Using SK to create a Kensai/Assassin build

[mr_sir]

I really want to play as a Kensai/Assassin but you cannot have two kits so I was thinking about playing as a Kensai til I dual then changing the kit to Assassin then once I get the fighter abilities back, using SK to add the Kensai abilities. I have figured out how to add the Kai damage but how can I make it so I am unable to wear armour or bracers and how do I change things like the speed factor to represent the bonuses gained from a Kensai?

Edit: Or should I just go to Kensai/thief instead and not bother with assassin? I only want to do this if I really can't use SK to give the bonuses and disadvantages of a Kensai though.

[Ian Kognitow]

It at least seems like a better approximation to go with the Kensai/thief and then just plug in the poison weapon ability through SK, which is easy enough. The main drawback there is that when I tried out the same thing in a game I couldn't figure out how to bump up the backstab factor to x7 for the assassin.

[mr_sir]

Thanks for the reply

I've figured it out. You need to add the Kensai bonuses etc. using the affects tab on SK once you get to the point that you regain your abilities. It details it in this thread (its about dualling Kensai to Diviner but its the same process)

There is still one thing I haven't figured out how to do yet though and that is how to add the armour restrictions that a Kensai has. Anyone know how to do this?

Or does anyone know how to get the backstab of x7 so I can do it the way Ian suggested?

[Lobster]

This might work:
Start out as a Kensai, and dual to thief when you reach a level you're happy with.
Then use SK to add in the assassin abilities level by level.
This way, you'll have all the kensai's armour restrictions (until you get UAI) together with his THAC0 and damage improvements, but you'll benefit from the extra thieving skill points when you level up.

+ edit +

Never mind - I just tested this, but I was stuck with 5x backstab.
I guess you're not meant to have multiple kits for a reason

+ 2nd edit +

I just looked at the other thread.
Maybe you could copy and paste the affects info for the backstab multiplier of an existing high level assassin?
Combine this with the bonus abilities from my original suggestion, and you'll have yourself a mega-overpowered backstabbing rapemonster of the highest calibre

[Ian Kognitow]

Originally Posted by Lobster

I just looked at the other thread.
Maybe you could copy and paste the affects info for the backstab multiplier of an existing high level assassin?
Combine this with the bonus abilities from my original suggestion, and you'll have yourself a mega-overpowered backstabbing rapemonster of the highest calibre

Out of curiosity--since I failed at replicating a similar build awhile back and settled for the x5--I did some looking around on shadowkeeper. There were no apparent affects tabs for backstabbing for a variety thieves and even the best specific assassin I could find--the assassin form of Sendai--didn't seem to have anything there either.

Mr Sir: I did have the following thought, if I understand correctly that changing the kit after the dual level to assassin (does that make it an assassin-thief? heh.) can let you have everything but the Kensai armour restrictions:
Just switch to the assassin kit at level 21 (for x7) or 18 (if you don't want to skip x6). I imagine that by then your character would already have settled into some favoured equipment, so you would really just have to resist throwing on some leather armour or gauntlets until level 23, when I expect you would take UAI as your first HLA--and thus negating the restrictions anyway. Again, you can add the poison weapon in manually as an innate ability so that wouldn't be a problem for the intermediate levels. I guess that you would be getting full thieving points per level rather than only the 15 an assassin gets--I suppose you could just throw away 10 points into pick pocketing every turn rather than something more useful like hide in shadows, if that's a problem to you; or just subtract points via shadowkeeper as you level up.

[mr_sir]

I've decided its just going to be too much hassle lol. I'm currently playing through BG1 Tutu with this character with the view of going right through to TOB. I want to switch to Assassin just after the prologue area in BG2 to reflect her desire to kill her captor. From a roleplaying point of view I've decided to play as a Kensai through BG1 then when I dual to Assassin I will change Kensai to just plain fighter to reflect that she has abandoned her old teachings and training. This will also mean that I will not end up with a ridiculously overpowered character as I will also use SK to make sure I get rid of all the benefits gained from being a Kensai.

[Ian Kognitow]

Originally Posted by mr_sir

I've decided its just going to be too much hassle lol. I'm currently playing through BG1 Tutu with this character with the view of going right through to TOB. I want to switch to Assassin just after the prologue area in BG2 to reflect her desire to kill her captor. From a roleplaying point of view I've decided to play as a Kensai through BG1 then when I dual to Assassin I will change Kensai to just plain fighter to reflect that she has abandoned her old teachings and training. This will also mean that I will not end up with a ridiculously overpowered character as I will also use SK to make sure I get rid of all the benefits gained from being a Kensai.

Sounds reasonable, but from a role-play aspect, can one really *abandon* previous training? (I guess maybe if her intelligence is low.). Would you be removing the combat and AC bonuses gained in BGI with the switch? I imagine that the Kai special abilities and potential grandmastery can reasonably be forsaken for class, but the prior combat bonuses would seem to just be a more inextricable part of experience that a character couldn't just lose.

[mr_sir]

The Kensai is all about using the mind to focus on combat moves and having no armour resricting movement etc. If she gets so enraged that all she can think about is vengeance it makes sense that she will lose this training.