I know there's been a number of threads about Rasaad, most of them complaining that he's weak, etc. But now that I'm in chapter 5 and went to the Cloud Peaks, etc. I feel I can comment a little more on him.
The main thing I wanted speak to is choice of equipment for him. The way I see the main choices for improving him with gear:
- cursed belt of Strength
- gauntlets of Ogre Power
- gauntlets of Dexterity
- Monk bracers that reduce THACO by 2.
Cursed belt? I can't bring myself to reduce his Int to 6. Silly of me, I know. But I can't. Ditto for any other character who is reasonably intelligent.
Gloves of ogre power? In my party I decided they were best utilized by Viconia. It was very tempting to have Rassad use them, though...
That left me with the choice between reducing Rasaad's AC vs. THACO. I chose to have him equip the bracers that improve THACO.
With Rasaad now at level 7 and equipped with the Shield amulet, his boots, and Ring of the Princes, I have his AC to -1 and his THACO at 12. His 16 Strength and 16 Dexterity are pretty respectable to begin with. So he's actually doing pretty decent damage. And he doesn't get hit much.
I concede that Rasaad wasn't terribly effective early on. So I sent him at mages, hoping he could manage to stun them. Also to tie up archers in melee. Every once in a blue moon he would actually stun a mage, which was rather gratifying to see, actually. But in all events, he didn't really get hurt much using this general approach. I deliberately kept him out of the way of the enemy heavy hitters.
Now with Rasaad in BG city he's stunning mages regularly and finishing them off with his fists. He's actually become a quite useful character. And I still have the remainder of chapter 5, chapter 6, ToSC, and chapter 7 to complete. When he reaches level 8 I'll hit the XP cap and his THACO will then be 11. Which against mages is going to hit. Especially after my own mages cast Blindness on them. (Related question: Do the penalties on opponents from Glitterdust and Blindness stack?)
So, in sum, he's a capable and interesting addition to the party when thoughtfully equipped and utilized.
With respect to equipment, what are you all doing with him? Giving him massive Strength? Giving him 18 Dex to get his AC as low as possible? Or trying to get his THACO as low as you can?
The main thing I wanted speak to is choice of equipment for him. The way I see the main choices for improving him with gear:
- cursed belt of Strength
- gauntlets of Ogre Power
- gauntlets of Dexterity
- Monk bracers that reduce THACO by 2.
Cursed belt? I can't bring myself to reduce his Int to 6. Silly of me, I know. But I can't. Ditto for any other character who is reasonably intelligent.
Gloves of ogre power? In my party I decided they were best utilized by Viconia. It was very tempting to have Rassad use them, though...
That left me with the choice between reducing Rasaad's AC vs. THACO. I chose to have him equip the bracers that improve THACO.
With Rasaad now at level 7 and equipped with the Shield amulet, his boots, and Ring of the Princes, I have his AC to -1 and his THACO at 12. His 16 Strength and 16 Dexterity are pretty respectable to begin with. So he's actually doing pretty decent damage. And he doesn't get hit much.
I concede that Rasaad wasn't terribly effective early on. So I sent him at mages, hoping he could manage to stun them. Also to tie up archers in melee. Every once in a blue moon he would actually stun a mage, which was rather gratifying to see, actually. But in all events, he didn't really get hurt much using this general approach. I deliberately kept him out of the way of the enemy heavy hitters.
Now with Rasaad in BG city he's stunning mages regularly and finishing them off with his fists. He's actually become a quite useful character. And I still have the remainder of chapter 5, chapter 6, ToSC, and chapter 7 to complete. When he reaches level 8 I'll hit the XP cap and his THACO will then be 11. Which against mages is going to hit. Especially after my own mages cast Blindness on them. (Related question: Do the penalties on opponents from Glitterdust and Blindness stack?)
So, in sum, he's a capable and interesting addition to the party when thoughtfully equipped and utilized.
With respect to equipment, what are you all doing with him? Giving him massive Strength? Giving him 18 Dex to get his AC as low as possible? Or trying to get his THACO as low as you can?