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whichever stat you need to perform the Skill. Need stealth? Black or White
Wyrmling has good starting Dexterity, and Kobold Commando just oozes stealth.
Searching for traps? The Mindflayer's Intelligence boost gives you +4. And since your armor is merged into your Shape, you can pile on the heaviest armor you can wear and it doesn't affect your stealthiness at all. Imagine a minotaur with a sneak attack. Now imagine a stealthy Death Slaad with a sneak attack.
Now stop drooling.
Note that Bards CAN sing while Shifted!
Recommended ST:10 DX:10 CN:12 IN:16 WS:14 CH:14
(1.4.5) The Druid/Shifter/[Arcane-type] build
I confess I don't know if this is a viable build. On the one hand, your primary stat is either Intelligence (Wizard) or Charisma (Sorcerer), neither of which is overridden by your Shapes. On the other hand, you cannot cast spells while
Shifted. And you'll have an absolute dearth of armor and weapons to merge into your Shapes. Perhaps a strategy of buffing to the max, then Shifting, would work, but to try to cast offensive spells AND Shift seems to be trying to be good at two things and excellent at neither. In the Underdark, you need to be excellent to survive. Anyone who has done a Wizard or Sorcerer Shifter, let me know. Note that Pale Master and Dragon Disciple Shifters are not possible, since you don't have arcane spells as a Druid/Shifter.
(Wizard)
Recommended ST:10 DX:10 CN:14 IN:16 WS:14 CH:12
(Sorcerer)
Recommended ST:10 DX:10 CN:14 IN:12 WS:14 CH:16
(1.4.6) The Druid/Shifter/Cleric build
Excellent buffing spells and armor choices, and the ability to turn undead make for a good match for Shifters. Your BAB won't be any higher (and may, in fact, be lower), but the benefits probably outweigh the disabilities of not being able to cast healing spells quite so spontaneously any more. Furthermore, Wisdom is a shared stat that does double duty, and you don't have to boost Strength,
Dexterity, or Constitution so you can concentrate on Charisma for Turning
Undead. Begone, Foul Spawn, lest I unleash upon you the Flurry of Bad Puns!
Update: FAQ reader Larry Strope1 suggests minimizing ST for Cleric builds to 8 (or lower if possible). Why? Because using the Divine Power 4th level spell raises your Strength to 18 from whatever it is naturally. So if your Strength is 8 naturally, you will get +10 ST from Divine Power, and it carries over to your Shapes. So in this case, having 8 ST naturally is much *better* than having 16 ST naturally. Note that Divine Power is a relatively short duration spell, so you'll be unShifting/casting/Shifting to use this tactic.
Recommended ST:10 DX:10 CN:10 IN:12 WS:16 CH:16
(1.4.7) The Druid/Shifter/Weapon Master build
FAQ reader Bradley Sprigg (sathias@internode.on.net) suggests a powerful build for Weapon Master Shifters: as soon as you get Greater Wildshape III take levels in Weapon Master, choosing spear as your Weapon of Choice. This makes your Drider a powerful force with his +2 poisoned spear. Once Weapon Master is one of your classes, Weapon Proficiency Exotic (denied to Druids and Shifters) becomes available as a chosen Feat. Take it and proceed to Weapon Master level
13, where you are allowed to choose a new Weapon of Choice. Choose scythe and you'll have one nasty, nasty Risen Lord. If you play your cards right, it's even possible to get Devastating Critical by level 40. Yee-ouch!
Recommended ST:13 DX:13 CN:14 IN:14 WS:14 CH:10
(1.4.8) The Druid/Shifter/Dwarven Defender build
FAQ reader Larry Strope1 suggests a powerful Risen Lord based Dwarven
Defender build. Start with a Dwarf of Lawful alignment, 20 CN, 13 IN, and as much DX as you can get. Raise CN to 21 so that when you hit Epic levels you can take Epic Damage Reduction. Five levels of Druid, then 10 levels of
Shifter, and the rest of your career as Dwarven Defender (with the exception of one Epic level Shifter to get Undead Shape) will create a Damage-Soaking brick wall of a character. The result: a Risen Lord with 50% slashing/piercing immunity (from Risen Lord), immune to critical hits & sneak attacks (Risen Lord), and DR 24 (from Dwarven Defender and Epic Damage
Reduction). A swordsman scoring 50 points of damage will actually damage you only 1 point [*], you don't have to worry about Sneak Attacks, and
Devastating Critical is not a problem if you're immune to critical hits in general. Hey, Mister Tough-Guy Assassin Scythe-Master, I heard some interesting news about your mama's deviant sexual practices...
