What exactly is backstabbing? I've seen much talk of it but do not know either what it is or how it functions...

Also has anyone ever managed to kill one of the psycho assassins that will come and destroy you if you attack a shadow thief? I challenge anyone to succefully kill one of those guys without losing a member of your party. I'd like to know how many exp. points they're worth.

Backstabbing is a rogue ability and results in a damage multiplier (depending on the rogue's level) being applied to the amount of damage done in the attack. You need to hide in shadows and sneak up behind the target. Once there, the next attack (if you have an appropriate stabbing weapon equipped)will be an attempted backstab.

As to the assassin that comes, I believe he's invincible and quite deadly...

[This message has been edited by Blackthorne TA (edited April 23, 2001).]

Backstabbing is basically sneaking up behind somebody unseen and unheard and then, err, well, stabbing them in the back. Damage can be quite high depending on the weapon used and the backstab damage multiplier value.

The other guy you mention (forgot his name now) that appears (and is completely undetectable by any means) if you attack a shadow thief boss cannot be killed. You may notice that he kills outright regardless of the damage he inflicts. He will usually attack the PC first but it is possible to prolong the fight although he will always win in the end.

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This same bloke will help the party later on if you ask Aran Linvail for help in defeating the vampires.

The really powerful thing about backstabbing is the damage multiplier. I depends on the level of the thief:

-2x lvl-1 to 4
-3x lvl-5 to 8
-4x lvl-9 to 12
-5x lvl-13+

Yo can imagine what damage a backstab can cause on a critical hit (I experienced a max. 178 damage once - with a dc fighter-thief with granmdmastery in katanas and C`Fury and str-19)

[This message has been edited by Ragusa (edited April 23, 2001).]

Ragusa, i believe ur wrong on the multiplyer. At high enough levels the game doesn't record the multiplyer cause its like x7 or x8 n u deal around 100 damage.

What happens if you cast time stop on that guy? can you damage him then? He is so mysterious....

Oh no....nooo... not THAT guy again. His name is Arkanis Gath. He is not 'nigh' invincible, but actually 'totally' invincible. His weapon alone gives him insane amount of HP's, insane amounts of pluses THAC0, insane amounts of damage dealing and can strike you from across the room. He's also like 95%resistant to everything from damage to magic.

Of course he has a purpose for being there in the game which is to 'force you' to work within the story line. -That is for those that work with the Shadow Thieves and not Bohdi and the Vamps.

BTW, don't go to the Shadow Master until AFTER you kill Bohdi and the Vamps. Otherwise Arkanis Gath will "Help" you defeat the Vampire guild and he also just so happens to suck up probably 150k of XP while doing this. He's way too much of a killing machine. That XP should be yours and your NPC party alone.

Back to the subject?... Blackthorne, Ragusa and others already answered that :)

Tyresian: I checked the multiplier in the manual before posting them (what a progress :D ). Within the BG-2 x-cap you just can reach 5x damage - I don´t know how it develops further in AD&D on higher levels for I´m not that familiar with the rules.

About 100+ damage: consider that you can deal some 30 damage on an average fighter on critical hit, sometimes *much* more - just take the 30 and guess quadruple damage: 120 ... so why 7x damage? Some people still consider the 5x damage to unballance the game and making thieves too strong ...

[This message has been edited by Ragusa (edited April 24, 2001).]

About Arkanis, he can be killed if you shapechange to a mind flayer. But why bother, he's not supposed to be killed.

What happens if you kill him? How many exp. is he worth? And can you get his weapon? How do you shapechange into a mindflayer anyway?

I didn't try to kill Aran so I didn't know about this guy. But I'm glad they showed some brains since part one and allowed for powergamers. Now, the story will not glitch in this way since you can't screw over the shadow thieves by whacking them all and thus screwing the plotline up or having them "magically be alive again" when the plot needs them ;) (i.e. Tazok)

Zorak do answer me... shapechange to a mindflayer? How?

Actually, his sword doesn't give him any hp, he just has minhp1 set in his creature file. And you can indeed kill him by casting protection from magical weapons, then casting shapechange, changing to a mind flayer, and draining his int. You can actually kill anyone who's supposed to be invincible using that trick. And you don't get any exp from him, since you never get int from killing people that way. Finally, he doesn't drop his sword when you kill him, but he does drop the night's gift+5. You can just create his sword through the console, though(not that i reccomend it).

BUT HOW DO YOU SHAPECHANGE INTO A MINDFLAYER?

I think you can get the ability casting limited wish choosing the "I want to be whatever I want" option. I never tried it myself, so it´s just a guess.

As far as I know, the only way to do it is through the use of some editor like Shadowkeeper to add yourself the abilites of mind flayers and change your avatar. You can't do it by any other means.

Ok, I stand corrected... You CAN do it with the level 9 spell Shapechange, but unless you're cheating so that you can memorize it and cast it from your spellbook, you won't be casting it very often. Level 9 spells don't just lie around in dozens.

[This message has been edited by Taluntain (edited April 25, 2001).]

And what's wrong with level 9 spell Shapechange?

Yeah, if you'll look I specifically said "casting shapechange", as in the spell. Or you could use limited wish to get the spell cast on you(but only once).