Why bother with Inquisitors when....? PoH/F

[prune1]

Ah, sounds like someone new to mods for BG/BG2 then!

Well, SCSII is available from a website called 'The Gibberlings Three', which contains other mods too you might like.

There are other websites too; I think improved anvil is from 'spellhold studios'; regardless that is another website full of mods.

There's also 'Pocket plane group' which has some awesome mods.

There are mods that add dialogue for example, and good ones at that - unless you open up the added dialogue or notice the lack of voicing (though a lot of stuff isn't voiced in the normal game either) you cannot tell these are mods often; such is the quality of mods lke banter pack and IEP.

Anyhows, I'll let you do some reseacrh yourself but it is a lot of stuff! So all i recommend is get the fixpack from gibberling 3 and the SCSII mod mentioned. All else is up to you and what you enjoy most, whether the fighting aspects or the dialogue/story (or both!).

Enjoy.

[sebadelphia]

awesome. I may never stop playing BG2 after all. I only recently stopped playing planescape as well...my finals seriously suffered. I'm gonna check these mods out thanks prune.

[Berethor]

Originally Posted by Crenshinibon

I'm pretty sure that everyone that posted in this thread plays on insane as well.

=X

<--Core Rules

Haven't given Insane a try yet. Does it utilize the Core Rules, but with higher damage? What's the story here?

On topic, a Priest of Helm dual-classed to fighter is not worth it compared to a Fighter/Cleric or especially a Ranger/Cleric. You will have a more limited casting selection, and a +4 sword that silences you isn't worth losing things like Ironskins(if R/C)/Shield of the Archons or other useful druidic/clerical spells.

On another note, you can make a Kensai/Cleric???

Sounds crazy, need tips!

[Crenshinibon]

As far as I know, that's what Insane mode is.

Essentially, the Priest of Helm/Fighter combination is useless, even when buffed, due to an abysmal THAC0.

The Kensai/Cleric is a very powerful class combination, and I'm convinced that you CANNOT duel before level 22. The way I planned the use of this character is to take advantage of the Kensai's inherent bonuses, since they apply to ALL weapons. This makes the dual class the best at delivering the harm spell, which as we know reduced the target to a single hit point.

[Berethor]

How high will the Cleric level get after the Kensai is level 22? I'd assume somewhere in the range of ~27 since Multi-class ranger/clerics hit 21R/25C, and Fighters level up faster than Rangers. Still, I'm not sure.

And I would assume that such a build would really only shine when playing solo or with very small groups, correct?

The build overall sounds like it would likely be a bit of a glass-cannon type of character due to the Vanilla Cleric's mild shortage of defense boosting abilities.

[Crenshinibon]

This build does indeed shine when soloing or in small groups. With Barkskin on, the AC of the Kensai/Cleric matches that of a fully armored (without a shield) Fighter/Cleric.

This isn't a glass cannon at all, but a bit harder to train than other dual classes. Keep in mind that we're taking Kensai levels here and all of your HLAs should be spent on Hardiness, which in combination with Defender of Easthaven and Armor of Faith grants an impressive 85% physical resistance in addition to your some -17AC.

If I remember correctly, if you dual at 22, you'll get to 27 or 28. If you dual at 24, you'll get to 25. The difference is one THAC0 and one spell slot for the last three levels.

[Berethor]

I'm officially torn between this Kensai/Cleric and the more common Ranger/Cleric for a solo game. My finger just hovered over the "Class" button on the character selection screen for 5 minutes or so trying to figure out what to play. Both sound quite powerful.

[Crenshinibon]

Well, why not establish a list of what you want?

The Ranger/Cleric:

Iron Skins
Simulacrum (Vhalior's Helm)
Easy early game.

The Kensai/Cleric:

Great THAC0 with ALL weapons (Harm, Energy Blades)
Has a difficult early game.
Has a very easy late game. (Can destroy most bosses with harm alone.)
Has a greater AC due to his class bonus.
Doesn't rely on ANY strength items for damage and THAC0, thus is free has a broader choice in weapons used and belts (Belt of Inertial Barrier).

Both have:

Four attacks per round.
Ability to get eighty five percent physical resistance.
Low AC.
No trouble with undead.
Team buffs.

I may have missed something, so don't take the list to heart. Both classes are very powerful, however, I'd view the Ranger/Cleric as more defensive of the two.

In a battle between the two, it's hard to say as to who'd win, as chances are, the Kensai/Cleric would land a greater amount of hits than the Ranger/Cleric, while the latter has Iron Skins to protect themselves from ten attacks, which, with Improved Haste, is roughly a round and a fourth (8.75 seconds, if it matters) worth of barrage.

[Berethor]

I'd say that Insect Plague can also be an advantage due to it's anti-casting nature. It makes a lot of fights much easier, especially early on in the game. One that comes to mind is the evil party in the temple sewers, who are easily dispatched with an Insect Plague followed by a Holy Smite and a few melee attacks.

[Crenshinibon]

I suppose you could, but I've had no problem using summons coupled with a few disabling spells.

[Berethor]

Which would you say has an easier time dealing with the final battle of Ascension? Relying on Harm for near one shot kills sounds like a solid plan for killing bosses like Abazigal and the Ravager, but wouldn't it be difficult to re-cast Harm in the middle of a battle like Ascension without Ironskins?

Either way, they both seem fun and I'll be sure to give them both a shot.

Edited for a typo I didn't notice was there but ended up looking like ****...time to play where's waldo.

[Crenshinibon]

I'd reccomend using Sanctuary when you need to recast Harm.

Unfortunately I can't answer your question as I never tested the Kensai/Cleric against the Ascension battles. In the unmodded game, the build works great.