1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

Tactical Help for Solo Thief

Discussion in 'BG2: Throne of Bhaal (Classic)' started by Ishmael, Mar 4, 2007.

  1. Ishmael Gems: 4/31
    Latest gem: Sunstone


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2003
    Messages:
    99
    Likes Received:
    0
    I'm playing a solo Assasin and cannot seem to defeat Rayic Gethras... the game won't allow me to backstab him before he dispels my stealth, then he defeats me with his spells. In any event, he has protection from normal weapons, so I'm not sure if my +2 sword even hurts him. It does not seem to. Is there any way for a solo thief, early in the game to either raise my Save throws, and penetrate Gethras' defenses?

    Help!

    [ March 05, 2007, 20:02: Message edited by: Taluntain ]
     
  2. Trellheim Gems: 22/31
    Latest gem: Sphene


    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2006
    Messages:
    1,469
    Media:
    5
    Likes Received:
    23
    Never done this without a mage, better get one (yeah you solo, I know, but just for the moment) and cast Breach on him.
     
  3. Blog Gems: 23/31
    Latest gem: Black Opal


    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2002
    Messages:
    1,634
    Likes Received:
    1
    If you want to play cheap, you can run back down the stairs and wait for his protection spells to expire.
     
  4. nataben1314 Gems: 10/31
    Latest gem: Zircon


    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2004
    Messages:
    356
    Likes Received:
    6
    For my solo F/T, I seem to recall a strategy centered around running out of his line of site and trying to hide in shadows, and getting lucky to save vs. his finger of death, and waiting for his weapons protections to end, drinking an oil of speed, and hacking away. Might be different though considering the crappier THAC0 you'll have as a solo thief. What about luring him into traps?
     
  5. thetruth Gems: 11/31
    Latest gem: Bloodstone


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2005
    Messages:
    418
    Likes Received:
    3
    The easiest way for a low level thief to face a Mage is to use Imp.Invisibility from the Rings of Air Control (Ribald sells unlimited rings).


    Mages who cannot see through invisibility, cannot target with their spells an improved invisible character.

    IIRC Rayic Gethras has True Sight though, so either you make him to cast all his T.Sights hiding in Shadows & running away, or you can use the Cloak of non-Detection which when combined with Stealth protects from Divination spells like T.Sight.

    Other ways to kill a Mage:

    - Tuigan bow + Acid Arrows (no save to the dmg).
    3 attacks/round with elemental damage = spell casting failure for the mage.


    - The Arrows of Dispelling (a Merchant in the Promenade sells some of them).They will dispel protections like Stoneskins/Mirror Image and then with your poison ability the Mage is already dead.
    (Poison does not bypass Stoneskins)

    - Summons like the Spider figurine and the Horn of Valhala can distract the mage while you shoot arrows at him.
     
  6. Silverstar Gems: 31/31
    Latest gem: Rogue Stone


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2005
    Messages:
    4,050
    Likes Received:
    17
    Gender:
    Male
    Set LOTs of traps around him and he will fall like a log...hopefully.

    Otherwise yuo will need very good saves against his symbols, chaos, disintegrate and finger of death spells. Fail at any of them and you are toast. Some fire resistance can also help against his suprise Sunfire spell.

    thetruth's advice is very good, listen to the best BG player around! :)
     
  7. Derkoth the Disgruntled Gems: 2/31
    Latest gem: Fire Agate


    Joined:
    May 6, 2005
    Messages:
    35
    Likes Received:
    0
    I think your problem is the auto-Stoneskin that pretty much all modded mages use. It takes forever to run out, so the Arrows of Dispelling idea is a good option. So is the Improved Invisibility idea.

    Frankly, you'd better get used to killing Stoneskinned mages, 'cause you're going to run into a ton of 'em in a modded game.
     
  8. T2Bruno

    T2Bruno The only source of knowledge is experience Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2004
    Messages:
    9,776
    Media:
    15
    Likes Received:
    440
    Gender:
    Male
    SPOILERS!!!

    Yeah, he was tough for my solo cleric-thief early on.

    His True Sight will not see through your stealthy thief wearing the cloak of non-detection. Using a potion of speed along with stealth you can wear away the stoneskins. Dodge down the stairs when he starts to target you, rehide, then go back up.

    You may want to do a few other quests first in order to build up your levels and acquire some good magic items. I would recommend doing the Murder quest in the Bridge District (and of course the Copper Coronet/Slavers quest). Go pick some pockets (two in particular will come in handy for all battles). There are quite a few relatively battle free quests that can be done very early on for a solo.

    As an assassin you should give yourself proficiency in clubs as soon as possible. There are two very good clubs you can get at trademeet/druids grove that could really help you.

    The best backstab weapon early on is a +4 staff you can buy at the Adventurers Mart. Also buy the Ring of Air Control (as mentioned earlier).
     
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.