Race os up to you, halfling is good for thievery, but AD&D tend to favor elves all the time.

+1 dex and -1v thac0 bonus for long/shortsword is always good.

But, if you do that forget kits, go fighter/thief multiclass.

If you wanna go swashbuckler, pick human for dualclass. Play it until lvl 10 then dual to fighter.

That’s my suggestion at least.

Going in reverse for your suggestions - why go from what is effectively a fighter/thief hybrid to a pure fighter? Why not keep going down the swashbuckler route for the extra thief skills?

I really don't like elves. I grew up playing BG/IWD and DnD 3.5, and it felt like there were 20,000 elf flavors of everything. Just got tired of them, so I generally don't play them in any games.

I wasn't really huge on the micro for using backstab, so I thought swashbuckler might be a better fit for me than fighter/thief - seems like I'm leaving stuff on the table if I don't BS as a fighter/thief.

I may look more at fighter/cleric as well. I generally want to do a melee class, whether that's a main line defender or a striker I'm not sure.

Kensai/thief looked really cool as a dual class, but if reading is right dualing at kensai 13 means I spend most of the 3rd act of the series as a low-power thief getting carried by the party.

Half elf bard. Let the rest of the party do the work while you stand back and play music.

Originally posted by Useless:

Going in reverse for your suggestions - why go from what is effectively a fighter/thief hybrid to a pure fighter? Why not keep going down the swashbuckler route for the extra thief skills?

It’s not that simple:

Swashbuckler has some benefits similar to fighter, but they’re not fighters.

Their thac0 progression is of a thief, they can’t go beyond specialization on weapons, they don’t get extra 1/2 apr at lvl 7/13 of swashbuckler (which is the most important) and their hp dice per level is lower.

By dual, you solve all these points. Also, 10 levels of swashbuckler is more than suffice to get everything you need of thievery skills. Also, lvl 10 on thief is pretty much a good moment to dual, he will be in SoD and probably near fighter 11 at SoD’s end.

It’s like being a fighter with -160k xp, totally covered by BG + SoD games that gives you a fighter with thief skills -3 AC bonus and +3 to hit/dmg.

Originally posted by Useless:

I really don't like elves. I grew up playing BG/IWD and DnD 3.5, and it felt like there were 20,000 elf flavors of everything. Just got tired of them, so I generally don't play them in any games.

That’s a metagaming suggestion, based on what they get as traits.

If this was the old BG, i would say to go elf over halfling because of romance lock (halfling wasn’t eligible to romances on the old game), but EE version doesn’t have this.

If you don’t want the dual class option, go halfling then.

Originally posted by Useless:

I wasn't really huge on the micro for using backstab, so I thought swashbuckler might be a better fit for me than fighter/thief - seems like I'm leaving stuff on the table if I don't BS as a fighter/thief.

I may look more at fighter/cleric as well. I generally want to do a melee class, whether that's a main line defender or a striker I'm not sure.

It’s a good option, you can go half-orc for it and pick 19 str.

Originally posted by Useless:

Kensai/thief looked really cool as a dual class, but if reading is right dualing at kensai 13 means I spend most of the 3rd act of the series as a low-power thief getting carried by the party.

The classic build, but the main point of this dual class is optimize backstab with kai and fighter Thac0.

Originally posted by Sstavix:

Half elf bard. Let the rest of the party do the work while you stand back and play music.

I considered it. I was let down by bard in the og series and thought enhanced might be better. Especially with how cool 5e bard ended up. But I think mostly I like being a melee unit for my main character, even if their death means restarting

Originally posted by Kamuizin:

Originally posted by Useless:

Going in reverse for your suggestions - why go from what is effectively a fighter/thief hybrid to a pure fighter? Why not keep going down the swashbuckler route for the extra thief skills?

It’s not that simple:

Swashbuckler has some benefits similar to fighter, but they’re not fighters.

Their thac0 progression is of a thief, they can’t go beyond specialization on weapons, they don’t get extra 1/2 apr at lvl 7/13 of swashbuckler (which is the most important) and their hp dice per level is lower.

By dual, you solve all these points. Also, 10 levels of swashbuckler is more than suffice to get everything you need of thievery skills. Also, lvl 10 on thief is pretty much a good moment to dual, he will be in SoD and probably near fighter 11 at SoD’s end.

It’s like being a fighter with -160k xp, totally covered by BG + SoD games that gives you a fighter with thief skills -3 AC bonus and +3 to hit/dmg.

