=========================================== Neverwinter Nights 2: "Weapon Master" Class Guide by Erik Fasterius, [email protected] Copyright 2007 Erik Fasterius =========================================== --------------------- 0.0 TABLE OF CONTENTS --------------------- 1.0 INTRODUCTION Who I am, what this guide is for, and so on... 2.0 THE WEAPON MASTER An introduction to the class and it's possibilities 3.0 STYLE 1: TWO-HANDED WEAPONS For Weapon Masters who like big numbers! 3.1 Weapons 3.2 Race 3.3 Class 3.4 Stats 3.5 Feats 3.6 Conclusion 4.0 STYLE 2: ONE-HANDED WEAPONS For those that like finesse or tanking! 4.1 Weapons 4.2 Race 4.3 Class 4.4 Stats 4.5 Feats 4.6 Conclusion 5.0 STYLE 3: DUAL WEAPONS For you who like hack-n-slash! 5.1 Weapons 5.2 Class 5.3 Race 5.4 Stats 5.5 Feats 5.6 Conclusion 6.0 OTHER CHOICES Things that won't be affected by your chosen style 6.1 Skills 6.2 Backgrounds 6.3 Deities 7.0 CREDITS, VERSION HISTORY, ETC Everything else, mostly boring stuff... 7.1 Credit where credit is due 7.2 Version History 7.3 Who can use this guide 7.4 Special Thanks ---------------- 1.0 INTRODUCTION ---------------- My name is Erik Fasterius, just a nobody from sweden who spends far too much time at my computer. This is my second guide, the first one being my "GCH-Jedi" -guide for Knights Of The Old Republic. I believe myself to be pretty fluent in my english, but I'm sure there will be mistakes anyway. If you find a mistake, be it grammar and/or spelling, feel free to send me an email telling me about it. You can find my adress at the top of this page. I also welcome criticism, but only if it is CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Any mails blatantly telling me how my guide sucks in this way and that will simply be ignored and blocked. You may, of course, mail me and tell me how good you thought my guide was, and why! =D And while I'm at it, this is NOT a walkthrough! Don't email me with "I'm stuck, tell me what to do!", because I won't answer them. GameFaqs a couple of good walkthroughs, use them! Before I start with the guide, I would like to point out that I will use smilies. I do this because I have learned from experience that I'm simply not good enough at writing to be able to express sarcasm, jokes and the like without them. With smilies, hopefully everybody will know when I'm serious and when I'm not! To search this guide, simply press CTRL+F and type in a searchword. For example, if you're looking for the section on Skills, type in "6.0", and your browser will automaticly take you to any text in the guide with 6.0 in it - which should only be two places, if I've done it correctly: the Table of Contents and the section itself. I will assume you know the basics of the AD&D 3.5 ruleset. If you don't, read your manual and catch up. I will often refer to feats and such without giving a description of what it does, you will have to check that for yourself. Your manual is as good a place as any, and I can recommend www.gamebanshee.com/neverwinternights2 as well, they have very good search functions for everything from races to feats and everything in between. And last but not least... This is MY guide, therefore, it contains MY ideas on how you should play a Weapon Master to the fullest of it's abilities. You may disagree with some of my ideas, and that is perfectly alright. If you feel that I am wrong about something, or have a better idea, feel free to mail it to me and tell me about it. Just because it's my guide does not mean that I am perfect and all-knowing! =P I will sometimes use math and calculations for comparisons or to make a point, and they are of course subject to be wrong as well, feel free to correct me (with correct calculations, of course). And this is by no means a guide to the "perfect" Weapon Master - I will not tell you exactly how to build your character, there are quite alot of choices you have to do by yourself. I'm merely putting all your choices together in a nice pile for you to pick your favourites from, and removing the bad choices before you even make them. So, without further ado, let's start the guide! --------------------- 2.0 THE WEAPON MASTER --------------------- So, what sort of character is a Weapon Master? The general idea is that the Weapon Master is a master of weapons (duh!). A Weapon Master is a character who has dedicated all his or her training to master just ONE type of weapon, but fights like no other with said weapon. This means that a Weapon Master does not have alot of weapons to choose from, but