Help with Rogue Build

[Legacy_Kairyou]

               Hello,

I recently started playing NWN again after not having played for years. I'm playing the SoU campaign with my wife, with an eye towards keeping the characters for HoU. She's playing a sword and board fighter. I made a Human Rogue so we wouldn't need a Henchmen to open locks, disable traps, and the like. I'm at level 3 and I took the Ambidexterity, Two-Weapon Fighting, and Weapon Finesse feats. I have 16 Dex and 16 Int. I  wanted to have a two-weapon fighting Rogue with  levels of Wizard, but I'm at a loss of when to take Wizard levels or how many. What should I do?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_SuperFly_2000]

               Maybe I am not the right one to answer. I have been playing NWN for like 6 years but never been any good for making uber builds or following tables on how to get the best PvP build.

I would just wing it. The beauty of D&D is that you almost can't do something "wrong". If you choose too many wizard levels....you will get the benefits of being able to cast many and good spells....if you choose more rogue levels you will get the benefits from that....of course there ARE things that are really WRONG in a combination and I would avoid thoose of course.....but from there....you can do what you want I and enjoy it...because after all...you are playing your PC and you are the one who have to enjoy it.

I see many "help with builds" threads here...and it makes me wonder....if people really have gotten the idea of builds in NWN / D&D......

Besides...if you are playing in a team it gets more complicated....because "super build lists" usually only look at how can you make that PC as strong as possible...not taking into synergy effects of having other classes in a party that could enhance each other....well...it is getting complicated I know...but it is....
               
               

               

                     Modifié par SuperFly_2000, 23 février 2011 - 02:23 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_SHOVA]

               Max your Use Magic Device skill and buy scrolls, that way you can stay a rogue, and cast.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_HipMaestro]

               I will interpret your "should" qualifier to mean "can" for this suggestion.

It really depends on whether you want to play a spellsword (which seems to be the direction you are going) or a stealthy wizard launching AoE spells and cleaning up the mess with your weapon(s).

First off, figure on a max of level 14 in SoU and 28 in HotU as your target.  Since you and your wife are partying you probably won't even reach those levels so use them as a base metric.

Thing is, with a rogue's UMD skill to mimic other classes, wizard is practically unnecessary to achieve arcane capabilities with wands, scrolls, wear sequencer robes, etc. (and divine ones, for that matter). Still, several levels in wizard will open up some advantages in HotU if you take enough of them.  But back to the the original question...

Without further insight into your intention, I would plan on 7 or 8 wizard levels to get level 4  spells. Your Int is already high enough for level 6 spells but if you concentrate on bumping Dex and gaining sneaks, spells will be used more for support than AoE.  So that means planning 16rog/4wiz pre-epic and 20rog/8wiz iby ending of HotU, or thereabouts.  As far as how to spread them out, it doesn't matter that much other than getting 3 wiz levels in ASAP so you can buff your rogue weapon(s) with Flame Weapon (or your wife's fighter weapon).

Higher than required Int is not all that bad because your wiz will gain some extra slots and your rogue will have lots of skillpoints to use.

That's about the best I can suggest since it is not a combo I have actually employed in those campaigns myself.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par HipMaestro, 23 février 2011 - 02:40 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Kairyou]

               I appreciate the advice. A spellsword is really what I'm aiming for. I figured if I wanted to sling AoE spells I'd just play a wizard. I like the idea of being a rogue and having wizard spells for support. I'll put the next three levels into Wizard to get level 2 spells as suggested. Thanks again for the help!
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Guest_Lowlander_*]

               I really wouldn't.  Your spells will be nearly useless in HOTU, you will have much better spell capability from scrolls/wands, and your wizard levels will make it harder for your rogue to actually hit things.

If you wanted to be a Rogue with some minor spell ability I would have suggested Ranger/Rogue. Ranger would have given your dual weapon fighting for free at first level, boosted your HP, boosted your combat abilities and given you some minor spell casting (more on the buffing side which is all you will get with low level wizard anyway)... With little reduction in rogue abilities.

But it is likely too late for that now... So just make sure you take even number of Wizard levels to minimize the damage to your rogue attack capabilities. Every single odd wizard level is a loss of attack bonus (1,3,5,7 etc...).   Rogue 17/wiz 3 actually hits worse than Rogue 16/Wiz 4 because the rogue loses an attack bonus every fourth level (1,5,9,13,17)

But still I would suggest you don't.  Given what you have at this point, I would add 4 - 8 levels of fighter. This will give you one or two more attack bonuses. Weapons specialization for more damage (+2) and one more attack per round by 20.  Then in epic one more fighter level will give you Epic Weapon Specialization for a total of an extra +6 to damage, handy in HoTU with lots of sneak immune creatures. You can also add in some Shadow Dancer so you can essentially dissapear at will.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Lowlander, 08 mars 2011 - 05:48 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_TylinaVespart]

               Rogues!  I love them, they've been my favourite class since I started playing the game (around 10 years if you're curious).  I've played as 'pure' rogues, and rogue/wizards, and what I've found is that the setup actually works better if you're using an elf instead of a human.

At least with my style(s?) of play.

To explain, I dual wield with either a longsword and shortsword or two longswords.  This works great for sneak attacks, and for holding your own if you play your dex and ac right.  Up to a point of course, and you're a rogue so you really shouldn't be getting surrounded for too long in the first place. '>  That works well, and you can do all sorts of sneaky/useful things while the tanks do their job and someone else focuses on healing.

Whenever I've added spells to the mix, even if I select close range ones, it tends to put my character in more danger.  They're great if you're distance casting, or can sneak in close and pull off a debilitating move before you're noticed.  Satisfying too when done right, but tricky to do right.  I agree with Lowlander as far as HOTU goes though, I've yet to play a successful rogue/mage there.  I'm not saying it can't be done, but it wouldn't be my first choice personally.

In the end it depends.  If you're set on doing this I'd recommend that level 5 might be a good choice, though I wouldn't take the wizard levels past spell casting level 3 (you get some great spells by then, without impacting on your rogue character too much).  Also once you get to about level 15 as a pure rogue it gets really boring from a levelling perspective anyway for a while.

More rambling than I'd have liked, but I hope that helped a bit.