I know there have been a number of threads discussing Rasaad, most often complaining of his various perceived shortcomings as both as Monk in BG1 and his stats.
But here I'm interested in learning how you all get the most out of him despite his flaws. Please share your strategies for using him to his true fullest potential in combat. It's fine if you want to say that you think he sucks. But for this thread it's just not terribly constructive or helpful.
As for myself:
Equipment
Early on I equip him with the Gauntlets of Dexterity, a RoP, the Girdle of Piercing, and a Shield Amulet. Even when you get him at level 2 when he uses a charge from the Shield Amulet his AC is -3 (and his modifier vs. missiles is -5).
I can't bring myself to equip him with
[spoiler]The cursed strength belt that raises Str to 19 and lowers Int to 6.[/spoiler]
But later, when the Gauntlets of Ogre Power become available then I give him those. By then his AC is fine without the Gauntlets of Dexterity.
Weapon
His fists and feet, with which I'm pretty sure he gets the highest attacks per round versus other choices. He gets 1.5 APR at level 3 and 2 APR at level 6. (Does Stunning Blow only successfully stun with fists/feet or can it stun also using a weapon?)
Combat Strategies
I have him race towards mages or archers whenever the opportunity presents itself, seeking to stun them with Stunning Blow. If there are no such targets he assists the party's tanks, using his superior foot-speed to avoid heavily armored tanks. He often manages to disrupt enemy mages from spellcasting, even if he doesn't stun them. And he makes archers change to melee. Archers who switch to sword usually don't hit him with his AC -3.
At least in my first game, I really had no problem keeping him healthy this way. This approach does require some pretty strong tankage, though--at least two really strong meleers on the frontline, I would say.
***
Now that's my approach. But I have read some others describe using him more with ranged weapons, and/or with a sword. So I'm kind of curious about how folks might use him well other than the approach given above.
But here I'm interested in learning how you all get the most out of him despite his flaws. Please share your strategies for using him to his true fullest potential in combat. It's fine if you want to say that you think he sucks. But for this thread it's just not terribly constructive or helpful.
As for myself:
Equipment
Early on I equip him with the Gauntlets of Dexterity, a RoP, the Girdle of Piercing, and a Shield Amulet. Even when you get him at level 2 when he uses a charge from the Shield Amulet his AC is -3 (and his modifier vs. missiles is -5).
I can't bring myself to equip him with
[spoiler]The cursed strength belt that raises Str to 19 and lowers Int to 6.[/spoiler]
But later, when the Gauntlets of Ogre Power become available then I give him those. By then his AC is fine without the Gauntlets of Dexterity.
Weapon
His fists and feet, with which I'm pretty sure he gets the highest attacks per round versus other choices. He gets 1.5 APR at level 3 and 2 APR at level 6. (Does Stunning Blow only successfully stun with fists/feet or can it stun also using a weapon?)
Combat Strategies
I have him race towards mages or archers whenever the opportunity presents itself, seeking to stun them with Stunning Blow. If there are no such targets he assists the party's tanks, using his superior foot-speed to avoid heavily armored tanks. He often manages to disrupt enemy mages from spellcasting, even if he doesn't stun them. And he makes archers change to melee. Archers who switch to sword usually don't hit him with his AC -3.
At least in my first game, I really had no problem keeping him healthy this way. This approach does require some pretty strong tankage, though--at least two really strong meleers on the frontline, I would say.
***
Now that's my approach. But I have read some others describe using him more with ranged weapons, and/or with a sword. So I'm kind of curious about how folks might use him well other than the approach given above.