Originally posted by Useless:

I really don't like elves. I grew up playing BG/IWD and DnD 3.5, and it felt like there were 20,000 elf flavors of everything. Just got tired of them, so I generally don't play them in any games.

That’s a metagaming suggestion, based on what they get as traits.

If this was the old BG, i would say to go elf over halfling because of romance lock (halfling wasn’t eligible to romances on the old game), but EE version doesn’t have this.

If you don’t want the dual class option, go halfling then.

Originally posted by Useless:

I wasn't really huge on the micro for using backstab, so I thought swashbuckler might be a better fit for me than fighter/thief - seems like I'm leaving stuff on the table if I don't BS as a fighter/thief.

I may look more at fighter/cleric as well. I generally want to do a melee class, whether that's a main line defender or a striker I'm not sure.

It’s a good option, you can go half-orc for it and pick 19 str.

Originally posted by Useless:

Kensai/thief looked really cool as a dual class, but if reading is right dualing at kensai 13 means I spend most of the 3rd act of the series as a low-power thief getting carried by the party.

The classic build, but the main point of this dual class is optimize backstab with kai and fighter Thac0.

Assuming I don't really care about romance options, would you suggest fighter thief, fighter cleric, or dual swash to fighter, from our discussions so far?

I looked at Dwarven defender, but since this ruleset doesn't include a taunt and the ai infamously likes to bypass front line fighters, the movement penalty seems pretty rough

Originally posted by Useless:

Assuming I don't really care about romance options, would you suggest fighter thief, fighter cleric, or dual swash to fighter, from our discussions so far?

I looked at Dwarven defender, but since this ruleset doesn't include a taunt and the ai infamously likes to bypass front line fighters, the movement penalty seems pretty rough

Too vast list,

Between fighter/thief multi-class or dual from swashbuckler to fighter i would go the last, because afaik you can’t grandmaster with multi-class, but you can with dual class.

But this is metagaming, so if you don’t care about it go fighter/thief multi, the advantage will be access to more HLAs at ToB.

The slow movement of dwarven defender can be a bit enervating.

Yeah I'll knock DD off the list. I'm leaning more towards fighter thief or fighter cleric multi now

You are getting a lot of advice here, all of it sounding like what the posters want to play. Let me simplify this a bit for you:

Fighter/Thief MC: You get better HP and, in BG2, the HLAs for both classes. Also full weapons selection. And I would still pick halfling here, for the fun!

Swashbuckler: You only get Thief HP & HLAs, but this will include the bonus of Whirlwind attack (but not greater). However, your THACO and damage will eventually beat the MC F/T.

Fighter>Thief dual: Combine awesome (max) Fighter HP & THACO (pick a thief weapon!) with thief skills. Probably the only bacckstab combo that really works. But you lose the Fighter HLAs (and you are playing a Fighter through BG1.) Probably take the Berserker or Wizard Slayer kit.

Thief (Swashbuckler)>Fighter: Huh? This is the dumbest combo I have heard of. You get low thief HP, no thief HLAs, and you stop gaining those Swashbuckler THACO bonuses early. This is esoteric.

Also, with all dual-classes, no racial bonuses on thief skills or DEX.

For what it's worth, I like your original idea. Last run I had a Mod NPC halfling swashbuckler (Alora for BG2) in BG2 and,... wow! I am now a believer in that class. You give up backstabbing and get so much in return. And, the NPC thief choices in BG2 are problematic. Some "hard-gamers" will limp along with Imoen/Nalia to disarm traps so they can avoid the "Thief Cheese" HLAs. Whatever. Jan is OK'ish, but not a combat asset, even with his funky crossbow. Hexxat,...? Don't get me started!

But I also believe in playing for fun, even though I do like to power-game. Halfling Swashbuckler sounds like a lot of fun and a great story. I say go for it. And if it isn't, roll something else and start over. It's not like you are buying a car or something!

Originally posted by Centurion:

You are getting a lot of advice here, all of it sounding like what the posters want to play. Let me simplify this a bit for you:
(…)
Thief (Swashbuckler)>Fighter: Huh? This is the dumbest combo I have heard of. You get low thief HP, no thief HLAs, and you stop gaining those Swashbuckler THACO bonuses early. This is esoteric.

So much simpler to just give your opinion without attacking others…

Less hp: true, partially. As a Thief you use 1d6, as a fighter 1d10, but con bonus above 16 is applied retroative.

https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Hit_Dice

No thief HLAs: yes, so what? If he dual fighter to thief, no fighter HLAs, if he multi-class, no grandmastery on weapons.

