Help me plan OC build

koteko

So.. pre-ordering has just wetted my appetite, and now I dearly want to do a quick OC run. I think I'll go for my personal favourite, the Wizard, since I'm quite bad at creating optimised builds.

However.. one thing always bugged me. As a Wizard, I'm going to need the barbarian as henchman, or I'll die quick and badly. This means problems with opening chests and disarming traps.

So:

• can I just bash/spell through ALL chests in the game? Especially important question for the early game since I won't have Knock
  
• if not, does it make sense to take a 2-3 rogue levels at the beginning, to improve survivability a bit and push up open locks, disarm traps and persuade?
  
• what's the maximum persuade score checked against in conversations?
  

I usually love Imp familiars, but the alternative to taking rogue levels is the Pixie, right? Is it a good enough rogue to open all chests that aren't bashable (if any)?

Cvijeta

No, you can't really bash all chests, but you can use low end spells. One chest in whole campaign is only pickable by Tommy Undergallows or rogue character, though...

WarChiefZeke

You can't bash all the chests but the overwhelming majority of them can be opened with elemental damage which you can use either a weapon or spell for.

HunterRayder93

Cvijeta said:

No, you can't really bash all chests, but you can use low end spells. One chest in whole campaign is only pickable by Tommy Undergallows or rogue character, though...

It's not true there is a way, if you're a wizard I can sorcerer you can pick up the Pixie familiar and the familiar in addition to being able to be controlled by the player has the ability to disable traps and open locks.

at this link there is the family card, I always used it in NWN with my character and I was crazy! ... she ... Gwen was called ... my fairy ...

nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Pixie_(familiar)

1130210

No! I don't recommend wasting your companion on a BORRRRINGGG pixie!

FIRST, most people very clumsily forget that in this game and edition of d&d the spell knock works in a radius. Meaning ALL chests will be unlocked for you ,around your character, in a 20 [m] radius. This spell isn't a one-shot spell. It's not a target spell. It'll unlock all chests automatically in a big room.

As for traps, you can forcefully make your companion "disarm" traps. You click on your companion, make your way to his commands, and click "disarm trap." However, you won't be doing this often as you'll very rarely find a trap that'll outright kill you. Even if it DOES outright kill your companion, it's only about 100 - 300 gold to warp back to a Temple of Tyr to find your companion.

Edit: Every locked chest, that isn't plot related and requiring a key, can be opened with magic missile, fireball... ect.

WarChiefZeke

I almost always go for the panther familiar, myself. It levels as a rogue so it has high damage output with those sneak attacks.

Malclave

If I remember right, a wizard in the original game can sort of have a full adventuring party.

Wizard: PC
Fighter: summoned creature
Rogue: pixie familiar
Cleric: henchman

fkirenicus

I have always resorted to using the Pixie familiar, and she's been a faithful companion and able to open most - if not all - chests at her current level (game chests kind of scale to your level, as far as I have found).
If she isn't, come back after she has levelled.

koteko

Alright, that's a lot of info. Thanks!

In short:

• use the Pixie until I have Knock
  
• use Knock afterwards (or simply use elemental damage)
  

I still wonder if taking the first level of rogue makes sense. There's really a lot of skill points.. but maybe caster level is much more important.

HunterRayder93

Malclave said:

If I remember right, a wizard in the original game can sort of have a full adventuring party.

Wizard: PC
Fighter: summoned creature
Rogue: pixie familiar
Cleric: henchman

It was fine at the end I played more or less this way at NWN.

koteko said:

Alright, that's a lot of info. Thanks!

In short:

• use the Pixie until I have Knock
  
• use Knock afterwards (or simply use elemental damage)
  

I still wonder if taking the first level of rogue makes sense. There's really a lot of skill points.. but maybe caster level is much more important.

Malclave said:

If I remember right, a wizard in the original game can sort of have a full adventuring party.

