Which is a better thief/mage, a duel-class, or multi-class?

concluder1 · Post by **concluder1** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 11:15 am

I was playing a thief/Mage multi class, but someone said that I won't hit the upper levels for the mage, and to go with a duel class thief/mage. Is this true? Thanks in advance.

Magior · Post by **Magior** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 11:27 am

Well, the cap restricts you to a 20th level mage. Whether that's 'upper levels' or not is for you to decide.

A 20th level mage can get only 2 9th level spell slots (3 with a gnome illusionist). The multi can get Use Any Item and lots of Spike Traps/Assassinations. The dual will get a higher mage level and a lot of time stops.

What you will get is either a better version of Imoen (dual) or Jan (multi). Decide which you want more and take that one

concluder1 · Post by **concluder1** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 12:01 pm

You can reach level 20 mage in SOA or is that in TOB? I don't have TOB yet so for now what would the cap be for SOA?

Nightfire · Post by **Nightfire** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 12:21 pm

Under the ToB cap, a multiclass mage could advance to 20th level, yes ... but with a party of six, it's extremely unlikely that you'll hit that cap without exploiting a few respawning locations.

In a small party or for a solo game, I'd go for the multiclass. In a full party, I'd prefer dualling after maxing out any desired thief skills -- though you won't get the high-level ability traps that way, those things are a bit cheesy.

concluder1 · Post by **concluder1** » Fri Oct 05, 2001 12:38 pm

So it is better to duel than to multi, because with duel you get the higher spells, and you don't need all those thief points after you get the pick locks, find traps stealth to the point your happy.

Astafas · Post by **Astafas** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 2:43 am

Originally posted by concluder1:
<STRONG>So it is better to duel than to multi, because with duel you get the higher spells, and you don't need all those thief points after you get the pick locks, find traps stealth to the point your happy.</STRONG>

Yepp, that sums it up quite accurately.

Xyx · Post by **Xyx** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 3:25 am

Use Any Item is not to be sneered at, of course, although Thief/Mages won't have as much use for it as other Thieves. You still can't cast spells with armor on (except for the Elven Chain stuff). A Mage also won't need to go around using Crom/FoA and the like.

Thehalfelf · Post by **Thehalfelf** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 3:34 am

What about a Fighter/Mage/Thief? You get spiketraps, can backstab much better than a Mage/Thief because of the Fighter. The only drawback is that you'll level up really slowly and doesn't get the same amount of spells.

The manual says that only the half-elf can be Fighter/Mage/Thief(table page 127), but in the game it's possible to be an elf in this class. Is that a bug or is this possible in real ad&d?

Nightfire · Post by **Nightfire** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 4:47 am

An elf can be a F/M/T too under the 2E rules, yes. But this is definitely a class combo that I'd only recommend when soloing or maybe in a Bhaalspawn game (you plus Imoen plus Sarevok, once you can get 'em). In a larger party, that character would take forever to level.

Xyx · Post by **Xyx** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 2:43 pm

Unless you knock off the XP cap, no level 9 spells for a triple classer... You need a total of 9M XP to get to level 18 Mage and get your first level 9 slot.

THE JAKER · Post by **THE JAKER** » Sat Oct 06, 2001 3:41 pm

Originally posted by Nightfire:
<STRONG>Under the ToB cap, a multiclass mage could advance to 20th level, yes ... but with a party of six, it's extremely unlikely that you'll hit that cap without exploiting a few respawning locations.
</STRONG>

I had Jan in a party of six, he hit the first mage level where he got 9th level spells (2 of them as he is a specialist) midway through TOB (in Sendai's). I did not take advantage of any spawning locations and I'm sure i missed out on some xp here or there. I had a PC that was the main mage in the party but Jan, because of his specialist bonus, was able to do most of the mage duty. He did not have a lot of the good mage items either.

Use any item is not particularly important for a thief mage, but you could also get "assassinate" and "avoid death".

I played a F/M/T once, but I found that the fighters and mages of the party took over those roles as they advanced and I was left with a thief. One trick when playing a multiclass PC is to solo the early part of the game before you get your party members, don't get anyone until your PC has 2 million EXP. this way they will be more capable and not fall behind the others due to their exp being split. I did this in my current game. My fighter/thief PC has 600,000 more experience than the other people in the party, so he is still superior or at least kindof equivalent to the single classed. (He is going to be able to use Carsomyr soon, too!!!!!!)

Nightmare · Post by **Nightmare** » Mon Oct 08, 2001 6:57 am

Um... how 'bout we not spoil ToB for him?