Charismatic Archer (11 Sorc/10 RDD/19 AA)

[jillybean]

This was my second character but the first one I took Immo, and is now what I would consider my “main” character. I currently enjoy playing this build the most, and with the changes coming to the AA class I believe it will only get better.
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-Race: Elf
-Subrace: Moon Elf
-Alignment: True Neutral
-Familiar: Pixie

STARTING
STR: 14
DEX: 18
CON: 10
INT: 12
WIS: 8
CHA: 14

SUBRACE CHANGES
STR: 12
DEX: 18
CON: 10
INT: 14
WIS: 8
CHA: 14
Spellcraft: +4

ENDING
STR: 23
DEX: 29
CON: 12
INT: 16
WIS: 8
CHA: 16

NAKED STATS (lvl 40)
AC: 29
HPs: 252
Attack Bonus: +33/+28/+23/+18
Fort: 24
Reflex: 29
Will: 21
Base Attack: 26
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lvl 01: SORCEROR; Point Blank Shot; (Lore +4, Spellcraft +4, Concentration +4)
Lvl 02: SORCEROR;
Lvl 03: SORCEROR; Weapon Focus Longbow
Lvl 04: SORCEROR; Dex +1 (19)
Lvl 05: SORCEROR;
Lvl 06: SORCEROR; Called Shot
Lvl 07: RDD;
Lvl 08: RDD; Dex +1 (20)
Lvl 09: RDD; Rapid Shot
Lvl 10: RDD;
Lvl 11: ARCANE ARCHER;
Lvl 12: ARCANE ARCHER; Dex +1 (21), Power Attack
Lvl 13: ARCANE ARCHER;
Lvl 14: ARCANE ARCHER;
Lvl 15: ARCANE ARCHER; Cleave
Lvl 16: ARCANE ARCHER; Str +1 (17)
Lvl 17: ARCANE ARCHER;
Lvl 18: ARCANE ARCHER; Improved Critical Longbow
Lvl 19: ARCANE ARCHER;
Lvl 20: ARCANE ARCHER; Str +1 (18)
Lvl 21: RDD; Epic Weapon Focus Longbow
Lvl 22: RDD;
Lvl 23: RDD;
Lvl 24: RDD; Str +1 (19), Great Cleave
Lvl 25: RDD;
Lvl 26: RDD; (**remember this is the last level you can take discipline!)
Lvl 27: SORCEROR; Overwhelming Critical Longbow
Lvl 28: SORCEROR; Dex +1 (22)
Lvl 29: SORCEROR;
Lvl 30: SORCEROR; Armor Skin
Lvl 31: ARCANE ARCHER;
Lvl 32: ARCANE ARCHER; Dex +1 (23)
Lvl 33: ARCANE ARCHER; Epic Prowess
Lvl 34: ARCANE ARCHER; Great Dexterity I (24)
Lvl 35: ARCANE ARCHER;
Lvl 36: ARCANE ARCHER; Dex +1 (25), Great Dex II (26)
Lvl 37: ARCANE ARCHER;
Lvl 38: ARCANE ARCHER; Great Dex III (27)
Lvl 39: ARCANE ARCHER; Great Dex IV (28)
Lvl 40: SORCEROR; Dex +1 (29)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
FINAL SKILL POINT ALLOCATION
Appraise: 17
Lore: 8
Concentration: 43
Spellcraft: 43
Discipline: 29
Tumble: 21
Heal: 26

By my calculations you have 229 total skill points.
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This build was adapted from Herbie Shimmer’s Devastatingly Charming Archer from the Bioware boards (nwn.bioware.com/guilds_registry/viewtopic.html?forum=13423&gid=8061&topic=166734 ); though I adjusted some things to make it better work on Higher Ground.

I enjoy characters that are a bit from the norm and also feel that if I take a class I should get some benefit from it. That is why this character appealed to me. It uses Sorceror instead of Bard for the RDD levels and has you take more then 1 level of an arcane casting class to achieve AA. This allows you to be pretty decent at casting in addition to your melee skills.


Feats:
I really enjoyed the Called Shot at level 6. It works well on low level mobs and actually seems to make a difference in the fight. I did give up two Great Dex feats for Armor Skin and Epic Prowess. The build still achieves the same AB but gains 1 AC, which I felt was worth it.

Skills:
Remember that you need 8 Lore by LVL 7 to get RDD at the point described in this build. I wouldn’t bother putting any points into skills on AA levels, just save the points for Sorc/RDD levels. Also, make sure you max Discipline on RDD levels so you don’t waste points cross class.

