Neverwinter Nights Character Creation Guide by asimpkins00@hotmail.com July 15th, 2003 Version 1.3 |=============================================================================| T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S |=============================================================================| 0.01 Introduction 1.01 The Fighter 1.02 The Barbarian 1.03 The Ranger 1.04 The Paladin 1.05 The Monk 1.06 The Rogue 1.07 The Bard 1.08 The Cleric 1.09 The Druid 1.10 The Sorcerer 1.11 The Wizard 2.01 Attributes 2.02 Races 2.03 Skills 2.04 Feats 2.05 Combat Styles 2.06 Saving Throws 2.07 Cleric Domains 2.08 Familiars & Companions 2.09 Summoned Creatures 2.10 Shapeshifting 2.11 Weapons 3.01 Manual Corrections 3.02 Thanks |=============================================================================| T H E I N T R O D U C T I O N 0.01 |=============================================================================| This is a general guide for building a character for Neverwinter Nights. Its focus in on making your character as powerful as possible by fully understanding the rules and the possibilities of the system. Power playing is not everything in this game though, and I realize that you can derive a lot of satisfaction from making a unique character for role-playing purposes. I am not going to hand out creative advice though. Having a character that is too weak to survive is not much fun, and that's what I hope this guide will help you to avoid. This guide isn't an overview of the D&D rule system. I do not talk about many of the complexities of combat and spellcasting. I don't explain how multi-class experience penalties or counterspelling work, nor do I repeat many of the valuable charts found in the manual. I don't take the time to explain many of the terms involved either. When I felt it was helpful, I tried to explain things as clearly as possible, but I also expect the reader to have a basic knowledge of the game. For more information on these subjects I'd recommend reading through the manual as well as Dan Simpson's guide at: http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/misc/file/3rd_edition_dungeons_and_dragons.txt Spellcasters especially should take a look at my Spell Guide, which provides a complete list of detailed information for every spell in the game, as well as a few helpful organizational lists. It can be found at: http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/neverwinter_nights_char_create.txt Since this is a general guide, I could only go into a limited amount of detail about each class and the possibilities involved. I leave more focused information to be covered by specific class guides. After you have decided on a build it would probably be worthwhile to take a look at them as well. You'll notice that I started my guide with the classes. I did this because I feel that the choice of a class is the most important choice made. Your decisions on races and attributes will all be in response. The class will largely determine your abilities and what kind of role you play in the game. I have started each class section with an introduction and then a discussion of general multi-classing possibilities. After that I offer suggestions on race, attributes, skills, and feats that will work for the stereotypical build. You should feel free to break from these suggestions if you are trying something much different. I then offer a quick-look of the class's abilities, some more in-depth explanations when required, and I close with a few multi-classing suggestions. |=============================================================================| T H E F I G H T E R 1.01 |=============================================================================| - Introduction - The Fighter is the most versatile melee class, as well as the most commonly useful multi-class option for nearly every other class. This is due to the abundance of bonus combat feats he recieves at levels 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 in addition to the normal character feats that everyone receives. These feats can be used to become more skilled with a particular weapon, become a master archer, dual-wield, learn a variety of combat tactics, train in Exotic weapons, or even buff your Saving Throws and Hit Points. A pure Fighter can do all of the above. Fighters also receive a nearly full set of weapon and armor proficiencies -- matched only by the Paladin -- as well as a solid BAB, Hit Die, and access to the essential Discipline as a class skill. In addition, the Fighter is the only class that has access to the valuable Weapon Specialization, which gives him a strong edge in the damage output department. - Multi-Classing (major) - The Fighter is extremely well suited to multi-classing since he receives no special abilities at higher levels (except for more and more feats). Unless you want nearly every feat available, it's a good idea to spend a few levels on something else. Barbarians offer a movement boost, Barbarian Rage and Uncanny Dodge. Two levels of Paladin provide immunities to disease and fear, as well as the ability to add your Charisma modifier to saving throws with Divine Grace. Rogues offer a ton of skill points, Sneak Attack at 1st level, Evasion at 2nd level, and Uncanny Dodge at 3rd level. Monks offer the Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist, and Cleave feats, as well as Evasion all at 1st level. Some Fighters may even want to consider sacrificing some of their combat abilities to take a few levels of Wizards for various buffing spells -- but don't forget about Arcane Spell Failure! - Multi-Classing (minor) - The Fighter however, makes an even better minor multi-class. Nearly every class in the game can benefit from taking a few levels of Fighter for extra feats, simple and martial weapon proficiencies, shield proficiency, and all armor proficiencies. The Fighter class is also the only way to obtain the Weapon Specialization feat for your weapon of choice, and one of the few ways to train Discipline as a class skill. For many classes the Fighter also offers extra HPs, an improved BAB, and possible extra attacks. The Fighter is probably the most widely used minor multi-class. - Race - Half-Orcs are the only race to offer a boost to Strength, the primary attribute of most Fighters, making them immediately standout as an excellent choice. The penalties to Intelligence and Charisma will mean very little to many Fighters, although 13 Intelligence is a requirement for a few useful feats. Dwarves offer Fighter as their favored class, a boost to Constitution, a bonus to saving throws vs. spells, and some racial combat training against Orcs, Goblinoids, and Giants. Humans are a decent choice for any class, but the bonus feat won't be as valuable for the already feat-loaded Fighter. Half-Elves and Elves offer some minor immunities but not much else. Gnomes and Halflings are usually poor choices as they have Strength penalties and weapon limitations due to their small stature -- although the right build could make it work. - Attributes - The Fighter has an easy time setting up his attributes because he can usually ignore half of them. Most Fighters will want to concentrate primarily on Strength, raising it as high as possible, as it will help them hit hard and often. Constitution is next in priority in order to keep your Fighter alive through melee combat. Dexterity is of minor importance to most Fighters as they will wear heavy armor and wield heavy weapons. Full Plate allows a +1 Dexterity bonus, so it can worth it to raise your Fighters Dexterity to at least 12 by some means. Fighters more concerned with ranged weapons will want to allocate more points for Dexterity, and Fighters interested in dual-wielding will want to set their Dexterity to 15 to qualify for Ambidexterity. Set it to at least 13 if you want access to the Dodge, Mobility, and Rapid Shot feats. The mental attributes can be largely ignored. Wisdom will only slightly affect your Will saving throws, and Charisma rarely affects anything at all. You may however, want to set your Intelligence to at least 13 to get access to the Disarm, Improved Disarm, Improved Knockdown, and Improved Parry feats. Otherwise, set it according to how many skills you need to max out. - Skills - Fighters do not heavily rely on their skills for survival. Only Discipline is critical, and you should put points into it at every level. Concentration can be useful to resist Taunt, which may or may not be a threat depending on what environment you are playing in. A little bit of Lore skill can be useful early on for identifying items, and Heal can also come in handy if you have spare skill points. Avoid Parry altogether unless you are making a character specifically built around that skill. - Feats - Fighters receive more feats than any other class, and have lots of options on how to spend them. Almost all Fighters will want to get Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, and Improved Critical for their weapon of choice. Some Fighters may even want to get the same package of feats for a second weapon as well. Nearly every Fighter will also want to obtain Power Attack, Cleave, and Knockdown -- and Fighters with 13 Intelligence will definitely want to pick up Improved Knockdown, and maybe even Disarm and Improved Disarm. Weapon Proficiency Exotic is an optional choice, as it allows you to use many useful weapons, but it's not completely necessary. Dual-wielders will want to pick up Ambidexterity, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting. Dexterity-based Fighters will want to look at Weapon Finesse, Dodge, Mobility, Point Blank Shot, and Rapid Shot. At later levels, after all other essential feats have been chosen, feats like Toughness, Lightning Reflexes, Iron Will, and Great Fortitude can be valuable. - Quick-Look - Hit Die: d10 Base Attack Bonus: 100% Armor Proficiencies: All armor and shields Weapon Proficiencies: All simple and martial weapons. No Exotic weapons. Primary Saving Throws: Fortitude. Secondary Saving Throws: Reflex and Will. Spellcasting: None. Base Skill Points per Level: 2 Class Skills: Concentration, Discipline, Heal, Lore, Parry. Special: Only class to offer access to Weapon Specialization. 1st Level - Bonus Fighter Feat. 2nd Level - Bonus Fighter Feat. 3rd Level - 4th Level - Bonus Fighter Feat. 5th Level - 6th Level - Bonus Fighter Feat. 7th Level - 8th Level - Bonus Fighter Feat. 9th Level - 10th Level - Bonus Fighter Feat. 11th Level - 12th Level - Bonus Fighter Feat. 13th Level - 14th Level - Bonus Fighter Feat. 15th Level - 16th Level - Bonus Fighter Feat. 17th Level - 18th Level - Bonus Fighter Feat. 19th Level - 20th Level - Bonus Fighter Feat. - Fighter Feats - The bonus Fighter feats must be chosen from a limited list of combat oriented feats which includes the following: Ambidexterity, Called Shot, Cleave, Deflect Arrows, Disarm, Dodge, Improved Critical, Improved Disarm, Improved Knockdown, Improved Parry, Improved Power Attack, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Unarmed Strike, Knockdown, Mobility, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Rapid Shot, Stunning Fist, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus, and Weapon Specialization. - Weapon Specialization - Type: Fighter only Prerequisites: Four levels in Fighter, Weapon Focus with chosen weapon. Required For: Nothing. Weapon Specialization is only available as a Fighter -- although you don't need to use a "Fighter feat" in order to select it. Many elect to multi-class to Fighter for four levels just to pick up this feat for their weapon of choice. Weapon Specialization bestows a +2 damage bonus to any weapon you use of the selected weapon type. Like Weapon Focus it can be selected repeatedly but for different weapons. - 18/2 Fighter/Barbarian - The basic idea of this build is that after a certain point, many Fighters will have accumulated all the feats that they need. At this time, it's often useful to multi-class and pick up various class-based abilities instead of selecting feats that are really of no use to the Fighter. There's no definite pattern to this build -- the 18/2 Fighter/Barbarian is just an example. If you run out of feats earlier it could be 16/4 or even 12/8 instead. For Lawful Good characters, a two level Paladin multi-class brings in some valuable benefits such as immunity to disease and fear as well as Divine Grace. - 12/8 Fighter/Wizard - This build suffers some heavy penalties to its melee abilities in order to cast a few levels of spells. It's really not the most efficient build, but it can be a lot of fun to have such a wide range of abilities. Make sure to set your Intelligence to 14 so that you can access four levels of Wizard spells. A lightly armored, high-Dexterity character is probably the easiest way to go in order to avoid arcane spell failure, but don't fully neglect Strength either. This combination is also just enough to get you a 4th attack at 20th level. A 9/11 Fighter/Wizard combination is also worth considering. You lose the 4th attack at 20th level, but gain 6th level spells. In addition, a few levels of Fighter could be swapped out for Barbarian or Paladin levels in order to access their class abilities instead of picking up surplus feats. |=============================================================================| T H E B A R B A R I A N 1.02 |=============================================================================| - Introduction - Where the Fighter is all about training, the Barbarian is all about natural abilities. Barbarians will usually have more Hit Points than any other character, and at high levels they develop a natural damage reduction which will allow them to live even longer. They are one of the few classes with Discipline and Taunt available as class skills -- and they get more skill points than Fighters or Paladins. Except for Exotic, they receive all of the weapon proficiencies and shield proficiency, but they lack the ability to wear heavy armor. As compensation, they share the Uncanny Dodge ability of the Rogue, allowing them to keep their Dexterity and Dodge AC bonus when surprised and also to avoid damage from traps. Their primary ability though is their Barbarian Rage, which they can use one or more times per day to boost their Strength, Constitution, and Will saves for a slight loss to their Armor Class. However, with the +12 cap to attribute scores, Barbarian Rage can become obsolete later in the game when attribute enhancing equipment and spells are available. On top of all this, Barbarians get a slight boost to their natural movement speed, making them faster than all other classes but the Monk. The Barbarian is also possibly the simplest class to play, making it an ideal choice for a beginner. - Multi-Classing (major) - Since Barbarians get additional class abilities all the way up to level 20, it's not a bad idea to make a pure Barbarian. However, it could also be useful to only reach 15th level to get the Greater Rage ability or 17th level to get the 3/- damage reduction and then take a few levels as another class. A few levels of Fighter can bring some extra feats, proficiency in heavy armor, and Weapon Specialization. Rogues offer a ton of skill points, Sneak Attack at 1st level and Evasion at 2nd level. - Multi-Classing (minor) - The Barbarian is a decent choice for a minor multi-class. One level gives you a slightly