This topic is about my latest playthrough of NWN2 with the above mentioned class combination.

Review: This combination was much more fun than my rogue on the first play through. While this character doesnt have as much hp as a pure fighter (at L20 the difference is about 100-150hp) It makes up with having more options as to what he can do in combat. As a bard with lots of skill points in use magic device the character can use all the scrolls and all the items one can think of but with the exception of weapons when there is no proficiency with them. Now at this point you probably think that a warrior has an advantage with heavy armor and you would be absolutly wrong since mithral full plate is in its beauty a medium armor.

Planning stage: I planned my character to be able to cast 4th level spells but it ended up quite pointless actually. 3rd level spells is more than enough. Also the mithral full plate allows a maximum of 3 Dex bonus so 16 dex is enough as well. Everything else i pushed into strength and consitution. As for weapons, no bows, this is a "axe in your face" type of character so dual wield (swords/maces), or one big ass two-hander (falchion/scythe) is the way to go.

Levels: I took the 10 levels of bard before i advanced in RDD class but that was kind of a mistake since i never got to fully take advantage of the RDD L10 bonuses (immune to paralyze and fire). So the suggestion is to start taking the RDD levels as soon as possible.

Spells: Ghostly visage is a must as is mirror image and haste. The rest are optional on dont matter much. Dont forget that bards can cast spells from any scroll/wand/item they find as well. Some items require to be equipped though which is also a minor annoyance since the bard can pretty much use everything.

Equipment: Medium armor with armored caster feat. As for weapons i went with dual maces of which one stunned and the other held. Lots of fights ended real quick. As for two handers, The falchion is a good choice and scythes (not to confuse with sickles) as well. I never got to use "The Headsman" since when i finally had enough money the shopkeeper was no longer available. All mithral armor is considered to be one level lower hence full plate is medium and breastplate is light armor, there is no mithral leather as far as i know so forget the idea you had of equipping that mage with it .

Combat: The character is tough as hell in combat. With the song of iron skin, haste, visage and inspirations i was able to beat Light of Heavens real easy alone without using any item, scroll or outside help. Had some trouble with the red dragon though but that is the hardest fight in NWN2 and it required a bit different tactics to beat anyway.

Enchantments on weapons: 1. damage against evil, 2. acid damage/divine damage, 3. shock or fire. Pretty much everything is evil so its kinda obvious why its nr1.

Conclusion: Lots of fun. I would suggest this character for those who like to have options. Having multiple such characters in a multiplayer session would make the game probably too easy.

Stats:

Peltz The Battle Bard

HP: 204

Str........24
Dex......16
Con......12
Int........19
Wis.......9
Cha......19


In comparison to Khelgar:

HP: 300

Str........20
Dex......14
Con......19
Int........10
Wis.......10
Cha.......7

This is itemless and buffless stats at L20.

hehe, interesting. If I hadn't been burned by the game I might be tempted for a replay. Looks like an interesting build, though. I've never really played bard, but I figured they'd be a lot more squishy than yours appears to have been.

Only a bard or sorcerer can become Red Dragon Disciple so the bard was an obvious choice, although a sorcerer with higher level spells could be fun too but the melee power would suffer some.

Well i finally took the time to finish the Mask of the Betrayer with my Bard/RD Disciple. Overall i think the character was a success, much much more powerful than my rogue/shadow thief build. However, at the final stages of the game i noticed that Gannayev was actually outperforming me. With the gear and spells at his disposal there were many occasions where the rest of my party was pushing up daisies while Gann was still kicking ass. Druids pwn in NWN2 and thats a fact. Gann had AC of over 50 which made him nearly untouchable by rabble and after my main reached L30 i pimped out his katana with +8 bonus and fire,acid, electricity damage, he dished out around 60 damage per hit. Not to mention the summoning spells, ae spells, heal spells, the man was nearly a demigod.

And it just amazes me that DnD Online has no Druid class. Because it is just fantastic .

Last week i finished Storm of Zehir as well. If you want a really strong character opt for the spirit shaman/storm lord combo.

Grats on finishing it. I know it's been quite a battle to get it done.