NWN2 MotB Character Build

[Monte Carlo]

I never finished MotB. Not because I didn't like it, but because I wasn't really happy with my character build (Human STR-pumped Bbn / Ftr / Frenzied Berserker uber-tank) and I'm not the D&D mentat I used to be.

 

Now I'm going to try again and want some advice. Here are my parameters:

 

1. I prefer predominantly non-spellcasting classes

 

2. I like melee, not averse to stealthy characters, fave build used to be Ftr / Rog types

 

3. If I am playing spellcasters I much prefer clerics (anyway, you get the very effective high level Red Wizard NPC straight off)

 

4. Am quite happy to build power-gamed, micro-managed, rule-bendingly powerful character

 

5. Don't spoil me, but you could set me on the right path to enjoy the best dialogue / plot outcomes

 

6. Alignment ain't an issue, I'll happily play whatever's fun

 

 

Thanks in advance, I know you'll come through for me!

 

Cheers (and happy Independence Day to the Americans).

 

Cheers

MC

[Pope]

I started out with a Fighter / Rogue, but later restarted with a high DEX+INT Fighter / Weapon Master (7) / Duelist, specialized in dual short swords, and had a ton of fun with her. Sadly I did not realise until it was too late that most of the Duelist abilities don't work when dual wielding.

 

Key feats were obviously all the Short Sword feats, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse, Evasion, Power Attack and (not to be underestimated) Weapon Expertise. But my absolute favorite was one awesome epic feat (forgot the name) that you can use every 6 seconds that seriously damages and cripples your target. Edit: it's called Expose Weakness

 

I always kept wearing Finch's Fine Chapeau (a hat from the OC, but there's a better version available quite early in MotB) simply because it looked way cool on the character.

Edited July 4, 2009 by Pope

[Arkan]

Well, I made a very out of left field character on my second playthrough, and I had a blast.

 

It was a strength focused armored monk! It was a pure roleplaying choice, as I wanted an armored melee character that didn't use any weapons, and just pounded things with his fists.

 

I don't remember too many of the specifics like strength or level progression, as it was kind of an awkward process, but he was a legit character that used all the rules (and maybe some bug exploits) available in the game. For example, armor had no effect of flurry of blows, so I always had an extra attack. I have no idea if this has been patched since I played through. My character carried a shield for extra defense, and it turned into a weapon (roleplaying-wise) due to the animations of the monk. It actually looked really cool, too.

 

Here's what I can remember, other than what's stated above:

 

Race: Aasimar

 

Classes (level distribution is fuzzy, but I used levels necessary to get the most out of each class):

 

Sorceror (only one level for RDD)

Red Dragon Disciple (I don't remember maxing him out at 10 levels, but maybe I did)

Monk

Fighter (One level - I don't remember if I used any fighter levels for heavy armor and shield proficiencies, or if I took them through monk level-ups. )

 

Feats were mostly combat oriented. Sure he suffered from multi-class experience penalties, but there was more than enough to make up for during the course of play. He was a beast that could go toe-to-toe with any creature in the game quite handily, even the final boss.

 

---------------------

 

Second Character:

 

 

 

Was actually my first character through MotB that I took all the way through the original campaign.

 

She was a human (I believe) fighter10/sorcerer10/eldritch knight10. Stats were pretty evenly spread, and nearly all spells were melee combat oriented (defensive and offensive), other spells were used as enemy disablers (Bigby's, et al).

 

She wielded a katana, and it was a really fun character to play.

[Purkake]

I played a Warlock, it worked pretty well.

 

The game isn't really that hard, you can probably complete it with most classes, unless you do some crazy mix that doesn't really work. It's all about the story anyway...

[mrmud]

Anything rogue-like with hide in plain sight is pure cheese.

Also the epic feat that allows you to sneak attack any kind of opponent really helps rogue builds.

[ramza]

I am planning the following build:

 

Favored Soul (10) / Stormlord (10) / Warpriest (10)

 

I am sure my character is gonna kick a$$!

[Enoch]

As I recall, there are a lot of WIS checks in dialogue in MotB, so a high-WIS class might be a good idea. If I were about to start playing it again, I'd probably play a Monk, or perhaps a Monk mixed with that priest-spell-casting Monkish PrC.

