So the Bioware Forums died, and along with it lots of nwn 1 related stuff. It included a character build I’d posted for the Original, Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark Expansions. Fortunately, I’d saved an early draft in a word document, so I thought I’d post them here now that Bioware is kaput. =)

Backstory: I recently [beginning of this year] had the compulsion to go back and play the single player campaign and expansions, solo, on Very Difficult, and see how I fared. I'd played NWN online for about 10 years, but had never really concentrated on single player.

Given the silly difficulty setting, my thinking was that my chosen character would best be a munchkin powerbuild, and it would need to be strong from beginning to end. After searching for a while, I found lots of nwn character builds and ideas catering to level 40 environments, but not many that concentrated on the single player campaigns. So I thought that I'd share this one!

The OC typically ends around level 17, SoU around level 13, and HoTU around 28, assuming Solo play, with all the side quests done, and no powerlevelling via spawning monsters/farming an infinitely spawning enemy/cheats/etc.

This build has two slightly different variants: One for the Original Campaign and one for the Expansions. They are virtually the same concept, with slight tweaks. This particular build plan is for the Original Campaign, and goes up to level 17. There's an item/play guide at the end, though I'll give plenty of alert and space for those that wish to play around with it for themselves.

It was designed with 1.69/Diamond Edition in mind, which I realise includes spells not available in the Original Campaign. These include from SoU: The Faerie Dragon Familiar, Several level 1 spells [Shield, Expeditious Retreat, True Strike], Bigby's hands and Isaac's Greater Missile Storm.

From HoTU: Several Weapon Buffs [Magic Weapon, Flame Weapon, Keen Greater Magic Weapon], and additional Damage Shields [Death Armour, Mestil’s Acid Sheath].

One can of course choose not to use these, but it is a lot more fun playing with them. =)

So here it is. It's a Battlemage. With a halberd.
 

Wizard(15), Fighter(1), Monk(1), Human

Alignment:
Any Lawful, required for the Monk Level.

Abilities:

STR: 16 (18)
DEX: 12
CON: 14
WIS: 8
INT: 16 (18)
CHA: 8

Specialised Spell School: Illusion.
The main reason for this is to gain access to the extra spell slot per level, without copping too much of a penalty from having a prohibited school. Illusion prohibits Enchantment, which mainly concerns will-based mind spells [such as Sleep and Confusion], for which there are alternatives in other schools.

Familiar: Faerie Dragon to start, then switch to Pixie once at Level 5 Wizard [i.e. Level 6].

Skills:

W 01: Concentration(4), Heal(4), Lore(4), Spellcraft(4), Taunt(2), Save(4),
F 02: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Save(7),
W 03: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(2), Save(8),
W 04: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(1), Save(10),
W 05: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(1), Save(12),
W 06: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(1), Save(14),
W 07: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(1), Save(16),
W 08: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(1), Save(18),
M 09: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Persuade(12), Tumble(10), Save(1),
W 10: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(2), Taunt(1),
W 11: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(1), Taunt(1),
W 12: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(1), Taunt(1),
W 13: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(1), Taunt(1),
W 14: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(1), Taunt(1),
W 15: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(1), Taunt(1),
W 16: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(1), Taunt(1), Save(1),
W 17: Concentration(1), Heal(1), Lore(1), Spellcraft(1), Taunt(1), Search (1).

Final Skills:
Concentration 20(22), Heal 20(19), Lore 20(24), Persuade 12(11), Search 1 (5), Spellcraft 20(24), Taunt 10(9), Tumble 10(11).

Feats:

Human: (Quick to Master)
01: Wizard(1): Power Attack, Cleave, {Scribe Scroll}
02: Fighter(1): Weapon Focus: Halberd
03: Wizard(2): Extend Spell
04: Wizard(3): STR+1, (STR=17)
05: Wizard(4)
06: Wizard(5): Knockdown, Empower Spell <-- SWITCH TO PIXIE FAMILIAR HERE.
07: Wizard(6)
08: Wizard(7): STR+1, (STR=18)
09: Monk(1): Great Cleave, {Evasion, Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist}
10: Wizard(8)
11: Wizard(9)
12: Wizard(10): INT+1, Spell Penetration, Maximize Spell, (INT=17)
13: Wizard(11)
14: Wizard(12)
15: Wizard(13): Improved Knockdown
16: Wizard(14): INT+1, (INT=18)
17: Wizard(15): Greater Spell Penetration

Spoilers below!




































