I played the original NWN awhile back and had some fun but never bought the expansions. I'm thinking about getting them now with the Diamond pack and was curious what some interesting builds are that I should try.
I don't really want to try EVERYTHING to find something I like, so I figured maybe I could get some ideas from here. My normal course in RPGs is to follow a magic path but I don't mind going the physical path either. I've never had much success mastering sneak attack methods (I think I'm just too impatient) so I'm not as interested in a rogue-based character (but don't mind having some rogue abilities).
I play solo since I don't have enough time to devote to multiplayer, and I'm not worried about getting the most powerful build or power leveling. I'm just looking for something fun, reasonable powerful and well balanced enough that I won't screw the build by making one mistake.
And I don't need you to give me level-by-level, feat-by-feat instructions (unless you really want to). Maybe something like start as a XXXX and put 4-5 levels in YYYY. Or if there are particular feats/skills in the expansions that make a big difference in gameplay or "getting 4 levels in bard are awesome because you get ZZZZ". Any advice in the above arenas would be appreciated to jump-start me getting back into the game.
And I know there are lots of user-created additions, and I'll plan on working on them after I get back in the swing of things.
Advice for NWN going to SoU/HotU
if you want a fun character which is good at magic and also can handle his/herself in more physical stuff, try a wizard/red dragon disciple (10 level rdd, rest wizard). or if you want to do pure magic, a pure sorceror is very effective, although can be a little hard early on so you will need to use your henchman. playing hotu as a pure sorceror can be a lot of fun 
I'm not certain but I think the previous poster meant RDD/sorc since a prerequisite for RDD is at least one level in bard or sorc. So the more common build is something like x Sorc / 10 RDD. If I were to make that build I'd do something like Sorc 10-15 / RDD 10 / Fighter x, for a heavy magic spellsword.
Another common build is Fighter / wizard / Arcane Archer but theres so much flexibility there and depending on what you want your strengths to be I couldnt recommend any numbers.
Or do you like divine magic in which case I'd go something like Paladin 3 / Cleric 8-12 / CoT 8-12. Your saving throws would be through the roof and you'd have good magic and fighting capabilities.
The most powerful magic user is undoubtedly a pure wizard or pure sorc though. Any multiclassing would surely weaken your spell casting abilities, most noteably the difficulty class of your spells and the number of spells. I prefer a wizard personally due to the bonus feats. If you take along a warrior type henchmen, you would sit in the back and devastate your foes with powerful magic.
Another common build is Fighter / wizard / Arcane Archer but theres so much flexibility there and depending on what you want your strengths to be I couldnt recommend any numbers.
Or do you like divine magic in which case I'd go something like Paladin 3 / Cleric 8-12 / CoT 8-12. Your saving throws would be through the roof and you'd have good magic and fighting capabilities.
The most powerful magic user is undoubtedly a pure wizard or pure sorc though. Any multiclassing would surely weaken your spell casting abilities, most noteably the difficulty class of your spells and the number of spells. I prefer a wizard personally due to the bonus feats. If you take along a warrior type henchmen, you would sit in the back and devastate your foes with powerful magic.
Thanks for the replies guys. A couple of questions:
1. If I mix Sorc, RDD and Fighter, which would you recommend starting out as?
2. If I went for pure wiz or sorc, would it make sense to get 2-3 levels of fighter for better hp?
3. I f I get 2-3 levels of a fighter to boost hp does that remove 2-3 levels that I can get as a sorc or does it just eat up the 2-3 levels of exp?
4. Is there somewhere that explains the rules of multi/dual classing well? I couldn't find any info on the GB NWN site.
Thanks again.
1. If I mix Sorc, RDD and Fighter, which would you recommend starting out as?
2. If I went for pure wiz or sorc, would it make sense to get 2-3 levels of fighter for better hp?
3. I f I get 2-3 levels of a fighter to boost hp does that remove 2-3 levels that I can get as a sorc or does it just eat up the 2-3 levels of exp?
4. Is there somewhere that explains the rules of multi/dual classing well? I couldn't find any info on the GB NWN site.
Thanks again.
the only thing that hinders how many levels you can get is the xp available. in the original campaign there is an xp cap so you can't get above level 20, but in hotu you can, in theory, get to level 40 (total level) but its more likely you will finish between level 25 and 30. taking a few levels as fighter would make life a little easier earlier on until your sorceror becomes more powerful, and if you do this i'd suggest alternating it so you take 1 fighter, 1 sorceror, 1 fighter, 1 sorceror and so on. also, i wouldn't take more than 2 or 3 levels as fighter as sorcerors become very powerful very quickly after a few levels and with the right mix of buffing and offensive spells.
