Questions about theif stats...

Khazad · Post by **Khazad** » Thu Jun 20, 2002 7:17 am

I started a new game with a human theif...The idea being to buff up the theiving skills a bit and then dual to a mage....I pretty much put all of the stats into pickpocketing, trap finding, and lock picking....I am 9th level and all three are at 100....

At this point asking opinions:

Should I stay a theif a bit longer to buff my stats more?

Do I really need to get pickpocketing, trap finding, or lock picking above 100?

Should I take the time to buff up move silently and hide in shadows before I dual?

The main thing is that I would like my character to be a useful enough theif (once theif stats become available again) that I don't really need to add a theif to my party....But I don't want to wait so long to dual that I start hitting the harder quests as a low level mage....Plus the longer I wait to dual, the longer it will be until I get my theiving skills back.....

I know that there are no absolutes....I am just asking for personal opinions on how you guys approach this sort of thing.

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Thu Jun 20, 2002 7:31 am

You should consider taking a look at the equipement that enhances your thief skills... Also, you should know that there are potions that can temporarely enhance your thief skills.

You need to decide what thief skills you want and which you can do without. You like to backstab? You like to lay traps? Are you gonna choose a kit and in that case which?

I can tell you this though: drop the Pick Pocket skill as you can easily do without it. And since you'll have a rather high THAC0 you could skip the backstabbing and then there is no real need for Hide in Shadows and Move Silently. (Of course, if you love backstabbing there is always Tenser's, and I've often recommended the Assassin(10)/Mage on this board (do a search if interested)). Find/Remove Traps and Open Locks are the two essential skills. Lay Traps and Detect Illusion will certainly make life easier for you.

Finally you should know that Valygar can backstab and Haer'Dalis pick pockets. You wanted no other thief but maybe you'll add one of these to your party?

Eerhardt · Post by **Eerhardt** » Thu Jun 20, 2002 7:40 am

I have a level 8 Thief, which I dualled to a Cleric in BGI and he's doing just fine in Shadows of Amn. Just like you, I just made sure he had 100 in Find/Remove Traps and Pick Locks. A few points spent in Move Silently/Hide in Shadows won't hurt either, but you càn find armor and boots that will improve these 2 skills, so don't worry about it too much (I don't think I have more than 35 in each without the armor and boots, but I'd have to check). Astafas already pointed out that you can use potions to improve e.g. your pick pockets skill, so I haven't spent any points in it. The only thing I regret is not having more points in Detect Illusion (I don't set traps that much, but they can be useful too). Other hints: high Dexterity will improve most of your skills by 5% for each point you have in Dexterity (I used the tomes to give him 21 Dex).

serjeLeBlade · Post by **serjeLeBlade** » Thu Jun 20, 2002 7:43 am

Hopingly useful personal opinions:

If you have access to invisibility (by spell or object, not difficult anyway) you will never really need the ability to hide in shadows and/or move silently. These abilities are unreliable if you haven't very high scores in them. I usually send out Imoen searching for traps while invisible (she's a mage after all!). Much better than hiding and praying for no bad guy to notice you....

You will never *need* the pickpocket ability either... it has no place in the storyline, IMO

So I suppose you can dual immediately.

But....

Are you trying to clone Imoen or what?

Your PC is going to look right like her as far as I understand!

gnomethingy · Post by **gnomethingy** » Thu Jun 20, 2002 7:51 am

Spoiler!?

I think if your dueling to mage there is really no need for hide in shadows, by the end of soa you will be able to go invisable an almost indefinite amount times before resting which is nice for baskstabbing if your a high enough lvl theif to make it worthwhile

Once again if your dueling to mage, detect illusions is less usefull and so is pick locks becouse you will have acess to numerous illusion detecting spells and knock.

Now this is just my preference, If I make a theif mage I load up on trap setting and trap finding, Though trap setting is only worth putting so many points into so is trap finding, so when there at a suitable lvl you can beef your other rogue skills...

As for a singleclass theif, dont try to balance... thats my only suggestion, you simply dont have enough points to do everything at the same time.

One way.. This is my personal method is to get hide in shadows and set traps to reasonable lvls, using clerics to find traps and mages to unlock doors in this way your theif will really be able to contribute the the fighting... Later on as the hide in shadows gear starts to stack up and i am rarely failing to hide in shadows or set traps, i start hitting find traps.. still leaving door opening to mages since they never fail and its only a lvl 2 spell, by the late game I normally have good % in detect illusions so the mages dont have to bother casting true sight and can get on with other things, set traps couse snares and hla traps rock, find traps couse the traps are getting really nasty by now and often cant be avoided and hide in shadows / move silently for ye olde backstabbing
Thats my two cents

Bruce Lee · Post by **Bruce Lee** » Thu Jun 20, 2002 12:12 pm

You have to keep in mind that mages reach level 10 at 250 00 XP, level 11 at 375 000, 12 at 750 00 and 13 at around 1 200 000. This means that it is wise to dual at either level 10 IMO cause 25 skill points is not worth that much xp.
I would go for 100 in find/remove traps, open locks and detect illusion as those are the ones you will use most. At level 3 you only have three traps a day whereas you can detect illusion all day and lets face it, there is not a mage in bg2 that doesn't cast some kind of illusion spell.

Khazad · Post by **Khazad** » Fri Jun 21, 2002 7:25 am

You know, I took all of the suggestions you guys made...Went back and weighed everything...And I came to a conclusion...

Powerful sorcerers and mighty warriors are cool, but I am just a theif at heart....

When it came time to dual....I just could not do it! I am having too much fun playing a theif....

I know that it runs counter to suggestions you made, but I went heavy on pickpocketing just because I have never done that before...And so far, using my inate skills, the gloves of pickpocketing, and a well timed potion of master theivery here or there...I have walked off with half the frickin' city of Athkatla tucked in my pouch!!! I know that pickpocketing has no direct relation to the story line, but if one "shopping" trip

can net me everything that I need....Well, it is definately worth it....Plus it gives me a warm, fuzzy sense of satisfaction....Why pay!

Thanks for the help guys!

Eerhardt · Post by **Eerhardt** » Fri Jun 21, 2002 7:26 am

No worries (copyright@Beldin) - go with the character you like best and enjoy the game

!

jerubal · Post by **jerubal** » Fri Jun 21, 2002 4:37 pm

I like detect illusion.
I didn't actually realise how worthwhile it was until I found my character still detecting traps while the rest of the party were fighting valiantly against an enemy wizard. It saves a dispel, or several rounds of hitting morror image.

That's from a fighter-thief point of view though....

Khazad · Post by **Khazad** » Tue Jun 25, 2002 8:42 am

OK....There's a question....About detect illusion...Is this an innate ability?

....Like detecting hidden doors?

Or is detect illusion like detect traps?

.....Do you have to be in detect trap mode to use the detect illusions ability?

As always....Thanks for feedback!

kopywrite · Post by **kopywrite** » Tue Jun 25, 2002 10:54 am

Originally posted by Khazad
Or is detect illusion like detect traps?

.....Do you have to be in detect trap mode to use the detect illusions ability?

...yes you do.