Where to develop my fighter-weapon master?

[Ragusa]

I created a lvl-6 fighter/ lvl-7 (currently 4) weapon master, and I plan on giving the char some two more fighter levels afterwards. That means I still have some five levels to 'invest' in some class, and with that I think about the coming expansion.

So far I have resisted my inner urges to simply take rogue levels, as I usually would (for sneak attack and skill points aplenty), or the ever popular divine champion or frenzied berserker. I have so far taken the able learner feat, and I am able to spend my skill points wisely.

My char is strength-based fighter with decent secondary stats, (means, on lvl. 10 I have str 16, and no stat below 10) wielding a longsword. What I have in mind is to maybe pick the Shadowdancer (an obvious choice, with dodge and mobility already covered), or, becoming evil (tough chance) assassin or blackguard levels.

Any ideas what other classes to add to this char?

[T2Bruno]

The biggest issue is lower BAB. I went with 10/10 in HotU (is NWN2 much different here?) -- this allowed for a lot of feats and still taking advantage of the epic WM feats -- with Epic Superior Weapon Focus at 13th level you gain another +1 with your weapon of choice, and it keeps improving every three levels (for a total of +7 by WM level 28). At the end of HotU the character was at 12/15 -- and routinely hitting for 100-120 points per critical hit (halfling with kukris).

My first vote would be to stay F/WM. If you go the 10/10 route, you can give yourself improved two-weapon fighting -- based on my calculations, two-weapon fighting (even with a long sword) gives you ~20% more damage per round.

Second, Shadowdancer has a lot going for it -- evasion, uncanny dodge, hide in plain sight all within the first two levels. Going to ten levels you get all the great bonus feats of the rogue (improved evasion, slippery mind, etc.).

Rogue really doesn't gain you any offensive power but does make you a little more independant. I really like a fighter/rogue, but I'm not thrilled with F/R/WM.

Duelist would be fun with fighter/weapon master -- but you'd probably need a different weapon.

Dwarven Defender can be extremely powerful in this combination (but you need to be a dwarf).

I also like a plain barbarian as a third class. Fast movement, uncanny dodge, trap sense and rage -- all very beneficial to a WM.

[ September 04, 2007, 18:56: Message edited by: T2Bruno ]

[omnigodly]

If you don't want to fight in less than full-plate I'd go with blackguard. If you don't mind light/medium armor, then shadow-dancer isn't a bad idea, but either way, I would make sure I get a BASE AB of 16 by level20 at the latest for my 4 attacks/round.

[The Shaman]

I'd probably go for WM 10. From then on, if you don't want rogue or divine champion, shadowdancer isn't a bad idea - but I'm not sure how good its features will be if you're wearing heavy armor and have not maxed hide and MS. I suppose you could always get a few cleric levels in there, too - domains are almost like feats, their abilities work in any armor, and if you can cast the spells you get some okayish minor powers. Even bard levels, if you take them early enough to get the feat that allows them to cast in medium armor, can be useful for skill points, bardic music, inspirations etc.

[Ragusa]

Recently I have chosen to go for a Frenzied Berserker. Tremendous melee punch.

[Ironhawk Skylord]

A good idea, Ragusa.

A lot of the creatures in OC and MotB is crit immune.

Kind of take the punch out of WM.

[Ragusa]

Yep. The obvious advantage I saw was the general damage bonuses that would serve me well against those immune creatures. Against those who are not immune, the weapon master's critical hit improvement is deadly, and devastating in combination with supreme cleave.

For that very reason I also chose a dwarven waraxe for 1d10 and 4x damage on critical with a critical of 17-20 range with improved critical feat. With moderate strength, two handed use, improved power attack feat and six levels of a frenzied berserker you can easily add +30 to your two handed weapon. Add to that enchantment and magical damage and something like 250 damage on a critical hit is easily achievable. And then think about supreme cleave and your char in a group of cannon fodder

The poorer critical range of the dwarven waraxe (when compared with a katana for example) doesn't matter against immune creatures anyway, or when I don't hit critically for that matter. I could have taken a greataxe and got 1d12, but I prefer the dwarven waraxe for looks; also, I didn't feel I really need that extra damage. With regard to the damage calculations above, the advantage neglectable. Halberd would be a good compromise weapon. Greatsword is very effective as well, but some of those just look crappy.

One major shortcoming in NWN 2 when compared to NWN is in my view the lack of customisability of weapons and armor. Some weapons just look silly.