Stop swashbuckler bonus: yes, in trade-off for fighter Thac0 table and 2x +1/2 APR.

No racial bonus with thief skills or dex: and? After 10 swashbuckler levels, Op will already have more than enough thievery skills to distribute.

This is no power build, but op was clear on his request:

Originally posted by Useless:

(…). Fighter thief is an option, swashbuckler seemed maybe more fun? Though I would lose traps.

I'm open to suggestions on class and weapon stuff.

Originally posted by Centurion:

You are getting a lot of advice here, all of it sounding like what the posters want to play. Let me simplify this a bit for you:

Fighter/Thief MC: You get better HP and, in BG2, the HLAs for both classes. Also full weapons selection. And I would still pick halfling here, for the fun!

Swashbuckler: You only get Thief HP & HLAs, but this will include the bonus of Whirlwind attack (but not greater). However, your THACO and damage will eventually beat the MC F/T.

Fighter>Thief dual: Combine awesome (max) Fighter HP & THACO (pick a thief weapon!) with thief skills. Probably the only bacckstab combo that really works. But you lose the Fighter HLAs (and you are playing a Fighter through BG1.) Probably take the Berserker or Wizard Slayer kit.

Thief (Swashbuckler)>Fighter: Huh? This is the dumbest combo I have heard of. You get low thief HP, no thief HLAs, and you stop gaining those Swashbuckler THACO bonuses early. This is esoteric.

Also, with all dual-classes, no racial bonuses on thief skills or DEX.

For what it's worth, I like your original idea. Last run I had a Mod NPC halfling swashbuckler (Alora for BG2) in BG2 and,... wow! I am now a believer in that class. You give up backstabbing and get so much in return. And, the NPC thief choices in BG2 are problematic. Some "hard-gamers" will limp along with Imoen/Nalia to disarm traps so they can avoid the "Thief Cheese" HLAs. Whatever. Jan is OK'ish, but not a combat asset, even with his funky crossbow. Hexxat,...? Don't get me started!

But I also believe in playing for fun, even though I do like to power-game. Halfling Swashbuckler sounds like a lot of fun and a great story. I say go for it. And if it isn't, roll something else and start over. It's not like you are buying a car or something!

Well so far it's been like one guy who has been pretty helpful, one guy who said 'play bard', and...you? So the one guy I've been going back and forth with has explained a lot, the bard guy was meh, and you've said 'follow my heart', which while useful for sandwiches, isn't really what I was going for here.

Originally posted by Useless:

I haven't played BG in 10 according to steam. Thought I would do a run through the whole series, but I can't figure out what class i want to play.

I was thinking halfling swashbuckler but I'm not sold. I previously finished the game as a paladin kit with dispel, and as some flavor of sorcerer. But it's been a long time.

I'd like to be good or neutral, use in game NPCs, run normal difficulty and go through bg, sod, bg2, tob. I prefer lower macro, which is why I didn't look at shadowdancer. Backstab in bg just seems too fidly. I've never really liked rangeror druid. Fighter thief is an option, swashbuckler seemed maybe more fun? Though I would lose traps.

I'm open to suggestions on class and weapon stuff.

Not to argue, but "Follow your heart" was an endorsement of Swashbuckler. And, since I just re-read your OP, you need to know you don't lose traps! The only thing you lose is backstabbing, which, as you said, is fiddly.

Originally posted by Useless:

Well so far it's been like one guy who has been pretty helpful, one guy who said 'play bard', and...you? So the one guy I've been going back and forth with has explained a lot, the bard guy was meh, and you've said 'follow my heart', which while useful for sandwiches, isn't really what I was going for here.

Hey, I liked my bard. And yes, I took her from the first game all the way through ToB.

Admittedly, though, I was in Story Mode the entire time, and played primarily so I could enjoy the story. If you are looking for something more tactical, I would second the recommendation of a fighter thief. I am partial to half-elves myself, but any race will do (except humans, since they can't multi-class).

If you decide to go the human dual-class route, I suggest sticking with fighter until level 9 (for the best hit points) then switching to thief. Aim for getting spike traps as soon as possible (bards get those as well) because those can make some of the more difficult encounters (such as adamantium golems) a lot easier.

Kensai dual to thief is a very nice option, quite challenging at the beginning, but playing at normal difficulty you can manage it. In the long run it beomes full of combos, expecially when you get HLA use any items. Or any other fighter dual to thief, if you prefer other kits.

Obviously F/M - kensai/Mage or Berserker/Mage are the best combos in game.