Obsidian Sorcerer - Sor(16),ASC(10),Ro(1),BG(3)

From NWN2Wiki

[edit] Description

Sorcerer 16 / Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 10 / Rogue 1 / Blackguard 3

Much like the Iron Sorcerer, the Obsidian Sorcerer seeks to master the art of hurling fire while encased in steel.

Pros:

Full Level 30 Sorcerer Caster (with Practiced Caster)
Full ASoCK discount Metamagic (ASoCK stands for Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep).
Fairly good AC
Able to further boost AC with Divine Shield
Usable under any magic setting
Good Saves
Moderate Spell DC
Aura of Despair reduces enemy saves

Cons:

Horrible melee (without appropriate buffs)
Very Low HP
No Epic Spells

Iron Sorcerer v2 vs Obsidian Sorcerer

Iron Sorcerer v2 and Obsidian Sorcerer are highly similiar in many respects, with similiar stats, spell DC and ASoCK discount Metamagics. But there are some differences:

Iron Sorcerer Pros

The Iron Sorcerer v2 has a few bonus feats from the Cleric splash and can gain +3 AC, +30 HP from Toughness and Deflect Arrows (relative to the Obsidian Sorcerer).
The Iron Sorcerer v2 has a maxed listen Score letting him detect Rangers/Druids (These 2 can use Camouflage/Mass camouflage to boost their Hide score to undetectable levels, leaving Listen as the only way of targetting them).
The Iron Sorcerer is alignment free, and can be Good, Evil or even Neutral.
- A non-Evil Iron Sorcerer v2 does not take extra damage from Smiting Paladins, although he is still subject to the higher AB (chance to hit).
- A Lawful Neutral Iron Sorcerer is neither Good nor Evil, and therefore his mind affecting spells cannot be blocked by the Protection from alignment spell.

Obsidian Sorcerer Pros

Obsidian Sorcerer has Aura of despair which inflicts a -2 penalty on all Enemy saves (although that only works when Enemies are close, and you normally don't want to be close to Enemies).
Obsidian Sorcerer has Blackguard dark blessing which adds his Cha bonus to Saves, and therefore has much better Saves.
- However, Monk splash and Luck of Heroes help boost Iron Sorcerer v2 Saves a little, but overall the loss is still quite significant.
- Furthermore, at high levels as Sorcerer Buffs protect against most things which rely on Saves, so that high Saves are rendered somewhat obsolete.
Obsidian Sorcerer has slightly better BAB (16 with 4th attack vs Iron Sorcerer v2 of 15 with only 3 attacks)
Obsidian Sorcerer has maxed UMD. Comparatively speaking, this lets him cast Bard and Druid only spells from scrolls, and use certain cross class gear, which the Iron Sorcerer v2 cannot (although being an actual Monk, the Iron Sorcerer v2 can still use Monk Boots).

[edit] Character Creation

	Initial Values	Final Values
STR	13	13
DEX	10	10
CON	14	14
INT	14	14
WIS	8	8
CHA	17	24
Base attack bonus		16
Fortitude save		20
Reflex save		24
Will save		18
Spell resistance		0
Hit Points		200 (230 with Beetle Familiar)
Natural AC		13 (with tumble)

Race: Human

Classes: Sorcerer 16 / Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 10 / Rogue 1 / Blackguard 3

Cleric Domains: -

Build Nature:

Alignment: Any Evil until level 18

Deity: -

Additional +6 saves against Spells due to Spellcraft

AC with Epic Gear:

10 base
10 Heavy shield +8
10 bracers of armor 10
8 Cloak of Protection
8 Mithril full plate
5 Natural Armor Amulet +5
5 Boots of the sun soul +5 (UMD)
3 Dex bonus (with +8 Dex equipment)
3 tumble

Total =62

11 Divine Shield (with +8 Cha equipment)

Total =73

(You can also gain a relative +10, if you debuff your Enemy with Bigby's Interposing Hand)

[edit] Overview

Feats

There are 2 seperate Feat progression. They both have the same feats, but rearranged depending on whether you want to grab Blackguard or ASoCK first. Normally, I would recommend grabbing ASoCK first, as that fits your role as a primary Arcane Caster. However, there are certain circumstances which justify grabbing Blackguard first. (E.g. if you want to play MoTB with a Good Obsidian Sorcerer, you can grab Blackguard all your Blackguard levels by level 18, and then switch alignment to Good without any concern, since you have no more Blackguard levels to take).

