Am i right in thinking you can take more than one prestige class? If so I haven't been taking full advantage of this.

Also, for spell casting classes such as the pale master, arcane archer, RDD etc, do your spell casting abilities improve whilst taking prestige levels? i.e if I went Wiz3/Arcane Archer6 would I only be able to cast spells as a 3rd level wiz or would my 6 AA levels help in some way?

Thanks

Yes, you can take more than one. A Rogue/Assassin/Shadow Dancer is a very popular and effective build, for example.

No, your spellcasting does not improve with levels of those classes. Which is why taking levels of any prestige class is a bit of a waste for a dedicated spellcaster. All they do is add melee capability, which is the last thing a true wizard should be interested in. The Arcane Archer is a ranged focus, and probably your best bet to add a little offensive capability, but otherwise prestige classes for arcane spellcasters have been pretty much overlooked in NWN.

Yes you may take 2 prestige classes.

I believe, in your case with the arcane archer, that taking arcane archer levels will not help with casting spells. In short, you cast spells at whatever level your wizard is at, not the arcane archer. Hope you understand this.

Ah Death Rabbit beat me to it.

There is one exception. Half of the Pale Masters level is added to spells per day (not spell caster level though). I don't know if this continues beyond Pale Master level 10 though.

Yes, it does. but, like you said, it only adds to the number of spells per day. So, for example, your 3rd lvl wizard has the second level spell casting ability. If you were to take 10+ lvls in the Pale Master, you would still be limited to 2nd lvl spells. The PM effects your spells per day by 1/2 of a normal wizard. For example, at 3rd lvl wizard, you only get one 2nd lvl spell. If you have a 10th lvl PM, then the game pretends you have a 7th lvl wizard to calculate the number of spells you get in a day. Hope that is clear.

Thank you people, basically what you are saying is if I want a powerful magic user, steer clear of prestige classes.

Yep. The use of prestige classes is to give the casters a more melee approach, but with a super powered caster, you don't really need it. Just nuke them before they get close. :D

Actually, if you do want to take a Pale Master, you just have to alternate levels in PM and Wiz when you level up. Take 3 levels of Wiz to start, then 1 PM, 1 Wiz, 1 PM, etc. I've built this before. In the end, when you hit level Wiz lvl 12 (you'll be a lvl 9 PM at this time), you'll be cxasting 9th level spells. I know this sounds strange, but it works. Then go straight PM after that. Essentially, your spellcasting skills develop a bit slower, but in the end (ie. lvl 40) you end up with the same number of castable spells, through lvl9 and epic spells as a straight Wiz, but with 28 levels of PM benefits. IE. Bone Skin for a +16 to AC, D6 Hit Points instead of D4, and all of the other stuff.

I know this sounds strange, but the key is to take your levels alternating until you're about to cast 9th level spells. Then immediately go straight PM after that. By alternating, you'll find yourself casting 9th level spells as only a 12th level wizard because the PM is helping the Wizard class along, just not at quickly. Again, I know this sounds weird, but it works. You develop a bit more slowly in spellcasting, but get these bonuses.

I've built this before. In the end, when you hit level Wiz lvl 12 (you'll be a lvl 9 PM at this time), you'll be cxasting 9th level spells. I know this sounds strange, but it works.Don't forget that the PM class levels *do not* raise the level of the spell or the DC of the spell.

So your spells will be easier to save against, easier to resist and do a fraction of the damage they normally would at a "pure" level.

This is mostly true. The DC of a spell, assuming Bioware followed 3E rules, is based on the spell level (NOT caster level) and the INT modifier. So overal caster level is irrelavant. Spell Resistance DOES use Caster level, and SOME spells do damage and such based on caster level. So you are right that those areas would suffer. However, with a little planning on what spells you generally use, I think this weakness can be minimized. And, IMO, the benefits of the PM in this build may well be worth the drawbacks you've mentioned. Ultimately, it depends on personal taste though. My point is simply that the PM does not SERIOUSLY hamper spellcasting if you use it correctly, and could be helpful in giving your character some nice benefits.

Anyways, just a thought.

Ok, now you got me from the "convinced the Pale Master is crap" to intrigued...

Any suggestions on spell selections to balance out the lower caster-level issue? If the DC of spells do work like you say, it sounds like the insta-death spells (petrification, finger of death) would be preferable to something like fireball, because you're going to be launching it at a low-ish level.

I might have to try this out after all.

Keep in mind that you're taking 3 levels of Wizard off the top, and will end up with 12 wizard levels, so your 1-3 level spells aren't really going to feel much of a hit from this anyways, aside from taking a BIT longer to reach their maximum potency.

As for spells above this level, Summon spells are always good, as they don't care about 'caster level.'. Defensive spells are always a plus. Ones like Stoneskin last 1 hr/level. Chances are it'll get knocked down, or you'll sleep, before 12 hours goes by. Other defensive spells are often 1 round/level. These are designed to be used for 1 fight at a time, and most fights don't last long enough for this to be an issue either.

When it comes to damage dealing spells, look for spells that do a set amoung, regardless of level, or area effect spells that do a set amount per round (lvl4 Everard's Black Tentacles for example). Again, the fight will likely be over, or the target(s) will have gotten out of the area of effect, before the spell wears off.
As you move higher and higher in levels, you start seeing spells like Circle of Death. OK, 1d4/caster level creatures are effected. That's 12d4. Trust me, you won't hit more creatures than that with one casting of it anyways, so who cares that your caster level is onlt 12? But the EFFECT of that spells is a save vs. DC or DEATH. Moving farther up you've got spells like Prismatic Spray, Finger of Death, Great Thunderclap, Mass Charm, Meteor Storm, Wail of the Banshee and Weird. Plus pleny of spells that last 1 round per level, like the example of Everard's Black Tentacles, such as Incindiary Cloud, and the Bigby spells. Chances are, by the time these spells have run out, they've done their job anyways.

Their are several spells in the game which do things at a per level basis, but hit a max at 15th level anyways, so not a major drawback there. The point is, if you focus your spell selection in the right way, you can make this class work, and the drawbacks aren't too nasty. Plus, like I said, you WILL get full access to ALL of the Epic spells. And as we all know, that's all that REALLY matters anyways, right!
:D

Edit: By the way, just so you know. DC is calculated as 10+spell level+INT modifier in 3E rules. So, if Bioware followed those rules (they've changed others, so who knows), the DC won't change regardless of a Lvl 12 Wiz or a Lvl 40 Wiz, as long as INT is the same.

[ January 06, 2004, 22:12: Message edited by: Xindell ]