CHARECTER FAQ ________________________________________________________________________________ COPYRIGHT NOTICE All copyright goes to Dark Wolf alias David C. Hansen. This FAQ may be published all over the net, as long as it is not modified in any way, and I am given credit. The newest version can always be found on www.gamefaqs.com. You may not take money to show my FAQ, or sell it. If I in this FAQ have done anything illegal, I would like to be noticed, before sued. BALDUR'S GATE II: SHADOWS OF AMN: Developed and © 2000 BioWare Corp. BALDURS GAT II: THRONE OF BHAAL: Developed and © 2001 BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. Baldur's Gate, Shadows of Amn, Forgotten Realms, the Forgotten Realms logo, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the AD&D logo, and the Wizards of the Coast logo are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and are used by Interplay under license. All Rights Reserved. BioWare, the BioWare Infinity Engine and the BioWare logo are trademarks of BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. Black Isle Studios and the Black Isle Studios logo are trademarks of Interplay Entertainment Corp. All Rights Reserved. Exclusively licensed and distributed by Interplay Entertainment Corp. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners. ________________________________________________________________________________ This FAQ is for learning which characters to choose, and how to use the different characters in and outside combat. _______________________________________________________________________________ INDEX: 1. FIGTER 2. RANGER 3. PALADIN 4. BARBARIAN 5. CLERIC 6. DRUID 7. MONK 8. THIEF 9. BARD 10. MAGE 11. SORCERER ________________________________________________________________________________ W A R R I O R S: 2. FIGHTER The fighter is a champion, swordsman, soldier, and brawler. He lives or dies by his knowledge of weapons and tactics. Fighters can be found at the front of any battle, contesting toe-to-toe with monsters and villains. A good fighter needs to be strong and healthy if he hopes to survive. Special Abilities: Advanced Weapon Specialization Restrictions: None General Comments: Most groups should have a fighter, since they are the best hack and slasher in the game. The fighters should be put in the front of any battle, where the fighting is most intense. Recommended ability points: put 18 in dex and con if you can. Don't base yourself so much on the strength, since the belts will give you that. Recommended race: half-ogre, for the better con, which can be a lifesaver when there's a psycho mage around. BERSERKER: Advantages: May use Enrage ability once per day per 4 levels. While enraged: +2 to hit, +2 damage, -2 AC. The berserker at this time is immune to charm, hold, fear, maze, imprisonment, stun and sleep. He also gains 15 hit points while enraged. These hit points are temporary, and are taken away at the end of his berserk spree, possibly killing the berserker. Disadvantages: Becomes winded after berserking. While he's winded, he receives -2 to hit, -2 to damage and a +2 penalty to AC. Cannot specialize in ranged weapons. Comments The prize of not being able to use long range is a cheap prize when you consider the power of the berserk. Keep him where the battle is hottest, and use the berserk skill when most needed. WIZARD SLAYER: Advantages: For each successful hit on an opponent, 10% cumulative spell failure penalty is applied. 4% magic resistance per level. 20th level: gains 5% magic resistance every second level. Gains 1% every odd level. Disadvantages: May not use any magic items except for weapons and armor. Comments: I'd say that the prize is too high. Wizards of any power, would have you killed in no time, and if you want the magic resistance that badly, get a monk. Of course he is the best for slaying mages, so if you really want him, take him. I'd take a regular fighter any day. KENSAI Advantages: +1 to hit and +1 damage for every three levels. -2 bonus to AC. -1 bonus to speed factor for every 4 levels. May use Kai ability one time per day for every 4 levels (starts at 1st level with one use). This ability lasts 10 seconds and makes all the attacks do maximum damage. Disadvantages: May not use missile weapons. May not wear armor. May not wear gauntlets or bracers. Comments: Dealing damage is this guy's special! Give him a greater whirlwind attack, and the enemies are blown to pieces. Remember though, that this guy has low armor, so 18 in dex will be really smart on this guy. Also specialize in a single-handed weapon (long sword or katana), and put points into one-handed mastery, to get rid of that horrible armor class. When this is done, send him into battle, and watch him kill ]:-) ________________________________________________________________________________ 