I'm soloing a Barbarian, and am just wondering what the best armor in BG1 with Tutu would be (aside from Drizz't's armor... I can't see a Barbarian beating him fairly).

TIA

Id say the chainmail +3 that you get at the end of the Werewolf Island guest. But the Chainmail +2 from the Gullykin assassin group would be easier to get earlier on in the game.

The main danger for your Barbarian aren't other fighters or archers. You have the necessary HP to take a lot of pain, but it's usually game over for you, when you fail your saving throw against Horror, Hold Person, Confusion and so on. You should change from Chainmail +2/+3 to normal chainmail with Ring of Protection +1/+2 whenever a magic-user is near.

But as you said, the best armor for a Barbarian is Drizzt's Mithril Chainmail +4 since you can combine it with the RoP+2. With the Boots of Speed, a bow, 600 arrows and a lot of patience it could be yours without much planning. But you wanted no cheap tricks... A Fighter/Mage or - even better - Fighter/Illusionist using the best equipment and potions can beat Drizzt fair and square without breaking into sweat, but it's much tougher for a Barbarian. You have a much worse AC and no buffs like Mirror Image, Blur, Protection from Evil or Improved Invisibility - but I think it can be done.

Best equipment for this endeavor:
- Boots of Speed
- a strong magical weapon of your choice (Short Sword of Backstabbing would be best, but which Barbarian is specialized in short swords?)
- Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise
- Golden Girdle
- Chainmail +3
- any Shield +1
- Helm of Balduran
- Cloak of Balduran
- lots of Potions of Healing

Preparation with potions before the battle:
- two Potions of Mind Focusing to push DEX to >= 24 (12 hours)
- Potion of Defense (10 turns) [or Invulnerability]
- Potion of Heroism (10 turns)
- Potion of Storm Giant Strength (10 turns)
- Oil of Speed (5 turns)
- Potion of Power (4 turns)

After quaffing the potions in this order your THACO should be below 0 and you'll be able to hit Drizzt without hoping for a lucky roll. On a successful hit with the SSoB you'll do around 6,5 (average of SSoB) +2 (specialization in weapon) + 12 (STR 24) + 2 (GoWE) = 22,5 damage. You'll have to hit him only five times, but problem is that he'll hit back - and I don't think that our preparations will be enough to dodge most óf his attacks. If he's able to hit you anyway, then dual-wielding and using Barbarian Rage for STR 25 would be an option. You'll have to engage melee hoping to score a hit while taking the punishment he dishes out, run away from him when your HP start melting away, use lots of Healing Potions and repeat. Recruiting NPCs just for buffing would be helpful, too.

but it's usually game over for you, when you fail your saving throw against Horror, Hold Person, Confusion and so on.
Wrong. To quote the barbarian rage thingy: "...gives immunity to all charm, hold, fear, maze, confusion and level-drain spells." Barbarians are an unbeatable force in Tutu.

Wrong. To quote the barbarian rage thingy: "...gives immunity to all charm, hold, fear, maze, confusion and level-drain spells." Barbarians are an unbeatable force in Tutu.

Right, without difficulty-enhancing mods one Barbarian Rage with its protections is usually more than enough to rip all enemy mages to shreds. By now I got so used to the more intelligent and pre-buffed mages from the Swordcoast Stratagems-mod that I forgot for a moment that they are not standard in TUTU. Fights against SCS-mages tend to be longer since they often cast Invisibility to rebuff, so the Barbarian Rage isn't the ultimate panacea against mages anymore (but still very, very useful).

Right, without difficulty-enhancing mods one Barbarian Rage with its protections is usually more than enough to rip all enemy mages to shreds. By now I got so used to the more intelligent and pre-buffed mages from the Swordcoast Stratagems-mod that I forgot for a moment that they are not standard in TUTU. Fights against SCS-mages tend to be longer since they often cast Invisibility to rebuff, so the Barbarian Rage isn't the ultimate panacea against mages anymore (but still very, very useful).

It's better than Berserker Rage though. Since Barbarians don't fatigue after their Rage runs out, they can instantly activate it again if they need to.

It's better than Berserker Rage though. Since Barbarians don't fatigue after their Rage runs out, they can instantly activate it again if they need to.

debatable since berserker rage also gives immunity to things like maze and imprisonment :).

Then again, whichever one you choose you can always cast true seeing or see invisibility and keep going after the mage while he *tries* to rebuff. EDIT: With a mage that is, I know barbs and fighters can't cast those spells o.o

debatable since berserker rage also gives immunity to things like maze and imprisonment :)
Admittedly, I've never played these difficulty enhancing mods... but do I need to worry about Maze and Imprisonment in BG1?

Does the answer 'Maze is a level 8 spell and this is BG1' satisfy?

Admittedly, I've never played these difficulty enhancing mods... but do I need to worry about Maze and Imprisonment in BG1?

Nope, but since it's in the ToB forums, I'm assuming you'll play at least through SoA no? There's plenty of Maze and Imprisonment there.

Nope, but since it's in the ToB forums, I'm assuming you'll play at least through SoA no? There's plenty of Maze and Imprisonment there.

I'm not sure. But this is posted in the ToB forum because I'm using Tutu for BG1.

I don't claim to understand the reasoning, I just know threads get moved if you don't follow that rule.

Tutu introduces SoA and potentially ToB engine elements, to make a long story short.