really excels at using one type of weapon. Weapon Masters can be very different from one another, except the obvious of their choice of weapons. One might like using big two-handed weapons, such as a Greatsword, while others might like to use a lighter weapon and a shield. Some even prefer to dual-wield their favourite weapons! Some Weapon Masters are big and hulky, and very resiliant to damage. Some may be quick and nimble, preferring to avoid damage rather than soak it up. A very big difference is what class the Weapon Master originates from. He could have been a Fighter, perhaps a Ranger, or even a Paladin! There are quite a few classes to choose from that can make excellent Weapon Masters. Becoming a Weapon Master is not something you just choose to. You have to build your character quite carefully, as there are quite a few requirements for one who want to become a Weapon Master - mainly: feats. This also means that there are some stats which you need more of than you might initially have thought... Here are the required feats: Weapon Focus (Req: a Base Attack Bonus (BAB) of +1) Dodge (Req: 13 Dexterity) Mobility (Req: 13 Dexterity) Combat Expertise (Req: 13 Intelligence) Spring Attack (Req: 13 Dexterity, BAB +4) Whirlwind Attack (Req: 13 Dexterity, 13 Intelligence, BAB +4) So, at the very least, you need to have 13 Intelligence and 13 Dexterity. This means that a generic Weapon Master is not just some dumb guy with a big sword shouting "RAAARGH!!" - he or she can actually think properly! =P You will also need a BAB of +5 and 4 ranks in Intimidate before you can become a Weapon Master. So, any race with at least two levels in Fighter can become a Weapon Master by level 9. I might as well list the specifics of the Weapon Master Prestige Class while I'm at it. This is just copied from the class description in-game. "--- Hid die: d10 Base Attack Bonus: High High Saves: Reflex Weapon Proficiencies: None Armor Proficiencies: None Skill Points: 2 + Int modifier Class Skills: Craft Weapon, Intimidate, Lore, Parry, and Taunt. Weapon of Choice: When a character acquires his first level of Weapon Master, he must select a single melee weapon type (for example, longsword or dwarven waraxe) as his weapon of choice. His weapon master abilities only function when he has a weapon of that type equipped. Ki Damage: Once per day, a 1st level Weapon Master may choose to make a special attack with his weapon of choice. If this attack hits, it automatically inflicts maximum damage. Increase Multiplier: At 5th level, the Weapon Master's critical multiplier with his chosen weapon increases by +1. (ie. x2 becomes x3, x3 becomes x4, etc.) Superior Weapon Focus: A 5th level Weapon Master gains Superior Weapon Focus with his weapon of choice as a bonus feat. Ki Critical: At 7th level, the weapon master increases his threat range by 2 when using his weapon of choice. For example, a longsword normally has a threat range of 19-20. In the hands of a 7th level Weapon Master, it threatens on a 17-20. ---" As you can see, a Weapon Master gets his true power from his free feats as he levels. There is no real reason to level a Weapon Master any more than to level 7, but there's no reason NOT to level any less than 7. So, you have 13 levels of whatever other classes you want to take. Ki Critical is simply too good to pass up. Of course, it doesn't work on creatures that are immune to critical hits (such as undead)... So, we've now gone through all the things that all Weapon Masters have in common. Now my guide divides into three parts, the three different "styles" a Weapon Master can choose from. Which one you choose depends largely on what you like most. I will try to the best of my abilities to give a fair description of them all, and you can later pick your favourite. ------------------------------- 3.0 STYLE 1: TWO-HANDED WEAPONS ------------------------------- So, the big, bad guy with a big, bad axe on his back. Yep, this is one sort of Weapon Master. A Weapon Master wielding a two-handed weapon will by all probability be quite the large guy, and probably wearing a lot of armour. He's the guy that charges first into the battle, taking all the blows for himself and dealing a lot of damage while he's at it. A Weapon Master that utilizes two-handed weapons more often than not focuses alot on strength and constitution. He may shout "RAAARGH!!", but he does it with style! 