GameBanshee Forums

Well, in this thread list off some great character combos, right off the bat too, so none of this dualing kensai mages that only start rocking near the end of the game.

Make an Elf Archer. Any gender, any alignment. Give him/her 5 points to long bow and 1 to long sword. Make their DEX and STR as high as you can. CON and INT (For those pesky mind flayers) doesn't hurt either. Reason? Archers get a bonus with missle weapons. Elves naturally have a racial bonuses with long bows too, combine this with a grand mastery, and you've got one hell of an archer. Elves also get a racial bonus with long swords. Your archer has a proficiency in long swords, so he/she'll be able to defend themself in a melee. They become even deadlier when hasted. These guys are great for piling up damage on anyone (except for stone-skinned folk) and interupting mage casting. Bracers of archery are...woo....

Elf Figher/Theif. Elves get bonuses with various theif skills, and they can get monster high DEX, which help with AC and theif skills. So, you have a competant theif. What about the fighter part? Well, it's all about Back-stabbing! The most useful tool in the game. They can get a max of two points in any weapon. For the melee I pick either long sword (racial bonus) or katana (celestial fury baby!) I chose katanas because celestial fury freezes enemies on spot, but again, it's your call. Give another two to long bow (racial bonus) and they are great ranged fighters. Use their backstabbing skill to remove those pesky mages from battles (before you attack!)

Half orc barbarian. Massive STR, DEX, CON. Always. Make em dual any of: Axes, Flail, Maces, War Hammers. There are some great weapons in the game. Any of these combos are freaking deadly, and make for a great tank. Plus the extra-move rate is good stuff.


That's all I have for now. Post some of your ideas.

Halfling Fighter/Thief: Even better thieving skills than elves, more HP because of possible 18 CON. The lower max STR can easily be helped with a strength girdle

Slight spoiler on wher to acquire a few simple items:

For that archer I would use a shortbow and use the bow that gives +1 attack per round. This stacks with haste. If you then go into the first level of Watchers keep after you acquire that bow you can get a quiver of infinite +1 arrows which will reduce lots of bothersome arrow carrying (or you can at the very least get a quiver from the merchant watcher infront of the Keep), and voila! Lots and lots of attacks with lots of plusses: The fact that you do 1 damage less (1d6 instead of 1d8) is negated by the extra attack and the many many bonusses you get to that.

Hmm...

WARNING! The following is OPINION. YMMV, Void where prohibited by law, yadda yadda yadda
Well, here's a few of my choices for whizzo PC classes, fairly focused on dual & multi-class options:

If cheese is your thing, Bun bun the Kensai/ Cleric/ Druid/ Beholder/ Wild Mage/ Queen of Hurts

Kensai/Mage dualed at 9 or Swashbuckler/Mage dualed at 10 - You can dual before doing any serious adventuring (not long after Chateau Irenicus, vanilla version) - and you'll be using the merits of both classes before you know it. You only suck for a little while Alternatively, hack a multi-classed fighter/mage or thief mage to the specialty classes.

Fighter/Cleric or Ranger/Cleric multi - just naturally strong combinations. I played a Dwarven LE Fighter/Cleric right through the series & Inziladun was a lot of fun. Ranger/Clerics, IIRC, get both Druid and Cleric spells, which is pretty cool. Fighter/druids Cleric/Mages and Illusionist/thieves also strike me as pretty zippy combinations, but they're readily availabel in NPCs.

Any class that can be played from BG1 can end up with pretty insane stats:
+1 to all, except +2 (or is it +3 ?) WIS in BG1
+1 to all (IIRC) in Watcher's Keep

Remember, however, that on stats CON above 16 is really only useful to fighters, DEX above 18 has limited utility, and INT above 18 is not really useful at all. CHA is, of course, largely uneccesary, except in class requirements.

Of course, you may not want to assign all your points in WK to your PC, since you can reasonably have your entire ToB final fight party there.

Have fun!

Actually, INT 19 allows you to learn as many spells in your spellbook as you can find. No rummaging about with potions of Genius etc.