ASoCK First Feats

1. Spell Casting Prodigy

1. Able Learner

3. Skill Focus Concentration

6. Empower Spell

9. Skill Focus Spellcraft

12. Power Attack

15. Cleave

18. Practiced Caster Sorcerer

21. Still Spell or Great Cha

23. Divine Shield (Must take on Blackguard 3)

25. Autostill 0-3 or Great Cha

27. Autostill 4-6 or Great Cha

29. Autostill 7-9 or Great Cha

Blackguard First Feats

1. Spell Casting Prodigy

1. Able Learner

3. Power Attack

6. Cleave

9. Empower Spell

12. Skill Focus Concentration

15. Skill Focus Spellcraft

18. Divine Shield (Must take on Blackguard 3)

21. Practiced Caster Sorcerer

23. Still Spell or Great Cha

25. Autostill 0-3 or Great Cha

27. Autostill 4-6 or Great Cha

29. Autostill 7-9 or Great Cha

The Autostill Feats allow you to use Mithril Full plate (+8 AC) and a fully enchanted Heavy Shield +8 (+10 AC) with no risk of Arcane Spell failure. That a total +18 AC for 3 feats!

In addition, Autostill lets you cast Stone Body/Iron Body on yourself, and gain a whole bunch of immunities, including Crit Immunity and Lightning Immunity.

Note that in the NWN2 OC, there are 0 ASF Eldritch Knight Chain Shirt (sold by Deekin in Neverwinter city), and 0 ASF mithril heavy shield available. If you want, you can use those rather than the still spell and 3x Autostill feats. You can instead take 4x Great Cha, to boost Spells per day, Spell DC, saving throw bonus and Divine shield. Note that the EK chain shirt has the requirement that you must be an Eldritch Knight, but you can circumvent this by having a modified UMD score of 15.

Even if you do go down the Autostill route, you can still use this equipment as a stopgap to boost AC, until level 29 when you get all your Autostill feats.

Add on High AC with Divine Shield(and Debuff your enemies with Bigby's Interposing Hand), various Energy Immunities, and only Magical or Divine Damage can really hurt you.

[edit] Skills:

With 14 Intelligence, and Human bonus skill points, this build gets approximately 5 skill points per level. The core 5 skills you should aim to max out are:

1. Concentration
2. Spellcraft
3. Tumble
4. UMD
5. Skill of choice
- For Campaigns you can grab a Convo skill. I recommend Diplomacy for Good inclined characters, and Bluff for those who prefer to be Evil.
- For PWs and PvP, Spot is a good idea, as it helps you to spot Hiding Enemies, and protects against Feint

You also need 5 hide to qualify for blackguard. The guide below tells you exactly how to handle your skill points on your first few levels.

Level 1: Rogue 1: Gain (8 + 3) * 4 = 44 Skill points

4 to Concentration (Cross Class Total = 2)
4 to Spellcraft (Cross Class Total = 2)
4 to Tumble (Total = 4)
4 to UMD (Total = 4)
4 to Skill of Choice (Total = 4)
4 to Hide

4 to Lore (Total = 4)
4 to Appraise (Total = 4)
4 to Spot (Or to Listen if you Skill of Choice is already Spot) (Total = 4)
3 to Whatever else you fancy

Save 5 points.

On level 1, Concentration and Spellcraft are cross class skills. So every point increase in them costs 2 skill points. E.g. To get Concentration to 2 points, you need to spend 4 skill points. They only become class skills when you take Sorcerer on level 2.

Level 2: Sorcerer 1: Gain 5 Skill Points

3 to Concentration (Total = 5)
3 to Spellcraft (Total = 5)
1 to Tumble (Total = 5)
1 to UMD (total = 5)
1 to Skill of Choice (Total = 5)
1 to Hide (Total = 5)

Save 0 points.

