BG3 - How to shapa a Bhalite PC and his kill team?

[HoboKnight]

Hey guys,
I've finished BG3 and intend to take a second shot at it, playing dark urge.

1.) I'd appreciate some advice on what class/multiclass to use for my main PC? What ematanes "killer" vibes? Rogue? Some sort of ranger? Barb1/Ftr5/Rog6?
Any advice wecome.

2.) I am SOO stuck to vanilla classess in my dnd play it hurts. It's always Cleric of Life, Ftr Battlemaster, Evocation Wizard and a Ranger Beastmaster for me. I want to go another route in my next playtrough, so I ask: if I can't use these four subclasses in my next playtrough, what subclasses should I use(can still be a Cleric, just not Cleric of Life for an example)? What would be a good party composition, mentioned 4 subclassess excluded?

Thanks!

[diplomancer]

My last team was frightfully effective, it could go for a long time without Long Resting and taking very little damage, as it dished out so much damage so quickly, and (mostly) spell slot-free.

The Durge was a Paladin. I was playing a modded Conquest Paladin, but, honestly, that made little difference, I rarely used its Conquest powers, even less by the end of the game. I went all the way up to 12 as a Paladin, and then respecced as a Pal 7 Warlock 5, partly for story reasons (hot cambion sex), partly because Pact of the Blade gives you one extra attack at level 5, giving you 3 attacks in total. With GWM and the Risky Ring, it was quite often that the Bonus Action attack triggered. If by any chance it didn't by the end of the round, I'd consume a Speed Potion, giving me 3 more attacks.

Astarion was a Thief 5/Gloom Stalker 7. With 5 attacks in the first round and Sharpshooter.

Both of them were using Bloodlust Elixir regularly by Act 3. And as it was almost certain that they WOULD kill someone every round, that meant having even more attacks.

Lae'zel was an Open Hand Monk 9/Thief 3. Faster than sound with Step of the Wind and a few other buffs, 6 attacks per round with Flurry of Blows, made specially strong with Tavern Brawler, and regularly consuming Elixirs of Giant Strength to have a decent AC. You could have her be stronger and not need the elixirs by putting on Medium Armor on her, sacrificing a bit of speed, but I don't like armoured monks.

Finally, support came from Wyll. Warlock 7, Sorcerer 5. Double haste on any two of that trio is incredibly powerful. It would probably be more effective to have him with more Sorcerer levels and less Warlock levels, but it didn't make that much of a difference in the end, and I only started adding Sorcerer levels after he broke his Pact.

[Psyren]

I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, but any D&D class can be a killer. (This is narratively part of the problem with Bhaal's goals in these games - his blessing makes his children great at killing, but it just so happens that being great at killing is usually the skillset needed to defeat him, too.)

If you're really trying to narrow things down - I would do some research into what class features carry over to Slayer Form in order to optimize that, since you want to RP being Bhaal's chosen. For example, I think Fighter's Improved Extra Attack and Thief's Bonus Bonus Action both work, but I could be mistaken.

[AvatarVecna]

Hey guys,
I've finished BG3 and intend to take a second shot at it, playing dark urge.

1.) I'd appreciate some advice on what class/multiclass to use for my main PC? What ematanes "killer" vibes? Rogue? Some sort of ranger? Barb1/Ftr5/Rog6?
Any advice wecome.

2.) I am SOO stuck to vanilla classess in my dnd play it hurts. It's always Cleric of Life, Ftr Battlemaster, Evocation Wizard and a Ranger Beastmaster for me. I want to go another route in my next playtrough, so I ask: if I can't use these four subclasses in my next playtrough, what subclasses should I use(can still be a Cleric, just not Cleric of Life for an example)? What would be a good party composition, mentioned 4 subclassess excluded?

Thanks!

Durge: Warlock (GOO/Tome). This gives you in-class Guidance, a high Charisma for dealing with merchants easily, one of the most dependable attack routines in the game, access to powerful blast spells, access to good face skills (the most common conversation skill options in the game), and the fluff ties in well with the story (helping justify engaging with the optional Additional Powers facet of the game). If you go the good route early on, there's a special robe you get from rescuing a bunch of tieflings from the dungeons in Act 2 that will give you [cha mod] temp HP each round and add your Cha mod to your cantrip damage. Yes, it will stack. Yes, this is the primary thing you're giving up if you decide you really want Minthara in the party.

Astarion: Thief Rogue X/Fighter X (subclass optional). The goal here is to make a super-dangerous dual wielder. Two bonus actions and BA Dash/Disengage allows Astarion to weave in and out of combat as he pleases, and Fighter 2 will bring the needed fighting style and Action Surge. By the time you hit lvl 5, the build is coming together properly. The game is filled with fun shortswords, and there's even a couple cool hand crossbows near the end of Act 2 that will allow him to engage at ranged as well. You'll still get the lvl 1 expertise skills (probably stealth and sleight of hand), which should let him cover the desired skill role.

