Note: BG II, normal, -not- EE

Hello, I've not gone through the game(actually never fully o.o, almost, but a tri class proved to much of a stretch end game ToB) in awhile, and though I tried to find the answered I find myself a bit baffled by a few nagging questions.

I usually play a half-elf fighter/theif (Multi) the fighter being the main part as I tend to use the thief side for lock picking and detecting traps heh.

Anyway! I've been trying to roll a decent starter character, with natural max cha, despite the certain item you can get, so I can't/won't use this as a dumpy stat unless I reallllly have to.


My main question is in the world of BGII, do you get less dialogue options with low int/wis?
If this is the case, does anyone know the min int/wis needed to be able to have access to all dialogue options?

Last time I played I had 11int, 10wis, and my memory just kept kicking in like "hey where's the answer I got to choose last time?" over and over.=/
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Onto another few questions, apologies if these have been answered this forum is huge with all bgs combined!

Con, is it worth maxing as a fighter, or at least getting 16?, I do like to be on the front line, except when those tentacle faced jerks show up o.o

Dual vs sword and shield, I used to do sword and shield till(chalk it up to rp?/feeling more fitting) I read up more as far as damage and general fighter play, and everyone seems to agree to duel wield and that swrd and shield is worthless. Oo and apparently celestial fury must always be used *slight sarcasm*(seriously can't find a fighter topic anywhere without mention of the thing).

Any opinions or advice on going back to sword and shield vs duel?

and a last thing while it comes to mind, flail of ages...is it true it has more disadvantages going past the normal 3?

er also Yoshimo's quest at the end, is the exp nearly as much as a character would get doing everything else before you going to Antkhala? I keep wondering this as far as having him as a party member for a bit or keeping a "main".

Any opinions and or help would be greatly appreciated, as when trying to search in general, it seems almost everything comes up BGEE anymore=/

~Erithan

No. INT and WIS have absolutely no bearing on dialogue options in the normal game. There may be some mods that script certain reactions to how much WIS (or whatever) you have. But normal game, no. Not applicable. See above. Fighter (warrior) is the ONLY class where CON gets bonuses above 16. So yes, 18 is the ideal CON for a fighter, or 19 if you're a dwarf. Shields are good early game for that extra AC, especially magical shields (+1, +2 etc.) In BG1 shields were/are mega important for their missile protection, but in BG2 this is a non-issue. The only other reason to choose shields over dual wield is for any other special protections they bestow, such as the marvelous Shield of Harmony from Trademeet (Mistress Busya), among others. But if you want damage dealing, then it's dual wielding all the way. Celestial Fury is always mentioned because it's so damned good. There's not a 1 handed sword to match it in BG2. The ONLY disadvantage (if you could call it that) of Flail of Ages is when you get it to +5 it bestows Freedom on the wielder, which means you cannot be hasted. That is not a burden at all, depending on how you play. More disadvantages? Nonsense. I really don't know what you mean by this. Can you elaborate?

Paladin and Ranger also get bonuses for CON above 16. Also, some races (Dwarf, Gnome, and Hafliing) get save bonuses based on CON which are not class dependant.

Also, 14 CON is a poor value to start with, because it doesn't provide any HP over (I think) 7 or so CON (I don't remember where it starts), and unlike classic cRPGs like Wizardry, Bard's Tale, and Might and Magic, your stats don't increase over the course of the game.

(STR and DEX have similar issues, though STR affects carrying capacity.)

Paladin and Ranger are warrior classes, which I indicated. The OP was talking about CON score ("is it worth maxing"), not saving bonuses.

Nobody mentioned anything about starting CON, nor STR or DEX. I was answering a specific query. In my eyes, and with meta gaming, absolutely not. Without meta gaming you would never know until it was too late. My standard practice when going to Spellhold is to only take five party members. You are going there with the express intention of rescuing Imoen. To that end I leave a vacant spot -- I will not break the party up -- as she is integral to my party, always.

Thank you again=)

I guess I've always been wary since my experience with a tri class and ToB, did not go well....

One more thing if I may?

Is it true you only need 2 "pips" in any weapon as a fighter? I'm not sure if the answers I originally found were for EE or original of course so thought I'd ask=/

Will just have to decide on dual or shield now *will probably go with rp/playstyle*

Thank you again for all the help!

If you go there with 6 party members and one of them is Yoshimo, you won't have to dismiss anyone to pick up Imoen. In fact, I suspect the game intends you to do that. For the original, two stars is enough to get most of the benefit. The difference between 2 and 5 stars is rather minor and does not include any extra attacks. Note that for multiclass fighters, there isn't even a choice here; you're limited to two stars period.

The key to making double and triple classes useful is synergy. A fighter/mage/cleric, for example, could put Draw Upon Holy Might into a Minor Sequencer (for instant casting) and then unleash it when you get into a fight. That same setup can also use Mirror Image and Stoneskin for protection, and then go into melee to deal some nice damage. Notice that no spells above 4th level are needed (though, of course, spells like Protection from Magic Weapons and Contingency are useful later on when you're finally able to cast them).

Absolutely not true. Each 'pip' or proficiency point potentially raises your THAC0 and melee damage, plus attacks per round. A fighter can, and should, go all the way to Grand Master is his/her preferred weapon.

Bonuses per slot for melee
0 slots == Unskilled ... THAC0 -2 ... Damage -2 .. 0 attacks per round
1 slot == Proficient ... THAC0 0 ... Damage 0 .. 0 attacks per round
2 slots == Specialised ... THAC0 +1 ... Damage +2 .. 0.5 attack per round
3 slots == Master ... THAC0 +3 ... Damage +3 .. 0.5 attack per round
4 slots == High Master ... THAC0 +3 ... Damage +4 .. 0.5 attack per round
5 slots == Grand Master ... THAC0 +3 ... Damage +5 .. 0.5 attack per round

At High Master weapon speed is reduced (reducing is good) by 1, and at Grand Master by 3.

WRONG: the bonuses for 3+ stars are one less than you list. 3 gives only +2/+2, and 5 gives only +2/+4. That is only +1/+2 better than 2 stars.

I recommend not going Grand Master on your first playthrough because it restricts what weapons you can use effectively, and it is more fun to be able to use a wider variety of weapons. (I actually dislike the weapon proficiency system for reasons described in my "character creation criticisms" topic.)

You're right. I got sloppy and quoted from the wiki instead of my book. Damn wiki!

Thank you both again, I may just master longsword and I guess (I think it's katana without looking?) if I decide to dual.

Plus generally I have a strong dislike of blunt. My go to for general pen and paper stuff was usually a bastard sword. BGII long swords all the way heh

*loves daystar to much* ahaha....

and thank you dtgreene for the information on tri-class, my main issue was stat distribution spreading me to thin+squishy party o.o I know better now though!