First up, some pre-emptive answering of questions! [with answers containing potential spoilers].

Why human?
Because humans are great at multiclassing [3 base nwn classes and no xp penalty!] and get extra feats and skills. The SoU/HoTU version of this build is a dwarf, which provides a little extra tankiness in the early stages, but does not multiclass as much until into the 20's.

Why Halberd?
One word: Ravager. Any two-handed martial weapon is of course viable. But again: Ravager....

Why Wizard and not Sorceror?
Sorcerors get a lot of spell slots available for blasting everybody, but not many spells to choose from, which can hurt early on. Wizards get a larger spell selection, more feats and more skills than sorcerors do, plus the ability to learn spells from scrolls, which means a large variety of buffs and spells early game.

The main downside of a wizard is that they don’t have many spell slots, so they run out of firepower quickly. Not a problem if you have a Halberd!

Why Faerie Dragon and Pixie?
Improved Invisibility! Both familiars can be possessed, and amongst their special abilities is the Improved Invisibility spell, which can be cast on the player via their Radial Menu [right click on familiar: Left, Top Left, Right]. Improved Invisibilty provides both invisibility [useful for sneaking up on enemies] and 50% concealment thereafter [50% chance for enemies to miss, great for a tank]. It only lasts 1 minute per level however, so early on it is best used sparingly.

Faerie Dragons receive this at level 1 wizard, pixies receive this at level 5 wizard [level 6 character]. Pixies double as awesome lockpicks and trap disarmers, so I recommend switching to them once they’re able to cast Improved Invisiblity. In the event of no pixie lockpick, there’s always Power Attack, Flame weapon and Fireball…

Why the dabbing in Fighter and Monk?
Fighter gets Heavy Armour and Martial Weapon Proficiency, which when combined with a wizard’s abilities make for quite the melee tank early on. Monk is for Evasion, Tumble, and to make use of the many monk items available in the Original Campaign, including Robes of the Dark Moon in Chapter 2.

A Wizard with Heavy Armour: How do you cast any spells?
In armour, you try not to! One can take their armour off to buff outside of combat, then put it back on before running in to fight. In this regard, it helps to Quickbar your armour to remove/equip it easily. The spells Darkness and True Strike are also special in that they can be cast with no armour penalty!
At the beginning of Chapter 2, Robes of the Dark Moon [Permanent Haste!] become available, so it’s recommended to switch out of Heavy Armour and into these, which in the process makes major spellcasting in combat viable again.

Why no Discipline?
Never found much of a use for it. There are not many enemies that will attempt Knockdown or Disarm on the player if their AC is high enough, and even then, there are Dragon Slippers to prevent Knockdown.

Why no spell focus?
Because I like to gear this build with strength/immunity/resistance/regeneration gear over intelligence/spell slot gear, and because there are plenty of damage/crowd control spells with no save. That's not to say one can't cast spells that still have a save: Unfocused Color Spray, Fireball and Evard’s Tentacles are not to be underestimated.

Can this Ponce Mage actually hit anything with its' big stick?
Prepare to be surprised! Most single digit level monsters have less than 20 AC, which is low enough for a multitalented mage to consistently hit. There are also a lot of buffs available to wizards that help increase attack and melee damage, and by the time these spells start to level out in the teens, high level wizard spells kick in. Additionally there’s the Forge which can be used to create Ravager Halberds in Chapters 1 and 3.

POST SPLIT INTO PARTS. THIS IS PART 1.

PART 2.

Can this Ponce Mage actually survive direct melee confrontation on Very Difficult?

I'll put it this way:

LEVEL 4: Taking their armour off to buff, this little beauty can cast: Magic Weapon, Mage Armour, Shield, Protection from Alignment, Ghostly Visage, Flame Weapon and Bull's Strength on themself, many of which can be learnt from scrolls. With a Faerie Dragon, they also have access to Improved Invisibility.

