https://www.dropbox.com/s/rwuh0vly63dv8x8/Rogue%20Archer.odt?dl=0

That's a link to an openoffice writer file in my dropbox. It has a table in it with a level by level guide to my new build. So far I've tested it in Debug Mode but I think I'm going to playthrough all the NWN campaigns and level him up like normal and see how it goes.

The AC is incredible. I'm a little disappointed with the limited number of attacks per round with the longbow, but my last character was a dual-wielding weaponmaster with oodles of attacks per round, so maybe I'm spoiled. But that's not a priority anyway, since it's focused on sneak attacks.

It looks good on paper and seemed to work good when I tested it briefly with Debug Mode, so I'm hoping it's fun to play through.

Take a look and let me know what you think.

I think I have more fun designing characters than I do playng them sometimes.

This looks like a good build.
I wish I could find a build like this for the paladin too...
Do you have one in mind?

You may want to upgrade to libreoffice. OpenOffice support and development have been dead for ages. The dev team moved to the LibreOffice team and put together a really nice program.

IMO that would be kind of awful to actually play. You can't really fight well or cast spells well for your level.

Being a half assed spell caster really messes things up in NWN.

If you want to be a Rogue/AA ditch the excess Wizard levels.


This Maximizes BAB and attacks/round, so it is optimized to fight MUCH better. (You can raise dex instead of str, but I like get more bow damage from might bows with it).

STR: 16 (28)
DEX: 17 (18)
CON: 12
WIS: 8
INT: 14
CHA: 8


01: Rogue(1): Point Blank Shot
02: Rogue(2): {Evasion}
03: Rogue(3): Power Attack, {Uncanny Dodge I}
04: Rogue(4): STR+1, (STR=17)
05: Rogue(5)
06: Wizard(1): Cleave, {Scribe Scroll}
07: Rogue(6)
08: Wizard(2): STR+1, (STR=18)
09: Rogue(7): Weapon Focus: Longbow
10: Arcane Archer(1)
11: Arcane Archer(2)
12: Arcane Archer(3): STR+1, Great Cleave, (STR=19)
13: Arcane Archer(4)
14: Arcane Archer(5)
15: Arcane Archer(6): Improved Critical: Longbow
16: Arcane Archer(7): STR+1, (STR=20)
17: Rogue(8)
18: Arcane Archer(8): Rapid Shot
19: Arcane Archer(9)
20: Arcane Archer(10): STR+1, (STR=21)

This build wouldn't take an xp penalty, only base classes count for those, not prestige classes like arcane archer.

Apart from that, my main problem with this build is that it seems to get powerful pretty late, once you get into arcane archer. Remember that you have to play the character from level 1, unless you choose a module that starts you higher. Also, like all rogues, this build would be seriously weakened against anything immune to sneak attack (undead, constructs, etc...) as well as against anything immune to darkness (like drow).

I also don't quite understand why you put so many skill points into craft weapon either. I don't remember what the DC for crafting bone wands out of bones is, but it can't be that high, and you probably don't need more than 15 or so in that skill. And frankly wands aren't that great anyway. At high level, their DC will certainly never be high enough to work reliably, and their damage will be weak.
Hide and move silently are not "core skills for making sneak attacks" btw, because attacking breaks stealth, and you can't sneak again in combat unless you have the hide in plain sight ability, which you don't. Hide and move silently are actually more for scouting and avoiding combat.
Given you have very few spell slots to work with, unless you want to rest all the time (which gets annoying, as rest time increases with level and is actually pretty long at 20+), you'd be better off using the disable traps and open locks skills instead of relying on find traps and knock.

Frankly, the concept is pretty cool, but it wouldn't really work for HotU, which is full of drows and undead. And the other campaigns don't get you to a high enough level to take advantage of your build.

I think you missed the fact that he uses the darkness spell to get sneak attacks even solo. So he does need at least 3 levels of wizard.

That doesn't change anything IMO. His build is still borderline unplayable.

It takes wizard 7 to unlock the fourth level spell slot, which lets you use craft wand to it's fullest effect (which lets you make wands out of spells up to fourth level).

The goal isn't to be a "half-assed spellcaster" it's to be able to independently provide your own scrolls and wands without having to scrounge for them. Being able to cast darkness and ultravision reliably, even if the wands or scrolls aren't for sale at the local shops, or can't be found in chests, means you always have a strategy to work with.

At low levels it might be a little difficult, but you could hire a henchmen. By the time you reach level 30 you have epic dodge and a huge amount of tumble, and pretty much nothing in the game will be able to touch you.

But I didn't think about creatures immune to sneak attacks. I admit undead could pose a problem. I'm working on a paladin build as was requested. I'll post it when I'm finished.

If you are playing the official modules and expansions they all end before level 30.

Try actually playing this somewhere level appropriate.

Fire up Hordes of the Underdark and make this as a new character. HOTU levels new characters to 15 (appropriate for the modeule) and you start with no gear. Even starting at level 15 I think you will find this painful.

Cool. I was always told OpenOffice was dead, but I see it's not. Glad to see they're still going.

Not a bad idea, iofhua. Rogue AAs are 2nd only to divine AAs in terms of overall effectiveness. But this one can be s-o-o-o much better.

Epic Dodge is a great goal. Trouble is, you probably won't get to use it much unless you plan to spend a lot of time within PBS range or branch out into a finessed weapon like a rapier/shield for up-close encounters. But ED is quite common for Rog AA's, nonetheless.

