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

I'm pretty unfamiliar with nwn2 mechanics in addition to all the custom changes BG offers. I primarily want to go one of three directions:

1. A wizard caster
2. A dual-wielding dex based character
3. A cleric

The race will be Elf or Drow.

Can someone point me in the right direction to start researching?

Learning curve is probably the hardest for wizard in terms of mechanics. Cleric is boring mechanically (in my opinion) and can be challenging to role play as well. I'd focus on your 2nd choice. Dexers are a lot of fun.

The wikis for bgtscc or nwn2 in general are a decent repository of information on the classes, but if you can tell us how you envision the character or what sorts of things sound mechanically interesting to you, we can supply a bunch of build concepts for your perusal.

Egg Shen wrote:Learning curve is probably the hardest for wizard in terms of mechanics. Cleric is boring mechanically (in my opinion) and can be challenging to role play as well. I'd focus on your 2nd choice. Dexers are a lot of fun.

The wikis for bgtscc or nwn2 in general are a decent repository of information on the classes, but if you can tell us how you envision the character or what sorts of things sound mechanically interesting to you, we can supply a bunch of build concepts for your perusal.

I'd say for the dual wielding option

A) Something along the lines of a tempest / weapon master / fighter / rogue build.

B) A more sneaky rogue / assassin type character

I think I prefer option A to B at the moment, but B is still very much an option.

Option A is fun, although it can feel a little bit like a glass cannon. My recommendation for either is to get Use Magic Device up to 13 for wand usage, which will help cover up your weaknesses.

For the cleric option, were you thinking melee or caster?

I played the OC/MotB as a melee cleric and they're certainly powerful but Egg is correct that the gameplay is not the most varied or engaging - as a rule you cast all your buff spells and auto attack away, occasionally using a divine might or shield if you're up against challenging foes.

My (late) character Elanatha was a caster cleric but before the server had the Hierophant prestige class. That's a must-take nowadays. Lawful caster clerics are more powerful because you can boost your wisdom (and therefore DCs) further with bonus feats from Hospitaler. That's a challenge if you're an elf/drow as none of your racial patron deities (AFAIK) will accept lawful clerics. Not to say you have to follow a (Dark) Seldarine deity, of course, if there's a good RP reason for it.

The RP itself isn't too bad - your main requirement is knowing your deity's dogma and actually acting on it. You're a priest of that god so, even though it's a futile task for the most part, you should be trying to convince other PCs that they should be giving precedence to your patron over others.

I can echo Egg's view on wizards too - they're super powerful at high levels but difficult and expensive to level solo. I'd recommend finding a friend to level with, especially if you're starting in the UD. It's no place to have 4hp.

throw some int on your toon and duelist levels and you will have no trouble with any glass connoness(not a word). make your base class swashy and double up on int=damage. int=ac, dex=ac, dex=AB. make it a grey orc and you will be even more awesome.

edit: for clarity

Agree with Aaron that you can certainly make a formidable dexer without it being a glass cannon, at least in terms of AC. I was commenting specifically on the class combo the OP was leaning towards, which will absolutely eviscerate non-crit immune enemies, but will likely take a beating as well against multiple foes.

But do keep in mind that "glass cannon" in this world isn't specifically tied to AC. At least in my mind. Having bad saves or no "press in case of emergency" button (like HIPS) can lead to unexpected trips to the Fugue as well.

I have a super fun character at level 26 right now who fits into this category. I was carving up the yuan-ti, even with super sub-par equipment, right until I met on of the guardians (have they always been outside the temple??). One casting of Destruction later, and I was talking to Myrkul. Obviously, I need a death ward wand...

I have a super fun character at level 26 right now who fits into this category. I was carving up the yuan-ti, even with super sub-par equipment, right until I met on of the guardians (have they always been outside the temple??). One casting of Destruction later, and I was talking to Myrkul. Obviously, I need a death ward wand...

so it will be a dispell then a destruction spell to myrkul

but yes. balancing saves is very important. and your "break glass in case of emergency" can be a pair of ethereal boots and speed boots. no umd req for those.

What about a Drow Wizard build - what's the best option?

Lots of fun, especially considering our drow city is Sshamath. Do you envision a certain playstyle? Do some families of spells interest you more than others? Do you want to blast foes to smithereens or control the battlefield with mind altering spells or summon monsters to do your bidding or buff yourself and whip out a sword and go to work or operate from stealth or ... well, you get the idea.

A wizard is about the most fun you can have once you learn all the ins and outs of the spells and such. A drow wizard, in particular, can do all sorts of taboo things without fear of repercussions due to the nature of their society.

The great news is that for the month of August, we're allowing 100% xp retention if you decide you need to re-roll a character. So you've got a couple weeks to mess around with different concepts. I tend to build my wizards with either very high AC, or stealth. The HIPS wizard almost feels unfair, though.

If I were to build a drow wizard today, though, I'd have him follow Shar and play around with the Shadow Adept class. Seems cool to me.

That requires an application. I'm familiar with the lore as I'm an experienced DnD player but it is my first toon on this server.

EDIT: By HIPS Wizard do you mean something like 26 Wiz / 4 SD

If you're familiar with the lore and are a reasonably mature role player (and based on your posts so far I suspect you are), I'd be surprised if the application were denied.

And that is what I mean by a HIPS wizard, yes.

HIPS wizards are very strong and do quite well in capable hands. They require a minimum of 3 levels of Shadowdancer (which itself requires 19 base Dexterity) or 8 levels of Assassin, the former being mechanically stronger as a spellcaster because it has higher Caster Level (eg wiz 17/ Shadow Adept 10/ Shadow Dancer 3) and the latter being better in a melee wizard/trickster kind of build (Wiz 12/ Arcane Trickster 10/ Assassin 8). Actually I can't remember if death attack even qualifies for Arcane Trickster...

Hmm - I may consider applying for Shadow Adept then. Are there some build guides on the nwn db that I could use as a reference to decide my character?

EDIT::

Concerning DEX Chars .. How do you compare these two builds?

A) http://nwn2db.com/build/?268568

B) http://nwn2db.com/build/?254091