DEFENSE [Plain Splint Mail]: 10 + 1 [dex] + 4 [mage armour] + 3 [shield] + 6 [splint mail] = 24 AC, Damage Reduction 5/+1, Spell Immunity Level 0 and 1, 50% concealment and Mind Immunity vs Evil things. Barkskin Potions boost this to 26 AC, and Speed Potions to 30 AC.

ATTACK [Plain Halberd]: Assuming bull strength hits 4 or 5 for 20 strength: 2 [bab] + 1 [magic weapon] +1 [weapon focus] + 5 [strength] = 9 AB, which is enough to consistently hit most low level enemies.

DAMAGE: 1-10 + 1 + 7 physical damage and 1-4 +3 flame weapon damage, totally 2-14 + 11 or 13-27 [average 20] damage per hit.

LEVEL 9: Builds on the above stats, [flame weapon and greater magic weapon adding increasing attack and damage as you level up] as well as a Permanent Haste item, Stoneskin, Fireballs/Evards, Knockdown and Great Cleave.

LEVEL 15: With a now well developed waking-up buff procedure, add in Lesser Mind Blank [Mind Immunity], Empowered Stat Boosts [strength/dexterity/constitution] and Shadow Shield [Damage Reduction 10/+3, which most opponents in SoU and the Original campaign cant pierce]. AC is around the low 30’s, with Negative Energy Burst and Interposing Hand on standby if another 12 or so are needed.

Strength can usually be maxed out to 30 by this point, so AB is in the low 20's. The combined physical/flame weapon damage is about 40 a hit, with a buffed and keened +4 Ravager halberd doing two types of elemental damage [Fire and Sonic].

And then it has Bigby’s Forceful Hand, Isaac’s Greater Missile Storm, and Chain Lightning. =D




Spells!

There are multiple ways to approach a difficult fight, so the more variety available the better. That said, melee is definitely more effective early on, so it’s better to focus on buffing spells to start, then branch out into offensive spells later [Chapter 2 onwards.]

Given the ability to use scrolls, and the abundance of scroll merchants throughout the campaigns, one should aim to cast everything they can. Tip: it is worth buying whatever scrolls you can, even if you are unable to cast them yet, to select other spells on level up that are otherwise unavailable. For e.g. in Chapter 1: Bulls Strength, Ghostly Visage, Darkness, Fireball and Haste can be bought from Eltoora, freeing up spells that are selected on level-up for the likes of Flame Weapon, Ultravision, Keen and Greater Magic Weapon.

Remember good old metamagic feats! These allow for more powerful versions of earlier spells to be cast at other levels. For e.g. Extended Haste is level 4, Maximised Bull's Strength is Level 5, Empowered Isaac's Greater Missile Storm is Level 8.

Example Level 7 Wizard [level 8 character] Spellbook:
Greater Magic Weapon [3], Extended Ghostly Visage [3], Bull’s Strength [2], Extended Shield [2], Mage Armour [1], Protection from Alignment [1], and the rest Normal/Extended Expeditious Retreat [1,2] and Normal/Extended Haste [3,4]. Armour should be taken off to cast retreat and haste, so it’s best to do this ‘just’ before running in to fight. Normal/Extended Darkness/Ultravision [2,3] are also useful for some tough fights.

Here is a list of the spells I used, some more than others. There's a notable lack of summons spells, mainly due to the desire to solo and get maximum experience for things.

Level 0: You get everything, but Ray of Frost and Light deserve mentions.

Level 1: Colour Spray, Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armour, Magic Weapon, Shield, True Strike. Wizards receive Protection from Alignment and Magic Missile for free as scrolls at level 1.
Level 2 Wizard: Identify, Grease.

Level 2: Ghostly Visage, Flame Weapon, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, Darkness, Ultravision, Endurance, Eagle's Splendour, Fox's Cunning, Death Armour. There is no Continual Flame in this list, and IMO if one wants to exploit this spell, they may as well just gift themself gold via console commands and save the time.