3.1 Weapons ----------- The first thing you need to think about is "What weapon will my character wield?" Here's a short list of the better two-handed weapons you can choose from: Greataxe: 1d12 slashing, Martial (Large), 20/x3 criticals Greatsword: 2d6 slashing, Martial (Large), 19-20/x2 criticals Dwarven Waraxe: 1d10 slashing, Dwarf/Exotic (Medium), 20/x3 criticals Halberd: 1d10 piercing/slashing, Martial (Large), 20/x3 criticals Warmace: 1d12 bludgeoning, Martial (Large), 20/x2 criticals I myself prefer the Greatsword, because of it's slightly better avarage damage and wider critical range. It doesn't really matter though, as it's more a matter of personal preferance. 3.2 Race -------- Ok, so what race do we take? We need something that preferably has alot of strength and lots of constitution. Some races, such as the Dwarves, are proficient with racial weapons (in the dwarves' case, Dwarven Waraxes), so we have to keep that in mind as well. And then, of course we have to think about that we need 13 intelligence and dexterity as well, so we don't want a race that totally gimps those stats either... I will only list the "majour" strengths and weaknesses of each race here, if you want the details, please look them up yourself. Shield Dwarves (Dwarf): +2 Constitution, -2 Charisma, Darkvision, favoured class: Fighter. A solid choice, not much fuss, the only negative thing is you loose 2 Charisma, which can be a bummer if you're playing a good character in the Original Campaign and want to use Diplomacy. As all dwarves, they can use Dwarven Waraxes without any Exotic weapons training. Otherwise, not much else to say. Humans: One extra feat at first level, bonus skill points, favoured class: any. Humans are always good, no matter what class you're going to build. Good strengths, and they don't have any real weaknesses at all. A good choice. Tieflings (Planetouched): +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma, Darkvision, Infernal Resistance. Tieflings don't actively give anything to your main stats, but boosts two that needs boosting anyway, leaving room for you to put more into Strength and Constitution. I've found that the level adjustment (+1) doesn't really make any difference. That goes for all races, even if it's a +2 adjustment. You can, of course, choose any other race as well. Perhaps you like to roleplay, and another race suits your roleplaying needs better. Any race can make a good Weapon Master, but there are some that are better than the rest. 3.3 Class --------- And now you have to choose your class. Obviously, you're going for the Weapon Master Prestige Class, but you have to start somewhere. There are several routes you can take as somebody who uses two-handed weapons, all more or less equally viable. What you choose is up to you, and what sort of playing style you want to have. Fighter: A very good choice. You get d10 hit die, all armour proficiencies, Martial weapons, lots and lots of feats and a good BAB. You get a moderate skill- progression (2 + Intelligence bonus) and an ok selection of class skills. The sheer amount of feats you get is something that's really good, if you select a fighter. That means you can take the five required feats (listed above), and still have good room for optional feats. You can find a good selection of optional feats in the feats section, lower down. Barbarian: You're huge. d12 hit die isn't to be toyed around with. One down-side is that you don't get the Heavy Armour feat for free like a fighter, and you don't get as many feats either. You get more skill points (4 + Intelligence modifier), and a few more choices in what to spend them on. What's really good about the Barbarian class is that you get Rage, slightly faster movement speed, Uncanny Dodge and Damage Reduction. Keep in mind, you will only reach a maximum of level 13, since you want 7 levels in Weapon Master. Paladin: d10 hit die, all armours, martial weapons, high BAB, ok skills. You get the idea. But as a Paladin, you gain a little more than this. Smite Evil, Divine Grace, Lay on Hands, Aura of Courage, Divine Health, Turn Undead, Divine spells and Remove Disease are your bonus feats, and they can be quite useful. Most of these will stop gaining in strength when your Paladin level stops increasing, so be careful. Some don't, however, such as Aura of Courage (which is really, really nice!) One thing you could do is to mix 3 levels of Paladin with whatever other class (except your 7 levels of Weapon Master) you choose, to get the free feats you get at level 3 (Aura of Courage and Divine Health). Keep in mind that you have to be Lawful Good to be a Paladin. Figher/Frenzied