First timer here, please no spoilers:

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Okay, all I've read/heard about this game is the following:

The game is probably the best CRPG game in existance, from a RP POV.

The game is much more dialogue/thought driven than anything else, and more so than any other CRPG game.

My idea is to play a Wizard type (I know you can multiclass, but I'm really not sure how to do so), even though I start as a Fighter.

Since knowledge is so important, and I know there are enough Fighter NPCs to help me out as the game goes along, I plan on maxing my WIS and INT. After that, I don't know where I'll spend any leftover points, but they'll probably go to CON to keep me alive a little longer.

I also know actions will shape my alignment as well as future abilities. Being the classic good vs. evil guy, I plan on being a very Good character.

Can I build a good character/party this way?

 

My first time through too, and I was playing as good and had no problem. The game gives you plenty of good/neutral/evil options for most things. It is a great game. Have fun.

 

You have a lot of opportunities to increase most stats. Wisdom comes from a lot of choices in the game -- don't spend more that 18 or 19 on it. But certainly starting with 18 wisdom is a good thing. Dexterity is also your friend. Con is really not that important in the game -- after all you can't die. Put your points in INT (get it to at least 19 for talking to Dakkon), CHA (try to get it to over 20), DEX, and STR before concentrating on CON.

Building up first as a fighter is good for hit points. I went 9 levels fighter (and kept the mage/thief levels just below fighter), then got the 10th level in thief. Shift entirely to mage after that point (although you lose a bonus to stats that way). There is an error in the manual -- fighter get d10, thief gets d6 and mage get d4. Every level where you dual class nets another 1 hit point (if below your highest level). Hence for 9/10/11 F/T/M you could have 9d10 + 1d6 + 1d4 (I think) + 9 (1-9 levels of thief) + 10 (1-10 levels of mage) hitpoints.

NPC fighters really don't appear until rather late in the game (except Morte -- you start with him, and he is the best pure fighter NPC in the game). Both Annah and Dakkon provide some fighting ability as multiclassed characters.

 

...Or just stay as a fighter, which is the best choise through the game. Also, pick the choises you want and let the game decide are you "good" or "evil."

I usually end up being neutral good.

 

Yeah one of the great things about PST is that its rather difficult to "plan" the party, you start, things happen, and you change opinions a hundred times, and in the end you have a very different character than you intended. chaos rocks!

Well just for a sugestion, do fighter for a long long time, its so easy. more hitpoints at start, and the specialiation bonuses etc. Also you have to "master" fighter class to be able to get the highest specialisation stuff if you want that. If you want game difficult, play Thief, if you wanna look at flasy effects go mage!

 

Maybe I'll start with an 18 INT and WIS then, and put the leftovers into CHA. Thanks for the advice everybody!

 

While I do think maxing out WIS is a good idea, I think that going to 18 in INT is a bit too much. You really don't need to START the game with such a high score, and there are plenty of ways to raise your stats during the game. Keep in mind that you can add one ability point at every level up (which will probably be more than 20), in addition to several events in the game that can increase stats. And lots of items increase stats as well (mostly tatoos). As for CHA, once you learn Friends (a level 1 mage spell, so you'll get it pretty early) you can raise it "on demand".

Here's my personal suggestion. Go to at least fighter level 6. Once you've done that, decide which class you'll focus on and go for it all the way through. You should know that you get some very nice rewards at levels 7 & 12, but you will only benefit from these fully if you get both set of rewards as the same class (in other words, if you follow T2Bruno's advice and get the level 7 reward as a fighter, then get to level 12 as a mage, you will NOT get anything as good as if you go for fighter all the way to 12, or to fighter 6 then mage all the way to 12)

I personally go for level 6 as a fighter, then switch (almost) exclusively to mage for the rest of the game. The game is loads of fun as a mage and you get quite a few fighter-type NPCs anyway. At higher levels the spell effects start to look really good, and at levels 8 & 9 you get treated to short movies unique to each spell (Mechanu's Canon is my personal favorite), a bit in the style of FF8. Naturally, there are some things that you can only do as one specific class anyway, so you can always switch class when you get to these points, then resume with your "main" class.

