Newbie questions

[Stonewarrior]

I finally got the game (bough the Diamond edition) and have played it off and on for a week or two. I am still learing the ropes so to speak with the 3ed rules. I have started with a dwarven barbarian. He is now at level 4 in SoU. Is this a good class to start with? Also, what is the deal with dual classing? It appears I can dual my barbarian to anything when he levels up. If I dual is it the same as the Baldur's Gate series in that I can not use my barbarian skills until I reach the same level? Also, any suggestions for a first time character / class would be greatly appreciated.

Peace, John.

[Marathon]

Dwarven Barbarian should work fine for a starting character - that or a fighter class is pretty easy to get started with, and you should have plenty of hitpoints to survive most things.

As for dual classing, you can still use your class abilities - your rage - it just won't gain in power until you take more barbarian levels. Also, watch out for the xp penalty. I believe the Dwarven favored class is fighter. With any class besides fighter, you need to stay within 1 level of your current class or suffer a 20% XP penalty. Prestige classes don't count against this, though, so you could make your character a Dwarven Defender or Blackguard (if you're evil). I happen to like high level pure barbarians if you build them to get the epic rage feats in HOTU.

[Stratos]

Neverwinter Nights (NWN) uses 3rd Edition rules and Baldurs gate 2nd Edition, so multiclassing works differently in NWN than it does in BG.

For starters there's no dual-classing in NWN, it's all called just multiclassing.

Any race can multiclass to any class as long as there's no alignment restriction; a Barbarian cannot multiclass to, say, a Paladin as Paladins can only be Lawful Good while Barbarians can't be of any Lawful alignment. Or rather, they can't level up as a Barbarian as long as they're Lawful.

An important thing to know about 3rd Ed. rules is the difference between "Class Level" and "Character Level". Class level is the amount of levels you have in a certain class, while Character levels is the total amount of levels. A Fighter(4)/Wizard(6) has 10 (4+6) Character levels, and so does an Wizard(10). When you level up you gain one Character level and get to choose what class you get to level up at (Class level). No matter what class or class combination that makes up your character, a certain amount of XP is needed, so no "Bards requiring less XP to level up than a Sorcerer" here. In NWN you can freely pick what class to level up in at level up (as long as there's no restriction); you could start as a Fighter, level up as a Wizard at level 2 to become a Fighter(1)/Wizard(1), and then pick another Fighter level at the next level up. You're only allowed at most three classes. You can always use all your class abilites you've gotten this far so there's no "you have to be one level higher in your new class to use the abilities of your old class" in NWN. Picking another class at level up will give you the class feats those classes start with, like the ability to use all Simple and Martial weapons and all Armours (light, medium and heavy) for Fighters, for example. Which classes you choose will also determine how much your Attack Bonus (AB) will increase. AB is basically your chance to hit an opponent. More for warrior classes (Fighters, Rangers and the likes) and less for spellcasters and Rogues.

Class abilities and spells etc. are bound to your class level, so a Fighter(10)/Wizard(1) would fights as good as a 10th level Fighter but would cast spells as a 1st level Wizard, ie a complete n00b. In other words, spellcaster do well to remain a single class, or only take few levels on another class, if the want to remain competent spellcasters. The same thing applies to all other classes as well, of course, but it's most noticable on spellcasters.

All races (except humans and half-elves) has a Favoured Class. This has already been explain by Marathon above but there's just something I want to add; humans and half-elves have "Favoured Class: Any" which means that the class with the highest level is automatically considered their Favoured Class. This means they will never get a XP penalty as long as they only have at most two classes.

Hopes this helps.

PS. Clerics and Druids are both very solid first time classes to play; they can both heal, cast offensive magic, have a decent amount of HP and are much better at fighting than they were in BG.

[ 02-11-2006, 07:47 PM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

[Albromor]

I agree with Staros' position on clerics and druids. Clerics rock with 3E rules and unlike the Baldur's Gate series (which I liked) that didn't offer all that much in the way of weapons, NWN is well suited for this class. You have many fine choices of weapons, armor, and spells. I went with a cleric and I was so happy that I did.

[robertthebard]

Bards are much better here too. At least, much more effective. I never got the have to be one lvl higher thing in Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale, but hey I loved those games. I love this one more though, but not because of the Official Campaigns. I played them, but only to familiarize myself with the engine, and the interface. Then I went online, and I've never looked back. I have to agree that either barbarian or fighter is a good starting out class. Less stuff to deal with in the early going.

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

I still feel overall that you can't play a magic user with this type of engine. If you're lucky you may get 1 round of casting before the enemy is on you. If you're only fighting a magic user you could hurl spells at eachother, but it's better to go in and try to disrupt their casting. I have a Cleric/Sorcerer right now, which is ok for some things. I went with Gnome which have too much of a disadvantage with weapon and shields. You can't beat 'em for find trap and knock though! A human verson would have worked better. I keep Daelan around for most of the fighting, but I really like playing solo.

[Stratos]

I want to correct one thing in my post; it's your Base Attack Bonus (BAB) that raises with levels, not your Attack Bonus (AB). Your AB is your BAB plus any strength modifiers and attack bonuses from spells or feats.

[Stratos]

Originally posted by robertthebard: Bards are much better here too. At least, much more effective. I never got the have to be one lvl higher thing in Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale, but hey I loved those games. I love this one more though, but not because of the Official Campaigns. I played them, but only to familiarize myself with the engine, and the interface. Then I went online, and I've never looked back. I have to agree that either barbarian or fighter is a good starting out class. Less stuff to deal with in the early going.

Yes, unlike in BG, Bards, Rogues, Clerics and Druids can actually fight in NWN.

[Marathon]

To keep things easy, I'd say stay with any of the classes that have the highest BAB - those being fighter, ranger, barbarian or paladin. SOU does have a small side quest for a holy avenger if you are a paladin, and you get access to a limited amount of spells as well as some nice bonuses (better saving throws, immunity to fear & disease, etc.). Go for Rangers if you want to dual wield and have spells. Fighters get more feats and weapon specialization, barbarians get rage. When I first played through the game I went with a cleric and found managing all my spells somewhat cumbersome. Once you know what you're doing, they can dominate.

One other class I might recommend for your current character(if you're not evil) is a Champion of Torm. Basically like a fighter for the first 10 levels - bonus feat every 10 levels, plus saving throw bonuses every 2 levels (+5 to all saves after 10 levels). You probably won't have enough charisma to take advantage of divine grace or lay on hands, but the extra feats and saving throws are worth it. Once you get past level 10, go back to barbarian.

[Stonewarrior]

Marathon - I am about 700 points shy of my next level up (still at level 4 Barbarian). If I read you right you are saying I should go with Champion of Torm at level up and then go back to Barbarian once I get past level 10? My character is Chaotic Neutral if that matters.

Also, I currently have him weilding a heavy flail which he has done quite well with. I am still trying to figure out the feats.

One big difference I have noticed is that some creatures require certian types of weapons such as blunt or blade. This was not so much an issue in other games I have played. Makes it very interesting.