etc. When you get to higher character lvls many lower level spells become really potent, classic examples being Magic Missile or Chromatic Orb, which aren't that impressive at first but become really legit as you advance to higher levels.
For Clerics at lvl1 Command is by far their most powerful spell in my view. You can drop most humanoids/monsters to the ground with it, and its pretty close to instantaneous for disruption purposes. At lvl 2 holding is major. Its not as fast as the mage spell of the same name, but you get access to it sooner which can be a big game changer in group combats against humanoids. An example would be using command to drop an enemy spellcaster before they can get off their first spell, then using holding to freeze enemy tanks or archers while your team is smashing about. At Lvl 3 you get Animate Dead which is the workhorse summoning spell for the early game because skeletons are immune or resistant to many kinds of damage and you can use them in slick ways with area of effect spells like the clouds, that might otherwise prevent melee with your usual companions.
Druids are somewhat less impressive early on, but make a huge jump at spell lvl4 when they get access to the Woodland Being. That summon comes with a whole host of really useful spells at the ready including Holding, Hold Monster, Charm and Mass Healing. It makes Druids basically the best healers in BG1. At spell lvl 5 they get Insect Plague which is one of the most savage disruption and DPS style spells in the whole game. It can shut down groups of casters and lots of enemies with immunities that would otherwise be a pain to deal with, up to six at a time.
Anyhow, not sure if that's helpful, but might be worth checking out a caster for Charname even if its been a struggle to manage spellcasting companions. Something about having the protagonist in that role made it more feel more accessible, or at least that was my experience in early days. Since I was kind of like you and not really knowing what the hell to do with all those spells. But it gets easier as you go along and definitely opens up a different style of game once you get the hang of it.
Best
Elk
@Black_Elk , thanks for the easy to take in spell guide. Certainly will get me through BG1 again. I think I'll only recruit one other spellcaster npc, and follow your ideas with one priest and one mage.
Which do you guys think will play better for me, a dwarven fighter/cleric or a half elf fighter/druid? And which mage character to take in BG1 or BG2? I've barely used mages, ever, and my shadow dancer only has a mage because Imoen.
The whole wild magic business is very silly (for me at least!) and it's just one more thing to add that can go (badly) wrong, when there's no need for that! Unless you're prepared to reload if something awful happens!
(Even if I like Neera myself, but I only ever used her once to full BG1 completion... and never even once on BG2.)
As for mages, ofc it's Xzar (Necromancer) which is good, Dynaheir (Invoker, extra spicy fire balls, lighting and cone of colds!) is good, Xan (enchanter, extra spicy Horrors, Emotion, Charm and Chaos) is good, Edwin good (Conjurer, great for spamming Glitterdust! but he conflicts with Minsc/Dynaheir unless you do a specific thing.) EDIT: Mostly focusing on the early accesible ones... as there's Tiax and Quayle too, but way later (they're multi-class, though.)
I normally go some sort of PC mage myself (Fighter/Mage or the like) and dual Imoen ~L4/5, so one extra mage is enough for all needs and purposes, but even if you pick no extra mage, you can make do with only two by the end of the game, unless you're playing SCS, on which having a high-level mage is kinda required, sadly.
As for Fighter/Cleric or Fighter/Druid... there's a Fighter/Druid early in game, but the only Fighter/Cleric NPC available is late game sadly... just in case that could help make you decide.
EDIT: as corrected by @jmerry below, Horror is for Xzar
All that said Fighter/Cleric might be more fun in the end. Since Dwarves can get monster status with their constitution bonus and saves, Hammers and Flails are legit in both games, and the higher level Cleric spells have a lot to offer. Even if you are mainly going heals/buffs to enhance your fighter class some of those late game summons are insane, and you'll be able to raise dead eventually to round out your role for the rest of the gang.
Either choice will probably be a bit simpler to ease into than like a straight mage would be, since you'll still have solid combat cabities and access to all the best armor/helms/shields etc. Also a bit more flexibility on alignment if that's something of interest to your playstyle.
That list isn't entirely accurate; Horror is a Necromancy spell so it gets a boost with Xzar rather than Xan.
Also, the most important spells that get better with Dynaheir casting are Web and Stinking Cloud. Use those with an archery-heavy party, and a lot of the hard encounters in BG1 get easy. Enchanter versus Invoker is actually a pretty annoying tradeoff; they each get one set of disabling spells improved and lose access to the other.
