Neverwinter Nights > Character Builds
PRC Strategy Guide (And Help Request)
Stratovarius:
This is a partial resurrection from Google cache. I'm getting as much as I can, but I'd appreciate it if others could help us. The best way to do this is to search in Google for "Class Name site:http://www.dladventures.com". That was the address of the previous forums. If you do dig it up, please just format the text as best you can and drop it into that Submit Article link on the left. I'll start fleshing out the build threads from there then.
Stratovarius:
Sacred Fist
Introduction:
One of the many gestalt classes introduced by the PRC, the Sacred Fist is a full 30-level prestige class that fuses the strengths of the Monk and a divine caster class, focusing particularly on the strength of the Monk's fist and speed, while providing full caster progression, full BAB progression, unique use-per-day abilities, and maintaining a solid d8 hitdie. TThis well-rounded combination of melee prowess and spellcasting power makes the Sacred Fist one of the most blatantly strongest prestige classes of the Player Resource Consortium.
Pros of the Sacred Fist:
The mix of full caster progression and full BAB progression is arguably one of the strongest features of the class, and one that very few other prestige classes share. As a result, an optimized Sacred Fist not only has powerful offensive options through spellcasting (assuming Cleric or Druid was used for the prestige class), but can also duke it out in melee with great effectiveness since the Sacred Fist will have above average AB.
Dealing out damage with only a fist may seem like a problem since the Sacred Fist may be busy spending attribute points towards Wisdom and Dexterity instead of Strength, but the Sacred Fist has an ability that partially solves this problem in the form of the Sacred Flame ability, which adds damage (half-fire, half-divine) to the character's fist equal to class level + Wisdom modifier. Although a use-per-day ability, Sacred Flame gains three uses of it before level 10 and it lasts for a minute, long enough to last for at least any one whole encounter.
Then there is the Sacred Fist's automatic speed boosts, which combined with Tumble as a class skill allows the Sacred Fist to move around the battlefield with greater ease.
Lastly, the Sacred Fist's Inner Armor, while not scaling in strength of effect like its other class abilities, is nonetheless a welcome addition to the rest of its strong aspects and not only lasts for a relatively long time with high Wisdom, but also helps to resist On Hit attack spells that are usually low level.
Cons of the Sacred Fist:
Be prepared to lose out on certain things from both Monk and divine casting class.
Taking Sacred Fist levels, the character is likely to lose out on the following Monk abilities.
Immunities to Disease, Poison, Mind-Affecting Spells
Free Knockdown Feats
Improved Evasion
Enhancement Bonus to Fists
Free Cure from Wholeness of Body
Concealment Ability from Empty Body
DR from Perfect Self
Save or Die Ability from Quivering Palm
If taking Cleric, there is a loss in turning ability, though that tends to be a given with many divine prestige classes.
Also, note that, as with all prestige classes that attempt to mix the strengths of two different classes, a character aiming to be a Sacred Fist will see a bit of a lull in strength before level 10 since there is a split in distribution of class levels. However, this isn't as much of a problem as a class like, say, the Mystic Theurge since both the Cleric and the Monk get great benefits out of the same attribute (Wisdom).
Build Recommendations:
Wisdom is the key stat of the Sacred Fist, as its spells are tied to Wisdom as well as the strength of the Sacred Flame.
The most optimum distribution of class levels for a Sacred Fist would be a Cleric 6 / Monk 4 / Sacred Fist 10 pre-epic, and then have all epic levels go into Sacred Fist. This would allow the Sacred Fist to have seven uses of Sacred Flame, full caster level distribution with the Practised Spellcaster feat, and the proper number of attacks due to BAB (though number of attacks isn't really a concern due to the way the Bioware system calculates it when playing a Monk). What I've found to be a good idea is to start with Cleric first, take Practised Spellcaster whenever you start dipping into Monk, and then go Sacred Fist as soon as possible.
Druid should also qualify for the Sacred Fist, if the player doesn't mind the inconvenience of changing alignments.
Theoretically, classes like Ocular Adept, Vassal of Bahamut, and Paladin can qualify for the class, but the full caster progression isn't quite as useful in regards to them since their offensive spellcasting power doesn't come close to that of a Cleric or Druid. Using Favored Soul to qualify is also a bad idea since it's Charisma-dependent rather than Wisdom-dependent.
Spellcraft and Concentration are critical for spellcasting. Lore is required for gaining a number of Epic Spells. Discipline is helpful against things like Knockdown. Tumble is good for the Dodge AC and moving around groups of opponents or running away. Of course, to be able to place full points in all five of them at once is going to be extremely tough on stat allocation since you're going to need to pump Intelligence by quite a bit, so for the sake of simplicity at least make sure Spellcraft, Concentration, and perhaps Discipline and/or Lore are high.
