Hello to another corner of the internet where nwn people hang out!

Brief backstory: I’m a long time nwn 1 player [online that is, my handle is theflyingrodent] that a couple of years ago decided to revisit the single player campaigns, on Very Difficult and without henchmen for some challenge.

I mucked around with a few types of characters that I thought would perform well in these scenarios [battle clerics, monks, mages, etc.], and eventually settled on what I feel to be the most ‘optimised’ type of character for the Single Player Campaigns: A Melee Mage!

I recently went back and played through the 3 campaigns again on NWN EE [in part to see if the two games had any mechanical differences, which they don’t, as well as to check out the new visuals], and figured I’d share this build with you guys on the subreddit.

The Original Campaign and Expansion Campaigns each have their own slightly different build [Human for OC with Monk, Dwarf for Expansions with Assassin], but the concept for each is basically the same. I’ve previously posted this build in its’ entirety on the Nwn ECB Guild forums, which includes a comprehensive build and play through guide.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/nwnecbguild/bearded-battlewitch-sou-hotu-wizard-23-fighter-4-a-t2354620.html

Rather than completely repost what I put on the ECB GUILD forum, I figured I’d post a little summary of the build here, as well as a little description of what it does and why I think it’s a rather nice build for the campaigns. Would still recommend people read the link either way though!

It’s assumed that the player is using all the extra spells from HotU, as is the case with someone who’s playing SoU via NWN EE.

Full Build info, including Spell list, in link above.

Dwarf, Any Evil. STR 16 [18], DEX 12, CON 16, WIS 8, INT 16 [22], CHA 6. First 2 points onto Strength, the rest onto Intelligence [including one Great Int feat at the end]. Dwarves are a bit tankier than Humans [extra Con and saves vs Spells], which is helpful for the start of SoU.

Illusion Specialised School, for an Extra Slot at each level. Does remove Sleep [and other Enchantment spells] as a Level 1 spell, but given Wands of Sleep are relatively easy to find, the fact that the character will spend a lot of time fighting in Heavy Armour at early levels, and the silliness that is Bigby Hands at later levels, this isn’t an issue.

[/b]First Level[/b] Wizard, then Fighter at Level 2 for proficiencies.

Levels 3-16 Wizard. Should end HoTU at ~ Level 13, with Wizard 12 Fighter 1.

Level 17 Fighter.

Levels 18-21 Wizard.

Level 22 Assassin. Purely a Tumble dump. Assassin is the only Prestige Class [i.e. Class that doesn’t cause an XP penalty] that offers Tumble as a skill, other than Harper Scout [which requires loads of feats to take].

Level 23-24 Fighter. Weapon Spec and Epic Weapon Spec at level 24!

Level 25-28 Wizard. Epic Mage Armour at 27 means a decent final AC figure even when wearing Robes, particularly when combined with Bigby's Interposing Hand and Negative Energy burst [which combined result in about -13 AB for single opponents].

Feats:

Power Attack [1], Weapon Focus Halberd [2], Cleave [3], Knockdown + Extend Spell [6], Maximise Spell [9], Empower Spell [11], SF Necromancy [12], Improved Critical Halberd [15], GSF Necromancy [16], Improved Knockdown [17], Craft Wand [18], Epic Weapon Focus Halberd [21], Weapon Spec. + Epic Weapon Spec. Halberd [24], ESF Necromancy [25], Epic Mage Armour [27], Great Intelligence I [28].

Skills:

Pretty tricky to balance. The build has to juggle a lot of skills, and the level order’s a bit fiddly. Recommend consulting the link for this one.

Basically:

Concentration Maxed throughout.

Persuade 2 Cross class at level 1 [for some early quests].

Heal up to 20ish.

Lore 8 early, a few more points after 22.

Search cross class up to 9 [for Undermountain].

Hide/Move Silently 8 Cross Class at level 21.

Tumble 25 at level 22.

Spellcraft 27 at level 27.

In a nutshell, this build is a Mage sprinkled with some combat proficiencies, skills and feats. It plays more like a Battle Cleric than a traditional spellcaster Mage, in that most of the build’s offense comes from melee, rather than Damage/Disabling spells [although it does have the option to use those, being a Mage].

However! Unlike a battle Cleric, it doesn’t have ‘as many’ buffs that it has to cast upon waking up, it gets Haste/Improved Invisibility early, and it doesn’t have to continually cast Short-Term Attack spells [Divine Favour/Power etc.] every minute or so to keep its’ damage and AB numbers up. Which means it suffers less from the buff micromanagement syndrome than battle clerics do [and thus IMO is a lot more fun to play!].

It also, despite being so Wizard heavy, has enough consistent AB to hit everything that it needs to [mainly thanks to ability/weapon buffs staying ahead of the AC curve], and has Cleave to make up for the lack of Base Attacks/Round.