Recommended ST: 8 DX:14 CN:20 IN:13 WS:11 CH: 6
[*] Damage Immunity: 50 * .5 = 25
Damage Reduction: 25 - 24 = 1
/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
(2) Equipment
One of the best features of the Shifter class is the ability to merge your armor and weapons into the skin of the Shape you take. Rarely will you ever encounter a minotaur with an acid-dripping +1 battleaxe, but you can be one. It's not a free ride, however. Not everything merges and not all Shapes merge all that you wear. So what merges and what doesn't?
(2.1) What equipment properties merge?
Weapon All properties (extra damage, Keen, stat/ability bonuses, bonus Feats, etc.), but not the magical bonus To Hit and not the base damage (i.e., 1d8 for a longsword). Note also only a handful of Shapes merge your weapon, and the merged properties don't always show in the Character screen. Note that the magical bonus for damage does merge, however, so a +3 weapon merged into a minotaur's battleaxe will become a +1 battleaxe with +3 extra damage.
Offhand Weapon No.
Armor Everything except Base Armor Class. Bonuses to AC, skill modifications, and bonus Feats are melded.
Shields Everything except Base Armor Class. Bonuses to AC, skill modifications, and bonus Feats are melded. Shields are considered armor for purposes of which Shapes will merge them.
Note that a bug in the merge script prior to v1.64 does not allow merging of Tower Shields.
Gloves No. Sorry, Monks.
Gauntlets/Bracers No.
Helmets Yes. Helmets are considered armor for purposes of which
Shapes will merge them.
Cloaks Yes.
Belts Yes.
Rings Yes.
Amulets Yes.
Boots Yes.
Note that any AC enhancements, regardless of type, are converted into Deflection enhancements when merging, and Deflection enhancements don't stack. So your +3 chainmail, +2 shield, +4 ring, and +2 cloak will only give you the highest AC bonus, +4, instead of the +11 you get while unShifted.
(2.2) What Shapes merge Weapons? Items? Armor?
Shape Weapon Items Armor
----------------------------- -------- -------- --------
Wyrmling (Any) Y Y
Harpy Y Y
Gargoyle Y Y
Minotaur Y Y Y
Basilisk Y
Drider Y Y Y
Manticore Y
Drow Warrior Y Y Y
Lizardfolk Whipmaster Y Y Y
Kobold Commando Y Y Y
Dire Tiger Y
Medusa Y Y
Mindflayer Y Y
Epic Harpy Y Y
Epic Gargoyle Y Y
Epic Minotaur Y Y Y
Epic Basilisk Y
Epic Drider Y Y Y
Epic Manticore Y
Epic Drow Warrior Y Y Y
Epic Lizardfolk Whipmaster Y Y Y
Epic Kobold Commando Y Y Y
Risen Lord Y Y Y
Vampire Y Y
Spectre Y
Azer Chieftain Y Y Y
Rakshasa Y Y Y
Death Slaad Lord Y
Stone Golem Y
Demonflesh Golem Y
Iron Golem Y Y
Dragon (Any) Y
A good rule of thumb seems to be: Has a weapon? Merges all. Unarmed, stands on two legs? Merges items & armor. Unarmed, four or more legs? Merges armor only. Exceptions to the rule are Death Slaad Lord, Stone Golem and Demonflesh
Golem.
(2.3) Choosing your equipment
As you can see from the chart in (2.2), all Shapes merge armor, most Shapes merge items, and only the Shapes which carry a weapon merge your weapon. So if you have both Chainmail of Speed and Boots of Speed, you're better off wearing the chainmail because all of your Shapes will then be hasted. Choose your armor, shield, and helmet carefully. Choose your armor & items for the bonus
Feats, ability increases, skills, etc., rather than the AC bonus (which is converted to Deflection bonus, which does not stack), and tailor them to the situation you will be facing. Choose your weapon for the bonus damage, Feats, etc., rather than the magical To Hit bonus.
