Advancement
& Specialization
In the instruction manual, they say that the Nameless One
gains 1-10 HP when he gains a level in his highest class.
They lie; it's according to class. If you gain a level in
another class that's not your highest, then you only get one
measly hit point. You do, however, still receive the Con bonus.
Also, as long as we're on the topic of gaining HPs, there's
no shame in saving before you level a character up and reloading
if they gain a measly amount of HP.
Also, when you advance in your highest class, you get an
almighty characteristic point. Spend these wisely. With the
first few I gain from gaining levels in Fighter, I raise my
Int to 16 and get my Strength up to 17 (+1 hit and dam). After
that, I pour most of the points into Wis and get my Dex up
to 17 or 18. You also get characteristic bonuses when you
first hit levels 7 and 12 in one class. This is termed "specialization."
You only get these bonuses once, so you can't get three for
getting all your classes to level 7 or 12; it only works for
the first one you get to that level. Also, the bonuses are
different at level 12, depending on whether or not it is the
same class in which you have already specialized.
These numbers may be incorrect, so if you know differently,
please e-mail me with a correction. Thanks to Brian Brown
for helping compile some of these specialization bonuses.
FIGHTER
1st time: +1 Str, able to train up to 4 levels in weapon proficiencies
2nd time: +1 Str, +1 Con, able to train up to 5 levels in
weapon proficiencies
THIEF:
1st time: +2 Dex
2nd time: +2 Dex
MAGE:
1st time: +1 Int
2nd time: +2 Int, +1 Wis
If you get the level 7 and 12 bonuses in the same class,
better tattoos will be available in Fell's Tattoo Parlor.
Thanks to Leo Wang for clarifying the Mage specialist bonuses.
I recommend getting the level 7 bonus in Fighter and the
level 12 bonus with Mage, but it all depends on how you want
to play it. By the time you're a level 8 Fighter or so, you
should have tons of weapon proficiencies. Personally, I used
them all on Fist and Edged Weapons, as those are the weapons
that seem the most numerous in this game and are useful no
matter what class you are. Hammers and Axes would fall into
the second most useful tier, but you can only use these weapons
as a Fighter. I didn't think the Club weapons in this game
were all that great, so I don't recommend spending any valuable
proficiencies on the Clubs skill.
Just so you know, I never really used The Nameless One as
a Thief for very long. I got him to level 8 Fighter or so
and then just went Mage for the rest of the game. Of course,
I never did favor Rogues when I played the pencil, paper,
and other people style of AD&D;, so my previous biases may
be influencing my decisions here.
Damn it, you've skipped over this section and started playing
already, haven't you? I guess that means we have to move on
to the ... (drum roll) ...
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