Fun!! Pick My Next Character Build!

[IJBall]

Well, it's probably been a year since I've played Eschalon (I got distracted for the better part of the year by a family genealogy project that I've just recently put aside for a while).

So I've decided to pick up Book II, over the holidays, to play again. (After that, I will probably finally try my hand at Jedi_Learner's Book I expansion scenario...)

Anyway, to make this a little more interesting I've decided to make this... well, not a "contest", because whoever "wins" doesn't get anything aside from the satisfaction of making me work with whatever they came up with!

But I'm letting you guys choose what my starting character build for my coming game will be!
Fighter, Rogue, Healer, Mage... Magical, Non-Magical... Ranged-combat, Melee-combat... you choose!

So put your best ideas right here in this thread, and whichever suggestion tickles my fancy best is the 'build' I will go with for my game. (I'm thinking I'll start my new game next Wednesday...)

Please note: I am not as good a player as Kreador is, or as Unclever Title was (where has he been lately?!...), so if you suggest something like a "'Jack-of-All-Trades' character with all low starting Attributes", I'm unlikely to go with that choice as I'd like to play a game I'm actually going to enjoy, not one which is going to force me to struggle through the whole game with! So please try and give me something half-way reasonable to work with!

So, there you have it, folks! - Pick my next Book II character build!!

[Randomizer]

I've had some fun with a monk type character using unarmed combat and rings for those monsters that require magic bonus to do damage. It really generates lots of money if you don't wear armor and gives you extra carrying capacity for loot. I've made it through Hammerlorne this way, but I never got around to finishing the game. Spells help rounding out the character, but aren't needed if you want to go the thief option.

Have fun.

[blatherbeard]

Im with ^

he just beat me to it lol

[Vroqren]

I have an idea/challenge for you -

How about you try to play as the good map-making thief. You're only allowed thief skills, no magic, and you have to explore into every single region at least a little.

When you're done with the game, you should have the following achievements -

The true thief
The pacifist
The immaculate
The journey master

There - that should be pretty hard.

[Kreador Freeaxe]

Heh. I wouldn't say I'm that great a player. I just have a high tolerance for running around in circles waiting for my Feats to refresh.

I'm with Randomizer, though. A monk character is a fun challenge, though personally I would think that even a monk would be willing to put on armor for the one occasion where it's necessary for a side quest. As long as you don't wear it outside that one house. Of course, monks can also be good with throwing things, so that's a legitimate option. It gives you an opportunity to use a lot of skills that don't get as much play in a more optimized play through so you can see for yourself where they're good and where they might need adjustment.

[quasimodo]

How about a no magic, no alchemy, master of all weapons fighter. Make it a point to get all weapon skills to 10 for the feats and collect all the "special" weapons. He's not hard to play, but I had fun with him.

[IJBall]

Good suggestions here, folks!
Keep 'em coming!!

[KillingMoon]

What about letting the books guide you?

The idea is to not pick anything at game setup but develop whatever the first bunch of books you find are teaching you.
With 'books you find' you can include what you find in merchant's inventories, as they only have the odd one.

If you find two books about skills that are very similar to each other, like one about swords and another about knives, you just pick the first one and ignore the second. Yeah, you may read them both but you don't need to feel committed to put more skill points in the second skill.
Same as with light armour and heavy armour; one will do.

I haven't thought this through, by the way, but it might be a nice variant for someone who doesn't like everything pre-cooked and likes a bit of randomness.

Actually, 'likes randomness' might not be you, IJBall. Maybe someone else will like this variant better.

[CrazyBernie]

My idea isn't so much a 'Build' as it is a 'Character' ... perhaps to be used as a trait with whatever 'class' you choose.

You're a hoarder. You're not a thief, but if it isn't nailed down and you won't get in trouble, it goes into your pack. You can't throw anything away, and you can only sell the least expensive item in your inventory to make room for the next item(s) that you need to pick up. So you're almost always going to be at max carrying capacity. You *can* put items in containers, or shuffle them around to make room for items you need. You should make good use of your Quick Travel points, and Strength is your friend.

[Painted Lady]

One of my most fun play throughs was the Rogue - unarmed combat, pick locks, hide in shadows and spot hidden. It gives the game a different feel completely.

BTW, I've spent a lot of time on genealogy projects myself. I wonder how many of the other regulars around here enjoy the "solve the puzzle" aspect of family research.

[Dragonlady]

BTW, I've spent a lot of time on genealogy projects myself. I wonder how many of the other regulars around here enjoy the "solve the puzzle" aspect of family research.

Well, you can count me in for enjoying "solve the puzzle" in genealogy of families.

I've been doing it for years with admitted long stretches where I didn't and had gotten stuck. It started way back when I was in my late teens and wanted to know if our family was related to former president R. B. Hayes (maiden name). I still don't know! But, I've gotten a hint and I'm trying to puzzle out link in NY around 1790-1830's. I did find a live relative earlier this year I didn't know existed, a grandson of my uncle (who I didn't know had married and left his family long ago). I found this out when I joined Ancestery dot com. That is one kewl site!

Now, back to character building...

[IJBall]

Well, I've given this a fair amount of thought, and I've decided to go with...

...a variation on Randomizer's, blatherbeard's, and Kreador's "Monk" idea.

The main reason for this is that I still, as of yet, have never played a character focusing on Unarmed Combat (or Thrown Weapons) in either Book I or Book II.

So, it's time.

Randomizer's suggestion of forgoing armor is a little too hard-core for me. So I'm going to start out my "Monk" with a Druidic Fighter for the "free" Shield skill, and will add Unarmed Combat on top of that. (I will likely later add on Thrown Weapons to this build.) And I'll either start out with Light Armor, or add it very soon after starting this game.

As to the other suggestions... quasimodo's suggestion of the "Weapons Master" was intriguing, as that's one of the few other builds that I haven't experimented with in Book II yet - I may give that kind of build a shot in my next playthrough after this one. KillingMoon's "random" suggestion was a clever one, but he did know me too well - I'm too much of a "pre-planner" to ever play the game that way! I've done Painted Lady's Rogue character before, at least in Book I, and I probably will give that character-build a try in Book II sometime down the line. As to CrazyBernie's suggestion, I virtually play the game that way already!!

Anyway, thanks to all, and their suggestions!
I will probably be starting this new build out first thing tomorrow morning.