Berserker/Weapon Master (6/7/7): This is a combination I'm trying out right now, actually, and it's a relly good one! I just love to see my character berserk and run into the middle of the fray, completely destroying everything in his path. Try it out, I think you'll like it! Start with 6 levels of Fighter, continue with Frenzied Berserker levels until you can take Weapon Master. Finish with the last Frenzied Berserker levels you have left. Other Prestige Classes: There are numerous combinations you can do to fill out the 13 leftover levels for your Weapon Master, but I haven't tried any of them. Feel free to experiment and send me results, I'll put them here for others to see. 3.4 Stats --------- This is a pretty easy section on the two-handed Weapons' Master. All you really need is the required 13 Intelligence and Dexterity, dump the rest into Strength and Constitution. I don't really mind keeping Wisdom at 8, but I like to have Charisma a little higher. Naturally, if you're a Paladin (or any other class that uses Wisdom and/or Charisma) you might want it to be higher. Think for yourself, do what suits your character, your needs! 3.5 Feats --------- As a fighting-type of character, feats are very important for you. How many you have largely depends on what starting class you took. This is a selection of great feats for a two-handed Weapons' Master to have, nothing more. You still have to do the choosing yourself! Naturally, this does not include the five required feats that you need to be able to become a Weapon Master. If you've forgotten what they are, scroll up. Cleave/Greater Cleave: A really, really good feat for any melee fighter with two-handed weapons! You'll chop through lesser creatures like a warm knife in butter! (Requires: Power Attack) It's really only good for those encounters with lots of enemies, though, and some will say that it's not really as essential as I may tell you it is. Whom to believe, well, it's up to you! =D Power Attack: Quite useful for slaughtering the easy-to-hit opponents. How many ranks above 1 you want is up to you. I strongly suggest you take at least one, if only to be able to get Cleave. Blind Fight: A lifesaver against rogues and other nasty things that go invisible (like wizards). Luck of Heroes: It's always nice to have, but not really essential in any way. A good feat to take if you know you have them to spare (Fighters, for example). Keep in mind that you have to take it at level one, so there's some planning needed here. Those are the "main" melee-type feats. There are others, such as the armour feats (if your lass doesn't give them for free at level 1) or Disarm that you might want to take as well. 3.6 Conclusion -------------- So, you're a good way into creating your big, bad two-handed Weapons' Master! What's left is basicly Backgrounds and Skills, which have their own section lower down in the guide. If this style of Weapon Master isn't what you were looking for, then read on, here comes the other two! ------------------------------- 4.0 STYLE 2: ONE-HANDED WEAPONS ------------------------------- "What is this?" you might ask. Well, you might think about it, and may not see it very often, but there are actually shields in this game. Yes, SHIELDS! =D Shields will give you more Armour Class, another slot for stat bonuses (and other bonuses), and you'll be different from alot of other players out there. This type of Weapon Master will wield a one-handed weapon to go with his shield, and is one of the better tanks out there. He might not kill stuff as quick as the other two types, but he will survive longer. Your main stats are still Strength and Constitution. 4.1 Weapons ----------- We have quite the selection to choose from here. There are lots of one-handed weapons in this game. What we're looking for is one that does high damage, so that leaves out most of the light weapons. I will list my own favourites here: Bastard sword: 1d10 slashing, Exotic (Medium), 19-20/x2 criticals Battleaxe: 1d8 slashing, Martial (Medium), 20/x3 criticals Katana: 1d10 slashing, Exotic (Medium), 19-20/x2 criticals Light Flail: 1d8 bludgeoning, Martial (Medium), 20/x2 criticals Longsword: 1d8 slashing, Martial (Medium or Elf), 19-20/x2 criticals Morningstar: 1d8 bludgeoning/piercing, Simple (Medium), 20/x2 criticals Warhammer: 1d8 bludgeoning, Martial (Medium), 20/x3 criticals The Longsword or the Bastard sword (if you're a large enough race to use it) would be my pick, preferably the Bastard sword. Keep in mind you need the Exotic weapons' feat for that, though. The Katana is a very good choice as well, though I just keep thinking of Samurai's when I'm using one... =P 4.2 Race -------- The Shield Dwarves, Humans and Tieflings are still good choices for the one-handed Weapons' Master for the same reason as they're good for the two-handed Weapons' Master. If you didn't read the above section, scroll up to the section about races for the two-handed Weapon's Master. You can still choose any other race you deem fit, of course. 