Rejected dismissively by the Arcane Archer Academy in Evereska - "We don't take mouth-breathing human scum" - Jonathan returned home and joined the rangers. They were always glad of another skilled tracker and bowman, and as the years went by, he grew in fact to be grateful for the drive that arrogant dismissal had given him.
This is the build I use most when playing single-player campaigns or modules. It has effective rogue skills for dungeon crawling and is actually a pretty good archer! I was shocked not to see something similar in the database and so thought I'd share what has worked for me.
Hide 43(52) Move Silently 43(52) Search 43(45) Spot 43 (45) Listen 43(45) Tumble 40(49) Disable Trap 40(49) Set Trap 10(19) (Good enough to set all Deadly Traps w/Cat's Grace) Open Lock 22(31)
This leaves 6 more (2 each at 38,39 and 40) with which to do as you please.
Saving Throws: Fort 23 Refl 27 Will 18
Hitpoints: 283-460
BAB: 29
AB with regular longbow: 41 (43 vs Favored Enemies)
Damage (regular longbow): 1d8 (+2d6 + 8 against Favored Enemies) (+3d6 against Sneakable foes)
AC (naked): 29
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I started playing this build early on as I realized that in NWN (1) pure Rangers had far too low an AC to be effective DEX-based archers, and (2) good Rogue henchmen were not always available. This build seeks to "fix" the Ranger's problems with ranged weaponry without taking so many levels of rogue that it seriously nerfs the Ranger's own abilities. Five levels of rogue give you:
- Evasion, which is very handy given your high DEX, - Access to Tumble as a class skill, giving a much-needed boost to your AC, - Uncanny Dodge, a lifesaver for a DEX-based character, - a 3d6 Sneak Attack (pitiful if you're used to playing a pure Rogue, but a definite plus for a sneaky Ranger), and - decent levels of Open Locks and Disable Traps so you don't need to hire a rogue henchman.
All this and you still get a 2d6+8 damage bonus against thirteen (out of 24!) Favored Enemies. Other features include:
- A Level 35 Bear or Dire Wolf Companion, - Maxed Stealth and Detection skills, - A near-permabuff to DEX from Cat's Grace improving attack, reflex save, and AC. Keep enough of these on hand to recast if you don't get at least a +4! - Four levels of Ranger spells, and - Ability to set all Deadly traps when not in combat,
The last especially is a lifesaver. I think you'll find that most "boss" encounters can be found at the end of a nice long, narrow hallway perfect for trapping! All trap types have their uses, but my favorite is Negative traps--even without any points in craft trap, you'll have a 40% chance to create a minor neg. trap from skeleton's knuckles. These are usually easy to find, and negative traps will hurt just about anything (even undead!). Enough traps can make an otherwise impossible encounter easy. Tip: use potions of invisibility to set traps in the line of sight of hostile creatures, as you'll be dumped out of stealth mode when you do so.
In combat, you'll want to leave the melee fighting to your henchmen and your menagerie. You should pick yourself a spot just outside of the enemies' attack of opportunity zone (to maximize damage with Point Blank Shot) and fire away. Help bring down the enemies your friends are attacking, or pick off their flankers. If any turn their attention to you, you have the choice of pulling out some blades or eating the attacks of opportunity. You have no points in discipline, though, so run for it if you're pursued by knockdown-wielding thugs. I used this build to play through Aielund and often found I was dealing out as much damage with my bow as Robert Black's bastard sword!
The only place I really struggle is against high-level spellcasters. The will save is pitiful and it can be hard to come up with enough damage to beat a stoneskin or a premonition. Plus spellcasters tend not to pursue you when you try to lead them into traps... I recommend you pull out the blades and try for a knockdown in these circumstances...
Also, I'd just like to reiterate that this isn't a PvP build. If you take this dueling you'll probably die very quickly!
Some possible modifications:
- Get rid of the rogue skills and pick up UMD and Spellcraft. This will allow you to wear monk or wizard robes to buff your AC and will provide some defense against spells. Might appeal to you if you play multiplayer where finding a good rogue's not so much of an issue.
