Depends on what I'm playing. If I am playing a Mage, I hate her pips, as I had rather her dual-wield Drizzt's scimitars. If I'm playing a fighter, I am fine with her pips (and I dual her to thief) and keep the scimitars for myself.
BTW. Brienne is a freak, look up the definition. And why would a special rage ability be boring? The only other one I can think of right now Minsc's, and if you had Minsc you probably wouldn't need Shar-Teel.
I wouldn't really consider a woman that is strong and perhaps tall, a "freak". Because we already have an NPC that has a special Rage ability, Minsc.
I can see Shar-Teel as a Barbarian or Berserker (most likely), though. She wouldn't need a special Rage ability then. Both classes provide it.
@Archaos Interestingly, only one of the "strong" races has weaker females. Orcs and Nords both have women who are just as strong as the men. Of the three (out of ten, btw) races where the females are weaker, the Bretons are very book smart and don't rely on strength, while the Khajiit rely heavily on stealth, once again meaning strength doesn't really matter. Only the Redguards are a combat oriented race with weaker females. So while there is the "men are stronger, women are smarter" concept, it's actually relatively minor. Three out of ten races doesn't sound like "usually". ;p
(Sorry, The Elder Scrolls is my absolute favorite game series/world, so I'm a bit of a nerd. Even more so than BG)
Also, on a side note, try using UESP.net instead of the elder scrolls wiki. The wiki has some false info on it. Just a random tip. =p
I don't begrudge you one bit for that opinion. Morrowind is my favorite game of all time, and while I enjoy Skyrim (I'd probably like Oblivion too, but I haven't played it.), it's just not the same as Morrowind. At least in Skyrim the level scaling was much better than Oblivion's system. No more bandits in full daedric armor or anything silly like that.
I reckon (and many of you here seem to be thinking the same way) that Shar-Teel's EE proficiencies are specifically designed to make it attractive to dual her to Thief. With these proficiencies, it makes some sense as either an early or late dual, which is probably not an accident.
It also occurs to me that an additional and very targetted thought my have been in the devs' minds: if you complete Durlag's Tower (so that you have Flametongue) before going to Balduran's Isle, then Shar-Teel dual-wielding Flametongue (longsword) and Werebane (dagger) is perfectly designed for tackling Karoug, whom many players have found a difficult opponent. If you're playing an Evil party, then there's no other NPC well-suited for this task, whereas Good parties can (for example) use Ajantis (who comes with Bastard Sword proficiency to wield Kondar or Albruin).
I'm ambivalent about it. EE's profs are of course intended for dual-classing her to Thief. But I think at the end of the day, I still prefer her most as a heavy damage-dealer swinging a two-handed sword, as she was in BG1. I can easily EE Keeper her profs as such, so it ultimately isn't that big a deal.
In my current game, if I do pick her up I will not be dualing her, however; and I probably will not change her profs via EE Keeper either. I'm sort of curious to see how she will compare dual-wielding long sword and dagger versus using a great sword. Unfortunately, my party is way too poor to buy the dagger of venom for her (I'm heavy RPing and not meta-gaming). So she'll just have mundane weapons.
Again, unclear if she'll end up getting added to the party. But if so, it will be kind of interesting to see how her EE profs work out when she isn't dualed and doesn't have the dagger of venom.
I don't mind her proficiencies as they are, except I put * in longbow rather than crossbow; this is so she can get 2 shots per round (yes, I know, she could get Army Scythe but if I get that I usually give it to a non-fighter). I also give her either * in two-handed sword (for Spider's Bane....but my Spider's Bane, which gives the user immunity to poison) or one more * into two-weapon (like she has in my current game) so she can jump into combat with Harrower and Varscona.
On a more serious side, I think they are conpletely screwed; as Lemernis, I prefer using Shar-Teel as the ultimate melee-damage dealer (I use her to backstab in BG1 and BGT, but in the EE, STR bonus does not get multiplied so... Why to dual her to thief?).
I think that the Anti-Paladin kit is the most fitting for her in an RP way, and in a PG way, Kensai->Thief, middle ground would be Wizard Slayer->Thief.
Xzar uses the Dagger of Venom in my games, it fits him a lot, and if I want to backstab, I use Longtooth +2, and if not, I backstab with a Katana.
Also, Longsword++ and Two weapon Style++ would have been great (and LS+++ at higher levels), instead of Dagger+, LS+, TWS++ and them Crossbow+ (Warrior classes should use Lonbows in BG1, Crossbows in BG2).
Ahh, Stormbringer ... that'd have been the perfect Blackguard weapon, as an Evil counterpart to Carsomyr. But obviously it belongs to a different mythos and someone else's copyright, so it's a non-starter. I guess the Soul Reaver is as close to it as we can have in BG.
Blaaah, I liked to give her two-handed swords and cross bows. And a mean short sword or two on the side... But I'm soooo down with seeing her go at people like Caspian from Highlander: The Series.
Comments
Because we already have an NPC that has a special Rage ability, Minsc.
I can see Shar-Teel as a Barbarian or Berserker (most likely), though.
She wouldn't need a special Rage ability then. Both classes provide it.
Yeah, I made her a berserker in my game, it suits her.
Just had an idea. Shar-Teel should have a unique sword called "Manslayer" and has +2 to hit males. She could have stolen it from her father.
(Sorry, The Elder Scrolls is my absolute favorite game series/world, so I'm a bit of a nerd. Even more so than BG)
Also, on a side note, try using UESP.net instead of the elder scrolls wiki. The wiki has some false info on it. Just a random tip. =p
Not to derail the thread but I cannot stand nonsense level-scaling on my RPGs. Random 40 level bandits with daedric stuff.
So, Shar-Teel's proficiencies are totally fine for me.
It also occurs to me that an additional and very targetted thought my have been in the devs' minds: if you complete Durlag's Tower (so that you have Flametongue) before going to Balduran's Isle, then Shar-Teel dual-wielding Flametongue (longsword) and Werebane (dagger) is perfectly designed for tackling Karoug, whom many players have found a difficult opponent. If you're playing an Evil party, then there's no other NPC well-suited for this task, whereas Good parties can (for example) use Ajantis (who comes with Bastard Sword proficiency to wield Kondar or Albruin).
In my current game, if I do pick her up I will not be dualing her, however; and I probably will not change her profs via EE Keeper either. I'm sort of curious to see how she will compare dual-wielding long sword and dagger versus using a great sword. Unfortunately, my party is way too poor to buy the dagger of venom for her (I'm heavy RPing and not meta-gaming). So she'll just have mundane weapons.
Again, unclear if she'll end up getting added to the party. But if so, it will be kind of interesting to see how her EE profs work out when she isn't dualed and doesn't have the dagger of venom.
Shar-Teel is one of my favorite NPCs.
I think that the Anti-Paladin kit is the most fitting for her in an RP way, and in a PG way, Kensai->Thief, middle ground would be Wizard Slayer->Thief.
Xzar uses the Dagger of Venom in my games, it fits him a lot, and if I want to backstab, I use Longtooth +2, and if not, I backstab with a Katana.
Also, Longsword++ and Two weapon Style++ would have been great (and LS+++ at higher levels), instead of Dagger+, LS+, TWS++ and them Crossbow+ (Warrior classes should use Lonbows in BG1, Crossbows in BG2).
"GET TO THE FRIENDLY AHM INN!"
Even so, it'd still be useless - look at the name! In FR terminology, the AK you'd want would be an AK+47, not an AK-47!
But I'm soooo down with seeing her go at people like Caspian from Highlander: The Series.