increased movement speed and Barbarian Rage. A second level gives you access to Uncanny Dodge, a highly valuable ability for Dexterity-based characters. However, many characters will find it more beneficial to obtain Uncanny Dodge by taking three levels of Rogue instead. The Barbarian also offers a route to Discipline and Taunt as well as the best means to boost your HPs. You can also obtain many weapon, shield, and armor proficiencies but since the Barbarian lacks the Heavy Armor proficiency many players will choose to multi-class with the Fighter instead. - Race - Half-Orcs get a boost to Strength and have Barbarian as their favored class, making them the clear choice for most Barbarians. Humans bring a bonus feat, extra skill points, and the ability to multi-class freely. Dwarves bring some extra Constitution, bonuses to saving throws vs. spells, and some natural fighting abilities -- however, you'll be limited to multi-classing with Fighter if you want to avoid experience penalties. Half-Elves and Elves offer some minor immunities but little else. Gnomes and Halflings incur Strength penalties and are limited to smaller weapons, making them normally less ideal for Barbarians. - Attributes - Strength and Constitution are the foundation of most Barbarian characters. Strength to hit often and hard and Constitution to even further improve the Barbarian's ability to survive massive punishment. Their Rage ability improves these attributes even further. Dexterity is more of a consideration for Barbarians as they don't automatically gain the ability to wear heavy armor. The inclusion of Uncanny Dodge as a class ability seems to indicate that most Barbarians are supposed to have a decent amount of Dexterity for an AC bonus. It is probably most effective however to just pick up heavy armor proficiency as a feat or multi-class and just set your Dexterity to 12. Remember that you'll need a Dexterity score of 13 to access Dodge, Mobility, and Rapid Shot. 15 Dexterity is required for Ambidexterity. Like the Fighter, the mental attributes are of minimal importance. Wisdom slightly affects your Will saves. Intelligence affects your skill points, and 13 Intelligence will give you access to Disarm, Improved Disarm, Improved Knockdown, and Improved Parry. Charisma offers very little to the Barbarian. - Skills - Barbarians should maximize their Discipline and Taunt skills. Extra points could be spent on Lore to cheaply and easily identify items or on Heal to quickly restore HPs and cure other maladies. Listen probably won't be too useful for most Barbarians, and Parry should be completely ignored. - Feats - Pure Barbarians only receive seven feats, or eight if they are human, and they must be selective in how they spend them. Weapon Focus and Improved Critical for your primary weapon are solid choices. Knockdown is also effective, and if you happen to have 13 Intelligence then get Improved Knockdown as well. Power Attack and Cleave are effective choices as well. Some Barbarians might want to spend a feat on proficiencies in order to gain access to Exotic Weapons, or to wear Heavy armor if they don't plan on obtaining it through a multi-class. Because of their limited number of feats, dual-wielding is often not feasible for the Barbarian, but a determined player can make it work. Make sure your Dexterity score is at least 15 and pick up Ambidexterity, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting. At later levels, a Barbarian may want to pick up Toughness to further increase their large number of HPs. - Quick-Look - Hit Die: d12 Base Attack Bonus: 100% Armor Proficiencies: Light and medium armor and shields. No heavy armor. weapon Proficiencies: All simple and martial weapons. No exotic weapons. Primary Saving Throws: Fortitude. Secondary Saving Throws: Reflex and Will. Spellcasting: None. Base Skills Points per Level: 4 Class Skills: Discipline, Heal, Listen, Lore, Parry, Taunt. Special: Cannot be Lawful in alignment. 1st Level - Fast Movement (10% increase to movement speed). Barbarian Rage once per day. 2nd Level - Uncanny Dodge (Retain DEX bonus to AC when flat-footed). 3rd Level - 4th Level - Barbarian Rage twice per day. 5th Level - Uncanny Dodge (+1 to Reflex saves to avoid traps). 6th Level - 7th Level - 8th Level - Barbarian Rage three times per day. 9th Level - 10th Level - Uncanny Dodge (+2 to Reflex saves to avoid traps). 11th Level - 1/- natural damage reduction. 12th Level - Barbarian Rage four times per day. 13th Level - Uncanny Dodge (+3 to Reflex saves to avoid traps). 14th Level - 2/- natural damage reduction. 15th Level - Barbarian Rage becomes Greater Rage. 16th Level - Greater Rage five times per day. Uncanny Dodge (+4 to Reflex saves to avoid traps). 17th Level - 3/- natural damage reduction. 18th Level - 19th Level - Uncanny Dodge (+5 to Reflex saves to avoid traps). 20th Level - Greater Rage six times per day. 4/- natural damage reduction. - Rage - Type: Barbarian only Prerequisites: Free at Barbarian 1st level. Required For: Nothing. The Barbarian's Rage adds +4 to Strength, +4 to Constitution, +2 to Will saving throws, and -2 to AC. Remember that there is a +10 cap for bonuses to attribute scores. At 15th level Greater Rage becomes available which adds +6 to Strength, +6 to Constitution, +3 to Will saving throws, and -2 to AC. Both forms of Rage last for three rounds plus the Constitution modifier. Remember that there is a +12 cap to attribute enhancements, meaning that if your Strength or Constitution are already being affected by equipment or other enchantments, then some of the benefits of Rage may go to waste. - 16/4 Barbarian/Fighter - This is a very useful multi-class for Barbarians. You still get most of the Barbarian abilities while making up for the Barbarian's major weaknesses -- a lack of feats and no Heavy armor proficiency. Wearing heavy armor will let you set your Dexterity much lower, leaving more attribute points for Strength and Constitution. The extra feats can be used to gather up many of the essential feats, or if your Dexterity is 15, you can use it to acquire all the necessary dual-wield feats. - 17/2/1 Barbarian/Rogue/Fighter - This multi-class allows you to pick up Evasion, a slight Sneak Attack, some extra skill points, Heavy armor proficiency and an extra feat. By reaching Barbarian level 17 you'll still get the 3/- damage reduction. There are actually a few variations you can do on this. 16/3/1 loses the improved damage reduction but improves your Sneak Attack and gives you more skills -- this build is prone to multi-classing experience penalties. 16/2/2 also sacrifices the improved damage reduction but gives you an additional feat instead. |=============================================================================| T H E R A N G E R 1.03 |=============================================================================| - Introduction - The Ranger is a natural dual-wielder, obtaining all of the necessary feats for free. Because their natural dual-wielding abilities limit them to light armor, Rangers are usually Dexterity-based which in turn makes them competent archers. Rangers come with the widest assortment of class skills of the melee classes -- they share unique access to the Animal Empathy skill with the Druid and they have class skill access to the Rogue-like Search and Set Trap. They receive bonuses to Hide and Move Silently skills in outdoor areas, and they can choose up to five racial groups as Favored Enemies in which they gain bonuses to Listen, Spot, Taunt, and damage. They also receive four levels of healing and protection spells, an animal companion at 6th level, and a good Hit Die, BAB, and a relatively full set of proficiencies. They do however, lack Heavy armor proficiency and access to Discipline as a class skill. Ultimately a well designed multi-class build can outperform the Ranger in pretty much every aspect, making the Ranger one of the lesser NWN classes. They are easy to use however, and have a fun set of abilities that will likely appeal to a beginner. - Multi-Classing (major) - Rangers receive special abilities all the way to 20th level. In addition their animal companion constantly grows in strength and they receive extra spell slots, making a pure Ranger an effective character. However, it is debatable how valuable many of these high level abilities are, making multi-classing your Ranger worthy of consideration. Most Rangers will want to hit at least 9th level to complete their dual-wielding abilities, and then probably 10th level to get their 3rd favored enemy. Rangers get very little after 15th level, which is another good cutoff point. Like most classes, Rangers can benefit from a few levels of Fighter for the bonus feats, Heavy armor proficiency, Weapon Specialization, and a chance at training Discipline as a class skill. Barbarians offer Rage, increased movement speed, Discipline and Taunt as class skills, and Uncanny Dodge which can be very valuable for the Dexterity-based Ranger. Two levels of Paladin offer immunities to disease and fear, Discipline as a class skill, as well as the ability to add your Charisma modifier to saving throws with Divine Grace. A few levels of Rogue also offers Uncanny Dodge, Evasion, a big boost to skills, and the ability to sneak attack which can compliment ranged attacks very well. Monks offer the Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist, and Cleave feats, as well as Evasion all at 1st level. If a Ranger is prepared to go without armor completely, the Ranger can also benefit from the Monk's ability to add their Wisdom modifier to their Armor Class. Taking one level of Cleric for the Animal and Healing domains will increase the power of the Ranger's summons as well as his healing spells. - Multi-Classing (minor) - Taking just a few levels of Ranger is usually a bad idea. Trackless Step and one Favored Enemy are usually less valuable than what other classes can offer. The ability to dual-wield initially seems valuable, but for most classes it's not a prudent choice. This is because the Ranger class doesn't actually offer Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting, but rather a similar feat that restricts the abilities to light armor. In essence, this means that you can't use the Ranger abilities to qualify for Improved Two-Weapon Fighting later on -- which is crucial to the success of most dual-wielders -- nor can you dual-wield while in medium or heavy armor. If you don't mind not maximizing your dual-wielding abilities however, the Ranger can be an excellent choice as a minor multi-class. - Race - Since most Rangers are Dexterity-based, the Elf stands out as an excellent choice with the +2 racial bonus to Dexterity. The Elven bonuses to skills and keen senses ability are also useful. However, you'll be severely restricted when it comes to multi-classing and lose -2 to your Constitution. If those penalties bother you, a Human or Half-Elf are good choices. If your Ranger is more Rogue-like than combat oriented or you plan to actually multi-class with Rogue, a Halfling can be an valuable choice. A Dwarf or Half-Orc can also work as long as you plan on multi-classing with those race's favored classes. A Gnome offers very little to the Ranger class. - Attributes - Rangers are restricted to light armor to use their dual-wielding abilities, which creates a requirement for a high Dexterity score to make up for the armor deficiency. Dexterity will likely be most Ranger's primary attribute. Strength can be neglected, but it's still nice to have an average score for damage bonuses. Constitution is important for every character -- particularly those who will engage in melee combat. Rangers have more need of their mental attributes than the other combat classes. Their limited spellcasting is based on their Wisdom. 14 is a good Wisdom score, giving them access to all four levels of Ranger spells. If you set it any lower, be prepared to lose out on some spells. Rangers also have more class skills than most classes, making Intelligence a valuable asset. A 13 Intelligence is required for Disarm, Improved Disarm, Improved Knockdown, and Improved Parry. Charisma is the least important attribute and should normally be ignored. - Skills - Rangers have to spend more consideration on their skills than the other warrior types. Animal Empathy is a unique skill, shared only with the Druid, and a tempting choice. However, you need to spend a lot of points in it before it becomes useful -- and even then, there may not be many opportunities to use it depending on your environment. Search is a top choice to help locate traps, and only the Rogue also offers it as a class skill. Hide and Move Silently can be raised together if you want to use your Ranger as a scout. Listen and Spot can be valuable for similar reasons. Some players will have a lot of fun with Set Trap, but don't waste points on it unless you are sure you will use it. A few spare points could be dropped into Lore or Heal, and you should probably ignore Concentration and Parry. - Feats - Like most classes, you should try to get Weapon Focus and Improved Critical for whatever weapons you use the most. Because of their dual-wielding and ranged abilities, Rangers may also pick up these feats more than once for different weapons. Many Rangers have more Dexterity than Strength, and for that reason should consider picking up Weapon Finesse right away and using weapons that are light enough to work with it. Dodge, Mobility, Point Blank Shot, and Rapid Shot will all benefit the dexterous archer-type Ranger. Useful combat feats like Power Attack, Cleave, and Knockdown make good choices, and maybe even perhaps a metamagic feat like Extend Spell, Empower Spell, or Maximize Spell to increase the effectiveness of the Ranger's buffing spells. - Spellcasting - The Ranger possesses Divine spellcasting that is based off of his Wisdom. Once he reaches the required level and possess an adequate Wisdom score, he automatically receives access to every spell for that level. He must, however, prepare his spells for use. This entails selecting in advance which spells he believes will be most useful for him, as well as how many times he will want each of them to available before he rests again. - Quick-Look - Hit Die: d10 Base Attack Bonus: 100% Armor Proficiencies: Light and medium armor and shields. No heavy armor. Weapon Proficiencies: All simple and martial weapons. No exotic weapons. Primary Saving Throws: Fortitude. Secondary Saving Throws: Reflex and Will. Spellcasting: Divine, Wisdom-based. Base Skill Points per Level: 4 Class Skills: Animal Empathy, Concentration, Heal, Hide, Listen, Lore, Move Silently, Parry, Search, Set Trap, Spot. 1st Level - Dual-Wield (no penalties when wearing light armor.) Trackless Step (+4 to Hide and Move Silently in wilderness areas). 1st Favored Enemy (+1 to Listen, Spot, Taunt, and damage). 2nd Level - 3rd Level - 4th Level - 1st level spells become available. 5th Level - 2nd Favored Enemy (+2 to Listen, Spot, Taunt, and damage). 6th Level - Animal Companion. 7th Level - 8th Level - 2nd level spells become available. 9th Level - Improved Two-Weapon Fighting 10th Level - 3rd Favored Enemy (+3 to Listen, Spot, Taunt, and damage). 11th Level - 3rd level spells become available. 12th Level 13th Level 14th Level - 4th level spells become available. 15th Level - 4th Favored Enemy (+4 to Listen, Spot, Taunt, and damage). 