Any hints/tips please

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For a challenge (quite a challenge it is proving so far) I have started a halfing rogue party to take as far as I can through the OC... my PC is a halfing bard build and is accompanied by Tommi. Just wondering if anyone had any useful hints or tips about good strategies, items, spells etc that I could use. Thanks in advance.

 

I'm currently playing through HOTU with a Ranger 1 / Rogue X... I added a level of Ranger to get dual weapons, armor, shields, and marital -ahem- martial weapon feats, tracking, and animal empathy (used several places in SOU). So, in general, I found the rogue very playable. I also liked being able to use *almost every* magic item in the game. You'll be more limited in weapons because your (halfling) size.

I use stealth a lot more than I expected. Sneak into a group, sneak attack the Cleric, then the wizard, the rest go quickly. Blind-fight works great with a simple darkness spell (no save for darkness), all your attacks are sneak-attacks, and you get 100% concealment (50% miss chance). In practice, it works better than improved invisibility, except it doesn't travel with you (has anyone tried casting darkness on your own character?)... I rarely use traps, but if I do, there are two methods: 1) sneak in and put traps under enemies, then engage, 2) put traps down on an escape route (usually the entrance), engage the enemy, the run away through the escape route, then engage whoever's left... Another trick: open door, fireball enemies in room, step aside from doorway taking cover behind wall, enter stealth mode, sneak attack first enemy through door --usually, that kills 'em, re-enter stealth mode, sneak attack the next monster, wash, rinse, repeat... Obviously this is combinable with trap-strategies. Hard battles: dragons, constructs, and undead. Using improved evasion, try to keep dragon-breath on you (usually an easy reflex save), and not on your henchman... Use Scrolls! With the "Use Magic Item" skill you can read scrolls and cast any spell. Summon monsters, buff & protect yourself, zap monsters, etc...

 

Interesting change in tactics. A bard can be a tank, but is generally better at buffing tanks. However, with Tomi as your henchman YOU have to be the tank. Tomi is most effective if he can land sneak attacks -- which means you need to be the target of the bad guys.

Be sure you do the quests for Sharwyn and Boddyknock for the Charisma enhancing items. Daelan's amulet would come in handy too (as you will be tanking a bit). I generally do all the quests, get all the henchmen items and upgrade them every chapter -- you never know when +4 con and immunity to level drain will come in handy.

Uncanny dodge is your friend. Your bard song will take you out of the fray -- and grant an attack of opportunity. Uncanny dodge allows you to retain your dex based AC bonuses. You can get this with two levels of barbarian (great choice here), shadowdancer or assassin; or three levels of rogue.

Adding two levels of barbarian is a great choice to give uncanny dodge, martial weapons, faster movement and rage.

Put your armor on a hot key. Early on, most of your spells are buffs -- take off the armor, cast the spells, put back on the armor. This will become unnecessary when your use magic device skill gets high enough (and you have the money) for the Robes of the Dark Moon.

As far as other items... basically the same ones you want for any character: Ring of Elemental Resistance is great until you exchange it for the Ring of Power -- your other finger will have Boddyknock's ring on it. If you're evil you can get the Dragon Slippers (which are also great), otherwise Boots of Hardiness followed by the Gargoyle Boots. The Thieves' Hood (need UMD) and Golden Circlet both have their uses. You'll want to keep the best Gloves of the Minstrel to boost your perform ability.

Important spells early on: mage armor, ghostly visage, cat's grace, bull's strength, haste and warcry. Improved invisibility if you're not worried about Tomi.

Feats: Lingering song and extra music are good if you have SoU installed. Your song gives you the advantage (and brings your fighting ability nearly up to that of a fighter). Other feats depend on how you intend to fight. Heroes' Luck is good with a halfling as it gives a total of +2 to all saves. Extend spell is great for buffing spells and still spell is for those time you need to cast but don't want to remove your armor (shouldn't really happen much though).

Key to combat: buff, sing, whack, repeat. Later on you can use spells to weaken your opponents. Do not forget about ranged weapons. The bard can be the best archer out there. Combine that with your buffs adding to Tomi's abilities, his sneak attack with the shortbow can be quite devestating. The two of you combined can take down many enemies before they get within swinging range.

 

That was my next question, was wondering if in NWN there was any 'bard' armour as there is in BG2, armour that lets you cast spells at all? Those robes sound like what i'm looking for. When abouts are you able to get them? Where from?

 

I don't know of any bard armor, but you can cast spells in any armor -- there is just a percent chance the spell will fail (I think even 5% chance of failure is too high for a serious spellcaster). But the feat still spell will allow for spells to be cast in armor without chance of failure.

The Robes of the Old Order are monk only robes you can buy from temples starting in chapter two. They provide haste (complete with the +4 AC and extra attack) and have a 0% spell failure.

There are a couple of other robes you can use as well, but I like those the most. It also frees the feet for the dragon slippers, gargoyle boots or boots of hardiness (even boots of elvenkind).

 

Rogues class combined with Bard (Bard song), Monk (free feats), Wizard/Sorcerer(buff spellings), or Cleric(buffing spells) will improve your character.

If you want a good build select 4 levels of fighter for weapon specialization, 1 rogue level and (place 8 skill points into hide and move silently) and at the next level up select Assasian.

[ April 20, 2007, 19:20: Message edited by: Munchkin Blender ]

 

IMO the secret to playing a good Bard is to capitalize on his versatility. Basically, this involves using whatever resources you have around you to excel in what you do and ensuring you have the appropriate skills to access these resources.
This in mind, the Bard is among the easiest classes I finished the OC (no expansions) with. All I really did was to check on every merchant I could to see if they had any worthwhile items, potions and scrolls in stock, and I kept my weapon selection broad enough so I could switch weapons depending on the situation. Items like belts with damage reduction bonuses (shining knights and blades), elemental resistance robes, wands and magic scrolls(many starred cloak tower) and healing kits helped my bard get throught the beginning part of the game, and from chapter 2 onwards everything just gets ridiculously easy. As long as you have a broad range of skills and feats all you have to do is adapt to a certain situation - and then focus all your resources (magical, physical, rogue, items and item builds) to deal with it. The presence of hirelings and summons help me deal with situations where too many factors are involved (ie, everyone from the opposing group is using a different weapon type, and there's a spellcaster and his own summon in there somewhere) and my Bard Song pretty much rounds everything off. There will be some battles which will be pretty hard if you decide to engage it in the "conventional" way though, in which case I go ultimate - I leave my bow, pick up my scythe, switch item build to focus on strength, spam my LvL 9 spell scrolls, and go on a rampage.
My only advice for you is to get Darkness and Ultravisions ASAP as it helps a lot during the earlier chapters. Afterwards, how powerful your Bard is will depend on what resources and options he has at his disposal.
Just remember the basics - buff, bard song, spells, items, weapons... things everyone else mentioned.