The Torm’s Devout stands for all that is Torm. She is a priest of Torm’s religion. She is also a defender of the faith, often seen on the front lines of holy wars. Her great spellcasting ability and her mighty prowess with the longsword are famed throughout the land. What makes her especially fearsome is her wide selection of buffs. With 13 ways to increase her damage, 12 ways to increase her AB, and 10 ways to increase her AC, she will rarely run out of steam. Enemies of Torm had better watch out!
Torm’s Devout Cleric 29/Champion of Torm 10/Paladin 1
Playable 1-40, PvP
Race: Human Alignment: Lawful Good Domains: Strength, War
Starting Stats:
Str 12 Dex 10 Con 12 Wis 15 Int 10 Cha 16
Leveling:
1 Paladin(1) Weapon Focus: Longsword, Power Attack 2 Cleric(1) 3 Cleric(2) Combat Casting 4 Cleric(3) Wis=16 5 Cleric(4) 6 Cleric(5) Spell Penetration 7 Cleric(6) 8 Cleric(7) Wis=17 9 Cleric(8) Greater Spell Penetration 10 Cleric(9) 11 Cleric(10) 12 Cleric(11) Divine Might, Wis=18 13 Cleric(12) 14 Cleric(13) 15 Cleric(14) Divine Shield 16 Cleric(15) Wis=19 17 Cleric(16) 18 Cleric(17) Quicken Spell 19 Cleric(18) 20 Cleric(19) Wis=20 21 Cleric(20) Epic Spell Penetration 22 Cleric(21) 23 Cleric(22) 24 Cleric(23) Great Wisdom I, *Improved Combat Casting, Wis=22 25 Cleric(24) 26 Cleric(25) 27 Cleric(26) Automatic Quicken Spell I, *Automatic Quicken Spell II 28 Champion of Torm(1) Cha=17 29 Champion of Torm(2) **Automatic Quicken Spell III 30 Champion of Torm(3) Epic Weapon Focus: Longsword 31 Champion of Torm(4) **Epic Prowess 32 Champion of Torm(5) Cha=18 33 Champion of Torm(6) Improved Critical: Longsword, **Great Wisdom II 34 Champion of Torm(7) 35 Champion of Torm(8) **Great Wisdom III 36 Champion of Torm(9) Great Wisdom IV, Cha=19 37 Champion of Torm(10) **Great Wisdom V 38 Cleric(27) 39 Cleric(28) Epic Spell: Hellball 40 Cleric(29) *Armor Skin, Cha=20
Skills (first number is number of ranks in skill, second number is skill with ability modifier and any skill focuses, racial bonuses, etc. added):
Total Skill Points: 129
43 Concentration 40 Spellcraft 40 Discipline 6 leftover, Tumble might be a good use as it would net you +1 AC,
HP: 382 (unbuffed, when maxed at each level)
Endurance +2 Con minimum (40 more hitpoints) Battle Mastery +6 Con (120 more hitpoints) Aura of Vitality +4 Con (80 more hitpoints) =622 HP fully buffed
AC: 12(naked) /23(mundane full plate/tower shield)
Buff Choices: Shield of Faith +5 Deflection Undeath’s Eternal Foe +4 Dodge (or more, if cast multiple times) Divine Shield +5 Dodge Magic Vestment +10 Bonus (one cast on shield, one on armor) Eagle’s Splendor +1 Dodge (from +2 minimum to Cha, which increases divine shield) Battletide +2 effective AC (decreases enemies’ AB) Prayer +1 effective AC (decreases enemies’ AB) Battle Mastery +3 Dodge (from +6 to Dex) Cat’s Grace +1 Dodge (from +2 minimum to Dex) Aura of Vitality +2 Dodge (from +4 to Dex) Plus, look for an Amulet of Natural Armor to increase AC further
Note: You can only get +1 out of the Dex-increasing buffs when wearing full plate armor
AC fully buffed w/ full plate, tower shield and +5 amulet of natural armor: 57 (can be higher if more Undeath’s Eternal Foe are cast or ranks in Tumble are taken)
AB: 30/25/20 (unbuffed)
Buff Choices: Battle Mastery +6 Divine Power +8 and an extra attack (+5 from AB increase, +3 from Str increase) Divine Favor +5 Greater Magic Weapon +5 Battletide +2 Aid +1 Prayer +1 Bless +1 Divine Wrath +5 Strength Domain Powers +5 (from +11 to Str) Aura of Vitality +2 (from +4 Str increase) Bull’s Strength +1 (from +2 minimum to Str)
Note: Annoying +20 cap gets in your way here, as well as the +12 cap on Str bonuses
Max AB: 56/51/46/56
Damage: 1-8+1 Crit:17-20/x2 (unbuffed)
Buff Choices: Battle Mastery +6 Divine Might +5 Divine Favor +5 Darkfire 1d6+10 Greater Magic Weapon +5 Battletide +2 Prayer +1 Eagle’s Splendor +1 (from +2 minimum to Cha, which increases Divine Might) Strength Domain Powers +5 (from +11 to Str) Bull’s Strength +1 (from +2 minimum to Str) Aura of Vitality +2 (from +4 to Str) Divine Power +3 (from +6 to Str) Power Attack +5
Note: +12 Str bonus cap gets in the way again, and most of the extra damage is not multiplied in case of a critical hit
Damage fully buffed: 1-8+7 Crit:17-20/x2 +46 (not multiplied on a Critical hit)
Saves:
Fort 36 Reflex 29 Will 38
Spellcasting:
Able to cast 9th level and lower Cleric spells, plus Hellball.