Also, It gives +12 Lore instead of +10

Rav

Originally posted by Numinor
Halfling Fighter/Thief: Even better thieving skills than elves, more HP because of possible 18 CON. The lower max STR can easily be helped with a strength girdle

Well...this is a judgement call...
Yes, the halfling may have higher theif advantages, but the elf gets a DEX bonus, which helps out theiving abilites. Maybe not as much as a halflings, but elves have a larger arsenel of weapons. Plus the racial bonus to long bows and swords, which in my opinion are better than short bows and short swords (Given, tuigans bow is good early in the game and tansherons bow requires no ammo, but best short sword you can get (kind of) early in the game is of backstabbing +3, effective long swords are abundant, same with long bows, Elven Court Bow, Heartseeker(c'mon...firkraags dungeon is easy...) composite bows +1 are underated...)

I'm not much of a fan of "Get this item and you'll be set" inconvenience.

Ahh...and the fact that halflings dont where shoes...grr...

If I am not playing a F/M/T, I would take a halfling F/T over an elf F/T any day.

1. They both get the +1 to DEX. (equal)
2. Elf -1 CON, halfling -1 STR. (Buy a Girdle of Giant Strength)
3. Halflings get better thieving bonuses.
4. Elfs immune to sleep/charm (doesn't always work?)
5. Halflings - bonus to poison & magic saves (awesome bonus)
6. Elfs +1 LS +1 LB vs. Halfling +1 sling. (Elfs win this one)

Overall, Halflings win, and #5 makes a huge difference.

From a role-playing point of view, I love the fact that halflings are underestimated. That is what makes Lord of the Rings so cool.

Yes, Elven long-bow archers are cool. I am also fond of the halfling short-bow archer.

I prefer a Dwarven Barbarian to a Orc Barbarian. Dwarfs receive the same saving throw bonus as a halfling. This makes the Dwarven Barbarian even more invincable. The one point of dex isn't a big loss seing as you can get a -10 AC pretty quick and you probably won't use many missile weapons. And Dwarfs can wear a stength girdle and eventually use Crom Feyr.

Originally posted by Screaming Johny
If I am not playing a F/M/T, I would take a halfling F/T over an elf F/T any day.

1. They both get the +1 to DEX. (equal)
2. Elf -1 CON, halfling -1 STR. (Buy a Girdle of Giant Strength)
3. Halflings get better thieving bonuses.
4. Elfs immune to sleep/charm (doesn't always work?)
5. Halflings - bonus to poison & magic saves (awesome bonus)
6. Elfs +1 LS +1 LB vs. Halfling +1 sling. (Elfs win this one)

Overall, Halflings win, and #5 makes a huge difference.

From a role-playing point of view, I love the fact that halflings are underestimated. That is what makes Lord of the Rings so cool.

Yes, Elven long-bow archers are cool. I am also fond of the halfling short-bow archer.

I prefer a Dwarven Barbarian to a Orc Barbarian. Dwarfs receive the same saving throw bonus as a halfling. This makes the Dwarven Barbarian even more invincable. The one point of dex isn't a big loss seing as you can get a -10 AC pretty quick and you probably won't use many missile weapons. And Dwarfs can wear a stength girdle and eventually use Crom Feyr.

Did you take into consideration the amount you use each ability? Yes, the saves may be tipped in the halflings favour. -1 CON won't make that much of a difference if you are in the back, and maybe even in the front. It's the same way with -1 STR. Again I say, I'm definately not a fan of having to get an item as a crutch for you char. But if you're into that, Girdle of Fortitude for elfie.

How often do you attack others in the game? Yes, nearly all the time. The amount of damage you can dish out is a large portion of the game, and the amounts of damage elves can do as oppose to a halfling (backstabbing mages/vampires/mindflayers, arguebly the most annoying part of BG) is priceless. Removing a mage from a battle makes everything easier, no confusion, holds, webs, etc. It's even sweeter if you have a ring of invisibility, you can backstab twice, and it'll give you a headstart on fighting a tough opponent.