2. RANGER: The ranger is a hunter and a woodsman. He is skilled with weapons and is knowledgeable in tracking and woodcraft. The ranger often protects and guides lost travelers and honest peasant-folk. A ranger needs to be strong and wise in the ways of nature to live a full life. Special Abilities: Weapon Specialization, Racial Enemy, Stealth, charm person/mammal Restrictions: Human Elf or Half-Elf only, must be of Good alignment The Racial enemy gives a 4+ to THACO against your racial enemy. The racial enemies that you can take are: Beholder, demonic/fell, dragon, elemental, ettercap, faerie, genie, ghoul, golem, hobgoblin, imp, kobold, kuo-toa, lich, lycanthrope, mindflayer, ogre, otyugh, rakshasa, sahuagin, shadow, slime, spider, troll, umber hulk, and vampire. I would recommend vampire, dragon, or troll. ARCHER: The archer is the epitome of skill with the bow. He is the ultimate marksman, able to make almost any shot, no matter how difficult. To become so skilled with the bow, the archer has had to sacrifice some of his proficiency with melee weapons and armor. Special Abilities: Bonuses when using missile weapons. Called shots. Restrictions: Cannot wear metal armor. Can only be proficient in melee weapons. At 18th level the to hit and damage bonus goes down to +1 per 5 levels. When he activates the called shot, every shot in the next 10 secs will have the following abilities (depending on level of ranger): 4th level: -1 to THACO of target 8th level: -1 to save vs. magic of target 12th: -1 to strength of target 16th: +2 bonus to damage Comments: If you want to have anyone with long-range weapons, then this guy should be your choice. Make him real strong (or wear any of the giant strength belts), give him a good longbow, and you will see your enemies blood very quickly. Keep him with the spell-casters in the back row. STALKER: Stalkers serve as covert intelligence-gatherers, comfortable in both wilderness and urban settings. They are the spies, informants and interrogators and their mastery of stealth makes them deadly opponents. 12th level: All the mage spells gained are memorized as priest spells Special Abilities: Can backstab like a thief. Has access to a small amount of mage spells. Restrictions: Cannot wear armor greater that studded leather. The spells are: haste, protection from normal missiles, and minor spell deflection. Comments: Of course the backstab multiplier can make the damage count, but the prize of good armor seems just a little bit to high. If you want him make sure to have him go into stealth at all times, so he can start the battle with a nice little backstab, and hopefully a dead enemy. BEAST MASTER This ranger is a wanderer and is not comfortable in civilized lands. He maintains a natural affinity for animals; they are his friends and com-rades-in-arms, and the Beast Master has a limited form of telepathic communication with them. Special Abilities: Can summon natural animals to his aid. Restrictions: Cannot use metal weapons. Comments: Summon animals to do the damage instead of your self. Sounds nice don't it? Well, it isn't. The animals are way to weak at the later levels. Drop him. If you want to summon, take a druid, or a mage! ________________________________________________________________________________ 3. PALADIN A paladin is a warrior bold and pure, the exemplar of everything good and true. Like the fighter, the paladin is a man of combat. However, the paladin lives for the ideals of righteousness, justice, honesty, piety and chivalry. He strives to be a living example of these virtues so that others might learn from him as well as gain by his actions. Special Abilities: Weapon Specialization, Lay Hands, Turn Undead, +2 all Saving Throws, Protection from Evil, Detect Evil Restrictions: Human only, must maintain Lawful Good alignment General Comments: The paladin is a decent fighter, his touch can heal instantaneously, and he can cast supporting priest spells. Do I really need to say more? CAVALIER This class represents the most common picture of the knight; the gentleman warrior who epitomizes honor, courage and loyalty. He is specialized in battling "classical" evil monsters such as demons and dragons. Special Abilities: Bonus to hit demons and dragons, immune to fear and poison. 