All spells are automatically quickened. This means the Devout’s spells cannot be countered or interrupted and allows for quick buffing.
Implosion DC: 30 10+8 Wis+9th level spell+3=30
Suggested Spells to Memorize:
Buffs listed above Implosion Storm of Vengeance Destruction Harm Heal Mass Heal (if you are working with a party) Word of Faith Sanctuary/Greater Sanctuary Greater Dispelling Greater Restoration Any other offensive spells you have room for (Hammer of the Gods, Earthquake, Firestorm, Sunbeam, etc.) You’ll probably have extra low-level spell slots, so just fill them in with whatever spells you like
With this set-up of spells, the Torm’s Devout is very powerful.
When first entering a battle, Word of Faith should be cast. That stuns enemies for 14 rounds. Next, cast Storm of Vengeance. Since the enemies are stunned for 14 rounds, that is 42d6 damage right away. If the reflex save is not made, even more damage is taken. While the enemies are stunned, the Devout can buff herself up and prepare to finish off the enemies.
Another possible scenario is for the Devout to cast Greater Sanctuary and buff up while she is ethereal. Then, with her offensive spells like Implosion, Hellball, Harm, Firestorm, etc. and her buffed up stats, she can make quick work of the enemies. If she does find herself in trouble, she can call upon Heal and other powerful healing spells.
For those spell experts out there, I have a question about Hellball. Does it have a Reflex save? The spell description says no save, but NWNWiki says it has Reflex ½.
Drop combat casting and Quicken spell and get Extend and Empower spell instead, drop Greater Spell Penetration for Spell Focus: Evocation, drop autoquicken I-III and ICC for GSF/ESF: Evocation plus 2 Great WIS. I'd also go with scimitar and drop IC and Hellball for another 2 Great WIS. I'd suggest Trickery domain instead of Strength. Plant and Magic are good choices too.
BTW, Word of Faith doesn't stun targets with more than 11 lvls it just blinds them.
Cheers, Kail _________________ Looking for a realm of adventure? Check out World of Greyhawk, you won't regret it.
Why drop the combat castings? I am almost always going to be using my spells during combat...and personally I don't want an attack of oppurtunity every time I cast a spell.
Also, why drop the penetrations?
I agree about dropping the quicken spells, imp. crit and hellball though. I have enough offensive spells w/o hellball. Quicken spell does make my spells uninterruptable, but I think the feats could be used better.
So, I'm thinking 2 Great Wisdoms instead of Imp. Crit and Hellball. Replace Quicken Spell with Maximize Spell (I like Maximize better than Empower). And then the Auto-Quicken Spells are replaced with the Spell Foci in Evocation.
I won't be able to fit in Extend Spell, but the short buffs like divine wrath and battle mastery can't be extended anyway because they are abilities. All the actual spells last atleast 29 rounds.
Also, Strength domain changed to Plant for Creeping Doom. I thought Strength got me Aura of Vitality, but War is the one that gets me that. I will lose a couple of AB and some damage since I won't be able to buff up my strength +12, but another offensive spell will be useful.
Edited By short_little_halfling on 06/29/06 20:47
I don't think auto quicken makes your spells uninterruptable in NWN. I haven't tested it so I can't be sure, but the prevailing wisdom on the forums has always been that quicken and auto quicken simply replicate the same effect as Haste - allowing you to cast two spells in a round instead of just one. But that they can still be interrupted or counterspelled.
