So i would like to develop a party that is consistent with their personality/lore. And then have a cohesive story around that. Of course Larian will provide that. But having my own twist/side-stories can be a lot of fun. Of course this also have to all come together and work gamplaywise. I dont mind not optimising. I will focus mainly on stories, rp and being versatile. Of course things will change while ill play. Having some general idea's will probably enhance my experience. My general idea is to be mobile. In and out. Not really focussing on the stealth mechanics. Everyone can do some melee/spells. Storywise focus on the struggle between good/evil.
Btw: I have no DnD experience. Never played bg1/2. I did read the first 9 Drizzt books (re-reading em now). I do however have experience with DOS2 and Dragon age:Origins. Man, i loved those games.I have played 80 hours of early acces. 30 at the very start and 50 this week. Been watching DnD youtube video's a lot this week to get some more knowledge. Dungeon dudes are great..
I will always bring Shadowheart and myself. Mostly Wyl and Lea'zel. Then swap partymembers around a bit when it seems to make sense storywise or when i feel like it. I think i dont like Astarion and Gale that much. May change while i play more. As face for my party it will be mainly me. Some situations it will be Shadowheart or Wyl.
Me: A character of a mix between Drizzt and me. Dark background now trying to do good. Sometimes "the hunter" emerges. I always love versatility. Was between bard/druid/ranger. Settled on a Sword Bard-Lock. Seems fitting. Bard for the versatility. Sword for melee focus. Lock for some more flavor. Probably 10 bard 2 lock. Dual wielding scimitars. Mobility and darkness/devilsight. Also considering Bard/Ranger. I rly like that for RP/theme!. Start 1 hunter, 3 swordbard, 2m hunter, rest bard. Bardlock just seems a lot better.. Seems i have the option to add spells for what my party lacks. Some buffs/control. Not sure if i want to be a seldarine drow or halfdrow.
Shadowheart: She seems like more of an assasin then a typical clerk. So i am thinking 4/5 cleric and then either 5 Ranger or 3 rogue. Then test and see how it develops, for story or mechanics. Leaning towards 4/5 cleric and 5 ranger. Either gloomstalker or hunter. Not sure how to build that... She can do melee and buff. Probably using 1hwep+shield. I'll probably do 5 cleric/3rogue first. Then try cleric/5ranger. She will be my romance. We make a interesting couple. Both having this struggle between good/evil light/dark.
We seem to be the core for the party. Doing some melee dmg, focussing on utility. Out of combat and buffs seem decently covered. My other 2 will focus more on damage with some controll.
Wyl: He really seems like a swordbard too me. More like the typical bard that brings chaos. His lockstory seems to also make him struggle with good/evil. Unfortunately for him i am a the swordbard. We can learn from each other though. So think i make him a lore bard/lock. Focussing more on damage: eldritch blast/ranged aoe spells. Some control spells. Cutting words seems rly nice. I dont rly know how to add melee to this! Maybe 3 rogue. So 6 bard/3 lock/3 rogue. Maybe 2/3 fighter. maybe 1 sorc. All feels not optimal enough..i am stuck
Lea'zel: Having her and shadowheart seems interesting. May become my sidechick. Seems a bit more evil then good, but i will try to change that. Eldricht knight. Maybe 2/3 barbarian or 3 rogue.
My main 4. Think ill swap out Wyll and/or Lae'zel regularly. Lea'zel for Karlach (totemBarb) or Halsin (moondruid). Wyl for Jaheira (land druid) or Gale. Seems simple enough. I dont know anything about Minsk. All i know is he has a space hamster lol. Not sure how to easily get Minthara as a companion. Seems i can only get her if i kill the grove? And i dont like to do that... care for spoilers plz.
My biggest uncertainties are how to build shadowheart and Wyl for my idea's/party composition. And if i should go Selderine drow or halfdrow. Still some doubt about Bard with ranger or lock. Any other suggestions will be welcome as well.
Looks OK. IMO Bard/Ranger would be more Drizzty. He fled Lollth - and now he enters into a pact with some other soul devouring crazy? You don't need Bard for the dual wielding silliness - Ranger alone gives you that.