On Fighter/Cleric versus Fighter/Druid:
Druids are better healers, because they get access to level 4-6 spells earlier and have as an exclusive the best level 4 healing spell (Call Woodland Beings, which is a caster level 9 Mass Heal that sticks around for some offensive spells). Clerics get exclusive access to restoration and raise dead/resurrection, but that can be made up for with scrolls and the HLA spell Mass Raise Dead eventually. (Druids have another exclusive healing spell in Goodberry. It's terrible, so it doesn't matter.)
Clerics are better buffers, because they get exclusive access to Remove Fear, Chant, Draw upon Holy Might, Holy Power, Protection from Evil 10', Champion's Strength, and Righteous Magic. The only exclusive buff spell Druids get to counter that is Iron Skins - a powerful spell, admittedly, but it doesn't make up for all of those others.
The weapon choices - well, it'll work either way. It's worth noting that there are a few weapon types that none of the recruitable BG2 companions start proficient in, and one of those is Flail/Morningstar. You can pick up the Flail of Ages very early in BG2, and it's likely to go to waste if your protagonist doesn't use it. Fighter/Clerics can make good use of it, while Fighter/Druids can't. On the other hand, Druids have more ranged options, with darts and throwing daggers added to the slings that both can use.
Still there's something to be said about having a duo of lightning bolts to fry the opposition in BG1 hehe.
One other thing to consider with the choice presented is that your Dwarf Fighter/Cleric will be able to Draw Upon Holy Might, even after you lose your soul abilities in BG2, which is pretty significant for a fighter type. As a fighter/cleric you will be able to max your core stats to the high heavens and just smash.
Either option (Cleric or Druid) is pretty cool for a full playthrough though, because you can really boost up the WIS stat in BG1, so any priest or battle priest will be able to coast to the finish line with bonus spells and such. Its a good middle of the road I think if you're trying to break into spell casting. Priest is kind of the original OP class in D&D so its hard to go wrong. You'll have plenty of spellcasting options to keep from getting bored without any real downside beyond the weapons restriction.
True! Thank you for the correction! That's what I get for going of the top of my head and not checking
I think I'll try the fighter/cleric dwarf. I kinda wish halfling could be fighter/cleric. I've never played a shorty race. At least not longer than candle keep lol.
Still not sure which mage to take. Maybe I'll take the Monty/Xzar duo to cover thief and mage.
One last thought on Fighter/Druid's Woodland Being... I said Charm above but its actually Mental Domination, which is more potent and fun. Her full list is Barkskin, Hold Person x2, Call Lightning, Miscast Magic, Cause Serious Wounds, Mental Domination, Mass Cure, Confusion, and Hold Monster. All ready to go when she is called. That's a sav Nymph for sure! She allows the player to focus on other spells at the lower levels and handles pretty well in combat from the backfield.
Something to think on for the next run maybe. Since there's always a next run haha. If you like how the priest types play.
Fighter/Cleric is hard to argue with, especially given the main arc of the game.
I have to ask, is your name a call out to .hack//?
Yeah, crowsbows are killer. The one in Beregost is pretty clean for milestone goals. If you had a time backstabbing with the shadowdancer last run maybe drop for the crossbow instead of the armor and use him as a switch hitter tank to ranged depending on the combat. You can bust locks and do detection pretty well if you're not spliting too much on stealth. I think he'll be solid for support.
I loved mine all the way through, and I played a halfling as well!
Whatever you do, I hope that you dig it!
After three hours of rolling, my dwarven fighter/cleric got some sweet stats. 18/88,17,19,12,18,8!
I named him Larg.
SetPrivateProfileString('Game Options','Cleric Ranger Spells','0')
I an guessing here but you may have to start a new game for it to take.
Gus
An unnerfed R/C will always be the most powergamey option, given it's essentially three classes rolled into one. However, I'd rate the Dwarven F/C not far below it and definitely higher than the nerfed version.
If you want to make it even better than the Cleric/Ranger, EEKeeper it to Dwarven Defender/Cleric. Now that one is ludicrously powerful!
..plus DoE and Hardiness :P
It's right there in the in-game description of the two abilities - no stacking those two. If you try, using either ends the other. Still, the DD gets a passive boost to physical resistance, so that combined with Defensive Stance, Armor of Faith, and Defender of Easthaven, it reaches over 100%.
But then, why stop at physical immunity? Add the Helm of the Rock, Cloak of the Lich, Ring of Fire Control, Ring of Gaxx, Black Dragon armor, and a charge (Protection from Magical Energy) from the Cloak of the Dark Moon - that's immunity to every type of damage.