Suggestions, advice and help // playing NWN with f/r

[ensaro dai]

As for starters, I'm quite new to the new D&D rules.. Used to be playing BG with about 8 different characters, but couldn't be arsed to play NWN. Well NWN II changed my mind...


So here I am, looking at feats, prestige classes, skills and more of this unknown stuff (to me, that is) that i just can't figure out.

As for the character creation, I'd like to play with a F/R, I always liked backstabbing and the fact that after the hit, you are not as vulnerable as a rogue single class would be. A sketch of what I'd like my character to be like would be this:

As many attacks per round as possible, preferable not with simple/lights weapons. I do not care if the weapon I use is double handed, double wield or single handed (specializing to something like a crithitter would also be nice).

Instead of many HP to take hits, many feats/skills (whatever) to avoid getting hiT (so evasion, dodge, tumble etc.).

The major feat I need from being a thief is the backstabbing, I'd really like to be able to as much damage as possible and be able to continue the fight in my favour while finishing the opponent. The focus of this character is on killing ONE very strong opponent instead of killing as much enemies as possible.

I've also read that the INT modifies the number of skills you can choose, as for my build the main focus is on sneak attack damage and battling, not lockpicking or setting traps. Is this a stupid thing to do?

Should i go F/R or R/F if i want to concentrate on the melee fighting part (I think the first one, but someone here might have a different opinion what may sound quite right).

Now I need advice, I was thinking of a Wood Elf as class, as the modifiers for STR and DEX are very useful and taking into account that dodging and evading will be more of my style that taking hits, the CON modifier isn't that negative for my character.

But than comes the hard part, what feats to pick, what skills to take? As for my stats it would be something like this:

STR 17
DEX 19
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 8
CHA 8

(correct me if I'm wrong with,I'm doing this by heart ).

I hope I gave a vague but sufficient enough description of what i want my character to be, now you guys do the math if u want!

Thanks,

[Mordraken]

If you want to play around with character creation, you can check out the Character Builder at the NeverWinter Nights 2 Vault:
CharacterBuildCalculator for NWN2 (CBC2) -- Neverwinter Nights 2 Vault

As for your stats distribution, your low INT will restrict the number of skills you can have, so I would increase that. You can lower strength as you will get some +str items late in Act 1. You can also lower Dex since you're paying a hefty cost to increase it all the way to 19 from the beginning.

As for order (F/T or T/F) it doesn't matter as you can level up in both character classes throughout the game. The only thing that will impact it is race (making sure that it's a preferred class of that race - check the manual for more info there). Personally I'd recommend going thief first just for the skills you get (which are handy in the tutorial).

The biggest question you will have is: How much Thief vs. Fighter levels to pick up. Higher thief levels give you much more back-stab damage, but higher fighter levels give you better BAB and more feats. I think by playing around with the character builder, you should be able to find the optimal configuration for your play style.

[Ur_Vile_Wedge]

Here are some of my ideas....... Dunno how helpful they will be.

Pumping up your strength that high is mostly a waste of points. Because you're a rogue, most of your damage comes from backstabbing. Think about it this way. Pumping your strength will increase your to hit in melee, but only if it's higher than your dexterity (Assuming you take weapon finesse, which I recommend for every rogue) and your damage. The percentage increase to damage will be negligeable, since it won't help your backstab, which is where the real value lies. Dex, on the other hand will increase, your to hit, your initative value, your reflex save, and your AC.

Furthermore, you cannot afford to dump INt and CHA. This game is like BG2 or KOTOR. It has to be the main character, not anyone else, who talks to the NPCS. So totally dumpnig your interpersonal skills is not really an option. Also, given the dynamics of point buy, it's probably better to spread your pluses across the board and use items and stat boosts later to make yourself uberpowered.

I would recommend something like this (although I am not calculating precisely here)

Take a Moon Elf.

Str 12
Dex 16 (18 with boost)
Con 14 (12 with penalty)
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 14

This will give good skill usage and interpersonal ability, and you don't sacrofoce too much fighting power, except early in the game, which isn't *that* hard.

Now, if it were me, I'd take 1 rogue level at the start, to get the massive skill influx, then 4 fighter levels, and then all rogue. This allows for me to take weapon specialization, probably with rapier (It's a finesseble weapon, as well as one that has a good crit range) Feats to look for are weapon focus rapier, weapon specialization rapier, improved crit rapier, and the two weapon fighting feats. Run around with two rapiers and kick ass.
All stat improvements should be to dex, wear light armor.

Hope I'm somewhat helpful.