Spells:
The spells in this build can help you loads with leveling. Not only do you get staples like Grease, Web, or CoB but you get some great buffs too. (Which means you don’t have to rely on the lazy casters in the party!! /wink ) I took things like True Strike, Cat’s Grace, Endurance, Death Armor, Stoneskin, Elemental Shield, and Mestil’s Acid Sheath to name a few. I skipped most of the nukes, since I wanted to rely on my bow for damage.

Legendary Levels:
I am halfway to lvl 42 with this character so my experience with LLs is limited. My plan was to keep raising Dex as well as finishing off the rest of the Great Dex feats. Blind Fight might be worth it too although I am still unclear if that helps only with melee or if it helps ranged attacks as well.

[hiryuu]

Definitely stick to the buffs with this build, since you won't have much of a DC, Spell Penetration, or per-level damage. The ones you mentioned are good, but Improved Invisibility is also excellent, although nerfed from the 50% conceal it gives on other servers.

Bard is a strong alternative, which gives you a better AB progression, plus Discipline, Tumble, and UMD as class skills. You do lose Energy Buffer, but you can also short your Cha 2 points and put it into Con.

I try to take secondary attributes (Str here) as feats to make sure I get my best primary attribute. This build is very tight on feats, though, so I don't think it matters. Prowess and Armor Skin are wise pickups.

Overall, it's a pretty good looking AA build, and the new class improvements should help quite a bit.

[chainlink]

If you are using a secondary light weapon like a rapier you might want to look at grabbing Weapon Finesse as a Feat to improve your ab when not using the bow. This build starts to look really interesting if you have access to the UR Dragon Blooded subrace as you would be able to take 1 caster level (Bard, Sorc or Wiz) then 10 RDD (due to the +5 Lore bonus) and 29 AA almost maximising the new AA benefits whilst letting you have the RDD basic immunities and general Stat improvements. Alternatively you could take another RDD level at 40 to max your Discipline, Concentration and Spellcraft and a Bard level at 37 to max tumble which would give you +8 to both ac and spell saves. This would give you 2 Bard/11 RDD/27 AA minimising your casting ability but making you a much more effective tank.

[jillybean]

If you get RDD any later, you cannot get Overwhelming Critical. Although I know some question its effectiveness, I like it.

If you traded all 11 lvls of Sorc to Bard you would lose the Energy Buffer Spell but you would gain Bard Song. At lv 11 you would gain +2 Atk/+2 dmg/+1 will/+1 fort/+1 reflx/+8 Hps/+2 ac/+2 skill. You would need a perform of at least 18 but that could be achieved thorough items or with some of the points you save from now having tumble and disc as a class skill.

I don't use a rapier in this build, since all focus is on the Bow. Also, this build was never meant to be a tank (I try to stay out of main combat as much as possible) but a damage dealer to help the party move through areas faster.

[jillybean]

chainlink said:

Alternatively you could take another RDD level at 40 to max your Discipline, Concentration and Spellcraft and a Bard level at 37 to max tumble which would give you +8 to both ac and spell saves. This would give you 2 Bard/11 RDD/27 AA minimizing your casting ability but making you a much more effective tank.

I re-read this and wanted to add that although an extra RDD level wouldn't give you any benefits (no bonuses at level 11); if you took your proposed bard level at 40 instead of 37 you could max tumble, UMD, Discipline, Concentration, and Spellcraft (assuming you have enough points) since they are all class skills. You could then take another level of bard (3/10/27) and get an upgrade to bard song; or take another level of AA (2/10/28) for no benefits besides more aa levels.

Substituting Bard for Sorc in this build though is a matter of personal preference. IMO, the bard is better as an almost pure class so you can reap the full benefits of bard song/curse song. I liked Sorc in this build because it was different while still leading to a great build.

[jillybean]

I am level 55 with this character now and its still my favorite. For LL I have just been going with Great Dex feats. The AA special abilities have kicked in when expected and are working well. I have similar AC/HP to others at my level and I am always amazed at the stuff I can resist (or all out avoid by standing in the back) that seem to be such a problem to others.

In hindsight I would have taken the Wild Elf subrace with this build to free up some feats - but as it stands it works well. The Sorc buffs are a lot of help (where would I be without elemental shield!) and the RDD immunities are icing on the cake.

When I get to level 60, I will post the naked stats for comparison.