Hello there, friends! I've just finished making a new epic build - a Sorcerer(26)/Paladin(4)/Arcane Archer(10).
So, what's special about this? Well take a look.
It has full base attack (4 attacks per round while un-buffed), BAB of 27 (max is 30) even though it's mostly a sorcerer, very high saves (thanks to Divine Grace), high charisma(26, can be buffed to 38 at most) giving high DC to spells and great damage via Divine Might (+10 or more bonus divine damage per hit with Eagle's Splendor, that is multiplied in critical hits), and there's divine shield for protection as well, with enough uses per day (11 uses for 10 or more rounds per use). And with Rapid shot and Haste, it can reach to 6 APRs with critical hits at 19-20. As if this were not enough, it has full spell-casting ability upto level 9 spells, the 4 basic metamagic feats (extend, empower, quicken and maximize), two epic spells: Greater Ruin and Dragon Knight (Hellball is not as good as it seems), and Automatic Quicken spell III, which means 2 spells per round even while un-buffed! And yes, I forgot to mention that this one has a pixie familiar(level 26) so there's no problem with traps and locks! Here's how he looks. (The attack bonuses are increased due to True Strike. He's equipped with only the meagre equipment available at Durnan's armoury, but even then, he's dangerous.)
I've uploaded the build for anyone interested to try it out. Just extract the RAR file and follow the readme instructions. Do tell me what you think about it, and if there's any scope for improvements. Good day!
Key buff elements of this character are his incredibly high dexterity and plentiful Arcane Archer levels. At level 40, with a mundane Longbow, using Rapid Shot at an enemy within 30 feet, he can unleash the following:
Surprisngly, the Arcane Archer also has good defensive capabilities. His Armour Class when wearing nothing but a mundane robe is 26. He also has a +5 bonus to saving throws vs. spells due to the Spell Craft ranks, as well as bonuses from the feats Luck of Heros and Iron Will.
With tactical grace, this character can choose the location and timing of his battles. Thanks to excellent stealth abilities, he has +59 to Hide and Move Silently. Character Advancement History
Following is the path of the Reliable Archer during the first forty levels of his life.
Character Level Class Skill Increases Feat Selection Attribute Increase 1 Fighter Tumble 2 (cc), Save 4 Luck of Heros *, Weapon Focus (Longbow)
I have a bard(6)/fighter(6)/arcane archer(28) that I'm currently building. She's only level 15 so far, but she's doing well. Like most archer builds, she struggles to deal damage in the early game, but bard song helps a bit with that, which is nice. Now that she's got a few arcane archer levels under her belt, she's doing real damage.
I also have a kama-based monk(4)/cleric(26)/weapon master(10) that I was taking through Aielund Saga before the Enhanced Edition was announced. This one should eventually be quite strong, but it's a really late bloomer. At level 20, it's only just starting to come into its own.
Finally, my main EE test character will eventually be a scimitar-based fighter(8)/dwarven defender(22)/champion of Torm(10). Pretty straight-laced as builds go, and could probably be improved, but it should be a nice mix of tanking and physical damage, and it doesn't have any obvious weak levels like the other two.
What woud you guys is the best way to play a FMT in NVN? I mean, leveling tripleclasses equally just make you weak, so I guess you need some prestige classes to level that combines parts of the main classes. My rogue/bard in Nvn2 does a decent job at this, giving full access to skills while being decent in melee due to inspire courage and some minor buffs like mirror image etc.
I liked playing as a ranger/rogue, but it's been so long that I don't quite remember what made that combo good. The dual-wielding, sneak synergy and vast amounts of skill points I suppose?
Arcane Archer has some nice mixtures you can use but usually bard is preferable because you can get better skills.
For epic archers you want to end on either an odd level (for enhancement bonus) or on a either level 14/18/22/26/30 (for a bonus epic feat) and if you end on other levels (12, 16, 20, 24, 28) then there is no point in taking Arcane Archer on that last level.
For example if you're at archer level 27 then instead of taking a 28th take a level in a different class instead. Fighter if it's an even level and you want a feat, otherwise bard for accessing your class skills.
Interesting variations are the sneak attack arcane archers which can also get self concealment, and of course uncanny dodge means you keep your dexterity bonus even if attacked flat footed. The pale master archer which can get early epic spells, critical/sneak attack immunity, and higher ac, essentially the panzer option for archers.
On modules with very high mighty properties it's interesting to try a dragon disciple archer. Since you can use overwhelming and devastating critical on bows it can be like calling in heavy artillery.
With so many wonderful builds, I was wondering about the idea of an NWN build repository, and if it was possible to have one here at the Beamdog Forums. What do you think, everyone?