Edited July 4, 2009 by Enoch

[Rosbjerg]

I am planning the following build:

 

Favored Soul (10) / Stormlord (10) / Warpriest (10)

 

I did this to great effect.. Strong spells as well as good melee and it's not a terrible complex build, so it's quite easy to use.

 

I've also used a Favoured Soul (20) / Warpriest (10) to good effect, but it's a little boring compared to the above.

[~Di]

My absolute favorite NWN2 character is the Eldridge Knight. I'm not usually a spellcaster either, but spellcasting and buff spells are so powerful and fun in NWN2 that I can't resist. I usually build on a fighter/sorceror foundation, getting strong buff spells sprinkled with key offensive spells like fireball, fireburst, Mordenkainen's Sword, and a couple of powerful undead spells like sunburst and Undeath to Death. The result is a powerful, fully-buffed fighter who can take out mobs with well-placed AOE spells then beat the snot out of what's left with her weapon-of-choice.

 

Having those buff spells also allows me to protect party members. I kept all of my fragile Graycloaks alive in the "take the bridges" quest by casting stonskin and protection from arrows on them. I keep intelligence and charisma as high as possible, put as many points into diplomacy as possible, and use leftover points in search, open locks and disarm traps... helpful when there isn't a rogue nearby. (Naturally, spellcasting, concentration and lore have to be kept at top level as well.)

 

Although MOTB isn't my favorite game (I actually prefer NWN2 OC), I've played it twice with this build and it worked beautifully there as well. It's just a terrific fun combination of powerhouse melee and explosive spellcasting that I personally enjoy a lot!

Edited July 5, 2009 by ~Di

[Walsingham]

The best bit about MotB is the character interactions. Therefore high charisma is a bonus combined with high wisdom. I completely kicked ass as a favoured soul.

I wouldn't be too dismissive of spellslingers. I normally hate them, but there's some interesting things you can do with spells now. they're not just a really annoying form of slingshot.

[Monte Carlo]

Bit of a problem.

 

I have SoZ installed and the game autopatched to the most recent release.

 

However, for some reason MotB crashes my monitor / screen goes black. Does anyone know if this is a known issue? As Atari tech support is useless.

 

Cheers

MC

[Monte Carlo]

^ Duh. Had to update the drivers for my video cards.

 

Anyhoo, I'm thinking warrior / assassin build. Would a Ranger be the best base class or a ranger / fighter build? Or Ftr / Rog?

 

Cheers

MC

[Reinoc]

Personnaly, I'd go with ranger/fighter. You can become assassin as soon as 6th level. At that level the rogue would not give you much sneak attacks (assassins don't get sneak I think). To be effective you would need 10 levels of rogue to get crippling strike (requirement for Epic precision). With ranger/fighter you'd have a better attack bonus, more feats, and the possibility to dual-wield. Keep your skill points for the ranger levels (to boost hide and move silently). After the assassin levels, if you want to hide a lot take ranger levels. It's also good for improved versions of dual wielding, but with the fighters feats you can take those. If you get to level 9 ranger you get evasion, which is good. Fighters are good for feats and HP, if you don't mind about them forget the fighter and go all ranger.

 

I never check for xp penalties, so I don't know what that build would do in that regard.

[Monte Carlo]

Assassins get something called Death Attack (IIRC) which is basically their sneak attack. It stacks with rogue SA, the last character I made who was pure rog / assn had a sick +12d6 combined SA or something.

[ramza]

Well, after playing quite a bit of NWN2 OC, I have to admit that the game is solid, has nice graphics and I am having lot of fun. Even some of the areas everyone is complaining about (the orc caves and the warehouse) are not that terrible. NWN1 had similar areas...

 

Good job on that one, Obsidian! And I am really looking forward to TBH as the engine offers many possibilities.

[Kelverin]

Well, after playing quite a bit of NWN2 OC, I have to admit that the game is solid, has nice graphics and I am having lot of fun. Even some of the areas everyone is complaining about (the orc caves and the warehouse) are not that terrible. NWN1 had similar areas...

