Curse of the Azure Bonds introduces two new classes, that were missing in Pool of Radiance and Hillsfar: the ranger and the paladin.
It also introduces the dual-class ability, that allows a human character to change class, and later recover the abilities from the original class.
Class: Max. lv.:
Fighter 12
Thief 12
Mage 11
Cleric 10
Ranger 11
Paladin 11
Human
Max
Max
Max
Max
Max
Max
Half-elf
8
Max
8
5
8
-
Elf
7
Max
11 (max)
-
-
-
Dwarf
9
Max
-
-
-
-
Gnome
6
Max
-
-
-
-
Halfling
6
Max
-
-
-
-
Because of level caps, it is convenient to play mostly with human characters.
Example of party:
Front-line fighters:
1. Human paladin
2. Human ranger
3. Dwarf fighter/thief
Back-line spellcasters:
4. Elf mage/thief
5. Human cleric
6. Human mage
Import characters from previous games
Because of the level caps, the only characters that are worth importing from Pool of Radiance or Hillsfar are those whose class/race combination gets beyond 100% in said two games.Because of the level caps, the only characters that are worth exporting to the next titles are those whose class/race combination gets beyond 100% (e.g. any human, a dwarf fighter/thief, a halfling pure thief).
If you import a character from Hillsfar, some extra side-quests will become available.
With reference to the above party, this is an example:
Imported characters:
1. Human paladin (dual-class cleric from Pool of Radiance)
2. Dwarf fighter/thief (from Pool of Radiance)
3. Elf mage/thief (from Pool of Radiance)
4. Human cleric (from Hillsfar)
New characters:
5. Human mage
6. Human ranger
Starting from Secret of the Silver Blades, your party should be made of humans only (plus a non-human pure thief or a dwarf fighter/thief, if you like).
In Pools of Darkness, the last title of the series, your party should be made of humans only (plus a non-human pure thief, if you like).
