What class benefits most from tomes?
Sindyan
Member Posts: 146
What class overall do you think benefit the most from having the ability to get all the tomes in bg1 and then transfer to bg2?
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If Paladins or Rangers got bonus spells for Wisdom, they'd be right up there too. Maybe Rangers even more so, since they don't have access to DUHM for easy physical stat buffing.
Edit: Thinking more about it, non-Warrior melee classes (e.g. Monks, Thieves) arguably benefit more than warriors, because the jump from 18 to 19 STR is just that massive. Granted, they don't benefit from the higher CON like warriors can, but on the other hand, thief skills get boosted by the higher dex.
The Str tome can benefit anyone with 18 or 18/xx str, similarly, anyone would benefit from the extra missile bonus from the Dex tome.
Being part fighter, a F/C/M will get extra HP from having 19 Con.
Being part mage will benefit from getting the Int tome, and all three Wis tomes benefit the Cleric part.
The Cha tome benefits pretty much any class equally, unless you are looking to do a Fighter->Druid Dual class, in which case the extra Cha can help alleviate the steep stat requirements.
plus the bonus spells. even the int tome could be crucial for a cler, letting you drop int to 9 on char creation.
putting all the tomes into your protagonist means you are planning for bg2 though. a dwarf fight/cler imported with all these upgrades is just freaking sick in bg2.
- melee characters without access to 18/** strength benefit HUGELY from strength tome (+2 AB, +5 dam)
----------so, monk, thief, bard, cleric, Druid
- warrior builds with massive stat requirements who can't wait for a 18/91-99 roll benefit hugely from str (+1 or +2 AB, +3 or +4 damage) and con
----------so, fighter/Druid dual class, fighter/Mage/cleric
- +3 wisdom from tomes is huge for clerics and Druids for the amount of spells/day that they can cast
- 20+ int is a waste so gnome illusionists lose their edge
- 20 dex only benefits thief skills so elf archers somewhat lose their edge unless there's a source of +1 dex in BG2
- 20+ dex provides less benefit per point to thief skills than previous increases eroding the benefit of halfling and elf thieves
- regen isn't a huge deal in Bg2 when you gain access to heal and mass cures so dwarf and horn lose their edge
- going from 19 to 20 strength isn't a big deal so horc loses edge
- DUHM throws all this off if you have that
- saving throws matter less in Bg2 with more spell protections available so shorty saves are less important
- Druids are amazing in bg1 but lame in bg2
In conclusion, yeah, I'd probably go with a kitted, multi or dual class cleric.
Off I go!
http://playithardcore.com/pihwiki/index.php?title=Baldur's_Gate:_Races_and_Stats
STR is one of the more interesting ones; as was said previously it is FAR better to bring someone from 18 to 19, than from 19 to 20. Don't necessarily unload all on your CHARNAME!
Also interesting is INT - there is virtually no benefit to having more than 19, so get as many mages there as you can.
DEX is also interesting, as beside the breakpoints for AC you also have ranged THAC0 (and thieving skills) to consider. However, this will usually not be something that comes up a lot, especially in BG2.
CON obviously only really matters for fighter-types, as the bonus HP caps at 16 for other classes. The regeneration bonus is mostly negligible.
WIS is obviously only relevant for Priests and Druid - but for them, it's perhaps the best stat of all. It's also one of the only stats that increases something with every point, and also the one you can increase the most (as there are THREE tomes in BG1).
CHA is mostly useless. There are a few checks and reaction rolls, as well as shop discounts, but for serious theoretical considerations, you can pretty much ignore this stat completely. In BG2 especially it's completely irrelevant as you get the Ring of Human Influence (sets CHA to 18) literally minutes into the game.
Also, if you plan to export your char, or plan on playing the entire saga, keep in mind that there are more permanent stat bonuses available in SoA and ToB, as well as some items that increase stats significantly (Crom Faeyr comes to mind).
Another consideration is Draw upon Holy Might. Once your cleric reaches a high enough level, this spell will basically set their STR, DEX and CON to 25 for almost every fight, making stat bonuses far less important for that character.
Of course, since only one of these is a definite dex, if you aren't playing a thief or bard then 20-21 is the best you can get, depending on racial bonuses.