I'm considering to replay SOZ. Few questions...
Is is worthwhile to have one character with ECL?
Do I need a caster? Is it possible to finish all quest with ranger/rogue, swashbuckler, fs/paladin and bard/rogue with lots of scrolls from NW wizard enclave?
What do you think of:
party 1: bard/rogue, sorcerer, druid and cleric without any henchmen (is druid good as leader on overland map?)
party 2: bard, warlock, cleric, swashbuckler/rogue
If you're set on taking a bard, you probably don't want another arcane caster... BUT you MUST have a fighter type (paladin, barbarian, or ranger will do) or you're wasting your bard's best ability (Legionnaire's March). I'd ditch the sorcerer (party 1)/ warlock (party 2) and bring a swordswinger.
As for a druid on the OM - he can do much of it well, but he has no stealth - which will be particularly painful early on as every wandering monster in the realms zeroes in on you as their next meal.
Is is worthwhile to have one character with ECL?
No, being of a higher level is usually better than any benefits the ECl races can give you. That said, you can still finish the game with one or several ECL characters, if you want them for RP reasons or whatever.
Do I need a caster? Is it possible to finish all quest with ranger/rogue, swashbuckler, fs/paladin and bard/rogue with lots of scrolls from NW wizard enclave?
Well, bard and FS (and to a lesser extent, paladin and ranger) are casters, but I guess you mean offensive casters. No, you don't -need- any, though they can be useful to have around for some fights.
What do you think of:
party 1: bard/rogue, sorcerer, druid and cleric without any henchmen (is druid good as leader on overland map?)
Sounds fine to me. As I-Raps said, druids lack stealth, but you can buy a couple of +hide items in the first town. Coupled with half ranks in hide, it should do the trick. Or you could always take a level in a class with stealth.
party 2: bard, warlock, cleric, swashbuckler/rogue
Swashbuckler doesn't get much after level 3 and you may be a bit slow on the OLM (no class with survival or speed increases), but other than that, it looks fine. Warlocks are one of my favourite classes in SOZ because of their infinite casting.
If you're set on taking a bard, you probably don't want another arcane caster... BUT you MUST have a fighter type (paladin, barbarian, or ranger will do) or you're wasting your bard's best ability (Legionnaire's March). I'd ditch the sorcerer (party 1)/ warlock (party 2) and bring a swordswinger.
I disagree, somewhat. You don't get LM until level 18 (more if multiclassing). By that time, if you ever reach that level in the first place, the module will be over or nearly so. Besides, a cleric or FS with Divine Power will work just as well.
My advice would be not to have a bard as the first PC, mainly due to the AI always wanting to target the party leader over anyone else (even if they have to run past the rest of your party to get there!). Bards are great back-up characters, but you generally don't want them on the front line.
The halfling party I'm currently playing SoZ with has a fighter / weapon master as the first PC. He's tanked up with fullplate armour, and basically serves as the party's "meat shield" to hold back enemies. Meanwhile the rest of the party tears them apart with their missile weapons.
My usual battle preparation involves:
- The cleric / storm lord casts Stone Skin on the fighter / weapon master (she has the Earth domain)
- The cleric / storm lord charges up her shuriken, while stony runs ahead to engage enemies
- The ranger activates Improved Rapid Shot and gets to work with his sling
- The rogue / shadow dancer is left to her own devices (Hide in Plain Sight followed by dart flinging, or she summons a shadow, or she uses a wand)
Enemies are usually corpses full of holes long before the Stone Skin effect wears off the fighter. If things really go pear-shaped, the shadow dancer goes into hiding and leaves the area (with lots of resurrecting to do).
Bards are great back-up characters, but you generally don't want them on the front line.
I suppose that may make some sense in SOZ's random battles, with all the OLM buff striping mess, but generally speaking, yes, you want them on the front line. Not only because a buffed up bard is one of the toughest characters you can play, but also because you want to be close to the rest of the fighters so they benefit from your inspirations.
I suppose that may make some sense in SOZ's random battles, with all the OLM buff striping mess, but generally speaking, yes, you want them on the front line. Not only because a buffed up bard is one of the toughest characters you can play, but also because you want to be close to the rest of the fighters so they benefit from your inspirations.
Well, you want them *near* the front line - but unless you have plenty of time to apply your buffs (which you don't in many SoZ fights), you don't want them to be taking the brunt of the action. At least not until you get hold of some mithral fullplate and a mithral heavy shield.
Not that I haven't played as melee bards, but those builds tended to sacrifice bard levels for other classes (like RDD or barbarian). They were "bards" in name only. A bard/rogue certainly isn't my idea of a front-line fighter - that combination suggests a non-combat skill-monkey to me.
You don't need to multiclass to be a melee god as a bard (except maybe a dip for proficiencies, but heavier armour doesn't make a great difference). On the contrary, bards are best kept (nearly) pure. As I said, you have a point about buffs not being too reliable in SOZ (though there are mods for that), but generally speaking, bards make better "tanks" than... well, pretty much anything.
My advice would be not to have a bard as the first PC, mainly due to the AI always wanting to target the party leader over anyone else (even if they have to run past the rest of your party to get there!). Bards are great back-up characters, but you generally don't want them on the front line.
If I go rogue2/bardX, lawful neutral monk2/druidX, cleric and sorcerer in my party, who should I choose as my party leader?