Important feats other than Practised Spellcaster include damage-enhancing metamagic feats, the Spell Penetration Feats, Spell Focus feats if you want to focus on certain kinds of spellcasting, and Great Wisdom feats. For domains, Fate is an excellent pick for Uncanny Dodge, and any of the domains that enhance spellcaster level are also useful. Two domains that aren't quite useful for the Sacred Fist are the War and Metal domains, as they give free Martial Weapon Proficiency, and the Sacred Fist can't use weapons.
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Off the record: I don't care how ridiculously powerful the Sacred Fist is, the Wilder will still be my favorite gish-y class.
After being frustrated with the Iaijitsu Attack's apparent inability to pierce DR, the Ancestral Daisho's TMI-filled menus, and the fact that I feel like writing more about the Tempest than the CW Samurai, I realized I wasn't going to be qualified to write about those anytime soon. I'm liking the Ninja though, it has potential.
Stratovarius:
Thrall of Graz'zt (Arcane)
Intro/Description
Strangely enough, while Graz'zt's thralls are supposed to be conniving and seductive, the PrC adds a powerful punch to most spellcasters and provides very powerful meatshields that compliments its Spell strike and spell betrayal abilities. The word "Heavy Duty Artillery" best describes this class. Another thing going for the good ol' ToG is the amount of class skills that it gets. I'm note sure its a bug, by the ToG does have UMD as a class skill, allowing it to wear class/alignment/race restricted items such as Holy Avengers and Monk robes. This opens up possibilities of casting spells that would otherwise be unavailable to the caster class one has picked. As an RP character, Dark Charisma and charm add a lot of bonuses to social situations, so a ToG can go on and be his/her coniving little self.
Pros:
[ulist=disc]adds addiontal damage to spells
good skill set
powerful set of summons on later levels.[/ulist]
Cons
[ulist=disc]1/2 level progression
fragile
weak reflex and fort saves (former can be solved with a feat)
offers little choice in multiclassing
no special epic feats (auto-quicken, auto still etc)[/ulist]
Build(s), including suggested spell choices if a caster
Wizards can easily take the class and fullfill the requirements at first level, an additional benefit for taking the Wizard route would be the amount of class skills the ToG gets, as well as the stat spread. Basically, high enough dex and very high INT will be enough for one to enjoy firing off frost rays that go up to 70 dmg. Sorcs are aslo viable, and would greatly benefit in Dark Charisma bonuses in social situations. However, a Wizard is still choice due to its versatility. Theoretically, Assasins may prove a viable and interesting entry.
Wiz 10 / ToG 30
This will give the character a 30 HD (read, 30 level) Balor which will proved magic, melee and distraction which means more damage from spells. Rays and IGMS shine with this build, but it however suffers from a low caster level (Wiz 10 + 15 Tog + 4 Practised spellcaster = 29). Further more, there are few spells in the higher levels that go work with Spellstrike and spell betrayal. This can be fixed by taking up meta magic feats such as empower and maximise to get better damage output. Putting in high UMD would mean the ability to use divine scrolls for buffing of both you and your Balor pet. Spell penetration, its greater and epic counterparts are a MUST.
Alternatively, one can opt only for a 25 HD Balor, and get more caster levels by taking Archmage and its spell power feats (ToG 12 + Wiz 10 + Archmge + 10 + 4 PSC = 36 caster levels).
Another defensive build would involve using the Elemental Savants, giving nice immunities and better caster levels (Tog 10 + Wiz 10 + ES 10 + 4 PSC = 34) than the pure ToG approach.
For the more offensive minded, the bonuses of the Mage Killer maybe tempting, however the amount of feats needed may cripple your character in certain areas, but one might argue that taking this class does save you some feats such as spell focuses on Evocation and Necromancy.
Note that you lose on additional spell damage when skipping ToG levels.
A more balance approach of direct damage and AOE spells would lead to my suggested build, a Wiz 5/ToG 25/Shadow Adept 15. This will give the the character a total of 36 caster levels, improved DCs on good AOE spells such Weird, Wail of the Banshee and other death spells, while still maintaining a good amount of damage from one's direct damage spells plus 25 HD balor and the Shadow Adept's other abilites. RP wise though, this makes no absolute sense, perhaps more RP-oriented people would chose the Red Wizard, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Suggest spells would be as follows:
Ray of frost - this once pathetic spell is now a force to be reckoned with.
Negative Energy Ray - See above.
Magic Missle, Acid Arrow, Fire Arrow, Fire Bolt and other projectile spells
IGMS - While the the additional damage only applies to the first projectile, its always good to have this around.
Wail of the Banshee
Weird
Finger of Death
(I haven't tried all spells, but since this baby is taking Wizard as its base caster, one can just go wild here)
*20th level only PCs can just opt to stick with the ToG or
Must-have feats:
Great, Epic and normal spell penetration.
