Bounty Hunter/mage

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This time through I've decided to try something different: a human dc Bounty Hunter/mage. First off I thought of a Swashbuckler/mage but they can't backstab which is a huge setback.

I have the following stats:
Loke, human
STR: 18
DEX: 18
CON: 16
INT: 18
WIS: 12
CHA: 8

Proficient in Short Bow, Long Swords and Katanas and also a point in Single Weapon Style.

The Bounty Hunter seems to have several advantages over the other kits in a dc combo:
Backstabbing:
The Swashbuckler simply can't and unless you dual very late in the game you won't benefit from the Assassin's x6/x7 bonus.
Traps:
The Bounty Hunter gets the double amount of traps (and his special traps come with some nice extra effects).
Skill points:
The Bounty Hunter gets 20 points to distribute at level up - the Assassin only gets 15 which means that a dc Assassin will have very poor thieving skills unless he duals at a high level. The Swashbuckler gets 25 IIRC.

The Bounty Hunter doesn't get the combat bonuses of a Swashbuckler or an Assassin but IMO any thief/mage combo shouldn't be a melee fighter. He should rely on stealth, spells and backstab (obviously combat bonuses help when backstabbing but the Assassin's +1 to to hit and damage really doesn't make that big a difference - and again the Swashbuckler can't).

I'll probably dual my Bounty Hunter at level 11. That way his special traps will hold the enemies (if save is failed), he'll backstab at x4 and he can still reach level 17 as a mage IIRC.
The special traps/regular traps have great potential: lure the enemies into the mine field (the traps go of) and those who survive should either be held, near death - or at the very least their numbers should be dramatically reduced. And then a few area effect spells will finish the rest of them of. Or ranged attacks and standard melee fighters.

And later in the game my BH/mage can cast Tenser's and backstab.

I have a few questions though:
1. How easy is it to save against the BH's traps (those gained at level 11)? Does MR apply?
2. If I cast mislead, will the copy be able to set traps?
3. At which levels does the BH (or any thief)gain additional traps?

Any thoughts?

 

You cannot cast mislead and then cast traps, because the decoy you get from the spell is just that...a decoy! Atleast, I don't think you can.

The saves will be made very rarely when you first get the traps, but after spellhold, I think you will have a 50 % chance of getting them to work.

You get more traps every four levels, IIRC, because it also follows the same progression as various other abilities like Poison Weapon, Enrage, Kai, Offensive Spin etc etc.

 

I'm pretty sure that the Mislead copy can set traps.

I would really discourage dual-classing a Bounty Hunter, since to make your Traps ability worth it, you should have 80+. That will really take away from your other thievin' skills. Unless you have another thief, go for a regular thief/mage. A vanilla thief can do all the good stuff like backstab and traps, so that's what I'd do.

I played a 12/16 Swash/Mage once. It's a really good character, but I played him wrong. I played him like a fighter/mage but I should've played him like a thief that can cast spells.

 

Yeah, the generel thief skills are a setback. I've already set Traps to 100 (I hate failing in setting a trap) which means that other skills like Hide, Move Silently, Detect Traps and Pick Locks will suffer - just like Mystra's Chosen writes.
I'd planned on using items to compensate, Ring of Danger Sense etc., but I probably won't have enough skill points. At least I'll have to wait until lvl 12 before dualling.

I'm not planning on taking another thief along for the ride.

 

i will test out mislead right now and edit in the results