Armoured Arcana vs. ranger level

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I've never had any trouble keeping my mages out of combat really, especially with mirror image and stoneskin to save their neck if they are attacked. They have abysmal AC but never use it so I couldn't really care about increasing it.

If you don't have a high strength I'm struggling to see how melee weapons enjoy much of an advantage over missile for most of the game. Granted there are some uber melee weapons available at the end and HOF (not that I've played it). But rapid shot would do an awful lot more I think for the majority of the game, especially as its goodness is weighted towards when your spells are weak, not when they're strong.

 

Dash. Probably best feat in the game.

 

Actually, your strength doesn't really matter in this equation. If you have low STR, you'll most likely do more damage by using a bow or a crossbow that conveniently ignore any STR penalties. While on the other hand, a lousy sling does just as good dps as a two-handed sword would for a guy with higher STR, with the added advantage of range.

 

Yeah. I like to use the magical items I find, too. I found that with my particular monk/ranger build, I am able to have the high AC character made possible with a deep gnome monk while using not just one, but two light blades.

 

JFTR, for the sake of any newbies who stumble across this thread, Sad Giant's Cap is only available in modded games. It does have pretty cool stats though.

Invisibility is a reasonable replacement for Mirror Image. Con: you can't cast it proactively, it only works to break aggro after someone is already attacking you. Pro: it casts just as quickly as Mirror Image. Pro: it works no matter how many attackers there are, whereas a bunch of archers may quickly wear down Mirror Images. Pro: you can cast it on somebody ELSE (like a permanent mule, say).

-Max

 

Yes, but IIRC, it is an item that's actually in the base game's files. But for some reason, you cannot access it within the game, except by either using a cheat code to get it, or using the Ease of Use mod, which places it somewhere accessible within the game. (There are actually a number of "missing" armors and shields that the EoUse mod re-includes in the game by making them accessible.)

Another cute way to use the Invisibility is this ... in my Windriders party, my dwarven fighter got stunned in some way that currently don't recall and was getting hammered. Healing him while "stunned" was sort of pointless as he'd just take more damage. So instead, my bard case an invisibility spell on him, so he could just stand there all stunned, but not be a target any longer. Of course, if a drider wizard had cast a fireball, etc., he'd have still taken damage... but turning him invisible at least removed him as a melee target for the driders.

Obviously, a spellcaster could cast invisibility on themselves in such a situation. But I'm not sure if people easily remember that you could cast it on one of your party members who's in dire straits (i.e. "stunned" in some way and losing HP rapidly).