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Old 08-06-2005, 03:20 PM   #1
Northraven
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I am fairly new to NWN and just bought the platinum edition. So far while I enjoy the game I find the battles much harder than in BG2 or IWD 1&2. So can anyone share their experience and give me some of the best builds that they have discovered for the game? Also, while I'm asking newbie questions is there anyway to give your hirelings better equipment or are you stuck with what they've got initially?

Thanks in advance for any replies.
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Old 08-06-2005, 04:23 PM   #2
ZFR
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I'm sure someone will talk about good builds. As for the henchmen, you cant change their equipment in the original campaign but you can do so in SoU and HotU.
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Old 08-06-2005, 06:31 PM   #3
robertthebard
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Ah, the builds. This is a topic that could go on forever, and still not get em all. There are a lot of combinations that go beyond good, some that are just good, some that are ok, and yes, some that suck. The biggest question is, what do you want to do. For tanks, probably the best build would be either a fighter/dwarven defender, must be a dwarf, though, er, ya, duh...sorry, medicated.
Search through the posts in this forum, there are several threads covering this, or, suggest a certain idea, and I'll have something to work with. There are way too many to just generalize em out.
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Old 08-06-2005, 07:21 PM   #4
Chewbacca
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In the OC (original campaign) the henchmen get new and better equipment automatically when they level up, but you have no control over it.

In Sou And HotU henchmen inventories become easily editable.

As far as builds go for the OC....

One build I enjoyed alot is level one rogue for skills and sneak attack and then taking 4 levels fighter. The improved HP, Base attack bonus and weapon specilization make a good start for any character class. Depending on stats and xp penalties any sort of 3rd class could be added at 6th level.

With my stats geared towards DEX,INT, and CHA I prefered to go a few more levels in Rogue with a skill focus on stealth, tumbling and use magic device, open lock, search, and disarm trap.

I then took a hit on xp and took Bard as a 3rd class to the end. I became a bow specialist with skills, sneak attack, and some spells and buffs.

This chars weakness includes lower STR and CON. Undead might be trouble with no cleric and sneak attack immunity.

This build is best used with a melee henchmen. I like the Monk, Grimnaw but the Barbarian fellow works too. The cleric can help but isn't that much of a tank.

Tactics include shoot and run. Draw the enemy out to your henchman and then manuever back into point blank range for great sneak attacks.

Pointer-

If you don't already....Fill all your quick slots! Use control and shift and put every spell, potion, scroll, ability and item you got on a quickslot. This will help with difficult melee and will speed it up so the game will be paused less.

Also I made a module that is designed to test and play character builds. Something like that lets you fiddle around all you want with characters. There is a thread floating around here about the module with links.

Cheers and have fun.
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Old 08-06-2005, 07:56 PM   #5
Northraven
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OK thanks for the replies so far. RObert, I would kinda like some advice on a magic-using build as my current ones all kinda suck. Any advice here would be most appreciated.
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Old 08-06-2005, 09:09 PM   #6
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for the official campaign I'm running a pure elf wizard right now. i plan to add arcane archer when my BAB is high enough (level 12). he's level 6 right now and with the half orc henchman (tank) and pixie familiar (thief) doing great.
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Old 08-07-2005, 08:46 AM   #7
robertthebard
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Man, I really suck at spell casters, with the exception of bards, anyway. I can give you the basics for a good build though.
For wizards, put as many stat points as you can into int, for spells, cha for saves, and dex for ac. Max out Spellcraft, which is helpful for counterspelling, and will enable you to get Epic Spells once you break lvl 20. Probably not much you don't already know, but building spell casters is one of my main weaknesses as a builder, although SFR has a good idea, with the AA lvls. IMO, range is your best bet at survival.
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Old 08-08-2005, 05:20 AM   #8
J'aran
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Quote:
Originally posted by robertthebard:
cha for saves
That's paladins. Wizards don't get their charisma modifier as bonus to thier saves.

Race: for a Wizard, you can go with pretty much anything except Half-Orc, because of their penalty to INT. Of course, if you want to go Arcane Archer, you need to be either Elf or Half-Elf.

Stats: max out INT, and put all points you get at level-ups into INT as well. Put your DEX and CON at a decent level, for bonuses to AC and hit points (you'll be getting precious few of those, so every little bit helps). STR, WIS and CHA are pretty much only useful for some very minor things, do with those what you want.

Skills: keep concentration and spellcraft maxed. With your high INT, you've got skillpoints coming out the drainpipe, so apart from those two essentials, you've got a number of options for the rest. Heal, Persuade and Search are among my personal favorites. Lore is a roleplayingly viable option, even if all it does is save you a couple hundred quid from not having to identify items at stores. If you don't fancy having to bash chests or 'disarm' traps by stepping on them, you can even put some points into Pick Locks and/or Disarm Traps.

Feats: pretty much anything magical. Combat Casting, (Greater) Spell Penetration, (Greater) Spell Focus, Empower Spell, Maximize Spell... you name it. For a Spell Focus, you should of course pick a school with a lot of offensive spells. Evocation and Necromancy are the most obvious and popular choices, Enchantment is good as well. Transmutation and Illusion are a bit less apparent, although both schools still have a few spells which benefit from a Focus. Abjuration is a total waste, as this school is all about protective spells.

