GameBanshee Forums

I'm thinking of soloing again and I wanna either try a Monk/Cleric or a Barbarian/Rogue. What do you think about either if these combos? And if so what would be some good stats for either of these PC's?

I actually thought of a rogue/cleric combo. Start as cleric, then get one level in rogue (for disable device/search). You'll get XP faster and shoot up in levels. Knowing of the magical items available in the game, I think modest stats are OK 'cuz you can pump them quite easily later down the road.

Alfric

I think that, in this game especially, any solo character has to have some cleric. Number one, think of the undead battles you avoid with the cleric's turning ability. Without that, you may actually discover a way to have a non-invasive lobotomy caused simply by waiting through the movement of the undead (even with the speed utility). Next, there are some times when you absolutely have to heal during combat, and I'm not sure if there are always enough strong healing potions to handle that. Finally, I know that there aren't enough "power up" potions around to help on the various battles where you simply must have the edge of protection, strength, bless (or its kin).

I know I've addressed this before, somewhere, but for simple playability, you should probably have some rogue (to open things). I've never tried the cleric/monk route, because I tend to sacrifice the dexterity stat on the theory that heavy armor makes the stat useless anyway. I'm sure that you could figure out a way to make a cleric/monk work, but it may be too much effort in the restart-after-dying department. I did this game without any external cheating or editing (during the first 10 or so level ups, I tended to watch what HP's I was getting and restarting if they were too low, but after that it didn't matter given the amount of HP's you collect -- I'm not sure whether others would call that cheating, that's why I mention it) using a cleric/rogue/fighter (ended up 16/8/8, well before the end of the game) and I had everything I needed as far as stats and feats went. My initial stats were (relatively) pumped in wisdom, strength and constitution (I think +2 each, with Charisma at 11, one away from being +1), with 10's in everything else to start. Every stat gets bumped pretty quickly in the main halls, plus additional bumps along the way from the other areas and the 4 level bump. I know by the end of the game, my strength (with items) was in the high 20's, wisdom was 18, dexterity was around 13, Charisma was 18, and I think constitution was 20 and intelligence 15, but I may be a little off. Also, with one character, all of the items that give boosts simply for holding in the inventory are all his or hers, and that character gets the pick of the litter for the rings, amulets, etc.

As far as spells go, by the way, I found myself not using many offensive spells (even firestorm) by the time I got them, as my character could generally kill things more quickly hand-to-hand. Thus, you may not even want to max out the cleric part. If you really want to play a monk, you could probably make monk the primary class (ultimately) and go monk/rogue/cleric, finishing at 16/8/8 or 16/7/9. You would obviously push Wisdom and Dexterity for the Monk AC issues. Just a thought.

The whole point of the Monk/Cleric was to have someone with enough reflex saves so they could open trapped chests while sustaining little-no damage. But I'm now realizing that this character can't weild bladed weapons(Helm Cleaver, Deathspike, any other good weapons aside from the Massive Club). Another thing I wanted this character for was, in the late game, to be able to be in a battle , let yourself get surrounded, and cast Flame Strike/Firestorm on yourself and being a Monk being the only living thing left. Maybe I could start as a Paladin and add Monk at the 3rd lvl up. Basically I want a Monk that can turn undead, weild all weapon types, and maybe disarm traps. It's not gonna happen but oh well. If anyone's got another idea for a Monk solo character please post it.

The problem with dropping an inferno on yourself while surrounded is that, not only do you have to be able to survive the spell (no big deal with the monk), you also have to be able to survive the multitute of free shots that your enemies get at you while you are casting your spell.

I like the monk/paladin idea, but it requires a lot of front loading on the paladin to get the right turning level to make the undead battles palatable. Also, no rogue can be done, but you do lose all that free experience.

You know, now that you mention it, I may give that combo a try. It sounds workable and interesting, and I don't really have anything else to play right now. Thanks for the thoughts. If you don't want to try it, let me know and I'll tell you how mine is going.

I'm gonna try the Paladin/Monk/Rogue(maybe) combo tonight. It'll be a while before I get very far cause of school. So you(dmc) should try it and let me know how it goes. I really have trouble picking good starting stats for a solo character so what would be good for a Paladin/Monk or a Paladin/Monk/Rogue combo? I'm thinking about going Paladin/Monk so I can crash Int, and boost other important stuff like Dex and Wis so I can go armorless.

I started one up over the weekend but didn't get far (weather was too nice and I had evening commitments). It was painful without rogue, but doable. I'll comment directly to you (as opposed to the board) as things go on. If anything develops that I think may interest others, I'll post it.