Best Thief clas to go through BG1&2?

[Sir Sparhawk]

I'm wanting to start a new game from the beginning and I'm going to play a Half Elf Thief. I don't like any of the Thief companions from BG2 as my main thief.

I'm going to build it to duel wield and use bows. I never bother using stealth or backstabs (mainly because I always forget or can never be bothered). The skills I will focus on most are picking locks and finding/disarming traps

I'm looking for a fun, strong and easy to play thief class, or even fighter/thief. What would you all recommend to take through both games?

[Damn_Monkey]

You literally described the Swashbuckler.

But a pure thief can be a bit of a bore.

Fighter/Thief will be just as useful a thief, and get the extra APR from levels/weapon spec. So more damage. Not to mention wearing a helm to help protect from crits is really nice.

Thief/Mage is fun. And useful. Of the 4 Mage classes in BG2, 3 of them have Thief levels. No coincidence there.

[JC]

i like all the base classes far more than the kits but if your not going to use backstab which is basically the one good thing of using a thief in dnd, just go with a ranger.

you can use spells for locks and traps..

[red255]

OK. lets not get into recommending classes he doesn't want. he wants either thief kit or fighter/thief.

the thief kits are focusing on things he isn't using except swashbuckler.

so swashbuckler vs fighter/thief multiclass.

so if you take fighter thief multiclass you can wear heavy armor, which is great.
this disables your thief skills but you can still detect traps, so it just means you need to remove the armor to open locks or disarm traps.
if you take fighter thief multiclass you get extra fighter attacks at 7 and 13, you can put two pips into weapons for the extra half attack per round,

you also get fighter HP so you benifit from CON above 16.
and the extra strength 18/XX from fighter which is moot after you raise it to 19.

swash gets bonuses to hit and damage, which is fine, but the extra attacks per round is more. considering the magic level of gear in the games.

eventually you get both fighter and thief HLA which is dandy.

[omegazeda]

I play Shadowdancer, it's fine it gets the job done especially if you use your hide in plain sight wisely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IUhUTMsCjY

[red255]

Originally posted by omegazeda:

I play Shadowdancer, it's fine it gets the job done especially if you use your hide in plain sight wisely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IUhUTMsCjY

he never plans on using stealth though.

[Hell-met]

assassin is the most fun

but once you start facing all those numerous backstab immune or stoneskin spamming bosses then your entire character goes into the trashbin

1 APR also means critical miss fest

so basically your entire run of ToB will be carried either by your other party members or that very unbalanced trap

[Hell-met]

Originally posted by red255:

he never plans on using stealth though.

then he might aswell not try this, especially not dual wield

[Centurion]

Although it looks like you have a good answer on the F/T, allow me to offer a few thoughts, questions, and options.

Why a Half-Elf? If that is a RPG preference, so be it. But really just about the worst racial choice for a F/T build, especially as you mention bows and such. H/E are basically just Humans with limited magic resistance and infravision. I only take them as being better, marginally, Druids or Bards than humans. Halflings, Dwarves, and Elves all offer superior F/T options. Dwarves, as you seem to not want to hide/back-stab, are best at spotting traps and opening locks, superior as fighters, and they get great saving throws. And that lost point of DEX will get corrected before the end of regular BGEE.

Halflings get the most/best thief modifiers, plus that DEX bonus. And they overcome the strength penalty in BGEE as well by the end. Elves are my favorite F/T combo as they get the same DEX bonus as halflings (and will also correct CON in BGEE. Love those tomes!) They have really good racial thief bonuses. And, for fighting, get that bonus +1 with long swords and long bows, which is perfect for your stated desire, And they have the real elven magic resistances, unlike the half-elves.

I actually agree that BGEE2 hoses you when it comes to thieves. (If I am not playing a thief-type, I usually roll a player-generated NPC multi/dual thief! Or use a Mod NPC.) Nalia and Imoen are crippled. Jan is annoying and wimpy. Hexxat has issues if you are not really evil. And Yoshimo,... 'nuff said, Additionally, in BG2 thieves actually become not only essential, but actually the most powerful class in the game. Why? Because of their High Level Abilities, especially the Spike Trap. A thief with a few of these traps can defeat Deomogorgon, Dragons, Liches, and everything else nasty, all on their own! This may be why the developers decided to leave you with crappy thieves as NPCs. A good thief can dominate the end-game! That said, as all these posts point out, playing a pure thief is limiting. You can't do much early on except provide low-proficiency bow support and detect traps, Also, Rogues max out their levels faster than any other class leaving you Level 40 for about half of BG2. (Unless you Mod.)

So the multi-class F/T is a great option, as the slower level progression will keep you in the leveling up game longer. And better HP and THACO too! Maybe best of all is you can eventually gain HLAs from BOTH classes. Spike Traps and Death Blows! Awesome! But before you decide for sure, allow me to offer you one more truly wicked option:

Dual Fighter>Thief. I love BG1, a lot, but in all honesty it is really a hack-n-slash adventure. Nothing beats an armored tank going through this game, with heavy AC, low THACO, High HP, and awesome weapons skill (Grand Mastery!) Pure Fighters tend to survive those first low levels better than others. Also, BGEE1 has a plethora of really good natural thieves like Imoen, Safana, and Alora. So consider this: Roll a Human Fighter (or Berserker or, if you feel really brave, Kensai) and run through BGEE as a warrior, with great HP. slaughtering all and racking up mastery in a chosen weapon (but make sure it is a thief-weapon! No 2H swords or halberds!) And then look at dualing to a thief at the start of BG2 or at level 13. Here is what you get:

1) Likely 147 HP before you dual (because you get 10 HP and full CON bonuses.)
2) Exceptional strength.
3) Grand-mastery in at least one weapon. (Including Long bow if you prefer.)
4) The ability to temporarily strap-on the heavy armor in those situations where a thief won't help, but another tank might. (Once you regain the Fighter class!)
5) Thief levels are the easiest to gain, so getting back to full fighter and thief ability is quicker than all other dual options!

And what do you lose compared to multi-class? Those beneficial racial modifiers (which you would not get with half-elf anyway) and the fighter HLAs. It's a pure judgment call. Both are absolutely killer builds!

BTW, I feel inspired to try one of these myself now!

[Sir Sparhawk]

The main reasons I want to play a half elf is because a full elf can't romance viconia and it will be either her or aeire I romance. Also I really like the male portrait with duel weapons if you go backwards twice which is clearly elven.

[Centurion]

Good enough! Have fun! (Although I hear Viconia also likes bad boys who dual from Fighter to Thief!)

[Hamish]

Half-elf Fighter Thief isn't the worst choice, you get more health than an elf, and you are not a elf - win win

[Hamish]

Something I recently discovered, you could try a halfling Fighter/Thief. pluses are, shorty bonus to saving throws (up to +5 with high con) +1 to slings (who cares about slings though) the best thief racial bonuses (everything seems to get a + something) Can choose between Aerie, Viconia or Jaheira (they love those hairy feet) can have 19 dex (even more thieving at bonuses) penalty is -1 to str and -1 to wis (the strength penalty is the real bummer)