Level 3: Haste, Fireball, Greater Magic Weapon, Keen Edge, Protection From Elements, Find Traps, Gust of Wind, Flame Arrow, Negative Energy Burst, Scintillating Sphere, Vampiric Touch.

Level 4: Improved Invisibility, Elemental Shield, Ice Storm, Lesser Spell Breach, Evard's Black Tentacles [recommend having Freedom and Ghostly Visage/Shadow Shield on before using these], Stoneskin, Polymorph Self.

Level 5: Firebrand, Lesser Mind Blank, Bigby's Interposing Hand, Cloudkill, Mestil's Acid Sheath, Lesser Spell Mantle, Energy Buffer.

Level 6: Bigby Forceful Hand, True Seeing, Isaac's Greater Missile Storm, Chain Lightning, Greater Spell Breach, Legend Lore, Greater Dispelling, Greater Stoneskin, Acid Fog. Ethereal Visage should also deserves a mention, though it doesn't last for long.

Level 7: Shadow Shield, Bigby's Grasping Hand, Spell Mantle, Delayed Blast Fireball.

Level 8: Greater Sanctuary, Horrid Wilting, Incendiary Cloud, Premonition, Sunburst.




Offensive Strategies [i.e. killing]:

The main attraction of the character, admittedly, is its many ways of killing things. Whilst it starts off fairly modest, it eventually develops quite an arsenal, capable of approaching fights from multiple angles.

KILL ALL THE THINGS.


Melee + Combat Feats and Spells: The bread and butter, aka hitting stuff. Flame Weapon turns the humble halberd into an oversized lockpick at level 4. Being mainly wizard, the build only gets 3 attacks per round by the end [2 + haste], but the high damage + Cleave and Great Cleave renders the packs of low to medium strength enemies, normally troublesome for wizards, little more than a nuisance.

True Strike is lethal, especially when combined with Haste, Power Attack and/or Knockdown. It only lasts one round, so it is best used sparingly. If combined with knockdown, it’s best to save using the knockdown until the final attack of the round. So for E.g. If the character has 2 attacks per round, cast true strike, hit opponent once, then use knockdown. This way, an enemy is still incapacitated after the True Strike has worn off.

Invisibility + True Strike + Power Attack + Knockdown is a tremendously nasty combo to use against high level enemies with low Discipline [which is most enemies], and can turn a potentially difficult fight into a hilarious walk in the park. Bigby’s Forceful Hand + Melee is similarly quite silly.
.
Focused Single Target Damage: Ray of Frost and Magic Missile to start, followed by Melf's Acid Arrow, Flame Arrow, Vampiric Touch and finally, Isaac's Greater Missile Storm. The latter, appropriately aimed to hit one target, in maximised form, is gamebreaking.

Spontaneous Area Damage: Available in lots of varieties, including Fireball, Ice Storm, Firebrand, Chain Lightning, Delayed Blast Fireball, Sunburst and Horrid Wilting. Don some elemental resistance/immunity gear or spells, get everything to surround you, and aim at the ground beneath your feet. FOR SCIENCE.

Persistent Area Damage: Evard's Black Tentacles, Cloudkill, Acid Fog and Incendiary Cloud. They stack, and with Visage/Shadow Shield, an appropriate elemental resistance item and Freedom, one can essentially stand in these for as long as they like. Soup's up.

Damage Shields: Probably the most smug way to kill opponents: stand still and let them do the work. Combined with damage reduction spells and/or healing equipment, this is pretty foolproof in melee, though I personally didn't really adopt these regularly until the mid teens, when I had Shadow Shield and plenty of spell slots available. Polymorph Self can add some extra flavour to this tactic as well, just remember to cast haste!

PART 3.

Defensive Strategies [i.e. preventing being killied]:


Long Term [at least 1 minute per level] Buffs: And lots of them! There's ability buffs of all flavours such as Bull's Strength (which can be empowered or maximised), plus all manner of spells providing immunities [Lesser Mind Blank], special sight [Ultravision] or AC {Mage Armour/Shield]. Damage Reduction spells are very useful, in particular those from the Illusion school, namely Ghostly Visage and Shadow Shield, as they do not have a limit of damage for which they can absorb [unlike Stoneskin, which runs out after it has absorbed a certain amount of damage].

