This forum is to be used for all discussions pertaining to Obsidian Entertainment's Neverwinter Nights 2, the Mask of the Betrayer expansion pack, the Storm of Zehir expansion pack, and the Mysteries of Westgate adventure pack.
llmercll wrote:
And About the invisibility...the defense bonuses are still there, but the actually hide effect is whats bugged? if thats the case I don't care as much since I only really used it for the defense bonus from 50% concealment.
I'll get those bonuses at the character elvel, regardless of the class im leveling up? I'm unsure of how feats work. once every third level until level 20 then every second level? and in order to get the +1 feat at level 23 would I need to level up my wizard class when I'm character level 23? does the same go for the +1DC? would I need to level up the wizard on that level to get the bonus?
For regular Invisibility (2nd level) you get the 50% concealment and non-targeting as long as you don't attack OR cast *ANY* spell (..which is not the case with the Warlock Invocation version). You maintain the 50% concealment with Greater Invisibility if you do attack or cast any spell (..but still loose the non-targeting). BTW, Greater Invisibility can be crafted into a wand (as can the lesser variety).
You'll get those feats at those character levels regardless of which class you level-up in. You won't however get the same epic feats offered depending on your class (..but in the realm of Wizard-type classes they are pretty much the same).
+1 DC (23, 26, 29) to all spells for Wizards + Palemasters, ASoCK, Arcane Trickster, Red Wizard. I think this also goes for EK's and Harper Agents excepting their 1st level (unless you have the feat Practiced Spell Caster Wizard). For these 2 classes it might push it up to 24, 27, 30, unless you have BOTH classes (25, 28), OR you have the Practiced Spell Caster feat.
You can cast this thing layer upon layer (rather like a Warlock's Chilling Tentacles), on the field of battle. Unless the opponent has damage resistance to Bludgeoning damage (like a lot of Undead), then chances are they will take a LOT of damage very quickly if they pass through such a "patch of nasty blackness" (with a low AC). It also has a pretty decent chance of paralysis (..with multiple layers). Without multiple layers it's basically a useless spell. Duration and spell power is still good with this in "wand" form. Even high AC types can get "snagged" by this spell (..where a 5% chance quickly improves with "layers"). :mischief:
Against single-targets, Flame Arrow is pretty sweet as long as the opponent doesn't have Evasion or Improved Evasion AND makes the Reflex save. Saves (without the Evasions) usually result in an average of 36 damage per casting. Double that if they don't make the save and don't have Improved Evasion. Lighting Bolt is also good.
If neither Evard's nor Flame Arrow work, then you can always resort to Issac's lesser Missile Storm, particularly if the target is moved away from other opponents.
Ice Storm, Wall of Fire, and Fireball are also good offensive spells for crafting into wands.
hmm so wands are pretty important. would craft weapon be the skill to make them?
and just a quick little question. I noticed there are are good and evil convo options, something I didn't see much of in NWN, but often in KOTOR. Can acting evil actually change my alignment? does your alignment mean much in this game or just an RP thing?
I ask because I noticed there are numbers that go up and down next to my alignment, and I killed the brothers in the beginning, which was pretty evil =p
llmercll wrote:hmm so wands are pretty important. would craft weapon be the skill to make them?
and just a quick little question. I noticed there are are good and evil convo options, something I didn't see much of in NWN, but often in KOTOR. Can acting evil actually change my alignment? does your alignment mean much in this game or just an RP thing?
I ask because I noticed there are numbers that go up and down next to my alignment, and I killed the brothers in the beginning, which was pretty evil =p
1.No skill is need to craft wands, only the feat: Craft Wand
2.Alignment really doesn't mean much, only a few dialog diferences and epilogs. Also it doesn't change very quickly either, but I recall there being a redemption quest for evil characters that gives a big jump.
"That dead... whatever that thing was, is really gross, but Hawaii is still very nice."
Do you really think that Practised Spellcaster counts for the DC bonus? It only adds caster levels, not fullfledged class levels. In an earlier post, you seemed under the impression it also added spells per day/known. It shouldn't do that, as far as P&P is concerned.
I don't know how NWN2 handles it, though.
llmercll wrote:I noticed there are are good and evil convo options, something I didn't see much of in NWN, but often in KOTOR. Can acting evil actually change my alignment? does your alignment mean much in this game or just an RP thing?
Alignment governs few things in the game. Mostly you can be what you choose to be, all for the sake of role playing. But in some cases, you will need to stick to a certain alignment. This is true if you are playing a alignment specific class, like a druid in which case you will need a neutral alignment to gain more levels in that class. And i cant quite recall, but i think as in kotor, there are a couple of items that are alignment based too. I could be wrong, having not played this game for a long time.
Love is just a chemical. We give it meaning by choice ~ Eleanor Lamb, Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams
GawainBS wrote:Do you really think that Practised Spellcaster counts for the DC bonus? It only adds caster levels, not fullfledged class levels. In an earlier post, you seemed under the impression it also added spells per day/known. It shouldn't do that, as far as P&P is concerned.
