Paladin solo

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hi all,

i'm thinking of soloing the saga with a pally, but i'm totally unfamiliar with this class, so i would appreciate it greatly if you could give me a few pointers on how to create a real tank

i should also mention that i feel like kitting him into a cavalier once imported from bg1, its bonus seem kind of awesome compared to a plain pally, so how shoould i distribute stats, knowing that i would like him to ultimately have access to all of the priest spells available ?

 

I'm not one to solo a campaign so take my comments with some caution.

First, decent strength is a plus for pally-who have a lot in common with fighters.

I'll have to double check but the paladin's healing abilities aren't as good as a cleric by a notable margin. I'm not sure if that kit has much in the way of healing abilities. I know inquisitors cannot but I'm not sure about Cevs.

Don't expect to be able to cast heal (the best healing spell), possibly at all, during that run through.



Some pooh poohing.... yes.


But there are also some pluses. Paladins are like fighters with a bonus.

Not only do you get access to all the great weapons and armor like a fighter can but with some added bonuses (spells or abilities).

I like paladins and treat mine (have a couple of parties with a pally protagonist) like a tank.

 

but as i understand it, pallies require 17 in charisma, and since they're fighters they need their str, dex and con to be maxed out, and to have acces to high lvl priest spells they need 18 in wis also, and i should put at least 10 pts in int... i doubt i have that much pts to distribute, unless i use items (gauntlets, girdles...)

so how should i proceed ? i'll have to get him gauntlets of dex and girdles of giant strenght i guess....

also which is better: cavalier or inquisitors ? the latter cannot be charmed or held, and he has dispel magic

 

it looks like it, and since he cannot use priest spells i wont have to put too many points in wisdom

 

The lowest you can make a paladin's wisdom score is 13.

 

Paladin is a joke as a spellcaster. They get few token spells at best. And wisdom does not grant them bonus spell slots. So you can dump WIS to minimum class requirement. (which is still high)

Inquisitor is indeed the most powerful against spell casters. (and there are a lot of very powerful spell casters in BG2. And I mean a lot.) But Undead Hunter is very nice too, you will never be afraid of level draining monsters/spells. (they come in galore in BG2 too, and are very deadly.) Cavalier is by far the worst choice.

You can use Easy TuTu to play BG1 part with BG2 rules/engine and start off as a kitted pally already. Or BGT works well too.

 

no i never use mods, well i did use tutu long time ago but i was disapointed by it, it added groups of monsters where in the original bg there were none or one at worst

in regard on whether to kit him to a cavalier or inquisitor, isnt the cavalier's bonus against draconic and demonic foes still interesting ? +3 to hit and damage and immunity to fear, plus with the ring of free action you can be immune to hold as well as the inquisitor, alright i understand that the dispel magic and true sight abilities make him a great magekiller..... but still he has many drawbacks the cavalier hasnt

 

Do you want an easier time fighting dragons or mages? That's pretty much the difference here. There's far more wizards than dragons and the Inquisitor isn't helpless against dragons. Personally, I'd take the Inquisitor but I know if I asked my brother he'd swear by the Cavalier. It's really just player preference. I doubt you'll have a hard time no matter what paladin kit you choose. Paladins are VERY powerful in BG2.

 

This isn't a disadvantage, actually. It means that no matter what you actually roll for wisdom, the game engine will ensure that the value is at least 13. For example, if you roll, say, a 6... you will actually get a 13. So your chance of getting overall higher stats is better with a character that has a minimum stat requirement.

 

well tough dragons like draconis and abazigal are also deadly spellcasters, so i guess even in these fights the inquisitor's dispel magic will come in handy, plus the other dragons aren't that hard..... so maybe inquisitor is the way to go

its a question of reason vs passion, but knowing myself i'll probably go for the cavalier after i import my char, just because this kit's bonus look good on the paper

oh yeah i wanted to know: what is better, wielding carsomyr and putting points in two-handed weapons style or go for warhammer/flail/axe with a shield +5 ? i've read that carsomyr can dispel magic, so its probably the best choice for a cavalier

 

Carsomyr is THE weapon for any paladin, it gives 50% magic resistance which is hugely useful, and just too good to pass for +6 AC bonus of a shield. AC becomes pretty much obsolete late in ToB anyway, but MR is always invaluable. And it dispels the enemy when you hit, but you still need to be able to 'touch' the enemy with it, protection from magic weapons will stop it cold. The weapon is also the most damaging you can find, especially against Chaotic Evil opponents. (ie:Red Dragons, almost any vampire and demon breed, etc. Sadly not Irenicus.)

