need help..dual class question

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hi guys...

i have two queries

i need some help...im looking into dual classing fighter/mage and i dont know which fighter to use people say berserker..and what kinda a stats should i start with..? what level should i dual class?level 9?

second querie is there an appearance editor where i can change the appearance of my character...if turning it from a fighter to mage..want to put a cloak..stuff like...any suggestions

thank you in advance..sorry im kinda new to this

dan

 

I'd normally assume that you do not have ToB installed, so this response is with that assumption in mind.

I'd say level 7 (right away) or level 9 (a few more Hit Points, extra special ability). BTW, if you do have ToB, I'd wait until level 13.

If you're going from Fighter -> Mage, your best bet is probably a Kensai, since both can not wear armor. You'd be combining both negatives, and only reaping the bonuses. Berserker wouldn't be a bad choice either, as the Rage offers some great immunities.

On Edit: your second question: Yes, you can download Shadowkeeper, and that will allow you to edit the appearance of your character. Follow the "Sorcerer's Place" link at the top of the page.

 

Generally, I don't like to dual Kensai at level 9, but wait 'til 12 (13 is the break point for an extra 1/2 attack, but I never find it makes much difference), although if you lack ToB you'll suffer the loss of mage spells, which isn't so good. I generally think that Berserkers are better material for early dualling. The Rage ability basically makes you immune to pretty much every disabling spell in the game; but I can't think you'll need it more than a couple of times/day. I played a Berserker/Mage in vanilla SoA, myself, and with his immunities he saved the party's collective arses on more than one occasion.

ShadowKeeper is probably the easiest way to change character appearance, but note that editing the baldur.ini file as shown here and using CTRL+6 & CTRL+7 to switch your paper doll avatar is also possible. I have, however, had this crash the game before (but never after installing ToB and the latest patch), so beware!

I hope some of this is useful!

 

To be honest, I think you're ultimately better off without dual-classing. It may help if you view the first class as an added bonus to your second class. That is, if you, for example, don't view Nalia or Imoen as a Thief/Mage but as a mage with a couple of slicing abilities.

Same way, you could take just seven levels of Fighter (the first +1/2 attack per round), nine (to get all the big HP from CON bonus) or even thirteen (the last +1/2 attack per round). Still, thirteen levels is way too much for a mere added bonus and will delay you as a mage considerably. This is why I'd say take seven or nine levels and view your character as a mage more than fighter.

 

If it's the first time you play that game dual right away at level 7. This way you won't have to wait too long before the fighter class becomes active again (experienced players have plenty of tricks to make this transition period shorter but this would spoil your fun). A Kensai isn't worth the trouble at an early level (I agree with the Magpie, Chevalier and Klorox). Berserker is the way to go if you don't want to specialize in ranged weapons (bows, crossbows, darts, slings) as a Mage you'll have plenty of firepower anyway so don't worry about that.

 

Dual at level 9 from pure fighter or berserker.

Most important are 18 dexterity (for +4 AC) and 18 constitution (for +36 HP).
You need at least 15 strength and 17 int for dualclassing, so you should take 18 in both as well for the extra bonusses.
Wisdom is nearly useless , only your lore ability is affected. There is no magic resistance bonus like stated in the manual.
Charisma is more useful, but is only needed for the party member who does the talking and buying. You will have party members with about 16 charisma, so only having 18 will help. You will find a ring that sets charisma to 18 while worn right after the prologue when you do the circus quest.

Minimum stats:
STR 18/
DEX 18
CON 18
INT 18
WIS 3
CHA 3

 

@kmonster: another powergamer!
WIS is not utterly useless for a mage (wish spell -although you can still use potions of insight), STR 18 is quite useless (there are many items and spells that are going to compensate for this and make it even better than 18/00), DEX 18 can help (still there is an item that can make up for this), CON... well a Mage should use Stoneskin and won't get hurt that much for the extra HPs to make a difference. CHA on the contrary can allow a character to use some other -more useful- rings (don't forget that you can always cast Friends to get a +5 for a short time).
Dualling at level 9 will only give you minor advantages (one extra proficiency point, some HPs) but you'll need 250K XP plus you're going to have to wait until Mage level 10 before the Fighter class becomes active: that's an extra 250K...
If you dual at level 7 you only need 90K to get your Fighter levels back.
160K is a lot if you don't solo or use cheesy tactics.
True the level cap in SoA allows you to dual at level 9 without losing any Mage level (yet should you decide afterwards to play ToB with this character level 8 is going to be the maximum in order to reach the level cap).