as for rdd, you cannot level up as that until you meet certain pre-requisites as it is a prestige class. usually you will be at about level 8 or so before you can take rdd levels. (the main gamebanshee site for nwn has a lot of details about the classes and prestige classes)
in neverwinter nights, you can choose which class to level up as each time you level up (providing that you meet the requirements), however there is an xp penalty if your classes are ever more than 1 level apart (except prestige classes, they don't count towards any xp penalty) unless one of those classes is the favoured class for your race.
as for rdd, you cannot level up as that until you meet certain pre-requisites as it is a prestige class. usually you will be at about level 8 or so before you can take rdd levels. (the main gamebanshee site for nwn has a lot of details about the classes and prestige classes)
in neverwinter nights, you can choose which class to level up as each time you level up (providing that you meet the requirements), however there is an xp penalty if your classes are ever more than 1 level apart (except prestige classes, they don't count towards any xp penalty) unless one of those classes is the favoured class for your race.
[QUOTE=Darzog]
1. If I mix Sorc, RDD and Fighter, which would you recommend starting out as?
[/QUOTE]
For Fighter/Sorc/RDD I'd start out as the fighter as well for exactly the reasons mr_sir mentioned and also because there really is no good tank henchmen in the beginning of SoU. The benefit of starting as the sorc is that you will level faster because sorcs recieve an experience bonus in their first few levels to offset their early weaknesses.
[QUOTE=Darzog]
2. If I went for pure wiz or sorc, would it make sense to get 2-3 levels of fighter for better hp?
[/QUOTE]
If your main reason is for the extra HP I'd recommend against it. Yes you will have low HP the first few levels as a pure sorc, but you will hire a henchmen to be your front line so just focus on keeping him alive and the damage won't come your way. If your reason is to get a higher attack bonus, to become proficient with more weapons (a longbow for example for when you have no spells) and also to get more feats in archery, then maybe its ok. You could always be a pure elven sorc though and get longbow and longsword proficiency for free, just an idea.
[QUOTE=Darzog]
3. I f I get 2-3 levels of a fighter to boost hp does that remove 2-3 levels that I can get as a sorc or does it just eat up the 2-3 levels of exp?
[/QUOTE]
Not exactly sure what you mean here, it sorta does both of those. The absolute character level maximum, for unmodded NwN, is 40 so yes if you take 3 fighter levels and use your character in other modules you will at most be able to take 37 sorc levels.
[QUOTE=Darzog]
4. Is there somewhere that explains the rules of multi/dual classing well? I couldn't find any info on the GB NWN site.
Thanks again.[/QUOTE]
Do a search for "Neverwinter nights Grimoire" its a player made manual that has a little section on multiclassing. There's also a NwN wiki on the net that attempts to give some insight. You will need to understand multiclassing for when you choose your race and do the actual multiclassing.
1. If I mix Sorc, RDD and Fighter, which would you recommend starting out as?
[/QUOTE]
For Fighter/Sorc/RDD I'd start out as the fighter as well for exactly the reasons mr_sir mentioned and also because there really is no good tank henchmen in the beginning of SoU. The benefit of starting as the sorc is that you will level faster because sorcs recieve an experience bonus in their first few levels to offset their early weaknesses.
[QUOTE=Darzog]
2. If I went for pure wiz or sorc, would it make sense to get 2-3 levels of fighter for better hp?
[/QUOTE]
If your main reason is for the extra HP I'd recommend against it. Yes you will have low HP the first few levels as a pure sorc, but you will hire a henchmen to be your front line so just focus on keeping him alive and the damage won't come your way. If your reason is to get a higher attack bonus, to become proficient with more weapons (a longbow for example for when you have no spells) and also to get more feats in archery, then maybe its ok. You could always be a pure elven sorc though and get longbow and longsword proficiency for free, just an idea.
[QUOTE=Darzog]
3. I f I get 2-3 levels of a fighter to boost hp does that remove 2-3 levels that I can get as a sorc or does it just eat up the 2-3 levels of exp?
[/QUOTE]
Not exactly sure what you mean here, it sorta does both of those. The absolute character level maximum, for unmodded NwN, is 40 so yes if you take 3 fighter levels and use your character in other modules you will at most be able to take 37 sorc levels.
[QUOTE=Darzog]
4. Is there somewhere that explains the rules of multi/dual classing well? I couldn't find any info on the GB NWN site.
Thanks again.[/QUOTE]
Do a search for "Neverwinter nights Grimoire" its a player made manual that has a little section on multiclassing. There's also a NwN wiki on the net that attempts to give some insight. You will need to understand multiclassing for when you choose your race and do the actual multiclassing.
Thanks all for the info. I think I'm pretty well set now. Based on your input and some other stuff I've found I think I understand now. One of the main things that was confusing me was when I heard multi-class I was still thinking about the old D&D rules where you would start as a Fighter/Thief (for example) and 1/2 exp would go to each class. Now it all makes more sense.