 

Irenicus isn't that much of a challenge anyway lol.... Sarevok at the end of bg1 is a much tougher cookie for a low level char

plus if you add up the cavalier's bonus vs demons and dragons, those fights must end up in a real bloodbath

---------- Added 11 hours, 41 minutes and 56 seconds later... ----------

i dont know whats going on, my pally is lvl 3 with 18/50 in str and the gauntlets of dex (his THAC0 is 14) but he can never hit in sword combat, i've been using the bow since the begining... what kind of a paladin is that ??

 

Carsomyr is indeed the weapon for pallys. Hell, I made a F/T just so I could get Use Any Item, Timestop Traps, and equip Carsomyr with 5 points in Two-Handed Weapons! One downfall of the Paladin class is that you can't go that far in the weapon skills.

Btw, the F/T ROCKED.

And yes, take the Inquisitor. Dragon battles typically end up being slug fests, with most of their spells being damage or disable (on you, which you'll have a hard time with solo). I think I've seen one dragon cast Invisibility once, and it wasn't even improved. A pally, already being a tank character, is perfecly suited for this type of thing as it is. A small bonus to hit and damage isn't worth that much. On the other hand, mage battles often turn into games of cat-and-mouse if you aren't prepared, with you being the mouse. I didn't prepare well in one play through and every mage battle ended up with me desperately trying to outlast the mage's final defensive spells while dodging my own party members. It was no fun. True Sight and Dispel are definitely worth it.

 

yeah you're probably right, i think i'll make him an inquisitor.... the problem is that i cannot take the cloak of bravery (for immunity to fear and panic) in hell since i'm supposed to act in a good way, so what do you suggest to counter fear ?

and what about death spells, since he doesnt have rage or berserk to protect him, how can he avoid these ?

i once soloed with an assassin (thief imported from bg1) and i was doing fine until i discovered he couldnt backstab dragons, so that was the end of it

 

The Dragon Slayer longsword protects against fear.

 

right you are

anyway maybe pallies are strong in bg2 but in the first opus they're super weak, i'm lvl 4 and i can barely touch Taugosz Khosann, this doesnt bode well for the fight with Sarevok.....

 

Remove Fear is a lvl 1 priest spell and Death Ward is a lvl 4 priest spell. IIRC, you should get lvl 4 spells by lvl 15. Even before that, you can still use scrolls.

 

I generally agree with the advice given here. Unfortunately, the bonuses provided by the Cavalier class aren't as good as they look on paper. The +3 modifiers are only useful against a small number of opponents in the game and aren't really all that large. Pro Fear is handy, but a large number of Fear-users are mages, against whom the Inquisitor is better. 20% resistance to a couple of elements is also nice, but fairly unimportant compared to MR.

In contrast, the Inquisitor has True Sight and double-level Dispel Magic (which is very powerful). Lacking spellcasting is a shame, but not really all that important. Since you will be Lawful Good, your Bhaal abilities will include minor healing and Draw Upon Holy Might so you really aren't missing out on all that much.

Looks like you've already started, but regarding stats the important ones are strength, dexterity and constitution. Charisma has to be high, wisdom offers very little benefit and intelligence is no better. The more physical stats should be kept as high as possible.

Complete agreement here.

If he goes Inquisitor he won't get any spells. Still, scrolls, Dragonslayer and Power Word: Reload should cover it.

Not exactly. A higher stat total doesn't necessarily mean that a character is better. Minimum stats can be useful, as you just pointed out, but they can also work against you. Consider how difficult it would be to make a paladin if the class also had a minimum INT of 16. The character would probably have a higher stat total, but it would be harder to get good values in the important ones. When minimum stats restrict your normal dump stats, then they are a disadvantage. Of course, when they don't they are an advantage.

It will get better. Archery is king in BG; that is just how the game goes, I'm afraid. As you gain some more levels, you'll find melee more useful.

Not a big worry. While scrolls can save you again, you should also have decent saves. On top of that, you'll be wanting to find items that boost your MR anyway (and it just so happens that Carsomyr does so very well).

No weaker than any other warrior class. You are still only level 4. Think about last time you took on the bandits and what level your party was. A solo level 4 character is going to be noticeably weaker than a full party at level 4. Soloing can be quite different to normal play. Some fights you should just avoid until you've gained enough EXP from finishing the easier quests.

 

Being healed by fire based damage was a nice bonus for my cavalier....