16th Level - 17th Level - 18th Level - 19th Level - 20th Level - 5th Favored Enemy (+5 to Listen, Spot, Taunt, and damage). - 10/10 Ranger/Rogue - This build plays off the similar abilities of the Ranger and the Rogue. They both normally wear light armor and have a decent amount of Dexterity, as well as sharing a few key skills. The 10 levels of Ranger are enough to get you all the dual-wielding abilities, 2 levels of spells, and a 3rd favored enemy. The Rogue levels bring the valuable Sneak Attack, Uncanny Dodge, and Evasion abilities, as well as a major boost to skills. In addition, at 10th level the Rogue can choose a special Rogue bonus feat. Remember that only taking 10 levels of Ranger will serious crippled the abilities of your animal companion. This build should usually focus on lots of Dexterity. This character will make a decent archer, particularly with the Rogue's Sneak Attack damage. Wisdom should be limited to 12, since you'll only gain two levels of spells anyway. Weapon Finesse will be a must to take advantage of the high Dexterity, and you should consider wielding the same weapon in both hands -- Shortswords, Daggers, or Kukris. Pick up Point Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Focus, and Improved Critical for your Longbow to maximize your archer abilities. Weapon Focus and Improved Critical for your melee weapons is not a bad idea either. - 15/3/2 Ranger/Rogue/Fighter - This build lets you more fully develop your Ranger abilities. You'll get all the way to your 4th Favored Enemy and you'll acquire all four levels of Ranger spells. The two Fighter levels will offer some bonus feats and the opportunity to train Discipline as a class skill. The Rogue levels will get you a small Sneak Attack and extra skills, but even more importantly you'll get Uncanny Dodge and Evasion. - 11/5/4 Ranger/Rogue/Fighter - This build cuts back your Ranger abilities and more fully developes your Rogue and Fighter skills. You'll no longer get your 4th Favored Enemy and your spells will be somewhat cut back -- although you'll still reach your level 3 spells. In exchange you'll get a better Sneak Attack and many more skill points, as well as an additional bonus combat feat from your 4th Fighter level which could be used for Weapon Specialization. - 16/2/2 Ranger/Fighter/Barbarian - This build also lets you pick up Uncanny Dodge, but without the slight penalty to your BAB and HPs. You'll also get Barbarian Rage and a small improvement to your movement speed, but you'll lose the Rogue's Evasion, extra skills, and a slight Sneak Attack ability. If you aren't interested in the Barbarian's abilities, this build could be easily modified to a 16/4 Ranger/Fighter to pick up an extra combat feat (Weapon Specialization) instead. Or if you have a Lawful Good alignment you could make a 15/3/2 Ranger/Paladin/Fighterand pick up immunity to disease and fear, Divine Grace, and the ability to remove disease once per day. |=============================================================================| T H E P A L A D I N 1.04 |=============================================================================| - Introduction - The Paladin comes with a handful of class abilities designed to hunt down all that is evil and undead. This includes natural immunities to disease and fear, as well as excellent bonuses to his saving throws. He can heal and remove disease from his companions, unleash devastating attacks against evil-aligned creatures, turn undead like the Cleric, and cast a small number of protection spells. The Paladin gains most of his special abilities early, yet they increase in power all the way to 20th level. Like the Barbarian, he receives Taunt and Discipline as a class skill. He gets a near full set of proficiencies like the Fighter, as well as a solid HD and excellent BAB growth. The Paladin is a very specialized class, which means that he is very powerful when fighting certain types of enemies, but rather weak when fighting others. You should consider this when thinking of choosing a Paladin. - Multi-Classing (major) - While the Paladin gains nearly all of his abilities (except spells) by 3rd level, most of his abilities are based on Paladin level which makes it reasonable to pursue the path of the Paladin all the way to 20th level. However, losing a few levels of Paladin won't hurt much -- at least not compared to what you can gain. The Fighter class probably offers the most by helping you quickly accumulate your desired feats and gain Weapon Specialization in your weapon of choice. Rogues bring their skills, sneak attacks, Uncanny Dodge, and Evasion. Taking one level of Cleric for the two Cleric domains can greatly improve your turning ability. You can increase it's scope to cover elementals, outsiders, constructs, or vermin. You can also choose the Sun domain and increase it's strength. Monks offer the Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist, and Cleave feats, as well as Evasion all at 1st level. If a Paladin is prepared to go without armor completely, the Paladin can also benefit from the Monk's ability to add their Wisdom modifier to their AC. - Multi-Classing (minor) - The Paladin isn't a great choice as a minor multi-class for most characters. The immunities to disease and fear can be useful to most any character, but there are usually more practical ways to go about obtaining them, as well as more lucrative options from other classes (usually taking Fighter levels for more bonus feats). The rest of the Paladin abilities are based on level and will be too weak to be of much use. High Charisma characters (usually Sorcerers or Clerics) however, should strongly consider taking just one Paladin level to get Divine Grace. With a high Charisma modifier you will get valuable bonuses to all of your saving throws, making your character invulnerable to practically everything. Remember that even a character with low or average Charisma can boost it with equipment, potions, or spells. - Races - Humans usually make the best Paladins. The extra feat and skill point can be very valuable to any Paladin character. Half-Elves are a decent second choice. Elves offer very little for the -2 to Constitution. Dwarves and Half-Orcs bring a penalty to Charisma, which is one of the primary Paladin attributes. Halflings and Gnomes are too small to be the mighty warriors that most Paladins must be as they lose -2 to Strength and are limited to smaller weapons. - Attributes - Paladins are ideally suited for wearing heavy armor and wielding heavy weapons with a high Strength score. Dexterity should be raised no higher than 12, and will probably need to be left much lower. Constitution is important for the Paladin, as it is with any character that heavily engages in melee combat. The Paladin will need a Wisdom score of 14 to access all of his spells, but there is little reason to set it any higher. If you set it lower, be prepared to lose some spells. Charisma is the basis of many of the Paladin class abilities -- Divine Grace, Lay On Hands, Smite Evil, and Turn Undead -- and should be set relatively high. Intelligence is of less importance as the Paladin doesn't rely heavily on his skills. However, a score of 13 is required if you want to acquire Disarm, Improved Disarm, or Improved Parry -- but due to the Paladin's thin point spread this is usually not possible. - Skills - Paladins usually don't have many skill points to work with. Discipline is an essential skill and should be selected first. Taunt can be a very valuable combat aid, and Concentration can be taken to protect yourself from Taunt as well as spell failure during combat. If you play in environments that are designed for it, Persuade can be very valuable, otherwise it's completely useless. You likely won't have many extra points for Lore or Heal, and you definitely shouldn't waste any on Parry. - Spellcasting - The Paladin possesses Divine spellcasting that is based off of his Wisdom. Once he reaches the required level and possess an adequate Wisdom score, he automatically receives access to every spell for that level. He must, however, prepare his spells for use. This entails selecting in advance which spells he believes will be most useful for him, as well as how many times he will want each of them to available before he rests again. - Quick-Look - Hit Die: d10 Base Attack Bonus: 100% Armor Proficiencies: All armor and shields. Weapon Proficiencies: All simple and martial weapons. No exotic weapons. Primary Saving Throws: Fortitude. Secondary Saving Throws: Reflex and Will. Spellcasting: Divine, Wisdom-based. Base Skill Points per Level: 2 Class Skills: Concentration, Discipline, Heal, Lore, Parry, Persuade, Taunt. Special: Paladins must be Lawful Good. 1st Level - Divine Grace (CHA modifier is applied to all saving throws). Divine Health (immune to disease). Lay On Hands 2nd Level - Aura of Courage (immune to fear). Smite Evil 3rd Level - Turn Undead. Remove Disease once per day. 4th Level - 1st level spells become available. 5th Level - 6th Level - 7th Level - 8th Level - 2nd level spells become available. 9th Level - 10th Level - 11th Level - 3rd level spells become available. 12th Level - 13th Level - 14th Level - 4th level spells become available. 15th Level - 16th Level - 17th Level - 18th Level - 19th Level - 20th Level - - Lay On Hands - Type: Paladin only Prerequisites: Free at Paladin 1st level. Required For: Nothing. Once per day a Paladin can heal [CHA modifier x Paladin class level] HPs for himself or others. Like other healing abilities, Lay On Hands can be used to damage the undead. - Smite Evil - Type: Paladin only Prerequisites: Free at Paladin 2nd level. Required For: Nothing. Once per day a Paladin can execute a special attack against an evil opponent. As long as the target is evil, the Paladin applies his Charisma modifier to his attack roll, and if he hits he applies his Paladin level in the form of bonus damage. - Turn Undead - Paladins use their turning abilities like Clerics, except that their level is reduced by two. So a 3rd level Paladin would turn as a 1st level Cleric. See the Cleric section for more details on Turn Undead. - Extra Turning - Type: Cleric and Paladin only Prerequisites: None. Required For: Nothing. If this is chosen as a feat selection, the Paladin will be able to Turn Undead an additional six times per day. The average Paladin will be able to perform Turn Undead over three times per day, which is usually enough -- especially considering how easy it is to rest in most modules. If you want to be a particularly effective undead hunter or find yourself playing in a module full of undead with severe resting restrictions, then this feat is for you. - 16/4 or 18/2 Paladin/Fighter - The basic idea behind either of these builds is to slightly weaken a few of the Paladin's abilities -- Lay on Hands, Smite Evil, and Turn Undead -- for much needed bonus feats. If you take four levels of Fighter you have the opportunity to pick up Weapon Specialization. - 17/2/1 Paladin/Fighter/Cleric - This build incorporates a Cleric level in order to gain powers from the Cleric Domains. This build is ideal for a Paladin that heavily relies on his Turn Undead ability, or just feels that he will be facing lots of undead and wants to be especially prepared. The Sun Domain is very valuable in providing an immediate boost to the Paladin's turning power. Other Domain choices can be used to increase the scope of the Turn Undead ability. The Healing Domain will increase the power of the Paladin's Cure Light Wounds and Cure Serious Wounds spells, which can also be used offensively against the undead. The Fighter levels provide a few feats, but don't weaken your Paladin abilities if you don't need them. - 17/2/1 Paladin/Fighter/Monk - The Monk level gets you Cleave for free which would normally require that you spend two feats to obtain Power Attack and Cleave. That alone makes it as valuable as a level in Fighter. In addition, you'll pick up Evasion, which when coupled with Divine Grace can offer serious protection to the Paladin from magical attack. The Fighter levels provide the usual feats, if you have a need for them. - 18/1/1 Paladin/Monk/Cleric - This is just an obvious hybrid of the two previous builds. Forget about the Fighter levels completely and pick up Cleave, Evasion, and the power of two Cleric Domains. |=============================================================================| T H E M O N K 1.05 |=============================================================================| - Introduction - The Monk is an interesting melee class. A Monk receives no armor or shield proficiencies, but he gains natural AC bonuses as he rises in level. He can also draw on his Wisdom for an additional AC boost, sometimes allowing him to reach higher AC scores than any other class. A Monk receives very few weapon proficiencies, but his bare fists will evolve to be the most powerful weapons in the game. A Monk has the lowest Hit Die of all the melee classes, but excels in all three types of saving throws, gains immunity to disease, poison, and mind-affecting spells, as well as a natural spell resistance and damage reduction. A Monk has a lower Base Attack Bonus than the other melee classes, but he gains his extra attacks at a faster rate -- usually ending up with more attacks than his contemporaries. The Monk receives a good number of combat feats for free, as well as many Monk-specific abilities. To top it all off, the Monk is the fastest class in the game, eventually acquiring a 50% movement speed increase. The Monk, however, does lack Discipline as a class skill, which is probably one of his biggest weaknesses. - Multi-Classing (major) - The Monk should usually not be multi-classed. The Monk gains special abilities all the way to 20th level, and many of the Monk abilities don't work well with other classes. For instance, many abilities go away while wearing armor or wielding weapons. The Monk's natural spell resistance and ability to heal himself is based on Monk level. You'll want to take your Monk to at least 16th level to get the highest damage rating for your fists. The best multi-classes for a Monk are probably the Fighter and the Rogue. The Fighter allows the Monk to pick up some possibly needed feats or Weapon Specialization for their unarmed attack as well as the chance to train Discipline as a class skill. In addition, four levels of Fighter will provide the Monk with an extra attack at 20th level. The Rogue offers some skills, Sneak Attack, and Uncanny Dodge -- which could be very valuable to the unarmored Monk. - Multi-Classing (minor) - Many classes can gain some valuable advantages from taking just one level of Monk. Immediately you receive Cleave, one of the best combat feats in the game, which otherwise requires you to spend a feat on the only semi-useful Power Attack first. You also receive Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist, Flurry of Blows, and an improved damage rating for your fists. Granted, most characters will be armed and unable to take advantage of these abilities, but they could be useful if you find yourself disarmed. You also receive the highly valuable Evasion allowing you to escape many highly damaging spells, but only if you can make your Reflex save first. Any characters with a decent Wisdom score who finds themselves going unarmored can also take advantage of the Monk's ability to apply their Wisdom modifier to their Armor Class. Shape-shifting