Main Character Question....

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Wow, Paladins are popular. I played one for Icewind Dale. But for BG2, I started off with a Kensai, since that became one of my favorite classes when it was introduced in the "Oriental Adventures" AD&D book (although the full class version in OA is superior to the weakened kit version in BG2 - one of the class abilities was the Whirlwind Attack, a ki power that allowed you to roll to-hit once and strike every opponent within 5ft of you, no matter how many there are - you could bring down a whole herd of minotaurs in one round).

But there are so many interesting kits in BG2, from Archer and Avenger to Sorcerer and Jester, that it's hard to say which is my all-time favorite.

 

What?! How do you figure Grub is bad (and if it's about Imoen, please use the search option to see my full reasons for doing so).

Grub only killed a lady in Waukeen's Promenade because of her comment about Half-Orcs. Grub doesn't like comments like that!

Grub only watched Viconia burn to death because Grub hates Drow, especially Drizzt.

Grub only watched Anomen die by Minsc's hands because Anomen deserved it.

Grub only killed Haer'Dalis because the bugger lied to Grub, not once, but twice!

Grub is very honorable in battle. He doesn't let anyone set up traps around dragons or shoot Golems from far away while they're stuck in doorways, let alone attack anyone unless they attack them first, even if they're blue to begin with but most of all, Grub faces his enemy as a party rather than running back and forth through rooms stopping the enemy mage spells from being cast.

So please, tell me how Grub is a bad fellow?

Syl...

 

Oh I see. I'm not much into the Generation X lingo. Phat, geigh, reet..."bump"!

Syl...

 

I meant "good" bad...Like he's a baaaaad man!

Whoa?! Hypersensitivity on the boards today eh?

1/2 orc fighter with the extra strength and constitution make for one tough tank! Even early on in the game...Didn't mean to offend!

 

Who's defensive now? LOL

 

It's not me you have to worry about offending.

It's Grub.

Don't piss him off

Syl...

 

I actually applaud your killing of Haer'Dalis ...He was annoying.

Plus, aren't you younger than me? You should know all the slang!

Every time I try to get this topic going it just goes right off the deep end...

 

I agree with Lord Bane on the Blade character. He was a bit weak at first, but now at level 16 (yes PP has been maxed at 130 for a while) he kicks some ass. He uses the melodius chain armor and dual-welds the flail-of-ages and wyverns-tail (until I get Crom Faeyr). He can get off 5 magic missles, use spell turning and wade into battle with the best of them. He makes a great mage killer with his spell turning and great offensive abilities. Currently his THACO is 3 and 5 (off-hand) and an AC of -5. With him, Minsc and Keldorn in the front line we kick some royal butt.

To be honest, though, I rarely use the offensive and defensive spins. I just have not gotten into the habit, or seen any great benefit...maybe I should try again...am i missing something good?

Also if he does get hurt in battle, he can do more than just hide in the corner. If he's not casting spells, then he can use his Bard song (which does help) or use the harp of pandemonium.

So while I was a little disappointed with him at first, he has grown into the well-rounded character the a good bard should.

 

I started with a half-orc Barbarian but tired even before I came out of the first dungeon. After that I created a female monk with whom I went all the way (the game I mean).

The monk really rocks and it was almost too easy sometimes.

I like fighter-characters because it promotes fast game-play (IMO anyway).

This time I'm going for an evil party to try out those evil NPCs. For that I created a dwarven Berserker. He turned out to be almost an exact clone of Korgan. Ah,well...

 

I played through BG with a multi fighter/mage. Unfortunately, he really was a weak character. So of course I imported him into BG2(sorta-I made him better before I started BG2), and of course he sucked even more. So I started over with a Kensai-mage. Very, very nice character. After a poor main character run in BG, finally I get a great one to play on with.

I generally like fighter mages for my main characters. I don't know. I guess it's a throwback to my first RPG, Ultima 8(I haven't been a RPG fan long as you can tell). The main character there could mix it up fighting and cast spells as well. I suppose the love of that fighter type always stuck with me.