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promethius9594
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No No No No No
if you're looking to build an all around fun character and want to actually get to level 40, here's how you go about it (my character, anyway, who is really fun to play and currently owns anything wandering the neverwinter, unrentide OR underdark regions)
Novus Magisto (current level 22):
Half Elf (there's a good reason i did this. you get ALOT of the bonuses of being an elf AND an added benefit that most people forget: when you multi-class, your highest class doesnt count against you for penalties. That means if you want to do a character like mine with RDD which also doesnt count against you, then you NEVER suffer XP penalties)
3 levels sorc
1 level barbarian (good for added weapons, a few bonus hitpoints to buff, armor if you use still spells, etc)
17 levels sorc
1 level Red Dragon Disciple
Here's the logic: the sorc is great for power house spells. My current sorc wastes just about anything on the map with the snap of a finger. Barbarian gives you great added skills AND alot of hit points, which, i dont care what anyone says, makes the opening game ALOT easier. PLUS, barbarian gives you barbarian rage (eventually useful). at level 20 of sorc, you no longer get to learn any new spells. you only get to trade them out. Your pixie which you will use to open chests etc, is good enough at this point to disarm and unlock anything. At this point, that's why i'm switching to RDD, because leveling up in sorc after 20 levels seems kinda pointless and, well, frankly, i want wings that don't do anything.
DON'T multiclass by going back and forth in levels between fighter and sorc. you'll actually be ALOT weaker that way because it will take you twice as long to get good spells like fireball, etc that you need as a sorc to be useful. I focused my sorc on blasting area of effect spells and a few necromancy things just to be quick killers with very little attention to buffing. You'll find objects in the game which give you just about any buff spell effect you like, so don't waste the spell slots. mage armor is only useful b/c you can cast it on your familiar and your summoned creatures (yes, you should have a summon creature spell too)
Main feats to focus on are things like spell penetration, empower spell, maximize spell, still spell (if you like armor, i wear robes), and combat casting (or whatever its called in NWN). You should work to get a balanced character, but your charisma should be up to 20 as soon as you can. Again, no reason to go beyond that for charisma. Yes it makes your spells stronger, no, characters in the game don't really resist a level 20 charisma anyway.
Where am i going with my character? no more sorc levels, that's for sure. I'm taking him up to 10 RDD levels now, and when i've done that i'm going to take him to lvl 40 with Barbarian levels, so it'll be
20 Sorc
10 RDD
10 Barbarian
With the equipment i've got now (and will have by that point) i'll be sitting at an AC of about 50 without even putting on a suit of armor. So much for needing still spell, eh? also, my vampiric longsword, enserlik, pretty much rules the day as a hand weapon, as does my composite longbow +3... now that i think of it, maybe after i RDD out to ten, i'll take a level of wiz just to alternate between barb and arcane archer...
if you're looking to build an all around fun character and want to actually get to level 40, here's how you go about it (my character, anyway, who is really fun to play and currently owns anything wandering the neverwinter, unrentide OR underdark regions)
Novus Magisto (current level 22):
Half Elf (there's a good reason i did this. you get ALOT of the bonuses of being an elf AND an added benefit that most people forget: when you multi-class, your highest class doesnt count against you for penalties. That means if you want to do a character like mine with RDD which also doesnt count against you, then you NEVER suffer XP penalties)
3 levels sorc
1 level barbarian (good for added weapons, a few bonus hitpoints to buff, armor if you use still spells, etc)
17 levels sorc
1 level Red Dragon Disciple
Here's the logic: the sorc is great for power house spells. My current sorc wastes just about anything on the map with the snap of a finger. Barbarian gives you great added skills AND alot of hit points, which, i dont care what anyone says, makes the opening game ALOT easier. PLUS, barbarian gives you barbarian rage (eventually useful). at level 20 of sorc, you no longer get to learn any new spells. you only get to trade them out. Your pixie which you will use to open chests etc, is good enough at this point to disarm and unlock anything. At this point, that's why i'm switching to RDD, because leveling up in sorc after 20 levels seems kinda pointless and, well, frankly, i want wings that don't do anything.
DON'T multiclass by going back and forth in levels between fighter and sorc. you'll actually be ALOT weaker that way because it will take you twice as long to get good spells like fireball, etc that you need as a sorc to be useful. I focused my sorc on blasting area of effect spells and a few necromancy things just to be quick killers with very little attention to buffing. You'll find objects in the game which give you just about any buff spell effect you like, so don't waste the spell slots. mage armor is only useful b/c you can cast it on your familiar and your summoned creatures (yes, you should have a summon creature spell too)
Main feats to focus on are things like spell penetration, empower spell, maximize spell, still spell (if you like armor, i wear robes), and combat casting (or whatever its called in NWN). You should work to get a balanced character, but your charisma should be up to 20 as soon as you can. Again, no reason to go beyond that for charisma. Yes it makes your spells stronger, no, characters in the game don't really resist a level 20 charisma anyway.
