Sneaky and tactical "rogue" party.

[Seelenwinter]

Hi,

I've decided to play BG2 again... this time, though, I wanted to create a 3 member party which is more "rogue"-like or "sneaky". That means for me, ambushing the enemy with backstabs, traps, spells and arrows, while not solely relying on a tank character who stands there soaks up blows. It already consists of 2 members:

A halfling bounty hunter as my protagonist and an elven Cleric/Mage multiclass. These are probably set in stone as I always wanted to try those special traps and play the game in a more "tactic" way. At first, I wanted to replace the cleric/mage with a wild mage as I really like those but then decided that running the thief stronghold without a cleric would only trouble me since resting without a priest takes MUCH longer (and thus, I would not be able to return to the docks to pay my quota every week). Also, putting mage and priest spells into a sequencer sounds very interesting.

Well, I can't decide what class my third character should be. I thought of an elven archer who could effectively put down enemies, who were already damaged by traps, from a distance. But this would also prevent me from effectively using all those awesome swords (I mainly aim for 1h blade weapons as they fit "rogues" best, imo ) and I would loose quite a lot of meelee power. Because of this, I considered taking a stalker who specializes in swords and bows but will he be effective with ranged weapons throughout the game? Which other classes would be a good addition to my "sneaky" party?

I'd be glad to hear any suggestions

[Crenshinibon]

Well, I personally don't view cleric/mages as sneaky and I don't think you really need a mix of the two. I haven't really found a good combination for sequencing cleric spells but the mage (especially the Wild Mage) is a powerhouse. Especially in melee, given that you're properly buffed. Bounty Hunters can be played like any normal thief, but when you hit level 21 their special snare ability becomes highly tactical and highly useful as it mazes the enemy. Also, it tends to disrupt some scripts like if (Spoiler, highlight to read):

Spoiler

you use the trap before the final battle with Irenicus, he will be mazed but when he comes back he will just stand there and do nothing.

I use priests and mages more as fighters than spellcasters towards endgame. I suggest instead of the cleric/mage you try a thief/mage, maybe an Assassin/mage and take full advantage of the mage buffs, the Shapechange spell and of course the backstab. A single Assassin is powerful too as the poison stacks. You might want to try the famous Kensai/Thief (Kai, Critical Strike then backstab... that's seven hundred damage with the Staff of the Ram +6). A stalker would also be a good choice as he could serve as a weaker version of the Kensai/Thief and could handle himself in melee and produce good backstabs with the aid of critical strike. For a ranged weapons character you could make an archer specializing in darts. While you can only put two points in that proficiency, you do get five attacks per round and the best dart is found VERY early in the game, given that you have the expansion. Then again, a Kensai/Thief can handle that role too as the Kensai's bonus applies to ALL weapons, including those made by spells such as the Black Blade of Disaster or the golem's fist form the Shapechange spell.

[CFM]

A halfling bounty hunter as my protagonist and an elven Cleric/Mage multiclass. These are probably set in stone as I always wanted to try those special traps and play the game in a more "tactic" way.

A fine idea, so it is. You want to explore the tactics side of the game: setting traps, backstabs, sneaking, invisibility, exploring the possibilities of combining arcane and divine magics... the list goes on and on. I'll wager you're gonna have a very fun game.

I'm a huge fan of the NPC's, for many reasons. So, I would suggest using Aerie (the elven Cleric/Mage) as your Character #2.

I would then suggest using Haer'Dalis, the tiefling Rogue Blade, as your Character #3.

H'D is a very interesting NPC. He's a jack of many talents, but master of none. Many experienced Gamebanshee forum members have described H'D as being the most worthless party member available: worst tank, worst spellcaster, etc. Other members have described H'D as by far the best party member available.

Very curious. All the NPCs are potential powerhouses, all are only as good as they are appropriately used, and figuring out their strengths and how to compensate for their weaknesses is half the fun.

My impression of H'D is that, when his many skills are combined together and used appropriately, he is potentially the strongest NPC available. The trick with him is figuring out how to best use his plethora of talents. This could fit well into your exploration of the "tactics" side of the game.

And if you have Aerie and H'D together, they have alot of banters (especially if you romance Aerie).

Valygar the Stalker would be a good choice too. He can handle swords and range weapons, and can do the whole sneak/backstab thing. And Jan the Gnome would be a good choice too. He is a Illusionist/Thief, after all.

Let us know how your hobbit fares!