As for the elves saves...I think they do work...well...atleast for me.
By the way, the ranger/archer kit and class aren't availible to halflings.

Why do people think the heartseeker is better? The tuigan bow with its extra attack is way better: Look at how much damage one of your attacks will do anyway with grand mastery and Archery kit bonusses. An extra attack will do way more damage than the bonusses given by the heartseeker, will get rid of mirror images and stoneskins quicker and has a higher chance of disrupting opponent's spells.

IMO

Rav

Heh, I don't see the point of tuigans bow if you attack more but hit less.
Ah well, It's all I matter of choice, eh?
I'd rather eat away at their life with extra of damage that lots of little stuff.

Doesn't a grand mastery give you an extra attack or half of an attack or something?

Well actually, that's just he thing: Later on in the game you'll notice that only an attack roll of 1 will miss, regardless of which bow you use.

If you are an archer you'll have +3 to damage from ***** in bows (but no extra attack), and at level 15 an extra +5 from the archer Kit, doing 1d6+8 damage in 4.5 attacks per round with the Tuigan bow:

Average Damage in two rounds if it all hits: 103.5

With the Heartseeker (+4 to hit +2 to damage right?) you'll do 1d8+10 damage, with 3.5 attacks per round

Average Damage in two rounds if it all hits: 101.5

However, because of the Archery kit bonusses, the Tuigan bow will become more powerful all the time (at level 18, 25, 30, 35 IIRC). If I start calculating Acid, Frost or Fire arrows, the Tuigan bow becomes even more powerful. (Tuigan: +31.5 damage in 2 round, any other bow: +24.5)

And don't forget Improved haste, which will make Tuigan bow like having whirwind attack long before High Level Abilities are available!

Rav

I think Rav's on it: the Heartseeker is a better bow for the regular user, but in the hands of a grandmaster, nothing beats the Tugian.

Originally posted by Rav
[B\An extra attack will do way more damage than the bonusses given by the heartseeker, will get rid of mirror images and stoneskins quicker and has a higher chance of disrupting opponent's spells.

IMO

Rav [/b]

U must be joking.......removing stoneskin and mirror images with bow and arrows??

You need at least 2 rounds to do that. Complete waste of time and ammo. Get the fighters in the meantime......and let ure mages do the spellremoving. Or go into stealthmode...and try to take the mage out, before he has the protection on.

Ohh yeah.....if you go Archering......take an elf....they are the best race for that kind of combat. I myself simply take the race and bow which suits me best.....and that is a half-elf with the ElvenCourt Bow....simply because it has the coolest looks. (+ I have an edited version of this bow.......which makes it more powerfull )


Ohh yeah...and did you think about the special abilities of the Hartseeker versus the Tugan Bow?? I believe the hartseeker can do a +8 damage ones in a while....

A higher to-hit will improve the chance of critical hits.

Dwarven beserker, 19 con in bg, 20 from a tome, 21 from lum. 2 rings of regeneration dual wield the wicked regenerating axe (its name evades me at the moment) and another axe (I believe all that stacks). Or go for crom fayer, or one of the +5 shields. He is nearly unhittable, immune to poison, deals wicked damage, takes wicked damage, and heals very quickly.

The archer mentioned above was my favorite character to play, elven, tugian bow, infinite ammo, dual wield (forget the weapons).

The thing about mages and sorcerers is that Edwin cheats so much that he is better than any mage.

Full class theives are unnecessary, I would go with a swashbuckler and then dual to a fighter. You can go even earlier if you use all the theving bonus items. This becomes a full fleged fighter with all theving abilities except backstab.

Originally posted by ARcheR_S_
U must be joking.......removing stoneskin and mirror images with bow and arrows??

You need at least 2 rounds to do that. Complete waste of time and ammo. Get the fighters in the meantime......and let ure mages do the spellremoving. Or go into stealthmode...and try to take the mage out, before he has the protection on.