- Dump starting INT to 10 and CHA to 8 and raise DEX to 16 and CON to 14. If you don't care about skills and don't need to talk to people, this might appeal to you.
- Dropping two favored enemies (to "only" eleven), moving Epic WF and Bane of Enemies to Ranger bonus feats, and adding two more Great DEX feats. This will increase your AC and AB further, but I prefer widening the threat of BoE.
- Using ShadowDancer levels instead of Rogue. This will give you more HPs and eventually Defensive Roll, but will gut your skill points (as you can't take SD at level 1) and require two otherwise useless feats.
Edited By Kail Pendragon on 12/06/07 12:35
I'd drop 2 from CHA and 2 from STR, and spend them in DEX to raise it to 16, or in CON and DEX to get them to 14 and 15 respectively.
Also, take into consideration that for 17 levels you will have to survive without Uncanny Dodge. It might be worth taking those 3 Rogue levels early in the build to add to survivability. Sure, your DEX modifier isn't that high at that point, but Rangers generally have low AC and every point matters.
I think you have to many Favored Enemies. I'd swap at least one for Epic Prowess.
I wouldn't put that much emphasis on longbows. You don't have a consistent source of damage (you have BoE and sneaks though) to make it worth the expense. Furthermore, bows can't be buffed with Blade Thirst. I suggest dual-wielding the same light weapon. _________________ "Hats off and applause to rogues and evolution"
Edited By rafa10pj on 12/03/07 18:31
It's nice, I'd definitely go for UMD instead of Spot though, as you say, Spellcraft and UMD are variants, but not having UMD is just wrong, you require that versatility more than some spot when you already have search and listen.
Yeah, spellcasters are hard, but they are with any build pretty much, your companion should still be able to hit through with Greater Magical Fang, for those you would go best with the Panther companion, since it gets a pretty neat sneak attack (Panther companion works as a Rogue, and gains 1d6 sneak attack at every odd level), much higher than yours, and then use Knockdown, it will work if you combine that, as for Lich Lords or Demi Liches you're still in a very bad position though, I suppose you know Undead and Constructs are very important Favored Enemies to take since they're always critical and sneak immune but that might not be enough to beat high level Premonitions.
Another thing, you're not taking Blind-Fight, so when you deal casters you'll miss 50% against their Improved Invisibility, and any other enemy that gets concealment will be a pain, I suggest you drop Toughness for Blind-Fight, pretty important feat there.
Drop CHA to 8 and increase DEX to 15, then change a Great DEX for Epic Prowess, +1 net AB with no loss, CHA is useless for you.
It's pretty good I think. _________________ "My name is Thaxll'ssyllia, but you simians may refer to me merely as "Sir", if you prefer a less... syllable intensive workout."
Edwin Odesseiron - Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Edited By Thaxll'ssyllia on 12/03/07 18:49
Thanks for the comments. As for UMD, it is an insanely useful skill and most players would probably use it in this build, but it just didn't fit well RP-wise with my character.
I'll also mention that I've started playing a halfling version of this build. Pretty similar, except -2 STR and +2 DEX, plus the loss of 43 skill points (I usually drop Spot) and one feat (I usually drop Knockdown as it's not going to to a halfling much good...). I haven't played this variant at high levels yet, but it's considerably easier at lower levels--it gets basically a +2 to AC and AB and a +1 to all saves, plus is better at stealth. Less damage, as longbows are no longer an option, but you hit more often. I generally stay with shortbows for the weapons feats for the x3 crits, but slings or darts will give you yet another +1 to hit as a halfling.
Also on the same lines, I've found that spending a single point on Animal Empathy can really help out at low levels. Many low-level settings have lots of non-hostile dogs, cows, oxen, deer, even sometimes boars and bears hanging about who can all be dominated with the take 20. Sure, they don't last long, but anything that helps you get that +2 to attack from flanking and the sneak attack damage helps, especially if no henchmen are available and you don't yet have your animal companion. SoU in particular also likes to throw lots of AE-boosting items at you, allowing you a decent shot at hostiles with only that single point spent. Sure, the skill is useless at high levels, but it's only one point after all.