20% resistance to fire/acid. Restrictions: Cannot use missile weapons. Comments: My favorite paladin kit! He's immune to a lot of stuff, and if you want to fire missile weapons, take an archer. This guy kicks butt! A lot of the strong monsters are demons, so he's a killer in almost any strong monster battle. INQUISITOR (Paladin Kit) The Inquisitor has dedicated his life to finding and eliminating practitioners of evil magic and defeating the forces of darkness and his god has provided him with special abilities towards that end. Special Abilities: Immune to hold and charm. True sight, dispel magic. Restrictions: May not use 'lay on hands' ability, may not cast priest spells, may not turn undead, may not use 'cure disease' ability. Comments: This is a choice, 'cos the Inquisitor is not really a paladin, giving up all the paladin skills, but his skills are still very useful. When I've had this guy in my party, I found his skills great in almost every battle with a mage in it. UNDEAD HUNTER (Paladin Kit) This holy avenger has honed his abilities towards the destruction of the undead and other unnatural creatures and is immune to many of their more devastating abilities. Special Abilities: Immune to hold and level drain. Bonus to hit and damage vs. undead. Restrictions: May not use lay on hands Comments: The game contains tons of undeads, and here we have the perfect killer of them. In battle with undeads, he'll turn the weak, and then kill the powerful. The lay hands ability is really great, healing instantaneously, but it can be replaced by the healing spells if need be. ________________________________________________________________________________ 4. BARBARIAN A barbarian can be an excellent warrior. While not as disciplined or as skilled as a normal fighter, the barbarian can willingly throw himself into a berserker rage, becoming a tougher and stronger opponent. Special Abilities: Fast movement, berserker rage, high hit points. Restrictions: Cannot wear full plate, plate mail. Can't specialize past normal specialization. Comments: A great crash dummy! Make the enemies hit him, and the let your other characters do some serious damage. This tactic actually lets your paladin cast spells in the middle of a battle. ________________________________________________________________________________ P R I E S T S: ________________________________________________________________________________ 5. CLERIC: The cleric is a generic priest (of any mythos) who tends to the spiritual needs of a community. He is both protector and healer. He is not purely defensive, however. When evil threatens, the cleric is well suited to seek it out on its own ground and destroy it. Special Abilities: Turn Undead, Spell Casting Restrictions: Cannot use bladed or piercing weapons. Level 25: Gains holy symbol from his good, which gives the following abilities: + 1 STR, % magic resistance, memorizes one extra level 6 and 7 spell. Recommended race: dwarf, since you can't use any really good two-handed weapons anyway, and the ring of human influence can negate the charisma penalty found in the circus. General Comments. You should keep the cleric in the back, casting supporting spells like chant, healing, and doing damage with the spells (like bolt of glory and holy smite). The cleric can also be quite a good fighter if you remember to cast spells like, draw upon holy might, spiritual hammer, and stoneskin, first. Level 25: Gains holy symbol from his good, which gives the following abilities: + 1 STR, % magic resistance, memorizes one extra level 6 and 7 spell. SPECIALTY PRIEST OF TALOS Talos is the evil god of storms, destruction and rebellion. Clerics of the Stormlord warn that Talos must be appeased or he will rain destruction upon the land. Special Abilities: Casts Lightning bolt, Stormshield Restrictions: None. Stormshield protects against lightning, fire, cold, and normal missiles. Comments: If you want to go evil, then this is the way, and the stormshield can be very useful, but I never use lightning, because of the annoying bouncing effect. SPECIALTY PRIEST OF HELM Followers of the neutral God of Watchers and Protectors are warriors in their own right and are often seen as defenders of the innocent. Special Abilities: Casts True sight, Seeking sword. Restrictions: None. Comments: The way for the neutral. The seeking sword (like mordenkain's sword) can be very powerful, drawing the attention in another way. True sight is nice when the thieves and the mages are annoying you. My favorite. SPECIALTY PRIEST OF LATHANDER Lathander is the good god of renewal, creativity and youth, and is celebrated nearly everywhere. His followers are very popular throughout the Realms and there are numerous wealthy temples devoted to Him. Special Abilities: Casts Hold undead, Boon of Lathander. Restrictions: None. Comments: The good way. Hold undead is ok, and Boon of Lathander is really great, making your cleric a young, renewed and creative fighter. ________________________________________________________________________________ 6. DRUID: The druid serves the cause of nature and neutrality; the wilderness is his community. He uses his special powers to protect it and to preserve balance in the world. Special Abilities: Shape Change, Spell Casting Restrictions: Human