characters, particularly the Druid, can also benefit from one level of Monk. While in their altered form characters become unarmed and unarmored, making them ideally suited for the Monk's set of abilities. - Races - Humans offer the Monk class a useful bonus feat, some extra skill points, and no real disadvantages. Half-Orcs and Dwarves both bring some great racial attribute bonuses, and the mental attribute penalties will mean little to the Monk. Elves are a great choice for Dexterity-based Monks. Besides the boost in Dexterity, an Elf bring proficiencies in the shortbow and longbow, immunity to sleep, and useful keen senses. The penalty to Constitution is a drawback though. Half-Elves offer rather little besides the immunity to sleep and no real penalties. Gnomes and Halflings usually make poor Monks because their small stature greatly reduces the damage of their unarmed attack. - Attributes - The crucial decision when designing a Monk is whether to focus on Strength or Dexterity. Monks have a lower BAB than most other melee characters and thus need to have their melee attribute as high as possible in order to hit their opponents. A Strength-based Monk will do more damage, carry more, and will not need any extra feats to be effective. A Dexterity-based Monk will need to take Weapon Finesse, but will have a higher AC and Reflex save, as well as the ability to use ranged weapons accurately. Because Monks are restricted from wearing armor and need an AC boost from wherever they can get it, I think the Dexterity build is usually the best option. Whatever you choose, don't neglect the other attribute too much. Monks have a lower HD than the other melee classes, and can therefore benefit from a decent Constitution score. Monks need to have decent scores in several attributes, and that usually means that Intelligence and Charisma must be heavily neglected. Wisdom requires a bit more thought. The Wisdom modifier is applied to a Monk's Armor Class and it is used to make the Stunning Fist and Quivering Palm abilities more difficult to resist. For these reasons, it's useful to have a decent Wisdom score, but other attributes are ultimately more useful. A score of 14 is usually sufficient. - Skills - None of the Monk skills stand out as completely necessary. If you are in an environment where you'll have the Taunt skill used on you then you should definitely spend your points on Concentration. Persuade should also be pursued -- but only if your environment is designed for it. Raising both Hide and Move Silently can add an element of stealth to your Monk, allowing him to scout out situation first and sneak into a favorable attack position. Heal can be useful for patching your Monk up during and after combat, and a little bit of Lore can help you identify items early in the game. Listen and Parry should probably be avoided. - Feats - All Monks should get Weapon Focus and Improved Critical for their unarmed attacks, and possibly for the Kama. Weapon Finesse is essential for the Dexterity-based Monk. Monks receive many of the best combat feats -- Cleave, Knockdown, and Improved Knockdown -- for free and therefore have some extra feats to spend elsewhere. Monks that use ranged attacks may want to pick up Point Blank Shot and Rapid Shot. You could also pick up the dual-wielding feats -- Ambidexterity, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting -- and use them with twin Kamas. (Dual-wielding does not work with the unarmed fighting style). Most Monks will benefit from Dodge and Mobility, as well as Toughness to boost their relatively lower number of HPs. - Quick-Look - Hit Die: d8 Base Attack Bonus: 75% Armor Proficiencies: None. Weapon Proficiencies: Club, Dagger, Handaxe, Light Crossbow, Heavy Crossbow, Quarterstaff, Shuriken, Kama, and Sling. Primary Saving Throws: Fortitude, Reflex, and Will. Secondary Saving Throws: None. Spellcasting: None. Base Skill Points per Level: 4 Class Skills: Concentration, Heal, Hide, Listen, Lore, Move Silently, Parry, Persuade. Special: Must be Lawful in alignment. 1st Level - Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist, and Cleave. Specialty Weapon. Flurry Of Blows. Evasion. Monk AC bonus (WIS modifier applied to AC). Unarmed Damage (1d6/1d4). 2nd Level - Deflect Arrows. 3rd Level - 10% increase to movement speed. Still Mind (+2 to save vs. mind-affecting spells). 4th Level - Unarmed Damage (1d8/1d6). 5th Level - Purity of Body (immune to disease). +1 bonus to Armor Class. 6th Level - Knockdown & Improved Knockdown. 20% increase to movement speed. 7th Level - Wholeness of Body. 8th Level - Unarmed Damage (1d10/1d8) 9th Level - Improved Evasion. 30% increase to movement speed. 10th Level - Ki Strike (fists act with a +1 enhancement bonus). +2 bonus to Armor Class. 11th Level - Diamond Body (immunity to poison). 12th Level - Diamond Soul (spell resistance = class level + 10). Unarmed Damage (1d12/1d10). 40% increase to movement speed. 13th Level - Ki Strike (fists act with a +2 enhancement bonus). 14th Level - 15th Level - Quivering Palm. +3 bonus to Armor Class. 45% increase to movement speed. 16th Level - Unarmed Damage (1d20/2d6). Ki Strike (fists act with a +3 enhancement bonus). 17th Level - 18th Level - Empty Body (50% concealment twice per day). 50% increase to movement speed. 19th Level - 20th Level - Perfect Self (immune to mind-affecting spells; 20/+1). +4 bonus to Armor Class. - Specialty Weapon - Type: Monk only Prerequisites: Free at Monk 1st level. Required For: Nothing. This ability allows the Monk to use his special unarmed attack bonus when fighting with a Kama. This can be useful in the beginning of the game, however your fists will soon become more powerful than any Kama you can find. Another thing to consider is that you can dual-wield Kamas and gain extra attacks, but you cannot dual-wield unarmed. - Flurry of Blows - Type: Monk only Prerequisites: Free at Monk 1st level. Required For: Nothing. When the Monk activates Flurry of Blows he gains an extra attack when fighting unarmed or with a Kama, yet he suffers -2 to all of his attacks. This is usually worth it, but if you find yourself having a hard time hitting a heavily defended opponent then you should switch it off. - Evasion - Type: Monk and Rogue only Prerequisites: Free at Monk 1st level or Rogue 2nd level. Required For: Nothing. This ability allows Monks to avoid all damage when they make a successful Reflex saving throw against a spell that would normally only allow half damage for a Reflex save. Since Monks usually have high Reflex saves, this is a primary ability in the Monk arsenal. - Wholeness of Body - Type: Monk only Prerequisites: Free at Monk 1st level. Required For: Nothing. This allows the Monk to restore a number of HP equal to twice class level once per day. - Improved Evasion - Type: Rogue and Monk only Prerequisites: Available at Rogue levels 10, 13, 16, 19; free at Monk 9th level. Required For: Nothing. This excellent feat allows you to take no damage when a successful Reflex save would have causes you to take half damage, and half damage even if you fail. - Quivering Palm - Type: Monk only Prerequisites: Free at Monk 15th level. Required For: Nothing. The Monk can use this ability once per day to attempt to instantly kill an opponent. If the attack connects and does damage, the target must make a Fortitude save against [10 + 1/2 Monk level + Wisdom modifier] or die. Due to the Fortitude save, this ability works best against Arcane spellcasters like Wizards and Sorcerers, as well as Rogues and Bards. - 16/4 Monk/Fighter - Most Monks will be happy taking all 20 levels as a Monk, however there are a few things that multi-classing can offer. If you are will to give up a slight boost to movement speed, an extra +1 to AC, immunity to mind-affecting spells, 20/+1 damage reduction, 50% concealment twice per day, and an increase to your natural spell resistance and healing abilities then you have a few things you can gain from the Fighter class. Four levels as Fighter will get you three bonus feats, a chance for Weapon Specialization for your unarmed attacks, and a chance to train the valuable Discipline as a class skill. In addition, you'll receive a 6th attack at 20th level due to the Fighter's improved BAB growth. As an alternate build, you could drop two levels of Fighter for two levels of Paladin and pick up Divine Grace and immunity to fear. - 18/2 Monk/Fighter - This is a variation on the previous build. You get the 50% concealment and movement speed increase back, as well as better spell resistance and self-healing. But you lose the 6th attack and only receive two bonus feats instead of three. You also lose the change to pick up Weapon Specialization. - 17/3 Monk/Rogue - This build sacrifices the later Monk abilities in order to receive a small Sneak Attack, Uncanny Dodge, and a boost to skills. Since Monks cannot rely on armor for their AC, Uncanny Dodge is a valuable way to retain a large portion of their AC when caught flat-footed. One level of Fighter can also chosen to be taken instead of a 17th Monk level in order to pick up Weapon Specialization and to train in Discipline, however, it can cause problems with multi-classing experience penalties. |=============================================================================| T H E R O G U E 1.06 |=============================================================================| - Introduction - The emphasis of the Rogue is on skills -- skills which are necessary for nearly every expedition. They'll have at least twice as many skill points as any other class (often 4x as many). To go with the large number of skill points they have the longest list of class skills, many of which are only available as class skills for the Rogue. No other class has access to Open Lock and Disable Traps as a class skill. Only the Ranger shares Spot, Set Trap, and Search as a class skill, and only the Bard share Pick Pocket and Use Magic Device as a class skill. The Rogue is only a mediocre warrior, but if played right he can use his sneak attack to devastating effect, particularly with ranged weapons. He can't cast spells, but Use Magic Device will allow him to use nearly any scroll or wand he finds -- as well as race/alignment/class restricted equipment. The Rogue also receives special Rogue feats to be chosen at levels 10, 13, 16, and 19. - Multi-Classing (major) - Unlike many other classes, there's no clear direction when it comes to multi-classing a Rogue. Rogues get fairly decent gains all the way up to 20th level -- or at least 19th level. However, none of these gains are so overwhelming that multi-classing would be a disastrous idea. It's really up to you and what role your character plays in the party. If you find your skills are currently adequate, feel free to develop in another class. You can always come back and take more Rogue levels later. The best cut-off points for Rogues are at levels 10, 13, 16, and 19, as that's where they receive their special Rogue feats. Fighters provide extra combat feats, medium/heavy armor and shield proficiencies, Discipline as a class skill, and Weapon Specialization. Barbarians provide Rage, medium armor and shield proficiencies, Discipline and Taunt as class skills, and faster movement speeds. Two levels of Paladin offers medium/heavy armor and shield proficiencies, Taunt as a class skill, immunities to disease and fear, as well as the ability to add your Charisma modifier to saving throws via Divine Grace. It can be a valuable to take at least four levels as a Fighter, Barbarian, Paladin, or Ranger. Their higher BAB growth will allow the Rogue to reach 4 attacks per round at 20th level. Monks provide Cleave and basic unarmed fighting ability. Wizard is another interesting choice, as Rogues commonly have decent Intelligence scores and avoid combat and armor anyway. You won't reach the highest level of spells, but you can become fairly competent with the lower levels. - Multi-Classing (minor) - Like the Fighter, nearly every class can benefit from taking a few levels of Rogue. For just three Rogue levels you pick up extra skills, the ability to sneak attack, Evasion, and Uncanny Dodge, which are useful to nearly every character. This doesn't mean that everyone should do it. If someone else is already covering Rogue abilities in your party, it will often be more useful to be a pure warrior or a pure spellcaster. In addition, many characters receive powerful abilities at 20th level. But a minor multi-class is Rogue is always an option worth consideration. It's valuable to take a Rogue level first though, regardless of what you eventually plan to emphasize, as you get 4x as many skill points at first level. - Races - Rogues are almost always Dexterity-based characters. For that reason, both the Elf and the Halfling stand out as immediate choices. Almost all of the Elf abilities will be useful to a Rogue. They bring skill bonuses to Listen, Search, and Spot, and they are able to use their Search ability at maximum ability without slowing down. If you don't plan to multi-class with a melee class, the racial weapon proficiencies (longsword, rapier, shortbow, longbow) of the Elf can be very valuable. The Elf also offers immunity to sleep, a racial resistance to all mind affecting spells, and low-light vision. The Elf is also perfect for a Wizard multi-class. A Halfling is more ideal for less combat oriented Rogues due to their loss in Strength and limited weapon selection. However, they have much more freedom to multi-class because Rogue is their favored class. They also get skill bonuses to Hide, Move Silently, and Listen, as well as resistance to Fear and bonuses to all of their saving throws. Their small stature also gives a slight improvement to AC and accuracy. Humans and Half-Elves offer multi-classing freedom, and are probably the next best choices. Dwarves offer little, but might work with a heavy Fighter multi-class in mind. There's not much reason to pick a Gnome, and Half-Orcs take a penalty to Intelligence which is important to a Rogue. - Attributes - Dexterity is almost always the primary attribute for a Rogue. It provides an AC boost to the lightly armored Rogue, and it is the basis of many of the Rogue's skills. You'll want to set it high and continually raise it as the character progresses. You can usually skimp on Strength as you'll likely pick up Weapon Finesse, but a decent score is still useful. Constitution is always important and should be set as high as possible after the other attributes are taken care of. Intelligence is also useful for a Rogue, as it is the basis for many of his skills as well. It also helps to have as many extra skill points as possible. Wisdom can help make up for the Rogues weakness to Will saves, but it usually needs to be neglected. Charisma can be valuable for interacting with other characters, but like Wisdom, usually needs to be ignored. - Skills - Skills are the primary ability of the Rogue, and he receives far and away the most skill points to assist this function. Open Lock and Disable Trap should never be neglected, particularly since the Rogue is the only class to offer them as class skills. Close behind that is the Search skill, which is necessary to spot traps in the first place. Hide and Move Silently are essential for the stealth nearly every Rogue requires. Many Rogues also need to act as party scouts and will also want to train in Listen and Spot. Set Trap can be very effective, but only pursue it if you know you will use it. Pick Pocket is a fun skill but is usually not very useful. Use Magic Device, on the other hand, is very useful and should not be passed up. If you have any points left Heal and Lore are always useful, but you should probably ignore Parry. - Feats - Weapon Focus and Improved Critical are essential for you primary weapon. Weapon Finesse is almost always essential as Rogues normally have much more Dexterity than Strength. Rogues are good candidates for dual-wielding, and should consider picking up Ambidexterity, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting. Rogues also make great archers and should pick up Point Blank Shot and Rapid Shot, and maybe Weapon Focus and Improved Critical for their ranged weapon. Dodge and Mobility will help most Rogues as well. Weapon Proficiency Exotic will provide Rogues with access to the high critical range Kukri. Toughness will boost their relatively low HPs. If any feats are left, or if you Rogue is meant for lots of melee combat, you should try to pick up the helpful Power Attack, Cleave, Knockdown, and Improved Knockdown. Disarm and Improved Disarm might make an interesting substitute for the knockdown feats. - Quick-Look - Hit Die: d6 Base Attack Bonus: 75% Armor Proficiencies: Light armor. No medium or heavy armor. No shield. Weapon Proficiencies: Club, Dagger, Dart, Handaxe, Light Crossbow, Heavy Crossbow, Quarterstaff, Mace, Short Sword, Rapier, Shortbow, Morningstar, and Sling. Primary Saving Throws: Reflex. Secondary Saving Throws: Fortitude and Will. Spellcasting: None. Base Skill Points per Level: 8 Class Skills: Disable Trap, Heal, Hide, Listen, Lore, Move Silently, Open Lock, Parry, Persuade, Pick Pocket, Search, Set Trap, Spot, Use Magic Device. 