Build Creator: JeminiZero

What is ASoCK? Edit

I stumbled upon this abbrevation to notice that this wiki doesn't seem to have an article about this. What's meant? --TheHappyEater

Sorry, if it wasn't clear, ASoCK is Arcane Scholar of Candle Keep. Its not a piece of clothing you wear on your foot. I've added a brief note on the abbreviation. -JeminiZero

RE: I have to admit that I did not test this build out but while the autostill spell thing is great, it can only really apply at the end since you don't get it early enough to truly be able to utilize armor. -- Avenger777

Yes, but this "End-Heavy" problem also applies to just about any build using Epic Divine Might.

Why cleave? Edit

Power attack is obvious for Divine Shield, but I don't get why a caster build needs Cleave. Does it have some use I don't know of outside of melee? -- Aesshen

Its a requirement for the Blackguard Prestige Class

Recommended Spells? Edit

Do you have a list of recommended spells for this build?

Below is a draft spell list that should work for NWN2 OC/MoTB, and other similiar high magic settings with companions to cover some of your gaps. This spell list makes several assumptions, which hold true in OC/MoTB, but not necessarily anywhere else. As Sorcerer you have a rather tight limit on the spells you know. You therefore have to pick your spells carefully:

• You can rely on your companions to cast some of the protective spells you might have otherwise needed to cast on yourself. Therefore spells your companions can cast (or variants thereof) are not taken. E.g. A Divine Caster can cast Deathward on you, making Shadowshield redundant.
• Enemies do not use stealth, therefore the anti-stealth spells are not taken.
• On a high magic setting, heavily enchanted gear makes some spells redundant. E.g. Bracers or Robes with an AC enhancement bonus of +6 or higher makes Improved Mage Armor redundant. Stat boosting gear tends to make the animal buffs redundant. However, such buffs will be useful early on, before you gain access to such highly enchanted gear. The spell lists notes these as spells to swap out, and the recommended Caster Level to swap. Note that the recommendation is by Caster level, not the more commonly used Character Level.

To figure out your Caster level, add up:

• Levels of Sorcerer
• Levels of Eldritch Knight -1
• Levels of Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep

Notable Caster Level Swaps:

• 6: swap out Mage Armor
• 16: swap out Shield
• 18: swap out Firewall
• 20: swap out Improved Mage Armor

Level 1: 5 known

• Recommended:
  • Magic Missle
  • Protection from Alignment
  • Colour Spray: Tack on Protection from alignment onto your party so they don't suffer the ill effects of this, and you can drop it without worrying about stunning your party warrior.

• Get and Swap:
  • Mage Armor: Made redundant by Improved Mage Armor. Swap this out the moment you get Improved Mage Armor at Caster Level 6 for:
    • Ray of Enfeeblement
  • Shield: Made redundant by highly enchanted shields, which comes rather late. Get it early and swap it out around Caster Level 16 for:
    • True Strike

• Useful but not Taken:

Level 2: 5 known

• Recommended:
  • Mirror Image: One of the few defensive buffs that is not made redundant by high enchantment gear.
  • Web: Use this to hold your enemies in place while you deep fry them.
  • Blindsight: Necessary to target Invisible Foes.
  • Curse of Impending Blades: -2 AC, no save. Drop it to soften up fodder so your party warriors can finish them off faster. Best used in situations where you encounter single fodder enemies coming at you one by one, where mass effect spells or even Flame Arrow aren't necessary.
  • Scorching Ray: More damage immediately at lower level, but doesn't scale well past level 12.

• Useful but not Taken:
  • Resist Energy: Divine Casters can cast this. Made Redundant by Energy Resistance Gear
  • Eagle Splendour: Divine Casters can cast this. Made Redundant by Stat boosting gear
  • Cat's Grace: Made Redundant by Stat boosting gear
  • Touch of Idiocy: Useful for crippling an enemy spellcaster. Unfortunately, in the campaign, the most dangerous spellcasters tend to start off at advantageous positions and won't let you get near them to cast this.

Level 3: 4 known

• Recommended:
  • Flame Arrow: Fodder Killer, the damage keeps scaling making this one of the few spells that work well even at epic levels
  • Stinking Cloud: Notably, the effect is dazing, so if your own party is protected by Protection from Alignment, they can move around in the cloud freely.

• Pick One More:
  • Spiderskin: If you don't plan on bring along a Druid/Spirit Shaman, this can help cover for them. If you do plan to bring along a Druid/Spirit Shaman then pick something else, like...
  • Mass Curse of Impending Blades: Party Friendly, -2 AC to enemies in an area

• Get and Swap:
  • Improved Mage Armor: Grab this at level 6 to replace Mage Armor. It is made redundant by high magic gear, so swap it out at Caster Level 20 for:
    • Displacement: Short term buff that gives enemies a 50/50 chance of missing you.

• Useful but not Taken:
  • Haste: Best left to a Wizard who can Persist this so it lasts all day. Can also be found on some gear.
  • Heroism: A decent long lasting buff. But again, best left to a Wizard who doesn't have limited spells known.
  • Clairaudience/Clairvoyance: Virtually none of the NWN2 OC/MoTB enemies use stealth, making this pointless.
  • Protection from Energy: Divine Casters can cover this.

