MP Party Ideas.

EtherImp · Post by **EtherImp** » Sun Sep 22, 2002 11:35 pm

I'm considering starting a MultiPlayer party as soon as I finish the game with my current party.. My current party is:

PC = Ranger/Tank
Keldorn = Tank
Anomen = Tank/Battle Cleric!
Imoen = Archer, Thief, Some mage (I wish I still had Yoshi.)

Jaheira = Versitile.. Healing, Anti-mage, Club of Gnashing, throwing dagger (The one that comes back? I forget the name.)
Aerie = Mage / Cleric

Now.. I was THINKING about solo'ing in my next time through the game but honestly I don't think I am up for the challenge. Plus I wanna experiment with some other tactics/classes/plot lines

So, now I'm trying to decide between a Good party and an Evil party.. And, a party of 4, less, or more? AND, I only wanna go with "pure" classes.. No Multi or Dual classing please..

I want... A tank, A mage, A cleric, a thief/archer.

I also haven't decided which class I would use as my PC..

I would really appreciate some ideas as to classes, races, alignments, as well as which weapon proficiencies you suggest to make the best of the weapons offered in the game.

Example: It wouldn't be wise to create a paladin with weapon specialization in Bastard Sword.. And, really, a paladin may not be the best Tank offered in the game in the first place.. Except the fact that he can wield the holy sword. :\

Should I have my tank use Sword+Shield, Two handed fighting, or Two weapon fighting? Anyone care to list some of the pro's and cons and inherent cheese? (sword+shield = better AC, two handed fighting = better damage, two weapon fighting = more magical weapon effects)

How will my alignment decision effect the weapons, experience, and plot line of the game?

.... Hope this makes sense. Any advice would be appreciated.

GNGSpam · Post by **GNGSpam** » Mon Sep 23, 2002 12:17 am

For the most fun, pure class, small party, going evil is most definantly the way to go.

Edwin - Not merely the best Mage in the game, but a better Mage then you could possibly be without cheating due to his Amulet.

Viconia - I dont think she is as good as Anomen (who is a fighter dueled to cleric), but she has the highest wisdom in the game, and a great dexterity. There are many wonderful slings she can use, and with her high dexterity and one of the many good small shields, she can have an unhittable AC.

and Korgan - one of the best tanks in the game. The berzerker class is just indespinsible when it comes to getting rid of annoying enemies like Liches.

That leaves you without a thief. So I would recommend you be a swashbuckler thief, giving you some fighting ability.

HOWEVER

Instead of you being a thief. I HIGHLY recommend you take Jan. Jan/Edwin/Viconia/Korgan provide, I think, the BEST conversations in the entire game. And, they basically cover all the possible bases leaving you to be whatever you want to be (though id recommend a tank of some sort, particularly using swords)

EtherImp · Post by **EtherImp** » Mon Sep 23, 2002 9:17 am

I was referring more to a multiplayer game, using all self-created characters.. But, your suggestion IS helpful, thank you..

TGM · Post by **TGM** » Mon Sep 23, 2002 10:31 am

How about a party consisting of :

Paladin (Inquisitor) -- Compulsory high charisma, priest spells and use of Holy Avenger, makes a good party leader.

Sorcerer -- Lots of spells, nuf said.

Barbarian -- Rage grants excellent immunities, makes a great tank.

Thief (Bounty Hunter or a Swashbuckler) -- For all those pesky traps and locked things.

I think this gives a good all-round selection of abilities, ok no straight cleric, but paladin (not inquisitor) gets those, and if you have regeneration items and a sorcerer, then the cleric is pretty well redundant.

Alternativley, if you want to go evil, download the Valen mod, and make an Anti-Paladin, and take a priest of talos.

The choice of protagonist is difficult, sorc is least likely to get killed, but the bhaal powers are mainly combat oriented, so maybe the paladin.

Hope this helps,

TGM

garazdawi · Post by **garazdawi** » Mon Sep 23, 2002 10:46 am

Take this party I tried it and it works great!!

inqusitor

Edwin (not player created but he still is the best char in the game)

assasin/fighter dual class

a cleric

a barbarian

and a monk

works great!!