You'll need to postpone some of your rog and/or wiz levels until epic else your BAB will be very low. Too low. As it is stands now, it's only BAB 12 (3 APR), horribly low. You'll want at least BAB16 pre-epic for 4 attacks per round (5 w/RS, 6 w/RS hasted). Always adhere to the "Rule of 4's" when you design your pre-epic class split using anything but warrior (4/4) classes. An example would be Rog8/Wiz4/AA8 (BAB 16). Notice that each class allocation is divisible by 4. Yes, your spell repertoire will be limited during pre-epic, but such are the trappings of building to class power. Sacrifice early and reap the rewards later.

I wouldn't waste important feats on skills like Tumble or UMD. First off, they are only 3 point pre-epic boosts and secondly the Tumble skill focus will not translate into +AC. Only BASE ranks (those allocated during level-up) determine how much AC can be gleaned. For a Level 40 toon, the max is +8 AC. Period. The only reason a builder would ever consider skill focus for Tumble is perhaps a warrior wearing heavy plate/tower still trying to avoid some attacks while moving around, but that is about the only situation. I'd have taken Called Shot and either Empower Spell or Extend Spell in those 2 feat slots, most likely Empower to boost my Cat's Grace, Endurance or Bull's Strength buffs, if too feat-starved for both metamagic.

Please, please, please... DO NOT take the advice of focusing on strength for an archer build. Your AB will be horrible and your AA special attack DCs will be crap (all of them based on the DEX modifier). Typical mighty properties reach +5 so your Wizard can cast Empowered Bull's Strength for +3 and then wear some +STR gear to make up the difference. And neither Power Attack nor Cleave work with ranged attacks (more wasted feats)... just FYI. Remember: you must hit before you can do damage so AB is always the #1 priority. Besides, the AA's enchantments add 1 damage/1 AB each 2 levels. Combined with the sneaks, damage should not be a problem vs. enemies that are not crit immune (like undead, elementals, constructs) or sneak immune (like dragons). Usually, rogues use traps to dominate those atypical situations. All my rogues do. Actually, traps can make killing even bosses TOO easy sometimes if you stack them thick enough. Some would claim they are unbalanced but you make the choice.

Instead of Epic Skill Tumble/UMD, I'd take EWF: Longbow and either Epic Prowess or Epic Skill: Hide (or Mv Sil perhaps). All you need to cast from scrolls with 100% success is net UMD 33 and that should be no problem with all the rogue levels. Any UMD rating over 33 only has value in equipping extremely expensive class-specific gear. At 33, you'll be able to equip gear values up to 1M gold which should be fine except in uber magic environments.

One skill missing, an important one, is a detection skill like Listen or Spot (both would be even better!). What that means is that other stealthers will hear you around corners or see you coming way before your toon sees or hears them. That's NOT a healthy situation. Search skill investment is fine for static trap threats but still second to some opposed stealth detection. The Search check is still just a d20 dice roll so even deadly traps can be spotted with a Search rating of only a few points invested with some patience when doing recon (casting Fox Cunning or using a pot will increase Search by a few more points as well). 10 points is more than enough unless you plan on racing through areas at high speed. In that case, boost your HP total like a warrior would to absorb the damage. But they will still stun and paralyze you even if you survive that tactic.

I also like Craft Wand. It can get expensive in gold and XP but will extend your spellbook repertoire. The only 2 downsides in casting by scroll/wand is that you can't craft metamagic versions and generally, the caster level is very low, at least with default resources. But buffs like Mage Armor, Stoneskin and ImpInvis are really handy to store on wands/scrolls. But they can't be interrupted (no Conc check) or suffer AoOs like a casting would and that is worth a lot.

One final build note: You are probably better off using a Rog15/Wiz7/AA18 class split because you'll pick up an add'l AA bonus feat like Epic Prowess or EWF plus the +9 enhancement whereas Rog16-17 gets you only an add'l d6 sneak and an attack bonus for your AoOs (nice, but only situational). At least, that's my opinion on the relative value of the trade-off. I prefer feats that deliver a constant benefit if given the choice.

One of the better series to test out a Level 40 build like is the Aielund Saga. It should end around Level 38-ish and is one of the better CC offerings. There are also expansions like the Sands of Fate where you can take your HotU toon to reach well into epic levels, even 40 depending on how many sidequests are completed. There are also a few bridge modules that fill in some of the void between the plague (learner's) campaign and epic content. Otherwise, the PWs are beckoning you to take up their challenging adventures! ;)

I wouldn't say it's unplayable.
The wizard levels don't make the build that much weaker than a straight-up rogue archer. I played SoU and HotU as a fighter-based AA once, and it was pretty easy. This build wouldn't have it much harder I think, although it would require much more micromanagement (which is why I never play rogues outside rogue-centered modules like A Dance with Rogues).

You omitted an important word, I bolded it for you.

I also played a fighter/bard/AA, through SoU/HotU.

It does a LOT better (Triple damage) with arrows than this build, and it fights just as well as a pure fighter in Melee, and will wear plate armor, making low-mid levels MUCH easier.

At level 20 BAB, attacks/round, damage

Fighter-AA: 19 BAB, 4 attacks, damage : 3.5 + 5 + 4 + 2 (total average: 14.5)
This Build: 13 BAB, 3 attacks, damage: 3.5 + 2 (total average: 5.5)

Eventually my fighter AA also gets Devastating Critical on longbow, and Epic Weapon Specialization for 4 more damage, full strength for +10 mighty on bows...

There is a massive difference.