Level 3 onwards: 5 Skill points per level

1 to Concentration (Total = Character Level + 3)
1 to Spellcraft (Total = Character Level + 3)
1 to Tumble (Total = Character Level + 3)
1 to UMD (Total = Character Level + 3)
1 to Skill of Choice (Total = Character Level + 3)

Save 0 points.

[edit] Character Progression

As mentioned in the Overview section, there are 2 seperate progressions, depending on whether you want to grab Blackguard of ASoCK first. In both schemes, Rogue comes first for bonus skill points.

[edit] ASoCK First Progression

Class Level	Class	Feat	Free Feat	Attributes
1	Rogue 1	Spellcasting Prodigy, Able Learner
2	Sorcerer 1		Familiar
3	Sorcerer 2	Skill Focus Concentration
4	Sorcerer 3			+1 Cha
5	Sorcerer 4
6	Sorcerer 5	Empower Spell
7	Sorcerer 6
8	Sorcerer 7			+1 Cha
9	Sorcerer 8	Skill Focus Spellcraft
10	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 1		Maximize Spell
11	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 2		Spell Knowledge
12	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 3	Power Attack	Improved Empower Spell	+1 Cha
13	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 4
14	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 5		Quicken Spell
15	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 6	Cleave
16	Blackguard 1		Use Poison	+1 Cha
17	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 7		Improved Maximize Spell
18	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 8	Practiced spellcaster: Sorcerer
19	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 9
20	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 10		Improved Quicken Spell	+1 Cha
21	Sorcerer 9	Still Spell or Great Charisma
22	Blackguard 2		Smite good x1, dark blessing, bull's strength x1
23	Blackguard 3	Divine Shield	Aura of despair, turn undead, create undead x1
24	Sorcerer 10			+1 Cha
25	Sorcerer 11	Automatic: Still Spell 0-3 or Great Charisma
26	Sorcerer 12
27	Sorcerer 13	Automatic: Still Spell 4-6 or Great Charisma
28	Sorcerer 14			+1 Cha
29	Sorcerer 15	Automatic: Still Spell 7-9 or Great Charisma
30	Sorcerer 16

[edit] Blackguard First Progression

Class Level	Class	Feat	Free Feat	Attributes
1	Rogue 1	Spellcasting Prodigy, Able Learner
2	Sorcerer 1		Familiar
3	Sorcerer 2	Power Attack
4	Sorcerer 3			+1 Cha
5	Sorcerer 4
6	Sorcerer 5	Cleave
7	Sorcerer 6
8	Sorcerer 7			+1 Cha
9	Sorcerer 8	Empower Spell
10	Sorcerer 9
11	Sorcerer 10
12	Sorcerer 11	Skill Focus Concentration		+1 Cha
13	Sorcerer 12
14	Blackguard 1		Use Poison
15	Blackguard 2	Skill Focus Spellcraft	Smite good x1, dark blessing, bull's strength x1
16	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 1		Maximize Spell	+1 Cha
17	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 2		Spell Knowledge
18	Blackguard 3	Divine Shield	Aura of despair, turn undead, create undead x1
19	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 3		Improved Empower Spell
20	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 4			+1 Cha
21	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 5	Practiced spellcaster: Sorcerer	Quicken Spell
22	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 6
23	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 7	Still Spell or Great Charisma	Improved Maximize Spell
24	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 8			+1 Cha
25	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 9	Automatic: Still Spell 0-3 or Great Charisma
26	Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 10		Improved Quicken Spell
27	Sorcerer 13	Automatic: Still Spell 4-6 or Great Charisma
28	Sorcerer 14			+1 Cha
29	Sorcerer 15	Automatic: Still Spell 7-9 or Great Charisma
30	Sorcerer 16

Levelling Notes

Blackguard needs 6 BAB, which only comes at sorcerer 12 on level 13. You need Blackguard 3 to grab divine shield, and you need to take it on a feat level. Therefore the earliest you can grab Divine Shield is on level 18. Fortunately, this is also the starting level of MoTB, so you can create this build as evil initially, and then play as a good character if you wish, without worrying (anymore) about alignment restrictions.

[edit] Variants

One possible variant involves swapping Rogue for Monk. You lose UMD as a class skill, but you can still wear Monk boots without UMD. This frees up skill points to max out another skill.