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WEAPON MASTER CHARACTER CREATION GUIDE
for NEVERWINTER NIGHTS + HORDES OF THE UNDERDARK
(c)2004 Barry Scott Will
Author's Web site:

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| TABLE OF CONTENTS |
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[1] Version History
[2] Definitions
[3] Weapon Master Class Description
[3.1] Description
[3.2] Stats
[3.3] Bonus feats
[3.3.1] Weapon of Choice (WM level 1)
[3.3.2] Ki Damage (WM level 1)
[3.3.3] Increased Multiplier (WM level 5)
[3.3.4] Superior Weapon Focus (WM level 5)
[3.3.5] Ki Critical (WM level 7)
[3.3.6] Epic Superior Weapon Focus (WM level 13)
[3.3.7] Epic Bonus Feats (WM level 11+)
[4] Requirements
[5] Class Combinations
[5.1] Arcane Archer
[5.2] Assassin
[5.3] Barbarian
[5.4] Bard
[5.5] Blackguard
[5.6] Champion of Torm
[5.7] Cleric
[5.8] Druid
[5.9] Dwarven Defender
[5.10] Fighter
[5.11] Harper Scout
[5.12] Monk
[5.13] Paladin
[5.14] Pale Master
[5.15] Ranger
[5.16] Red Dragon Disciple
[5.17] Rogue
[5.18] Shadowdancer
[5.19] Shifter
[5.20] Sorcerer
[5.21] Wizard
[6] Race Choices
[6.1] Dwarf
[6.2] Elf
[6.3] Gnome
[6.4] Half-elf
[6.5] Half-orc
[6.6] Halfling
[6.7] Human
[7] Ability Scores
[8] Weapon Choices
[8.1] Weapon Comparison Table
[8.2] Two-handed Weapons
[8.3] One-handed Weapons (single-wield)
[8.4] Two Weapon Fighting
[8.5] Weapons for Small Races
[9] Skills and Feats
[9.1] Skills
[9.2] Feats
[10] Sample Characters
[11] Credits


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| [1] VERSION HISTORY |
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1.00 (2004-08-06)
- First Release

1.10 (2004-09-11)
- Corrected information regarding feats
.Added Epic Superior Weapon Focus
.Added information about taking additional Weapons of Choice
- Re-wrote Section [8] Weapon Choices with a new weapons table
- Clarified information throughout the document
- Added sample character at Section [10.2]


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| [2] DEFINITIONS |
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If you don't understand these terms, you should probably read the d20 core
rules and/or the NWN/HotU manuals first; but, I'll try to cover some of the
basics here.

[2.1] Weapon master or WM
-------------------------
A prestige class available in Neverwinter Nights (NWN) when the Hordes of
the Underdark (HotU) expansion set is also installed.


[2.2] Prestige class
--------------------
A special class that cannot be selected until a player character has met
certain requirements.


[2.3] Attack bonus or AB
------------------------
The amount added to an attacker's roll of a 20-sided die (d20) to determine
if a hit is made.


[2.4] Base attack bonus or BAB
------------------------------
The attack bonus of a character when only class levels are considered
without counting ability score bonuses or magic enhancements.


[2.4] Armor class or AC
-----------------------
A score that represents how hard it is to hit a character. An attacker must
equal or exceed a defender's AC with the attack roll in order to score a
hit.


[2.5] Critical hit or strike
----------------------------
A hit that does more damage than normal; also referred to as a "crit". In
order to score a crit, a character must first "threaten" by rolling a
natural roll on a 20-sided die (d20) that falls within the critical threat
range of the weapon and is also a hit. A second roll is then made. If the
second roll is a hit, a crit is scored and damage is multiplied by the
weapon's critical multiplier. If the second roll is a miss, normal damage
is still rolled.

