nharwell wrote...
Ok, I finally had a chance to complete Chapter 1 and get Nathyrra as a henchman. The trick is to pause as soon as you ask her to join you, then hit ESC to break out of the conversation. Immediately talk to her again and tell her to level as an Assassin. Since Nathyrra starts as Wiz 1 before the level-up script, this limits her to 1st level Wizard. The problem is that this results in a major cheat - Nathyrra immediately levels too high, so that she's Wiz 1/Rog 11/ Assassin 15 ! Granted that makes her actually useful for a change (normally she's the weakest henchman out of all 3 campaigns), but I really don't want to cheat by having a 26th level henchman.
Yeah, now that you've figured it out I pretty much recall that nobody ever used it for the exact reasons you've mentioned and I believe it also screws up any chance for an RP romance since the variables haven't set to allow that.
Actually, the same problem exists for all casters, Boddyknock (from the OC), Xanos (from SoU), Deekin & Nathyrra. Tony K's AI is supposed to make them easier to control but if you want them to exert their combat prowess beyond the limits via training, the same gimmick works for all of them. (Well, not for Boddyknock because the AI convo control isn't there at all). Just have them expend all their buffs before entering combat. Sorcs & bards still have limited spells available so once they are used up whether for buffs or offense, they are forced to resort to physical combat. Problem is: as soon as you rest the party, it's back to status quo again.
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A wizard is a bit tougher to manage though, because the spell slots are preassigned by the AI and forced buffing will only expend those without affecting the offensive ones. But if you like them to cast offensive spells, that would be a way to accomplish that. If you'd rather the wiz stuck to its physical attack, make sure it wears no INT-boosting items. IIRC there are even some INT-penalty items that would further reduce the available slots and casting ability. These are about the only legal "tricks" I've found to limit Nathyrra's annoying pre-buffing during combat.
As for the assassin DA proficiency with low INT, it really doesn't matter that much compared to the number of assassin levels (10 + assn lvls + INT mod). And in my experience, if you can generate lots of AoOs around any assassin (like in dense mobs and range attackers) it will increase the DAs significantly. Since the prime targets for DA attacks are low Fort NPCs, casters will be the most likely casualties. classes with Fort as primary save like fighters, rangers, pallies, barbs, etc. will be almost impossible to land successful DAs especially if they have high CON.
IMO, successful DAs from a hench are pretty much whistling dixie anyway. Maybe in mobs they may get a few but otherwise not a reliable feature. Plus, DAs must be spammed unless the attack is very high damage and piercing through DR, seldom the forte' of a typical dexer assassin. Else, the character just get pounded when the stun wears off.
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In any event, congratulations for uncovering the exploit again years later after the fact. It's a bit like deja vu all over again. It's a bit like deja vu all over again. It's a bit like deja vu all over again.
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BTW, I only ever took Nathyrra along for the full trip once, with Aribeth in tow, to see if there would be a chick fight fight over my toon. IIRC, it was an evil male elf one. *lol*
Modifié par HipMaestro, 19 janvier 2012 - 10:48 .