Be sure to activate any items you need (such as wands of summoning and the like) before you Shift, since you won't be able to use them once you Shift.
/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
(3) Which tertiary class abilities transfer to Shapes?
Anything marked with @CHECK is an intelligent guess. If I'm wrong, please let me know at shifter@crewstopia.com.
(3.1) Barbarian
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Rage, Barbarian Fast Movement, Uncanny Dodge, Damage Reduction
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.2) Bard
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Bardic Knowledge, Bardic Music
Abilities which do not transfer:
Arcane Spellcasting
(3.3) Cleric
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Turn Undead, summoning Domain Powers
Abilities which do not transfer:
Divine Spellcasting, Spontaneous Cast, bonus spell Domain Powers
(3.4) Druid
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Animal Companion, Nature Sense, Woodland Stride, Trackless Step, Resist
Nature's Lure, Wild Shape, Venom Immunity, Elemental Shape, Dragon Shape (merged with the Shifter Dragon Shape)
Abilities which do not transfer:
Divine Spellcasting
(3.5) Fighter
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Weapon Specialization (if the Shape uses the Specialized weapon)
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.6) Monk
Unarmed Attack - Unarmed Shapes use the Monk Unarmed BAB chart (an additional attack each 3 levels, versus 5 for other classes). Shapes that use a weapon do not. Monk unarmed damage is not.
Wisdom AC bonus - Yes. With 30 WS (to attain Dragon Shape), that's a whopping +10 to AC for a single level of Monk. Sweet!
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Cleave, Evasion, Monk Speed, Deflect Arrows @CHECK, Still Mind, Purity Of
Body, Knockdown, Improved Knockdown, Wholeness Of Body, Improved Evasion,
Diamond Body, Diamond Soul, Empty Body, Perfect Self
Abilities which apply to unarmed Shapes only:
Improved Unarmed Strike, Flurry Of Blows, Stunning Fist, Ki Strike, Quivering
Palm
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.7) Paladin
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Wyrmling has good starting Dexterity, and Kobold Commando just oozes stealth.
Searching for traps? The Mindflayer's Intelligence boost gives you +4. And since your armor is merged into your Shape, you can pile on the heaviest armor you can wear and it doesn't affect your stealthiness at all. Imagine a minotaur with a sneak attack. Now imagine a stealthy Death Slaad with a sneak attack.
Now stop drooling.
Note that Bards CAN sing while Shifted!
Recommended ST:10 DX:10 CN:12 IN:16 WS:14 CH:14
(1.4.5) The Druid/Shifter/[Arcane-type] build
I confess I don't know if this is a viable build. On the one hand, your primary stat is either Intelligence (Wizard) or Charisma (Sorcerer), neither of which is overridden by your Shapes. On the other hand, you cannot cast spells while
Shifted. And you'll have an absolute dearth of armor and weapons to merge into your Shapes. Perhaps a strategy of buffing to the max, then Shifting, would work, but to try to cast offensive spells AND Shift seems to be trying to be good at two things and excellent at neither. In the Underdark, you need to be excellent to survive. Anyone who has done a Wizard or Sorcerer Shifter, let me know. Note that Pale Master and Dragon Disciple Shifters are not possible, since you don't have arcane spells as a Druid/Shifter.
(Wizard)
Recommended ST:10 DX:10 CN:14 IN:16 WS:14 CH:12
(Sorcerer)
Recommended ST:10 DX:10 CN:14 IN:12 WS:14 CH:16
(1.4.6) The Druid/Shifter/Cleric build
Excellent buffing spells and armor choices, and the ability to turn undead make for a good match for Shifters. Your BAB won't be any higher (and may, in fact, be lower), but the benefits probably outweigh the disabilities of not being able to cast healing spells quite so spontaneously any more. Furthermore, Wisdom is a shared stat that does double duty, and you don't have to boost Strength,
Dexterity, or Constitution so you can concentrate on Charisma for Turning
Undead. Begone, Foul Spawn, lest I unleash upon you the Flurry of Bad Puns!