1st Level - Sneak Attack (1d6). 2nd Level - Evasion. 3rd Level - Uncanny Dodge (Retain DEX bonus to AC when flat-footed). Sneak Attack (2d6). 4th Level - 5th Level - Sneak Attack (3d6). 6th Level - Uncanny Dodge (+1 to Reflex saves vs. traps). 7th Level - Sneak Attack (4d6). 8th Level - 9th Level - Sneak Attack (5d6). 10th Level - 1st Rogue feat. 11th Level - Uncanny Dodge (+2 to Reflex saves vs. traps). Sneak Attack (6d6). 12th Level - 13th Level - 2nd Rogue feat. Sneak Attack (7d6). 14th Level - Uncanny Dodge (+3 to Reflex saves vs. traps). 15th Level - Sneak Attack (8d6). 16th Level - 3rd Rogue feat. 17th Level - Uncanny Dodge (+4 to Reflex saves vs. traps). Sneak Attack (9d6). 18th Level - 19th Level - 4th Rogue feat. Sneak Attack (10d6). 20th Level - Uncanny Dodge (+5 to Reflex saves vs. traps). - Sneak Attack - Type: Rogue only Prerequisites: Free at Rogue 1st level. Required For: Nothing. When the Rogue attacks a character that is unable to defend himself, either with a melee attack or a ranged attack within a certain distance, the Rogue adds extra damage to his hit in the form of a sneak attack. A character is unable to defend himself if he is flat-footed, has not detected the Rogue, or is occupied in combat with another foe. Sneak Attack damage begins at +1d6 and adds an additional +1d6 at every odd Rogue level. This damage is not multiplied in the case of a critical hit, and many creatures (such as undead or constructs) are naturally immune to Sneak Attacks. - Uncanny Dodge - Type: Barbarian and Rogue only Prerequisites: Free at Barbarian 2nd level or Rogue 3rd level. Required For: Nothing. This ability immediately allows the Rogue to retain his Dexterity bonus to AC even when caught flat-footed. Since most Rogues rely heavily on Dexterity while in light armor, this ability is essential to Rogue survival. At later levels, it provides the Rogues with bonus to avoid traps -- something nearly every Rogue will spend a lot of time around. - Evasion - Type: Monk and Rogue only Prerequisites: Free at Monk 1st level or Rogue 2nd level. Required For: Nothing. This ability allows Rogues to avoid all damage when they make a successful Reflex saving throw against a spell that would normally only allow half damage for a Reflex save. Since Rogues usually have high Reflex saves, this is a primary ability in the Rogue arsenal. - Rogue Feats - At levels 10, 13, 16, and 19 the Rogue is allowed to choose a unique feat from a list completely restricted to the Rogue class. - Crippling Strike - Type: Rogue only Prerequisites: Available at Rogue levels 10, 13, 16, or 19. Required For: Nothing. This feat causes the Rogue to deal two points of Strength ability damage whenever he lands a successful Sneak Attack. This damage will stack and last for quite some time. It's a good Rogue feat. - Opportunist - Type: Rogue only Prerequisites: Available at Rogue levels 10, 13, 16, or 19. Required For: Nothing. The Rogue automatically gains a +4 bonus to all attack rolls when making an attack of opportunity. This is pretty mediocre compared to the other feats available, and is therefore one of the worst Rogue feats. - Skill Mastery - Type: Rogue only Prerequisites: Available at Rogue levels 10, 13, 16, or 19. Required For: Nothing. This feat allows the Rogue to take 20 on Disable Trap, Open Lock, and Set Traps in the midst of combat. Since there is rarely a reason you can just wait to perform Disable Trap or Open Lock until after combat, this is one of the least valuable Rogue feats. Serious trap setters might find it useful though. - Slippery Mind - Type: Rogue only Prerequisites: Available at Rogue levels 10, 13, 16, or 19. Required For: Nothing. If you fail a Will save against a mind-affecting spell, you make an automatic reroll. Rogues are normally pretty bad when it comes to Will saves, so this can be useful. However, some would argue that since their Will saves are so weak, if you failed it once, you'll likely just fail it again -- you should be seeking equipment and enchantments to protect your from mind-affecting spells. - Improved Evasion - Type: Rogue and Monk only Prerequisites: Available at Rogue levels 10, 13, 16, 19; free at Monk 9th level. Required For: Nothing. This excellent feat allows you to take no damage when a successful Reflex save would cause you to take half damage, and half damage even if you fail. This is clearly the most valuable Rogue feat and should be taken immediately at 10th level -- unless of course you can get the same ability from an item. - Defensive Roll - Type: Rogue only Prerequisites: Available at Rogue levels 10, 13, 16, or 19. Required For: Nothing. As long as you haven't been caught flat-footed, if you take a lethal hit you are allowed to make a Reflex saving throw in order to take only half damage. The DC is determined by the damage dealt. Keep in mind that half damage may still kill you anyway, but as Rogues have notoriously good Reflex saves this feat can be very helpful in keeping you alive long enough to make an escape. - 16/4 Rogue/Fighter - This build really helps develop the Rogue's combat abilities, while causing minimal disruption to his fundamental Rogue skills. You still receive three bonus Rogue feats. The four levels of Fighter provide three helpful combat feats, shield proficiency, and access to Weapon Specialization and Discipline as a class skill. You'll also get a boost to HP, BAB, and a 4th attack at 20th level. The bonus feats from the Fighter levels can be used to pick up Ambidexterity, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting -- making this one of the best dual-wielding builds available. - 16/2/2 Rogue/Fighter/Paladin - This is a slight variation. Instead of taking two more levels of Fighter just to get one feat, you take two levels in Paladin for Divine Grace and immunity to disease and fear. - 17/2/1 Rogue/Fighter/Barbarian - Another variation. You lose the Paladin abilities for rage and an increase in movement speed instead. And you get the 17th Rogue level increase to Sneak Attack and Uncanny Dodge. - 13/7 Rogue/Wizard - This build takes advantage of the shared Intelligence of the Rogue and Wizard classes. Make sure your natural Intelligence score is at least 14 in order to access 4th level Wizard spells. The 7 levels of Wizard won't be enough to turn you into an offensive spellcasting powerhouse, but it will provide you with valuable utility and buffing spells like Identify, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, Darkness, Ghostly Visage, Knock, Haste, Magic Circle Against Alignment, Protection From Elements, Improved Invisibility, and Stoneskin. |=============================================================================| T H E B A R D 1.07 |=============================================================================| - Introduction - The Bard can do nearly everything. He has a skill selection comparable to a Rogue. While he lacks some Rogue essential skills like Open Lock, Disarm Trap, and Search as class skills, as well as not getting nearly as many skill points, he gains essential combat skills like Discipline, Spellcraft, and Taunt as class skills. He is also the only class besides Rogue to have access to the valuable Use Magic Device -- which potentially makes available all scrolls and equipment for him to use. In melee combat he is initially set back by an average BAB growth, a relatively small amount of HPs, and a lack of weapon and armor proficiencies. However, he posses a solid list of protection and buffing spells that gives him advantages that most warriors won't have -- just beware of Arcane spell failure. In addition, he has his Bardsong ability, which not only provides bonuses to his own attacks, damage, saving throws, Dodge AC, skills, and HPs, but to his allies as well. Many of his advantages also work well with ranged attacks, making him a good archer class as well. Finally, the Bard has the ability to add his class level to his Lore skill. - Multi-Classing (major) - Most Bards should multi-class, as it offers a change to fix some major weaknesses in the Bard's abilities. Their last few levels offer very little. In fact, high level Bardsongs require Perform skill ranks that are practically impossible to reach. Most Bards will want to advance to at least 16th level to get access to 6th level spells and most of the important upgrades in their Bardsong ability. Fighters offer a boost to HP and BAB, missing weapon and armor proficiencies, Weapon Specialization, as well as a the chance to select a few more feats. A couple levels in Barbarian offers Rage, Uncanny Dodge, and a slight increase in movement speed. It can be a valuable to take at least four levels as a Fighter, Barbarian, or Ranger as their higher BAB growth will allow the Bard to reach 4 attacks per round at level 20. Rogue levels will further improve the Bard's skills, as well as offering Sneak Attack, Evasion, and Uncanny dodge -- which are particularly valuable for a Dexterity-based Bard. And a level of Cleric could be useful for the Animal and Healing domains, which will provide the Bard with stronger summons and healing spells. - Multi-Classing (minor) - Not many classes will want to take a minor multi-class with Bard because most of the Bard's abilities (spells & Bardsong) only become valuable at high levels. If it's skills you want, the Rogue is a much better choice. However, just three levels of Bard will provide some basic bonus through Bardsong abilities and a small set of valuable buffing spells. - Races - If you don't plan to multi-class your Bard then Elf is probably your best choice. Due to their light armor, most Bards are Dexterity-based, making the Elven racial bonus to Dexterity very valuable. In addition, the Elf offers a racial proficiency in the longsword, rapier, shortbow, and longbow -- proficiencies that most any Bard could use but initially lacks. The skill boosts, immunities, and keen-senses are all very useful as well. For a Bard with multi-classing in mind, a Human or Half-Elf will make a better choice. If you plan to multi-class specifically to a Rogue, then a Halfling is a great choice. Gnomes offer little to the Bard, and Dwarves and Half-Orcs take a penalty in Charisma, which is too valuable to consider. - Attributes - Because armor will interfere with the Bard's Arcane spellcasting, most Bards are Dexterity-based to boost their Armor Class. Dexterity can also be used for ranged attacks as well as melee attacks if Weapon Finesse is taken. Strength is usually kept low, but avoiding negatives is a good idea. However, it is very possible to make a Strength-based Bard build, wear heavy armor, and either accept Arcane spell failure or cast spells before you put your armor on. Constitution should be set as high as possible after accounting for other attributes. Since Charisma is the basis of the Bard's spellcasting, it should be set relatively high. However, the Bard only has six levels of spells, so a score above 16 is not necessary -- but it can be useful for bonus spells and improving spell strength. A decent Intelligence score can help the Bard keep up on all his desired skills. Wisdom plays a minor role with a Bard and can be left fairly low. - Skills - Bards get a great selection of class skills and need to take some careful consideration when choosing them. Firstly, all Bards will want to maximize their Perform skill, as it is essential to the development of their Bardsong ability. Melee oriented Bards will want to train in Discipline and Concentration. Other Bards will want to focus on Hide and Move Silently to emphasize stealth. Few classes offer Taunt as a class skill, and it is also worth a look. Spellcraft is useful to identify spells and counterspell them, and it also provides some bonuses to save vs. spells. The power of Use Magic Device should also not be ignored. If your environment supports it, Persuade can be very valuable. After all these great options you'll probably not have any points left for Heal, Listen, Lore, Parry, and Pick Pocket. - Feats - Bards will want to get Weapon Focus and Improved Critical for their primary weapon. Bards that prefer ranged attacks will want Point Blank Shot and Rapid Shot, while melee Bards will want to consider Power Attack, Cleave, Knockdown, and possibly Improved Knockdown. A dual-wielding Bard will need Ambidexterity, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting. Metamagic feats like Still Spell, Extend Spell, Empower Spell, and Maximize spell can also be useful with the Bard's decent magic selection. A Bard that doesn't plan a multi-class with Fighter or Barbarian may want to pick up Martial weapon proficiencies in order to boost his weapon selection. - Spellcasting - The Bard possesses Arcane spellcasting that is based off of his Charisma. He is limited to knowing a finite amount of spells for each spell level, and these spells are chosen from a complete list when he gains a new level. He also has the option whenever he gains a level to go back and unlearn spells and exchange them with another spell of the same level. Like all spellcasters he is limited in the number of spells he can cast for each level, but he does not need to prepare his spells in advance. Rather he can dynamically choose and cast his spells from his limited list in any proportion that he sees fit. - Quick-Look - Hit Die: 1d6 Base Attack Bonus: 75% Armor Proficiencies: Light and medium armor and shields. No heavy armor. Weapon Proficiencies: All simple weapons. No martial or exotic weapons. Primary Saving Throws: Reflex and Will. Secondary Saving Throws: Fortitude. Spellcasting: Arcane, Charisma-based. Base Skill Points per Level: 4 Class Skills: Concentration, Discipline, Heal, Hide, Listen, Lore, Move Silently, Parry, Perform, Persuade, Pick Pocket, Spellcraft, Taunt, Use Magic Device. Special: Cannot be Lawful in alignment. 