GNGSpam · Post by **GNGSpam** » Mon Sep 23, 2002 11:32 am

I agree. If you omit a single class out of the three, so called, "required" (thief for traps/locks, cleric healing ressurection, mage for breach/pierce) classes, it should be the cleric. You may have to reload a few times until you can afford the wand of ressurection, but as far as healing goes you can get by with extra healing potions without to much trouble. I would recommend you take a Ranger rather then a Paladin in the Clerics place though. Rangers get dual wield right off the bat, and have a limited selection of cleric spells. If you make it your protagonist, you can have 5 slow poisons pretty quickly allowing you to avoid having to carry antidote potions.

Anyways the main concern in not carrying a cleric is actually level draining. Im traveling with just Jaheria and its a pain in the ass to get level drained. You wouldnt believe how few scrolls of restoration there seem to be to buy.

EtherImp · Post by **EtherImp** » Mon Sep 23, 2002 4:50 pm

I created a party this morning to see what I could do and how it "felt".. Here's what I came up with:

Lawful Evil Human Necromancer

Chaotic Evil Human FIGHTER with Duel Weapon Fighting proficiency, and Mastery in Longsword

Lawful Evil Human Priest of Talos

Neutral Evil Elf (Drow) Assassin + specialized in shortbow (for range)

This should cover all of the basic needs, and add some flare with the Necromancy, Priest of Talos abilities, the Assassins poison, and the two weapon fighting with mastery in Longsword is pretty much 2 tanks in one, if you ask me..

Tell me what you guys think.. Any possible hangups? Other than the obvious lack of somebody to carry a Two Handed sword! Arge!

Impaler987 · Post by **Impaler987** » Mon Sep 23, 2002 5:40 pm

Good party:
1) Inquisitor - focusing on 2-handed weapons, like Carsomyr
2) Stalker - dual-wielder + shameless backstabber + main scout
3) Archer - pretty self-explanatory
4) Blade - main magic user until my swashie comes of age, then a second-line fighter w/ great lore
5) Ranger-13/Cleric - most powerful cleric possible
6) Swashbuckler-10/Mage - good thief abilities, unlimited mage powers, dual-classes fast

Evil party:
1) Assassin-13/Fighter - damn great class; he's my dual-wielder, poison jockey, backstabber, illusion dispeller, and scout
2) Berserker - wields the heavy weapons like that Soul Reaver
3) Assassin-13/Fighter (yes, another one) - this one's the ranged-weapons and setting-traps expert
4) Blade - see above
5) Berserker-13/Cleric - most powerful evil cleric possible
6) Swashbuckler-10/Mage - see above

Kaitsuburi · Post by **Kaitsuburi** » Mon Sep 23, 2002 7:39 pm

Hmm, let's see... you want non-multi/non-dual MP in a small party...

I've also found that although clerics are quite useful, you can definitely do without them. I've played through the end of ToB 2 times without a cleric/druidic spells and it has been totally fine. Yes, it's nice to have those restorations, nature's beauty, insect plague, holy smites et. al. but if your arcane spellcasters are up to level it's needed all that much. (A planetar can heal and restore levels without making you fatigued!)

Anyhow, IMHO: Assassin or Swashbuckler for the thief. In the latter case you get obscenely low AC by the end. Dual wield, katanas or long swords or scimitars are nice -- lots of choices. UAI and you can get Valygar's armor, and if you have installed the item upgrade mod from Weimer, you can combine it with Shadow dragon armor for the best armor that preserves your thieving abilities when worn...

Inquisitors are quite solid and dependable, or go with anti-paladin if you want evil. True sight comes in very handy.

A Sorceror is cheesy, yes, but takes care of your arcane spellcasting needs. Robe of Vecna, of course, Amulet of Power, of course, and the Staff of the Magi let you take full advantage of the sheer power of this class

Another class I would consider is the skald (mage up to and including those great lvl. 6 spells PLUS great bard song PLUS you get UAI PLUS you can use harp of pandemonium). A bard of course means you save gp on identifying things.

Finally, two other choices: Archer (very powerful; with the improved encounters mod/improved thief stronghold mod you get arrows of dispelling & detonation). Arrows of detonation with Greater Deathblow and you have one of User's big fat slices of cheese

; and Monk (moves fast, great MR, great innate abilities).

I wouldn't go with a party of 6. 5 max, cause you want fast level-ups. Head over to Watcher's Keep as soon as possible to get your levels up fast.

