Mage/Thief

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After all the discussion about combat thieves, I am feeling inspired to create another game with a Mage/Thief character. I will play multi-class so I have both skill sets available at the same time, and to gain benefits from TOB.

What would be appropriate stats?
Str - 10
Dex - 18/19
Con - 16
Int - 18
Wis - 10 or 18
Cha - 10 or 18

Elf obviously gives racial bonuses, but this means I won't be able to romance Viccy. So maybe half-elf, which I think is the only other choice (except Gnome - ugghhhh).

I could play female and try romancing Chloe!!

What about fellow party members?
PC - M/T
Tank - Minsc or Korgan
Fighter - Valygar or Mazzy or Jaheira
Priest - Viconia
Mage - Imoen
Other - Haer'Dalis

What is the most suitable equipment?
Armour - Robe or Elven Chain?
Bracers - AC3
Amulet - Power
Ring1 - Gaxx
Ring2 - Invisibility or Other?
Boots - Speed or Avoidance
Melee - Shortsword or Dagger
Ranges - Shortbow or Crossbow

With the weapon, is speed more important than damage? Is there a special weapon I should be looking for? Can thieves backstab with staffs?

Which is the better stronghold - mage or thief?

 

OK, in some order as you asked:

Stats look fine. While you may not like gnomes, it is useful to have an illusionist/thief as opposed to a straight mage/thief.

I still hold the same opinions on party members as I did in the last thread, but I like fighter-heavy parties, and you apparently don't, so I won't repeat myself.

If you have the bonus merchants, I'd go for the Robe of Vecna. Otherwise, I'd take the Elvin Chain (upgraded to the better one in Suldenesselar late in the game). You won't need those bracers with the armor your listing, as Vecna and the other armor give AC 3 as well - I would use the gloves of pickpocketing in the Copper Coronet. I would use the amulet that gives magic resistance and negative plane protection, if that's the amulet of power, then I agree. Rings, definitely Gaax, and then probably a thieving ring like mercykiller if you have the bonus merchants. Definitely Boots of Avoidance. Melee - why not a katana - you can backstab with it! Or better yet, how about the Staff of the Magi? Missile - definitely short bow.

I think damage is more important - especially since you said you wish to backstab. If the enemy can't see you until the weapon is in his back, it doesn't really matter what the speed factor is. I recommend short bows because not only are the weapon choices the best you get two attacks per round (3 with the Tuigan bow) instead of one per round with the crossbow (2 with crossbow of speed).

I like katanas for PC thieves - get Celestial Fury.

Thieves can backstab with staves, so obviously you'll eventually upgrade to the staff of the Magi.

I like the mage stronghold better, although the thief one will bring in more cash - it's personal preference.

EDIT: I forgot until I saw the next post - the cloak of non-detection is a must-have for backstabbing purposes, and you may want to consider the boots of stealth early on in the game, or if you don't want to spend as many points on move silently/hide in shadows.

 

First of all, NO CHLOE! Follow that one piece of advice, and I guarantee you'll enjoy the game more.

Second, why not Elf? I've never had a problem romancining Viconia as an elf. (Thank goodness too).

I'm with Aldeth on the stats, they look fine.

About equipment, for a Mage/Thief, go with robes. probably the first time you'll see any elven chain is in the Underdark, so if you're expecting to cast spells, you'll either be wearing robes, or running around butt-naked. I recomend wearing robes. Plus, there's the very nice Robe of Vecna to consider. Actually, with the Improved Thief Stronhold (which I think is part of Tactics), I'm pretty sure Mae'Var has some Elven Chain on him.

For rings, I say go for the ring of Gaxx, and the one you get from the ring of wizardry and the ring of acuity from the Item Upgrade Mod. Combine that with some of the stuff from Rastor's item pack, and you'll never run out of spellslots again. For a cloak, consider the Cloak of Non-detection. Combine that with a large number of Improved Invisibilities against other mages. The Amulet of Power sounds good, but I'd leave the Boots of Speed for one of your frontline fighters. Maybe go the boots of Avoidance or Etherealness. Or however thet's spelled. If you go with a missle weapon, I'd argue for shortbows. There's a lot more good ones earlier.

For NPCs, that will be largely dependent on your alignment. If you're good, I'd take Keldorn, and either Mazzy or Minsc for your tanks. Obviously, you'll want Viccy for a healer. Imoen will make a good backup for both magery AND thieving, although you'll naturally need someone else until you get her back. For a magic heavy party, it's hard to beat Edwin as a sixth, although you may have problems with alignment. Alternately, Jaheira can act as another fighter, or as a backup healer OR spellcaster, all dependent on her spell selection.

About strongholds, that's more of a personal preferance, but I will say that I find the Thief Stronghold to be deadly dull, as well as a pain in the hiney to manage.

Hope some of that helps.

:edit: Why stop with Boots of Stealth? With Item Upgrade (a very nice mod) you can mix Boots of Speed and Stealth.

 

Thieves can't backstab with the Staff of the Magi, since it can't be used by single-class thieves (refer to other recent thread about weapons allowed for backstab).

 

If you have the improved thief stronghold mod you'll get a very nice +4 shortsword that adds a x1 to your backstab multiplier.

 

@Djieff





and

 

There's also a dagger from the Upgrade Items mod that adds x1 to your backstab modifier.

@Aldeth: You might also want to try this for a slightly more radical approach...

 

@Kam: my understanding was that Viconia will not romance Elves by default. Have you got a mod installed that sorts this out (ease-of-use?)?

@Aldeth: I don't have anything against fighter heavy parties, it all depends on what mood I'm in and what PC I'm playing. The M/T is a bit more fragile than most, so more fighters (or clerics) with good AC will provide a good wall.

Wouldn't having a fast weapon make sure you hit before you leave shadows? What about a dagger with poison to continue damage after the hit?

 

You don't become visible until AFTER you attack. The speed of the weapon is meaningless in terms of whether or not your backstab will be successful. Regardless of what your weapon speed is, you will ALWAYS swing (and either hit or miss) before you become visible.

 

@Bard: Nope, no All-romances-concurrent, or anyone -can-romance-em, or whatever. Unless the Flirt-pack changes that, which I don't think. In fact, my first ever BG 2 Char, a CG Elven Fighter/Mage successfully swept Viconia off her feet, and turned her to the light side or whatever, and that before I even knew that there were people making mods for this game. I don't know, maybe the game glitched and I was just lucky. Of course this has stayed with me through quite a few uninstall and reinstalls....

 

@Kam: Thanks for that. I will have to look into this possibility then, as not romancing Viccy is the only reason I don't choose Elves.

 

i love playing halfings eather in iwd2 or bg2 in bg2 i dont bother woth the romances becouse the person i want a romance with is mazzy and i cant unless thiers a new mod out for a mazzy romance.

i injoy f/t halflings great time with them, secand favret is knzi/magr human