Dual Class or Multiclass Fighter/Thief?

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Im playing through the entire series and was wondering if I should play through as a dual class Fighter (say to around level 6 for the prof slots and then dualed over) or a multiclass fighter thief? Any suggestions?

[ August 27, 2003, 13:16: Message edited by: Taluntain ]

 

Every party needs a thief, they are argueably the most useful class available.I prefer to have one character completely devoted to thief (so as to get loads of points to spend in pick lock and detect traps, i don't consider stealth very important). If for some reason you don't want a character that is just a thief the fighter/thief is definitely the best alternative. Fighter is a great dual class for thieves because they get plenty of hp (which comes in handy since thieves are generally used to open chests and many chests are trapped). Obviously this dual class has better fighting abilities than the common thief too (which makes their backstab very dangerous, and is useful when you fail your hide in shadows check in the middle of say... the gnoll fortress). For an evil party this makes a great combination because it increases the thief's survival chance when he gets caught stealing or fails a pick pocket check. I think it would be best to multiclass this character rather than dual class so that you will always have an active thief in the party. I'm interested to see how this guy works out so email me about it

 

I am planning to solo at the start of the game (to quickly reach level 6 by neshekel and then dual if i do dual), then once i get enough exp to be both,, get a party together. But should I multi to have it from the start. I'm going to be playing Baldur's Gate Trilogy so will be getting the exp from opening locks and traps.

UPDATE
Ok, I think I'm set on the Dual Class, probably will dual at 7 for the extra thaco and hps. One question though, once i reach level 8 will my Fighter/Theif get the multiple attacks of my fighter? Plan to continue on through SOA and TOB so any suggestions would be appreciated.

[ August 26, 2003, 04:49: Message edited by: Jschild ]

 

Playing through the whole game, i think F/M/T is much better. At Durlag's tower you may need some spell power too. I don't like the dual class, because:
- humans don't get extra thief points (elf or halfling (F/T) is much better...
- at BG1 the leveling takes a long time. In case of a F/M/T, you can't roll too bad HP...

If you would play only the BG1, the dual class is a good choice, but for the SoA, a level 13 fighter would be ideal...for the ToB the multi class... But this is a powergamer's point...

 

I always have a fighting class, a mage and a thief in my party because between the 3 of them they are able to face any challenge. If you want to solo this must be the very best multi-class so go for it.

 

When I soloed, I actually did better with a F/T than with a F/M/T. Levelling was just so much faster...

 

@JS in response to your question if you multi-class, yes. If you dual-class, no.

 

@ Aldeth
I may have misunderstood your response, but if a fighter duals at level 7,once he regains his fighter abilities at thief level 8, he also regains the fighter level 7 extra 1/2 attack. (Although the BG1 XP cap gets in the way of getting to thief level 8)

@JS
Since you are planning to take the character through to ToB, you might want to consider multi-class. The reasons why don't belong in this forum, so you might want to search the ToB forum for an explanation on this.

 

I dualed my fighter to thief at level 6 when I played BG some while ago. And I later imported him into BG-2 where it became my first char there - with the inherent weakness of beeing a thief with the looks of a fighter, proficiency-wise especially which led me to overestimating his abilities. My later chars were way stronger ... but I'm getting astray ... anyway, for BG he was a true force.

Multiclass, when you choose halfling race especially is very effective for BG as well. As THACO in BG is so limited I would suggest to use slings for that halsling fighter-thief to make maximum use from racial bonuses. A small shield will help much to improve his AC which is limited due to leather armor.

 

@ Splunge - you're right - I misinterpreted the question. I thought he was asking once he regained his old thief abilities if he would ever gain the extra attack per round. My thinking was, you get an extra half attack at 7 and then the other extra half attack at 13, so the extra full attack per round occurs at 13, which he couldn't get to. Now I see what he was really asking, and you're right, but it's moot unless he has an XP cap remover.