@Impaler, I would disagree that a ranger 13/cleric dual is always the most powerful cleric available. If you have ToB, then a ranger/cleric MULTI takes the cake. You get fighter and cleric and druid superabilities (i.e. deva summoning as well as whirlwinds as well as elemental summoning) and quite early at that. All druid/cleric spells plus you can be quite a formidable fighter. A great combo!!

hwttdz · Post by **hwttdz** » Mon Sep 23, 2002 8:08 pm

Swashbuckler 10/fighter
Ranger 7/cleric
Mage of choice I'd go with Edwin. (Kensai or Beserker mage, sorcerer, specialist)

That's a party of three and you have 2 good fighters, 3 if you take a fighter mage, all the theiving you need after the ring of mercy killing and maybe a few other theiving items. The ranger cleric can cast all divine spells and is not too shabby in a fight, take a dual if you want more combat power. Edwin is a cheater mage, you could also do a sorcerer those are really useful in my opinion. If you want a fourth character I have a lot of different ideas.

1) an Archer- my favorite, can deal with a lot of weak enemies very quickly, called shot is awsome
2) Barbarian- not a bad class in my opinion there is not that much difference between 2* and 5*
3) Kensai- do damage and lots of it, I'd take the archer for ranged power. Or a kensai mage, especially helpful if you take a sorcerer.
4) Bard- some people like them I'd not be for it. Lore and song also cover any spells not covered by the sorcerer if you take one. Save the thief pick pockets points.

If the third was a fighter mage I might go with a sorcerer for loads of firepower. Everyone in the party could be spirit armored and improved hasted and improved invisibilitied (don't think thats a word) for crazy ac and really fast fighting.

Baked Goods · Post by **Baked Goods** » Mon Sep 23, 2002 9:20 pm

With a little SK magic you can have the ultimate 'anti-magic party'

Paladin- change to evil with SK, Carso here we come
Anti-Paladin, evil of course, dispell magic any melee weapon hit (awsome)
Wizard Slayer- evil 10% cummulative disrupt spell casting ability on every hit even through stone skins (most mages can't do anything after a couple of successful hits) + increasing MR
Wizard -gotta fight fire with fire
Thief, to keep things moving along and for nasty sneaky backstabs on poor unsuspecting wizards.

Thats five, leaves the last one open for questies or some more MP flavour (as long as there evil)

Magic has absolutly no chance with this party, a little power gaming never hurt anyone.

hwttdz · Post by **hwttdz** » Tue Sep 24, 2002 6:35 pm

Only using pure classes complicates things a bit. In my opinion a 4 char party of single class characters that could pull it's own weight is:

1) Half-orc swashbuckler- should be pretty good in a fight and will have all the theiving skills needed even as a half orc because of the single class bit. You will even have extras. For stats 19,18,16 for the first three the rest are open to other stuff. If you want to use this character as the leader you will need 18 cha, and lore is nice as theives and mages will get the most of any class you will have. This should cover a tank and a thief. I'd have them dual wield Long swords and short bows if you do not have tob, consider cross bows if you do. There are a lot of good long swords and in SoA the tugian short bow is pretty good. The light crossbow of speed and the case of plenty make a good combo.

2) For a mage it's sorcerer or specialist all the way. I think sorcerer is better because you can improved haste everyone in the party. That's your mage. Staff of magi and the sling of seeking with a belt of strength.

3) As a cleric you're in a bind. Clerics are not too useful in a fight which is too bad because that means your character will be reduced to clerical spells and back up fighting. If you want a pure class cleric you really have no choice. If you give the cleric crom fayer they should not be too horrible in a fight but still. For ranged the sling of everard +5 which makes it's own ammo.

4) Left to cover is the archer. The thief will not be too bad at ranged fighting but if you still want it. An elven archer is the best ranged character but lacks a little in close combat. On the bright side this spreads out proficiencies so you can change weapons to use whatever is best suited against a particular enemy. A straight fighter would be good at ranged and melee. Barbarians, rangers and paladins can only go to 2* which in my opinion is not disabilitating but it's your call. A stalker (a fun kit) can backstab if you miss it from the thief. The short bow of gesen and the quiver of plenty (it works) and then melee weapons of choice.