Empower Spell
Maximze Spell
Spell focus.
Epic Spells:
Either defensive ones such as Epic Mage armor or Warding and/or additional summons like Unholy Disciple, Twinfiend (this would be bad RP though), Dragon Knight, Summon Abberation or Mummy Dust.
ToGs who've invested on their stealth skills may want to try Unseen Wanderer.
Other Multiclass combinations
Either Rogue/Ninja/Assasin are good ideas, if you want a character that uses stealth, starts with a spell strike, summons a tan'nari then proceeds to either sneak attack or spell sneak his enemies apart.
Somewhere around...
Wiz 6/ToG 25/ Rogue 4
or
Wiz 5/ToG 25/Assasin 15
Not sure about the Ninja yet though.
Stratovarius:
Ninja Part #1
Introduction:
The Ninja base class is quite close to many of the Rogue's critical functions. The two share many of the 'sneaky' skills, such as 'Disable Trap' and 'Open Lock', as well as a high amount of skill points to use them (the Ninja being less than the Rogue by only two). Both the Ninja and Rogue also have d6 hitdie, high Reflex saves, and full Sneak Attack progression up to the 40th level. But this is where the similarities end.
The Rogue is still one of the few classes in the game that can properly place ranks in Use Magic Device, the others being the Thrall of Graz'zt and the Bard. The Ninja is not among this select group.
However, in exchange, the Ninja gets a lot of abilities of a flavorful and mystical sort. Ninjas receive bonuses to AC from Wisdom modifiers, special progressive boosts towards Tumble and Jump rolls, and Ki Powers that give the Ninja an edge in being as stealthy as their namesake can be.
Pros of the Ninja:
You can play out the epic Ninja vs. Pirate fight against a Swashbuckler, determining the true victor once and for all.
No, seriously, the Ninja is one of the best classes in the game in terms of harassing one's opponents, thanks to the Ninja's Ki Powers. Using Ghost Step will allow you to flit in and out of combat, and when Ghost Step's Ethereal version (and later, Ghost Walk) is acquired, it can even be used in tandem with the Ninja's Ghost Strike ability safely attack opponents without returning to the material plane. Combined with the concealment-granting Ki Dodge and the rarity of Tumble as a class skill, the Ninja is hard to see, hard to hit, and hard to stop, a veritable skulking battlefield nightmare especially to enemies of the Ninja that lack True Seeing.
But even outside combat, the Ninja is quite useful. Due to the number of available skill points (second highest of the base classes outmatched only by the Rogue), the Ninja can, with high Intelligence, fulfill duties such as searching for traps and disabling them, finding hidden doors and unlocking them, and other sneaky duties.
Cons of the Ninja:
Of course, the Ninja, like other classes that makes use of Sneak Attacks, runs into a snag when encountering enemies that are Undead or Constructs, types who are immune to such attacks. So if you run up against ugly Demonflesh Golems or Geoffrey Rush (who happens to be Undead AND a Pirate, curse the luck) and battle is unavoidable, expect longer, drawn out battles if Sneak Attack is the character's main source of damage.
The Ninja can't use his Ki Powers with any kind of armor on, so investments will need to be made in either Wisdom or Dexterity. The Ninja would also need Strength for damage, Dexterity for dual-wielding builds, Wisdom to have multiple uses for Ki Powers, Constitution for enduring hits in those occasions when enemy melee combatants can see (and thus focus on) you, Intelligence for having more points for all of its skills, etcetera-- trying to decide where point buying is best can be a truly difficult endeavor for a Ninja.
Build Recommendations:
[To be added later, as I just noticed the Skullclan Hunter, which adds some tasty possibilities I'd like to cover later]
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It's alright to put in [weak] humor, right? ... Right?
Stratovarius:
Ninja Part #2
The following section should replace the [bracketed marker] placeholder under Build Recommendations:
Races that give positive adjustments to Dexterity and Intelligence are preferred. Of course, Human is a good choice for the Ninja as well, especially since Humans have a greater number of skill points starting out.
With regards to stat allocation, I would recommend an investment in Intelligence at least up until costs reach more than one point, and a little less than the same for Wisdom. This should guarantee a good number of skill points and Ki Power uses early on. The Ninja lends itself well to a Dex-based dual-wielding build, so in the end, Dexterity would probably be pumped the highest. Anything left is up to the player's discretion.
It would be a bad idea to create as Strength-based Ninja, as the character would have a serious lack of AC and if the Ninja were to so much as put on a Tower Shield, their Ki Powers would no longer work.
In terms of feats, Weapon Finesse is critical for making sure the Dexterity modifier is used for weapons. Ambidexterity and the Two Weapon Fighting string of feats are extremely useful to improve dual-wielding, although if the Ninja is mixed with certain class choices, using feats for TWF can be skipped completely.