Example: Barney is fighting Fred. Barney is using a dagger, which has a
crit range of 19-20 and a multiplier of x2. Barney's AB is +5 and Fred's AC
is 22. On his first attack, Barney rolls a natural 19. This is good enough
for a hit (19 + 5 = 24, which is greater than Fred's AC of 22) and the roll
falls within the dagger's threat range. Barney makes a second roll. If his
second roll is 17 or higher, which would be good for a hit, Barney rolls
twice for damage instead of once. If the second roll is 16 or lower, Barney
rolls once for damage as normal.


[2.6] Critical threat range
---------------------------
The range in which a natural roll on a d20 must fall in order to threaten a
critical hit. Expressed both as a range of numbers found on a d20 (such as
20 or 19-20 or 15-20) or as a whole number representing how many chances
out of 20 a character has of threatening. For example, a crit range of 19-
20 might be referred to as 2. A crit range of 12-20 might be referred to as
9. In some documentation, a critical threat range of 20 is not specifically
listed; instead, the weapon is merely listed with the multiplier. E.g. if
you see a weapon with crit information listed as x2, it means the weapon
has a threat range of 20 and a multiplier of 2.


[2.7] Critical damage multiplier
--------------------------------
The number of times to roll for damage if a critical hit is scored.
Normally, damage is only rolled once. A critical hit means damage is rolled
two or more times. For example, Fred scores a critical hit against Barney
using a spear (crit multiplier x3). Fred rolls an eight-sided die (d8)
*three* times instead of once to determine how much damage is inflicted
upon Barney. Note the damage is rolled separately three times, not rolled
once and multiplied by three.

Magic enhancements, ability score bonuses and other damage bonuses are
added to each extra roll. So, in the preceding example, if Fred's Strength
modifier is +2 he would score 3d8 + 9 (STR modifier x 1.5 for using two-
handed weapon x 3) damage against Barney. If the spear also had a 1d4 fire
damage bonus, the final tally would be 3d8 + 3d4 + 9. You can see how
critical hits stack up to big damage very quickly.

The game engine handles all these calculations for you. You can see a log
of what is happening in the feedback window in the lower left of your
screen; however, all you really need to concern yourself with is
understanding how crits work--you don't have to actually execute all these
rolls.


[2.8] Improved Critical
-----------------------
A feat that doubles the base critical threat range of the chosen weapon. A
longsword normally has a crit range of 2 (19-20). In the hands of a
character with Imp Crit: Longsword, the threat range would be 4 (17-20).


[2.9] Keen
----------
A magic property added to a weapon that doubles the base critical threat
range of the weapon. A longsword normally has a crit range of 2 (19-20). A
Keen longsword has a crit range of 4 (17-20).

Note that Imp Crit and Keen can work together, but they do not double each
other. A Keen longsword in the hands of a character with Imp Crit:
Longsword would have a crit range of 6 (15-20)--not 8. Imp Crit doubles the
base 2 and adds it to make the crit range 4. Keen doubles the base 2 and
adds it to the 4 range to give the final range of 6. Or, another way of
calculating the enhanced range is to know that Imp Crit and Keen together
triple the base crit range.


[2.10] Weapon Finesse
---------------------
Normally, all melee attacks use the Strength bonus as a modifier for
attack. With Weapon Finesse, a character can apply his Dexterity bonus
instead (if it is higher). In order to do this, the weapon must qualify as
"light". See the NWN manual description of this feat for a list of weapons
that qualify. In general, if the weapon is one size or more smaller than
the character (i.e. a small or tiny weapon in the hand of a medium
character), it will work with Weapon Finesse.


[2.11] Fighter-class
--------------------
Any of the melee-oriented core classes: barbarian, fighter, monk, paladin
and ranger.


[2.12] Tank
-----------
Generic term for a character that is a high-AC, high-damage melee fighter.


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| [3] WEAPON MASTER CLASS DESCRIPTION |
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[3.1] Description
-----------------
The weapon master is one of the prestige classes introduced in the
Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark (HotU) expansion set. The
manual describes the class:

"For a weapon master, perfection is found in the mastery of a single melee
weapon. A weapon master seeks to unite this weapon of choice with the body,
to make them one and to use the weapon as naturally and without thought as
any other limb."