1st Level - Bardic Knowledge (add Bard class level to Lore skill). Bardsong. 2nd Level - Bardsong upgrade. Level 1 spells become available. 3rd Level - Bardsong upgrade. 4th Level - Level 2 spells become available. 5th Level - 6th Level - Bardsong upgrade. 7th Level - Level 3 spells become available. 8th Level - Bardsong upgrade. 9th Level - 10th Level - Level 4 spells become available. 11th Level - 12th Level - Bardsong upgrade. 13th Level - Level 5 spells become available. 14th Level - Bardsong upgrade. 15th Level - Bardsong upgrade. 16th Level - Bardsong upgrade. Level 6 spells become available. 17th Level - Bardsong upgrade. 18th Level - Bardsong upgrade. 19th Level - Bardsong upgrade. 20th Level - Bardsong upgrade. - Bardsong - Type: Bard only Prerequisites: Free at Bard 1st level. Required For: Nothing. The Bardsong may be sung once per day per class level. It affects all allies (including the Bard) within 30 feet and it lasts for 10 rounds. Deafened characters will be unaffected by the Bardsong, and multiple Bardsongs will not stack. The power of the Bardsong is also affected by the Perform skill, so remember to constantly raise it. The various levels of Bardsong are listed below: 1st Level & Perform 3 - +1 to Attack & Damage. 2nd Level & Perform 6 - +1 to Attack, Damage, & Will. 3rd Level & Perform 9 - +1 to Attack, Will, & Fortitude. +2 to Damage. 6th Level & Perform 12 - +1 to Attack, Will, Fortitude, Reflex, & Skills. +2 to Damage. 8th Level & Perform 15 - +1 to Will, Fortitude, Reflex & Skills. +2 to Attack & Dam age. +8 to temporary Hit Points. 12th Level & Perform 18 - +1 to Will, Fortitude, & Reflex. +2 to Attack, Damage, Skills, & Dodge AC. +8 to temporary Hit Points. 14th Level & Perform 21 - +1 to Will, Fortitude, & Reflex. +2 to Attack & Skills. +3 to Damage & Dodge AC. +16 temporary Hit Points. 15th Level & Perform 24 - +2 to Attack, Will, Fortitude, & Reflex. +3 to Damage & Skills. +4 to Dodge AC. +16 temporary Hit Points. 16th Level & Perform 30 - +2 to Attack, Fortitude, & Reflex. +3 to Damage & Will. +4 to Skills +5 to Dodge AC. +20 temporary Hit Points. 17th Level & Perform 35 - +2 to Attack, Fortitude, & Reflex. +3 to Damage & Will. +5 to Dodge AC & Skills. +22 temporary Hit Points. 18th Level & Perform 40 - +2 to Attack, Fortitude, & Reflex. +3 to Damage & Will. +5 to Dodge AC. +6 to Skills +24 temporary Hit Points. 19th Level & Perform 45 - +2 to Attack, Fortitude, & Reflex. +3 to Damage & Will. +5 to Dodge AC. +7 to Skills. +26 temporary Hit Points. 20th Level & Perform 50 - +2 to Attack, Fortitude, & Reflex. +3 to Damage & Will. +5 to Dodge AC. +10 to Skills +32 temporary Hit Points. - 16/4 Bard/Fighter - This build greatly improves the Bard's combat skills while sacrificing very little. The Fighter levels offer three extra combat feats, martial weapon & heavy armor proficiency, access to Weapon Specialization, and an increase in HP and BAB. The improved BAB of the Fighter will give the Bard four attacks at 20th level. - 16/2/2 Bard/Fighter/Barbarian - This variation sacrifices an extra feat for the Barbarian's Rage, faster movement, and Uncanny Dodge. Since Uncanny Dodge is so useful for the Bard, particularly Dexterity-based builds, this is the generally the best Bard multi-class, although you will lose the chance to get Weapon Specialization. - 15/3/2 Bard/Rogue/Fighter - This build sacrifices 6th level spells for the benefits of both the Rogue and the Fighter classes. The Rogue provides a Sneak Attack, a boost to skills, and the highly valuable Uncanny Dodge and Evasion. The Fighter levels bring extra combat feats and weapon and armor proficiencies. This setup works well for a high-Dexterity archer Bard. |=============================================================================| T H E C L E R I C 1.08 |=============================================================================| - Introduction - The Cleric is a very powerful class. The Cleric offers a full nine levels of magic power, he can use heavy armor and shields without crippling his magic abilities, and he has the power to turn undead. He lacks an animal companion or familiar, but can still summon creatures, and with the aid of the Animal Domain he can significantly increase the power of these summons. He has a lower HP and BAB than a true warrior and lacks Discipline as a class skill, yet he has access to a wide range of protection and buffing spells that a true warrior would find unavailable. He is also the master of healing, restoration, and resurrection type spells, while still possessing a formidable array of offensive spells. His ability to spontaneous cast any spell has a healing spell allows him to focus on offensive spells yet still dominate as a healer. Ultimately, the Cleric has no clear weaknesses, except for perhaps his lack of Discipline as a class skill. Clerics also allow for a wide range of customization by being able to choose two Domains out of a list of nineteen at 1st level -- each of which offers different abilities and unique spells. - Multi-Classing (major) - Clerics keep increasing in their magic and turn undead abilities all the way to level 20. While most will want to make a pure Cleric for that reason, a few levels in something else can also be beneficial. Fighters offer extra feats and HPs, an improved BAB, proficiency in martial weapons, Discipline as a class skill, and access to Weapon Specialization. Barbarians also offer a boost to HP and BAB, martial weapons, and Discipline as a class skill, in addition to Barbarian Rage, improved movement speed, and Uncanny Dodge. A Lawful Good Cleric with a high Charisma score should consider the Paladin for Divine Grace, some immunities, martial weapon proficiencies, and an improved BAB and HP. A melee-minded Cleric should consider taking four levels in Fighter, Barbarian, Ranger, or Paladin as their improved BAB will allow them to reach four attacks at 20th level -- yet this will cause you to lose access to 9th level spells. Monks offer Cleave and a handful of unarmed abilities as well as Evasion. If your Cleric is the rare type that is willing to go without armor, you can also benefit from the Monk's ability to add your large Wisdom modifier to your Armor Class. Rogues offer their extra skills, sneak attacks, Evasion, and Uncanny Dodge. - Multi-Classing (minor) - Most characters will not find much point in a minor multi-class with Cleric as you need to take many levels to get access to the high powered spells. However, taking just one Cleric level for two Cleric domains can be useful for a few classes. A Paladin can expand his turning ability to cover elementals, vermin, outsiders, or constructs. He can also improve the general strength of his turning ability through the Sun domain. Bards, Druids, Rangers, Wizards, and Sorcerers can benefit from the Animal domain to increase the strength of summoned creatures. Bards, Druids, Paladins and Rangers can benefit from the Healing domain to increase the strength of their healing spells. Most other domains, however, offer bonuses based on Cleric level and are not useful in a minor multi-class. - Races - No races receive a penalty to Wisdom, the primary Cleric attribute, so there are no clearly bad choices. Characters that want a decent turn undead ability however, will want to avoid the Dwarf and Half-Orc due to their penalty to Charisma -- although many melee-minded Clerics ignore their turning abilities and choose Dwarf for their racial abilities and easy multi-class with Fighter. Humans often make the best Clerics because they offer extra feats, skills, and multi-classing freedom with no real disadvantages. Half-Elves can work, although their racial abilities are usually less valuable. Elves bring a handful of martial proficiencies that can be useful, but most Clerics either won't use them or they'll find alternate ways to obtain them. A Gnome or Halfling suffer a bit in the melee department, but can work if your Cleric is not going to be very combat intensive. - Attributes - Clerics should usually have high Strength and low Dexterity as they are best suited to wearing heavy armor. However, it will not usually be possible to raise Strength as high as you would with a warrior because a Cleric is highly dependent on his mental attributes as well. A 12 Dexterity will give you the maximum AC bonus while in Plate Mail -- the choice armor type for most Clerics -- and 13 Dexterity is required for the Dodge and Mobility feats. Unfortunately, many Clerics will find they simply do not have enough attribute points to boost Dexterity. Balance your spare points between Strength and Constitution. Wisdom is the primary attribute for the Cleric as it is the basis of his spellcasting. Eventually you'll need to reach at least 19 Wisdom to cast 9th level spells, and you'll probably want to go higher to make your spellcasting even stronger. You should probably start with a score of 15 or 17 and improve it as your character gains levels. Charisma is also important for turning undead and many Cleric Domain abilities, yet many Clerics choose to ignore these ability and focus on their physical attributes instead. Intelligence can be largely ignored, but avoiding negatives might be a good idea to avoid losing skill points. A 13 Intelligence score is required for Disarm, Improved Disarm, Improved Knockdown, and Improved Parry, but Clerics usually don't have the attribute points to spare. - Skills - Almost all Clerics should train Concentration and Spellcraft. If there are any points left, Persuade is useful if your environment supports it. Otherwise, look to Heal or Lore but ignore Parry. - Feats - Clerics will want to select Weapon Focus and Improved Critical for their primary weapon, as well as pick up Power Attack, Cleave, and Knockdown to improve their melee skills. Toughness can be taken for a boost to HPs, and Exotic Weapon Proficiency can provide access to some valuable weapons. The remaining feats should be spent on metamagic feats like Combat Casting, Spell Penetration, Spell Focus, Extend Spell, Empower Spell, or Maximize Spell. - Spellcasting - The Cleric possesses Divine spellcasting that is based off of his Wisdom. Once he reaches the required level and possess an adequate Wisdom score, he automatically receives access to every spell for that level. He must, however, prepare his spells for use. This entails selecting in advance which spells he believes will be most useful for him, as well as how many times he will want each of them to available before he rests again. - Quick-Look - Hit Die: 1d8 Base Attack Bonus: 75% Armor Proficiencies: All armor and shields. Weapon Proficiencies: All simple weapons. No martial or exotic weapons. Primary Saving Throws: Fortitude and Will. Secondary Saving Throws: Reflex. Spellcasting: Divine, Wisdom-based. Base Skills Points Per Level: 2 Class Skills: Concentration, Heal, Lore, Parry, Persuade, Spellcraft. 1st Level - Spontaneous Cast. Turn Undead. Two Cleric domains are chosen. Level 1 spells become available. 2nd Level - 3rd Level - Level 2 spells become available. 4th Level - 5th Level - Level 3 spells become available. 6th Level - 7th Level - Level 4 spells become available. 8th Level - 9th Level - Level 5 spells become available. 10th Level - 11th Level - Level 6 spells become available. 12th Level - 13th Level - Level 7 spells become available. 14th Level - 15th Level - Level 8 spells become available. 16th Level - 17th Level - Level 9 spells become available. 18th Level - 19th Level - 20th Level - - Spontaneous Cast - Type: Cleric only Prerequisites: Free at Cleric 1st level. Required For: Nothing. This ability allows a Cleric to instantly cast any spell as a healing spell instead. The healing spell cast will be of comparable level with the spell sacrificed. This allows Clerics to memorize offensive spells, but still heal when needed. - Turn Undead - Type: Cleric and Paladin only Prerequisites: Free at Cleric 1st level and Paladin 3rd level. Required For: Nothing. When Turn Undead is activated, the character first makes a turning check to see the maximum Hit Die his turn will be able to affect. This check is determined by [1d20 + CHA modifier] and then compared to Cleric level based on the below chart (taken from the 3rd edition Player's Handbook): Turning Check Maximum Hit Die 0 or less Cleric's level - 4 1-3 Cleric's level - 3 4-6 Cleric's level - 2 7-9 Cleric's level - 1 10-12 Cleric's level 13-15 Cleric's level + 1 16-18 Cleric's level + 2 19-21 Cleric's level + 3 22+ Cleric's level + 4 A second roll is then made to determine how many Hit Die of undead the Turn will affect. This is determined by [2d6 + Cleric level + CHA modifier]. Turned undead will flee from the Cleric for 10 rounds, but if pursued they will attack normally. If the Turned undead's Hit Die is half of the Cleric's level, the creature is destroyed. Clerics may Turn Undead [3 + CHA modifier] times per day. - Extra Turning - Type: Cleric and Paladin only Prerequisites: None. Required For: Nothing. If this is chosen as a feat selection, the Cleric will be able to Turn Undead an additional six times per day. The average Cleric will be able to perform Turn Undead over three times per day, which is usually enough -- especially considering how easy it is to rest in most modules. If you want to be a particularly effective undead hunter or find yourself playing in a module full of undead with severe resting restrictions, then this feat is for you. - Domains - At 1st level a Cleric gets to choose two Domains which provide bonus spells and sometimes special abilities. The Domains worth the most consideration are Air, Animal, Healing, Magic, Plant, Sun, and Trickery. The Domains are discussed in more detail in the Domains section below. - 16/4 Cleric/Fighter - This build improves the Cleric's melee abilities at the cost of 9th level spells. The four levels of Fighter offer three bonus combat feats, martial weapon proficiency, access to Weapon Specialization and Discipline as a class skill, and improved HPs and BAB. The Fighter's BAB gains will allow the Cleric to get a fourth attack at 20th level. If you are willing to give up a feat, Weapon Specialization, and the fourth attack you could do a 18/2 Cleric/Fighter, or even a 19/1 Cleric/Fighter, and gain back your 9th level spells. - 16/2/2 Cleric/Fighter/Paladin - This variation of the above trades a third bonus feat for Divine Grace, immunity to fear and disease, and the opportunity to train Taunt as a class skill. - 16/2/2 Cleric/Fighter/Barbarian - This variation of the above trades the Paladin abilities for the Barbarian's Rage, faster movement speed, and Uncanny Dodge. - 19/1 Cleric/Monk - This is a nice build for the rare Dexterity based Cleric that is willing to go without armor. The Monk level lets you apply your large Wisdom modifier to your AC. It also provides Cleave and Evasion. You could augment this build with one or two Fighter levels to pick some helpful feats -- or two levels of either Barbarian or Paladin for their special class abilities. You could also spend three levels on Rogue and pick up a Sneak Attack, Uncanny Dodge, and a nice boost to your skills. Be careful though, as the addition of three Rogue levels will cause experience