Traps and chests

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Well it has taken me two months to get back to this game. I have NW Gold and am going through the original campaign. I am currently using the bard as my NPC and my character is a fighter. I'm in the docks and half the time I find either a chest or a trap she seems to be more interested in shooting arrows at them then disarming the trap or opening the chest. Is this because she doesn't have the levels yet to open/disarm them?

I also want to confirm that I don't have to do anything to level her up. Does she level up when I do?

I also keep expecting to see her sing or do some bard like things. Maybe I'm just overanxious and she needs to be out of chapter 1 to do anything. At this point I'm thinking about trying someone else. Any thoughts?

 

I for one never liked Sharwin. I always took Tomi (excellent backup) or Linu (good backup tank and great for healing) in the original campaign. And I too almost exclusively play a tank in NWN. I'm too impatient to be sneaky and I hate running out of spells/resting contantly too much to be a mage.

I'd say either go with Tomi (he can open most anything, or disarm most anything) or Linu (she's good at helping you bash things open, and can heal you when you absorb trap damage).

If you don't want Tomi or Linu, you may have to speak to Sharwin and talk to her about what to do with traps. Maybe bards don't have lockpick as a class skill. I don't believe they do. Same goes for her singing, too. You have to speak to her and set up her AI. This includes when she sings.

Regardless, if you're a fighter with decent strength, just bash every chest you come across. Some may take a little longer than others, but it's just as easy as anything. Doors, too.

As for leveling up your henchmen, they level up when you do, and stay one level below you. Always.

I think you'd do well do ditch Sharwin. Pitch the bit...*ahem* er...fine young lady.

 

Bashing the chests, in general, takes less time than lock picking anyway.

 

What do you need to bash? Is it strictly based on strength or does the weapon matter. I'm currently using smaller faster weapons. If I need a bashing weapon I'll carry around an axe or something.

 

In my original campaign, I played an Elven fighter with a long sword. I was able to bash open pretty much everything. Strength is the key, and magical weapons help. Your ability to bash something open rests on the damage you can do to work through the object's damage resistance, and then it's hit points (yes, inanimate objects have hitpoints...who knew?). Critical hits are very helpful, so if you're using the weapon you have a focus with, have a high strength, and some form of enchantment, you should be able to bash virtually anything.

With my elf, I even bashed open those stone coffins in the graveyard catacombs area after a minute or so of persistant bashing. That might be a waste of time to some people, because game-essential items are never in bashable chests, but hey - I'm a loot junky. I get the most enjoyment from finding and hording all the stuff you find.

 

A weapon with elemental damage is a bonus to bashing chests as well, as the damage ignores the damage resistance.

Best case scenario, is a bow or missle weapon with elemental damage, then you don't even have to worry about traps.

 

Sharwin does have bardsong, at least when I used her later in the game. She sang automatically at the start of a battle, and all of my stats skyrocketed. After that, she was just an average mage with a few decent spells, and she rarely inflicted much weapon damage. As for chests and traps, I too use elemental ranged weapons to insure damage and avoid traps. Other than that, Tomi really can pick almost anything but I don't think bards can. They have pickpocket but not lockpick or disarm.

My second run through the game, I played as a thief myself, and I found it ten times easier to be a thief than any other class I had played or have since played (cleric, fighter, ranger, sorcerer). If traps frustrate you, be a thief. Then you never have to worry!

 

Well now I feel better. I thought she just wouldn't sing for me. Now I just have to decide if I want to download the beta patch. I'm running on NW Gold so I don't have HotU installed. I may just have to go out and buy it.