 

I played through BG with a multi fighter/mage. Unfortunately, he really was a weak character. So of course I imported him into BG2(sorta-I made him better before I started BG2), and of course he sucked even more. So I started over with a Kensai-mage. Very, very nice character. After a poor main character run in BG, finally I get a great one to play on with.

I generally like fighter mages for my main characters. I don't know. I guess it's a throwback to my first RPG, Ultima 8(I haven't been a RPG fan long as you can tell). The main character there could mix it up fighting and cast spells as well. I suppose the love of that fighter type always stuck with me.

 

My first game was a with a Kensai because I really liked the 'samurai' concept and the sheer offensive power of the kit. Halfway through, I saved the game and dualled him to a mage, resulting in a very badass character, although he now has to let Minsc take up the frontline while he rushes to and fro striking any who get through. Upon finishing the game, I reloaded and tried to play through as a pure kensai and boy, at level 19, was he a death dealing machine. Although at a wimpy AC of -1, he could take out almost anything before it attacked with his enchanced speed factor and deal out chunks of damage to larger foes absorbed in attacking the well armoured tanks. My next favourite class had to be the ranger though, cos I envsioned them as tough, stern cowboys of Faerun. And yes, I idolise Drizzt. =p to you Syl. The paladin class is very versatile of course and the kits have awesome abilities, especially the inquisitor but I just don't like the Lawful Good alignment that they have. Mages are awesomely powerful in BG2 but I don't like the fact that they have to prepare their spells in advance. I'd pick a sorceror over a mage most of the time.
However, I can always pick up Edwin, archmage extraordinare and later have Imoen join as a backup mage, so I rarely play this class.

 

Fighter can get Grand Mastery.
Paladin can't get Grand Mastery.
Fighter is better in fighting. PERIOD

 

....Duh.
Of course, that's to balance the game.

 

Shura,

You stated that your Kensai/Mage had a "wimpy AC -1".

One thing you seem to have overlooked about the Kensai/Mage, or just neglected to mention in your post is that with the awesome repertoire of defensive spells at your disposal you can get your AC down around -10 to -12.

Not to mention, that with Stone Skin you can give yourself the time to just stand and cast spells at your leisure.

I only added this commentary so that the people reading this topic would not be put off by your description of the Kensai/Mage.

"Every man in the world is better than someone else and not as good as someone else - William Saroyan"

-Immoral

 

I had an interesting go-through with BG2, and didn't even complete the game until I was on my 3rd character. Here's how it went:

1st, I started as an Elven Fighter/Mage. He was a good character in BG, so when I got BG2 I decided to import him.. however, I struggled quite a bit, as he didn't seem able to carry his weight in the party. I saved the game and restarted in Chapter 3.

Next, I started with a Half-Orc Barbarian, for two reasons. 1) I like all-out warrior types, and have for as long as I can remember, and 2) I was inspired by the stories of Grub. I had alot of fun with this character, but quit playing him in Chapter 5, due to a combination of boredom and a bug which caused me to lose many hours of playtime.

Finally, I went with what I knew from my PnP days... the Ranger. I chose the Stalker kit for its stealth abilities, and I had alot of fun with this character. Towards the end, things were tough due to the severe armor restrictions of the Stalker kit, but I managed to finish the game.

 

I started playing a half elf ranger...

...because I couldn't find the floppy I saved my final BG1 game on!!! =)

 

Just to clear something up. The character with a -1 AC Shura was talking about was a pure Kensai(a rare breed indeed). Kensai mages can have a more respectable AC because of the archmagi robes or the robe of venca. My Kensai Mage has AC-6, which is a fine AC except for the most powerfull of fighters, golems, and other generally evils of the land. Throw in the defensive spells, and he can hold his own with just about anyone on the front line with my fighter.

And, yes, Ultima 8 had it's problems, but at the time, I really didn't know any better

[This message has been edited by Crawl (edited January 10, 2001).]