Update: FAQ reader Larry Strope1 suggests minimizing ST for Cleric builds to 8 (or lower if possible). Why? Because using the Divine Power 4th level spell raises your Strength to 18 from whatever it is naturally. So if your Strength is 8 naturally, you will get +10 ST from Divine Power, and it carries over to your Shapes. So in this case, having 8 ST naturally is much *better* than having 16 ST naturally. Note that Divine Power is a relatively short duration spell, so you'll be unShifting/casting/Shifting to use this tactic.
Recommended ST:10 DX:10 CN:10 IN:12 WS:16 CH:16
(1.4.7) The Druid/Shifter/Weapon Master build
FAQ reader Bradley Sprigg (sathias@internode.on.net) suggests a powerful build for Weapon Master Shifters: as soon as you get Greater Wildshape III take levels in Weapon Master, choosing spear as your Weapon of Choice. This makes your Drider a powerful force with his +2 poisoned spear. Once Weapon Master is one of your classes, Weapon Proficiency Exotic (denied to Druids and Shifters) becomes available as a chosen Feat. Take it and proceed to Weapon Master level
13, where you are allowed to choose a new Weapon of Choice. Choose scythe and you'll have one nasty, nasty Risen Lord. If you play your cards right, it's even possible to get Devastating Critical by level 40. Yee-ouch!
Recommended ST:13 DX:13 CN:14 IN:14 WS:14 CH:10
(1.4.8) The Druid/Shifter/Dwarven Defender build
FAQ reader Larry Strope1 suggests a powerful Risen Lord based Dwarven
Defender build. Start with a Dwarf of Lawful alignment, 20 CN, 13 IN, and as much DX as you can get. Raise CN to 21 so that when you hit Epic levels you can take Epic Damage Reduction. Five levels of Druid, then 10 levels of
Shifter, and the rest of your career as Dwarven Defender (with the exception of one Epic level Shifter to get Undead Shape) will create a Damage-Soaking brick wall of a character. The result: a Risen Lord with 50% slashing/piercing immunity (from Risen Lord), immune to critical hits & sneak attacks (Risen Lord), and DR 24 (from Dwarven Defender and Epic Damage
Reduction). A swordsman scoring 50 points of damage will actually damage you only 1 point [*], you don't have to worry about Sneak Attacks, and
Devastating Critical is not a problem if you're immune to critical hits in general. Hey, Mister Tough-Guy Assassin Scythe-Master, I heard some interesting news about your mama's deviant sexual practices...
Recommended ST: 8 DX:14 CN:20 IN:13 WS:11 CH: 6
[*] Damage Immunity: 50 * .5 = 25
Damage Reduction: 25 - 24 = 1
/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
(2) Equipment
One of the best features of the Shifter class is the ability to merge your armor and weapons into the skin of the Shape you take. Rarely will you ever encounter a minotaur with an acid-dripping +1 battleaxe, but you can be one. It's not a free ride, however. Not everything merges and not all Shapes merge all that you wear. So what merges and what doesn't?
(2.1) What equipment properties merge?
Weapon All properties (extra damage, Keen, stat/ability bonuses, bonus Feats, etc.), but not the magical bonus To Hit and not the base damage (i.e., 1d8 for a longsword). Note also only a handful of Shapes merge your weapon, and the merged properties don't always show in the Character screen. Note that the magical bonus for damage does merge, however, so a +3 weapon merged into a minotaur's battleaxe will become a +1 battleaxe with +3 extra damage.
Offhand Weapon No.
Armor Everything except Base Armor Class. Bonuses to AC, skill modifications, and bonus Feats are melded.
Shields Everything except Base Armor Class. Bonuses to AC, skill modifications, and bonus Feats are melded. Shields are considered armor for purposes of which Shapes will merge them.
Note that a bug in the merge script prior to v1.64 does not allow merging of Tower Shields.
Gloves No. Sorry, Monks.
Gauntlets/Bracers No.
Helmets Yes. Helmets are considered armor for purposes of which
Shapes will merge them.
Cloaks Yes.
Belts Yes.
Rings Yes.
Amulets Yes.
Boots Yes.