4.3 Class --------- Here we need a bit more tactics. We want to be able to use Tower Shields (as they obviously are better and give more AC bonus), and the only class that can do that without investing a feat in it is the Fighter class. So, we want at least one fighter level. You could either keep gaining fighter levels, since more feats are always nice, or you could go on and get some levels in another class. The Barbarian and the Paladin are still good choices, but I believe that taking just one level of Fighter and spending the other 12 into a Cleric is a good option. "Say WHAT? but aren't we trying to make a Weapon Master?" I hear you say. Well, that's true, but seeing as this type of Weapon Master isn't the type to deal awesome damage, becoming a Cleric can really give you some abilities to strengthen your tanking capability. Stay with me here. A Cleric can heal. This means that he can heal himself when he's low on hitpoints, without a real need for another full-time healer. A Cleric will give up some of his BAB and feats in favour of this. This will be a very defensive Weapon Master, using his knowledge and wisdom to enable his allies to do a big part of the fight. His levels as a Weapon Master will allow him to dish some damage out, albeit not as much as other combinations. But, if you're choosing this type of Weapon Master, you shouldn't be looking for great damage anyhow. About choosing a Cleric domain... I won't list them all here, you'll have to look them up yourself. I'd think that "Healing" is a nice choice, though, to really give you the most out of your defensive capabilities. You can similarly create a Weapon Master with 1 Figher level and 12 Paladin levels to get something near you'd get with the 12 Cleric levels. I do believe that the Cleric would be better suited for this sort of character, though. If you know something I don't about this, please email me about it! (You'll find my email at the top of the page.) And there's still the combination of different Prestige Classes along with whatever starting class you pick and the Weapon Master levels to consider. 4.4 Stats --------- Your main stats are still Strength and Constitution, and that's still what you should put most points in. You still need at least 13 Intelligence and Dexterity, so you'll need those points there as well. If you're building the "normal" one-handed Weapons' Master, that's all you need to worry about. However, if you're trying out the combination of one level of Fighter, 12 levels of Cleric to go along with your Weapon Master level, you'll need Wisdom as well, to be able to cast your divine spells. A Wisdom of 10 + (spell level) is needed to be able to cast spells of that level. Do the math and assign stats according to how many spell levels you want to be able to cast. I think you should forgo Strength before you reduce Constitution in favour of your Wisdom. Again, you'll have to think on your own here. I know, it's frustrating! =D 4.5 Feats --------- Again, your amount of feats depend on what class you took. What sort of feats your Weapon Master should take depends on if you went with more Figher/Barbarian or Cleric/Paladin. Improved Combat Expertise: This would be a good choice for a character that focuses a bit more on defense, which our one-handed Weapons' Master does. Especially for the Cleric/Paladin type, more defense is always good. Cleave and Greater Cleave: It's still useful, but since you don't do as much damage as with a two-handed weapon, you won't get to use it as often. It's still a good choice, though. Luck of Heroes: If you've got the feats to spare, this is always nice to have. Blind Fight: Same as for all melee fighters, very useful. Improved Parry: More defensive abilities, yay! Skilled Offense: Helps with Parrying, if you feel you're going to be Parrying alot. I've never used Parry much, but some swear by it that they couldn't live without it. 4.6 Conclusion -------------- In this section, I've talked alot of about the weird combination of Fighter/Cleric/Weapon Master. Just because