or Half-Elf only; leather armor and bucklers only; can only wield clubs, darts, spears, daggers, slings, and staffs. Level 15: Immune to poison Level 18: 10% resistance to environmental damage (fire, cold, electricity, and acid). Level 21: 20% resistance to environmental damage (fire, cold, electricity, and acid). Level 24: 30% resistance to environmental damage (fire, cold, electricity, and acid). General comments: Much like the cleric, even though the spell selection is more summoning based. The shape-change is good in the start of the game. The druid is more spell-minded, because of the limited weapon and armor selection, and the fewer support spells. TOTEMIC DRUID This druid closely identifies with a particular animal; an animal that he feels represents his spirit. This grants him a special connection to the animal kingdom and he is able to call upon their spirits to aid him. Special Abilities: Summon spirit animal. Restrictions: Cannot shapeshift. Comments: This druid is certainly better then the normal druid. The spirit animals are more powerful than the shapeshift forms, and you can cast spells while the animals attack. The Americans should be glad that the Indians couldn't summon creatures like these. AVENGER (Druid Kit) A member of a special sect within the Druidic order, a druid of this type is dedicated to fighting those who would defile nature. Avengers have powers the average druid does not; additional abilities that have been earned through extensive rituals, a process that is very physically draining. Special Abilities: May shapechange into normal forms, as well as those of sword spider, baby wyvern and fire salamander. May cast a limited selection of mage spells. Restrictions: -2 to strength and constitution. Spells (one per level: 1st: Chromatic Orb 2nd: Web 3rd: Lightning Bolt 4th: Improved Invisibility 5th: Chaos 6th: Chain Lightning Comments: The new shapeshifting forms aren't worth it. They're weak, even though stronger than the original. The mage-spells are the only things saving this character form total screw-up. Chain lightning and chaos are two very powerful spells, but do you really think that they are the low strength and constitution worth? SHAPESHIFTER (Druid Kit) This druid is not called Shapeshifter because he has access to a great variety of forms, rather because of his complete dedication to a single alternate form. This druid has willingly allowed himself to become infected with Lycanthrope, but due to intense study and training he has the ability to control his affliction. The creature he becomes is that of the Werewolf, the most famous of the lycanthrope shape changers. Special Abilities: Shape change into werewolf Restrictions: Cannot wear armor, cannot shapechange into any other forms. Comments: The best druid kit. The werewolf is really powerful, and when you get the greater at level 13, you are going to kick so much but. The no armor thing won't really affect you, since you'll be hand-to- hand fighting in the werewolf-form. ________________________________________________________________________________ 7. MONK: Monks are warriors who pursue perfection through contemplation as well as action. They are versatile fighters, especially skilled in combat without weapons or armor. Though monks cannot cast spells, they have a unique magic of their own. They channel a subtle energy, called ki, which allows them to perform amazing feats. The monk's best known feat is their ability to stun an opponent with an unarmed blow. Special Abilities: Martial arts, magic resistance, fast movement, lay on hands, thief abilities (stealth and detect traps). Restrictions: Cannot wear armor, cannot use two-handed weapons. A monk's natural armor class gets better as he goes up in levels. His armor class starts off at 9, and then decreases by 1 for every 2 levels. Stunning blow, once per day for every 4 levels. All attacks in the next 6 seconds force the victim to save or be stunned. Note: This special ability automatically modifies a monk's normal attack, no targeting needs to be done. Monks have the Deflect Missiles ability. This gives them a -1 to their AC Vs. missiles for every 3 levels. The monk gains a +2 to save vs. spells. A monk starts off moving at +2 move, then +1 move every 5 levels. 5th level: Immunity to all diseases, and cannot be Slowed or Hasted. 7th level: Lay on Hands to heal 2 hit points per level. 8th level: -1 to speed factor. 9th level: +1 to all saves. Immune to charm. The monk's fist is considered a +1 weapon (+2 at 12th, +3 at 15th). 11th level: Immune to poison. 12th level: Another -1 to speed factor. 13th level: Quivering Palm spell once per day. This spell gives them one hand attack. If they hit an opponent, the opponent must save or die. 14th level: The monk gains 3% magic resistance per level (i.e. 42% at 14th level) Stops at 78%. 