Ohh yeah...and did you think about the special abilities of the Hartseeker versus the Tugan Bow?? I believe the hartseeker can do a +8 damage ones in a while....

I prefer not to rest till my characters complain that they are tired or when it is absolutely necessary. In that case you often rely on your archers to remove simple spell protections such as Mirror Image and Stone skin - I won't use my Mages until I see a Mantle or a Protection from magical weapons/normal missiles combo.

I find that I am very conservative with using my special abilities as well - I never use potions other than healing and the occasional thieving potion (if I don't have Jan or Yoshimo in my party). I often forget about them because after being very conservative with them ("I may really need it next fight!") I often forget about them completely . So no, I didn't calculate that.

One more thing for the Tuigan though: You only need very little strength to use it. In the beginning of the game your strength belt will probably go to someone else.

Rav

"U must be joking.......removing stoneskin and mirror images with bow and arrows??

You need at least 2 rounds to do that. Complete waste of time and ammo. Get the fighters in the meantime......and let ure mages do the spellremoving. Or go into stealthmode...and try to take the mage out, before he has the protection on. "


Try gesen bow with plain unmagical arrows...or the uber bow you can make with gesen string and heartseeker...(item upgrade mod)

the plain arrows punch right thru prot from magic weapons, and the enchantment, the electrical damage goes right thru stoneskin..

unless a mage uses protection from missiles, this combo simply kills mages...and lets not forget called shot with improved haste to attribute drain dragons...z(strength)

archers can be evil...

i personally prefer crossbows...more fun things with crossbows,,,

Originally posted by UserUnfriendly
i personally prefer crossbows...more fun things with crossbows,,,

Plaese enlighten me ?

Originally posted by Rav
I prefer not to rest till my characters complain that they are tired or when it is absolutely necessary. In that case you often rely on your archers to remove simple spell protections such as Mirror Image and Stone skin - I won't use my Mages until I see a Mantle or a Protection from magical weapons/normal missiles combo.

I find that I am very conservative with using my special abilities as well - I never use potions other than healing and the occasional thieving potion (if I don't have Jan or Yoshimo in my party). I often forget about them because after being very conservative with them ("I may really need it next fight!") I often forget about them completely . So no, I didn't calculate that.


Rav

Well......most of the time I have enough spells left for a confrontation with enemy spellcasters. I mostly go with 2 mages every game.

And about the potions (dont know what that has to do with this threat though )......but u are right....I forget to use the poions during combat too. And when its over I have my clerics. Somehow using potions doesnt feel "right". Like: "if it was you in real life, you wouldnt be able to drink potions that heal you either".

And about the most powerfull combination....well the tugan bow might be that indeed.......but I allway play an ARcheR.......and now I go for "style " instead of power.


@User -> Yes, at the higher levels, the called shot can be an absolute killer. you can fire at least 3 shots a round.....and with improved haste even more........the enemies are strenght drained within seconds.
About the crossbow.....I know u like ure fraggrenade thingie ......but crossbows dont attrackt me...they seem to large and too slow IMO.

Originally posted by ARcheR_S_
And about the potions (dont know what that has to do with this threat though )......but u are right....I forget to use the poions during combat too. And when its over I have my clerics. Somehow using potions doesnt feel "right". Like: "if it was you in real life, you wouldnt be able to drink potions that heal you either".

I don't think fire breathing dragons can be conjured up in the sky either in real life...... but we I think you still do it..... if not I'm usre you throw small pink balls at your opponents , I use potions alot esp to heal quickly in he midst of a battle with some improved mages or improved guarded compound......

Dwarven beserker, 19 con in bg, 20 from a tome, 21 from lum. 2 rings of regeneration dual wield the wicked regenerating axe (its name evades me at the moment) and another axe (I believe all that stacks). Or go for crom fayer, or one of the +5 shields. He is nearly unhittable, immune to poison, deals wicked damage, takes wicked damage, and heals very quickly.

I was under the imprerssion that only regen of the same speed stack, so using 2 rings would probably be better and the cromfeyr and flail of the ages(to break though all those stone skins )