Lae'zel: Fighter (Eldritch Knight). Battlemaster is probably the most optimal, given what the rest of the party is doing, but you don't exactly have to be optimal in this game to have fun. Normally, the game pushes Lae'zel towards wielding greatswords (in particular the one you either get near the end of Act 3, or if you're a cheeseweasel as early as possible Act 1), and while that's pretty good for damage, what this group really needs is a tank, and Lae'zel has options to tank for days. Polearm Master and Sentinel can both be taken by lvl 6, and by that point you're probably through the Creche and have found Skinburster, the halberd where attacking with it causes all enemy attacks to deal less damage. You'll also have either some really good gith armor from the creche, or you've picked up some good heavy armor along the way. By the time you're level 8, you've probably cleared the underdark and you've gotten another feat. This feat should be heavy armor master, which will pair extremely well with the adamantine splint armor you forged down there. All of this put together has Lae'zel going into late Act 2 with enormous AC, shutting down anyone who tries to run past her, and reducing the damage from all sources anywhere from 3-13. If you don't want to be blasting/debuffing, leave Int at 8 and just cast buffs/utility. If you want to be blasting/debuffing sometimes, leave Int at 8 anyway and steal the Circlet Of Intellect from that one guy early in Act 1.

Wyll or Minthara: Swords Bard. There are a number of fun bard items scattered through the game that will allow you to drown the party in inspiration. The bard list is decent at healing but is a much more dedicated Support caster than even Cleric. Faerie Fire will be a good friend to the other two characters, and Song Of Rest will give your group another short rest (recharging warlock spell slots and fighter action surges, as well as providing a good bit of healing).

All in all, you've got healing, blasting, buffing, debuffing, melee damage, ranged damage, face skills, scout skills, and enough money for whatever you could possibly want.

EDIT: This is also a decent setup for romance options. Durge is narratively interesting in an Astarion or Minthara romance, and arguably helps spice up a Wyll romance too. GOOlock is narratively interesting for a Lae'zel romance, as well as...the other one. You know the one. The achievement one.

[LibraryOgre]

Hey guys,
I've finished BG3 and intend to take a second shot at it, playing dark urge.

1.) I'd appreciate some advice on what class/multiclass to use for my main PC? What ematanes "killer" vibes? Rogue? Some sort of ranger? Barb1/Ftr5/Rog6?
Any advice wecome.

2.) I am SOO stuck to vanilla classess in my dnd play it hurts. It's always Cleric of Life, Ftr Battlemaster, Evocation Wizard and a Ranger Beastmaster for me. I want to go another route in my next playtrough, so I ask: if I can't use these four subclasses in my next playtrough, what subclasses should I use(can still be a Cleric, just not Cleric of Life for an example)? What would be a good party composition, mentioned 4 subclassess excluded?

Thanks!

I mean, you want psycho killer (qu'est que c'est optional), I think assassin/warlock (fiend or Old Ones, at least 5 if you're Blade Pact) does really well. I've been running Astarion towards Gloomstalker 5/Rogue 7 for a while, and it's a pretty nasty combination of murder.

[Psyren]

Assassin could definitely be useful on an evil playthrough - there are a lot of instances where you can get the drop on opponents by simply attacking them out of nowhere or even mid-conversation, but that's harder to justify on a good playthrough.

[Zevox]

I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, but any D&D class can be a killer.
This. While he most typical class for a Bhaalist lore-wise is an Assassin, anything is about as fitting in the end, really, he doesn't care how you kill, just that you do.

I also wouldn't worry about party composition. BG3, and 5e in general, don't really require you to fill out any particular roles. As long as your party isn't a bunch of squishy low-AC characters that will die to stiff a breeze, you can probably manage with whatever you want. On higher difficulties you might need to at least know what the good options for them are - if you try to play a Cleric and ignore Spiritual Weapon, Spirit Guardians, prepare Cure Wounds over Healing Word, etc, then yeah you'll have a bad time - but that's generally not hard to figure out. If you've beaten the game once already, you're probably good to just experiment with whatever floats your boat.


If you're really trying to narrow things down - I would do some research into what class features carry over to Slayer Form in order to optimize that, since you want to RP being Bhaal's chosen. For example, I think Fighter's Improved Extra Attack and Thief's Bonus Bonus Action both work, but I could be mistaken.
I strongly doubt Improved Extra Attack does, since Slayer has it already anyway. The additional bonus action may, but IIRC Slayer's only use for its bonus action is jumping and potions anyway.