Assuming you want to follow the above progression (fighter 6 then mage all the way), here are some good starting stats:
WIS at least 16. You could go for 18 if you want to be sure you max out WIS. WIS is the stat that will affect your game most, since it provides bonus to XP and will allow for far more interesting ways to deal with the many dialogs you will get.
INT at least 13. You could raise to 15, but I wouldn't raise it more. If you're mage then you will later find ways to get it to 19, and if you're not a mage then you will never need it above 15 anyway.
CHA leave at 9, and take advantage of Friends when you get it.
This leaves you plenty of points to raise the physical stats to 12-13.

Remember that no decision you make at character creation is irreversible. You WILL get many opportunities to adjust your stats later, but specializing in WIS and balancing everything else does seem to yield good results from my experience.

 

Thanks for all the responses!

Is this a fact, or just your opinion?

 

Klorox- my advice: don't listen to any advice... not for the first run through anyway... definitely DO NOT look at any walkthroughs... if I had to give advice: 1) nearly everone with a name has interesting dialogue, so talk to them; 2) don't sweat how you build the Nameless One, just do what seems natural to you, as it's possible to finish the game even with a very flawed build; and 3) enjoy!

 

@ Klorox

Fact without arguments. Unlike BG2, Planescape does not have that deep mechanics when it comes to magic and thievery. Also, NPC thief (Annah) is a better option than NO, since there are no dedicated fighters in the game and you gain no special benefits in being one yourself.

18 in starting stats is a bit too much, IMO... 15 is a good starting point, since you will get a whole load of points to spend as you progress. Otherwise what Bion already said: do as you wish and enjoy. You can't screw it up as a roleplayer.

 

Bion is right (but you never listened to use when we said that before so ).

I have tried many different characters over the years. and most of them fun to play. the most efficient/best one i have found, was the only one that really bored me. Pure fighter, didnt bother to multi into anything. started with 18 str and wis, and rest in CON. upgraded Con and wis the rest. he was a slaughter machine. and as monotonous and boring as they ever get. So thats the ONLY character build i recomend NOT playing.

 

hey, IMO mage is by far the best class in PST. they get the best defensive items and tons of sweet spells. If your playing a mage i'd say get your wisdom, int., and cha. up before the other stats. Also, try to become a mage as soon as you can, there's no point in trying to level yourself up as a fighter.
thats just my advice though, you should decide for yourself. Have fun, its the best game ever IMO.

 

morte is a dedicated fighter as is vilhalor(sp). also if you go a fighter then youll be to concerned with str, dex and con - 3 of the least fun to play stats in the game, you lose so many dialogue options and options to learn abilities such as "stories bones tell"

wirhe is obviously a power player and such would rather lead a slaughter then enjoy one of the most indeapth role plays ever

 

From what I can tell (and somebody pointed out a "maximum hit points" character in a recent thread started by Aldeth), the class really doesn't matter too much, but the best stats do point you in a mage direction.

This game is all about story, not combat or anything.

I get the impression (tell me how close I am here) that the story will be a great one, no matter what class(es) you take, and you can do just about anything, no matter what class(es) you take.

 

@ Shoshino

You couldn't be further from the truth. It's just common sense to take the best out of three as it does not have roleplay-wise much difference.

@ Klorox

Absolutely. By the time you reach a certain pillar you can test just how good/evil you are. My tip is just this: get charisma to 18 before that (or keep a +2 tattoo in the inventory).

 

i played through as a mage with starting int of 15 and wis of 18 had really crappy sex, str and con though, so i had ot do a LOT of running

best game i've ever played, bar none. it dethroned the BG games and SW:KotOR for me.

 

How much sex do you have in this game, and how can I make it better without my Wife finding out?

 

I personally reccomend setting the con to 14. TNO gets more hitpoints at the start that way. 18 Wis. 16 Int. Then spend your next several levels on str. I don't add to dexterity, often. A couple AC points aren't all that important. Especially since a very high Con makes you regenerate very fast, and I really don't care about penalties to TNO's thieving skills.