At the moment, I've seen only two such places: a small one at NWN wikia and another larger at the nwnecbguild at Tapatalk. With the EE coming, I believe it'll be nice if a "NWN builds repository" subcategory is made here at the NWN:EE forum, so that we can post our builds in detail. It can be organised and searched more easily, and offers better scope of discussions and improvements.
Moreover, one can easily upload their builds by hitting "save character", then including the .bic file of the character from their "localvault" folder (and optionally their custom portraits too from the"portraits" folder) in compressed formats, so that others can try them out instantly without going through the tedious process of making it up from scratch by reading the descriptions.
Well, discussion should be no problem. But I sincerely think a repository would be better for proper storage of these builds so that they may be retrieved later. That way it stays organised as well. I believe it wouldn't hurt to make a subcategory for that. On the contrary, I think many will be interested in it. I heartily wish this proposal is considered by the administrators.
Monk/Rogue with that maximizes WIS rather than DEX. The point is to maximize the effectiveness of your stunning fists to hold them in place and Zen Archery to stack the sneak attacks with shurikens in Flurry of Blows mode.
I think one of my best builds was a dual wielding Ranger/Assassin/Weapon Master with Bane of Enemies
I can't recall all the ins and out of 3.0 rules, but I'm pretty sure death attack doesn't critical and it won't affect undead and the like, who are also not affected by crits. Plus to land it aren't you totally reliant on your one use of Improved Invisibility?
Monk/Rogue with that maximizes WIS rather than DEX. The point is to maximize the effectiveness of your stunning fists to hold them in place and Zen Archery to stack the sneak attacks with shurikens in Flurry of Blows mode.
Have you actually tried this? To land a sneak attack your opponent has to be flat-footed, flanked or you have to be hidden. To work consistently you would need HiPS and decent stealth.
I liked playing as a ranger/rogue, but it's been so long that I don't quite remember what made that combo good. The dual-wielding, sneak synergy and vast amounts of skill points I suppose?
What sneak synergy? I would have thought that what you really want is Ranger/Assassin with 1 level of Shadowdancer, making sure you choose FEs that are sneak immune.
Always thought Battle Clerics are incredible up to about level 20-25, only to become less than average when you get to 30 or so in my opinion. This is typically because the cleric spells max at level 20ish, though it depends on the magic level of the campaign. Being able to throw +10AB, +8 magic damage, +10 fire damage, haste, +15 AC, etc on any multi-class is just so versatile and you don't even need high WIS for it to work well.
Dwarf Fighter4/Cleric with Con pumped high - felt indestructible. Halfling Monk6/Cleric - amazing damage and one hell of stunning fist. Cleric9/AA10 - just incredible accuracy.
Yes, I've tried it. It's really not that hard, especially if you have a companion that fights in melee.
If you have a companion that gets the mobs attention then you will flank it/them, but you are dependent on having such a companion. There's a reason it's called sneak attack, you know.
I think one of my best builds was a dual wielding Ranger/Assassin/Weapon Master with Bane of Enemies
I can't recall all the ins and out of 3.0 rules, but I'm pretty sure death attack doesn't critical and it won't affect undead and the like, who are also not affected by crits. Plus to land it aren't you totally reliant on your one use of Improved Invisibility?
I didn't make this character as a one-trick-pony. One of the favored enemies should naturally be undeads. Also, great survivability in general with the Ranger spells and the animal companion. It's a very decent all rounder for PvE
WM can be replaced for SD for a more stealthy approach.
I think one of my best builds was a dual wielding Ranger/Assassin/Weapon Master with Bane of Enemies
I can't recall all the ins and out of 3.0 rules, but I'm pretty sure death attack doesn't critical and it won't affect undead and the like, who are also not affected by crits. Plus to land it aren't you totally reliant on your one use of Improved Invisibility?
I didn't make this character as a one-trick-pony. One of the favored enemies should naturally be undeads. Also, great survivability in general with the Ranger spells and the animal companion. It's a very decent all rounder for PvE
WM can be replaced for SD for a more stealthy approach.
That would make sense, as would Ra/WM/CoT (say), but my point was that there is no synergy between the Asn and WM classes - they don't work together and they have problems against exactly the same monsters. So you will have Monsters that you get FE damage against, and monsters against who you can get Asn (when you're lucky enough to flank them) and crit damage, but nothing that gets it all.
Now, consider alternatives like Fighter/Bard/RDD or Paladin/CoT/X, where most of your damage is available against everything. Can you not see the issue?
Hello there, friends! I've just finished making a new epic build - a Sorcerer(26)/Paladin(4)/Arcane Archer(10).
So, what's special about this? Well take a look.