Short Term Buffs: Haste is the big one until a permanent haste item comes around, and there are a few others such as Ethereal Visage which can be useful in bursts. Spell Mantles are very handy for mage battles. True Strike can be cast in Armour.

Crowd Control: I.E limiting the number of active opponents at any given time. Colour Spray + Melee is useful at the beginning [gotta love a Coup De Grace!], less so once Heavy Armour becomes the norm.

Darkness + Ultravision is where the crowd control silliness kicks off. Not only can it be cast in Armour, Darkness reduces AC dramatically for blinded creatures, and tends to confuse NWN’s AI. I feel a little guilty using it, but you can’t doubt its effectiveness.

Bigby's Hands come next, in attack-lowering and disabling varieties, the most notable probably being Forceful Hand. The highest level of crowd control is of course Time Stop, aka the God Button, which in the Original Campaign can be bought in Scroll form in Chapter 4.

Escape: Expeditious Retreat is good during no haste, particularly for running to a safe resting area. Invisibility/Improved Invisibility can be used to run away or close in on enemies, as can Greater Sanctuary.

Dispelling and Breaching: Always useful against buffed or spell resistant opponents before engaging. I prefer breaching over dispelling for the lowered spell resistance.

Indirect AC increase via AB removal: Negative Energy Burst [Make sure you're immune to ability drain first], and Bigby's Interposing Hand. Personally did not use this much [damage shields are too nice], but the option is available for those who don’t like getting hit.




Items to look out for: [Original Campaign]

Gold: Plentiful in the Original Campaign. Don’t be afraid to spend!

Magic Items: The Rod of Frost is nifty to start, hang onto that one. Wand of Sleep is handy early on as well, as are any scrolls that you can learn. Barkskin and Speed Potions are handy for tough melee fights early on, such as against Gang Leaders.

Healing Items: Heal Kits and Cure Potions, followed by Heal Potions once HP is above about 100 or so. Restore Scrolls are handy too.

Weapon: Prelude: Buy a Plain Halberd to start, even if you cannot use it until level 2, and make do with a Quarterstaff until then. After that: Ravager Halberd, crafted by the dwarven forgemasters in Chapters 1 and 3. I recommend completing the Peninsula first [not too many tricky opponents to fight, mainly just melee], where a +1 weapon can be obtained from the Devourer's Chamber.

After that: Dragon Blood can be found in upper level of the Silver Sails Trading Company at the Docks [northwest of the gate]. There’s also Dragon Blood in the Chapter 1 Finale in a bookshelf, as well as several locations in Chapters 2 and 3.

Robe/Armour: Splint Mail can be found in the Prelude. For Chapter 2 onwards [by which time you should be level 9]: Robes of the Dark Moon, which can be bought from the Dwarven Monk in the Temple.

Helmet: Thayvian Circlet. Found in Chapter 2 on the Ogre Mage at the bottom of the Goblin caves. Golden Circlet may be handy you do not have Mind Immunity from spells, and can be bought from Eltoora in Chapter 2.

Gloves: Gauntlets of Lesser and Normal Ogre Power. Available from Blacksmiths in Chapters 1 & 2.

Cloak: Cloak of Movement. This is for sale in Chapter 1, and should be the first expensive item that you buy. Freedom rocks. If freedom is available from another items, Cloaks of Resistance/Fortification +3 or Protection +5 may be more appropriate.

Belt: Sash of Shimmering, Strength Belts. Sash can be bought from the auction at the Docks or found in chests. Belt of Hill Giant Strength [+3] can be found on Level 3 of Mutamin’s challenge on a corpse in the puzzle room. Fire Giant Strength Belts [+5] are available only in loot.

Ring 1: Anything with regeneration. Boddyknock's quest item ring is available from level 7, after a 10 minute life-story exchange and a swap for a Bread Recipe. In the Chapter 2 Finale, a monk guard at the Wizard Tower’s Entrance has a Ring of Regeneration +2. In Chapter 3, the Tome of the Ring [found in Moonwood] can be used to craft a Ring of Regeneration +4!

