Hi!

My dirty little secret is that I've never really played BG2, much less finished it (I've dabbled in the tutorial area). I now seek to remedy this travesty.

I'm going to play through twice. Evil party first, good party second. I'm doing a full BGT run (so BG1, SOA, TOB), all in the BG2 engine, of course.

For my evil party playthrough I thought it would be fun to play a half-orc. I don't think I've ever played as one before in a DnD game, so it was an opportunity to do something different. Class options are obviously a bit limited, therefore I decided to go with Kensai. I got it into my head that a mainly Two Weapon Style Kensai would be pretty cool. However, I'm obviously going to be hurting in the AC department.

So far, into the Nashkel Mines, Montaron is the one who keeps getting hit (and killed) most of the time. But I have a feeling that my Kensai is going to have some more troubles going forward.

Any pointers?

Pure Kensai in BG1 will suck big time, unless you make optimal use of buff spells and potions. Once you get into SoA, and especially ToB he/she will kick ass royally, though. So no, going forward your Kensai can only get better.

There's the obvious things: the best bracers of defence you can get your hands on, etc. I hope your dexterity is also at maximum, as that'll give you extra AC. Constitution and strength too, for obvious reasons. Beyond that, I'm not too familiar with the class.

The best bracers of defence I've seen (in bg2) were AC 4, so expect that to be your base AC when you find them. In BG1...ranged weapons are your friend even more so than normal, assuming the class can use them?

Thanks for both replies. Yes, I've got maxed STR, DEX, and CON, which is pretty beefy for a Half-Orc. :^) I've got a ton of HP, but it can go fast when the arrows start flying.

Things seem to be working out so far.

Adventure Mart sells AC3 bracers but Kensai can't use gauntlets, bracers, or missile weapons.

Sounds like my Kensai is going to be hoarding the party's best Ring of Protection (or Cloak of Protection).

You can pick up throwing daggers by the bucket from the skeletons in High Hedge, and they're ranged weapons that a Kensai can use. Keep a bunch of those around for emergencies. Be sure to check all the stores for Potions of Defense/Invulnerability, too; they last a reasonable length of time.

Are there magic throwing axes in BG1? (Those you can use infinite times)

In BG2 I would choose axe as weapon of choice for a Kensai.
You can use them dual wield and as throwing weapon.
You find good magic ones early in the game, both throwing and normal.

If you were a dwarf, hammers would be a good choice.
There is the best melee weapon in BG2 and a great throwing hammer for dwarves.

In BG2 (not sure about BG1, but you play BG1 with BG2 rules anyway) you can choose if you want to use throwing weapons (some daggers, axes and one hammer AFAIK) as thrown or melee weapon, but you can never dual wield with those, even if you use them as melee weapon.

But as mentioned above, a kensai will have a hard time in BG1 since ranged weapons are your best friend if you want to survive the early game. And unlike a monk or swashbuckler (who improve AC as they level up) a kensai gets -2AC and only his hit chance and damage increase at level up.