20th level: Immune to non-magical weapons. 21st Level: +1 AC 24th Level: +2 AC 25th Level: Fists +4 weapons 27th Level: +3 AC 30th Level: +4 AC 35th Level: +5 AC 40th Level: +6 AC Damage increase: Level 1-2: 1-6 Level 3-5: 1-8 Level 6-8: 1-10 Level 9-14:1-12 Level 15+: 1-20 Comments: One of my favorite classes! The magic resistance is always nice, and with a high dex, the armor class will be OK. This guy has 4 attacks per round! The stunning blows are ok, but I didn't use 'em much. The quivering palm is really great to destroy a greater malison'ed monster. ________________________________________________________________________________ R O G U E S: ________________________________________________________________________________ 8. THIEF: To accomplish his goals, for good or ill, the thief is a skilled pilferer. Cunning, nimbleness and stealth are his hallmarks. Whether he turns his talent against innocent passers-by and wealthy merchants or oppressors and monsters is a choice for the thief to make. There are seven thief abilities in Baldur's Gate II. At first level a thief character will receive 30 points to allocate among his abilities. Every level thereafter he will gain an extra 20 points. See Table 2 on pg 138 in the manual to see how a thief's abilities are modified according to race and dexterity. Special Abilities: Open locks, find traps, pick pockets, move silently, hide in shadows, detect illusions and set traps. Restrictions: Cannot be of Lawful Good alignment; cannot wear any armor other than leather or studded leather; cannot use any shield except for bucklers; can only wield clubs, daggers, darts, crossbows, short bows, slings, long swords, short swords and quarterstaffs. Recommended race: halfling. A halfling with 18 dex could steal the filling in a dragon's molar, sneak away, and have the hole cave filled with traps before the dragon even discovers a thing. General Comments: A party without a thief will very soon be a dead part, since the thief are the only class that can actually remove traps. Start of by trying to get detect trap, and open locks up to 100. Then you can either concentrated on hide in shadows and move silently, so you can become a good backstabber (there's nothing like a blade between the shoulder blades), or you can concentrate on the traps and the detect illusions, and stay in the back with a crossbow or a short bow. Without TOB, the thief is only fairly good, but with TOB, the thief can create scrolls, potions, use any item, evade attacks, and the new traps are real killers :-) ASSASSIN: This is a killer trained in discreet and efficient murder, relying on anonymity and surprise to perform his task. Special Abilities: Use poison, combat bonuses Restrictions: Penalty to thief skills Comments: What is this guy? A thief or a black widow? Give me a monk instead; better damage and better thief skills (if you a haven't noticed, I don't like this kit). BOUNTY HUNTER (Thief Kit) This is a hunter of men, skilled in tracking quarry and bringing them back alive - whether for lawful authorities or underworld masters. Bounty Hunters are specially trained at their task and make fearsome opponents. They have honed their trap making abilities well beyond that of the average thief. Special Abilities: Special trap setting Restrictions: Penalty to thief skills Special traps and what level they come at: 1st: Damages and slows target unless saving throw is succeeded. 11th: Casts hold on target unless saving throw is succeeded 16th: Casts Otiluke's resilient sphere on target. 21st: Casts Maze on target. Comments: If you want to go the trapping way, then this is your man; the new traps are really useful. SWASHBUCKLER (Thief Kit) This rogue is part acrobat, part swordsman and part wit: the epitome of charm and grace. Special Abilities: Combat bonuses Restrictions: Cannot backstab Comments: This guy is the only person (except the blade) who can put three into the two-weapon fighting style. This and the combat bonuses makes him a great attacker, so if you can live without the 4x backstab, this should be your thief choice. ________________________________________________________________________________ 9. BARD The bard is also a rogue, but he is very different from the thief. His strength is his pleasant and charming personality. With it and his wits he makes his way through the world. A bard is a talented musician and a walking storehouse of gossip, tall tales and lore. He learns a little bit about everything that crosses his path; he is a jack-of-all- trades but master of none. While many bards are scoundrels, their stories and songs are welcome almost everywhere. Special Abilities: Pick Pockets, Bard Songs, Spell Casting, High Lore ability. Restrictions: Human and Half-Elf only; must