Note that any AC enhancements, regardless of type, are converted into Deflection enhancements when merging, and Deflection enhancements don't stack. So your +3 chainmail, +2 shield, +4 ring, and +2 cloak will only give you the highest AC bonus, +4, instead of the +11 you get while unShifted.
(2.2) What Shapes merge Weapons? Items? Armor?
Shape Weapon Items Armor
----------------------------- -------- -------- --------
Wyrmling (Any) Y Y
Harpy Y Y
Gargoyle Y Y
Minotaur Y Y Y
Basilisk Y
Drider Y Y Y
Manticore Y
Drow Warrior Y Y Y
Lizardfolk Whipmaster Y Y Y
Kobold Commando Y Y Y
Dire Tiger Y
Medusa Y Y
Mindflayer Y Y
Epic Harpy Y Y
Epic Gargoyle Y Y
Epic Minotaur Y Y Y
Epic Basilisk Y
Epic Drider Y Y Y
Epic Manticore Y
Epic Drow Warrior Y Y Y
Epic Lizardfolk Whipmaster Y Y Y
Epic Kobold Commando Y Y Y
Risen Lord Y Y Y
Vampire Y Y
Spectre Y
Azer Chieftain Y Y Y
Rakshasa Y Y Y
Death Slaad Lord Y
Stone Golem Y
Demonflesh Golem Y
Iron Golem Y Y
Dragon (Any) Y
A good rule of thumb seems to be: Has a weapon? Merges all. Unarmed, stands on two legs? Merges items & armor. Unarmed, four or more legs? Merges armor only. Exceptions to the rule are Death Slaad Lord, Stone Golem and Demonflesh
Golem.
(2.3) Choosing your equipment
As you can see from the chart in (2.2), all Shapes merge armor, most Shapes merge items, and only the Shapes which carry a weapon merge your weapon. So if you have both Chainmail of Speed and Boots of Speed, you're better off wearing the chainmail because all of your Shapes will then be hasted. Choose your armor, shield, and helmet carefully. Choose your armor & items for the bonus
Feats, ability increases, skills, etc., rather than the AC bonus (which is converted to Deflection bonus, which does not stack), and tailor them to the situation you will be facing. Choose your weapon for the bonus damage, Feats, etc., rather than the magical To Hit bonus.
Be sure to activate any items you need (such as wands of summoning and the like) before you Shift, since you won't be able to use them once you Shift.
/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
(3) Which tertiary class abilities transfer to Shapes?
Anything marked with @CHECK is an intelligent guess. If I'm wrong, please let me know at shifter@crewstopia.com.
(3.1) Barbarian
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Rage, Barbarian Fast Movement, Uncanny Dodge, Damage Reduction
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.2) Bard
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Bardic Knowledge, Bardic Music
Abilities which do not transfer:
Arcane Spellcasting
(3.3) Cleric
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Turn Undead, summoning Domain Powers
Abilities which do not transfer:
Divine Spellcasting, Spontaneous Cast, bonus spell Domain Powers
(3.4) Druid
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Animal Companion, Nature Sense, Woodland Stride, Trackless Step, Resist
Nature's Lure, Wild Shape, Venom Immunity, Elemental Shape, Dragon Shape (merged with the Shifter Dragon Shape)
Abilities which do not transfer:
Divine Spellcasting
(3.5) Fighter
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Weapon Specialization (if the Shape uses the Specialized weapon)
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.6) Monk
Unarmed Attack - Unarmed Shapes use the Monk Unarmed BAB chart (an additional attack each 3 levels, versus 5 for other classes). Shapes that use a weapon do not. Monk unarmed damage is not.
Wisdom AC bonus - Yes. With 30 WS (to attain Dragon Shape), that's a whopping +10 to AC for a single level of Monk. Sweet!
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Cleave, Evasion, Monk Speed, Deflect Arrows @CHECK, Still Mind, Purity Of
Body, Knockdown, Improved Knockdown, Wholeness Of Body, Improved Evasion,
Diamond Body, Diamond Soul, Empty Body, Perfect Self
Abilities which apply to unarmed Shapes only:
Improved Unarmed Strike, Flurry Of Blows, Stunning Fist, Ki Strike, Quivering
Palm
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.7) Paladin
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
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