It has full base attack (4 attacks per round while un-buffed), BAB of 27 (max is 30) even though it's mostly a sorcerer, very high saves (thanks to Divine Grace), high charisma(26, can be buffed to 38 at most) giving high DC to spells and great damage via Divine Might (+10 or more bonus divine damage per hit with Eagle's Splendor, that is multiplied in critical hits), and there's divine shield for protection as well, with enough uses per day (11 uses for 10 or more rounds per use). And with Rapid shot and Haste, it can reach to 6 APRs with critical hits at 19-20. As if this were not enough, it has full spell-casting ability upto level 9 spells, the 4 basic metamagic feats (extend, empower, quicken and maximize), two epic spells: Greater Ruin and Dragon Knight (Hellball is not as good as it seems), and Automatic Quicken spell III, which means 2 spells per round even while un-buffed! And yes, I forgot to mention that this one has a pixie familiar(level 26) so there's no problem with traps and locks! Here's how he looks. (The attack bonuses are increased due to True Strike. He's equipped with only the meagre equipment available at Durnan's armoury, but even then, he's dangerous.)
I've uploaded the build for anyone interested to try it out. Just extract the RAR file and follow the readme instructions. Do tell me what you think about it, and if there's any scope for improvements. Good day!
@Dark_Ansem, Check out the RAR file attached to my post if you want to have the portrait in the TGA format. However if you want the .jpg format of it, I can give you the link of the original picture. (The one you see here was cropped by me from a photo I found on Pinterest.)
@Dark_Ansem, Check out the RAR file attached to my post if you want to have the portrait in the TGA format. However if you want the .jpg format of it, I can give you the link of the original picture. (The one you see here was cropped by me from a photo I found on Pinterest.)
Comments
So, what's special about this? Well take a look.
It has full base attack (4 attacks per round while un-buffed), BAB of 27 (max is 30) even though it's mostly a sorcerer, very high saves (thanks to Divine Grace), high charisma(26, can be buffed to 38 at most) giving high DC to spells and great damage via Divine Might (+10 or more bonus divine damage per hit with Eagle's Splendor, that is multiplied in critical hits), and there's divine shield for protection as well, with enough uses per day (11 uses for 10 or more rounds per use). And with Rapid shot and Haste, it can reach to 6 APRs with critical hits at 19-20. As if this were not enough, it has full spell-casting ability upto level 9 spells, the 4 basic metamagic feats (extend, empower, quicken and maximize), two epic spells: Greater Ruin and Dragon Knight (Hellball is not as good as it seems), and Automatic Quicken spell III, which means 2 spells per round even while un-buffed! And yes, I forgot to mention that this one has a pixie familiar(level 26) so there's no problem with traps and locks! Here's how he looks. (The attack bonuses are increased due to True Strike. He's equipped with only the meagre equipment available at Durnan's armoury, but even then, he's dangerous.)
I've uploaded the build for anyone interested to try it out. Just extract the RAR file and follow the readme instructions. Do tell me what you think about it, and if there's any scope for improvements. Good day!
Portrait Credit: (Sorry, I had forgotten to mention this earlier.)
Prince of the elves Advanced by JackWangLei
Reliable Archer
Overview
Fighter: 10
Wizard: 2
Arcane Archer: 28
Race: Elf
Alignment: Any
Starting Stats
Str: 14
Dex: 19
Con: 12
Int: 11
Wis: 10
Cha: 8
Final Stats
Str: 14
Dex: 38
Con: 12
Int: 11
Wis: 10
Cha: 8
Final Skills
Hide: 43
Move Silently: 43
Tumble: 10
Spell craft: 35
Spot: 1
Equipment
Longbow
Robes
Reliable Archer
Key buff elements of this character are his incredibly high dexterity and plentiful Arcane Archer levels. At level 40, with a mundane Longbow, using Rapid Shot at an enemy within 30 feet, he can unleash the following:
Attacks: +59 / +59 / +54 / +49 / +44
Damage: 1d8 + 21
Surprisngly, the Arcane Archer also has good defensive capabilities. His Armour Class when wearing nothing but a mundane robe is 26. He also has a +5 bonus to saving throws vs. spells due to the Spell Craft ranks, as well as bonuses from the feats Luck of Heros and Iron Will.
With tactical grace, this character can choose the location and timing of his battles. Thanks to excellent stealth abilities, he has +59 to Hide and Move Silently.
Character Advancement History
Following is the path of the Reliable Archer during the first forty levels of his life.
