Thief-related questions??

[Sramsay12]

Hi guys, you've helped me in the past so I'd like to ask you for more advice.
I've decided to play as a Thief. I like my Bounty Hunter, like the traps. But I've heard that in ToB all thieves get awesome traps. So in ToB, is the Bounty Hunter still good?
I like the assassin's awesome backstab and poison but not enough thieving points. Haven't tried Swashbuckler because backstab is dead for him. So I'm considering a multiclass/dual class.
I don't really like the fighter/thief much, thief/mage could be cool but would they die too fast?
I'd like a F/M/T but low xp cap. If i removed the XP cap with a hex editor, then what levels could the F/M/T reach? 40 for all three classes? And if so then could he learn high-level spells and high-level abilities?
I have Shadowkeeper so i can make changes to my character in a moment's notice without beginning the game over again. So i could make a universally awesome dude without hassle but i don't want to, i want to not cheat through the game.
I have thought about a Cleric multi/dual class bu i already have Viconia, whereas another mage would actually be useful because Edwin being a conjurer means he can't learn all the useful spells i'd like.

[kmonster]

If you like your bounty hunter there's no need to change him into something else. He won't be worse than a normal thief in ToB.

[Dante2377]

well all thieves have the 3 trap HLAs, but only bounty hunters have the "throw-able" special traps. By TOB, these will maze your opponents and you can use them very tactically. I'd recommend hunting down Chris Lee's Thief Guide and reading that if you're not familiar with it. Here's a snippet from the traps section

However, when he reaches level 21, they both merge in a beautiful
way. The Mazing Traps can clear the enemies out of an area long enough
for the Bounty Hunter to lay a few traps in anticipation of the enemy's
return. Here alot of tactics come into play. First, you can either lay
down a whole lot in one chunk (bombardment, effectively), but this is
only really effective if you've Mazed one or two really tough enemies.
Second, you can lay down one trap and hide, so that you damage the
enemies and are primed for backstabbing, or for fading away and tossing
another Maze Trap. Third, if you remember where the enemies were
before you Mazed them all (generally by advance scouting), you can
systematically place conventional Traps in certain areas so that you
can anticipate how enemies will return and maximize damage. For
example, say in a large room, there are two mages to the left, a thief
to the center, and two Orcs to the right. You might place a Trap in
the far left, one slightly off center to the right, and one or two in
the upper or lower right corners of the room. Why? The mages are
generally going to be the first to return, possibly at the same time,
so they will both be getting the trap to the left, and hopefully
you've hidden in the meanwhile so that you can knock them out quickly.
When the thief returns (since he probably has moderate intelligence),
he gets the one slightly off center (and hopefully this one was out of
range of the mages, so it didn't activate with their return). When
the Orcs (being dumb, they are probably last) return, they get the
furthest right Traps, which hopefully weren't activated by the thief.
Even if you were completely wrong with your estimations of when they'll
return, hopefully the traps will beplaced such that even if by
statistical chance the Orcs return first and Mages last, there will
still be a trap left unused to deal with the Mages.

The whole doc is really good stuff if you haven't read it or aren't super experienced using a thief for more than basic open lock/open door/backstab.

[Sramsay12]

I have Chris Lee's Thief Guide and DSimpson's Class Guide on my computer among many others. But what i need to know now is, if I remove my XP cap can a F/M/T level up to 50/50/50 and get the cool traps and also will he then learn high level spells?

[Stworca]

Yes, a lvl 50/50/50 tri-class get's high level spells.. but for the love of god, why play these ridiculous classes AND remove xp capp in vanilla?

Play a thief/mage, you will still be able to melee just fine thanks to some spells. I
ll let you discover them on your own.

[Dante2377]

I have Chris Lee's Thief Guide and DSimpson's Class Guide on my computer among many others. But what i need to know now is, if I remove my XP cap can a F/M/T level up to 50/50/50 and get the cool traps and also will he then learn high level spells?

Sure, but like he said below, doesn't really seem like much fun (but to each his own).

You'll probably want to install the "triple-class HLA" part of the BG2 Tweak pack to get all the mage HLAs too.

Triple-Class HLA Tables
Non-Tutu, Requires Throne of Bhaal
Requires Change Experience Point Cap - Remove completely
This component will max out the HLA tables for fighter-mage-thieves and fighter-mage-clerics. Throne of Bhaal originally used the fighter-thief table for fighter-mage-thieves and the fighter-cleric table for fighter-mage-clerics. Both the BG2 Fixpack and Baldurdash alter this so that the triple-classes have unique tables and add the three Extra 6/7/8 Level Spell HLAs from the mage tables. This component adds even more mage HLAs to the tables, at the expense of other HLAs from the other two classes. Fighter-mage-clerics lose access to Deathblow, Greater Deathblow, and War Cry and gain access to Improved Alacrity, Dragon's Breath, Summon (Dark) Planetar, and Comet. Fighter-mage-thieves lose access to Deathblow, Greater Deathblow, War Cry, Alchemy, and Scribe Scrolls and gain access to Energy Blades, Improved Alacrity, Dragon's Breath, Summon (Dark) Planetar, and Comet. Since triple-classes require 9 million XP to reach a level where they can use 9th level mage spells, this component requires removal of the experience point cap. This component will overwrite the HLA tables for the two triple-classes.