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I Still Miss My Sacred Purification feat....

But i have been wondering to make a totally new party for the Soz...and really try something i havent before. So a heavy Ecl Party. Can it make the campaign?

I understand max lvl can be like 17-20 for normal pc's, depending on numbers and how much grind you bother to do. So a 4 man heavy (2 EcL ) can still reack lvl 17-18 ? Get lvl 9 spells ?

That the initial battles will be much harder is just pure fun, and i made a test party with 4 yanti characters...the battles after the shipwreck was still easily doable with some planning/micromanagment.

In Icewind dale 2, always played with half my party heavy Ecl, usually a Deep Gnome and 2 Drows. My (IWD2) favorite party was a human Druid leading a ragged bunch of (ECL) misfits around the North

But i see planning a head is a must and some help/input would be delightful. My initial thoughts are
1: Deep Gnome Rouge 1/Illusionist 5/Assassin 8+ /Arkane trickster 2+
2: Yan-Ti Spirit Shaman 6+ / Stormlord 10
3: Yan-Ti Warlock x / Hellfire 3
4: Yan-ti OR Drow Wizard 5+ OR Sorceror 6+ / Arkane Scholar OR Eldritch Knight 10

Maybe Also a lvl in Paladin Late for Sorceror Builds ?

The idea was to make a party that fulfill each others role so good that the ECL penalties wouldnt make a difference. Deep Gnome obviously High Ac build, The StormLord Max Pain / Meele Oriented.
ANy thought & insights would be welcome

I tried an all yuan-ti party. The party was strong in the beginning owing to the inate abilities, strong enough to advance. But it was a little more difficult to get the power curve so you can farm wandering encounters. Then I level squatted. I let the rogue archery backstabber damage dealer level and he was also the Overland Map dude, so I got loot. But the other party members I left at (relatively) low level so we got more xp. Then I farmed the chult map up to pretty high level. You can only see how high level you are at by your unsquatted character. On the sword coast map I raised my AC tank up so that he had enough AC to tank all the wandering encounters but I still did the damage mostly with the rogue sneak attacker.

I never finished the game but the squatted party level was 17 for Umoja and 15 for the Yuan-ti when I kicked Umoja out (pick up later at later battles) and then I gained even more levels and xp due to a four person squatted party.

A lot of people talk about 16 as very high level and I had barely done quests in the SC just squatting the map. All Yuan-ti. So I was one higher (with human Umoja) than the end game party and just one away to get my Yuan-ti all to level 16. My tank was awesome nothing could hit him. But once you unsquat, yeah yuan-ti would be hard to level up.

The hardest part is the beginning and ending because the beginning you struggle to be able to kill off wandering monsters and the end is hard to xp (after unsquatting).

Could you share some light on your High AC tank ? How did you build him ? Feats ? just Curious as to how a high AC is made in NWN2 ...i am familiar from IWD2 with high Ac builds but Spells and feats work different and i am not so used to them.

It was a long time since last i played NWN 2, and i never finished OC nor SOz, but i was at the very end of both campaigns.

So far my Deep Gnome Rouge 1/Wiazard 1 has an AC of 27 :
Combat Expertise +3
Sasanis Ring +1
Dex +4
Chain Shirt +4
Deep Gnome +4
Natural Armor +1 (from Wizard Spell Mage Armor)
My Druid can cast Barkskin, would give +2 more AC for a total of 29. I think it is pretty high for a lvl 2 Character


Does the Spells Mage Armor & Shield stack i wonder ? hmm must find out

Mulligan wrote:
But i have been wondering to make a totally new party for the Soz...and really try something i havent before. So a heavy Ecl Party. Can it make the campaign?



But i see planning a head is a must and some help/input would be delightful. My initial thoughts are
1: Deep Gnome Rouge 1/Illusionist 5/Assassin 8+ /Arkane trickster 2+
2: Yan-Ti Spirit Shaman 6+ / Stormlord 10
3: Yan-Ti Warlock x / Hellfire 3
4: Yan-ti OR Drow Wizard 5+ OR Sorceror 6+ / Arkane Scholar OR Eldritch Knight 10

Maybe Also a lvl in Paladin Late for Sorceror Builds ?