 

Dual Classing is FUN! It is the best ability a human gets so try it ASAP!

As for your question, I believe other guys gave you sound advice. If you have only SoA level 9 is BEST to dual into, and kensai is good choice as they both have the same disadvantage. I bet it can be a real powerhorse, just remember the infamous KUROISAN, I can not remember his levels but he was TOUGH. You can be like him if you try really hard!

Dualling into a mage is EASIEST as you can use the old scribing trick to get MASSIVE amounts of XP quickly. Dump everybody out, gulp a potion of genius, write a lot of spells and immediately rise to a decent level, (6-7) which is enough to continue adventuring. (If you can have ToB you can even delete spells and rewrite them, evil trick but it works.)

SHADOWKEEPER is your answer for changing your ingame avatar to cool mage one. I used it to change my dualclassed cleric's appaerence to male mage, it just does not make sense not to be able to affect your very own appaerence, and cleric avatar is rather UGLY to begin with.

 

@Caradhras
I did powergame BG1+BG2 and finished with a kensai/mage at level 21/22.
I tried to roleplay BG1 but I stopped in the mines in chapter4. I couldn't kill the battle horrors and after having to travel to FAI for resurrecting the dead party members Yeslick ran away, so I gave up after several attempts. You can't develop a fighting tactic when you are roleplaying:
Let's test this tactic - didn't work, 3 dead party members - travel to temple for healing - ambush on the way - have to flee - poisoned party member dies - items lost forever - get dead party members resurrected and re-equipped - travel back and try another fighting tactic - party member leaves because of this travelling I couldn't kill Daerevorn fast enough. Repeat this untill you run out of money.

Then I read a walkthrough.
In my game I was proud to have managed to barter down the bridge tax at the gnoll fortress and to have gotten bonus experience.
But if I had chosen another dialog options, I would have gotten the perhaps most useful item in BG1, the gauntlets of dexterity.
I probably wouldn't have gotten the gauntlets of oger strenght, 2 stat raising tomes and other things if had roleplayed.
So I started the game again and powergamed. I could afford to choose weaker party members I liked instead of annoying powerful ones.
Baldur's Gate is an unfair game, and so is BG2.
You can't get a decent katana in BG2 unless you break into a house and slaughter the inhabitants.
You can't win some sudden battles if you aren't prepared.

Now I'm kind of roleplaying Icewind Dale. I created strong characters. I only reload if a party members dies and don't save and try different options until I've found got the best outcome. It's more fun that way. If only the game would't crash when I enter the worldmap.

As for the minimum stats in my previous post:
With a strong character you can roleplay better because you don't have to interrupt the story line by having to reload hard battles or using cheese as often.

WISDOM is practically useless for the Wish spell, you can always pause and have your priest with high wisdom talk to the genie before he talks to the caster.

STRENGTH: Your other party members will need the strength increasing items.
You can raise your strength up to 18/00 for a long time by using the level2 mage spell twice, but you might want to cast it on your party members first.
You need 15 anyway and the 3 extra points do make a big difference.

DEX: There is only one item which you probably won't find if you roleplay. If you find it: Your party members will need it as well.

CON: Stoneskin doesn't protect you from all damage and doesn't last forever.

 

<gesticulates wildly> See! This is what I go through when I hit the Cloakwood!?! You are not alone.

Weeeell, the door *is * open, not locked, so *technically* it's not breaking in.

 

@Kmonster: You can "RP" these games (up to a certain point of course it will never allow the gamut of possibilities that pnp games afford). By the way Find traps allow your party to avoid the Battle Horrors, when you face a horde of spiders and ettercaps you can always run away (not very brave but hey there's no shame in living to fight another day!)
You don't need every character in your party to have uber stats... STR is only really useful for your tank. I think that the NPCs are overpowered already, their stats are ludicrous.
IMO a character with stats ranging around 18 is boring, no challenge, no thrill: To win without risk is to triumph without glory.
About breaking and entering, if you play an evil character (or even CN) you can justify any of this (my characters are usually very curious and nosy -bad habits die hard).
When you know this game (and obviously you do) you don't have to rely on uber characters to play it. Nobody says it's easy (all the more fun and frustrating at times)

 

When I first played through BG1 i had a ubber weak fighter and still killed Saverok. I played through BG2 with that character and still beat what's his name. You can be successful and win if you play with tatics and know how to use your spells wisely. Now that I have beaten both BG1 and BG2 I am playing both solo with a ubber character since he tends to die rather quickly if they are not powerful enough to last more than a few fights.