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

I'm just looking for a few tips for spells and general feedback for my paranoid gnome Gurble.

I will say this right off the bat, this character is a pure role-play flavor build for me, so kindly take that into consideration before unleashing any mechanical shortcomings he undoubtetly may/will have

That being said, the roleplay angle is fairly simple: Gurble had a mishap with some alchemists fire which burned off his eyebrows(he subsequently has a deep paranoia of fire), and during his flailings and screaming he decided to run outside into the cold... and a pile of snow on the roof fell down onto his head and eased the pain of his scorched melon. He somehow interpreted this as a benevolent sign from the ice goddess, Auril, and has been worshiping/adoring/in love with/doodling cartoons of her ever since... despite the fact that he really knows very little about her. He just imagines her as the snowy goddess maiden who saved his life

Besides his obsession with everything cold or winter related, Gurble wishes very deeply to have a giant ice elemental as a pet. Of course, these don't exist, so he'll probably have to settle for a giant water elemental pet that he will constantly be trying to turn into an ice one with freezing spells


Here's Gurbles build, substituting in Thaumaturgist for Arcane Scholar: http://nwn2db.com/build/?136450

Presently he is level 13, inching closer to 14.

Since I typically do not play casters, I just wanted to see what people thought his spell selection should ideally be, both from a practical sense and also from a flavor one. I'd also like to know if any of the feats I've chosen wont fly on BG. His spells are presently as follows:

Level 1: Prot. from alignment, Magic missile, Shield, Reduce person, Lesser orb of cold.
Level 2: Cats grace, Eagles splendor, Frost breath, Ice darts, Mirror image
Level 3: Displacement, Haste, Imp. Mage armor, Spiderskin
Level 4: Gr. Invisibility, Ice Storm, Lesser breach, Orb of cold
Level 5: Cone of cold(this spell sucks, I want to swap it out), Lesser spell mantle, Teleport
Level 6: Gr. Stoneskin, Superior resistance.

Any thoughts on the remaining spell selection or feats? Keep in mind, I'm going to need to choose a high level summon planar calling spell to reap the benefits of the thaumaturgist's summon/pet... what, if anything, needs to be fine-tuned or fixed?

I don't get some things in your build plan. Why the hellz didn't you take Spellcasting Prodigy? And, I though Thaumatugist grants Augment Summoning for free?

Steve wrote:I don't get some things in your build plan. Why the hellz didn't you take Spellcasting Prodigy? And, I though Thaumatugist grants Augment Summoning for free?

So it does!

And I probably didn't take spellcasting prodigy because of all the qualifying feats I needed to take, as well as feats like extend, augment, etc, but mostly because ...

Since I typically do not play casters...

... I don't know what the hell I'm doing

** Edit- *shuffles the feats around*

Eagle's won't be very useful for you. You will likely end your CHA score on an odd number and use a +3 item for a +2 boost in ability modifier. Thus the +4 of Eagles will be meaningless.

Be aware that shield only works on the caster. Still a good spell, though.

The flexibility of the wizard's spellbook makes that a good choice for RP. Sorcerers are generally more powerful and definitely better in combat, but for RP having the ability to cast any of the spells can be nice.

For a summoner, Bulls and Bear's can be nice. Not sure if this stacks with the bonuses from improved summoning, thought. You'll want to check that out.

I'm also not sure if GMW works on summons. I want to say it doesn't, but you may want to check as the +5 to hit/damage would be fantastic. It's also a very nice party spell to have.

You might want to take stoneskin for your summons. Greater Stoneskin is a caster-only spell.

You might consider either heroism or greater heroism, with the greater being preferred. The +4 to hit and skills is very very useful for summons. IF you can't get greater in there, at least do regular heroism as it is +2 and still useful. Long duration too.

I recommend you choose either displacement or greater invisibiliy. Greater invisibiltiy offers 50% concealment just like displacement.

At some point you will probably want shadow shield.

8th level you will want to get premonition and ray of frost.
9th you want mords, bigby, maybe shapechange so you can be a frost giant. shapechange is a cool rp spell.

It's been a long time since I played my wizard, so that's the best I have for you right now.

Also, have you ever played a small race with a str of 8? Their carrying capacity is really low. You might want to get bull's strength just so you can wear long pants without being encumbered. Seriously, though. I have a tiefer with a str of 10 and +3 item and I have to closely manage his inventory. It can be done, you just have to be careful.