I'm also considering to go rogue2/bardX, monk2/druid, paladin2/clericX and warlock instead of sorcerer, which would make my paladin2/clericX better choice as party leader, but I kind of hoped for all caster party.
Any suggestions for race? Which would be best race for druid/monk and paladin/cleric? And sorcerer?
Any suggestions for prestige classes?
I'd make the OLM leader the first created character. In your case, the druid seems to be the best suited for that task.
Any suggestions for race? Which would be best race for druid/monk and paladin/cleric? And sorcerer?
Human is probably the best no-XP malus race for all of them. The P/C could be an aasimar, but that's ECL + 1 (and if you're only taking paladin for Divine Grace, I'd suggest to drop it and stick to pure cleric).
Any suggestions for prestige classes?
Sacred fist for the druid/monk if you don't plan on shifting. Otherwise, stick to monk/druid (maybe leave monk at 1 for faster casting progression, even though the 2nd level has its advantages).
Arcane scholar for the sorcerer. Maybe a pale master level if s/he isn't good aligned.
Pure cleric is fine, but you can always take stormlord, unless you're taking the animal domain.
Hellfire warlock may be worth it if you play a warlock, as (I think) the CON penalties will get dispelled on the OLM. BTW, if you do play a warlock, you may want to make him/her your crafter.
It's a while since I played SoZ but from what I recall it's important to have access to a wide range of skills and you need particular skills on the overland leader. Survival is one of those key skills and Ranger the obvious choice, but you can use Barbarian or Druid, and you may only need a dip with Able Learner. Here are two parties I created that can cover off all the skills and are still effective in combat:
Team 1: Ranger 11/Swashbuckler 3/ Monk 3/Shadowdancer 1; Bard 1/Cleric 7/Stormlord 10; Rogue 3/Wizard 5/Pale Master 1/Arcane Trickster 9; Bard 1/Fighter 8/Red Dragon Disciple 4/Frenzied Berserker 5. Relatively easy to get to level 18 with a party of 4 ECL0 characters. Just choose a Race that gets no XP Penalty, e.g. Wood Elf for the Ranger.
Team 2: Rogue 1/Druid 17; Cleric 6/Stormlord 10/Warpriest 2; Paladin 2/Sorceror 6/Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep 10; Swashbuckler 3/Fighter 2/Invisible Blade 5/Assassin 8. This party isn't quite so skilful (although still covers off what you need), but with the Druid's Dinosaur Companion it's very strong in battle.
Both parties sound interesting, Thor...
I was planning to make party of casters, with druid/monk and paladin/cleric being my two casters-meat shield. I like paladin/favor soul mix, like this one - http://nwn2db.com/build/?79219, except I always take Kelemvor as god so I get bastard sword proficiency.(Somtimes I take more than two levels of paladin.) This character is my meat shield, but maybe he has too little paladin levels and small CON.
Do you prefer FS or cleric?
Which race do you recommend for druid/monk? Do halflings make good leaders on OM? Dwarves? I don't mind some XP penalty...
Which caster-human do you prefer - sorcerer or wizard or warlock?
Forth character is bardX/rogue2. - no doubts on that.
The key thing is to sort out your overland leader, and make sure that they have all the skills you need. Druid/Monk would be your best bet for that, but, while it's a very strong build defensively and it will be fast overland, there are some missing skills. None that are a big problem though. FS/Paladin is very strong, but lacks skills. Cleric does too, so if you take such a character your others must make up for it. Warlocks are strong, but they are not skilful and they aren't great party animals. I'd much rather take a Wizard, but I'd want to add to its skillbase in some way (like I did by making mine an AT). Bard with Rogue 2 is full of skills, and will be good for a party, but it would be rather squishy itself.
The party feels a little squishy as a whole - the FS/Paladin is a melee powerhouse and the Druid/Monk can hold its own, but you're lacking a bit both offensively and defensively, especially early on. I love Bards, but an almost pure Bard and a Wizard in a party of four? No problem at level 15, but at level 5 they won't be contributing much in battles. You can afford one to leave behind with a Ranged weapon (e.g. Elf Wizard with a Longbow, or Halfling Bard with a Sling/Shield), but two can be a push.
Race for Druid/Monk must be Human. Don't get an XP Penalty - that character will lag behind the rest of the party and you'll feel it (unless you get the penalty late it costs you more than ECL1 would as well). You could take an entire ECL1 party - I've done that. For instance an Aasimar Paladin/FS is very strong. But really you have plenty of good choices that are ECL0 and carry no XP Penalty.
I taken druid/monk, cleric,bard/rogue and wizard... Would I regret badly if I don't hire any cohorts/companions (Umoja, Inshula, Lastri...?). I would like to play without any cohorts, just me and my party, but if I change my mind, I would need to pay for experience or they would lag behind me.
Any though?
You need to hire most of them to either advance the main plot or to access side plots, but you don't have to keep them. Hire and fire!
With that party I'd think about hiring a Fighter type through the early levels though (i.e. someone who can take and dish out damage), although you could get through it without if you're very careful.
You need to hire most of them to either advance the main plot or to access side plots
Huh? I've played SOZ without recruiting any cohorts and I don't recall needing any of them for plot/quest purposes.
I remember Lastri - she is available after you complete the quest, then there's Finch (bard) who is available after you complete his quest... but you don't need to actually travel with them.
Yes, you're right. You don't need to do anything with them.
Yes, you're right. You don't need to do anything with them.
Except feed them to a certain MotB companion who sometimes shows up. 
That should be marked "spoiler"...
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