solo.... but not magik

[wellard]

G'day guys
Just wrapping up TOB again, and I am putting some thought into my first solo run through. do not like mages much and do not want to use clerics. So I am thinking of bard or thief types. Bards do not have lockpicking / trapfinding abilities and thieves can't seem to dual wield with great authority. Maybe a combination? My best fun in previous adventures was a wizard slayer. the only spells I used to miss was the true seeing and level restoration.

What stats should I look for and at what levels should I multi/dual.

[ 01-27-2003, 08:24 AM: Message edited by: wellard ]

[Indemaijinj]

If you don't care about backstabbing a swashbuckler can dual just fine.

[Alson]

For a No Magic solo game, the Halfling (or Dwarven) Fighter/Thief would be my choice.

Being a Halfling (or a Dwarf) will give you +5 to saves vs. Spells, Death and Wands. An unfortunate side effects of AD&D rules in general, and BG2's spell system in particular, is that saves and immunities rule. For BG2, save vs. Spells is by far the most improtant one.

With Use Any Item, equip JansenWear and the Defender of Easthaven. Activate Hardiness, and you have 85% resistance to all physical damage. Do you have Ascension? Do one of the test evilly, and the 85% suddenly becomes 110%!

High Magic Resistance is easily obtained with Use Any Item. If you're feeling cheesy, you can even abuse the infamous Vhailor's Helm -> Pro-Magic scroll cheese.

Dual wield Flail of Ages / Celestial Fury and the Defender of Easthaven. You won't be disappointed.

Stock loads of good scrolls. Once you have Use Any Item, use your Simmie (you bought Vhailor's Helm, right?) to act as a "mini mage". Equip him with scrolls of Breach, Abi Dalzim's and Time Stop.

Invest in the Detect Illusions skill. Once you have 100 points, you practically have free of charge True Sight. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Full Plate Mail +1 allows Trap Detecting. Fun little bug. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Rataxes]

Full Plate Mail +1 allows Trap Detecting. Fun little bug. [img]smile.gif[/img]

In my experience, any armor will allow trap detection. Whenever I've played a thief, it's been one of those abilities that never grayed out, no matter what I put on [img]smile.gif[/img]

Anyway, my choice for a solo no-magic character would be the Swashbuckler. He plays exactly like a Fighter/Thief, but will have slightly better Hit power, slightly poorer THAC0, and far superior AC. Though AC is capped at -25, so Physical resistance is better in the long run.

[Sir Exxon]

Give the Blade a try. Why?

First of all, the Blades are a little bit of everything. You get a warrior, a rogue, and a spellcaster.

His main use should be as a warrior, backed up by a few spells. As a rogue, his skills are better left to pick pocketing.

He can indeed be a fearsome warrior, mainly because of this lovely ability called Offensive Spin. While under the effect of this ability, he will get a +2 to hit and damage, one extra ApR, plus that he will do maximum damage in all his hits.
He also gets an ability called Defensive Spin, which will lower your AC after what level you are. If you are a lvl 7 Blade, you will get a -7 to your AC. This ability does not go to under -10 AC, though.
Both of these abilities lasts for 24 seconds.

Make him proficient in Scimitars, Katanas and dual-wielding. He will strike with fury and speed - his foes won't even know what came over them before they're dead.
Look for the two swords Celestial Fury and Belm +2. A good armour for the Blade are all Elven Chains, with the Bladesinger Mail being the best (upgraded in ToB).

[Butterfingers]

Slight nit.

For a Blade, Katanas and Scimitars are not the end all solution. Nice, yes, but, not always the best solution.

Long and Short Swords make for a lovely combo. Daystar and Arbanes sword provide good hitting power, massive undead slaying abilities, and, Free Action. You can cast Webs, then, go in and rip folks to pieces. Plus, you have access to +4 weapons that you can use with some skill this way.

Flails and Axes. With Frostreaver and Flail of Ages, you can rip mages to pieces. Also, equip FoA off hand, for maximum Melf's Minute Meteor Cheese. Throwing the Flail of Ages is just plain EVIL!

Halbreds. Don't laugh. Just because a Blade can dual wield, does not always mean he should. Dragon's Breath and Offensive Spin demolishes most anything in seconds. As a bonus, Half Elves wearing the Melodic Chain and carrying a halbred look damn cool.

Pretty much anything can be lethal in a Blade's capable hands. Even daggers, if you have the right ones. I like dualing Pixie Prick and the Stilleto of Demarchess. The combo of hard hitting stun and sleep makes most fights just to easy.

[wellard]

Originally posted by Sir Exxon: Give the Blade a try. Why? First of all, the Blades are a little bit of everything. You get a warrior, a rogue, and a spellcaster. His main use should be as a warrior, backed up by a few spells. As a rogue, his skills are better left to pick pocketing. Make him proficient in Scimitars, Katanas and dual-wielding. He will strike with fury and speed - his foes won't even know what came over them before they're dead. Look for the two swords Celestial Fury and Belm +2. A good armour for the Blade are all Elven Chains, with the Bladesinger Mail being the best (upgraded in ToB).

Thinking along these lines or a fighter thief, but what about lockpicking does the knock spell open everything, say imeon can?

and if I fighter/ thief what level should I swap at and what stats should I go for in the blade or fighter/ thief?

[SixOfSpades]

Originally posted by Butterfingers: Daystar and Arbanes sword provide good hitting power, massive undead slaying abilities, and, Free Action. You can cast Webs, then, go in and rip folks to pieces.

Sadly, Arbane does not provide full Free Action, only immunity to Hold Person. Learned it the hard way, myself. Perhaps an upgrade, where it does confer Free Action, is called for.

[Olorin]

Originally posted by wellard: Thinking along these lines or a fighter thief, but what about lockpicking does the knock spell open everything, say imeon can? and if I fighter/ thief what level should I swap at and what stats should I go for in the blade or fighter/ thief?

The knock spell will open any door or container that a theif could. The only things that won't open are the ones where thieves get the special message,

"this door cannot be opened by convential means..."

which just means they require special keys or wardstones or whatever

[Alson]

Originally posted by wellard: and if I fighter/ thief what level should I swap at and what stats should I go for in the blade or fighter/ thief?

Note that i said Halfling Fighter/Thief. Halflings can't dual class. Being a Multiclass, no "swap" is required. [img]smile.gif[/img]

As for stats...
Being a Halfling only allows 17 STR - so max it out.
Being a Halfling also allows 19 DEX - enjoy it while you can.
In order to enjoy the immense saves bonus, 18 CON is needed.
The rest - INT, WIS and CHA are merely roleplaying factors - so it's your call. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Being a Dwarf, instead, will allow you to get 18/XX STR and 19 CON, but will penalize you DEX and thieving skills.