I don't know how NWN2 handles it, though.
Good question. Answer: I'm unsure. I'm not even absolutely sure that the wizard-specific prestige classes provide the DC bonus. (..the "caster level" specifically references hit dice, which generally references class level.)
If I get the time I'll do some testing.
This is becoming one of the better threads on nwn2 Wizards.. a fair bit of which you won't find elsewhere.
1. Harper Agents and EK's do NOT get the epic DC bonus on their 1st level, however
2. They DO get the epic DC bonus WITH Practiced Spell Caster.
3. Palemasters DO get the epic DC bonus with the 1st level (..note see next post for even levels of Palemaster).
and for the really interesting part:
Red Wizards not only get the epic DC bonus (as you'd expect), but they also get an ADDITIONAL DC bonus (at level one) ***FOR ALL SPELLS THEY CAN CAST*** (..not just their "school" of concentration). :mischief: (..note that this is contrary to what everyone else is stating, and yes - it was fully tested.)
Practiced Spellcaster adds (for the purpose of the epic DC bonus), to all class levels that are not continuation levels of the underlying class (i.e. Wizard in this case).
EX. Wizard as underlying class.
1st level of EK or Harper Agent, AND other classes like:
1. Assassin
2. Barbarian
3. Bard
4. Blackguard
5. Cleric
6. Divine Champion
7. Doomguide
8. etc..
It will do this for 4 of these class levels.
In ADDITION to the EK and Harper Agent's 1st level,
The Palemaster's levels 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 do NOT get the epic DC bonus without the Practiced Spell caster (Wizard) feat. Note that because the epic DC bonus ends at level *29* (and not 30), that IF you have the Practiced Spell Caster feat you will receive all 3 epic DC bonuses (assuming 20 levels of Wizard and 10 levels of Palemaster).
Practised Spellcaster doesn't add spells per day, right?
I.e. a Fighter 2/Wizard 3 with the feat only knows 2 first lvl spells & 1 second level spell (not counting INT), but would cast his Magic Missile at 3 missiles, or his Bull's Strength would last 5 minutes, while he wouldn't be able to memorize Fireballs yet?
A Wizard 29 Palemaster 1, where the Palemaster is selected before character level 20:
IS BETTER THAN A FULL LEVEL 30 WIZARD!
The reason:
(no, it's not skills - though that is *also* a reason)
..by selecting Palemaster before character level 20 - this "pushes" the Wizard's feat bonus from level 20 to level 21 - allowing the feat to be expended on an Epic feat.
Further, because the Wizard's bonus feat's at epic levels "tops out" at level 29 (for the 3rd and final Wizard bonus epic feat), this "pushes" the 3rd bonus feat to level 30 - i.e. you still get this final feat.
So I was wrong - selecting Palemaster, (before character level 20), WITHOUT the feat Able Learner can still be a *very* good thing.
GawainBS wrote:Practised Spellcaster doesn't add spells per day, right?
I.e. a Fighter 2/Wizard 3 with the feat only knows 2 first lvl spells & 1 second level spell (not counting INT), but would cast his Magic Missile at 3 missiles, or his Bull's Strength would last 5 minutes, while he wouldn't be able to memorize Fireballs yet?
Correct.
It neither increases your caster level for access to higher level spells, nor does it increase you spells cast per day (per level). (..it's that last part that I had previously stated incorrectly somewhere on this forum.)
It *can* increase the strength/duration of spells if those spells have a caster level component.
I've mentioned this somewhere before, but it's worth repeating here.
(.after extensive testing.)
Comparing full level 30 purist Wizard builds - AS LEVEL 30 characters.
A Red Wizard (must be Human and Specialist) vs. a Sun Elf *GENERALIST* Wizard 29/Palemaster 1 or simply a Wizard level 30,
..usually works-out to be fairly comparable in DC for the one particular spell School that a Red Wizard specializes in.
(Human starting with 18 Intelligence and the Sun Elf with 20 Intelligence.)
The *difference* however is that the Red Wizard has higher spell penetration, whereas the Sun Elf has higher DC for ***ALL*** the other spell schools.
Note that effective Spell Penetration can be achieved via spells (Assay Resistance, Spellbreach, Mordenkainen's Disjunction), AND THEY CAN BE *STACKED*,
..however, effectively increasing the DC is difficult and unpredictable (Enervation & Energy Drain, and other attribute specific lowering spells like Contagion for Fortitude saves or Mind Fog for Will saves).
(..personally I'd like to see an area effect spell (7th or 8th level) that was cumulative for lowering saves - starting low and increasing over time with a good duration.)
The reason they can be comparable is because of the quantity of Epic Feats for one character vs. the other. The additional *Epic* feats of the Sun Elf build can be chosen for Great Intelligence - which does stack with Intelligence modifiers. The lower level feats required for the Red Wizard - Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Penetration, can for the Sun Elf be substituted for the spell focuses that the specialist wizard receives for their school of concentration.
