Pointy Stick - B(1), C(9), SL(10), RDD(10)

Bard 1 / Cleric 9 / Stormlord 10 / Red Dragon Disciple 10 by Steelsamurai 21:04, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Description
Pointy Stick is a combat cleric build, and is currently an experimental first version and the champion build of the Battle of the Builds module for Neverwinter Nights 2.

This build is a melee fighter, using divine spellcasting for buffs and protection against arcane casters, featuring extremely high accuracy (+69 attack fully buffed), high defense (+72 AC fully buffed), and high damage output with Epic Divine Might.

He is meant to be a universal fighter, fighting equally well vs. mages, fighters, and stealth, capable of defeating all comers with minimal weaknesses of his own.

Advantages:


 * Very high attack (+69), and high defense (+72), makes him an all around excellent melee fighter.


 * Knockdown immunity from Stormlord and mind protection from Cleric give immunity to Bigby's Forceful Hand cast by evil/good aligned arcane spellcasters.


 * Large number of spell mantles prevent damaging attacks from arcane casters, as well as a secondary layer of defense vs. neutral arcane casters who can't be protected vs. alignment in case of Bigby's Forceful Hand.


 * Ability to cast Word of Faith allows for excellent and effective defense vs. Shadow Simulacrum.


 * All of the above make Pointy Stick a very well rounded fighter, able to defeat high level fighters and arcane casters including some thought previously unassailable.


 * Very high Charisma gives excellent additional damage from Epic Divine Might (Pointy hits typically for scores around 60-80 vs. fully resistant opponents, and critical hits in the 200 range) and high defensive bonuses from Divine Shield.


 * Build features no multiclass penalty.


 * Immune to Fire and Electricity as class delivered feats.

Disadvantages:


 * Lack of a shield makes for lower defense than otherwise would be obtainable, this is a tradeoff for greater accuracy and damage output and one extra feat (Monkey Grip is required in order to use a shield for a spear wielder).


 * Low wisdom for a Cleric restricts spells until wisdom buffing can be found.


 * Medium stealth detection may give problems vs. stealth builds. While not a priority in this version he will be optimized vs. stealth next.


 * Dependence on Divine Shield for adequate defense means that after his number of Turn Undead attempts expires his defense will permanently drop to a much lower number.

Character Creation
Race: Human: going with human gives an extra feat which is desirable in this build, along with no multiclass penalty.

Background: I take Devout for the +1 will save. Every nickel counts.

Alignment: Chaotic Good. The benefit is that Paladin builds do not have the ability to Smite, at the drawback of having Protection vs. Good to fight against.

Stats: Charisma is emphasized in this build, as it was intended he fight shieldless, and the high Charisma bonus allows for an effective defense based on Divine Shield as well as a large boost to damage output from Epic Divine Might.

Key Feats: Divine Might, Epic Divine Might.

Deity
This build currently has no preference for Deity. That may change in the future.

Skills
My template build calls for the following: Concentration 33, Listen 11, Lore 8 (required for RDD), Perform 3, Spellcraft 20, Spot 33, Tumble 33, Use Magic Device 23. I will be exploring bringing Listen up to 33 and stealing score points from other departments to do so for the next version of the build. Other than Lore 8, the other stats are all for the user to choose depending on the purpose.

Weapons
Spear. Pointy Stick is a Stormlord and as such, this is his best weapon option.

Spells
The spell loadout is very important for play both by human and by AI. My template build calls for at least 14 spell mantles (of various types), and four Words of Faith. Since Pointy Stick has Persistent Spell, he is also capable of Persistent Divine Favor, Persistent Prayer etc., so these are also recommended. He also takes Sonic Immunity from his spells, as his equipment has no Sonic Immunity.

Equipment
For BotB, the specs on the equipment choices are:


 * Mithril Full Plate, +8 AC, 35HP, Regen+8
 * Boots of Sun Soul, +5 AC, Reflex+9, Con+9, Dex+8
 * Cat Queen's Claws
 * Zalantar Spear +8, +7 Vamp, Keen (he carries two of these)
 * Cloak of Movement +8, Char+9, Cold buffs.
 * Ring of the Founder
 * Ring of Regeneration, Cleric +7
 * Girdle of Holy Might, Str+9
 * Natural Armor Amulet +5, Wis+9, Universal+7, Acid/40
 * Watchman's Helm

Character Progression Table
Remember Lore score of 8 is required for RDD.