The IWD2 bug has bitten me again, and I'm looking to take a party to the end of HOF this time. I would like to ask if there is a class capable of melee, but also able to use magic to self buff and deal some extra damage when needed. Kind of like the f/m multi class in BG2. If so, how should I go about distributing stats and levels for this character, so that he will remain useful all the way to the end of HOF? TIA

[edit] Also, should I focus on 2 handed weapons, or longswords in preperation for mordy's sword? And how many APR should I aim for?

The IWD2 bug has bitten me again, and I'm looking to take a party to the end of HOF this time. I would like to ask if there is a class capable of melee, but also able to use magic to self buff and deal some extra damage when needed. Kind of like the f/m multi class in BG2.

The bard!





(Kidding, bards suck. Melee in Hof is a pain, but cleric is you best chance. Don't forget to tke a monk level.)

Cleric. For extra damage spells, go for Talos or Lathander. Battlepriests of Tempus have good melee capabilities, as do Helmites. For a more Arcane feel, Oghma is a good choice - they also get Wail of the Banshee at spell level 9, iirc. Dreadmasters of Bane get extra disabling spells, if that's what you need. Look out the JUPP (http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/IWD2/index_tips.php) for ideas - there's a drow Dreadmaster that looks pretty formidable, or just stay as a pure cleric. More spells never really hurt, did it?

Thanks for the feedback guys. Though I was looking for more of an spellsword type. Not really a fan of clerics. After looking through related threads, I'm thinking of the following character (with weimer bonus merchant and bonus items installed)

Drow
18 str
18 dex
16 con
20 int
3 wis
5 chr

4 fighter 4 ranger 3 pally 19 evoker

Reason for choices

1) 11 fighter type levels to reach 3 apr

2) Ranger for free dual wielding feats (for tsui-no-ken and bastard sword of heroism)

3) Pally levels for holy avenger stat rewards

4) Evoker cos there is nothing really useful in conjuration and divination

All stat bonus points into str. Other then the usual feats, specializing in flails as well for golems etc.

Question: Does the ambidex and 2 weapon fighting feat show up on the character profile, or is it a hidden bonus?

What do you guys think? Is this a good build?

I'll sign on the Cleric list here, a battle cleric is better fighter than the fighter is. Near all cleric spells is like made to buff warriors in combat, wizard only got ways to not get hit.

But yeah, I kinda figured from the first post that you wanted a fighter/mage. To be honest I go bard if I want those, I generally don't see the use/charm in them for anything save that, at least not for close combat. Closest I have made is fighter1/wizardX to give archery feats and bonuses at start (and letting him use armor for the first bunch of levels).

So are you going to take the Evoker levels in the end ? if so this character will be next to useless for the largest part of HOF.

Ouch, the dreaded powergaming hurts my eyes. You've managed to create a monster. :rolleyes:

If you plan to play in HoF, remember this: Evocation spells are useless. Conjuration, Necromancy and Enchantment are the real life saviors.
If you really want to play a true spellsword, go for an Aasimar Paladin of Mystra/Abjurer. And while this may sound strange you can actually use him/her with great efficiency without resorting to min/max builds.

I took evocation for the extra spell slot. Conjuration spells will be taken care of by my sorc, and I'm not planning to resort to too many summons anyway.

Evoker levels will be taken mid game, while I level squat pally levels just before cera sumat encounter. That should at least get me MI.

Redrake, that character sounds interesting. Care to elaborate?

In my last run through HoF I used such a character. If I remember correctly these where her stats:
Str: 14
Dex: 10
Con: 14
Int: 14
Wis: 12
Cha: 16

The increase stats goes mainly for Con and later on to Int to gain additional spell levels. Strength can be kept high with Bull Strength spell or Champion's Strength. For weapons, longswords&shields are the best for her.
As for leveling up I went initially for paladin levels until I hit level 8 to get her Fiendslayer feat. After that Abjurer until level 8 and from then on I leveled her up evenly (I hate how plate armor looks on a skirt).

Why take evocation when you can be a diviner (only looses conjuration)???
Otherwise your character looks fine. You will need someone/something to take the hits since you lack AC but summons or a high-AC decoy will take care of that. And take the wizard-lvls early so that he becomes useful earlier.

Why take evocation when you can be a diviner (only looses conjuration)???
Otherwise your character looks fine. You will need someone/something to take the hits since you lack AC but summons or a high-AC decoy will take care of that. And take the wizard-lvls early so that he becomes useful earlier.


Lol i totally missed that. Diviner it is. And the way i see it, 5-6 wizard levels should be more then enough for normal mode.

I've also decided to take only 10 fighter levels. An extra 8 and 9 level spell slot is too good to pass up. Now I'm wondering, should I take ranger for the free feat, or would barb be a better choice? I will probably have too many feats anyway right?

If you're going spell sword, I'd recommend a high AC decoy:

(With regards to specific numbers. I THINK these are right, but they're mostly based off memory. If I'm wrong somewhere, I'll try to include all numbers so they can be adjusted.)

Deep Gnome
6 Str (Keep bull's strength up)
20 Dex+7 (lvl up) - 2 (Potion Trancendence) + 5 (Slippers)=30
12 Con
16 Int+3 Xvimiam Fang=19 (can cast all spells)
19 Wis+2 (Pot. Tranc)+5 Every God's Ring+ 4 (2 Banite Quests)=30
1 Char
Lawful Evil (Access to Xvimian Fang, Monk, and Banite)

21 Illusionist
1 Monk
2 Ranger
1 Dreadmaster
1 Sorcerer
2 Fighter
2 Rogue

Required Feats: Expertise, Dodge, Weapon finesse

This character can progress through the game with no experience penalties. Take monk first, then progress through the classes as need. Just be sure to take the Banite level before chapter 4. Take the sorcerer level right after the first Illusionist level. The rest is pretty open. In terms of progression, dump all stats into either wisdom or dexterity. I'd recommend dexterity for Weapon finesse.

