A saving throw is a roll made to avoid (at least partially) damage or harm. The three types of saving throws are Fortitude, Reflex, and Will.
Like an attack roll, a saving throw is a d20 roll plus a bonus based on your class, level, and an ability score.
Saving throw types[]
- Fortitude is related to a character's ability to withstand damage thanks to his physical stamina. It measures a creature's ability to stand up to physical punishment or attacks against vitality and health. The Constitution modifier is applied to fortitude saving throws.
- Reflex is related to a character's ability to withstand damage thanks to his agility or quick reactions. The Dexterity modifier is applied to reflex saving throws.
- Will is related to a character's ability to withstand damage thanks to his mental toughness. The Wisdom modifier is applied to will saving throws.
Notes[]
Due to a bug, saves against area-based spells like Cloudkill or Mind Fog ignore bonuses granted by:
- The +1 to saving throw vs. spells for every 5 base ranks in Spellcraft
- feats that grant saving throw bonuses against specific threats (e.g., spells, poison, evil, negative energy, etc.) such as a Duergar's Hardiness vs Spells and an Elf's Hardiness vs Enchantments, but not a Svrifneblin's Durability (since the bonus to saves given by this feat is universal)
Example: An enemy gray dwarf with a base will of 9 has 15 base spellcraft ranks and the feat Hardiness vs. Spells. Thus, its will saving throw against a(n area-based) spell like Mind Fog should be 9+3+2=14. However, due to the bugged save calculation, only its base will of 9 will be taken into account. However, if you cast a (non area-based) spell like Charm Person on it, the bonuses kick in and its will saving throw rises to 14.
Difficulty class[]
The saving throw difficulty class (DC) is determined by the attack itself.
Automatic Failure and Success[]
A natural 1 on a saving throw is always a Failure, and a natural 20 is always a Success.
Bug - reflex and will saves both say *failure* in the chat window when a natural 1 is rolled, but if the save was successful without Automatic Failure, then the saving throw still succeeds. Fortitude works correctly, however, and always fails on a natural 1. This bug does not extend to natural 20 for Automatic Success.
Save progression[]
Each class has either a high or low saving throw progression for each save type.
When a character multiclasses, each class provides separate save progressions. Even if all classes provide the same progression, do not combine levels to determine the save. For example, a level 20 rogue (high reflex) has a +12 reflex save, while a character with 10 rogue levels and 10 monk levels (also high reflex) would gain +7 reflex from each class, for a total of +14 reflex. See also Class progression.
| Class | Fortitude | Reflex | Will |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bard | low | HIGH | HIGH |
| Barbarian | HIGH | low | low |
| Cleric | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Druid | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Favored soul | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH |
| Fighter | HIGH | low | low |
| Monk | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH |
| Paladin | HIGH | low | low |
| Ranger | HIGH | HIGH | low |
| Rogue | low | HIGH | low |
| Sorcerer | low | low | HIGH |
| Spirit shaman | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Swashbuckler | HIGH | low | low |
| Warlock | low | low | HIGH |
| Wizard | low | low | HIGH |
| Arcane archer | HIGH | HIGH | low |
| Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep | low | low | HIGH |
| Arcane trickster | low | HIGH | HIGH |
| Assassin | low | HIGH | low |
| Blackguard | HIGH | low | low |
| Divine champion | HIGH | low | low |
| Doomguide | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Duelist | low | HIGH | low |
| Dwarven defender | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Eldritch knight | HIGH | low | low |
| Frenzied berserker | HIGH | low | low |
| Harper agent | low | low | HIGH |
| Invisible blade | low | HIGH | low |
| Neverwinter Nine | low | HIGH | HIGH |
| Pale master | low | low | HIGH |
| Red dragon disciple | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Red Wizard of Thay | low | low | HIGH |
| Sacred fist | HIGH | HIGH | low |
| Shadow Thief of Amn | low | HIGH | low |
| Shadowdancer | low | HIGH | low |
| Stormlord | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Warpriest | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Weapon master | low | HIGH | low |
| Class level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |
| Saving throws |
High | +2 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +10 | +10 | +11 | +11 | +12 | +12 | +13 | +13 | +14 | +14 | +15 | +15 | +16 | +16 | +17 |
| Low | +0 | +0 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +9 | +10 | |
Formula:[]
goodSave = classLevel / 2 + 2 poorSave = classLevel / 3
- Division is rounded down.
- ClassLevel should be greater than 0.
External resources[]
- NWNWiki:Saving_throw