[Dual Class Help] Priest of Talos/X

[SkeeSilentT]

I've been looking for an evil charname to lead a mostly evil band of party members throughout both BGEE and BG2EE, and I settled on Priest of Talos. He's a human and is currently level one in Candle Keep. I'd like some help on deciding what level I should Dual him. (I'm leaning toward level 10)

Why I chose Priest of Talos:
- Chaotic Evil
- Instant cast Lightning spell while wearing Full Plate
- Stormshield for immunity to elemental damage and normal missle attacks
- I want to be a Thunder-flinging badass who wears plate, heals, and can summon skeletons.

Charname's stats:
Strength: 18
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 18
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 10
-
Total: 93
- - - -

When weighing my options for a Dual-Class (He's a Human) I've considered both Fighter and Thief, but I want my charname to be one of my party's primary tanks (planning to share the role with Kagain) and Fighter seemed like the natural choice since, A.) you can't cast mage spells while wearing plate and B.) Thief won't help with weapon proficiencies, even with UAI in BG2EE.

So, would dualing to Fighter at level 10 be a wise choice, or perhaps a later level? What about staying with a base kitted Priest of Talos??

[robomagon]

Fighter. Because weapon profs and extra attacks.

Thief wouldn't be able to do thievy things in full plate, so it'll just get annoying if you're relying on him as your primary thief. And a cleric/thief would only be able to backstab with quarterstaves and clubs. It's just not a very good combo.

You won't even be able to reach level 10 cleric in BG1 without removing the XP cap.

I'd switch at 14 for level 7 spells, or 15 for a 3rd lightning bolt. If you switch at 14, you would regain access to the cleric abilities at 3.1m XP, which should happen before the end of SoA. Switching at 15 would need 3.575m XP, which isn't likely to happen in SoA unless you do Watcher's Keep before ToB.

[danconnors]

You should be aware that a mage can achieve pretty decent armor class without wearing any armor at all. And without casting armor spells. A fighter mage can use the best shields available and still cast spells. The archmage robe, when combined with the +2 ring found in Baldur's Gate, gives as good an armor class as conventional plate mail. Dexterity bonuses stack. You can easily reach AC-3 in Baldur's Gate, much higher in Baldur's Gate 2.

Also a fighter/mage can use any weapon a fighter can, without having to worry about priestly penalties to weapon use. Mage offensive spells are more powerful than a cleric's, and can go 2 levels higher (level 9 versus level 7).

If you go the fighter/mage dual class route, you should probably go as a fighter first for the higher hit point total. By level 11 or so, a fighter gets 2.5 or 3 hits per round, has maxed hit points, and can hit any armor class an enemy will be wearing. If you then switch to mage you should reach dual class much earlier than a cleric fighter dual class.