Do the animals you charm as a Ranger take your experiance? I'm trying to go through solo and use the various animals as buffers for my Ranger. They keep dissapearing from me however. I guess it only last so long.

Also I am trying to build a AA so I took a level of Bard but only got cantrips for my first set of spells, what a drag. Any suggestions on how many levels of Bard I should take.

Will I unlock the AA class as soon as I meet the requirements?

Chests and traps are a problem however, I don't get enough skill points to spead out is this a problem through the game. So far most chest don't hold anything great does that change? I'm playing SoU.

All partymembers take experience away from you. However, they also lead to more monsters being spawned. Because of that, playing solo is not all as rewarding as it is in games like Baldur's Gate. Summoned monsters last for 24 in-game hours or until you rest. Familiars and Animal Companions are unsummoned when you gain a level. Domination of animals lasts one turn per level.

Your low level of bard spells is probably due to a low Charisma score. You need a base charisma of 11 or better in order to cast level 1 bard spells. Take as many levels as you like. Ranger levels may suit you better in the long run though, as they'll give you a better attack bonus with the bow.

The AA class is unlocked as soon as you meet the requirements.

Usually, chests are worth looting and traps are best off safely disarmed. It's not always an option though, so you may have to take the hit from a trap or bash a chest down. In some cases you'll have to abandon the treasure you can't get at. It won't be game-stopping but some side quests may not be doable. That's no great loss.

[ 01-05-2006, 11:45 AM: Message edited by: Legolas ]

Animal empathy does have a duration (much shorter than a summons) and yes, the animals will desert when it wears off. They're probably not happy about being forced into helping you.

Regarding Bard/AA: If you took Bard just to qualify for AA, then no need to worry about spells. This is enough to get you AA when you meet the other requirements. If you're looking to increase Bard for some extra spellpower, though, then you do need to beef up your Charisma, which must be equal to 10 + the level of spells you want. Bards get up to 6th level, so your charisma would have to be 16 if you want to go that high.

<center>Nightowl2</center>

Could a Ranger with no spell power make it as long as I turn it into an AA? My CHR is 12 right now but my wisdom is only 10 and St. 14. I planned on getting two levels of bard spells and no ranger spells then pumping dex to 21 and St. to 18 before going back to dex. I'm not playing online just the single campaign. Will I have enough levels to make it worthwhile?

You can make it, and the AA bonuses with the bow are better than anything you'll get off of Ranger lvls. You will need first lvl spells, though, but try to jack your Cha one point, and see what that does. I believe with a 12 Cha, you should be fine, because if you roll a base bard, they don't get first lvl spells until the first lvl up anyway.

If you're playing the original Neverwinter Nights, you can expect to be 16-17 by the end of the game. Most of that will come in the first two chapters, a bit more in 3, and a little in 4.

So you will have to sit down and work out how you want to do your levels. That should tell you whether or not what you have in mind is worthwhile.

<center>Nightowl2</center>

I don't play the SP version any more, mostly online. When I start a new char in one of the two servers I play in, I pretty much have an idea of what I want to do. There are some really good combos out there, chars that are both playable, and pretty munchkin like. The fighter/rogue/weapon master that I ran in the pvp tourney was a really good build, for example. I knew what I was going to do with the char, but I didn't have a map written out.
The thing is, we can tell you 50 different ways to build that char, but if we do, it's now our char, in your game. I'd say to do this; bounce around the ideas you get from here, then pick and choose the qualities you want. In the original OC, and in Shadows, you can expect to be around lvl 15 by the end. This will allow for something like 8 or 9 lvls of AA, which, in either of those modules, is plenty powerful enough with the bow. The best advice I can give you is to experiment with the stuff you get from here, or get a Char generator, Chewie has a really good one, but I suck at links, and play around with your ideas in that. Have fun... :D

Thanks and good advice. I have started both the OC and SoU 6 or seven times getting to 5th or sixth level and then start over looking for the one that feels right. I like druids, Monks, Rangers. So I am going to try for the AA in SoU. Next time I think I will use a Sorc. because you only need one level for first level spells and a Bard needs two. Is there a good prestige class for a monk?

Monk / Shadowdancer is a popular one.

Monk/Fighter/Weaponmaster is good as is Monk/bard(or sorceror)/RDD