Robe Of Vecna: Good For A Kensai/Mage

[danconnors]

I was afraid that my Kensai would be stuck with a really lousy armor class. But I dual classed when he made level 9, and just now got the gold to buy the robe of Vecna. That with a +1 ring and robe of the sewer has pushed his AC to -3. When he get the +2 ring and the ring of earth control, it will be up to AC-5. That's not half bad for a guy that can't wear any armor or use any bracers.

I probably REALLY should have gone for level 13 on the Kensai, because, as a Kensai, he's kind of a slouch. But enemies around him do have a tendancy of dying pretty fast.

[AlexMBrennan]

Does AC matter for kensages? Don't you have stoneskin?

[danconnors]

I have a stoneskin spell, which is easily hit, and each hit knocks off one of the skins. I don't know of the Kensai having a stoneskin ability. I'll look in my kit to make sure, but I never heard of such an ability.

There was no mention of ston skin, only of a +2 armor class at level one, an additional kensai attack every 4 level, a higher weapon speed every three levels, and a more deadly weapon skill every 4 levels. The guy is greased lightning with his weapon, which in my case is the dagger. I acquired the +2 dagger "grave binder" in Baldur's Gate, only a +2 weapon, but it does as much damage as a short sword. I just now acquired the +2 returning dagger in BG 2, which, for some reason, does more damage than grave binder (19 to 25). Some damage for a dagger.

[biogoo]

With armor spells, blurr and mirror image, your kensai/mage will be very hard to hit. Robe of Vecna is just 1 AC better than the weakest level 1 armor spell.

[danconnors]

Robes of Vecna can't be dispelled. My natural AC is 4. With robes of Vecna it's -1. In addition robes of Vecna add 10% magic resistance and increase my spell casting speed, all without wasting any slots in my inventory. I think I'll keep it.

[danconnors]

Even better; I forgot I had gotten the single weapon skill. If I grip a one handed weapon (and I can't use a shield) my natural armor class is AC2. With robes of Vecna, +1 ring, robe of the sewer, and ring of Earth control, I now have armor class -6. The only thing I don't have that I used to enjoy with berserker/mage was immunity to mind attacks, paralysis, and imprisonment. But this guy kills his enemies MUCH quicker than a berserker. They literally drop like flies!

[AlexMBrennan]

I think I'll keep it.

I never said that the item is bad... it's just a bit strange for a mage to focus on the AC instead of, say, the ungodly spam attacks you can unleash with improved alacrity thanks to this item.

[frdnwsm]

There is NO reason for any mage type not to use the Robe of Vecna. Agreed, you should have waited till level 13 to dual over, although you can use Tenser's Transformation to increase your hit probability with a weapon. You should also have specialized in halberds. I'm looking ahead to ToB, where the most absurdly OP weapon ever created is Ravager +6. (Look up the stats on this puppy). Also, there are decent halberds available earlier along the way. Dragonbane, Wave and the Harmonium Halberd are all available in SoA.

You should also consider scoring the Staff of the Magi.

AC is a bit less relevant when you get to ToB; there are high level critters that can stll get in a hit regardless of your AC. Killing the enemy faster than they can hit you is the most important thing.

Personally, I'm taking my Kensai as a pure fighter type all the way to the end. If you think your foes are dying fast now, you should see what happens when fighter HLAs come into use with a potion of speed or Improved Haste spell tossed in. And yes, I am specializing in halberds and flails for use with Ravager and Flail of Ages.

[danconnors]

I, personally, prefer Crom Feyer. It's the ultimate one handed weapon. In addition to doing ungodly damage, it also boosts your strength to 25. With that kind of unbelievable strength your strength bonus damage boosts damage into the stratosphere. In addition Crom Feyer allows you to use the single weapon skill, increasing AC by -2.

I was tempted by the easy, dark side, of the force of dual classing, used by those Kensai with no patience. I will only be able to guess what kind of damage a level 12 or 13 kensai could have done, but I believe it would have been awesome.

[Broseph]

Is it really worth waiting until k13 to dual class? I'm wanting to rerun through the trilogy but am paralyzed by indecision. I WANT to dual class, but as far as I can tell, Fighter/mage is better because of better AC, thac0 and fighter HLAs.

Kensai => Mage loses out on helmets and bracers which really, really sucks. And the only advantage I can really see is more HP and grandmastery. Like I want to dual class but again, fighter/mage seems better and kensai seems worse in comparison to vanilla fighter or berserker.

[red255]

I would say Beserker/Mage and kensai/thief. because of the use any item to bypass the reductions.

and dual to mage or cleric at 9 because the mage gets tenser's transformation. so you can get your thaco back. all you get at fighter 13 is an extra half attack per round but you get that from grandmastery so its not REALLY needed. and is ALOT of downtime.

