Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

chad878262 wrote:

blacksoft wrote:Swashbuckler 10 gets me mobility, another ac point, no xp penalty. Going for swashbuckler, for insightful strike forces me to go deeper into swash if I want to use another base class other than rogue (bard). (I would pick up luck of heroes at first level). Shadow dancer also gives me evasion and uncanny dodge and hide and move silently skills.

Mobility comes at 7. The extra point of AC only works against 1 enemy, so the use is pretty limited. Extra Fighter levels can get you the feats you need. However, the XP penalty is certainly a good reason to have SB levels closer to fighter. FYI, if you are after evasion, hide/move silently you could also go Whirling Dervish which doesn't require 19 DEX (but doesn't give HiPS). Those 3 free skill focus feats are pretty nice! However, Uncanny Dodge would be missing.

blacksoft wrote:But I am going as a Halfling

Fair enough, but...

chad878262 wrote:RAW in D&D you cannot power attack with weapon finesse, it is just a bug in the engine.

Valefort wrote: Well it is a bug though and might be fixed one day.

People said for many years that the dispel bug wouldn't get fixed and then all of a sudden it did. So if you are going to build based off of a bug in the engine, be aware that you may or may not get a full RCR when said bug is fixed.

blacksoft wrote:Why? As a Swashbuckler Halfling I can get 2.5 int to damage and have good skills.

Initial post did not say you were a halfling, many of the bits within my response were made in general as your race was not stated in the first post. In any case, see above as to gaining damage from Power Attacking with a finesse weapon.

blacksoft wrote:This is definitely an alternative. Bodyguard is a good idea. Thematically, it would be a very different build than using a small race with swashbuckler. I have to think more on this.

EDIT: I see no good way to level this as you will have to take FB 5, R10 or F 12 as the last epic level, whereas neither of these is preferred. There is no epic feat available at level 30, so lose out on main benefit going Fighter 12 or Ranger 10. Delaying FB enhanced PA till end seems kind of pointless...

You'd level the same way you would in your F12/SB10 example. I would say you go Ranger at 1 (skills) Then Fighter 2 (feats), Ranger 2 levels, making you R3/F3 at level 6. from there I would make the attempt to keep Fighter/Ranger levels in line and would leave FB5 for 30th level to ensure I could get Epic Weapon Specialization and Melee Mastery. Would still require an XP penalty for the last 3 or 4 levels, but if that is what you are wanting to build, some sacrifices have to be made...

blacksoft wrote:I personally do not find it cheesy for the gnome/Halfling, it is a "bigger" weapon. So that part of things does not bother me.

It's cheesy because that Short Sword is a Long Sword to the gnome/halfling and, thus it should not be a finesse weapon. In PnP that Short Sword would be useable with Power Attack for your halfling, but would not be usable with Weapon Finesse. I'm not saying your build is cheesy or your RP idea... I am talking about the fact that a 'finesse' weapon by it's nature is not something you put extra power behind, sacrificing accuracy. A halfling wielding a Shortsword is the equivalent of a Human with a Longsword so if you want to PA that's fine, but weapon finesse isn't supposed to be an option. The fact that the Shortsword is the only weapon this works with should be an indicator that it was an oversight. That said, use it as you will since no rule says you can't. Just read Valefort's post and be aware that it could be fixed in the future.