Weapons: often when I play a pure Wizard, I don't take a Weapon Focus. You'll suck at combat, be it melee or ranged, and a measly +1 to hit won't change that. A ranged weapon is of course your best option, as you want to stay as far away from the enemy as possible. If you're an Elf, you can get a bow, otherwise you'll have to make do with a crossbow if you don't want to dish out some extra feats on a weapon proficiency. But even with a crossbow, I wouldn't take feats like Rapid Reload and Point Blank Shot. Your weapon is a last resort only thingy, and those feats are better spent on something which helps your casting.

General tactics: take a warrior henchman along (Daelan or Grimgnaw in the OC) to keep the monsters away from you. When casting a spell within enemy range, always enable Defensive Casting Mode: attacks of opportunity can easily disrupt your casting and even kill you. I'm afraid I can't really help you with counterspelling as I never utilize it.

Keep in mind that a low-level wizard is weak, both offensively and defensively, and at the start you need your henchman to do most of the killing. But at mid-to-high levels, a well built wizard played by someone who knows his spells will be an engine of mass destruction, while at the same time able to protect himself with his magic well enough to survive a toe-to-toe with any powerful opponent.

[ 08-08-2005, 06:02 AM: Message edited by: J'aran ]
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Old 08-08-2005, 06:18 AM   #9
Zink Whistlefly
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I like Chewbacca's build - that's very similar to the characters I enjoy using.

Rather than fighter, I tend to use Barbarian/Rogue. Lack of heavy armour isn't a problem since it allows you to have a higher dex/use medium armour (therefore similar AC to heavy armour types) but most importantly, the higher dex allows for some neat rogue skill bonuses.

Rage is nice, giving you more HP, a stronger fortitude and will save and substantially more damage, especially with a large 2 handed weapon.

The sneak attack is what makes this build really shine. Many rogues can creep up to an enemy, strike once for sneak attack damage, and then end up getting spanked due to being quite flimsy in toe to toe combat. This build lets you sneak around (keep hide and move silently high when you take the rogue levels), strike for the sneak attack and then be strong enough to finish the job without having to worry about running away and hiding again.

Take knockdown as soon as feasible - picture this - your enraged barbarian has a high strength/AB, you knock an enemy prone - your subsequent attacks in that round cause normal damage + sneak attack damage because the enemy is in a prone position, which eventually makes for some big numbers!

This build gives you an abundance of skill points (4+INT for barbarian, 8+INT for rogue, +1 if you are human) so lets you become a master of a great many skills. Keep intimidate maxed (you'll need this for when you turn epic ), don't worry about open locks too much (just take a couple of points) because a large weapon + high strength + power attack means nothing can really prevent you from opening it with force. Set/disable traps is nice so keep those moderately high, and pump discipline, tumble, move silently, hide and use magical device as high as you can. Any remaining points could go into lore/heal/spot/listen. UMD is cool because you essentially end up with a warrior that can use pretty much anything.

The piece de resistance for this build however comes into play when you become epic. I was sceptical at first about "Terrifying Rage" because I didn't fancy running into a pack of enemies and then having to chase after them all to finish the job as they fleed with terror. I as pleasantly surprised however when I discovered that the rage causes fear in the form of paralysis . A save at which must be made at DC anywhere between 25-40+(!), which means that unless the enemy is immune to paralysis you will almost certainly succeed. A bunch of stunned enemies then allows you to sneak attack to your hearts content. One particular battle in HoTU was extremely satisfying with this rage - defending a certain fortress was pretty much done single handed by running out the front gates and hearing nothing but "I need some help over here" and "he's too strong for me!" as they panicked and stood around helplessly

My final HoTU build was something like Barbarian 18/Rogue 9, which gave me a 5D6 sneak attack, combined with a +8 2D6 great sword with a further 2D6 elemental damage and a +15 strength bonus + power attack. Not many enemies can stand up to that kind of punishment.

[ 08-08-2005, 06:19 AM: Message edited by: Zink Whistlefly ]
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Old 08-08-2005, 07:14 AM   #10
robertthebard
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Zink the Dragon Hunter...
I'm a big fan of AA's. TDC has a build on here that is really good, I used it once, to try it out. My favorite build so far though has none of the fancy feats. Bard/AA/Assassin. She was surprisingly tough, even in Undermountain, Z's version, not Bioware's. I think her final lvls were, in order above, 15/15/10. I think I started her somewhere around 16 dex/14 cha/12 str can't really remember, but no stats were under 10, and I think they were actually around 12. I bumped her cha to 16, during lvl ups, and then put everything else into dex. Spell selection was pretty even def/offense wise, but I took the mob slowing, paralyzing type spells, not much into summons. Spells like Mind fog/Cloud of Bewilderment are potent in combination, barring immunity, and death attacks rule. Of course she was evil, assassin requirement, and when facing a mob, if you paralyze one, change targets. I love to paralyze one member of a mob in a role play situation, and taunt the victim, while killing the rest of his allies, that is a perfectly evil thing to do.
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