I think there is too much multiclassing there - in 5ed classes overlap, especially with Sub-classes, Backgrounds and Feats. E.g. Shadowheart is Thief/Cleric already.
yeah i agree (bard/)ranger would fit him better. I settled on sword bard just for utility gameplay i think i will enjoy. Still seems fine. The mobility will add a lot i think. Sword bard is a given. Now looking for a way to make him more like Drizzt/me. Dual wield and utility focussed.
Swordbard with lock: I thought of the pact thing before. 2 lock and old one pact. I dont know much about this all. Mielikki can be the old one. Its probably off, but works for me. Also, the fear on crit can feel Drizzty. And darkness/devilvision. Spells seem drowlike as well.
Swordbard with ranger: We agree. Feels more Drizzty. Can do 3 ranger, rest bard.Thinking Hunter for adding a bit more melee, proficencies. I really like it for rp/theme! but...Its wisdom+cha.. Will need to look more into this. Couldnt find much info on this build so far. It doesnt seem to be populair. in contrast to hexblade.
Doing bardranger seems great for the theme, but too gimped.. Bard with dipping into lock just seems a lot better then ranger. Still dunno what to pick.
U are right, there is probably too much multi-classing for most companions. I will lose a bit of power. Just 1 class or 2/3 dip max is probably a lot stronger. Multiclassing 6/3/3 or something is probably too much. However.. i prefer options above optimising. So being a bit weaker overall, but having some more options seems like a good trade off. I do feel that the overlap is not that bad for my choices. Most use the same stats. The damage scaling may be the biggest issue. If a character feels a bit too weak i can respec him anyway.
Thought one: If you are going melee, I suggest three levels of Lock to get Pact of the Blade instead of two. It lets you use your charisma for you main hand weapon instead of Str or Dex, which is big. Doing 3/9 also gets you better lock spell slots, bumping them both to level 2 while keeping 5th level bard spells.
You can do 2/10, but the best reasons to do that is for an EB build or the Darkness Witch Sight combo which (will work only because you get the Darkness spell as a drow).
If you really want that melee 10 Bard multi-class, I would suggest Paladin or Fighter for a 2/10. Personally I would go Pally since the synergy with Cha is there, and you get 6th level spell slots which you won't with warlock or fighter. 2 in Fighter gets you action surge, which is one of the most powerful abilities in the game.
Regarding race, I would select Half-drow for the warlock build to get the shield or a full drow for anything else to get Perception as a free skill.
Shadowheart: Your plan sounds good. Between your bard and her half cleric, you'll be good. I would do at least 5 cleric though by the end of the build so you can cast 3rd level spells (rather than upcasting the extra slots if you go Ranger). Or you could even do all three with a Cleric 4/ Ranger 5/ Rogue 3 that is a fun multiclass and still keeps you with 2 ASIs, 3rd level spell slots, extra attack, and sneak attack. Plus if you go gloom 5 assassin 3, your first turn in combat is a murder fest.
Wyll: He would make a good Palock if you don't mind another punchy guy. Warlock 3 for pact of the blade and maybe 5 for fireball then Paladin to get extra spell slots, extra attack, dueling fighting style, and the aura(s) which will really help if everyone is up in front wrecking things. I would definitely do Oath of Ancients in that case to provide the magic damage resistance to the team. Between the two auras everyone will have +5 to their saves and take only 1/4 for spells they save against. This one would be optomized by going 5-6 warlock first (whenever you get extra attack in the final version of the game), then at 8 respec to lock 3 pally 5 before building back up either one. 5 Bladelock / 7 Ancients Pally will get you the auras, fireball, and an extra invocation, all of which are great.
Lae: It might be fun to do Eldritch Knight + Arcane Trickster. I haven't seen that before, but it solves both of their problems spell-wise. Which is that they only get a limited spell selection in very specific schools. The schools don't overlap so you actually get access to a wider array between them. Keep in mind that Barbs can't rage and cast spells, so If you do want to go barb/fighter then consider champion or battle-master as they make stronger combos.
