Ranger Cleric

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It has been ages since I last played BG1. It must have been more than five years... And now I've finally ordered BG1/TotSC in order to get TotSC so I could play EasyTutu (it should arrive wednesday).
I'm considering a good/neutral aligned party of six containing
PC R/C
Jaheira
Khalid
Minsc
Dynaheir
?? (Imoen?)

My questions would be this:
Is multiclass chars worth it in BG1? Can they evolve enough to be of any use before I hit the endscreen?
Is archery still the top of the pop in BG1tutu?
Who should be my last char? First time through I'll leave mod NPCs out. Should I take Imoen? I like the RP idea of having Jaheira/Khalid, so I should probably also take Imoen. Or is it not a wise thing to do?
Regards

Edit:Ups is this the wrong forum??

 

Take Imoen. IMO, you'll need a thief of some kind and she's right there waiting for you.

 

@ Kuemper: I'll bow to you and let Immy grace my upcoming party

 

I thought Rangers can only use the weapons that clerics can use, sooOoOo ... no bladed weapons??

 

Ohh didn't thought of that. I don't remember what Divine Rmx allows me, better look

 

You see, that's the main reason I never liked using a Ranger/Cleric ... no Bladed weapons! Oh yes, that and the fact i hate clerics!

 

Hmm! That could complicate matters

 

Shaitin, what mod are you talking about that makes Ranger/Clerics able to use Bladed weapons? Does it allow you to use every ewapon the ranger could? And if it couldn't be too much trouble, could you post the link!

 

R/C either MC or DC is quite powerful in BG1 even with cleric weapons only and the weapon choices are even better in BG2 as they can weild some of the most powerful weapons in that game.

Add in access to all priest spells (both druid and cleric) any armor and favored enemy with the rangers THAC0 and you have a powerhouse. Give the pointy stuff to someone else the best hammer in the game is available before chap 2 and theres lots of +1 slings around.


I soloed a half-elf R/C (Thereal Lone ) through BG1 then took him on to play with a full party in bg2/tob - (Jahiera, Keldork, Jan, Mazzy, Immy)actaully the only character I have completed the entire series with.

 

@$ilver: Hmm it's not Divine Rmx, but good ol' Ashes of Embers found at PPG
I guess, but have to ask Felinoid or the guys at PPG, it's part of the third edition rules applied to BG2/tutu. Besides it adds a nerfed ironskin/stoneskin making them less cheesy

@Wanderon: I think I might have to copy your behaviour

 

I played a Ranger/Cleric my first time through BG. He was a reasonably powerful character, successful by any standards, but the weapon limitations were definitely frustrating, and took a lot of the fun out of it for me. I won't play one again.

 

Cernak has it right. Being unable to use bladed weapons in the normal game takes alota the fun outa it. But hey, even with a mod a ranger/cleric will never be better then a mage/thief or fighter/mage!

 

Silly R/C. Obeying the dictates of their religion by only wielding blunt weapons? The nerve!

I haven't tried it, but I hear Ashes of Embers goes by Minsc's leadership cry: "Now Minsc leads. Swords for everyone!"

Multiclassing seems really hard the first 1-3 levels in the game. Sort of depends on your style of play. Some PCs/NPCs don't have the HP to go toe-to-toe with enemies.

 

Hold on here! IMHO, with the party Shaitan has outlined, I do not think that the inability to use bladed weapons on the PC is much of a hinderance at all! He already has Khalid and Minsc, either of which can use any weapon in the game.

BG1 isn't like BG2 where there are tons of high levels weapons lying around everywhere. You're basically looking at +1 weapons for the early part of the game, and +2 weapons for the rest of the game, with a couple of +3 here and there. When looking at cleric weapons, there is a +2 variety that is available from VERY early on in the game, and a +3 not too longer after that. In fact, the +3 quarterstaff is theoretically available very early on too, but there is the slight problem of navigating the ankheg area with level 1 characters - not highly recommended.

Basically with a +2 war hammer and +3 quarterstaff available, weapons for clerics are comparable to all but the strongest bladed weapons. Do they compare to Drizzit's weapons? No, but honestly, I really didn't think they intended for you to use them anyway.

Secondly, being multi-classed in BG1 isn't much of a hinderance at all. Most of the time, in oder to reach your next level you will need twice as much experience as you needed to attain the previous level. Therefore, in BG1, multi-classed characters tend to lag only one level behind their single classed counterparts. For example: A Ranger with 16,000 XP would have just hit 5th level. A Cleric with 16,000 XP would also be 5th level. A Ranger/Cleric multi-class would have 8,000 XP in each class and would be 4th level in both classes.

Multi-classed characters lag behind single classed characters in BG2 until HLAs kick in, but not nearly as much in BG1.

 

Thanks for the torough answers. Perhaps I should go for a dualwielding type - using ie a hammer and a mace. I guess any creature in BG1 could be hit by +1 weapons??

@Aldeth: thanks for the math also.

 

Yes I'm pretty sure that +1 weapons will mean that you can hit everyone! I think the first instance I came across was that skeleton warrior guy near the Ulcaster School and then I don't really remember any other times.

 

Hmmm... I think there may be a few creatures that require +2 to hit them once you include the expansion. I think greater werewolves (and specifically Kaurog) require at least +2. The Tinar'ri may require +2, and the Demonknight may require +2. But 99% of everything you run across can be hit with unenchanted weapons, so +1 is good almost all of the time.

I'm not sure if dual-wielding is in your best interest with a ranger-cleric. You can certainly do it, but there aren't two +2 single handed weapons available in the game early on. The best you can do is a +2 war hammer and a +1 mace or a +1 flail. The only other weapons in the game (for a cleric) that are +2 in enchantment or higher are the Martial Staff (+3 quarterstaff) and a +2 mace that's deep inside Durlag's Tower, and won't be available to you until late in the game.

BG1 is geared towards characters using a single handed weapon and a shield, and that is the route I would recommend.

 

Oh, my mistake sorry ... I never played ToSC! But I'm pretty sure that in the normal game there isn't any creatures that need a +2 weapon.

As for the dual-wielding, I guess you're right Aldeth, leave the 2 weapon fighting till BGII because there's not that many good quality weapons in BGI compared to the hundreds scattered around every corner in the sequel .

 

Well the whole thing with dual wielding is it isn't worth it unless your second weapon is actually going to DO something besides provide one more attack per round. For BG2, the best off hand weapons are things that raise your strength, or provide you an extra main hand attack (so really you're getting two extra attacks counting the one from the off hand) , or provide some type of elemental resistance, or provide some protection from undead or the like. No such weapons like these exist in BG1, meaning more often than not the better deal is picking up a shield.

 

That is true, but in BGI are there really any good shields? I haven't played ToSC so I don't know ...

But in the original there aren't any that I would take over another weapon. Maybe the Shield of Fallen Stars, which has +5 resistance to piercing weapons which was nice! What kinds of protection is there in the expansion?