NWN 1 ideal charcter

[GreyWizard77]

I'm about to start the original Neverwinter Nights and would like some thoughts on what the ideal character is, if there is one. I've been playing tabletop 3.0/3.5 since it came out, so I know all the rules, I'm just curious to see if certain classes are better in the game then others, given it's nature as a 1 character game. Right now I don't have plans to play online. I'm toying with a fighter/ranger combo, largely for the animal companion. Or maybe a druid.

Thanks!

 

[Orius]

Well, first are you using just NWN, or are you using Hordes of the Underdark as well (included in the Platinum and Diamond editions)? That makes a difference, since HotU adds epic builds. There are different builds depending on whether you're going 20 or 40 levels.

Also, WRT to HotU is the issue of prestige classes. There are a few prestige classes in Shadows of Undrentide (available in the Gold, Platinum, and Diamond editions), these are Arcane Archer, Assassin, Blackguard, Shadowdancer, and Harper Scout, IIRC. HotU adds more, Champion of Torm (Divine Champion), Weapon Master, Shifter, Dwarven Defender, Pale Master, and Red Dragon Disciple, I might be forgetting one or two. Anyway, all the 3.0 DMG PrCs except Loremaster are in the the first two expanions, along with some 3.0 splat classes and 2 FRCS ones.

Most of the rules are about the same, there's a few different feats and skills, and domains are a bit stripped down from the pnp rules.

Also, you can only have a maximum of three classes, so keep that in mind when planning a build. Many builds actively take advantage of "dipping", you know taking a single level of a class just for the level 1 advantages. Some online persistant worlds restrict that sort of thing, but you're probably not worried about that.

If you're just starting out, a fighter build can be decent. I often like a fighter/rogue/weapon master build when I'm playing a new module. What you do is take a rogue level at level 2 and then every 5th level thereafter to level 17 or 37 (depending on whether or not you can go epic). Dump 5 ranks into Tumble when you do this because you get a +1 AC for every 5 ranks of Tumble. The game lets you save skill ranks each level because it doesn't handle half-ranks in cross-class skills. Another good rogue skill to invest in in these levels is UMD. In addition, use the Knockdown/Improved Knockdown feats (which are good feats for pretty much any fighter build), when the enemy is prone, you'll get Sneak Attack damage from your rogue levels.

Ranger builds aren't all that powerful in the game, especially in epic games. I've enjoyed a ranger/rogue/shadowdancer build that's pretty good. It's built to abuse Hide in Plain Sight which is good with sneak attack damage. I go with 21 ranger levels for Bane of Enemies, 1 level of SD for the Hide in Plain Sight, and the rest rogue for the skills, Improved Evasion, and sneak attack damage.

CoDzilla can rule in NWN. A cleric/Champion of Torm build with the right domains (Strength and Time are good for Divine Power, Haste, and a few other buffs) can be a good melee beast. With druid, one of the big killer epic builds is a druid/shifter with Dragon Shape, and a monk level tacked on for Wis bonus to AC and Improved Unarmed Combat.

I suggest you take a look at the Bioware forums for the game if they're still active. There's lots of build advice there.

 

[Arkhandus]

Well, I first played through it as a Dwarven Monk; high Constitution, a 14 or so in Strength and Wisdom (maybe a 16 in one, I forget), a 10 or 12 Dexterity, and abysmal Intelligence/Charisma. It was entertaining how the NPCs treated him as an ugly, drooling, smiling simpleton. But he was friggin' TOUGH.

When the stupid rogue NPC henchman was chasing distant monsters on the other side of walls and springing traps instead of disarming them, or when he just wasn't around, I was generally able to walk over a trap or open it without worry. I'd avoid most or all of the effect. There was the occasional super-damaging or super-deadly trap that got me anyway, but those were fairly rare. There's a lot of poison inflicting critters in the game, and I usually just shrugged it off. When I didn't, I survived the huge amounts of poison being pumped into my dwarf by giant spiders and crud, though I made sure to carry and use antitoxins when needed.

The coolest moment was when I ran into some Bodaks and just shrugged off their Death Gazes like water off a turtle's back, killing the main enemy of the area while he and the Bodaks kept wasting their time on impotent Death Gazes and Fingers of Death.

Evasion, high Fortitude saves, and Fast Movement are your friends. Stunning Fist is handy too, for making some doofus boss monster stand around and drool, while you unleash the Flurry of Blows or the Quivering Palm on his helpless arse.


