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Get your own Free Home Page by Edain Eles & Nor Rad (first posted 3/5/96)
I hope this article will help you select your next character to play in Neverwinter Nights. After you have chosen your character then its time to read the next article : How to max your character.
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Introduction: I have spent much time and effort accumulating this knowledge (i.e.. money). If you disagree with any of the tips feel free to add your own post (but I doubt I had to mention that). First off I want to say that as you go through these hints and tips you may find that you wish to re-roll your character. Well DON'T! Doing so well cause you to lose any of the items you have worked hard for through sweating it out at the Dracsor trading/begging at the vaults. Create a new screen name and use it to create the new character as it may take some time to get the stats you want. When you have your new character the way you want it you can exchange items. I will go into that later. (contents).
Don't bother rolling these characters: Dwarfs (any type), Half-Elves (any type), Halfings (any type) & Human Thieves. They are severly restricted by the advancement they can make. Even Human Fighters & Human Fighter/Magic-users have potentially limited use in the game. Most Human characters tend to dual-class to Magic Users. Check the "dual to" heading in the character roll-up screen before proceeding to save and play the character. If the "magic-user" does not come up- you can't dual to a magic-user later !!! (contents).
Rolling Up: As I alluded to earlier this may take some time. You can save some time (and perhaps some carpal tunnel strain) by using the "Alt Y" combination to roll again. Of course the stats you are looking for well vary based upon the class of character you are trying for but here are a few things to keep in mind: 1 - Gauntlets of Ogre Power will give you 18(00) Strength 2 - An Ion Stone will raise the effected stat 1 point. I won't go into the more elaborate items as most are Pearl items you may never see anyway and can't trade for legally. I will discuss the preferred Race/Class combinations in the following posts. These are not the only combinations available. They are however the dominate choices. Again, anyone with a different opinion or tips on other combinations should feel free to add their advise. (contents).
Alignment: Alignment will often be restricted by the class you want your character to be. However, if you chose a class with no alignment restrictions and plan to combat other players (PvP) you should seriously consider one of the Neutral alignments. Now you might ask why when a Paladin gets an automatic +2 save vs evil. This is true and you can get the same bonus by casting the Protection from evil (or Protection from Good for the reverse benefit), but there is no Protection from Neutrality. As a Neutral character you can cast the Protection from Good and it's reversible counterpart and though you have the bonuses those opposing you don't. (contents).
When to Dual?: I have heard much debate over this subject. Many claim that the time to dual should be after attaining 9th level as no bonus to saving throws are gained at 10th level. This is only true amongst fighter types and Clerics should indeed proceed to 10th level not only for the better saves but for the additional spells as well. I feel the same holds true for Paladins and Rangers. You do get extra spells at 10th level and the Paladin will be able to heal an additional 2 hit points worth of damage. Many will claim you don't pick up any hit points at 10th level. This again is untrue. You will get your Constitution bonus and 1 hit point, just not another 10 sided die's worth. I do realize the massive amounts of experience points required to advance from 9th to 10th level. I have given you the specifics. If you get in a hurry to dual do so at 9th level. You can make your own choice. (contents).
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Human Cleric10/MU 11: Also referred to as the "CLAM". If you want to go head to head with the other residents of Never Winter this is the combination for you since PvP combat relies only upon spell power. They have rounded capabilities and are highly adaptive. Furthermore, those wishing to play evil characters won't be bound by alignment restrictions typical of most other combinations. The other citizens of Never Winter are indeed the most challenging "monsters" to be found so if you are interested in more than passing PvP combat then playing a CLAM is highly recommended. Attempt to achieve the following attributes when rolling up the character:
Human Ranger10/MU 11: For those wishing to battle on the side of good this is one of the most common combinations. These characters start with excellent hit points due to getting two hit die at first level. With an 18 Constitution and a little luck a Ranger can start with 24 hit points. Another advantage is that they gain Druidical and Mage spells which can be cast while wearing armor. You will however have to remove your armor to cast the spells you learn as a Mage once you have dualed and maxxed. Attempt to achieve the following attributes when rolling up the character:
Human Paladin 10/MU 11: These warriors for good are similar to their Ranger/Mage counterpart but unlike the latter are unable to cast any magic user spells when maxxed. Unlike the Ranger they gain clerical spells before they dual and these can be cast in armor. In addition they radiate a continuous Protection from Evil giving them +2 on all saves vs evil, healing capability amounting to 2 hit points per level once per day, and can turn undead as a cleric 2 levels lower. They are restricted to the Lawful Good alignment making them unsavory to some. Attempt to achieve the following attributes when rolling up the character:
Fighter: They are similar in all respects except the alignment restriction. Attempt to achieve the following attributes when rolling up the character:
Human Fighter 10/Mu 11: Here again is a class combination unrestricted by alignment. These individuals are powerful warriors capable of handling most of the monsters encountered within the realms. Dualed and maxxed the character can't cast when wearing armor, as the Ranger can to a limited extent, and has inferior saves to that of a Paladin. But if you want to fight on the side of evil, or don't care for either good or evil, this is the melee combination for you. Attempt to achieve the following attributes when rolling up the character:
Elven Fighter 7/MU 11/ Theif 12 or Elven Fighter/MU: Those of elven descent function best with one of these combinations. Their hit points are often 20 or so lower when maxxed but they can wear armor and cast spells at the same time. They are also said to find magical items more frequently (something the NW's will undoubtedly dispute. But then again there are other things I have seen work that they claim won't). The greatest advantage of the elven Fighter/MU/Thief is the fact that they don't have to proceed through one class, then switch and not regain all their abilities until maxxed and they have 3 classes instead of 2. Unfortunately they are difficult to max because experience points are divided between the three classes. The only alignment restriction is that they can't be is Lawful Good.
Here's a few short explanation on some terms listed above that may have lost it's meaning by the using of jargons and abbrevations. More terms and jargons are also explained in my NW JARGONS compandium. - Rad.
Most of the material above was posted by Edain Eles somewhere in the AD&D game section on 3/5/96. I have edited a few parts and added a few comments. Since I don't want to leave anything out from his original post, I will put his finishing comments here instead:-
"Well that's all I have for now. I am sure others will add their comments. Some of them will be derogatory as they had to learn things the hard way and don't want to see you with what they consider an unfair advantage. Some may be questionable. Again if you have a serious question, or need help moving items to your new character EM me and I will do what I can.
And in an effort to save you some I offer the following advise. Read Messages Off-line. Here's how - If there are quite a few messages you're interested in reading, or you're new to a particular folder, there is a way to scroll through them and then read them off-line. Before you open the folder you're interested in, select "Logging..." from the "File Menu" and open a session log. Then go the folder you want and start scrolling through them, whatever appears on the screen will be saved to your hard drive and you can look at it or print it at your leisure. I am also willing to send you this entire section (well the initial part I am starting it with at least) via E-Mail. You can also E-mail me with any questions you might have (serious inquires only please). " - Edain Eles.
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