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Has anyone else found that a theif with the right skills and feats is awsome in combat. I have a group of level 5 characters. A paladin, fighter, cleric, theif, and mage. Bread and butter for my first time through the game. During battle I tend to micro manage. While my fighter and paladin are up front I move my theif around to the backs and sides of the creaters they are in combat with. His extra damage from his crippling strike allows him to do 16 to 20 a hit! I am dual weilding daggers with him, and they are both +1. He has two-weapon style, ambedextry.....sp? and weapon finesse. I found that weapon finesse is perfect for my theif. He hits all the time with it. If he gets into trouble I run away and hide in shadows. I am going to get dash as my next feat to help him get out of trouble. Once in a blue moon, the creater he whacks on the back turns around and chases him. Then its a matter of running for his life while the fighter and pladin are chasing down the baddies and my cleric and mage are shooting arrows/slings and trowing spells to help his brave soul out of a tight jam.

I'm thinking of going through the game again when the patch is released. I have a character all set up that will be simply amazing when all is said and done. He'll have 4 levels of Fighter for the weapon focus, 3 levels of Ranger for the free ambidextarity and two weapon fighting, and the rest will be Rogue for all the cool bonuses Rogues get, should be quite a character.

Yea I had a thief/fighter I think it was 4 fighter and everything else rouge. Actually pretty skippy, could stand up in a fight face to face and the fact that you can only be behind a person to backstab them is really nice. The only thing that I have a question with is, once you sneak attack someone for some reason you cant do it again. Maybe its just me though.

actually, you only need one level of ranger for the free two weapon fighting and ambidexterity; you are just required to wear light armor to reap the benefits.

Sneak Attack can only be done once per enemy. In NWN you could continually hit opponents doing extra damage.


@Ned
Ranger1/Fighter4/ThiefX gives an XP penalty.
Ranger3/Fighter4/ThiefX gives none to certain races.

I suppose this is why the doctor takes 3 levels.

Good point Jesus. I wonder how long it takes for the wasted XP on two extra levels of ranger to overcome the overall XP penalty accrued over time.

tTy using just a pure theif. I found haivng the extra skills was super nice. He is the skill machine of my group, besides doing the theif skills, he dos alchemy and others which allows my other players with less skills to focus on one and get it high level quickly. Besides I think getting the high level theif skills at level 10 faster are more important then the 2 feats for being a fighter

Originally posted by Ned Flanders
actually, you only need one level of ranger for the free two weapon fighting and ambidexterity; you are just required to wear light armor to reap the benefits.

While that may be true, I don't want the XP penalty that would occur if my Fighter and Ranger levels were more than one level apart, and I want the Weapon Fucus Feat and the free Ambidextarity and Two-Weapn fighting, the only solution: Level 3 Ranger/Level 4 Fighter/Level X Rogue.

Originally posted by 1-800-DOCTORB
While that may be true, I don't want the XP penalty that would occur if my Fighter and Ranger levels were more than one level apart, and I want the Weapon Fucus Feat and the free Ambidextarity and Two-Weapn fighting, the only solution: Level 3 Ranger/Level 4 Fighter/Level X Rogue.

if u only want the ambidexterity and TWF feats together with weapon specialisation, then don't bother with Ranger. if u take four fighter levels, u have more than enough feats to take all the skills, without bothering wif wasting levels on ranger.

I found taking just one level of ranger more than adequate for my thief - with weapon finesse and rapid shot, he's quite the killing machine.

Originally posted by Sojourner
I found taking just one level of ranger more than adequate for my thief - with weapon finesse and rapid shot, he's quite the killing machine.

Same here. Aside from Planescape: Torment's Anya, this is the first CRPG I've played that really lets a thief come into their own.

i must agree with aberrant80 on the part of the ranger.

Even if u have min. ranger lvl 1, doesn't wearing anything more than light armor impair(cancel) ur ambidex and dual-wield ability? correct if i may b wrong.

For a rogue to achieve sneak attack, it simply means he/she must be at back of the opponent (it can also be triggered when the rogue is exactly (away from the front view) on the left or right of the victim. just place ur rogue in such a way as is seen on the screen. it doesn't mean u need to be "hidden" to be able to trigger sneak attack. being "hidden" only grants u a +2 hit bonus, in other words, +2 attack bonus. (i hope i'm right on this cos that's wat i get on the dice rolls):B

My points on whether u take 2 or more lvls of fighter or a lvl of ranger to gain the ambidex and dual-wield abilities.... fighter of course:B - since there is the impairment of the feats as mentioned above ^^^ and u gain a few more hps.. + 1 more armor proficiency?

Originally posted by Sojourner
I found taking just one level of ranger more than adequate for my thief - with weapon finesse and rapid shot, he's quite the killing machine.

i know. mine scout/thief/sniper/semi-tank is ranger1/rogueX. why i mentioned fighter4 is becos 1-800-DOCTORB wanted specialisation and dual-wield. in such a case, fighter4/rogueX would definitely be better than fighter4/ranger3/rogueX.

Originally posted by aberrant80
i know. mine scout/thief/sniper/semi-tank is ranger1/rogueX. why i mentioned fighter4 is becos 1-800-DOCTORB wanted specialisation and dual-wield. in such a case, fighter4/rogueX would definitely be better than fighter4/ranger3/rogueX.

Unless you're playing Heart of Fury Mode, I recommend not sacrificing too many rogue levels if you want a decent trap-disarmer and stealthy scout. The game's XP penalties make it near impossible to get past level 16 without cheating by the end of the game - and a lot of those traps require a high Disable Device skill which a lower-level rogue won't get.

so.... errr wat's ur point? sry but i'm not sure i get u. i didn't sacrifice rogue levels. i focused on rogue. by using a class that has the proper favoured class will prevent that xp penalty, e.g. human, 1/2-elf, tiefling, halfling.

Originally posted by Sojourner
a lot of those traps require a high Disable Device skill which a lower-level rogue won't get.

If you have a powerful enough tank, you won't need to disarm traps. A barbarian makes an excellent trap remover.

barbarian? y?

how high is high enough for disarm traps? my rogue has 14 int, and don't remember the skills points, but enuf 4 me to pump points into open locks, disarm traps, search, move silently, and hide in shadows.

My thief had a 20 in Disarm, and was still failing to disarm some of them (some of them are nasty and don't just do damage - my thief has gotten petrified trying to disarm one).

I didn't say it wasn't risky! Besides, for almost every bad effect in the game, there exists a way to remove/protect from it.
"Mighty barbarian not scared of puny rock-trap! Me crush! etc."

Why a barbarian for trap-removal? Simple. Lots of hit points! Also some evasion-type bonuses & high Con.

More on barbarian trap-removal in this thread.

oh i get it! u don't actual "remove" the trap, u trip it! no wonder i couldn't figure it out. not a bad idea, but not 4 me, i like finesse, that's y i don't like barbarians.