Epic-character concentration should make it pretty easy to avoid being interrupted in any event, unless you're being hit for insane amounts of damage in one attack.
Improved Combat Casting is a trickier one. I like the feat on battle clerics because it lets you get off healing spells without taking AOOs - if you're low on health, the last thing you want to do is take more damage before your healing spell fires. However, in a lot of environments, it just isn't that important - taking one or two AOOs while you cast won't kill you against most enemies if you heal at 25% of your life, for example.
I wouldn't bother taking spell focus in evocation. Your wisdom is only 26. You don't have the DCs to make attack casting that attractive except for no-save spells - you'll probably kill things faster simply through buffed melee in this build. In fact I'd argue that you should stop your wisdom at 20 and rearrange your stats so you have 14 con and 14 int (14 int at the start for bonus skillpoints).
You could, for example, start with str 12, dex 8, con 14, int 14, wis 15, cha 14. You'll still easily reach 20 wis and 20 cha, and have lots of room to play in.
With 29 cleric levels + spell penetration (not greater or epic) you can beat 32 SR reliably - this is the highest you will encounter in most environments and frees up some more feats for you.
Extend spell is a good feat, don't pass it up. Silent spell may also be useful to you, if you run out of other things to take. _________________ Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience.
I don't think auto quicken makes your spells uninterruptable in NWN. I haven't tested it so I can't be sure, but the prevailing wisdom on the forums has always been that quicken and auto quicken simply replicate the same effect as Haste - allowing you to cast two spells in a round instead of just one. But that they can still be interrupted or counterspelled.
This is correct. If you're hasted, they are wasted. simple as that.
Improved Combat Casting is a trickier one. I like the feat on battle clerics because it lets you get off healing spells without taking AOOs - if you're low on health, the last thing you want to do is take more damage before your healing spell fires. However, in a lot of environments, it just isn't that important - taking one or two AOOs while you cast won't kill you against most enemies if you heal at 25% of your life, for example.
He can cast on the defensive, then he won't receive AoO, and he should have the concentration to cover it.
Quote: Posted 06/29/06 21:24:17 (GMT) -- Xylophone I wouldn't bother taking spell focus in evocation. Your wisdom is only 26. You don't have the DCs to make attack casting that attractive except for no-save spells - you'll probably kill things faster simply through buffed melee in this build.
If he follows the other of Kail's suggestions his WIS will be 30, and thus his evocations will only be 4 lower than max DC. That is noticable, but 4 lower doesn't make them unusable.
His main problem (as I see it) is his low AB AND lack of DC for all spells. Either lower WIS and focus on STR, or focus harder on WIS and Evocation to get one of them good. This build is nice, but it has potential for more. _________________ Dragonlance ROH is back, better than before! and I spend a little time here WoG
well, I looked at the Wisdom situation. I can get my Wis to 30 if I give up improved combat casting.
I can raise it even further if I make some sacrifices-
I can drop Cha to 18 and use the 2 extra stat increases to get my Wis to 32. If I wanted to, I could decrease Dex to 8 at the beginning to get Wis to 33. I don't usually like odd ability scores, but a Maximized Owl's Wisdom(which gives +5)evens it out and can get me to 38 Wis. If I am not mistaken, that will give me the max DC.
That is an awful lot of sacrifice though. Many of my buffs won't last as long and/or be as powerful with the lower Cha score. And my AC will be 1 lower.
What do you guys think? Worth it, or not?
Without maxed wisdom (ie, wisdom 38 - start with 18, all stat increases, and 10 great wis feats) you can't reach "max DC." Because the max DC is 38 base wisdom +12 from wisdom buffs (total 50 wisdom) and epic spell focus.
But it's a lot more worthwhile if you have 30+ wisdom to do attack casting, indeed.
I'd have been more inclined to take the buffed melee route with this build since it looked like you were a divine feat user due to your secondary focus in charisma and your divine might/shield/wrath abilities.
1/day abilities aren't really worth the secondary charisma focus IMO (ie, domain powers, lay hands, divine wrath, etc). You can benefit more by just putting those points into strength and freeing feats up for other purposes.
Especially for a cleric - given how powerful your clerical buffing -spells- are, the charisma-driven abilities aren't as attractive. _________________ Experience is the mother of good judgement; bad judgement is the father of experience.