Henchmen Advice For An Archer?

ElvenKing · Post by **ElvenKing** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 7:35 am

Ah, it's good to be back! Finally picked up NWN and spent last night rolling up a pretty cool Archer PC. Not too sure if I understand all the 3rd edition skills and rules (ie: is it worth spending points on open locks and disarm traps for my Ranger, or should this be saved for Rogues?) but the biggest problem I'm having is trying to decide on which henchman to take for most of the adventure. In BG2 I tended to stay loyal to a core group of NPC's, and will probably play the Single Player Campaign the same way.
I guess I'm asking for your opinions on who would be a good investment as my prime henchman choice, keeping in mind I'll be playing primarily as an Archer?

Your advice is greatly appreciated,
ElvenKing

Yuusuke · Post by **Yuusuke** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 7:59 am

Although I've never played an archer in NWN, the obvious choice here would probably be a meatshield like Dean~....whatever his name is, the Red ?Tiger?. Maybe Sharwyn too, even though she's a bit weak on the close combat side, she can disarm oponents and her bard songs kind of kicks ass.

Wyvern · Post by **Wyvern** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 8:20 am

Or the monk (evil alligned).

ElvenKing · Post by **ElvenKing** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 11:43 pm

Cross class skill taking?

I don't think I want to take the monk - I guess I just have this thing against evil-aligned characters. My main question would be if I dump points into the cross-class skills of Open Lock and Disarm Traps as a ranger, can I do them effectively enough? Or would Sharwyn's skills be alot better to do those? I know Tomi is the rogue of the group, but he strikes me as being annoying. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
ElvenKing

Yuusuke · Post by **Yuusuke** » Wed Jul 03, 2002 8:00 am

You can still be effective if you toss enough points into those skills, but it's expensive, and rangers already have so many other skills they need to invest in.

Sharwyn can't do jack about traps. Her lock picking skills are respectable but not exactly what I'd call groin-grabbingly good. I wouldn't take Tomi though, since you are an archer, not a tanking-ranger. Tomi's kind of weak on the Hit Point side, kind of REALLY weak. I usually eat traps anyways. Rangers with d10 shouldn't have too much trouble with taking trap damage.

You can always clear a dungeon with whomever you want, and then use Recall to pick up Tomi/Sharwyn to go back and unlock all the chests. A pain in the ass, I know. Damn this single henchman crap.

ElvenKing · Post by **ElvenKing** » Wed Jul 03, 2002 1:22 pm

Sounds like you have some experience with playing a Ranger! I used to love playing them in BG2, but I'm finding it a bit tougher with the 3rd Edition rule changes. Any advice as to which skills are must haves? Or which ones are a complete waste of time to spend anything on? Ideally I would like this guy to be a silent hunter/deadly marksman type.

Initial stats on creation:
14 STR - Can melee if needed
16 DEX - To be increased to 18 after first 2 stat increases
10 CON - He's an elf so I want him to be a little less hardy
14 INT - For the skill bonuses; plus I hate dumb characters
14 WIS - For maximum ranger spells
10 CHA - Average enough personality

Anyways, I'm finding all the choices a little overwhelming so any tips you may have would be greatly welcomed.
Thanks,
ElvenKing

Mathurin · Post by **Mathurin** » Wed Jul 03, 2002 1:49 pm

For low armor characters that wield 2 weapons, like fighter/rogues or rangers I find the parry skill a must have. AC doesnt mean a lot if you can parry the attacks before they damage you. I keep my skill maxed in it and my ranger/rogue that Im taking through the game solo is doing rather well for himself. I love set traps too. Helps to thin down the lesser baddies by setting several traps then entering a room and leading the back over my traps. Then I just stand there in parry mode and wittle the remainder down. Its one of my favorite tactics.