I've talked alot about it doesn't mean that's the "best" choice for a one-handed Weapons' Master, it's just that it takes more space to explain it. The other choices are as good as any. I believe the weird combination can make quite an interesting experience, though, but I've yet to actually try it out to it's fullest. If you do, please let me know what you thought about it, and how it worked! And now, onward to the last "style" of Weapon Masters, and consequently, my favourite... ------------------------- 5.0 STYLE 3: DUAL WEAPONS ------------------------- Finally! This is the type of Weapon Master that I like the most, probably just because of the cool-factor of running around with two sword, hacking into everything and everyone. If you don't like it as much as I do, that's perfectly OK as well. And just because I like it the most doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best. The Dual wielding Weapon Master generally is a bit more agile and can't take quite as big a beating as the other two types can. That being said, he's still a warrior-type, and can still soak some damage, albeit there are better character for doing it. Note that the Class section comes before the Race section here, as the class choosing has a much bigger impact on the gameplay here. 5.1 Weapons ----------- Being a Weapon Master, even though you're dual wielding, you still need to have the same type of weapon in each hand to be able to get the full benefits of being a Weapon Master. That means that you can't pick the longsword as favoured weapon, but use a light weapon in your off-hand to be able to get the penalities down. Here are some good choices for weapons for a dual wielding Weapon Master: Katana: 1d10 slashing, Exotic (Medium), 19-20/x2 criticals Kukri: 1d4 slashing, Martial (Tiny), 18-20/x2 criticals Dagger: 1d4 piercing, Simple (Tiny), 19-20/x2 criticals Kama: 1d6 slashing, Exotic (Small), 20/x2 criticals Longsword: 1d8 slashing, Martial (Medium or Elf), 19-20/x2 criticals Short Sword: 1d6 piercing, Martial (Small), 19-20/x2 criticals Light Flail: 1d8 bludgeoning, Martial (Medium), 20/x2 criticals A dual wielding Weapon Master will obviously need to spend feats into Two-Weapons Fighting. This means that his penalities for using his off-hand to swing weapons will go down to -4/-4, and even further down to -2/-2 if a light weapon is used. Light weapons are Small and Tiny. Light weapons will do less damage than medium weapons, but they will hit more often due to the reduced penalities. Which one you choose is up to you, as always. I myself took Longswords for my first Weapon Master. (I like blades, if you haven't already noticed! =P) 5.2 Class --------- Now it's getting a bit complicated. You've got a big choice here: "To be a Ranger or not to be a Ranger". If this question is not obvious to you, let me explain... Rangers get to choose a combat style by level two. The choices are "Archery" or "Two Weapon Combat". This means that a level two Ranger will get the feat "Two-weapon fighting" for free. And note this: even if he doesn't meet the requirements! This combat style will improve at level 6 and 11. This is still without having to meet the requirements for the Improved and Greater versions! Conclusion: a Ranger can keep his Dexterity at measly 13 and still get all the Two-weapon fighting feats, as other Weapon Masters will have to have 15, 17 and 19 Dexterity respectively to get to the same level of two-weapon fighting. What are the bad things about Rangers, then? Well, for starters, they only have a hit die of d8, and they only have light armour. They have a few divine spells, but need wisdom to make use of it. Rangers also get a lot of free feats, Favoured Enemy among the better. They have more skills to choose from, and get more skill points (6 + Intelligence modifier). They still have a high BAB gain, and high Fortitude and Reflex saves. A good combination is to start with 1 level in Fighter, and move on to Ranger, and finish with your Weapon Master levels as soon as you can. This way, you still get all your armour proficiencies. If you don't want to take any Ranger levels, prepare to have to put more points into Dexterity. You could go the all-Fighter route, which will give you more than enough feats and more hit-points. You could mix some Fighter levels with a few from the Barbarian or Paladin (although I don't think the Paladin really fits to be a dual wielding Weapon Master, it's your choice). I've said much good about the Ranger variation, but I myself didn't actually