penalties. |=============================================================================| T H E D R U I D 1.09 |=============================================================================| - Introduction - In many ways the Cleric and Druid are very similar. They both have nine levels of Wisdom-based Divine magic and the ability to cast it while wearing armor and carrying shields. The Druid has the same HP and BAB as the Cleric, and he also lacks Discipline as a class skill. However, he is more initially restricted with weapon and armor proficiencies and lacks the ability to turn undead. On the other hand, the Druid gets an immediate animal companion in addition to his ability to cast summoning spells, and he later gains the ability to shapeshift into animals and eventually elementals -- although you lose the bonuses from your equipment while shapeshifted, making the value of this ability debatable. The Druid also gains immunities to grease, web, entangle, and poison, resistance to fear, and bonuses to fighting and skills in wilderness areas. The Druid lacks the customization of the Cleric domains, but has a more well-rounded spell list to compensate. - Multi-Classing (major) - Like any character with heavy spellcasting abilities, the Druid's magical abilities get stronger all the way to 20th level. In addition, the Druid's animal companion and unique ability to shape-shift continues to evolve -- ultimately allowing the Druid to shift into an Improved Elemental at level 20. However, the true effectiveness of shape-shifting is debatable, and it's not a bad idea to consider taking a few levels in something else. Fighters can make up for the Druid's lack of weapon and armor proficiencies, offer some extra feats (including Weapon Specialization), Discipline as a class skill, and improve the Druid's HPs and BAB. Barbarians offer many of the same proficiencies -- minus heavy armor -- and a boost to HP and BAB, Discipline and Taunt as class skills, Barbarian Rage, improved movement speed, and Uncanny Dodge. Like the Cleric, a melee-minded Druid should consider taking four levels in Fighter, Barbarian, or Ranger for the BAB boost in order to get four attacks at 20th level. Again, these melee abilities come at the price of 9th level spells. Rogues offer their useful set of skills as well as Sneak Attack, Evasion, and Uncanny Dodge abilities. Monks are an essential choice for the shapeshifting Druid. Besides Cleave and Evasion which are always useful, the shifted Druid can take advantage of the Monks unarmed attack abilities as well as apply their large Wisdom modifier to their AC. Finally, one level of Cleric for the Animal and Healing domains will increase the strength of your summons and healing spells. - Multi-Classing (minor) - There aren't very many reasons to minor multi-class with a Druid. Most of the class abilities aren't valuable enough and the Druid's spellcasting and animal companion require many Druid levels to be effective. - Races - Any race can work well as a Druid. Half-Orcs work well for Strength-based Druid warriors, particularly those thinking of a Barbarian multi-class. Elves work well for Dexterity-based Druids, adding valuable martial weapon proficiencies to the Druid's limited weapon selection. Humans are a great choice for their extra feats, skills, and multi-classing freedom. Halflings, Gnomes, Dwarves, and Half-Elves will all work also. - Attributes - Druids have some flexibility when determining their physical attributes -- they can work as Strength-based or Dexterity-based characters. Strength-based is probably the easiest path to choose though. Either way, pick one attribute and build it up and leave the other at a decent level. Constitution is important too. The Druid's spellcasting is based on Wisdom and it should therefore be set very high (15 or 17) and increased as the character gains in level. Druids have very little use for Charisma and can safely ignore it, and Intelligence should be set just high enough to avoid any skill point penalties. 13 Intelligence is required for Disarm, Improved Disarm, Improved Knockdown, and Improved Parry -- but that is probably out of reach for most Druid builds. - Skills - Almost all Druids should train in Concentration and Spellcraft. Animal Empathy is a unique skill, shared only with the Ranger, and most Druids will probably want to consider pursuing it as well. Persuade is useful if your environment supports it. Otherwise, spend any surplus points on Heal or Lore but ignore Parry. - Feats - Like any character that expects to engage in melee combat, a Druid should probably get Weapon Focus and Improved Critical for his primary weapon. He may want to obtain Weapon Focus and Improved Critical in unarmed to benefit his shapeshifted form. The standard combat feats -- Power Attack, Cleave, and Knockdown -- should also be given consideration. If you aren't going to multi-class to expand your proficiencies, you might want to consider picking Heavy Armor Proficiency. Weapon proficiencies, however, will be unavailable to you. At later levels, Toughness can be useful to add a boost to HPs. The remaining feats should be spent on metamagic feats like Combat Casting, Spell Penetration, Spell Focus, Extend Spell, Empower Spell, or Maximize Spell. - Spellcasting - The Druid possesses Divine spellcasting that is based off of his Wisdom. Once he reaches the required level and possess an adequate Wisdom score, he automatically receives access to every spell for that level. He must, however, prepare his spells for use. This entails selecting in advance which spells he believes will be most useful for him, as well as how many times he will want each of them to available before he rests again. - Quick-Look - Hit Die: 1d8 Base Attack Bonus: 75% Armor Proficiencies: Light and medium armor and shields. No heavy armor. Weapon Proficiencies: Club, Dagger, Scimitar, Sickle, Spear, Quarterstaff, Dart, and Sling. Primary Saving Throws: Fortitude and Will. Secondary Saving Throws: Reflex. Spellcasting: Divine, Wisdom-based. Base Skill Points per Level: 4 Class Skills: Animal Empathy, Concentration, Heal, Lore, Parry, Persuade, Spellcraft. Special: Must be somehow Neutral in alignment. Cannot take other weapon proficiency feats as a Druid, but may gain them from multi-classing. 1st Level - Nature Sense (+2 to attacks in the wilderness). Animal Companion. Level 1 spells become available. 2nd Level - Woodland Stride (immune to grease, web, and entangle). 3rd Level - Trackless Step (+4 to Hide and Move Silently in the wilderness). Level 2 spells become available. 4th Level - Resist Nature's Lure (+2 to save vs. fear). 5th Level - Wild Shape (x1). Level 3 spells become available. 6th Level - Wild Shape (x2). 7th Level - Wild Shape (x3). Level 4 spells become available. 8th Level - 9th Level - Venom Immunity (immune to poison). Level 5 spells become available. 10th Level - Wild Shape (x4). 11th Level - Level 6 spells become available. 12th Level - 13th Level - Level 7 spells become available. 14th Level - Wild Shape (x5). 15th Level - Level 8 spells become available. 16th Level - Elemental Shape (x1). 17th Level - Elemental Shape (x2). Level 9 spells become available. 18th Level - Wild Shape (x6). 19th Level - Elemental Shape (x3). 20th Level - Improved Elemental Shape (x3). - 19/1 Druid/Fighter - One of the Druid's main disadvantages is his lack of weapon and armor proficiencies. He is even restricted from choosing Simple, Martial, or Exotic proficiencies as a chosen feat. This makes even a small Fighter multi-class very useful. You'll immediately have access to Simple and Martial weapons, as well as the ability to wear Heavy armor, which will allow you to survive with a lower Dexterity score. In addition you'll get another combat feat and a chance to put some points into Discipline. You'll lose the ability to shapeshift into an Improved Elemental, but you'll retain most of your spellcasting abilities. You could also choose to take a 2nd level of Fighter for another feat and another lost 9th level spell, if you wanted. - 16/4 Druid/Fighter - This build further develops the Druid's melee abilities at the cost of his 9th level spells. You still get all of the weapon/armor proficiencies and access to Weapon Specialization and Discipline, but in addition you get a total of three combat feats and a 4th attack at 20th level. - 16/2/2 Druid/Fighter/Barbarian - This build drops the third combat feat for the Barbarian's Rage, faster movement, and Uncanny Dodge. - 18/1/1 Druid/Cleric/Fighter - This build takes advantage of the Cleric's Domain powers to increase the strength of the Druid's summoning spells, as well as his healing spells. Choose the Animal and Healing Domains. The Fighter level is optional, but it's usually a good idea to gain more weapon/armor proficiencies and Discipline. You could also take a 2nd Fighter level and still retain your 9th level spells. - 18/1/1 Druid/Fighter/Monk - This build works well for the Dexterity-based Druid that is willing to go without armor. The Monk level lets you apply your large Wisdom modifier to AC, as well as providing Cleave and Evasion. In addition, the Monk's unarmed combat abilities work great while shapeshifted. The Fighter level gives you the missing weapon proficiencies and Discipline. A 2nd Fighter level can be taken if needed without completely losing 9th level spells. Another variation would be to drop the Fighter levels completely and take three levels as a Rogue to gain Sneak Attack, Uncanny Dodge, and a boost to skills -- just be ready for multi-class experience penalties. Because of the Monk level, all of these builds must be Lawful Neutral. |=============================================================================| T H E S O R C E R E R 1.10 |=============================================================================| - Introduction - The Sorcerer is the offensive spellcasting powerhouse. He goes without armor and all but the most basic melee abilities, but he makes up for it with the ability to cast the highest quantity and quality of offensive spells available -- all based on Charisma. While his cousin the Wizard has a larger spell selection, learns his spells sooner, and much more spellcasting options in general, the Sorcerer selects a few favorites and casts them over and over. Those players that feel only a fraction of the spell list is truly useful should choose the Sorcerer. The Sorcerer also has a familiar that gains in power with each additional level. - Multi-Classing (major) - The Sorcerer is all about his spells and should therefore obtain the highest level possible with Sorcerer. There are a few valuable multi-classing options though. Since the Sorcerer is likely to have the highest Charisma score in the game, they also have the most to gain from the Paladin's Divine Grace. Just one level of Paladin can add +10 to all of your saving throws. One level of Monk can also be valuable for Evasion, unarmed fighting abilities, and the ability to add your positive Wisdom modifier to your Armor Class (if you happen to have one). A few levels of Rogue can be helpful if you are playing solo, but you're really better off having someone else do the Rogue work so you can master your spellcasting abilities. Because armor interferes with Arcane spellcasting and Sorcerers have an awful Base Attack Bonus, multi-classing with warrior types is usually just a waste. A level of Cleric for the Animal Domain can increase the power of the Wizard's summoning spells. - Multi-Classing (minor) - The Sorcerer's ability to cast spells and summon a familiar are largely dependent on class level, making it pretty much worthless to add on a few levels of Sorcerer to another character. - Races - Sorcerers are all about using their Charisma to cast spells. For this reason, Half-Orcs and Dwarves are obviously poor choices. Dexterity is important for AC making Elves and Halflings good options. Elves also supply some valuable Martial ranged weapon proficiencies. Human offer a valuable bonus feat, skills, and multi-classing freedom. Gnomes and Half-Elves work well also. - Attributes - Since you'll likely never want to engage in melee combat, you can safely ignore Strength. Dexterity will be valuable to boost your Armor Class, Reflex saves, and provide you with a decent chance of hitting with a ranged weapon. Constitution is important as it boosts Concentration and Hit Points. Charisma is the foundation of your power and you should set it high and raise it whenever possible. Avoid penalties in Intelligence so you don't lose any skill points. Wisdom isn't too important either -- unless you are thinking of a Monk multi-class. - Skills - Almost all Sorcerers should train Concentration and Spellcraft. If any points are available, spend them on Lore or Heal. You can't really go wrong here. - Feats - The Sorcerers primary ability is his spellcasting, and his feat selection should reflect that. Dodge and Mobility will provide some defensive protection, but the majority of your small number of feats should be spent on metamagic feats like Combat Casting, Spell Penetration, Spell Focus, Still Spell, Silent Spell, Extend Spell, Empower Spell, Maximize Spell, and even Quicken Spell. - Spellcasting - The Sorcerer possesses Arcane spellcasting that is based off of his Charisma. He is limited to knowing a finite amount of spells for each spell level, and these spells are chosen from a complete list when he gains a new level. He also has the option whenever he gains a level to go back and unlearn spells and exchange them with another spell of the same level. Like all spellcasters he is limited in the number of spells he can cast for each level, but he does not need to prepare his spells in advance. Rather he can dynamically choose and cast his spells from his limited list in any proportion that he sees fit. - Quick-Look - Hit Die: 1d4 Base Attack Bonus: 50% Armor Proficiencies: None. Weapon Proficiencies: All simple weapons. No martial or exotic weapons. Primary Saving Throws: Will. Secondary Saving Throws: Fortitude and Reflex. Spellcasting: Arcane, Charisma-based. Base Skill Points per Level: 2 Class Skills: Concentration, Heal, Lore, Spellcraft. 1st Level - Summon Familiar Level 1 spells become available. 2nd Level - 3rd Level - 4th Level - Level 2 spells become available. 5th Level - 6th Level - Level 3 spells become available. 7th Level - 8th Level - Level 4 spells become available. 9th Level - 10th Level - Level 5 spells become available. 11th Level - 12th Level - Level 6 spells become available. 13th Level - 14th Level - Level 7 spells become available. 15th Level - 16th Level - Level 8 spells become available. 17th Level - 18th Level - Level 9 spells become available. 