The idea was to make a party that fulfill each others role so good that the ECL penalties wouldnt make a difference. Deep Gnome obviously High Ac build, The Sto rmLord Max Pain / Meele Oriented.
ANy thought & insights would be welcome

Yeah, it's not a good build.

This campaign is all about the final battle. (..only a few other battles are really difficult (..the one getting into Chult in particular), and yet still not anywhere near as difficult as the final battle.)

With the final battle, melee is almost useless without a TON of buffs - both defensively and offensively.

#1 is an absolute disaster, not terribly good at anything and way late doing it.
#2 *might* fullfill a melee role if it were a Cleric.
#3 will be "OK" but really not very good by himself (make another one and use them in combination and it works well).
#4 should be a Wizard.. because selecting the correct spells as a Sorcerer is really something you can't do. Arcane Scholar is the way to go (..again, melee is nearly worthless.)

The sad fact is though that spell resistance isn't worth it - at least in a level 20 context. For the most part enemies are often a fair-bit higher in level than your party and your the ones with level disadvantage, made worse by the racial penalty. (..they get all sorts of bonuses as a result - like penetrating spell resistance).

If you want spell resistance, get it from a Cleric and/or a Druid.

When it comes to SOZ - always think in multiples, i.e. same sort of attack on one enemy all at the same time. The reason for this is that most enemies have very high hit-points AND tend to melee for high damage on your party.

You really only need one tank, though 2 or more is preferable. They aren't there as a means of damaging, but rather to provide a good distraction. (..which usually means an AC buff for that Tank.)

To do that properly means waiting until your tank(s) are actually attacking the enemy (physically engaged), then - and ONLY then making your concentrated attack.

I've played parties of 1, 2, 3, 4, and (companions 5 & 6) before.

My favorite is 3, but 4's not bad either. (..3 levels a little faster, yet still has enough utility to be effective)

I only use companions for crafting, they are otherwise cardboard cut-outs that usually aren't built well - so why use them when you can make your own?



The best method of attack in the game is with multiple Bow attackers (..or Crossbow with Rapid Reload) - BUFFED.

In particular both bows/crossbows and arrows/bolts can be enchanted - improving attacks and damage substantially.

Warlocks in multiples aren't bad either, but they have difficulty overcoming spell resistance on occasion - so any party with them needs to do some serious grinding for experience points OR just needs to avoid using essences with the eldritch blasts against high resistance opponents (..i.e. Yuan-ti). Hellfire Warlock*s* are a good idea to get damage up, but you should have a Cleric available to provide a Deathward for both (..assuming you don't have Kaedrins installed).

The first party member you create should be your "overland map" character. They should have one level of Rogue, Able Learner, and a fair number of experience points at each level - say 5 or more total. This is the character that will leverage their Hide or Move Silently skill points to act as the overland map "guide" - so that you can travel on the map without getting constantly attacked. They are also needed for disabling traps and unlocking locks.

Scottg wrote:Yeah, it's not a good build.

#1 is an absolute disaster, not terribly good at anything and way late doing it.
#2 *might* fullfill a melee role if it were a Cleric.
#3 will be "OK" but really not very good by himself (make another one and use them in combination and it works well).
#4 should be a Wizard.. because selecting the correct spells as a Sorcerer is really something you can't do. Arcane Scholar is the way to go (..again, melee is nearly worthless.)

So Ok, i guess you feel the Wizard part is why nr 1 is so hopeless, but have you thought of:
1. Right outside first city are Samarachian Patrols, after a few fights on those you get the Guard Leather, a Studded Leather with - 15% Spell Failure rate. Splendid for Rouge/wizard Builds, High AC oriented.
2. Spells on This Character will be tailored to fit the theme. Mirror Images, Invisibilities, Buffs, Concelaments, Immunities, Shields etc. All Spells that will Either Hurt enemies that actually Hit (fire shield etc) or make sure that enemies wont ever hit you, or maybe only on a natural 19-20.
3 How Much sneak attack does one need ? this will have 7d6 worth of it. On tops of all the other enchantments i put on my weapoons.

Originally i played ( long time ago) an Arkane Trickster. I liked him a lot but yes, i felt he came into power much too late. This was probably because i had him in too many roles, both main Arkane Spellcaster, main Rouge, Main Item Creator, and Overland Map Boss.

