So been thinking of what to play for my first run through of Baldurs Gate 3 when released. I will be streaming it, so looking for something entertaining, I I think I have come up with something that sings… :)
Half-Elf Drow rogue ( to get the drow hate, or maybe dragonborn… not decided fully) for the first 2 levels then switching to Bard. Or maybe Bard then switch to Rogue… not sure yet. Only 2 levels or Rogue in total. Of course there is no other choice but going with Dark Urge!!!
What is your first Character going to be, have you decided yet?
I’m thinking about doing 6 Paladin (Vengeance) / 6 Sorcerer (Draconic). A draconic paladin that focuses on radiant and fire damage. Not sure on the race yet.
I would like to theorycraft more but it seems like a lot of information about the release version isn’t available yet.
In a bit of paralysis on build options at the moment. Played a lot of 5e in tabletop, but BG3 looks to be adding a lot of fun to playing martial characters, so I’m keen to give a Gish/Martial pure class a go. Options include:
- Wild Magic Barbarian/Battle Master Fighter (Angry Exploding Hoplite! Double up on Duelling and Rage damage, Polearm Master spear with shield, Tank-ish with lots of utility from subclass features)
- Totem Barbarian/Thief Rogue (Feral Wilder with two daggers, dual wielding and reckless for easy sneak attack - lots of off-hand strikes with Thief’s overpowered extra bonus action - there’s something visceral about a raging dagger barbarian that I want to explore)
- Half Orc Drummer Valour Bard (Full Strength, expertise in Athletics, jump on cliff, kick folks off cliff, or blast them off with Thunderwave if there’s more than one, plus full spellcasting for shenanigans)
- Acidic Dragonborn Spores Druid/Ranger (wade in with Shillelagh and spread the rot with staff and breath - depends on Spores implementation and need to maintain druid-level-dependent temporary health, otherwise barbarian would also be fun)
- Half Orc GOO Warlock/Fighter (“I’ll give you something to be scared of!” - get big weapon, drop darkness with Eldritch eyes for advantage, get big crits which scare people, then use tentacle powers to restrain folks and crit them again)
Since they got rid of Exhaustion from Frenzy I plan to run Karlach as a Berserker 9/Thief 3 with Great Weapon Master. You lose the Sneak Attack, but the chance of 40 damage per round generally beats a pretty certain 7 in my books. Plus there are some pretty good Greataxes and a Maul that does thunder damage when you jump.
If you are looking to get the most out of your multi Rogue 2 (Cunning Action) doesn’t do much for Bard as they already have a lot going on with their Bonus Action. Rogue 1 (Expertise) or Thief Rogue 3 (Second Bonus Action) would be more optimal if you really want to focus as a Skill Monkey. The down side of the later is the loss of Magical Secrets.
That said Warlock 2 would probably be just as good, if not better, than either of those depending on which invocations you choose. Agonizing Blast would be a given, but Beguiling Influence, Mask of Many Faces, and Beast Speech would all be strong contenders for the second.
One final thing to note for your Expertise selections, since tool proficiencies haven’t been implemented Sleight of Hand covers Lockpicking and Trap Disarming in addition to Pickpocketing making it one of the best choices.
Edit: For my first run I’m torn between Ancients Paladin 6/Archfey Bladelock 6 and Gloomstalker Ranger 5/Thief Rogue 3/Spores Druid 4.
I was mainly thinking for the extra expertise I can put in sleight of hand, stealth + the back stabbiness of the rogue… all at really level 1. Not really much for bard at 11 and 12 tbh.
I was thinking of Warlock, but decided to go for Rogue for the lockpick thing, as the bard will then replace rogue in party. Warlock might be the stronger DPS, but I need ALL the lewts. :)
Bard is versatile front man, that’s Why I like it. I just think the Rogue will “complete” it for me. Well, at least that is my thoughts for the choice… too many options lol.
I’m thinking Human or HE Vengeance Paladin - depending on what the new Human racial stats are.
I’m rather new to BG so I want to say that I’ll play it safe and choose a fighter. or like Eldritch Knight fighter
… but the bards look so fun. seriously. I might throw caution to the wind and go with my heart and grab a lute ☺️
