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Thief/Mage or Dual Class?

Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 2:31 pm
by Sereth1728
I have a question. "Down the line" I'm going to start either a mage and then dual over to a thief at lvl 8. Or go with a Mage/thief multiclass. My question is what will be a better choice. I'll get more health points if I dual class. But....I'll get higher spells if i multiclass. Which one should I go with?

Keep in mind I haven't had that much experience with mages, so any advice would be appreciated :) .

Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 2:49 pm
by galraen
You'll get less health points if you dual class from a mage to a thief than if you multi-class in fact. I suspect you actually meant start out as a thief then dual class to a mage. I'd do the latter personally, but wait until higher level than eighth, tenth at least.

Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:38 pm
by Crenshinibon
I don't see any real reason to dual class unless you're going to start out as a swashbuckler, for some extra fighting ability and AC when not buffed up. I personally think that in this case, the multiclass may be better because you can buff yourself to be a fighter with the help of your spells and should hit the AC cap either way. That kept in mind, you'd be able to backstab if you multiclass.

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:56 am
by kmonster
The multiclass is considerably more powerful. But the dualclass is also playable. If you prefer playing a human and have your main focus on thievery you might have more fun this way.

If you multiclass I recommend taking a gnome, the extra spell per level for illusionist specialisation does make a big difference, the 19 int and the saving throw bonus don't hurt either.
If you dualclass I also recommend specialising as illusionist, besides the extra spells you also can expect to get better rolls at creation because of the granted 16 dex.

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:01 am
by dzidek1983
go multi.. you will receive more bonuses that way

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 1:47 pm
by Sereth1728
thank you all for your advice. Down the line, when I make the char; I'm gonna go multi. It just makes more sense. My only question is what will the highest spell lvl that I can learn. I seriously hope that I can at least get to spell lvl 8 for abidalzam's horrid wilting.

Other than that, I will say from my using npc mages in the past that the most powerful spell combinations for fighting groups of enemies are greater malison, mixed with confusion. I usually would have edwin cast those two and then just sit back and watch the fireworks. I'll admit it doesnt always work but when it does, it is usually marked as the perfect moment to attack.

You guys probably are a step ahead of me with mages. What would you guys say is the ultimate spell combinations?

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:17 pm
by kmonster
If you have pure SoA you can reach 13 mage levels which only allows to cast level 1-6 spells.
If you have ToB installed you will be able to cast spells of the highest spell level at the end, but during the game your casting level will be lower.