 

Good job on that one, Obsidian! And I am really looking forward to TBH as the engine offers many possibilities.

Those area's have been vastly improved since the game was first released. The OC get a bum rap and it's not deserved. Sawyer should get some credit coming in at the end and fixing what was broken "The game itself"

[Purkake]

Well, after playing quite a bit of NWN2 OC, I have to admit that the game is solid, has nice graphics and I am having lot of fun. Even some of the areas everyone is complaining about (the orc caves and the warehouse) are not that terrible. NWN1 had similar areas...

 

Good job on that one, Obsidian! And I am really looking forward to TBH as the engine offers many possibilities.

 

The OC is ok, but MotB is still where it's at. You'll see...

[Gorgon]

I don't remember what priests get the two hander, but I dualed one to weapon master. Was kinda hard because every single feat was already spoken for (priests hardly get any and are starved for skill points as well) and would not be really useful until I was ready to switch. Overall I was quite pleased with the result. Doing that with a scythe instead should pack quite the punch, they have the highest combination of critical ranges and multipliers.

 

 

Whatever your build do yourself a favor and cheat yourself a pile of XP on a trial character, and then walk your guy through the levels, making sure everything pans out the way you planned.

Edited July 7, 2009 by Gorgon

[Jaesun]

There is a NWN2 Character Builder here: http://nwn2db.com/

 

And a bunch of builds listed as well.

[Pop]

Here is the best build for NWN2 and it is nigh-unstoppable -

 

1 level bard

3 levels fighter

10 levels Red Dragon Disciple

whatever else you want (I usually go with Fighter for the extra feats, perks of other PrCs don't usually get powerful enough to matter by the time you can't get RDD levels anymore)

 

The bard level makes just about every skill available to you as a class skill (you'll need the Able Learner feat to take full advantage of this as the game progresses) while your BAB is just shy of a full-fledged fighter. Meanwhile your strength is naturally augmented by 6 and con/cha are also boosted, and your hit die for RDD is d12. You can max out a number of skills while still being an incredibly powerful fighter.

Edited July 7, 2009 by Pop

[Matthew Rorie]

I was pretty straightforward and went with a Weapon Master for Scythes until I got all of the Weapon Master bonuses, then I forget what I multi-classed into. But damn. Critting with Scythes (5x damage!) lets you blow through a lot of enemies. Although eventually I got to the point where I wanted to spirit eat enemies at 25% health, but would instead walk up to them and instagib them. Had to start beating down the spirit badgers with my fists so they wouldn't die before I could suck up their sweet life energy.

[Monte Carlo]

Thanks for all the advice, I've tried a few of these out in the opening dungeon. I've never thought of the sick x5 criticals with the scythe, hmmm. Di, tried the Eldritch Knight, agree it's fun but there still just too much fiddling around with spells! Might have one in my next SoZ party.

 

MINOR OPENING SPOILERS

 

I've also considered other spell-casters and gone for a fighter 6 / cleric 8 / warpriest 7 (Tempus) at the start of the game, monkey-gripping that greataxe you find at the end of the upper barrow. Got him to The Veil and got my arse kicked in shadow veil by the red wizards summoning devils and stuff. This is due to my almost total unfamiliarity with spellz and stuff. I just buff as much as I can and go batsh**t crazy with melee, and my arse gets handed to me.

 

So what suits my playing style best for very high levels, I suspect, is a melee character with non-modal and passive buffs / resistances. Which is making me think paladin. Any other ideas for a magic-resistant tank character that would benefit from highish WIS & CHA?

 

Cheers

MC

[Gromnir]

I was pretty straightforward and went with a Weapon Master for Scythes until I got all of the Weapon Master bonuses, then I forget what I multi-classed into. But damn. Critting with Scythes (5x damage!) lets you blow through a lot of enemies. Although eventually I got to the point where I wanted to spirit eat enemies at 25% health, but would instead walk up to them and instagib them. Had to start beating down the spirit badgers with my fists so they wouldn't die before I could suck up their sweet life energy.

