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Hey everyone,

So I am just about to start up my first Baldur's I Enhanced play-through and would like some opinions on classes. In this game I figured I would try something a little bit different from what I normally play (that is mages, and to a lesser extent rogues). So far I have narrowed it down to about 3 classes: Bard, Monk, and Shadowdancer. Which of these classes do you feel is a completely different, fun, and worthwhile class to play as for a BG I through BG II EE playthrough?
Post edited April 09, 2016 by Rozza
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Rozza: So I am just about to start up my first Baldur's I Enhanced play-through
^ Fixed it for you.
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Rozza: So I am just about to start up my first Baldur's I Enhanced play-through
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Hickory: ^ Fixed it for you.
Whoops, fixed it up cheers
Seems you already eliminated the class I was thinking of when I read the topic.

Namely, the Cleric/Thief. As a half-orc, you can start with 19 Strength, and you can use Draw Upon Holy Might to boost your Dexterity (and therefore your thief skills). Furthermore, some thief skills can be used without breaking Sanctuary (even if they would break invisibility). To backstab, use a club or quarter staff.
I've always been a big fan of the Fighter/Mage/Thief, because triple multiclassing is a goofy mechanic and the class itself is surprisingly effective. Sure, they'll reach Mage level 2 around the same time everyone else in your party is level 3, but you can make your character an Elf with 19 DEX and sit back with a longbow for a ridiculous starting THAC0 of 14. There's also the Cleric/Ranger mutliclass, which gives you two free points of dual wielding and access to Druid spells at the cost of leveling slightly slower than a Cleric/Fighter.

Of the classes you listed though, the only one I have experience with is the Bard. I get the impression that Monks aren't so hot at low levels (which, it turns out, is most of Baldur's Gate 1) but become very effective later on, while the Shadowdancer seems really neat on paper with that potential for easy backstabs. Bards in 2nd edition are pretty weird, but they're essentially support mages who can pickpocket and have the bard song as an easy party-wide buff (with the Skald song being a more effective buff and the Jester song being an enemy debuff). The Blade kit is the odd duck of the bunch, since it kind of overlaps with the Fighter/Mage multiclass.
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ArbitraryWater: I've always been a big fan of the Fighter/Mage/Thief, because triple multiclassing is a goofy mechanic and the class itself is surprisingly effective. Sure, they'll reach Mage level 2 around the same time everyone else in your party is level 3, but you can make your character an Elf with 19 DEX and sit back with a longbow for a ridiculous starting THAC0 of 14. There's also the Cleric/Ranger mutliclass, which gives you two free points of dual wielding and access to Druid spells at the cost of leveling slightly slower than a Cleric/Fighter.

Of the classes you listed though, the only one I have experience with is the Bard. I get the impression that Monks aren't so hot at low levels (which, it turns out, is most of Baldur's Gate 1) but become very effective later on, while the Shadowdancer seems really neat on paper with that potential for easy backstabs. Bards in 2nd edition are pretty weird, but they're essentially support mages who can pickpocket and have the bard song as an easy party-wide buff (with the Skald song being a more effective buff and the Jester song being an enemy debuff). The Blade kit is the odd duck of the bunch, since it kind of overlaps with the Fighter/Mage multiclass.
Thanks for the reply, decided not to pick a monk as, IMO, while it starts of hard it seems like it devolves a pretty overpowered and boring class later on as well as taking a bit of thought out of equipment choice. Shadowdancers sound pretty cool but the more I read on them the more it seems like is pretty heavily gimped and, given there is apparently a surplus of thief NPCs, it feels somewhat redundant (Feel free to correct me as they do look pretty badass). With that being said, I will probably roll as a bard likely a Skald or Blade, Jester looks cool but I can see his song only being situational.
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Rozza: With that being said, I will probably roll as a bard likely a Skald or Blade, Jester looks cool but I can see his song only being situational.
I recommend Skald because there's a recruitable Blade in BG2, but no recruitable Skald. Plus, there's that nice bard song.
Bard... always Bard.

I am soloing icewind dale ee as a Bard right now.

I like default Bard because of the regen and luck songs. Works well with summons.

He levels really fast too. Use any item is rad.

Blade and Jester are cool too though.
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shoveling: I like default Bard because of the regen and luck songs. Works well with summons.
That's only in the Icewind Dale series, not Baldur's Gate.
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shoveling: I like default Bard because of the regen and luck songs. Works well with summons.
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dtgreene: That's only in the Icewind Dale series, not Baldur's Gate.
I thought they were added into the EE. If not, my bad.

I would probably go Jester or Blade then, If regen song is not in.
Post edited April 09, 2016 by shoveling
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ArbitraryWater: I've always been a big fan of the Fighter/Mage/Thief, because triple multiclassing is a goofy mechanic and the class itself is surprisingly effective.
I recently discovered this myself. F/M/T is a very strong combo and fun to play too.
Don't bother with the triple class version with cleric as that will only frustrate you due to the weapon restrictions
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Rozza: Hey everyone,

So I am just about to start up my first Baldur's I Enhanced play-through and would like some opinions on classes. In this game I figured I would try something a little bit different from what I normally play (that is mages, and to a lesser extent rogues). So far I have narrowed it down to about 3 classes: Bard, Monk, and Shadowdancer. Which of these classes do you feel is a completely different, fun, and worthwhile class to play as for a BG I through BG II EE playthrough?
Have you got DS, then go Sharman (cross between Druid and Bard)... another good option is Mage-Cleric multi?
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Rozza: Hey everyone,

So I am just about to start up my first Baldur's I Enhanced play-through and would like some opinions on classes. In this game I figured I would try something a little bit different from what I normally play (that is mages, and to a lesser extent rogues). So far I have narrowed it down to about 3 classes: Bard, Monk, and Shadowdancer. Which of these classes do you feel is a completely different, fun, and worthwhile class to play as for a BG I through BG II EE playthrough?
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ussnorway: Have you got DS, then go Sharman (cross between Druid and Bard)... another good option is Mage-Cleric multi?
I dont think you need DS to play Shaman. I dont have it yet i can still play that class.
Monks become an insane kill force at high levels, but they leave much to be desired at low levels. They're a lot like mages in that respect. If you're partial to that class, they way they start off pathetic and level into kill cannons that can wipe a mob with a flick of the wrist you'll like that about monks.

Bards, imo don't have enough thief in em to be enticing. They're really wizards first and foremost. The buffs they provide are only marginally useful to a group. That being said, the shadowblade? (if I remember the name correctly) is a whirlwind of melee destruction. I don't know if IWD:EE has that particular kit though.

Still can never go wrong with paladin. Or clerics are decent fighters with a vast array of magic. Multi or dual-class to your leisure.

Druids may be too mage-y for your liking, but they can make for surprisingly decent dex-based fighters if you want em too (even without dual or multi-classing). They also have a unique magic library that sets them apart from mages and clerics.
Post edited April 11, 2016 by eVinceW21