Ring 2: Ring of Elemental Resistance. This is available at the end of Chapter One as a Magical Item reward from the Helm's Hold Guardian, who can be conversed with after banishing the Chanonion Vrock. It is also available in random loot. A handy ring to have for those who like blasting themselves with area spells or running over traps.
In Chapter 3, a Ring of Power can be bought from the Temple, which comes with Freedom and a little bit of regen.

Amulet: Lesser/Normal/Greater Amulet of Health. For sale from temple merchants in chapters 1-3. Dire Spiders can f*** off.

Boots: Reflex Boots to start, then Sun Souls [up to +5!] once Monk levels have been taken. Dragon Slippers can be bought in Chapter 3 from the Temple, and may be handy for the odd fight that involves knockdown.

PART 4.

Brief Play Guide



First off:
Overall, the Original Campaign is a bit of a grindfest, which melee characters tend to handle better than spellcasters. Despite being mostly focused on wizard, this character plays best as a melee character for most of the campaign, though it does become a nasty spellcaster by the end.

There’s a ton of side quests in the Original Campaign. Talk to everybody, and seek out as many as you can! Also, SAVE OFTEN. Quicksave can be bound to a key of your choice, and is very useful. Particularly if you're playing on Very Difficult [like I was], whereby a lot of monsters can flatten you in one swipe.

Prelude: You’re a little vulnerable to start until you get that Fighter level, but not defenseless. You have a Rod of Frost, 16 strength [3 ab] and Cleave at level 1, so offensively you're fine; the trick is to not die.

A halberd can be bought from the dwarven merchant to be used at level 2, and a Quarterstaff is handy until then. Hang on to any armour you find, sell everything else to the Dwarven Merchant [robe of fire resistance included!].

Mage Armour, Shield and Improved Invisibility should keep you out of trouble [18 AC + 50% Concealment]. Colour Spray can send goblins to sleep, and if you’re really worried about entering the fray, Faerie Dragons are quite nice little tanks.

After the Fighter level, Halberd/Splint + Magic Weapon + Mage Armour. You can use invisibility to sneak up on the Mage.

Chapter 1: There's a lot of merchants in this Chapter. Check which one has the best selling price, and sell all your stuff to them!

Ghostly Visage is not available until level 4, and it makes this chapter a loooot easier for a wizard with low HP. You’ll start the Chapter at level 3.

The Peninsula is, IMO, overall the easiest of the 4 areas to complete, as its opponents are all pretty straight forward bruiser melee types [apart from the odd Sorceror], and there's no extremely nasty traps. That said: The top level of Beggar’s Nest is the most friendly map to begin with [low health shambling Weak Zombies].

My suggestion is: Head to Beggars Nest, and clear out the main level + surrounding houses of Zombies [and pick up the Leaven Bread Recipe for Boddyknock along the way!], but do not delve into its depths. That should be enough to reach level 4. Once this has happened, head BACK to the Peninsula and fight your way to the Devourer. After this: the Docks [Dragon Blood!], Beggars Nest [again], and lastly Blacklake [this one last due to the Gauntlet fighting tournament].

Spellbook should be mainly buffs for this Chapter. Wizards don’t get many interesting offensive spells until arguably Fireball [3], though I’d say Evards [4] is where wizards truly start to become nasty offensively, and even then this doesn’t work so well on Undead, which are everywhere in the Chapter Finale. Best to stick with long term buffs, Splint Mail, and Brawn, with the odd Haste [with armour off before fighting], Darkness and True Strike thrown in.

If you encounter any traps, send your little Pixie friend in to remove them. Get your hands on a Cloak of Movement and Lesser Amulet of Health [bought from Aribeth] as soon as you can: Dire Spiders are evil. Boddyknock’s Ring is available from level 7, and the Ravager halberd from around level 6 given the right ingredients. Complete all the Henchmen's sidequests before progressing to Chapter 2. You don't have to hire them for long: Just long enough to swap life stories!