Compared to the OC: There’s next to no high AC enemies in SoU, and AB throughout is almost never a problem. In HoTU, it can be a ‘bit’ of an issue, but can be complemented with True Strikes/Darkness/Bigby Hands/etc. By Chapter 3, making a +10 Superweapon easily quams any AB woes, and the build gets some pretty incredible all round AB/AC/Ability stats in addition to having Level 9 Arcane Spells.

From this point, thar be spoilers.








SoU has IMO the most difficult Single Player Campaign of the 3 NWN Campaigns, and HoTU has the most toys to play with (in terms of items and class-oriented tools). Rather than regurgitate the link here I’ll just do little summaries of each game, and point to the link where I think would be appropriate [which is just about in every Chapter].

SoU Overview:

You have to fight things from level 1. Like, proper fight things, unlike the OC [where the enemies are pretty tame]. You have: Ray of Frost, Faerie Dragon Improved Invisibility [for 1 minute], Colour Spray, Mage Armour, Shield, Power Attack, True Strike, and a Dagger. Get creative, and save lots. Check the link out for more of a walkthrough.

Once you’re in Town, buy a Halberd and Splint Mail. Unequip Splint Mail to buff, put back on when running in to fight. Maybe quickbar Armour to make things easy. Stick to using Splint Mail until you’re level 11 Wizard [i.e. Level 12]; Bigby’s Forceful Hand is enough of an excuse to switch to using Robes.

Use Faerie Dragon familiar for Improved Invis buffs where possible, and at Level 6, switch out your familiar for a Pixie [personal lockpick!]. Do this by possessing it, and casting the spell on yourself. Details in the link.

Good Long-Term Buffs to learn are: Light, Mage Armour, Magic Weapon [up to level 6 Wizard], Protection from Alignment [Evil], Shield [Extended where possible], Bull’s Strength, Flame Weapon, Ghostly Visage [Extended where possible], Greater Magic Weapon [from level 6 wizard onwards]. Ghostly Visage is the most important spell on this list, so prioritise this over others!

After this: everything else should be normal/extended Expeditious Retreat and Haste. Running is fun. Item list in link [focus on Regen/Resistance/Immunity items, as you can get AC from spells].

Gold and Items are more scarce in SoU than in the OC, so spend your money wisely. Again, details in link!

For the Interlude: Part 1 and 2 can be tricky. Details in link. Part 3: Shifting Sands Boots! Perma Haste is fun. Ditch Expeditious Retreat spells for more buffs [True Strike, Ultravision, Cat’s Grace, Endurance], ditch Haste spells for some AoE spells [Darkness mainly, as you can cast this in Armour!]. Check the link for a sneaky method of taking out the Formian Queen, should you choose to try and fight her. Save before running through the portal.

For Chapter 2: You’ll have to run to the centre of the map to rest, which is a little annoying. From there, this chapter’s pretty straight forward and fun. Switch to Robes once Forceful Hand becomes available, and use it to level just about any boss creature you come across. Details in link!

HotU Overview:

You beat Heurodis! Yeah! Aaaaand you lost all your stuff. Using little more than Weapon/Haste/Ability Buffs, a Dagger, Darkness, and ‘maybe’ IGMS, you ‘should’ be able to kill all the Drow you see in the first fight. Aim for this anyway, as they are together worth about a level of experience.

Go buy some gear in town, then it’s dungeon crawling time in one of the most awesome DnD Dungeons ever. Set up a Bindstone in Waterdeep to sell your stuff as you go. Boots of Speed are found somewhere near the end of the Chapter. Details in link!

Chapter 2 can be tricky if unprepared. Recommend reading the link [again]. Recommended Play Order: Strange Town/Shaori’s Fell, Maker’s Sanctum, Beholder Cave, Illithid, Undead Castle.

You should by this point have a nice armory to fight with. This includes [most likely] a Dragon’s Breath Halberd or Talona’s Strike [buffed with Flame Weapon and Greater Magic Weapon to +5] and Level 8 Arcane Spells. Melee, Bigby Hands, IGMS, Evards and Damage Shields should solve most problems. Craft Wand is nice for making Evards and Lesser Spell Breach wands, for backup spell reserves.

Apart from this, one area that deserves a special mention is the Spider Cave, which disables all magic … exactly what this build hates! This build can circumvent this problem by [temporarily] summoning an Elemental and Familiar, and trailing along behind them until you reach the secret door and disable the obelisk.

Other than this, be sure NOT to head back to town after you’ve headed West, so that you can complete all the areas before the town gets attacked. Details in link on how to handle the final fights.

Chapter 3 is the Shiny Toy Parade. Check the link for specifics. Pretty straight forward other than the fight with Grimgnaw and Mephistopheles.

Basically: This build gets a ridiculous amount of tools to use to tackle problems thrown at you in the campaigns [melee for long fights, spells for tricky fights, rogue familiar and flame weapon for negotiating the million locks that you’ll encounter, etc.]. It requires a little knowledge of Arcane Spells, but not ‘that’ much beyond a few buffs and a handful of offensive spells.

If you’re looking for something different to run through the Expansion campaigns, you should totally give this build a try! :D