Advice wanted for character building

[Larry_OHF]

I am building a few characters to be able to use in Ziroc's Mod. I need a little advice.

Here is what I have so far.

1. Elf--Druid--(Ready)
2. Dwarf--Fighter--(Ready)
3. Elf--Sorcerer--(Ready)

4. Elf--Arcane Archer--__________?
5. Human--Fighter/Cleric--__________?
6. Half-Elf--Fighter/Rogue--__________?


What is the proper inventory to add on these people?
All of these are high level characters.
I plan to try some lower level characters after I finish building these.
My plan was to have a good selection of PCs to pick from for lots of varied fun.

[ 07-15-2003, 10:22 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Micah Foehammer]

Larry, since you didn't specify stats for the arcane archer or what the build was I based on, I assumed it was a high dex / finesse fighter/ranger 6 with a single level of wizard.

Deck the AA out with Taralash or similiar bow with a GOOD supply of ammo, and a rapier (again assuming weapon finesse) or two if you built from a ranger. [img]smile.gif[/img] Toss in a pair of boots of speed and gauntlets of dexterity +5. Armor is up to you, but I would go with padded leather or robes of the archmage if your dex is over 26 as the padded leather will cap out your dex bonus at 8. I would use the amulet of natural armor +5 to give you an extra AC boost.

Toss in a variety of wands (fire, lightning, summoning, etc).

You might considr adding a ring of regenration and a ring of invisibility.

Aside from that, the rest is kind of open to you depending on how you play to play the character. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Don't forget a GOOD supply of heal potions. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Animal]

I have a lot of fun with a pure Barbarian, and make sure all my skills and feats are tailored for a specific purpose. I was thinking about Barbarian/Druid (Shaman) for my next voyage.

Basically, try something and go for it!

I had a lot of fun with The Crimson Blade and a few others, although I don't think there was any organization prior, we had a pretty good mix going. Looking forward to a journey with you guys again soon.

[robertthebard]

I had really good success with a bard, to arcane archer. That's the char i ran the last time we were on lvl 9 Animal, and Crimson, thus the name, ha ha. Get your spell requirements from jump, and think he went over around lvl 5, so leaves 5 levels after for fighter, or similar, for better overall combat. Don't dual class a cleric, no need. Take war and str domains, may as well be a fighter with spells, got one running in a server vault, and she is bad. half elf, or full elf, fighter rogue assassin, must be evil, don't forget, or the ever popular rogue assassin, shadowdancer, get assassin at 6th, so can be 5, 10, 5, or the one i'm doing next, rogue 5, assassin 5, shadowdancer 10, just to see. If so, on the last one, get assassin when you lvl to 6th, then change to shadowdancer as soon as it becomes available. Shadow dancer is built for the rogue, and rogue type classes, hide in plain sight makes for a lot of sneak attacks!! But, while Taralash is one of the better bows in the game, check out the Composite Long Bow, +3. I think that this is one of the best bows in the game. +3 to attack, Mighty +5, nice bow. basically, just run with them, a fighter rogue is a good combo, but man, nothing like the assassin/shadowdancer.

[Micah Foehammer]

Larry,

For the arcane archer I would recommend a elven ranger 9 / wizard 1 / arcane archer 10 or a fighter 9 / wizard 1 / arcane archer 10 build. The ranger build would appear to fit better (basically being a high dex character). The fighter build will give you 9 feats, but if you are going to dual wield you will burn two of those feats for two handed fighting and ambidexterity. The ranger will give you 4 feats, plus dual wield, improved 2 weapon fighting, trackless step, favoured enemy, an animal companion and 1 1st level spell as the trade off at the beginning.

My preference is probably the fighter build. You only lose one 1st level spell, the animal companion, trackless step and favoured enemy. The dual wield and improved 2 handed fighting can be compensated for with fighter feats PLUS the ambidexterity and two handed fighting feats taken as a fighter can ALSO be used with heavy armor if you wish. It's a close trade but if you are bulding solely for undermountain, i would go with the fighter. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I would end up taking these feats (numbers in parenthesis indicate approx level at which to take the feat): Point blank shot(1), rapid shot (1), weapon focus longbow(2), improved critical longbow(8) {this is ALL you can take as a ranger -although the levels at which you can take them will be different} and then add weapon finesse(3), weapon focus rapier(4), improved critical rapier (9). As a fighter you can still add two more feats as you wish. Possibilities include dodge and mobility, so you can add springless attack during the arcane archer levels. You'll get 3 more feats during the arcane archer levels not counting the arcane archer special feats. [img]smile.gif[/img] Or you can add two handed fighting, ambidexterity and improved two handed fighting. Another thing to consider is that as a fighter you can take weapon specialization: longbow to add another two points of damage to your arrows. That option is NOT available to the ranger.

The BIG trade off is that the ranger will give you a LOT more skill points. Plus the skills available for the ranger are more suited to the archer, and are thus NOT cross class skills - giving you even MORE bang for the buck.

It's tough call when you throw in the skill points. Either one will make a DANGEROUS Arcane Archer.


In either case, DEFINITELY go wizard 1 as it the favoured class of the elves and you will NOT suffer an xp penalty.

[ 07-17-2003, 08:09 AM: Message edited by: Micah Foehammer ]

[Micah Foehammer]

You might also look at a rogue 8 / wizard 2 / arcane archer 10 build. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Tons of skill points (trap skills are awesome), sneak attack on TOP of archer skills if hidden, and Use magic device capabilities.

[robertthebard]

Originally posted by Micah Foehammer: You might also look at a rogue 8 / wizard 2 / arcane archer 10 build. [img]smile.gif[/img] Tons of skill points (trap skills are awesome), sneak attack on TOP of archer skills if hidden, and Use magic device capabilities.

the use magic device skill is not needed, not with any levels in wizard/sorceror. can't argue the trap skills, or the sneak attacks though, both are very potent ablilities to possess.

[Legolas]

Originally posted by Micah Foehammer: In either case, DEFINITELY go wizard 1 as it the favoured class of the elves and you will NOT suffer an xp penalty.

I believe that when you bring a character straight up to lvl 20 in a trainer module so that you can use it in EfU later on, there's no need to worry about XP penalties and the like.
That said, definately go with wizard 1 Larry! They have other advantages too.

[Micah Foehammer]

Robert - DOH! I forgot about that ONE level of wizard. The UMD is moot and a waste of skill points.

Legolas - I haven't tried the rogue build through a "trainer" so you could be right. It might depend on the trainer though.