[danconnors]

You get an extra kai attack per day at lvl 13. Also, weapon speed increases, and you get an extra +1 to melee attacks. In fact I put this character in hiatus, went back to Baldur's Gate, and started a new Kensai with a roll of 92. I'm trying my first lawful evil character. I know I can pick up two lawful evil cloaks of the evil arch mage; not sure if I can drag any into BG 2
(probably not).

[frdnwsm]

Crom Feyr isn't bad, but you need 3 items to construct it. You need to sacifice the ogre power gauntlets and girdle of giant strength. I prefer to use those items to boost the strength of 2 party members. In my current evil party specifically, Viconia is too weak to wear decent armor or hit well in melee without a strength item, and Jaheira (or Korgan if you use him) will also benfit from such. (If running a good party, Keldorn can use a strength boost).

(Note: I found one source that says Crom Feyr DOES kill giants, but the others say no. Anyone able to say for sure?)

If you want a good +5 one-handed weapon, Flail of Ages +5 is better overall in the long run ... the only time in ToB where you can really use the insta-slay is when fighting ettins, and there aren't that many of those running around. (By that time, trolls and golems are just minor annoyances). If Crom Feyr killed fire giants on a hit, you would have a better argument, since you will be killing literally hundreds of those goobers, but it doesn't.

Again, check out the stats on Ravager. (See below).

Fighter mage is decent, but your max level in either profession will be much lower than a single class. You might have a better argument for dual-classing at level 13.

I once commited the ultimate blasphemy and dual classed Sarevok to mage at the start of ToB. He didn't recover his fighter abilities until near the very end, but he made Tenser's transformation really work.

Ravager: Now, 10% chance of a kill sounds low, but combine this with Improved Haste, Grand Mastery in Halberds and the fighter HLA Improved Whirlwind, and you will be reaping enemies by the dozen. I was literally killing a fire giant every combat round. I had to pause after every attack to acquire a new target. (With the above factors in effect I was attacking 10x per round with a THACO that never missed; enemies pretty much just vaporized).

Wiki description:
>>Ravager +6 now deals 1d10 +6 points of damage and it has -6 THAC0 bonus. The weapon weighs 10 lbs and it has a speed factor of 3. The weapon has two combat abilities: it can deal 3-18 points extra damage with each hit if the target fails a save vs. poison, and it can decapitate an opponent with 10% chance, for which no saving throw can be made. The decapitation instant-kills most normal enemies, most bosses are immune to it. In this state, Ravager is the most powerful halberd available and a very powerful weapon.

In-game description (after upgrade)
“ Combined with the Serpent Shaft, this dark halberd has the ability to slay an opponent with a single blow - unless they can survive the sudden loss of their head.<<

[frdnwsm]

Mind you, raising a Kensai from Level 1 can be frustrating. Berserkers are better off for survival early on, due to their ability to wear armor; at low levels AC does indeed play an important role. Cautious play and good use of NPC comrades will be vital. Note that while Kensai cannot in general use ranged weapons, they apparently can use throwing weapons such as axes.

Also, in SoA you can score the Mask of King Strohm, which is not classified as a helm, but nonethless wards off critical hits and can be worn by anyone, even mages and Kensai.

[danconnors]

That's why my Kensai has majored in daggers, yes, lowly daggers. In Baldur's Gate I used throwing daggers, which were doing around 15 HP damage per hit. I got Grave Binder, a +2 dagger that did as much damage as a short sword. Early in BG 2 I found the +2 returning dagger in the Bridge district, and my Kensai became an excellent archer. There's a +3 returning dagger somewhere else in the game.

I've played at least a dozen berserker/mages, and berserkers are formidable fighters. But they can't drop enemies nearly as fast as a Kensai. With a berserker/mage, the combo can't use any armor, but can use a shield, which gives it the edge in armor. But now my Kensai, with robes of Vecna, finally ends up with at least AC-6 (AC-8 if I get Kangaax's ring), and that's close to what a berserker/mage ends up with if he wears no armor.

The berk/mage strong point is his immunity to mind domination while enraged, as well as immunity to the deadly inprisonment spell, as dished out by Kangaax and elder orbs. I'm not sure how I'll overcome that, but I'm sure there's a way. There's always a way.

[frdnwsm]

Berserker is superior to Kensai initially due to the immunities. Given the huge campaign vs the vampires in SoA, this is a significant advantage.

Kensai (or any MC in general) vs imprisonment. Keep off in the distance and let the NPCs and a bunch of summonings take the brunt of the fighting. Have freedom scroll for any NPC who does get scragged by this. (Kangaxx is a bit of a PITA, and I don't always go after him.)

Here's a question, also, which I haven't tested. Does the Shield of Balduran reflect imprisonment attacks? I suspect not, but if it does, you can serve the Elder Orbs a healthy meal of cheese.