Level 4: 4 known

• Recommended:
  • Stone Skin
  • Confusion
  • Lesser Spell Breach: Strip off magical protection. Rather few enemies use magical protection, but against those that do, this is an essential spell.

• Get and Swap:
  • Wall of Fire: In one particular part of the NWN2 OC, this is spectacularly useful. But after that you won't find much use for it. Grab it early, and swap it out at Caster Level 18 for:
    • Ice Storm: No save, making this useful against enemies with Evasion.

• Useful but not Taken:
  • Greater Invisibility: Displacement is almost as good. Almost.
  • Assay Resistance: As a Full Caster, you should be able to overcome the spell resistance of most of the campaign enemies without resorting to this. Even without this, Lesser Breach and Mords Disjunction can also lower enemy SR.
  • Enervation: Campaign enemies are generally not worth level draining. You usually want to just finish them off as quickly as possible.

Level 5: 4 known

• Recommended:
  • Firebrand: Party friendly. One of the best spells when you get it, but damage doesn't scale well.
  • Vitriolic Sphere: Unlike other damage spells on this level, the initial damage has no save and can be used against targets with Evasion.
  • Lesser Spell Mantle (1d6+6): Empower and Maximize this for all the spell protection you really need.
  • Bigby's Interposing Hand: Useful for crippling Warrior Bosses.

• Useful but not Taken:
  • Lesser Mind Blank: Most enemies in the campaign are evil, so Protection from Alignment suffices for most purposes. There is also Mind affecting immunity gear to be found.
  • Cacophonic Burst: Useful if most enemies are only vulnerable to Sonic damage for whatever reason. However, that usually isn't the case in NWN2 OC/MoTB.
  • Greater Fireburt: More damage than Firebrand, but point blank range and party unfriendly.

Level 6: 3 known

• Recommended:
  • Isaac's Greater Missile Storm: The odd way damage is done makes this only useful for taking down 1 or 2 targets and no more. It should never be used if 4 or more targets are within the targetted area. However, it will damage things that can shrug off virtually everything else (like Vampire Monks).
  • Bigby's Forceful Hand: The most broken spell in NWN2. Use this to cripple anything that doesn't have high Strength, in particular enemy mages. However its relatively high spell slot means that it can only be used against sub-bosses and bosses, rather than cannon fodder.
  • Chain Lightning: For the same spell slot, empowered Firebrand is better, but this can be used to damage things that are Fire proof.

• Useful but not Taken:
  • Greater Spell Breach: Spell slots are tight on this level. Use Lesser Breach instead.
  • Superior Resistance: Divine Casters can cast this.
  • True Seeing: Most of its functions are covered by Blindsight. The few that are not (e.g. automatically spotting hiders) isn't a major issue for NWN2 OC/MoTB.
  • Greater Stone Skin: Mostly made redundant by Premonition/Iron Body.

Level 7: 3 known

• Recommended:
  • Finger of Death: Your basic Save or Die
  • Bigby's Grasping Hand: Useful on high Strength targets that can make the save against Bigby's Forceful hand.
  • Delayed Fireball Blast: For level 7 slots, you can rely mostly on Empowered/Maximized Firebrand, which has the added advantage of not doing Friendly Fire. But if

• Useful but not Taken:
  • Avasculate: Most enemies won't make the Fort save, making Finger of Death a better choice.
  • Energy Immunity: Divine Casters can cover this. Energy resistance gear can cover this
  • Shadow Shield: Divine Casters can cast Deathward which is much better.
  • Spell Mantle: Spells are tight, rely on Empowered/Maximized lesser spell mantle instead
  • Ethereal Jaunt: More useful on PWs. For NWN2 OC/MoTB you can just hit reload

Level 8: 3 known

• Recommended:
  • Iron Body
  • Horrid Wilting: The save is Fort save making it useful against things with Evasion.
  • Summon Monster 8

• Useful but not Taken:
  • Premonition: You really only need Iron Body or this. This works better for non-autostill casters.
  • Polar Ray: For the same spell level and purpose, Empowered/Maximized IGMS does a better job.
  • Mind Blank: Most enemies in the campaign are evil, so Protection from Alignment suffices for most purposes. There is also Mind affecting immunity gear to be found.

Level 9: 3 known

• Recommended:
  • Wail of The Banshee: Party friendly, mass Save or Die.
  • Mords Disjunction: Mass Spell Breach, useful for removing a chunk of buffs from a group of casters standing together.

• Pick One More:
  • Summon Monster 9: Gives you a run off the mill elemental, but you can do it from a safe distance.
  • Shadow Simulcrum: This has the potential to create something far more powerful than Summon Monster 9, but requires you to get close and touch the thing you want to copy. And the copy dissappears when the original dies.

• Useful but not Taken:
  • Energy Drain: Campaign enemies are generally not worth level draining. You usually want to just finish them off as quickly as possible.
  • Meteor Swarm: For the are attack, an empowered/maximized Delayed Fireball does more damage. For the single target attack, Maximized IGMS does more damage.