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Canon party fussing--main character's class

Started by -Skyknight- , Apr 15 2015 12:16 PM

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6 replies to this topic

#1 -Skyknight-

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Posted 15 April 2015 - 12:16 PM

I'm looking at the canon five allies from the first game (for those of you somehow not in the know: Imoen, Khalid, Jaheira, Dynaheir, Minsc), and I'm trying to figure out just what class for the main character would be the best complement. I'm leaning towards some sort of Cleric, but whether or not he needs to be multi-classed/dual-classed is the thorn here.

Fighter/Cleric: We've already GOT two fighters--three if you count Minsc. This could be overkill.

Cleric/Ranger: Overkill on druidic spells?

Cleric/Mage: Mage overkill, this time, since Imoen WILL become a Mage herself.

Cleric/Thief: Maybe. Seems a bit odd, for some reason, though. (Because gnome-only?)

Plain Cleric: Probably not a bad idea. I just wish I could get visions of extra power from the multi/dual setup out of my head, though...This and Cleric/Thief might be the only ones that don't over-represent some aspect.

(I imagine I'm going to get flooded with claims of what everyone used if they worked with the canon companions...)

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#2 The Imp

Not good, see EVIL is better. You'll LIVE.

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Posted 15 April 2015 - 01:46 PM

That's the vanilla party ... but it's lacking a bit in healing skill yes, or summon undead... , and the fighting department could need a bit of help. So the best option is to go and get Khalid eaten by a Basilisk and get another Basilisk bate called Branwen and then use that as the base good vanilla party instead, and then you can pick which ever class/kit combo you wish. That's the reason why there's no Khalid in BG2. See a fighter with these attributes; STR 15, DEX 16, CON 17 isn't going to make miracles happen, even if his Charisma, Intelligence and Wisdom are all above 9... when there's forever regenerating dwarf to join the party.

Also the vanilla BG1 was clearly made for a warrior protagonist. The game ends when the mage protagonist get's hit with a few arrows when he has AC 10, no thanks.

Yep, Jarno Mikkola. my Mega Mod FAQ. Use of the BWS, and how to use it(scroll down that post a bit).
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#3 Fiann of the Silver Hand

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Posted 15 April 2015 - 05:20 PM

I only just dug my cds out for the first time in... 8 years, but I think part of the challenge of the game is NOT perfectly optimizing the party. Play whatever race/class/kit you want, and bring along whatever NPCs you want. Sure, in a few battles you might have to cheese a bit to get through*, but to me that's much more desireable than worrying about arbitrary party roles, or if you can use every single munchkin weapon and spell in the game. I used to do "theme parties" just for the challenge (divine classes only, etc), and also the NPC interactions that would never be seen otherwise.

* And controversially, min/max'ing characters is just cheese on a high enough level for people to rationalize it.

Edited by Fiann of the Silver Hand, 15 April 2015 - 05:21 PM.

fiannofthesilverhand

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#4 -Skyknight-

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Posted 15 April 2015 - 05:40 PM

Actually, I finally remembered why I wasn't sure about Cleric/Thief and Cleric/Ranger--the averaging spread I was using. It involved taking the five characters' ability scores, averaging each one (i.e. average STR, average DEX, etc.), then flipping the order around and rounding the numbers to get a stat spread that complemented the other five (Minsc's strength is counted as 18.93). Result:

STR 13

DEX 12

CON 11

INT 14

WIS 16

CHA 15

So my personal challenge was figuring out what class would be most ideal if you had EXACTLY that stat spread. At first blush it's Cleric/Mage, but with Imoen and Dynaheir around, that's too many unarmorable characters (unless I find elven mail, anyway) for my tastes. Granted the STR of 13 might be worrisome, but a Fighter/Cleric MIGHT be good, if one plans on acting more Cleric and less Fighter (other than weapon proficiency scales). Important point about Cleric/Thief is, it's too reliant on dexterity to justify the 12, especially with it being the second-lowest stat. CON and DEX are too low for a Cleric/Ranger.

So...I guess I've ended up eyeing either Cleric or Fighter/Cleric...

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#5 -Skyknight-

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Posted 15 April 2015 - 05:43 PM

Bah, I just realized that the DEX and CON are also Fighter-worrisome. Straight Cleric it is, then...(Now if only the Spheres option for Divine Remix were actually working, I could have a full-scale Heartwarder of Sune. I'm using a Chaotic Good alignment precisely because Bhaal was Lawful Evil...)

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#6 Fiann of the Silver Hand

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Posted 16 April 2015 - 03:18 PM

Multiclassing in BG is difficult, unless you're just doing it on a lark. You should consider bard with those stats. A good complement to any party, that lore is much more valuable in BG than BG2, and less annoying than the either of the stock bard NPCs.

fiannofthesilverhand

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#7 -ErikT-

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Posted 17 April 2015 - 03:13 AM

With the "canonical" NPCs in the party, you do not actually lack anything crucial. You can be any class, and still make it work.

Non-crucial things that are lacking however are a cleric for turning undead (and extra healing)

It is also worth keeping in mind that if you dual-class Imoen into a Mage (as is commonly done) then you will lack a thief for part of the game.

So the choice for complementing the others in the party is Cleric/Thief. This is a somewhat limited choice though. (Bad weapon choice due to Cleric, Bad armour choice due to Thief.)

Better idea might be to make a Cleric/Mage and keep Imoen as a Thief.

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