GameBanshee Forums

I'm currently playing a Fighter/Thief, and just reached the stage where I get the first HLAs. Naturally I took Use Any Item, which grants me access to a whole new repertoire of strats. Backstabbing again and again with the Staff of the Magi, for example. Well, so I thought.


Did you know, that the only weapons thieves or dual/multi-class can backstab which are not only limited to the weapon types thieves can originally use, but to the actual weapons a pure thief COULD use without UAI including class restrictions. Thus some really good backstab weapons can't actually be used for backstab like Staff of the Magi, Scarlet Ninja-To, etc.
This is kind of sad in my opinion, as it limits the tactics for thieves or dual/multi-classed thieves.

Another interesting fact concerns the HLA asssassination. In the description it says that this makes every strike in the next round "to act as a backstab, using the thieves current backstab multiplier for damage calculation". So basically you're not backstabbing. Nevertheless this HLA also is restricted by the limitations described above(thief weapons, including class restrictions)


For me the UAI thing was kind of a big shock, and had I known this it would have pretty much influenced my choice of class or at least my choice of weapon proficiencies and play style.

So please do feel free to post any interesting facts about UAI or thieves / thief HLAs here that you consider to be relevant for people thinking about playing a thief.



So long,
Sol

If you really want to use the Staff of the Magi as a backstabbing weapon, then you might be interested in using the modified version I made:

http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/baldu ... post627950

Just download it, unzip it, and put it in your /OVERRIDE directory. Have fun!

Hehe, thx. Might try that.

Don't worry, be happy

I posted yesterday about the staff and backstabbing - what it enables is for the thief to run away, equip with a stabbing weapon - e.g. arguvadural +4, hide (not go invisible) sneak back and stab, go invisible, run away and repeat. combined with the ring of free action, boots of speed and cloak of non-detection - you never get caught.

it got a bit boring, but I cleared out the nest of eye-tyrants single handed in that fashion and last night did the same for the illithids guarding the hammer of thunderbolts. I combined it with setting traps behind closed doors - nobody has mentioned that setting traps and then opening the door blasts everything within range. when that includes a couple of spike traps and 4 normal traps that is some blast!

rest and repeat.

also - if you want to stay vanilla on the weapons - using an attack from invisible with the sotm means that you always get the initiative in de-buffing. that is very useful, for example on the final seal/key level of WK or in the underdark. when mages jump you, you can de-buff them and then start to eradicate them. combining a hasted Keldorn with Carsomyr and sotm and you have even powerful mages in trouble. HOWEVER if there are triggered contingenices, use Keldorn's dispel magic ability - I only wish the scale was bigger and you could see the faces of an uber-mage who loses all those protections in seconds flat and then gets whalloped within an inch of their life in less time than it takes to say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".

keldorn and the PC thief wiped out all the summoned mages without breaking sweat last night. it works in practise, as well as theory.

Well ya, I'm pretty much soloing the game, too. And I'm aware of all the different kinds of hit and run tactics, with the harper pin + staff of the magi for example, or going invis, running away, hiding, and backstabbing with another weapon, etc. etc. It's not that I'm having any problems getting along.

But as you said, it's getting boring after some time, and you kinda get the feeling that you are forced to take one more step than you'd actually have to.


So long,
Sol