With actual weapons, it's recommended for the Ninja to select between either the Kukri or the Short Sword. The former for the wide crit range, the latter for the higher potential base damage. If the Ninja gets access to the Rapier, it's almost the best of both worlds if not for the fact that the Rapier is a medium weapon, which leads to TWF complications.
The following are some useful skills for the Ninja.
Tumble: Avoiding hits and Dodge AC, what's not to like?
Disable Traps: Great for trap-heavy modules.
Search and Spot: For detecting those traps as well as hidden doors and baddies.
Craft Weapon/Armor: For customizing your Ninja's look.
Hide and Move Silently: For times when stealthing around is absolutely needed. Also helps for Ghost Step and not getting detected.
Open Lock can be useful in cases where certain obstacles can't be bashed open due to a factor like not having enough Strength. Jump, while not actually being very useful (there are almost no modules that really take it into account and it leaves the Ninja open to attack), is still a skill I feel is required-- what kind of Ninja can't leap amazing heights? There's also the fact that putting ranks in Jump provides synergistic bonuses to Tumble.
As the only thing past 20 that the Ninja gains is better Sneak Attack and improvements in Acrobatics (which, in the case of Tumble, don't count for increasing Dodge AC), it's generally a good idea to give the Ninja a little bit of extra oomph through prestige classes rather than leveling as a straight base class.
To begin with, note that the Ninja has three key categories of foes against which its Sneak Attack does not function: Dragons, Undead, and Constructs. Against any of them, the Ninja could try to multiclass in a mix of Ranger (or Harper Scout, if Bardic Knowledge tickles your fancy more than Dual-Wield) and Foe Hunter, though this uses up all three class slots and leaves little room for customization.
With Dragons specifically, the Ninja may want to try taking the Vassal of Bahamut class for Dragonwrack's extra damage against the draconian beasts (along with the added bonus of money and Divine Power), though the free Platinum Armor cannot be used without losing the ability to use Ki Powers. Against Undead, the Ninja can actually make his Sneak Attacks work against them through use of the Skullclan Hunter's Divine Strike ability at level 2. However, this option will require multiclassing in Cleric, Paladin, or any other class that can Turn Undead to fulfill the Skullclan Hunter's requirements.
A Ninja/Tempest can be a frightening opponent, having even AB for two light weapons (and thus, an even chance for Sneak Attacks from both) and an AC boost to make up for the lack of a shield. The Tempest's hefty feat requirements can be lightened by taking a level in Ranger, though taking the feats regularly leaves a third class slot open for something like the Vassal of Bahamut.
Due to the Ninja's skills and AC being reliant on Wisdom, it might be nice to multiclass the Ninja with a divine spellcasting class such as the Druid or the Cleric, though to ensure powerful spells, the spellcasting class might have to be the one that uses the most levels.
Despite that, a Cleric or Druid 30 / Ninja 10 not only has +5d6 Sneak Attack and spellcasting at 34 Caster Levels with Practised Spellcaster, but also at least 5 uses of an ethereal Ghost Step in addition to more from having a high Wisdom (10 more uses with Wisdom of 30). A Cleric or Druid 25 / Ninja 10 / Hierophant 5 is also a potent combination that would lead to a base of 29 Caster Levels with Practised Spellcaster, then along with the extra SR penetration from the Hierophant's +10 Spell Power virtual provides a CL of 39 and an added DC of +10. And none of this counts Spell Penetration!
A Cleric / Ninja / Skullclan Hunter would also be quite strong as an Undead fighter, taking at least Skullclan Hunter 2 to allow the Sneak Attack to affect Undead, or Skullclan Hunter 5 to pierce Undead DR. A Cleric 32 / Ninja 3 / Skullclan Hunter 5 with PS would have a CL of 36, minor Sneak Attack, and get past Undead DR. Of course, outside of having plenty of Wisdom to use non-ethereal Ghost Steps plenty of times, this combination doesn't play the Ninja's strengths to the fullest.
Shadowdancer, while being nifty for the infamous Hide in Plain Sight, would be redundant in the face of the Ninja's Ghost Step. Still, HiPS doesn't have a number of uses per day. The Ninja Spy is a nice alternative for its Sneak Attack and Improved Evasion, though it will take a little longer to reach a level in which HiPS is available.
The last multiclass route this section will cover is that of the Ninja / Arcane Trickster, though many of its tactics (Ray of Frost, etc.) are better covered in the Arcane Trickster's own section. Note, however, that it has the Rogue in mind throughout, so concepts like a 'UMD level dump' should be ignored.
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The section about which classes use UMD should also include the Assassin, so replace it with:
"The Rogue is still one of the few classes in the game that can properly place ranks in Use Magic Device, the others being the Thrall of Graz'zt, the Assassin, and the Bard. The Ninja is not among this select group."
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