I agree with CalSailX that the apparent absence of custom level-up packages (unless they are hidden somewhere I could not find) is an unfortunate lack among all the available NWN CC, possibly explained by there being limited overlap between CC makers and Powerbuilders. I remember looking around for such a thing a few years ago, when I became disgusted by the worthlessness of Bioware's packages, and not being able to find much of anything. Eventually I made my own. The hakpak for my own module (Chapter Two, link in signature) includes custom packages for a bard, cleric, monk, sorcerer, rogue/paladin, rogue/blackguard, and figther/dwarven defender. I suppose anyone who wants could use/modify these, though if someone does keep in mind that:
1) They were designed for specific NPC characters in a specific environment. For example not all bards would be interested in taking Weapon Finesse and Martial Weapon Proficiency, as mine does.
2) They were intended to produce hopefully interesting and useful, but by no means perfectly optimized henchmen.
In general, someone making custom packages, or calling for others to do so, should be aware that one could not perfectly reproduce most PC builds. It is impossible to use skill-dumping with henchman packages, for example (or at least I was not able to find a way to do this): henchman spend all availabe skill points each time they level-up. Thus at least one tool PC power-builds make routine use of would not work in this context. It appears henchmen also cannot cast meta-magicked spells (at least not without complicated workarounds), meaning that it would be pointless to give a henchman feats like Empower or Extend Magic, etc., useful as these can be to PC casters. There are also (as Magical Master suggests) many spells and abilities that would be very useful to a PC but of which the AIs controlling henchmen will make no or very poor use (unless you also want to revamp the AI, a much more difficult undertaking). When selecting spells for my cleric and sorcerer packages, for example, my chief criterion was "spells that the AI will (maybe, hopefully) not use in a completely idiotic manner." Were I selecting spells for a PC build I expect I would have generated a very different list.
To clarify a point raised above, it is perfectly possible to make henchmen with prestige classes (and using either the standard or customized packages for these), BUT you need the henchman to meet the normal prerequisites for the prestige class in question (I think, though maybe someone with greater expertise knows a way around this), meaning that you could not have a single-classed prestige class henchman: he would need to start as one of the base classes until he had obtained the minimum BAB, feats, etc. needed to qualify for the prestige class, and could not take more than 30 levels in it.
Modifié par rogueknight333, 24 décembre 2012 - 03:43 .