What about a More dedicated Assassin Build, say Rouge 3 / Ranger 2 / Asassin 8(+) and then some filler stuff ?
Dual wielding Kukri's, or one Kukri + Shield for AC and selecting Archery as Ranger.

Dobble Warlock Combos: I really cant see why this is any better than any other Class in Dobbles. 2 Sorcerors are also increadible more efficient than just one, 2 Druids with 2 Dinos and Chain Lightning can easily kill most encounters. The point is, this is no Fun for me. I want a party of 4 with different classes in it. If the game had you Build a 6 man Party, Like BG2 / IWD2, dobble sets of certain classes would be more to my liking.

The ECL is only in test face one right now, My regular party is:
1: Halfling (2 feats) rouge 3 Ranger 2 Assassin 10 (rouge 3 ranger 2 atm)
2: Human CLeric 5 / Doomguide 10 Evil/Sun Domained (tnx Scottg) ( Cleric 5 atm)
3: Dwarven Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 1/Arkane Scholar 10 (1 lvl slower progression but more feats early) (W5 atm)
4: Half Orc Fighter 4 Barbarian 5 Frenzied Berzerker 10

I am sure almost every one have made such a party, it is pretty Vanilla, yet Differnt from my old party except the Doomguide. In one old setup i tried Stormlord ag got quite fond of It.

My ( as i recall ) old Party was Arkane Trickster Wizard Rouge, a Grey Orc Monk, a DoomGuide Vanilla, and a Paladin. Pretty Vanilla all of it, the Monk beeing at higher lvls the supreme damage dealer. The poor Paladin could never compete with him

Yes, I've thought about everything with this game (or perhaps almost everything). (..with around 15 games, for what isn't a good game.)

With the possible exception of Theiving skills, other skills, and overland map travel, that character will be nearly worthless - attacks will be pitiful, when they need to be good. You won't even get HiPS until near the end, and even as a sneak attack the attack numbers will be wretched (..in that the AC/Shield bonus of most monsters is low, whereas other forms of AC are much higher.) Yeah, kind of brutal of me to say that, but that's what it will be like for that character.

Note: my one solo game was with an Arcane Trickster (..but I started him at level 6 instead of 4). Not something I'd recommend for an racial penalty build.

Sneak Attack damage really doesn't "cut-it" in this game. Not only are many immune, but the hit-points of opponents are just huge in this game (and it gets progressively worse). That's not to say that an Assassin can take-out secondary targets with HiPS, but there are MUCH better ways of doing that. (..yup, played a game with an Assassin as well - but it's really more of a solo character because of the way Death Attack requires nothing to be in attack mode.)

Warlocks have several things going for them.

No resting needed - ALWAYS good to go.

Eldritch Chain with essences.. As a single strike it often won't hit all of the enemies and effect them with the "essence", but with two Warlocks it tends to "get everyone". Just a 1st level essence like Draining Blast makes a HUGE difference with most enemies in this game - slowing everyone down (..will save essence vs. fortitude save opponents + it's not a mental effect). The effect is only one round, but you hit them again and again, and they are constantly "slowed" until the damage kills them. It's just something you have to try to get a "feel for".

Ranged Touch Attack calculation as opposed to other calculations makes it easier to hit most opponents.

Infinite Summons (Dead Walk) to use as distractions. 2 last a lot longer than 1.

Chilling Tentecales - HUGE plus. when cast again and again. With two of them you can cover a much larger area in one round. (..and their best when overlaped as well).



Clerics and Undead - there are very few Undead in this game, and NONE at the major battles (with a possible optional exception of little note).

Clerics and Domains - be extremely careful about which you choose. A pure Cleric with the Animal Domain and the Dino pet is very powerful. Additionally, look at the spells from the various domains - particularly in replicating the better spells of Wizards/Sorcerers. As long as you have a very high wisdom build, Weird in particular is a very nice spell for the final battle (and that domain's special ability might come in very handy). Evard's is also VERY nice for certain fights in this game (..which is like chilling tentacles).

AC tank:

bard 10
rdd 4
NWnine 1 (for heal skill) Also buffs dinos I think with the aura
pale master 1

Curse Song also helps and here is the build below
http://nwn2db.com/build/?115045

All I know is that this guy (who wore the best AC gear) did not get hit much and tanked the super troll by the waterfall.