Best/favorite Stronghold?

[Weizen1988]

Basically title, I wanted to do another playthrough, was wondering about what everyones favorite stronghold was? Favorite/best is entirely for you to define, how it looks, items you get, whatever you like about it.

[wendigo211]

I'd say the Fighter stronghold (D'Arnise Keep) is the best. It has the largest quest and bunch of mini quests arbitrating disputes. The only downside is that because it's so big, it can take awhile to get to your room and storage chests.

The next best is the Thief stronghold (Thieves' Guild safehouse). It also has a fairly involved quest associated with it and a nice layout with lots of entrances and exits to get where you want to go quickly.

[Weizen1988]

Yeah, the only ones ive done before were bard and pally, pally being super underwhelming, neat I get a room in a guildhall, and bard being a standard quest of "oh we have to put on a play, do we hire the pretty one or the talented one?"

So for fighter one I can be fighter, barb, or monk? And if I remember correctly monks are comically underpowered and outclassed in basically everything, and barbs get screwed on armor, and less weapon prof than fighters.

[wendigo211]

Monks get really strong by the end of the game. But yeah they suck in BG and SoD and they don't really pick up until midway through SoA.

Barbs are a Fighter kit, and basically the kit you play if you want to play a Berserker, but think a Berserker is too powerful, so you'll go for something more modest. Joking aside, they aren't a great class, but IIRC their DR stacks with Hardiness, so that's something if you take them to epic levels. Unlike the other Fighter Kits, they also can't dual class (Well Dwarven Defenders can't dual class either, but that's because they have to be Dwarves).

A dual-classed or multiclassed Fighter can pick up the Fighter stronghold as well.

[𝔜𝔲𝔢]

I prefer the bard stronghold, simply because managing the play is kinda fun.

Originally posted by Weizen1988:

And if I remember correctly monks are comically underpowered and outclassed in basically everything, and barbs get screwed on armor, and less weapon prof than fighters.

Monks start out rather weak (don't even bother with them in BG I), but will turn into monsters once you reach a higher level.
Barbarian armor isn't that bad (in the end it's just about ~1 AC worse than the best armor fighters can wear) and you get quite a few useful bonuses in return (80% damage reduction anyone? :D ).

[Weizen1988]

Originally posted by Kiryan:

I prefer the bard stronghold, simply because managing the play is kinda fun.

Originally posted by Weizen1988:

And if I remember correctly monks are comically underpowered and outclassed in basically everything, and barbs get screwed on armor, and less weapon prof than fighters.

Monks start out rather weak (don't even bother with them in BG I), but will turn into monsters once you reach a higher level.
Barbarian armor isn't that bad (in the end it's just about ~1 AC worse than the best armor fighters can wear) and you get quite a few useful bonuses in return (80% damage reduction anyone? :D ).

I forgot about the stupid high DR on barbs.

And bard stronghold isnt bad really, its just the one ive already done, so Ive seen how that goes.

Ill probably go barb or some kind of kensai/mage build, I recall that being absurdly powerful. I want to do a full run, and beating bg1 and all that with a monk just sounds unpleasant.

[Morphic]

IMO, I like the Fighter Stronghold(D'Arnise Keep) since, y'know, it's a friggin castle and you own the neighboring lands.

However I did like the Ranger Cabin you could get and I liked the idea of the Wizard Stronghold(Planar Sphere). The thing I disliked about the Planar Sphere is that you can't use to Plane Travel, it's forever stuck in the middle of buildings/town and the 3 Wizard Apprentices you get are basically useless and contrived. If you could place the Sphere somewhere else or the Apprentices actually had some flavor to them then I'd seriously consider saying Wizard Stronghold is the best.

[yndiana]

I always played as a Fighter, I like to own a castle so I'm fine with this!

[wendigo211]

You get a pick of whichever stronghold you want, but you can only have one stronghold without mods.

[fauxpas]

Out of the stronghold mods, I personally like the one that lets you give strongholds to the NPCs, and you advise them (sometimes they listen to you, sometimes they don't).

[Woofy]

Personally, I like the Ranger stronghold. I think it ties in with the Ranger quest the best and I like the Moon Dog you get at the end. Also, the townsfolk seem to be happy you're there.

Never played the Bard stronghold. Heard it's pretty long. The Ranger one is kind of short. 3 events, iirc.

[Weizen1988]

Originally posted by Lord Gorbag:

Personally, I like the Ranger stronghold. I think it ties in with the Ranger quest the best and I like the Moon Dog you get at the end. Also, the townsfolk seem to be happy you're there.

Never played the Bard stronghold. Heard it's pretty long. The Ranger one is kind of short. 3 events, iirc.

Bard one is basically, if I remember correctly, "do we use the pretty girl or the more talented one" "do we pick the talented but unreliable drunk or the less exciting but more skilled guy" and I think one other quest, which I think was "we need money!". Prior to that you have to break into a dungeon and spring a tiefling, but that part is way straight forward, and hes a party member, so even non bards will do that bit.

[Ghoul Hunter]

I like the ones that give summoning items. Gold tends to become very abundant after a while, so an item that helps in combat is always welcome.

[red255]

the Mage one I felt was the best, for the extra ring of wizardry. you get one from Jahiera as well.

[Teralitha]

Where are all these strongholds? Im sure I have found them before, but Im not sure what people are calling a "stronghold"

[Weizen1988]

bg2 the keep nalia wants you to rescue (fighter, monk, barb), the order of the radiant heart for pally, thieves guild for rogue, druid gets a druid circle, ranger gets a cabin in umar i beleive, all mage classes get the planar sphere, bard gets five flaggons, and the different cleric classes each get to join a temple. I might have missed one, but I think thats all of them. Basically every class type gets a base to operate from. scattered around the map a bit, most of them are in the main city though.