Max HP - 256 with Empowered Endurance (+6 Con) - 376 _________________
This build came about when I was trying different combinations of dual-wielding melee Wizards. I originally just took the Rogue levels for Tumble point dumps, but as I began to flesh it out and test it, I was pleasantly surprised at how fun this guy was. By dumping points into UMD, Search, Disable Trap, Set Trap, and perhaps Open Lock; you can quickly make your way through a dungeon without any help. Of course carrying all the loot will be a problem, but that's what Empowered Bull's Strength is for.
I tested him in the Novice to Epic mod and also in HoTU. In Novice to Epic, I was able to melee the level 40 Fighter and level 40 Rogue without resting. Of course I cheated a bit by using Mestil's Acid Sheath for the fighter and Hold Person for the Rogue. It was cheap tactics, but hey, you're a Rogue too, there's no good reason to fight fair! The biggest weakness was the low HP against all the Crits that the Fighter did. Of course in the real world, he would have been wearing some Monk gear (Robes and Boots) which would have helped lessen the crits.
HoTU, which is generally pretty easy anyway, turned into a cakewalk. I didn't usually take much damage unless I wasn't paying attention. Invisible doors pop up as I am running up to them, traps almost always light up before I get close to them. Such a great synergy between the Elf class, the stats and the skills.
I chose the Enchantment line because Will saves seem to be the easiest to overcome. The basic thought is: disable your opponents and then cut them down with your blades. Watch out for mobs with immunities to Mind Affecting Spells. Having a Neutral alignment will help a little. When all else fails, fall back on Bigby and Isaacs spells.
Before anyone mentions it, yes, taking the first level as a Rogue would give you a plethora of skill points to distribute. For the sake of RP I left it as it was, as the build is primarily a Wizard that learns Rogue-ish skills. But feel free to swap the first and fifth levels, it shouldn't affect the build in the long run.
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Pros: - Lots of fun tactics: spells, traps, melee. - Good, even skill dumps. - Great synergy between Rogue skills and wizard stats. - Mow through the cannon fodder with your blades and save the big spells for the bosses. - Handle traps and locks without a Pixie. - Decent spell DC
Cons: - Low saves. - Low HP. - No Discipline. - Feat strapped; could use more Spell Foci in other schools (Necro) - Buffing... buffing... buffing... buffing... buffing... buffing.... buffing..... - Can be somewhat easily dispelled early on. __________________
I should also mention that there are a few builds that have similar goals, but this one seemed different enough that I thought I'd post it.
I like the idea, but I am positive you did not level this build the way you posted it. Warding requires 35 spellcraft (as i recall), which means that the earliest you can take it is 32. Epic wizards get bonus feats at 3 lvls, ie 23, 26, 29, 32, 35, 38. It looks like you have 2 extra feats there (w25, w30). The warding is easy! Get rid of hellball. This leaves you with 9 gr int, or an uneven number. Maybe you have a suggestion.
Quote: Posted 01/04/06 21:16:26 (GMT) -- avado
I like the idea, but I am positive you did not level this build the way you posted it. Warding requires 35 spellcraft (as i recall), which means that the earliest you can take it is 32. Epic wizards get bonus feats at 3 lvls, ie 23, 26, 29, 32, 35, 38. It looks like you have 2 extra feats there (w25, w30). The warding is easy! Get rid of hellball. This leaves you with 9 gr int, or an uneven number. Maybe you have a suggestion.
I did the basic outlines of the build on paper first and then leveled it the Novice to Epic Mod to test it out, taking the feats that I wanted/needed. It seemed that I had something written down wrong when I was going over it, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out where I had messed it up. For example, in the Novice to Epic Mod I didn't/couldn't take Hellball; I only wrote it down because it seemed that I had an empty feat slot.
grrrr... I'll have go back over this tonight and figure out where I screwed up. Thanks for catching my mistake.
IIRC Epic Warding takes 34 Spellcraft, and Wizard does not gain bonus feats every five levels in epic. The last one is at level 20. In epic it's only at 23, 26, 29, etc...
OK, I figured out where I messed it up. I accidently carried the bonus Wizard MetaMagic feats into epic levels (25, 30). When I was building it in the leveler, I never noticed that I didn't take Epic Warding and thought it strange when I didn't take Hellball at the End.
That's what I get for building it on paper at lunch and going home to test it....
Anyway, here is the correct version. Please note that if you want to take Epic Warding you will end up with an odd Intelligence. That doesn't bother me much as I usually buff my Intelligence to help with spell DC's and depending on how the roll goes, sometimes it comes out even and sometimes it doesn't. If it bothers you too much, just switch out a Great Int with an Epic Spell of choice, although Epic Warding is the only one I ever care to get.
Quote: dmuzzy Base AB 27 - (BAB 21 + Dex 5 + WF 1 + EWF 2 - Dual-Wield 2)
Excuse me but that's a little confusing. You should realize that BAB stands for Base Attack Bonus, and Base AB is thus BAB
Yeah, I guess it is a little confusing.
I was trying to indicate the base number (BAB) that I was putting the buff numbers on to. I suppose I should just put BAB; but for some reason I thought that putting BAB would actually make it more confusing (who knows what was going through my head at the time )
Thanks for clearing it up for any who might have misunderstood.
Your BAB is 21, instead of Base AB you should have written AB. When you indicate buffed AB just write AB (buffed), for example. Just give a look at other posts and you'll see how to format properly.
Cheers, Kail _________________ Dilegua notte Tramontate stelle Tramontate stelle All'alba vinceṛ Vinceṛ Vinceṛ
Your BAB is 21, instead of Base AB you should have written AB. When you indicate buffed AB just write AB (buffed), for example. Just give a look at other posts and you'll see how to format properly.
Cheers, Kail
Aahhh, Ok, I understand what you are saying. Sorry about that; thanks for clearing it up for me.
(grrrr, where's my THAC0!!)
Quote: Posted 01/05/06 15:57:15 (GMT) -- dmuzzy
... (grrrr, where's my THAC0!!)
I asked myself the same the first time I played NWN
)