03-10-2003, 11:09 PM
Hail TriggerHappy,
Soloing is great fun, though a huge challenge - especially early on. You'll find you reach the experience cap exceptionally fast too...about 1/6th of the time it normally takes, obviously ;) Class?
Single Class:
Monk - immunity to Charm is INVALUABLE, Magic Resistance VERY nice, and Quivering Palm combined with Stealth makes you an effective mage killer (you need to get them BEFORE they put their defenses up).
Thief - later able to use scrolls/wands makes them very viable. Backstabs slaughter the worst of opponents, and using Rings of Invisibility makes Backstabbing many times per battle very reasonable. You can disarm traps, pick locks, fight, and handle magi.
Sorcerer/Mage - if you can get past the early stages (no mean feat), you'll eventually have quite a viable option here. Strong with The Force are you :D
Bard - esp. the Blade class. Mage spells come in handy, and conveniently it's the first six levels that are most vital to have. Bard song goes to waste, but if you make an effective fighter it matters not (hence why I suggest Blade).
Multi/Dual class
All are viable, but I must specifically mention the Fighter/Mage/Thief. This one was MADE for soloing. Mine has about -10AC, weapon specialisation, two-weapon fighting style, 5x backstab damage, all theif skills are high (well, except Set Traps - never use them anyway), powerful spells, THAC0 not that much higher than a good fighter, and 9 attacks per round (I think) . You can handle any situation that presents itself :D Like the Sorcerer/Mage, the early part is a little difficult, but after a few major Chapter II quests you are set! I once tried a F/M/C too, but the cleric spells did not come even close to making up for the loss of theif skills IMO.
The trick to soloing is to be multi-talented, and able to use different tactics for different situations. Don't forget: this one character has to do everything normally done by six. If you want to access locked areas, you need thief skills. If you want to blow things up, or remove mage defenses, you need mage spells. If you want to take on foes in close combat, you need a low AC, low THAC0, and a decent number of attacks. If you want to heal or buff yourself, it's easiest to have access to cleric spells. The Cleric is, IMO, the easiest to replace, with scrolls/potions. A good Thief or Mage can make up for a lack of fighter skills, but it's slightly harder in those situations. A little luck helps if you lack mage spells, but this is much harder to go without. Lacking Thief skills means you miss out on much treasure (unless you wierd Crom Faer, then you have enough Str to bust open most things), and take a lot of trap damage.
My F/M/T was the most fun character I ever made. I'd be working towards getting her to the end of ToB, but I lost the portrait :( It was such a cool picture too! Nothing else would replace it, and I'm yet to remember the site I got it from.
Soloing is great fun, though a huge challenge - especially early on. You'll find you reach the experience cap exceptionally fast too...about 1/6th of the time it normally takes, obviously ;) Class?
Single Class:
Monk - immunity to Charm is INVALUABLE, Magic Resistance VERY nice, and Quivering Palm combined with Stealth makes you an effective mage killer (you need to get them BEFORE they put their defenses up).
Thief - later able to use scrolls/wands makes them very viable. Backstabs slaughter the worst of opponents, and using Rings of Invisibility makes Backstabbing many times per battle very reasonable. You can disarm traps, pick locks, fight, and handle magi.
Sorcerer/Mage - if you can get past the early stages (no mean feat), you'll eventually have quite a viable option here. Strong with The Force are you :D
Bard - esp. the Blade class. Mage spells come in handy, and conveniently it's the first six levels that are most vital to have. Bard song goes to waste, but if you make an effective fighter it matters not (hence why I suggest Blade).
Multi/Dual class
All are viable, but I must specifically mention the Fighter/Mage/Thief. This one was MADE for soloing. Mine has about -10AC, weapon specialisation, two-weapon fighting style, 5x backstab damage, all theif skills are high (well, except Set Traps - never use them anyway), powerful spells, THAC0 not that much higher than a good fighter, and 9 attacks per round (I think) . You can handle any situation that presents itself :D Like the Sorcerer/Mage, the early part is a little difficult, but after a few major Chapter II quests you are set! I once tried a F/M/C too, but the cleric spells did not come even close to making up for the loss of theif skills IMO.
The trick to soloing is to be multi-talented, and able to use different tactics for different situations. Don't forget: this one character has to do everything normally done by six. If you want to access locked areas, you need thief skills. If you want to blow things up, or remove mage defenses, you need mage spells. If you want to take on foes in close combat, you need a low AC, low THAC0, and a decent number of attacks. If you want to heal or buff yourself, it's easiest to have access to cleric spells. The Cleric is, IMO, the easiest to replace, with scrolls/potions. A good Thief or Mage can make up for a lack of fighter skills, but it's slightly harder in those situations. A little luck helps if you lack mage spells, but this is much harder to go without. Lacking Thief skills means you miss out on much treasure (unless you wierd Crom Faer, then you have enough Str to bust open most things), and take a lot of trap damage.
My F/M/T was the most fun character I ever made. I'd be working towards getting her to the end of ToB, but I lost the portrait :( It was such a cool picture too! Nothing else would replace it, and I'm yet to remember the site I got it from.
May the wind pick up your heels and your sword strike true.