Traceroute

It is kind of a mana system in that regard, but it's like calling a tomato a fruit. It's technically true, but does anyone really believe it? :D

I've been playing NWN off & on since it was released. I actually really enjoyed the OC and both expansions. Though you people are swaying me into MP a bit :D I've never done any modding, but I've been playing P&P since I was 12, starting with AD&D 2nd Ed.

If you like the Dark Elf Trilogy, make sure to read the Cleric Quintet before getting too far! There are some spoilers for the Cleric Quintet later in the series.

I brought it up because it's being looked at as an unescapeable limitation of the class, and thus a limitation of your ability as a player to role play your character. The point is it's not, but there are penalties. And again, I brought that up as clarification not judgement.

A couple things about the Paladin to bring up. The Lawful Good restriction is not a shackle. A Paladin may deviate from the Lawful Good alignment. However, if they do so, they lose their class abilities and cannot take further levels in Paladin until they have atoned. Also, they may never multiclass. If a Paladin takes levels in another class, they may never raise in Paladin again. Per the PHB: These are the most prominent class restrictions. I am not passing judgement on any part of the system, just wanted that clearly stated since it's been a point of debate for the past couple of pages. If you'd like to play an evil Paladin, I believe there are rules for anti-Paladins in Sword and Fist, the complete warrior sourcebook, as well as rules for evil Rangers, etc. As far as spells, spell progression is the same for Paladins as it is for the Ranger, they just have access to different spells. As far as healing in combat, the Ranger and Paladin gain Cure Light, Cure Moderate and Cure Serious at the exact same levels. Combat - The Paladin can wear heavy armor, but by 13th level a Ranger who took Two-Weapon Fighting for his combat style has SIX attacks per round, to the Paladin's 3. The Paladin can take Two-Weapon fighting and the associated feats, but the Ranger does so without sacraficing any feats. Combined with Weapon Finesse and the high dexterity that is so useful to a Ranger, the Ranger has a pretty good chance of taking down the Paladin in melee. At range, of course, the Ranger has the advantage since he won't be wearing heavy armor and thus will be able to use his full Dex bonus (assuming Dex is 18 or less), in addition to only having a minor armor check penalty. With the high number of skill points allotted to Rangers in 3.5e, the Ranger is a excellent at sniping from cover, and the Paladin in his heavy armor simply cannot keep up. Is a Ranger a good line trooper? Not really; like I said it's a tank versus a Humvee. But Rangers can certainly hold their own in melee or in the city, and will always be Masters of the Wild.

Well, that's what I've been working on :D I'll make sure there's a post when the article is up. I'd love to hear more details about that. But bear in mind I said Rangers are more versatile, not more powerful. The Paladin is (basically) a fusion of the Cleric and Fighter - Both relatively combat-oriented classes. The Ranger is a fusion of the Fighter and Druid; more of a scout, but generally better in combat than a Rogue. It's a tank vs. a Humvee - It depends on the application.

2nd Ed. had different experience tables for some classes. 3.0 standardized experience across the board for all classes. The Paladin and the Ranger are basically the Warrior caste of their respective clergies - Clerics in the case of the Paladin, and Druids in the case of Rangers. Their abilities are derived from that. Personally, I think the Ranger is one of the most versatile classes in the game. You have more versatile combat, lots of bonus feats, a LOT of skill points (especially in 3.5), etc. A Ranger may be more useful in PnP than in a CRPG though. Rangers have always had animal companions, if they chose to use the Animal Friendship spell. That's been slightly modified in 3.5e by changing the spell to a class benefit of Rangers & Druids. I'll be putting an article up in a couple weeks on NWN2News.net with more specifics about the differences of Rangers in 3.5e.

I think it depends more on your DM than anything else. The DM really controls if it is a high or low magic game. I would say the only major exceptions would have been the old SpellJammer world or Eberron ... in both, the societies are really based on magic.