Where am i going with my character? no more sorc levels, that's for sure. I'm taking him up to 10 RDD levels now, and when i've done that i'm going to take him to lvl 40 with Barbarian levels, so it'll be
20 Sorc
10 RDD
10 Barbarian
With the equipment i've got now (and will have by that point) i'll be sitting at an AC of about 50 without even putting on a suit of armor. So much for needing still spell, eh? also, my vampiric longsword, enserlik, pretty much rules the day as a hand weapon, as does my composite longbow +3... now that i think of it, maybe after i RDD out to ten, i'll take a level of wiz just to alternate between barb and arcane archer...
[QUOTE=promethius9594]DON'T multiclass by going back and forth in levels between fighter and sorc. you'll actually be ALOT weaker that way because it will take you twice as long to get good spells like fireball, etc that you need as a sorc to be useful. I focused my sorc on blasting area of effect spells and a few necromancy things just to be quick killers with very little attention to buffing. You'll find objects in the game which give you just about any buff spell effect you like, so don't waste the spell slots. mage armor is only useful b/c you can cast it on your familiar and your summoned creatures (yes, you should have a summon creature spell too)[/QUOTE]
NWN and its expansions are so ridiculously easy anyway that you don't need to worry about being slightly weaker at first while multiclassing. By alternating between levels you avoid the XP penalty which means you level up faster anyway
NWN and its expansions are so ridiculously easy anyway that you don't need to worry about being slightly weaker at first while multiclassing. By alternating between levels you avoid the XP penalty which means you level up faster anyway
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promethius9594
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Ningengirai
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[QUOTE=promethius9594]
3 levels sorc
1 level barbarian (good for added weapons, a few bonus hitpoints to buff, armor if you use still spells, etc)
17 levels sorc
1 level Red Dragon Disciple[/QUOTE]
Okay... maybe I'm just stupid, but how did you manage to get three classes PLUS a Prestige Class? I know that you can either take 2 Classes/1 Prestige Class or 3 Classes, but I've never seen anyone get 4 classes. Did I miss something?
3 levels sorc
1 level barbarian (good for added weapons, a few bonus hitpoints to buff, armor if you use still spells, etc)
17 levels sorc
1 level Red Dragon Disciple[/QUOTE]
Okay... maybe I'm just stupid, but how did you manage to get three classes PLUS a Prestige Class? I know that you can either take 2 Classes/1 Prestige Class or 3 Classes, but I've never seen anyone get 4 classes. Did I miss something?
{ De Die Nocteque }
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Ningengirai
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Cuchulain82
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[QUOTE=Darzog]I played the original NWN awhile back and had some fun but never bought the expansions. I'm thinking about getting them now with the Diamond pack and was curious what some interesting builds are that I should try.[/QUOTE]
Hey Darzog, did you ever get to gaming? I am actually in a similar position- I just bought the expansions and started SoU. I've never played through before and I had a killer time deciding what type of character to go with.
I like melee characters and dislike spellcaters generally, so you and I differ in that regard. I played through the original campaign as an elf Ranger/Rogue. I wanted to have a dual-weilding, backstabbing terror, and it worked. I ended up getting to level 9 in each.
For SoU, I wanted a character that was similar but a little more beefy. I also really liked the Red Dragon Disciple. So, this is what I've settled on: A bard/fighter/RDD. It makes a lot of sense- a few levels of bard for the skills and access to the RDD, fighter for the feats and combat ability (because I want to be a heavy), and RDD to beef up my abilities and give me a few non-fighter tricks (breath weapon, etc.).
Other ideas I thought of:
Elf Rogue/Fighter/Blackguard
Elf Rogue/Blackguard/Assassin (gets around XP penalty nicely)
That's about as far as I've gotten. I'm sure there are many more.
Hey Darzog, did you ever get to gaming? I am actually in a similar position- I just bought the expansions and started SoU. I've never played through before and I had a killer time deciding what type of character to go with.
I like melee characters and dislike spellcaters generally, so you and I differ in that regard. I played through the original campaign as an elf Ranger/Rogue. I wanted to have a dual-weilding, backstabbing terror, and it worked. I ended up getting to level 9 in each.
For SoU, I wanted a character that was similar but a little more beefy. I also really liked the Red Dragon Disciple. So, this is what I've settled on: A bard/fighter/RDD. It makes a lot of sense- a few levels of bard for the skills and access to the RDD, fighter for the feats and combat ability (because I want to be a heavy), and RDD to beef up my abilities and give me a few non-fighter tricks (breath weapon, etc.).
Other ideas I thought of:
Elf Rogue/Fighter/Blackguard
Elf Rogue/Blackguard/Assassin (gets around XP penalty nicely)
That's about as far as I've gotten. I'm sure there are many more.
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