For reference, though, there are a few things in the game that can only be done or chosen if you have a high Charisma; my later try at a Gnome Bard/Fighter (IIRC) was harder, but he was able to charm or convince some NPCs into being helpful and stuff.

 

[Thanee]

I found the Cleric to be very nice in NWN, very versatile and still good in combat.

Bye
Thanee

 

[GreyWizard77]

Well, first are you using just NWN, or are you using Hordes of the Underdark as well (included in the Platinum and Diamond editions)? That makes a difference, since HotU adds epic builds. There are different builds depending on whether you're going 20 or 40 levels.

I have the Platinum Edition, so I'll be using both expansions.
Does that 3 class limit include Prestige Classes, or just base classes?

 

[fba827]

I used a cleric through it (only played the original NWN without expansions). I can't imagine surviving the first few levels as a wizard though ... but then, that may have more to do with my own style of play than the actual game play itself.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I played a Monk. It worked astoundingly well. Knockdown and Improved Knockdown are good choices for feats, and I don't think you can do anything wrong with Toughness, either.

 

[Orius]

I have the Platinum Edition, so I'll be using both expansions.
Does that 3 class limit include Prestige Classes, or just base classes?

So you got pretty much the whole package at your disposal. Have fun.

Three classes total. The character screen only has three slots for your classes so you can't take more than that. It's ok, because there's plenty of great NWN builds out there in spite of that.

I found the Cleric to be very nice in NWN, very versatile and still good in combat.

To further what I said above, it's not at all difficult to unleash CoDzilla in NWN. Since there's no DM to reign in rule abuses, you can go to town, and stomp up the town. The most popular domains I remember for CoDzilla builds were Strength (divine power is level 3), Time (for the haste spell), and Trickery (invisibility). There might have been one or two other domains that were popular. Note that NWN domains are a bit different from the standard 3.x domains; you don't have a domain spell every level, some domain spells are different, and you can just prep domain spells with your regular spells.

I can't imagine surviving the first few levels as a wizard though ... but then, that may have more to do with my own style of play than the actual game play itself.

The prelude to the NWN campaign gives starting wizard characters a rod with unlimited uses of ray of frost as part of the game tutorial. So there's always a little magic at your disposal. Even if you're playing the SoU/HotU campaign, you can just make a wizard with the rod and then import it into the beginning of SoU (though paladin is probably one of the best classes in SoU/HotU). And most wizard players tote a crossbow around if they're smart. Since the TC has HotU, that also means he's got Scribe Scroll (actually, I think one of the patches added in Scribe Scroll regardless of how many expansions are installed) and Craft Wand, though the blank scrolls and wands aren't available in except in HotU I think.

I played a Monk. It worked astoundingly well. Knockdown and Improved Knockdown are good choices for feats, and I don't think you can do anything wrong with Toughness, either.

Monks aren't too bad. Often monks are combined with a cleric or druid build for the Wis bonus to AC. And like I mentioned above, the Improved Unarmed Combat of the monk is used to bolster the druid's wild shaping.

Knockdown -- these are NWN's equivalent of Trip, and they're two feats that work well on just about every melee build. Toughness is also a great feat; it gives you +1 hp every level instead of just a flat +3 hp once.

Another popular build takes a level of sorcerer with a paladin build and makes a Dragon Disciple out of it. RDD builds only needs one level of bard or sorcerer for the class. The idea here is not for the sorcerer spellcasting, but to use the RDD levels to pump a massive melee beast. However, you can do very well with bard and have a fighter or barbarian as your melee base. Take more bard levels to improve your song and take Lingering Song, use buffs like bull's strength or (bear's) endurance, and you can really pump that build up.

If the classes in the set aren't enough to whet your appetite, there's a mod that you can download that adds even more prestige classes, as well as spells, feats and the like. There's a lot of really good fan-created content out there. If Steel Wind finds this thread, he can probably point out the good stuff better than I can, especially some of the stuff he's responsible for.

Even I've created stuff for NWN. Check out my adaptation of Orc and Pie.

 

[GreyWizard77]

THanks for the thoughts. Keep 'em coming! SO far I've built a standard human fighter, going towards Weapon Master. I may dip into Ranger for the dual wield ability. I've started the Prologue of the original campaign and haven't any problems yet. I'm on Normal setting.

 

[hong]

NWN is pretty forgiving. I finished HOTU with a fighter/monk/weaponmaster, using 2 longswords. This is a horrible build by most standards, but I didn't have any trouble. Any build that can deal a decent amount of damage should be fine (and if you're going for WM, that pretty much guarantees it).