Another Go-Through... advices anyone?

[SP101]

Ok.. this time, I'm gonna go through as an Archer, mainly because in my last game, I used Mazzy with bows and loved the way she could take care of almost everything with a few deadly shots Picked an archer over a fighter or a Generic Archer dualled to mage or thief because I wanted to try the ranger stronghold.

Now for the party ... here's what I plan :

Alhana (PC) - (Neutral Good) Female Elven Archer
Ok... a few question for the Archer kit and how to play it to great effects :

1 - Do all the 4 "Called Shots" effects stacks ? (Example : If I'm level 16, will I get only +2 Thac0 or will I have all the previous bonuses (Drain strenght, thac0 & saves and the +2 bonus to thac0)

2 - I plan to use Long Bows with my archer. I know I won't be able to hit harder monsters with Long Bows (Maximum is +3 enchantement from ToB's arrows +3). Should I get profiencies in powerful melee weapons (2-Handed Swords, Halberds, Spears, etc.) or should I get profiencies in Crossbows and get the Firetooth crossbow (+5 enchantement) ?

3a - What are the good armors I can use?
3b - Will I be able to wear the armor dropped by Mae'Var (+X% to Hide) ?
3c - Will I be able to wear the shadow dragon armor ?

Jaheira - (True Neutral) Half-Elven Multiclassed Fighter/Druid

4 - Should I dual-wield (scimitars and clubs), should I use (druidic) staves and a sling or should I use Sword and Shield mode (Scimitars, Clubs, Slings)

5 - What are the HLAs I should pick first? Why?

Keto - (?) Human Bard

6 - I may SK her into a kit (plain bards are a bit weaker than kited ones). What kit should I use, Skald or Blade? Consider that I don't plan to use dual-wielding with her.. since I'll use Show Bows and bladed weapons (except scimitars).

7a - How many profiencies will I get with her (approx.) ?
7b - I plan to have 1 star in Short Bows, 1 in Short Swords and 1 in Long Swords. Any other weapons type I should cover with her?

Tsujatha - (? Evil) Elven Necromancer

No question for this one...

------------------

Notes :

- I'll get

Spoiler

Sarevok

into Throne of Bhaal.
- I'm using the following mods :
Unfinished Business (v2?)
Baldurdash Fixpack
Tactics (only a few non-cheesy components)
Keto NPC
Kelsey NPC
Solaufein NPC
Tsujatha NPC
Tashia NPC
Refinements (ToB)
Ease of Use (A few components)
Dungeon Be Gone
Banter Pack
d0QuestPack

[Thrar]

wow, a lot of questions you got there ^^ i'll try to answer some...

1. yes, that does stack. Also, the attribute drain on the victim stacks - if you hit multiple times with called shot, they decrease even further.

2. Do you know what you're missing out on Tuigan bow? Imagine...normally 5 attacks per round...and now...add improved haste! Myself, I never used crossbows a lot, so I don't know about them, I'd go with a melee alternative. Pick any 2 weapon choices nobody else uses, and add one- or two-handed style, depending on what it is. However, spears is not a good choice imo.

3. You can use Night's gift, Shadow armor, and, imo most importantly, Aeger's Hide. I believe Mae'Var's is restricted to thieves, but I'm not certain on this.

4. Forget about staves. For a plain druid yes, for fighter/druid, no way. Mainly, you'll be missing out on damage and combat mods. Dualwield or S/S is up to you, I believe in ToB dual would be better, since AC isn't that helpful any more.

5. dunno. If you dual-wield, imo you don't need whirlwind, use improved haste instead. Hardiness is nice, and I have to admit I don't know much about druid HLA.

6./7. someone else answer these please ^^

I myself played as an archer a while ago, a very entertaining run. I used short bows, though. Have fun!

[SP101]

[QUOTE=Thrar]wow, a lot of questions you got there ^^ i'll try to answer some...

1. yes, that does stack. Also, the attribute drain on the victim stacks - if you hit multiple times with called shot, they decrease even further.

2. Do you know what you're missing out on Tuigan bow? Imagine...normally 5 attacks per round...and now...add improved haste! Myself, I never used crossbows a lot, so I don't know about them, I'd go with a melee alternative. Pick any 2 weapon choices nobody else uses, and add one- or two-handed style, depending on what it is. However, spears is not a good choice imo.

3. You can use Night's gift, Shadow armor, and, imo most importantly, Aeger's Hide. I believe Mae'Var's is restricted to thieves, but I'm not certain on this.

4. Forget about staves. For a plain druid yes, for fighter/druid, no way. Mainly, you'll be missing out on damage and combat mods. Dualwield or S/S is up to you, I believe in ToB dual would be better, since AC isn't that helpful any more.

5. dunno. If you dual-wield, imo you don't need whirlwind, use improved haste instead. Hardiness is nice, and I have to admit I don't know much about druid HLA.

6./7. someone else answer these please ^^

I myself played as an archer a while ago, a very entertaining run. I used short bows, though. Have fun![/QUOTE]

Thank you for answering

Replies to your replies :

1 - Good thing... now do anyone know how long the str drain stays?

2 - I know Tuigan +1 is really good, but I'm already using it with Keto (bard). Anyway, I have currently 4 attacks per rounds with my Composite Long Bow.

3 - Too sad I can't wear the Human Flesh +5 and MaeVar's armor

4 - Why not staves? I mean... there's a good one from the Bonus Merchant (adds lvl5-6 spells.. or is it 6-7?), there's Staff of Rynn, Staff of the Ram and a few other good ones (Thunder and Lightning from Asylium). Wich clubs combination would give me more offensive power than.. say.. Staff of the Ram?

5 - I remember have picked Hardiness with a char previously... seemed rather useless to me.

Now another question that came to my mind while reading your reply :

8 - Do archer's bonus with ranged weapons (damages, thac0) works with slings, darts, throwing daggers and throwing axes? AzureEdge would then be a nice choice of anti-undead weapon for my archer then... and I could use axes as one of my melee weapons too.

[VonDondu]

Elves are supposed to get a +1 bonus when they use longbows and longswords, so those would be a natural choice for your elven Archer. Unfortunately, the best weapons in the game are not longswords or longbows.

For what it's worth, Hardiness stacks with Armor of Faith, and they can absorb a great deal of damage if your Archer gets hit. You do plan to use the spells available to Rangers, don't you? Doom, Armor of Faith, Barkskin, Call Lightning, and Summon Insects are all very useful, but I get the impression that most people never bother to use them. A pity.

Keto makes a good Blade if you give her the right equipment and buff her up. When she acquires the Use Any Item ability, you can let her wield Carsomyr, for example. The Gauntlets of Extraordinary Specialization will give her an extra half attack per round as well as THAC0 and damage bonuses, and a girdle of giant strength will help. Early in the game, Melf's Minute Meteors and Offensive Spin are a lethal combination. Later in the game, Stoneskin, Tenser's Transformation, Fireshield, Improved Invisibility or Mislead, and Spell Immunity (Divination) and Spell Immunity (Abjuration) are good buffing spells.

If you'd rather not turn Keto into a tank, a Skald would be the best choice because of the beneficial effects that Skald Song gives to your party. Keto also makes a great auxiliary spellcaster. I particularly enjoy using Skull Trap, Glitterdust, and Emotion, as well as the always-useful Breach, Lower Resistance, Greater Malison, etc. Of course, she won't be able to compete with Tsujatha with his high level spells and spell triggers and so forth, but she can fall back on melee weapons, ranged weapons, and wands when she runs out of spells.