I just completed a successful solo game with an Assassin/Mage dualed at level 13, so naturally, an Assassin/Fighter sounds intresting. I'm pretty sure I heard someone talk about playing with one...

What level should I dual class at? Is the x7 worth waiting for or is that just overkill with a Assassin/Fighter? Is dual classing worth it, at least to a fighter? Some of the special abilities that thieves get like Assassination and Use Any Item seem awfully powerful, and I wouldn't have acess to these if I dual classed. What is the latest level to dual class and still get my abilities back?

[This message has been edited by Lord Sarevok (edited February 06, 2002).]

Generally I prefer to dual a fighter to a thief and not the other way since the thief's high level abilities are much more useful for you, and additionally: your thieving abilities will develop ... I would recommend to dual at lvl-12 or 13 since you'd propbably need the fighter levels and the hitpoints in ToB. I tested out my trusty old ex-BG-1 lvl-6 fighter, lvl-* thief and he performed rather poor - he wasn't able to meet the expectations generated by his grandmastery ... silly THACO and low hitpoints ... anyway, you cannot have an assassin fighter that way :(

So your only way is to dual an asassin to a fighter (I guess the one you dualled to a mage before): I think that dualling at lvl-15 would be good - then you have 5x damage and the final improved poison weapon.
When you want to wait till lvl-18 or 21 you'll have 6x or 7x damage. Though a higher thief level will also allow you to better develop your thieving abilities, I think that 6x backstab and isn't necessary when dualing to a fighter, definitely overkill.

More infos about the assassin and thiefs here (especially about his poison weapon): http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/thieves.htm

[This message has been edited by Ragusa (edited February 06, 2002).]

Heh, I don't think I actually have the patience to dual at level 21 for a x7 but if I did, imagine this: critical strike, + whirlwind attack + x7 backstab + a horde of potions of invisibility :).

My favourite character is assasin/fighter, I'm probably the one you saw talking about it.
I usually dual-class when I have 6X backstab, that's enough to make 120-140 damage, and it's not really worth waiting for 2 or 3 levels to have a 7X backstab.
Poison weapon is really cool (although I think I lost it in ToB) and with sweet items you can easily have an AC of -12 to -14.
Also, you can get a tone of invisibilty potions and make your battles really fun. For me, the only "disadvantage" is that you don't get the assasination ability, but whirlwind and stuff (fighter abilities). I once played a pure assasin and it would definetly be the best kit in the game, if only he had a bit more weapon proficiencies.

I recommend you try and play him, if you're patient enough to wait until your fighter levels catch up. Actually, I think I have a degree in assasin/fighter; I played the game 3 or 4 times with him (different characters). If you think 6X backstab is overkill dual-class at lvl 14, I think that's when you get 5X backstab; though you have to be careful then how you devide your thieving skills (if you're playing solo).

[This message has been edited by Corr Raven (edited February 06, 2002).]

I think it is better to dual a fighter to a thief at level 13. You can have **** -s in one weapon proficency and ***-s in two weapon style, or *****-s in one weapon proficency and **-s in single weapon style. you can have up to 4 attacks/round and you can have a way better THAC0 then the other way, not even to mention the cool rouge ability: assassination.

Nah, you would have better THACO with the Asssassin/Fighter. Plus it just sounds cool, that's enough for me. I've had my fair share of overpowered characters. My Assassin/Mage practically already has Assassination by using the spell "Mislead". I don't know, maybe I won't even dual class him at all, but it's always an option.