I'll second Buba68 that you're probably multiclassing too much, especially if you're not at all familiar with D&D. In D&D, unless you're doing certain specific multiclass combos at specific levels, you'll more likely than not make weaker characters by multiclassing. Single classes gain power exponentially, so a level 11 Cleric is vastly more powerful than a level 6 Cleric/5 Ranger.
I worry that you'll make these multiclassed characters and be severely underpowered for the encounters---especially in Act 2 or 3 of BG3---and as a result be more frustrated with the game. My advice is to play the game with singleclassed characters at least until level 5, and only then *consider* (not necessarily commit to) branching out to take maybe 1-3 levels in one additional class. This way, you'll at least have the basics of the game and the D&D/BG3 mechanics down by then.
And also as Buba68 said, subclasses (you choose them at class levels 1, 2, or 3 depending on the class) already serve the purpose of multiclassing in D&D. Shadowheart is by default a Trickery Cleric, which is a Cleric/Rogue multiclass.
Edit: While I was typing you posted this, which I mostly agree with.
Originally Posted by Socratez
U are right, there is probably too much multi-classing for most companions. I will lose a bit of power. Just 1 class or 2/3 dip max is probably a lot stronger. Multiclassing 6/3/3 or something is probably too much. However.. i prefer options above optimising. So being a bit weaker overall, but having some more options seems like a good trade off. I do feel that the overlap is not that bad for my choices. Most use the same stats. The damage scaling may be the biggest issue. If a character feels a bit too weak i can respec him anyway.
If i will go bardlock.. I think i will be going 1 bard/ 1 lock/ 5 bard/ 2 lock/ 2 bard. So 3 lock. Then respec at 12. 2 lock 10 bard to get magical secrets. I think i will have high dex anyway. Seems like the best overall stat. 3 for better lock spellslots doesnt seem worth it over magical secrets.
I dont like pally for the theme. Considered 2/3fighter. Seems really good. I find lock/ranger way more interesting/fitting. Still trying to make up my mind between those.
Wyl: i really like your palock idea.Think oathbreaker may fit him? But will it work with lorebard+lock? Was leaning towards 6lorebard/3lock. Then all bard or lock. Maybe 3rogue.
Lea: Yeah agree. Eldritch knight arcane trickster seems the way for me.
If i will go bardlock.. I think i will be going 1 bard/ 1 lock/ 5 bard/ 2 lock/ 2 bard. So 3 lock. Then respec at 12. 2 lock 10 bard to get magical secrets. I think i will have high dex anyway. Seems like the best overall stat. 3 for better lock spellslots doesnt seem worth it over magical secrets.
I dont like pally for the theme. Considered 2/3fighter. Seems really good. I find lock/ranger way more interesting/fitting. Still trying to make up my mind between those.
Wyl: i really like your palock idea.Think oathbreaker may fit him? But will it work with lorebard+lock? Was leaning towards 6lorebard/3lock. Then all bard or lock. Maybe 3rogue.
Lea: Yeah agree. Eldritch knight arcane trickster seems the way for me.
Wyll: You can definitely make him a blaster/support type character and a 2/10 split for that purpose is perfect. Get the Eldritch Blast cantrip and then the Invocations at level 2 (I would do agonizing blast at a minimum), then turn bard and never look back so you can get all those level 10 bard goodies.
Yeah that makes the most sense. However... I probably already doing a 2lock/10 bard,swords though, for myself.
So, for Wyl, I would like 6lorebard/ 2,3 lock. Settled on that. Focused on ranged blaster/sup, but I like to add some melee options. I was thinking +3 rogue, but I start to really like ur pally idea. So 6 lorebard / 3 lock/ 2 pally/ 1 something. Seems a bit too scattered, but there seems to be a build there?
Yeah that makes the most sense. However... I probably already doing a 2lock/10 bard,swords though, for myself.
So, for Wyl, I would like 6lorebard/ 2,3 lock. Settled on that. Focused on ranged blaster/sup, but I like to add some melee options. I was thinking +3 rogue, but I start to really like ur pally idea. So 6 lorebard / 3 lock/ 2 pally/ 1 something. Seems a bit too scattered, but there seems to be a build there?