go that route. The 6 stat points that you save from not having to put 19 points into Dexterity have to be used for other stats, Wisdom for one. I had 8 in Wisdom with my pure Fighter/Weapon Master, but a Ranger/Weapon Master would require more. Unless you forgo all the spellcasting the Ranger have... which I suppose is entirely possible. The hit die of d8 could be fixed by having more points to spend on Constitution. You'd get more points to spend on Strength by going the Ranger route as well. I could go on. It really is more of an aesthetic choice. I myself don't like Rangers as a roleplaying class. They are just... weird. Too much Aragorn for me, thank you very much. If you like Rangers, go ahead and go that route, it's a good one. But not going down that route is an equally good choice. 5.3 Race -------- Now, if you've chosen to go Ranger or something else will largely give you more or less viable options here. Shield Dwarves, Humans and Tieflings are still solid options to go with, for both the Ranger and non-Ranger Weapon Masters. However, if you took the Ranger route, you have a bit more to choose from: Drow: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution, Keen senses, Darkvison, Spell Resistant, Strong Will, Light Sensetivity, Level Adjustment (+2). You get so many nice stuff from this race that the -2 in Constitution is something you can forget. You'll have so many stats to spare from the other pluses that you can get a decent Constitution anyhow. Without the need for alot of Dexterity, you can dump alot into Strength as well. A good choice (plus Drow are really cool! =P) Wood Elf: +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, Keen senses, Favoured class: Ranger. This is a good choice if only to negate all the experience penalities you'll get from having that one level of Fighter hanging around. The stat bonuses aren't as good as the ones you get from the Drow, but they are affordable. There's of course the trouble of looking like crap, in my opinion at least! =P 5.4 Stats --------- Well, we've basicly already covered this section in the previous ones. If you missed it, your main stats are Strength and Dexterity if you didn't take Ranger levels, and Strength and Constitution if you did. You still need at least 13 in Intelligence and Dexterity. If you have Ranger levels, you have to choose if you want to spend points into Wisdom to be able to cast spells or not. The Formula is 10 + (spell level). 5.5 Feats --------- This selection will obviosly be different from that of the other styles of Weapon Masters. For one, Cleave isn't as useful to you, since you won't do as much damage with your weapons. Power Attack isn't really an option either, seeing as you've already got all the minus to hit you need. Luck of Heroes and Blind Fight are still good feats to take. If you haven't taken Ranger levels, you'll need the Two-Weapon Fighting feats as well. It's a bit up to you what to take. Disarm is always a good choice, since the other melee feats don't really help you. Greater Weapon Focus helps as well. The Two Weapon Defense line of feats does help, especially if your character has low AC. Weapon Specialization for more damage. Some like to take the Monkey Grip feat, either because it's cool or because they want to roleplay. I myself am not sure if it's "good" or not. -2 to attack for more damage seems like a good choice, but seeing as you already have quite alot of minuses to attack... well, decide for yourself. The choices are many, and you have to make them yourself. If you're having a hard time deciding, think out of a roleplaying perspective, maybe that'll help. 5.6 Conclusion -------------- My first Weapon Master was a dual wielding Drow pure Fighter, no Ranger levels. He was kinda hard to play at times, since he lacked a big pool of hit points. But he was mighty cool, and very fun to play. It felt a bit weird though, running around in plate armour that didn't let me have more than +1 AC from dexterity, though I had somewhere around +6 in total from bonuses and from having to have 19 in there. *shrug*. Hopefully, my experiences and this guide will help you create a "better" character than my first one. But if you want something cool, generally badass and a bit of a challange, I suggest you try my character out. Let him have 12 Constitution, like mine had! =D ----------------- 6.0 OTHER CHOICES ----------------- Here are the other stuff you have to decide upon when you're creating your Weapon Master, but doesn't fit into the other categories. The