19th Level - 20th Level - - 19/1 Sorcerer/Paladin - This is a highly useful multi-class and most Sorcerers should consider taking it. For the price of one 9th level spell, you gain the Paladin's Divine Grace ability which allows you to apply your large Charisma modifier to all three of your saving throws. You also get the Paladin's equipment proficiencies which you'll probably never use, the chance to train Discipline as a class skill, and immunity to disease. This build must be Lawful Good in alignment in order to access the Paladin class. - 18/1/1 Sorcerer/Paladin/Monk - This variation on the above build gives the Sorcerer access to Evasion at the price of another 9th level spell. With his high Reflex saves from the Paladin level, Evasion will allow him to avoid taking damage from many of the primary offensive spells. This is very useful, although some people try to get Improved Evasion from equipment instead of this multi-class. You also get Cleave and some basic unarmed combat abilities which you'll probably never use. If you have a way to boost your Wisdom you can use the Monk's ability to increase your AC. |=============================================================================| T H E W I Z A R D 1.11 |=============================================================================| - Introduction - Like the Sorcerer, the Wizard lacks the ability to use armor and possess the most meager melee abilities. But like the Sorcerer, he has access to the widest range of offensive spells available. However, where the Sorcerer uses his Charisma to cast his favored spells over and over, the Wizard uses his Intelligence to learn all spells and customize his abilities for the situation. Where the Sorcerer has to select a few, the Wizard has the potential to learn them all. The Wizard also learns higher level spells faster than the Sorcerer. He can also specialize in a school of magic and learn more meta-magic feats than his counterpart. Like the Sorcerer, the Wizard can summon a familiar. - Multi-Classing (major) - A Wizard derives his power almost completely from his spells, and should not choose to multi-class lightly. Like the Sorcerer, a level of Monk offers Evasion, unarmed fighting abilities, and the possibility of adding any positive Wisdom modifier to his Armor Class. The Rogue is another interesting option, as the Wizard's high Intelligence can be put to good use with the Rogues wide skill selection. However, it's important to remember that for every level you multi-class you are giving up valuable high level spells. Since the Wizard cannot use shields or armor without interfering with their Arcane spell casting ability and because their Base Attack Bonus is extremely low, multi-classing with a warrior type class is not recommended. A level of Cleric for the Animal Domain can increase the power of the Wizard's summoning spells. - Multi-Classing (minor) - A few classes might have sufficient Intelligence to gain some use out of a Wizard minor multi-class. A Fighter, Barbarian, or Monk may want to take a few levels as a Wizard to gain some valuable buff spells to augment his combat abilities. The class that has the most to gain from a minor Wizard multi-class, however, is usually the Rogue. The Wizard's low level spells can be a great assistance to the roles that Rogues often have to play. - Races - Elves offer a valuable boost to Dexterity, somewhat valuable weapon proficiencies, and Wizard as the favored class. Gnomes also offer Wizard as their favored class, with a valuable boost to Constitution. Humans offer their usual bonus feat, extra skill points, and multi-classing freedom. Halfling could work well for Wizards interested in a Rogue multi-class. Dwarves and Half-Elves can work also, although other races probably offer more. Half-Orcs get a penalty to Intelligence and make a poor choice for a Wizard. - Attributes - A Wizard should not be engaging in much melee fighting and can thus safely ignore Strength. Dexterity will provide a bonus to Armor Class, Reflex saves, and offer a decent attack with ranged weapons. Constitution will help Concentration and the Wizard's low amount of Hit Points. Intelligence is the primary attribute of the Wizard, the source of all his magical power. It should be set high and raised continually. Charisma and Wisdom are of little importance, although a bit of Wisdom could help in the case of a Monk multi-class. - Skills - Almost all Wizards should train in Concentration and Spellcraft. Since Wizards have a high Intelligence score, there will almost certainly be a surplus of skill points. If you plan to ever multi-class, consider saving your skill points for then. Otherwise, it's worthwhile to pour your points into Heal and Lore as well. After that consider training some non-class skills like Persuade, Search, or Discipline. - Feats - The Wizards primary ability is his spellcasting, and his feat selection should reflect that. The Wizard gets an advantage over the Sorcerer in that he gets to select four bonus metamagic feats. Some extra planning should be taken to ensure that desired metamagic feats are chosen at 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level and that regular feat selections are left open to choose regular feats. It is okay though, to spend these regular feat selections on metamagic feats as well. Dodge, Mobility, and Toughness will be the most valuable normal feats. The rest, however, should be spent on metamagic feats like Combat Casting, Spell Penetration, Spell Focus, Still Spell, Silent Spell, Extend Spell, Empower Spell, Maximize Spell, and even Quicken Spell. - Spellcasting - The Wizard possesses Arcane spellcasting that is based off of his Intelligence. He receives all cantrips for free at 1st level, and may initially choose seven 1st level spells. After that he may add two new spells at every level-up to his spellbook, and he is also able to scribe any spells that he finds on scrolls. He must, however, prepare his spells for use. This entails selecting in advance which spells he believes will be most useful for him, as well as how many times he will want each of them to available before he rests again. - Quick-Look - Hit Die: 1d4 Base Attack Bonus: 50% Armor Proficiencies: None. Weapon Proficiencies: Club, Dagger, Light Crossbow, Heavy Crossbow, and Quarterstaff. Primary Saving Throws: Will. Secondary Saving Throws: Fortitude and Reflex. Spellcasting: Arcane, Intelligence-based. Base Skill Points per Level: 2 Class Skills: Concentration, Heal, Lore, Spellcraft. 1st Level - Summon Familiar. Level 1 spells become available. 2nd Level - 3rd Level - Level 2 spells become available. 4th Level - 5th Level - 1st Wizard bonus feat. Level 3 spells become available. 6th Level - 7th Level - Level 4 spells become available. 8th Level - 9th Level - Level 5 spells become available. 10th Level - 2nd Wizard bonus feat. 11th Level - Level 6 spells become available. 12th Level - 13th Level - Level 7 spells become available. 14th Level - 15th Level - 3rd Wizard bonus feat. Level 8 spells become available. 16th Level - 17th Level - Level 9 spells become available. 18th Level - 19th Level - 20th Level - 4th Wizard bonus feat. - Wizard Feats - At levels 5, 10, 15, and 20 the Wizard can choose from the following list of feats: Combat Casting, Empower Spell, Extend Spell, Maximize Spell, Quicken Spell, Silent Spell, Spell Focus, Spell Penetration, and Still Spell. - School Specialization - A Wizard has the option to specialize in a particular school of magic. This oddly doesn't give you many advantages in this chosen school, but rather excludes you from using magic from the chosen school's prohibited school. In return you get to cast one extra spell per level (and it doesn't need to be used from your specialized school). You also get a +2 bonus to the Spellcraft skill when dealing with spells from your specialized school, and -5 penalty when dealing with spells from your prohibited school. You can also decline to specialize and keep access to every school -- which is known as "Universal". It's often recommended that beginners stay away from specialization to gain familiarity with all the spells first. I'll discuss some of the specialization options below. - Abjuration, Evocation, and Transmutation - These three choices prohibit the Conjuration school, which is the source of almost all summoning spells. Most players will avoid them for just that reason. It also contains a few mild offensive spells. If you are uninterested in summoning, than any of these schools would make an excellent choice. Evocation is probably the best due to the bonuses to Spellcraft when dealing with those spells. The following spells belong to the Conjuration school and will become inaccessible: Acid Splash, Ray of Frost, Grease, Mage Armor, Summon Creature I, Melf's Acid Arrow, Summon Creature II, Web, Flame Arrow, Stinking Cloud, Summon Creature III, Edvard's Black Tentacles, Summon Creature IV, Cloudkill, Lesser Planar Binding, Summon Creature V, Acid Fog, Planar Binding, Summon Creature VI, Summon Creature VII, Greater Planar Binding, Summon Creature VIII, Gate, and Summon Creature IX. - Divination and Enchantment - These two choices prohibit the Illusion school, which provides some excellent protection spells and a few powerful offensive spells, including the 9th level Weird. This is an okay choice, but probably not worth giving up. You should choose Enchantment over Divination as the Spellcraft bonus will probably be more valuable there. The following spells belong to the Illusion school and will become inaccessible: Color Spray, Ghostly Visage, Invisibility, Invisibility Sphere, Improved Invisibility, Phantasmal Killer, Shadow Conjuration, Greater Shadow Conjuration, Ethereal Visage, Shades, Shadow Shield, Mass Blindness/Deafness, and Weird - Conjuration - Conjuration prohibits the Transmutation school, which provides many of your buffing spells. These could be replaced with potions and equipment and such, but Transmutation is also the school of the powerful 9th level Time Stop, which should not be lightly abandoned. The following spells belong to the Transmutation school and will become inaccessible: Burning Hands, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, Eagle's Splendor, Endurance, Fox's Cunning, Knock, Owl's Wisdom, Ultravision, Haste, Slow, Bestow Curse, Polymorph Self, Greater Stoneskin, Tenser's Transformation, Mordenkainen's Sword, Shapechange, and Time Stop - Illusion - Illusion prohibits the Enchantment school, which has lots of charm, dominate, and hold spells. These spells usually aren't the best way to deal with situations in this combat-oriented game, making their absence not too big of a deal. This is one of the better choices. The following spells belong to the Enchantment school and will become inaccessible: Daze, Charm Person, Sleep, Blindness/Deafness, Hold Person, Charm Monster, Confusion, Dominate Person, Hold Monster, Mind Fog, Mass Haste, Protection From Spells, Mass Charm, and Dominate Monster - Necromancy - Necromancy prohibits the Divination school, which has a small selection of relatively weak spells that can be easily replaced by other means. At high levels, however, you receive the valuable defensive spell Premonition. Regardless, this is still a popular choice. The following spells belong to the Divination school and will become inaccessible: Identify, See Invisibility, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Find Traps, Remove Blindness/Deafness, Feeblemind, Legend Lore, True Seeing, Power Word- Stun, Premonition, and Power Word- Kill. - 19/1 Wizard/Monk - This multi-class can be useful to give the Wizard some mediocre unarmed combat skills as well as the useful Evasion. In addition, the Wizard can boost his Armor Class further by boosting his Wisdom score. However, getting higher level spells is almost always a better way to ensure survival, making this multi-class a rather sketchy choice. - 17/3 Wizard/Rogue - This multi-class can be a useful way to add another dimension to your Wizard by filling him out with a nice set of skills. The Wizard's high Intelligence will work well with this approach, allowing him to find and disable traps, pick locks, employ stealth, and use just about anything with Use Magic Device. You'll also get Uncanny Dodge, Evasion, and small Sneak Attack. However, for every level you take as a Rogue you are giving up a powerful 9th level spell, as well as delaying the natural growth of your powers. This is not something to be taken lightly. |=============================================================================| A T T R I B U T E S 2.01 |=============================================================================| - Distributing Attributes - Attributes are assigned in a point-buy system in NWN. This essentially means that the higher you want to raise an attribute, the more expensive it becomes, and the more it cripples the rest of your attributes. It's important not to get carried away. It's far more effective to spread the points around and use future bonus attribute points, equipment bonuses, and spell bonuses to boost your favored attributes to extremely high levels. For instance, you are making a Paladin and you currently have assigned him 17 Strength and 11 Wisdom. You have three points left to spend. You could use all three points to raise his Strength to 18, or you could use all three points to raise his Wisdom to 14. Because the point-buy penalties only apply during character creation it is far more effective to raise his Wisdom three points now and use your future bonus attribute points to raise Strength further. A good guideline is to assign all your secondary attributes first, setting them to the minimum level your character will need, and then spend what you have left on your primary attributes. Then, once you start the game, you can ignore those secondary attributes and put everything into raising your primary attributes as high as possible. - Natural or Modified - A natural attribute score is the attribute's value after points are distributed in character creation plus any bonus attribute points you have assigned. The modified score is the total after items and spells and class-abilities have provided their bonuses. Most of the time the game doesn't care how the attribute score is derived and uses the modified value. There are three notable exceptions though. The first is qualifying for feats. The second is when bonus skill points are derived from Intelligence. And the third is qualifying for spell levels. The highest spell level accessible is determined by taking the spellcasting attribute for the class (this varies) and subtracting 10. Thus, a natural attribute score of 11 allows access to 1st level spells, and a natural attribute score of 19 allows access to 9th level spells. - Even or Odd - Attribute scores are rarely used directly, rather it is their modifier that is used for the majority of calculations in NWN. The modifier is the +/- number displayed to the right of the attribute. While the modifier is derived from the attribute score, it only changes on even values. Thus, an attribute score of 15 and an attribute score of 14 are virtually the same -- both offering a modifier of +2. Use this to your advantage. Avoid assigning attribute scores that are odd numbers. Think only in evens. There are a few exceptions to this. When feats have an attribute prerequisite it's always an odd number. The maximum spell level a spellcaster can reach is based on their natural attribute score -- you need an odd number to reach an odd spell level. You also might plan to leave an attribute at an odd number with the intention of boosting it later to an even number. - Bonus Attributes - Every character gets one bonus attribute point to spend at character level 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20. It's a good idea to take this into consideration when designing your character. This means you don't have to immediately reach the high attribute score to cast your top level spells. Or you could intentionally leave one high attribute at an odd number and plan to boost it up at 4th level, which will come pretty quickly. Because of the way the p