Character Level
Class
Skill Increases
Feat Selection
Attribute Increase
1
Fighter
Tumble 2 (cc), Save 4
Luck of Heros *, Weapon Focus (Longbow)
2
Fighter
Save 2
Point Blank Shot
3
Fighter
Tumble 1 (cc)
Iron Will *
4
Fighter
Save 2
Weapon Specialisation (Longbow)
Dexterity
5
Fighter
Tumble 1 (cc)
6
Fighter
Save 2
Toughness, Rapid Shot
7
Wizard
Spellcraft 5, Tumble 1 (cc)
8
Arcane Archer
Hide 3, Move Silently 2
Dexterity
9
Arcane Archer
Hide 2, Move Silently 2
Stealthy *
10
Arcane Archer
Hide 2, Move Silently 2
11
Arcane Archer
Hide 2, Move Silently 2
12
Arcane Archer
Hide 2, Move Silently 2
Resist Fire Energy *
Dexterity
13
Arcane Archer
Hide 2, Move Silently 2
14
Arcane Archer
Hide 2, Move Silently 2
15
Arcane Archer
Hide 2, Move Silently 2
Resist Cold Energy *
16
Arcane Archer
Hide 2, Move Silently 2
Dexterity
17
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 2, Save 1
18
Fighter
Tumble 1 (cc)
Resist Electricity Energy *
19
Fighter
Tumble 1 (cc)
Improved Critical (Longbow)
20
Fighter
Tumble 1 (cc)
Dexterity
21
Arcane Archer
Hide 3, Move Silently 2
Epic Weapon Focus (Longbow)
22
Fighter
Tumble 1 (cc)
Epic Weapon Specialisation (Longbow)
23
Arcane Archer
Hide 2, Move Silently 2
24
Arcane Archer
Hide 2, Move Silently 2
Great Dexterity I
Dexterity
25
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 2, Save 1
Great Dexterity II
26
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Tumble 1 (cc)
27
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Save 2
Great Dexterity III
28
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Save 2
Dexterity
29
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Save 2
Great Dexterity IV
30
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Save 2
Great Dexterity V
31
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Save 2
32
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Save 2
Dexterity
33
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Save 2
Great Dexterity VI, Great Dexterity VII
34
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Save 2
35
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Save 2
36
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Save 2
Great Dexterity VIII
Dexterity
37
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Save 2
Great Dexterity IX
38
Arcane Archer
Hide 1, Move Silently 1, Save 2
39
Wizard
Spellcraft 25
Epic Prowess *
40
Arcane Archer
Hide 2, Move Silently 2, Spot 1
Dexterity
I also have a kama-based monk(4)/cleric(26)/weapon master(10) that I was taking through Aielund Saga before the Enhanced Edition was announced. This one should eventually be quite strong, but it's a really late bloomer. At level 20, it's only just starting to come into its own.
Finally, my main EE test character will eventually be a scimitar-based fighter(8)/dwarven defender(22)/champion of Torm(10). Pretty straight-laced as builds go, and could probably be improved, but it should be a nice mix of tanking and physical damage, and it doesn't have any obvious weak levels like the other two.
With shield and scimitar,on heavy plate.
A classic
For epic archers you want to end on either an odd level (for enhancement bonus) or on a either level 14/18/22/26/30 (for a bonus epic feat) and if you end on other levels (12, 16, 20, 24, 28) then there is no point in taking Arcane Archer on that last level.
For example if you're at archer level 27 then instead of taking a 28th take a level in a different class instead. Fighter if it's an even level and you want a feat, otherwise bard for accessing your class skills.
Interesting variations are the sneak attack arcane archers which can also get self concealment, and of course uncanny dodge means you keep your dexterity bonus even if attacked flat footed. The pale master archer which can get early epic spells, critical/sneak attack immunity, and higher ac, essentially the panzer option for archers.
On modules with very high mighty properties it's interesting to try a dragon disciple archer. Since you can use overwhelming and devastating critical on bows it can be like calling in heavy artillery.
At the moment, I've seen only two such places: a small one at NWN wikia and another larger at the nwnecbguild at Tapatalk. With the EE coming, I believe it'll be nice if a "NWN builds repository" subcategory is made here at the NWN:EE forum, so that we can post our builds in detail. It can be organised and searched more easily, and offers better scope of discussions and improvements.
Moreover, one can easily upload their builds by hitting "save character", then including the .bic file of the character from their "localvault" folder (and optionally their custom portraits too from the"portraits" folder) in compressed formats, so that others can try them out instantly without going through the tedious process of making it up from scratch by reading the descriptions.
So, what do you say to this idea?
I think one of my best builds was a dual wielding Ranger/Assassin/Weapon Master with Bane of Enemies
Dwarf Fighter4/Cleric with Con pumped high - felt indestructible. Halfling Monk6/Cleric - amazing damage and one hell of stunning fist. Cleric9/AA10 - just incredible accuracy.
WM can be replaced for SD for a more stealthy approach.
Now, consider alternatives like Fighter/Bard/RDD or Paladin/CoT/X, where most of your damage is available against everything. Can you not see the issue?
Here's the link:
http://pinterest.com/pin/536772849329657699/?source_app=android