Problems with searching for traps...

Remove all ads!

My thief doesn't see traps! He's almost level 10, has quite a few skill points in "searching", but when I activate his "searching modus" and start wandering around a room, he doesn't see or do anything! He just walks straight into the traps instead of seeing and disarming them...

How do I get my thief to see traps? Is there an additional button I forget to push? Is he too weak? It's driving me absolutely crazy, so please a little help...!!!

 

You have someone with 9 levels of Rogue?? Ok...
Could you post exactly how many points you have spent in each skill? And stats too.

 

Ok Shrikant, thanks again for looking into it...

My rogue is level 10, has 5 skill points in searching, and two in all the rest (pick-pocketing, disarming, ...) He hasn't found a single trap yet, and we're almost through the ice temple... That means we've encountered about 20 to 30 traps, but none was made visible by our thief... That can't be normal, can it?

 

Your search skills should be around 12 by now. This means that the points you have spent in that skill + your Int modifier should equal 12 (well some traps will even become visible if your skill total is 8).
So if you have only 5 skill points in search as of now, your Int should be 16 or more to even have a chance to find any traps.

All skills are affected by their associated stats. Check the third page of your record sheet. On top will be your skills and feats taken at the bottom.
For each skill there will be 2 numbers beside it. The first is your skill level while the one in the brackets is the number of points you have spent in that skill.
In your case, assuming the rogue has Int of 14 it will look like: Search: 7(5)
As you can see you just haven't invested enough points in your rogue abilities.

 

Ok thanks dude...! I'll look into it!

I don't know for sure anymore ('cos my companion plays the rogue) but I think we've maximized his dexterity and forgot a little about his intelligence... I even think it's minimized... Would that be a major problem then...? (and I think I know the answer yet.. Ai ai!!!)

 

Yup. Stat modifier for skills work both ways. Adding and subtracting.
Disable Device and Search are modified by Int. Hide, Move Silently, Open Locks and Pick Pocket are modified by Dex.

 

ok then, we're f*cked...

Any suggestions on what we should make of him...? Leave the rogue levels for what they are, and start adding fighter levels? Or should we make him an arcane caster...? What if we made him a ranger (because of the DEX)?

 

What are the Rogues race and stats?

Ranger is by far the worst full-time charecter in IWD II. They have been royally screwed.
Fighter, or better yet Barbarian, if he has the Strength for it.
Or you can make him a Bard.

Then again depends on how ur friend wants to play him.

 

Thanks for helping out Shrikant, we certainly don't want to get multi-class penalties by doing something stupid again...!

Our rogue is a female thiefling, with INT and CHA minimized, DEX maximized, and the rest of the points was split up... I think she has a STR of 18... We would like to make her a barbarian, good choice?

 

Why not make her a cleric or druid? If she has int and cha minimized her wis should be quite good. The rest of the needed wispoints you'll get at lvl-ups and with rings/amulets. I usually hate non-magic players and a cleric (or druid) is almost as good as the fighterclasses at fighting + they have spells.

 

Yep, true, her WIS is quite good... Should be around 16, I guess...

But we have only 4 characters in our posse, a fighter, cleric, sorcerer and then our badly assembled thief... If we dual-classed her to a cleric, won't we come short on pure firepower later on in the game...?

 

I would have agreed with Mudde, except for one thing. While the others are bragging about their L6 spells this rogue will still be grappling with 1st level spells. Not a very happy situation.
Not to mention the fact that she probably wont get to anything above L22-23. So there is no hope of her casting L9 spells. Make her a caster if you think you want to never run out ofthe lower level spells

Of the five warrior types, I'd recommend against Ranger and Monk. Ranger since that class has nothing really special to offer overall and iirc Monk fists dont count towards sneak attack damage.
As a melee charecter, Barbs outperform all other classes. Higher Hp plus rage ability and damage reduction rocks. Add to that sneak damage and anyone will die in one hit.
But if her role is now going to be as an archer, Fighter levels with specialisation in bows or slings will help you greatly. Since you have already crossed the Aurilite village, you must have taken the Xbow with Lbow rate of fire. I prefer Xbows bue to their higher base damage as compared to bows and slings. Remember that while Xbows dont get the advantage of Rapid Shot, thrown weapons such as Axes do.
I dont think your rogue is LG but if she is, Smite Evil + sneak attack damage + cera sumat = buggered bosses

 

One option is to ditch your rogue entirely, and make a new one. Put a drekload of points into hide at first, and wait until they get some levels to be more useful. It will also help everyone else's XP at first, since the lower character will lower the average character level for the party, meaning things will be worth more XP.

 

It may be just me, but i love lowlvl-spells and hate resting and using potions so i need a lot of healing. And long lasting buffs like bulls strength is always useful. The cleric has her best spell lvls at 6 and 8 and at most one good lvl9-spell (the domain) so don't worry about not being able to cast lvl9-spells.
The barbarian and fighters are the best melee-classes but quite booring to play. The ranger is not worthless but only almost as good as other meleeclasses. Nothing for powergamers but a rangerloving player should not avoid them.

 

A rogue with low intelligence -- you're hosed. Your best bet is to get another rogue with good intelligence -- within a couple of levels the new rogue will be outperforming your current rogue.

Intelligence is the #2 area to put points in for a rogue. Your ability is based on the skill points you put in and can be as high as 4+level. My rogue was always at 4+level in all the rogue skills (such as detecting traps and lock pick). I would also choose human -- the feat/skill bonuses pay off big time.

The Ranger/Rogue combination is very good. With just one level of ranger your rogue is ready to rock -- you can dual wield without wasting two feats. Dual is especially good when wielding those great weapons that ignore armor (sneak attack is wonderful). You don't need high strength for a rogue go for weapon finesse (the best combat feat for rogues).

 

Thanks all for the advice, but we'll probably go with Shrikant's strategy...

My friend always wanted a barbarian, right from the start... So now he gets his chance...
We won't go for a caster for two reasons... She'll never get the high level spells, and our two other casters do their job just fine...! I mean, when you look at it, half our party are casters already... No need for 3/4 casters, right?

Still one thing about the Xbows... We did clear the Aurilite village, and I think I got a Xbow named "Hagnen's Folly", but I didn't notice any improvements over my Xbow of defense, so I didn't equip it... But is that "Hagnens Folly" the Xbow you're talking about? (the one with the Lbow rate of fire)

And again thanks for all the advice... We're not idiots, and we can finish the game easily without asking so many questions, but it's nice to share some thoughts and ideas on the game...

 

Thats the one.
Equip your Fighter with a normal crossbow and look at the attacks page of his charecter record sheet (I'm assuming his BAB is over 6). Now try with Haegen's Folly. See!

 

Oh, hey, one piece of advice to give about rogue sneak attacks for your dual-weilding ranger-rogues: While the Moonblade cannot be used for sneak attacks, it makes a great off-hand weapon for sneak attackers... they can sneak attack with something else (early in the game, I'll use Veira's Sorrow), then use the other weapon to put the beat down.

If you're going with a new rogue, I would suggest putting in a Tiefling; the extra level won't matter at this point, and the bonus intelligence and dex are nice.