Well, my next planned big run will be paladin-themed (actually a LG cleric->fighter dual as protagonist, but that's close enough). And they're not going to go shoplifting or robbing houses. Definitely going against my usual tendencies, but I can do self-imposed rules.
Romancing all the ladies in each playthrough. Don't look at me like that! I just can't stand seeing them unhappy!
When it comes to multiple romances, I prefer a trickier solution. Like my last big run, in which my protagonist Dorn romanced both Viconia and Anomen. No mods needed for that, just careful planning around the protagonist switch that the run required. And hey - once he ascends to being the new god of murder, his two clerics can hook up with each other.
The Copper Coronet, really? That place is sleazy, even after the Hendak take over. I'm a Five Flagons girl, through and through.
The Copper Coronet has an important mechanical advantage: it's closer to the area's entrance than the other inns in Athkatla. You practically always enter the slums from the south, and the Copper Coronet is right there. The Five Flagons is halfway down the bridge, and Delosar's Inn is even further - though that makes it closer to the exit you'll leave by. The Sea's Bounty is down on the lowest level of the docks, and you start at the top. The Mithrest Inn and the Den of the Seven Vales are up some stairs in the Promenade, far from any map edge.
Basically, choosing anything other than the Copper Coronet costs you time, every time you go there. It adds up.
There's only one other inn in Athkatla that's actually close to the map entrance: the Crooked Crane. And if you went there, you'd literally be sleeping in the stables. Also, no shop for trading items, and no containers except in the lich lair.
Pickpocket the Ring of Regeneration from Ribald in the Adventurers' Mart after escaping Chateau Irenicus (even if I'm playing a Paladin!). It's just too useful to simply leave it in the pocket of a simple merchant...
Just watch out. No matter how far you push your skills, picking pockets has a 1% critical failure chance. If you're playing a no-reload, that's a 1% chance of offending Ribald and permanently losing access to his store. (No critical failure for shoplifting, though.)
Trying to not go flails for melee, seeking diversity, but caving in the end...
The Flail of Ages is just too good to ignore, isn't it? And since none of the companions you can recruit have any proficiency in flails, it almost always makes more sense to give it to your protagonist than any of the other party members.
Though my last few runs ... "Dorn It" - Protagonist Dorn sticks with big swords (long, bastard, 2H), and the only other fighter is Korgan with axes and hammers. Viconia gets the FoA. "Kill It With Fire" - Protagonist is a Dragon Disciple that can't use flails. Isra (mod NPC Cavalier) gets the FoA once she has specialization at level 18. "Wee Cant Spell" - Protagonist is a Fighter/Thief who sticks to backstab-capable weapons. Mazzy gets the FoA as her melee option, though she's primarily an archer for most of the game.
So that's three runs in a row in which I've used the Flail of Ages somewhere in the party other than on the protagonist. The next one will break that streak, though - that character'll be a prime flail user.