For the Finale: Be sure to explore all the caverns for enemies and loot. Fenthick's chamber provides the last save and resting point before the big fight. Darkness is very handy for the final room, and it may be handy to lure some opponents out the door and fight them in the hallway before confronting Desther.

Chapter 2: Monk Gear! Permanent Haste + Great Cleave brings a new level of pain, as do Normal/Empowered Fireball and Evard’s Tentacles. Ice Storm is similarly a nasty area spell, and Cloudkill/Acid Fog can be basically walked through unscathed by a character wearing a Cloak of Movement and Ring of Elemental Resistance. Overall, this Chapter should be a comparative breeze compared with Chapter 1.

Recommended play order: Road and Green Griffon Inn [North], Neverwinter Wood [East], Charwood [South]. Complete all the Side quests you can. Lesser Mind Blank or Golden Circlet for the Neverwinter Wood Ruins!

For the Finale: It takes a bit of time, but you may as well remove both of the High Captains and explore all the houses for extra experience. There's a few sidequests that can be picked up from the Inn and other places. Aarin Gend is in the temple in the middle of Luskan, and there's a few shops.

It's worth exploring all of the Wizard's Tower as well: More experience the better!

Chapter 3:

Spells should start to play more of a role in this Chapter.

Extended Death Armour, Elemental Shield and Mestil's Acid Sheath are ridiculous in combination with Damage Reduction spells such as Shadow Shield. Bigby’s Hands and Isaac’s Greater Missile Storm are also very effective, combined with normal/empowered/maxed Fireball, Evards and Ice Storm.

It is still a good idea to keep Melee as the Bread and Butter however, even against the tougher opponents such as Dragons [don't forget True Strike!]. The upgraded Ravager Halberd rocks. Gauntlets of Ogre Power [+2] + Belt of Fire Giants Strength [+5] + Maximised Bull's Strength [+5] is enough to Max out Strength [+12], from 18 to 30.

There's a lot of dragons in Moonwood that can be potentially murdered for experience or sport before leaving the Chapter. There's also less side quests in this Chapter, though there are still side quests from Henchmen. Don't forget these!

Recommended Play Order: Coldwood [North], Uthgardt Tribes and Ruins [South], Moonwood [West].

Chapter 4: Load up on Heal potions and Time Stop scrolls, and roll out! By this stage, your character should be Level 17, and with appropriate gear and buffs, have AC in the high 30’s, AB in the mid 20’s, and have level 8 spells. Rather nasty.

Save often. Siege Golems are a bit of a pain for spellcasters [though Chain Lighting and IGMS work well], but apart from these, everything’s not much trouble so long as you're not caught offguard.

The cavern containing the 2 Dragon Guardians is the game’s last resting point. They are both spell resistant: Greater Spell Breach helps here, and if that fails then Melee+Damage Shields+Shadow Shield is silly.: Incendiary Cloud may also be effective. REST AND SAVE HERE.

After that, it’s a few skirmishes and the Queen Lizard herself. Her guardian stones can be sniped from afar using spells such as Flame Arrow, and of course nobody is immune to Time Stop scrolls.


Aaand that’s it! I’ll post the build for SoU and HoTU at a later date. Enjoy!

There is a builder NWN buider forum here:
http://nwnecbguild.forumer.com/

IMO, a more suitable location for long detailed builds.

I assumed that was only for level 20/30/40 character builds, but it appears there's a free form section [that almost no one's used].

Looking at the formatting they use, it does look better suited to long character builds yeah. Shall post there at some point.

ORIGINAL CHARACTER BUILD LINK!

That seems to work better. :)

Marked. Im interested in playing a fighter with the ravager halberd but its my first playthrough and I dont know where Marrok is or where to get the ingredients for him to craft the weapon or even if its a doable build for my playthrough.

I actually already started my character. I started a fighter after about 4 false starts with other characters thinking it would be hard to mess it up right? Well come to find out, parry is a useless skill and Ive sunk 4 points or more into it? ARGH! About to restart, AGAIN.

<EDIT> Nevermind. I think Im gonna rock an unarmed Monk this time so I dont have to mess with weapons OR armor. Wish me luck.

{scrubbed. My suggestion can't actually be done}