Wizard: PC
Fighter: summoned creature
Rogue: pixie familiar
Cleric: henchman

But do you care, pixie at some point in the main camapin toward chapter 3-4? I do not remember I recommend you keep it in passive mode, and to disarm traps or open the locks you control the familiardirectly, that with sorcerer if I can not mistake you can do it.

Jidokwon

The second level spell Flame Weapon is a godsend for any melee character that uses weapons. It also makes short work of locked chests.

BelgarathMTH

I've never encountered a chest that couldn't be "bashed" open, albeit painstakingly slowly, with the Rod of Frost. It has unlimited charges, and arcane casters get one for free from the tutorial trainer in the Prelude.

You can also open trapped chests from a safe distance with the rod.

Malclave

koteko said:

• use the Pixie until I have Knock
  
• use Knock afterwards (or simply use elemental damage)
  

Or use a couple of skill points to buy a rank in Open Locks. Maybe Disable Traps as well.

koteko

Malclave said:

koteko said:

• use the Pixie until I have Knock
  
• use Knock afterwards (or simply use elemental damage)
  

Or use a couple of skill points to buy a rank in Open Locks. Maybe Disable Traps as well.

I thought to myself: "only one rank? @Malclave must be mistaken". Then I searched, and even a single rank should allow any char with DEX 14 to open any locked chest/door in the OC (assuming thieves tools +10 are in inventory).

Wicked! D&D 3 it's quite weird

Reiborn

if you play a caster in HOTU then note one of the last bosses only get damaged by acid spells.. he resisted most of my spells iirc.

at any rate if you play caster you definitely want a pixie for great scout and pocket rogue to unlock stuff.

but, in all honesty there aren't any must have stuff to unlock chest for, just play what you like and you can always switch henchmen and iirc you can do all their quests and switch them so get the rogue to unlock chests before you move to the next chapters.

DJKajuru

koteko said:

Malclave said:

koteko said:

• use the Pixie until I have Knock
  
• use Knock afterwards (or simply use elemental damage)
  

Or use a couple of skill points to buy a rank in Open Locks. Maybe Disable Traps as well.

I thought to myself: "only one rank? @Malclave must be mistaken". Then I searched, and even a single rank should allow any char with DEX 14 to open any locked chest/door in the OC (assuming thieves tools +10 are in inventory).

Wicked! D&D 3 it's quite weird

Actually , afaik in 3rd edition you're not supposed to get a natural 20 when opening locks or disarming traps whenever you're outside of combat, but the game does it anyway.

Also, there are *some* difficult locks and traps but you can indeed break them with elemental magic or , in case of traps, use summons/try to evade or resist the damage.

former_customer

How high did the DC's on locks and traps go in the OC? Anyone know?

mlnevese

3rd edition had the take 20 action when you were not in combat, but it was supposed to take a loto of time...

sarevok57

former_customer said:

How high did the DC's on locks and traps go in the OC? Anyone know?

i want to say around 40, near the end of chapter 2, i was seeing them go as high as the early 30s

SaintPhillip

Malclave said:

If I remember right, a wizard in the original game can sort of have a full adventuring party.

Wizard: PC
Fighter: summoned creature
Rogue: pixie familiar
Cleric: henchman

Totally agree with this and its the way I prefer to play.

Not sure if its optimal or not but it feels like D&D and its fun.

koteko

@SaintPhillip indeed this is how I'm doing it, quite fun

Cerabelus

If i remember correctly each Henchman and summon active lowers your XP per kill so until you have Knock spell i would clear an area of enemies first than summon Pixie for chests than later in the game again clear out enemies than re memorize Knock but Knock doesn't Disarm traps so be careful with that.

Oh and i think the Henchman Gnome Sorcerer (Bodinock or something) can cast Knock spell but he's a poor Henchman.

Malclave

Yeah, each addition to the party lowers xp. That may be an issue for some, but unless there's some particular spell or class ability I want to play around with, I don't really care about hitting max level. That's especially true in a single player game.