EtherImp · Post by **EtherImp** » Tue Sep 24, 2002 11:31 pm

3) As a cleric you're in a bind. Clerics are not too useful in a fight which is too bad because that means your character will be reduced to clerical spells and back up fighting. If you want a pure class cleric you really have no choice. If you give the cleric crom fayer they should not be too horrible in a fight but still. For ranged the sling of everard +5 which makes it's own ammo.

Here's where I have to disagree with you.

I dunno about with 4 characters, but in my 6 person party, I have Anomen equipped with heavy armor, shield, and flail of ages and he can pack a pretty hefty punch when it comes to melee combat. I don't even use his sling, instead I gave it to my mage, who TRULY cannot compete in melee combat. I just have her toss rocks between casting spells. Seems to work out alright. I usually send Anomen in to take out the primary threat while my duel wielding ranger punks out ALL of the reinforcements with his DayStar and Adjatha The Drinker +2.

Considering we're talking 1 fighter and 1 cleric here, the same could be done in a party of 4. A thief makes a fairly good archer, with the exception that they are unable to use heavier bows, however there are some nice shortbows in the game. Another thing I love is the Melfs Minute Meteors, which make a great ranged weapon for a mage.

hwttdz · Post by **hwttdz** » Wed Sep 25, 2002 4:55 pm

Anomen is by no means a pure class cleric. He has 7 levels of fighter if I remember right which gives him a whole lot more hit points, a lower thaco and more weapon proficiencies as well as an exceptional strength score (clerics cannot get 18/XX they get 18). He can also put more proficiencies into weapons later. Though I do agree with you Anomen is quite useful in a fight.

EtherImp · Post by **EtherImp** » Wed Sep 25, 2002 5:06 pm

Ah, yes.. Very true. I forgot about his fighter levels. However, I still think a cleric with high strength, good armor, a shield, and flail of the ages could be a valuable asset in melee combat.

Impaler987 · Post by **Impaler987** » Wed Sep 25, 2002 9:22 pm

Originally posted by Kaitsuburi
@Impaler, I would disagree that a ranger 13/cleric dual is always the most powerful cleric available. If you have ToB, then a ranger/cleric MULTI takes the cake. You get fighter and cleric and druid superabilities (i.e. deva summoning as well as whirlwinds as well as elemental summoning) and quite early at that. All druid/cleric spells plus you can be quite a formidable fighter. A great combo!!

Well, the reason I like the dual-class is that the cleric levels go up exponentially there, rather than being held back to gain ranger levels, which allows for a much better Turn Undead ability than the multi-class. Turn Undead is a big part of my battle strategy when it's applicable (turning liches is always fun, and vampires? pffeh). Plus I have plenty of fighters already in my party, so the loss of one set of Whirlwinds doesn't hurt me.

Kaitsuburi · Post by **Kaitsuburi** » Wed Sep 25, 2002 9:54 pm

Originally posted by Impaler987
Well, the reason I like the dual-class is that the cleric levels go up exponentially there, rather than being held back to gain ranger levels, which allows for a much better Turn Undead ability than the multi-class. Turn Undead is a big part of my battle strategy when it's applicable (turning liches is always fun, and vampires? pffeh). Plus I have plenty of fighters already in my party, so the loss of one set of Whirlwinds doesn't hurt me.

True...True...

Turn Undead is awesome. Blowing up shadows like it's nobody's business.

I've heard that you can even successfully turn Kangaxx with two HL clerics. Now, that's something right there... I wonder how many clerics it would take to turn Improved Bodhi...

Skuld · Post by **Skuld** » Wed Sep 25, 2002 10:12 pm

Hmm... I'm not to fond of making my own party because of the lack of banters and such, but if I were to create my own party it would look something like this.

Sorceror: This is self explanitory, and to anyone who says it's cheesy, give your
Sorceror the Staff of the Magi and a Cloak of Non-Detection. Now that's cheese.
Fighter dualed to Cleric: dunno what level, but 9 sounds about right. Must be of good alignment so I can blow up skellies instead of having 'em just join me.
Swashbuckler dualed to Fighter: Front line fighter who can pick locks
Jester: Support casting, and auxillary tank(Improved Haste & Tenser's Transformation)

That just about covers everything. You could even leave the Jester out if you wanted the duals to move along faster.