be of partially Neutral alignment; cannot use a shield or armor heavier than chain mail. General Comments: With a bard in your party, identify is a thing of the past. This guy knows almost everything there is to know about items. The bard songs are nifty, making all your attackers regular monsters (I wish I could play on a harp like that). The spells are normally low-level, but there's nothing to equal the odds in a battle like chaos, or greater malison. The bard also has access to the same TOB abilities as the thief, and even some only for the bard. For instance there's an improved bard song, that's way better than the usual. BLADE The Blade is an expert fighter and adventurer whose bardic acting abilities make him appear more intimidating and fearsome. His fighting style is flashy and entertaining, but is also quite deadly. Special Abilities: Offensive spin, defensive stance. Restrictions: Only has one-half normal lore value, only has one-half pick pockets percentage; bard song does not become better with levels. Comments: The blade is kind of weak, giving up his bardic abilities, and trading them for the offensive and defensive spin and the three skill points in two weapon fighting, simply isn't worth it. Take a multi- class swashbuckler/mage instead if you can't live without the magic. JESTER This bard is well versed in the arts of ridicule and hilarity, and uses his abilities to distract and confuse his enemies, cavorting madly during combat. Do not mistake him for a true fool, however, as he can also be quite deadly. Special Abilities: Song will confuse enemies instead of giving bonuses to allies. Restrictions: None. Comments: The confusing ability is really need, unless you fight undead, whom you can't confuse. Not much else to say about the jester. Whether you want the confusion or the better fighters is totally up to you. ________________________________________________________________________________ W I Z A R D S: ________________________________________________________________________________ 10. MAGE: The mage strives to be a master of magical energies, shaping them and casting them as spells. To do so, he studies strange tongues and obscure facts and devotes much of his time to magical research. A mage must rely on knowledge and wit to survive. Mages are rarely seen adventuring without a retinue of fighters and men-at-arms. Because there are different types (or schools) of magic, there are different types of mages. The generalist mage studies all types of magic and learns a wide variety of spells. His broad range makes him well suited to the demands of adventuring. Special Abilities: Spell Casting. Restrictions: cannot wear armor, can only wield daggers, staffs, darts, and slings. General comments: The mage is really powerful, using magic that the clerics can only dream about. He has a broad selection of spells, all with there own special and powerful ability. He can turn people to dust, become invisible, and even stop the flow of time itself, or summon the head of an angry dragon. Keep him in the back and let him cast his spell from there. Recommended ability points: 18 in int, and a high wis would also be good if you plan to use spells like wish and limited wish. SPECIALIST MAGES Mages that specialize in a specific school of magic are allowed to memorize an extra spell of each level (once they are able to use spells of the appropriate level). They are prohibited from learning spells in their opposition schools, and cannot be combined in a multi-class character (though gnomish characters can become Fighter/Illusionists). Human specialist mages can dual class if they wish. See Table 4 on pg 139 in the manual for opposition schools. Abjurer: A mage who specializes in protective magics. Conjurer: A mage who specializes in creating creatures and objects to assist him. Diviner: A mage who specializes in detection and divining magics. Enchanter: A mage who specializes in manipulating the minds of sentient beings. Illusionist: A mage who specializes in creating illusions to confuse and mislead. Invoker: A mage who specializes in Invocation/Evocation magic. Necromancer: A mage who specializes in magic dealing with death. Transmuter: A mage who specializes in magic that alters physical reality. Comments: I'd take the necro (Abi-dlazim's horrid wilting, wail of banshee), or the conjurer (the power word spells, the symbol spells, and all the summon spells), if I had to take a specialist, but honestly, I'd prefer the good old mage. WILD MAGE: Wild mages are wizards who specialized in the study of wild magic. They have access to spells to protect themselves from Wild magic, and bend it to their wills. Wild magic is extremely unpredictable, and should be used with caution. Abilities: Three wild mage spells: chaos shield, improved