 

crits is great... save for fact that d&d takes cheese route and makes many (most) high level critters crit immune. elementals and undead and golems and most unique foes all gets crit immunity. is a weapon in motb that lets you crit those critters normal immune to critical hits... and it is a falchion. you want weapon master? our suggestion is to go with the earth gensai fighter(4-6)/weapon master(7)/frenzied berserker... or whatever... specialize in falchion.

 

actually, our favorite melee build for motb is simple strength build ranger with a couple o' levels o' rogue thrown into the mix. the epic ranger feats is excellent, and you gets good skills points availability... can pretty much be party rogue & diplomat as well as a pretty darn good melee fighter. gets the dual wield feats for free without having to put points into dex. Gromnir is at least as concerned 'bout skills checks as he is 'bout melee power, so rogue (2or3)/ranger is a great build for us... but is not the Ultimate Combatant if that is the goal.

 

motb levels is high 'nuff to make those rdd builds useful. rdd melee builds gets real powerful right 'bout level 15 or 16... which is kinda a waste in a game that goes from 1-20... but in motb...

 

*shrug*

 

fighter(4)/bard(1)/rdd(10)/fb or fighter or whatever... use falchion. is some pretty tough skills requirements, so be careful as you build. am personal prejudiced 'gainst all rdd builds, but they does get very tough at high levels.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps... as for paladin stuff, you is gonna have to check with others for the anti-paladin builds as those is the serious power gaming builds. even so, is tough to go wrong with a fighter/paladin/divine champion. typical it not make much sense to take more than a few levels o' paladin. epic divine might is eventual goal that makes you a nasty death machine as you spam turn attempts into melee maelstrom... but you need 21 str AND 21 chr. assimar is probable the easiest route. the thing is that your skills points... suck, and is not smart to put much into wis neither.

Edited July 7, 2009 by Gromnir

[Enoch]

I was pretty straightforward and went with a Weapon Master for Scythes until I got all of the Weapon Master bonuses, then I forget what I multi-classed into. But damn. Critting with Scythes (5x damage!) lets you blow through a lot of enemies. Although eventually I got to the point where I wanted to spirit eat enemies at 25% health, but would instead walk up to them and instagib them. Had to start beating down the spirit badgers with my fists so they wouldn't die before I could suck up their sweet life energy.

Scythes just don't pass the laugh test to me, so I avoid them. The idea of a scythe as a workable melee weapon on par with weapons that were actually designed to be such is ludicrous enough to me-- that the scythes in this particular imaginary world are in fact demonstrably superior as a melee weapon makes me wonder whether the people who wrote the system know what a scythe actually is.

 

So what suits my playing style best for very high levels, I suspect, is a melee character with non-modal and passive buffs / resistances. Which is making me think paladin. Any other ideas for a magic-resistant tank character that would benefit from highish WIS & CHA?

Paladin or monk, I guess. The monk probably doesn't have the HP to be considered a true "tank," and their attack bonus lags behind fighter-classes, so the extra end-of-round attacks are going to be less effective, but they've got AC and resistances out the wazoo.

 

 

Also, whenever you find yourself up against a group of wizards, Safiya's "Wail of the Banshee" spell is your win button.

[Purkake]

I was pretty straightforward and went with a Weapon Master for Scythes until I got all of the Weapon Master bonuses, then I forget what I multi-classed into. But damn. Critting with Scythes (5x damage!) lets you blow through a lot of enemies. Although eventually I got to the point where I wanted to spirit eat enemies at 25% health, but would instead walk up to them and instagib them. Had to start beating down the spirit badgers with my fists so they wouldn't die before I could suck up their sweet life energy.

Scythes just don't pass the laugh test to me, so I avoid them. The idea of a scythe as a workable melee weapon on par with weapons that were actually designed to be such is ludicrous enough to me-- that the scythes in this particular imaginary world are in fact demonstrably superior as a melee weapon makes me wonder whether the people who wrote the system know what a scythe actually is.

 

Come on, man! You're cutting down dudes with a giant MAGICAL scythe, how cool is that?

 

DnD features all kinds of weird stuff like spiked chains and sickles and whatnot, at least a scythe is cool. Also, it's a fantasy game, who doesn't want to cut stuff up with a scythe? Swords are for losers!