You might consider dropping one of the cha feats and getting able learner early on. That way you can get UMD and cast teleport from scrolls instead of having to use up one of your spell slots on teleport. That gives you an extra spell slot for something else that is fun.

mrieder79 wrote:9th you want mords, bigby, maybe shapechange so you can be a frost giant. Shapechange is a cool rp spell.

Solid tips mrieder, thanks a bunch.

I just hit level 18 and I think I've hit a bit of a snag though... the planar cohort feat granted at level 5 thaumaturge says in the description it only works with the planar ally and planar binding spells. Maybe I'm not understanding the feat but I gather this means I'll have to choose between taking 8th level greater planar ally, or just say to heck with the perma-summon(which isn't really permanent anyways) and take 9th level summon creature(elder elemental is better than the huge one granted to my neutral toon by GPA).

I'm definitely considering the shapechange spell too, that would be pretty hilarious RP wise... although it's just asking to be pvp'd

If you still have the chance not to do it, leave the Arcane Scholar in the build. If you want Thaumaturge, then switch out Sorcerer levels: they're pretty useless.

Arcane Scholar's Improved Empowered Spell is essential for Frost Mage: your signature spell is Empowered Polar Ray (unresistable, even by bosses, as it by-passes cold resistance/immunity AND allows no save, and since you have Spell Penetration as a pre req. and a high CL, even SR won't be an issue), which isn't possible without ASoC.

Moreover, Arcane Scholar is the very best class for Sorcerers: the flexibility is just too powerful to pass up. In this case, you have absolutely no reason to.

Spell discussion:

1st Circle:

-) Prot from Alignment is a hour/lvl spell. You don't want to have this one, use scrolls (dirt cheap...).
-) Magic Missile isn't a very efficient spell, but if you like it for RP, no problem.
-) Shield is a good pick, unless you want Repulsive Shadow Barrier at 4th Circle.
-) Reduce Person...what, you were afraid to be too tall ?
-) Lesser Orb of Cold is an excellent choice as a FM10.

I would seriously consider Ray of Enfeeblement, Grease (CONJURATION!!) and Alarm: the first two are the most powerful 1st Circle spells bar none, and the last is a must have spell that can't be scribed.

2nd Circle:

-) Cat's is good enough
-) Eagle's is a waste
-) Frost Breath is terrible
-) Ice darts is a fantastic spell, excellent choice
-) Mirror Images is a "can't play without" spell, perfect choice.

I would take instead Bull's Strength for your creature, and possibly even Bear's Endurance, since you're a summoner, plan for Gr. Invis., and can get regular Invis through wands easily.

As a Conjurer, Web deserves serious consideration too.

3rd Circle:

-) All awesome choices, aside from Displacement. Greater Invisibility grants the Displacement effect as well. Take Vampiric Touch, possibly one of the best spells in the game. Alternatively, take GMW if you want to help your summons be awesome (YES, it works with them )

4th Circle:

-) All awesome choices, but get rid of Lesser Breach and take Least Spell Mantle or Enervation, and a Wand of the one you don't pick.

As a Conjurer, Evard's Black Tentacles deserves serious attention.

5th Circle:

-) Swap everything out. You teleport via scrolls, tyvm...

Take Bigby's Interposing Hand (THE spell for boss fights), Cloudkill (one of the most powerful clouds in the game) and either Lesser Mind Blank or Feeblemind, according to your tastes. Generally speaking, one between Firebrand and Gr. Fireburst is usually excellent (both have advantages and drawbacks respect to each other), but you're a Frost Mage...that would be terrible .

Being a Conjurer, I would consider Vitriolic Sphere and Lesser Planar Binding carefully under the RP PoV.

6th Circle:

-) Good spells, but you're a Sorc: you don't have place for these.

You kind of need Greater Heroism (this, Bull's and GMW on creatures), and Bigby 6 & Greater Missile Storm are pretty handy, although as a Frost Mage the latter is not strictly needed.

Being a Conjurer, I would consider Acid Fog, personally.

Let me know if you need a hand for the other Circles (IMPORTANT: Take Polar Ray at 8th Circle, if nothing else ).

Also, Spellcasting Prodigy is worth the RCR alone.