Concept Build - part gish, part tank
Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2016 11:03 am
Inspired by the linked topic, I thought it might be neat to come up with a Tank build that has some spell casting ability...
viewtopic.php?f=64&t=55777
So, here is what I came up with...feel free to tear it apart as you will. If anyone wants to try it thought please see comments below the link...
http://nwn2db.com/build/?258253
In my opinion it is playable, but there are going to be some serious pain points, namely:
1. Caster Level is 21... It does get 9th level spells, but a greater dispel cast by a level 20 caster gets d20+20 vs. DC 32, meaning 40% per buff of being dispelled. (actually higher due to NWN2 RNG for d20 rolls against players). When dispelled the character will still have very good defense, depending upon what equipment you have, but offense will be almost non-existent due to reliance on buffs to have acceptable AB (G. Heroism, GMW and Bull's STR will only get you to 42 AB)
2. As listed above the AB is really poor without buffs and even with them it's only serviceable, nothing great here.
3. Damage is also not very good. Low STR and no PA/IPA means you essentially limited to 1-8 (LS) +6 (STR w/ Bull's) +5 (GMW) +1-4 (AK) +any additional bonus on your weapon ~27 max damage with a decent weapon that has 1-4 bonus dmg, less if dispelled.
HOWEVER, on the plus side, defensively you have DR 12/-, with Auto Still you can reapply buffs up to level 6 (most of the truly important ones) with a MFP and a +4 Tower Shield you can reach a respectable AC (10 +3 (dex) +8 (mfp) +6 (tower) +8 (dodge/deflection) +5 (spiderskin/natural) +6 (IMA) = 46, though a dispel can ruin your day here, which can be mitigated w/ +4 bracer's and/or +4 Nat armor ammy to make the impact much less, losing only 3 AC instead of 11. In addition to this, you get very good Fortitude and Will saves (reflex not so much, but when you fail one the impact isn't as great) along with steadfast determination.
In the end there are (of course!) better tanks and better gishes. My thought was just to see if I could do something with the idea of DS/AK mentioned in the other thread to come up with a tank-y gish build that was extremely survivable. You could increase Caster level by changing the build to W5/EK10/DS9/AK6, but you lose 2 bonus epic feats and your AK damage goes from 1-4 down to 1 and you only gain 2 CL so it's not like you are suddenly protected from Greater Dispel... In any case, my thoughts after putting it to 'paper' are that it is certainly playable and could probably solo most of the server and even some of the epic bosses (pretty sure would save against the Yuan-Ti queens stoning for instance, so long as HP stay where they need to be, but this has a LOT of HP). Unfortunately I don't know how much 'fun' it would be to play... It would take AGES to kill mobs due to the low damage so unless in a party you are probably going to be frustrated, but when you get lucky enough not to be getting hit with multiple dispels/breaches you will be buffed up to the point where you'll be a pretty beneficial member of any party (if you can hold agro while not getting dispelled to often).
What are your thoughts? If I had the time I would hop online and test it, but I have honestly spent more time than I should have messing around this morning... back to reviewing and updating a statement of work due Monday...
Edit: could mitigate the damage issue with wands of course, but would get expensive with dispels...
viewtopic.php?f=64&t=55777
So, here is what I came up with...feel free to tear it apart as you will. If anyone wants to try it thought please see comments below the link...
http://nwn2db.com/build/?258253
In my opinion it is playable, but there are going to be some serious pain points, namely:
1. Caster Level is 21... It does get 9th level spells, but a greater dispel cast by a level 20 caster gets d20+20 vs. DC 32, meaning 40% per buff of being dispelled. (actually higher due to NWN2 RNG for d20 rolls against players). When dispelled the character will still have very good defense, depending upon what equipment you have, but offense will be almost non-existent due to reliance on buffs to have acceptable AB (G. Heroism, GMW and Bull's STR will only get you to 42 AB)
2. As listed above the AB is really poor without buffs and even with them it's only serviceable, nothing great here.
3. Damage is also not very good. Low STR and no PA/IPA means you essentially limited to 1-8 (LS) +6 (STR w/ Bull's) +5 (GMW) +1-4 (AK) +any additional bonus on your weapon ~27 max damage with a decent weapon that has 1-4 bonus dmg, less if dispelled.
HOWEVER, on the plus side, defensively you have DR 12/-, with Auto Still you can reapply buffs up to level 6 (most of the truly important ones) with a MFP and a +4 Tower Shield you can reach a respectable AC (10 +3 (dex) +8 (mfp) +6 (tower) +8 (dodge/deflection) +5 (spiderskin/natural) +6 (IMA) = 46, though a dispel can ruin your day here, which can be mitigated w/ +4 bracer's and/or +4 Nat armor ammy to make the impact much less, losing only 3 AC instead of 11. In addition to this, you get very good Fortitude and Will saves (reflex not so much, but when you fail one the impact isn't as great) along with steadfast determination.
In the end there are (of course!) better tanks and better gishes. My thought was just to see if I could do something with the idea of DS/AK mentioned in the other thread to come up with a tank-y gish build that was extremely survivable. You could increase Caster level by changing the build to W5/EK10/DS9/AK6, but you lose 2 bonus epic feats and your AK damage goes from 1-4 down to 1 and you only gain 2 CL so it's not like you are suddenly protected from Greater Dispel... In any case, my thoughts after putting it to 'paper' are that it is certainly playable and could probably solo most of the server and even some of the epic bosses (pretty sure would save against the Yuan-Ti queens stoning for instance, so long as HP stay where they need to be, but this has a LOT of HP). Unfortunately I don't know how much 'fun' it would be to play... It would take AGES to kill mobs due to the low damage so unless in a party you are probably going to be frustrated, but when you get lucky enough not to be getting hit with multiple dispels/breaches you will be buffed up to the point where you'll be a pretty beneficial member of any party (if you can hold agro while not getting dispelled to often).
What are your thoughts? If I had the time I would hop online and test it, but I have honestly spent more time than I should have messing around this morning... back to reviewing and updating a statement of work due Monday...
Edit: could mitigate the damage issue with wands of course, but would get expensive with dispels...