You're right that the Wyll mix is pretty scattered. If you are ever planning on going with 3 classes, you really have to ask what you are gaining with each class. 2 Levels of Paladin or rogue aren't going to benefit a ranged magic blaster. Their key features, Paladin's Smite and Rogue's Sneak Attack, don't work with Eldtritch Blast. If you want to make a blaster character, you'd be best off with warlock/bard or warlock/sorcerer, the sorcerer is the most blasty full caster, while the bard can handle support.
I'm not exactly sure what it is about level 6 lore bard that you are looking for (magical secrets?) If it is for the skills, then I would caution about turning a companion into a skill monkey. Companion skills for environmental checks (Int skills, survival, stealth, and perception) are helpful and so is acrobatics/athletics to defend against pushing, and a single sleight of hand user. The other half of the skills really work best on your MC who should be handling the conversations. Just remember only the character speaking gets to use their skills in conversations.
You could instead do 3 lock 9 sorcerer and get the spells you would probably be getting from magical secrets anyway along with sorcery points and much better pew pews.
And also as Buba68 said, subclasses (you choose them at class levels 1, 2, or 3 depending on the class) already serve the purpose of multiclassing in D&D. Shadowheart is by default a Trickery Cleric, which is a Cleric/Rogue multiclass.
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I think this is what i need to keep in mind more. I think i underestimate the subclasses. Hence why i feel like i need to multiclass twice. So pact of the blade will give me the melee options i was looking for on Wyl. So we can disregard the +rogue idea.
Originally Posted by benbaxter
Originally Posted by Socratez
Yeah that makes the most sense. However... I probably already doing a 2lock/10 bard,swords though, for myself.
So, for Wyl, I would like 6lorebard/ 2,3 lock. Settled on that. Focused on ranged blaster/sup, but I like to add some melee options. I was thinking +3 rogue, but I start to really like ur pally idea. So 6 lorebard / 3 lock/ 2 pally/ 1 something. Seems a bit too scattered, but there seems to be a build there?
You're right that the Wyll mix is pretty scattered. If you are ever planning on going with 3 classes, you really have to ask what you are gaining with each class. 2 Levels of Paladin or rogue aren't going to benefit a ranged magic blaster. Their key features, Paladin's Smite and Rogue's Sneak Attack, don't work with Eldtritch Blast. If you want to make a blaster character, you'd be best off with warlock/bard or warlock/sorcerer, the sorcerer is the most blasty full caster, while the bard can handle support.
I'm not exactly sure what it is about level 6 lore bard that you are looking for (magical secrets?) If it is for the skills, then I would caution about turning a companion into a skill monkey. Companion skills for environmental checks (Int skills, survival, stealth, and perception) are helpful and so is acrobatics/athletics to defend against pushing, and a single sleight of hand user. The other half of the skills really work best on your MC who should be handling the conversations. Just remember only the character speaking gets to use their skills in conversations.
You could instead do 3 lock 9 sorcerer and get the spells you would probably be getting from magical secrets anyway along with sorcery points and much better pew pews.
I am looking at it from a different angle. The story/background i create around my party. Wyl is just a lock+bard. It fits his theme,personality. And because i am a bard as well. We can learn from each other. It creates an extra layer and bond. This gets priority over mechanics for me. It makes it more challenging. And making it all come together and work is part of the fun for me.
So, my Wyl needs to be 3 lock+3bard for sure. Since i am a sword bard,making him a lore bard makes sense too me. But i also want him to be somewhat competent in melee. Think pact of the blade will cover that.
U make a good point for not needing him to be a 6 bard. I dont need him to be a skill monkey. Magical secrets may not be needed. But bard 5 seems rly good for better inspiration+spellslots. Now i am thinking 1st go 3 lock, 3 bard.For cutting words and getting the theme asap mainly. Then 5 lock/5bard. Then add 2 pally. Again, i rly like that idea from a theme perspective and think i can make it work.
Just found this video. He does mix lock+bard+pally. Its a bit different. He goes whisper bard and thats not in bg3. But he goes 5 lock then 2 pally, 3 bard.
It also may be a nice watch for some ppl to get some inspiration for a backstory surrounding Wyl, or their own character.