Reasoning:
1. Deep Gnome - Natural AC, spell resistance, mirror image, and invisibility. What's not the love? (fine, the +3 effective character level.)

2. 20 Illusionist for spell casting and favored class of deep gnome. Learn to love and abuse mirror image, shield (self cast only). Use tenser's transformation as needed.

3. 1 Sorcerer. Eliminates spell restriction of illusionist

4. 1 Dreadmaster. +2 Wisdom from dreadmaster quest

5. 2 Fighter. Hit points, and badly needed BAB.

6. 2 Ranger. 2 weapon fighting. Additional level for hit points and BAB.

7. 2 Rogue. Use crows nest. Skills, and better hit points than wizard.

8. 1 Monk. You're a wizard, so you're basically naked anyways. Let's get the wisdom AC bonus. It's pretty darn significant.

Defence Breakdown. Almost all of this AC is generic. Only the AC from shield and ghost armor is not generic.
-- Naked AC Bonuses --
10 Base
10 Dex
10 Wisdom
4 Race
1 Dodge
5 Expertise (40 Unbuffed naked AC)
-- Gear AC Bonuses --
5 Brazen Bands
3 Sunfire Talisman
3 Crow's Nest (51 Unbuffed AC)
-- Buff AC Bonuses --
7 Shield
5 Ghost Armor
4 Haste (69 Self Buffed AC)
4+(1-4) Tensor's Base + Rand Dex bonus (74-77 Self Buffed Tensor's)
5 Barkskin
2 Sith's Battle Song
2 Helm's Watch (78 Party Buffed AC No Tensor's, 82-86 Party Tensor's)

Since you can go well over the necessary 72, you can split some of the loot up. Also, With the exception of Tensor's, Helm's Watch, and Haste, most of these skills can last 100 rounds, meaning you don't need to keep resetting these buffs. Also, this character has access to Improved Invisibility's concealment, Mirror Image, and natural spell resistance. However, should anything penetrate those defences, this build's pitiful hit points mean the gnome's gonna get punted into the afterlife.

If he was a goblin, you could name him Fumbles.

I named him Grilnik in my game :).

Lol i totally missed that. Diviner it is. And the way i see it, 5-6 wizard levels should be more then enough for normal mode.

I've also decided to take only 10 fighter levels. An extra 8 and 9 level spell slot is too good to pass up. Now I'm wondering, should I take ranger for the free feat, or would barb be a better choice? I will probably have too many feats anyway right?

I dont see the point in dual wielding in IWD2. you are basically restricted to using a small blade in your off hand, and even then you only get 1APR with your off hand, ever. I prefer two handed weapons, or weapon and shield if you need armor.

Why not try something like this:

Monk 1 - for evasion and AC bonus from WIS
Fighter 4 - for BAB bonus, extra feats and weapon specialization
barbarian X - as far as I remember, these guys get good damage reduction at higher levels, plus they also get higher HP.
Diviner 18-19 - you might not need so many diviner levels, if you want a true spellsword maybe only take 12 diviner levels, keep int at 16 max so you can put some points into wis for the AC bonus.

If he was a goblin, you could name him Fumbles.

Nice one. I believe it's a reference to that goblin (http://goblinscomic.com/d/20050628.html)?

Technically, T2 is referring to Senor Vorpal Kickass'o.

http://goblinscomic.com/d/20050903.html

Both are correct. Either name would work.

Gotta love the "don't make him kick 1/11th of your ass" comment... or in this case 1/7th.

@ DrEm314

Other than for the +2 wisdom bonus, is there any OTHER reason to take a dreadmaster level??

1 Charisma doesn't seem like a good idea, though even with Eagle's Splendor lol

1 dreadmaster lvl gives +2 wis which means +1 AC with the monk lvl (aside from the +1 will save), and you'll also get access to cleric scrolls and also +2 fort and will save for the cleric lvl. The AC is what your after in that jukka-character he mentioned. You'll also get the same bonus in HOF so one lvl for +2 AC is a good trade off for a char built with the purpose to never get hit.

Other than that I also like dreadmaster on pure clerics because of the bonus to wis and the domain spells and bonus to enchantment spells.

You could go with a Drow Pally 3/Sorcerer X who just casts a ton of Mirror Images to stay in melee.

@ DrEm314

Other than for the +2 wisdom bonus, is there any OTHER reason to take a dreadmaster level??

1 Charisma doesn't seem like a good idea, though even with Eagle's Splendor lol

No, the dreadmaster level serves absolutely no other purpose. Well... I suppose it adds a few hitpoints compared to an illusionist. But no, the dreadmaster level is taken for 1 reason only, +4 to wisdom = +2 to AC (this assumes both from normal and HoF mode).

1 Charisma, from a powergaming stand point of view, has absolutely no penalty. The assumption is, this guy never talks. You can have another character take care of the diplomatic and shopping duties.

Re: Proteus_za:

You can't have both Barbarian and Monk levels.

Re: DrEm314:

The one Cleric level eliminates the restrictions from the Illusionist class just as well as the Sorcerer level. Take something useful instead.

Re Klorox:
Oh cool. Didn't know that. I thought the cleric level only opened up divine scrolls and not arcane. If that's the case, take an extra illusionist or monk level. Off the top of my head, monk should add a few more hitpoints. I'd have to check the manual, but it might add a bit BAB and Saving throws.

The Illusionist level increases caster level, always nice, and it might add an extra spell, but I don't think so. I'd have to check the manual to be sure.