reason I put Skills in this section is that they're almost the same for the three different Weapon Masters, and it felt stupid writing the same thing three times over. 6.1 Skills ---------- You need at least 4 ranks of Intimidate to be able to get to Weapon Master, there's no way getting around it. Just put the points there. If you're evil, you might even want more, it helps if you don't like Diplomacy in the Original Campaign. Craft Armour Well, if you want to craft armour, naturally you take this skill. Keep in mind that only your starter classes (Ranger, Fighter, Paladin, Barbarian) have this as a class skill, your Weapon Master does not. Craft Weapon Same deal as above, but this is a class skill for the your Weapon Master. Lore Well, there are probably character with more skill points than you that can make better use of this skill. Parry If you want this skill largely depend on what sort of character you're playing. If you're the one-handed Weapons' Master ("Style 2"), it might be a very good skill. For the other two styles, I wouldn't bother with it. Taunt A good skill to put points into, for any Weapon Master. It'll make hitting enemies alot easier. Might be essential for dual wielding Weapon Masters, to make up for their to- hit penalities. Diplomacy Not a class skill of the Weapon Master, but of the Paladin. Even if you don't have Paladin levels, you might want to have some ranks in Diplomacy, especially in the Original Campaign, if you're good. There are alot of good conversations there, and you'll miss out without a skill for persuation (Diplomacy or Intimidate). Intimidate As I've already said, you need at least 4 ranks here. If you're evil, you might want even more, to give you more persuation options. Heal Class skill of the Ranger and the Paladin. Good to have if you have levels in either of those classes, otherwise, you can't afford it. There are alot of other skills out there, but you haven't got enough points to make good use of them. Let the Rogues take care of the lockpicking, trap-finding and such Rogue-ish things. 6.2 Backgrounds --------------- You have the option of choosing a background for your character. These are the ones that are any good for the Weapon Master: Bully: +1 Intimidate, +1 Fortitude Save, -1 Bluff, -2 Diplomacy, (Requires: 10 or more Strength.) Militia: +2 Parry, +1 Craft Armor, +1 Craft Weapon, -2 Will Save, (Requires: BAB +1) Natural Leader: +1 to companions' attack rolls, -1 to your saving throws, (Requires: 10 or more Charisma.) If you don't like any of them, there is absolutely nothing wrong with not having a background in the first place. The "Militia" background might be a good choice for the one-handed Weapons' Master, for the +2 in Parry, if you use it. 6.3 Deities ----------- This has absolutely no impact on your character whatsoever, except for roleplaying. Take one or not, it doesn't matter. --------------------------------- 7.0 CREDITS, VERSION HISTORY, ETC --------------------------------- It's the end of the guide, noes! =P 7.1 Credit where credit is due ------------------------------ As this is the first version, there's nobody except me that has done anything for this guide. If you contribute with something, I will add your name (with your permission) to the 'Special Thanks' section below here. If you do not wish to be listed, but still with to contribute, I won't put you up there, simple as that. If you wish to contribute, with constructive critisism (good or bad), grammar and or spelling mistakes, or something else, you have my email at the top of the page. 7.2 Version History ------------------- ver. 1.00, 30th of March 2007 - Initial release ver. 1.01, 5th of April, 2007 - Added a "Type 1" class combination - Added "Monkey Grip" feat - Fixed various spelling/grammar mistakes 7.3 Who can use this guide -------------------------- GameFaqs, obviously, and anyone who wants to, but I require an e-mail asking for permission before doing so. My mail can be found at the top of this guide. I will almost always give you my permission to use the guide, I just want to know who you are and where you'll be putting the guide. 7.4 Special Thanks ------------------ Bioware - For keeping making these great RPG's! Black Isle - For starting to make great RPG's! My homework - For making me want to do something other than the homework! My family - For putting up with me sitting at the computer for 7 hours straight! Ok, I think that's all, I hope you've enjoyed my guide!
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