____________________________________ | DUELIST CLASS GUIDE | v1.1 =============================================================================== I have written this not in spite, but to bring the potential of the duelist class in Neverwinter Nights 2 to the full realization to all. There are some people who go against this class claiming it is not as good as some of the other melee classes, when truth is that this class can be amazing if played right or even used as a great multiclass option. __________________ | TABLE OF CONTENTS| quick find codes =============================================================================== 0. Table of Contents [you're already there] 1. Introduction [intro] 2. Weapons [weap] 3. Attributes [att] 4. Skills [Skills] 5. Feats [feat] 6. Game play [game] 7. Races [race] 8. Multi-Classing [mc] 9. Sample Builds [builds] 10. FAQ [FAQS] 11. Version History [vers] 12. Copyrite [copy] ________________ | INTRODUCTION | [intro] =============================================================================== {This is more or less the description of the duelist class from the game} The duelist is a nimble, intelligent fighter trained in making precise attacks with light weapons, such as the rapier. They always take full advantage of their quick reflexes and wits in a fight. Rather than wearing bulky armor, a duelist feels the best way to protect themselves is not to get hit at all. Duelists are most often fighters or rangers, but rogues and bards are also common. Wizards, sorcerers, and monks make surprisingly good duelists due to those classes’ lack of reliance on armor. They benefit greatly from the weapon skill the duelist offers. Some paladins and barbarians who deviate a good deal from their archetypes become duelists. Requirements: ------------------ • Base Attack Bonus: +6 • Skills: Parry 5 ranks, Tumble 5 ranks • Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Weapon Finesse. Class Features ------------------ • Hit Die: d10 • Base Attack Bonus: High • High Saves: Reflex • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple and martial weapons • Armor Proficiencies: None • Skills Points: 4 + Int modifier • Class Skills: Bluff, Craft Weapon, Listen, Parry, Spot, Taunt, and Tumble. Skills -------- Canny Defense: When not wearing armor or using a shield, the duelist adds their intelligence bonus or Duelist level (which ever is lower) to their AC, with a maximum bonus equal to their Duelist level.{ gained at level 1} Improved Reaction: At 2nd level, the duelist can improve their speed and reaction time, triggering the equivalent of the haste spell as if cast by a sorcerer of the duelist's class level. This ability can be used once per day at 2nd level, three times per day at 4th level, four times per day at 6th level, five times per day at 8th level, and six times per day at 10th level. Enhanced Mobility: At 3rd level, the duelist gains an additional +4 dodge bonus to AC gainst attacks of opportunity provoked by movement. This bonus stacks with that granted by the Mobility feat. Grace: At 4th level, the duelist gains a +2 bonus on Reflex saves. Precise Strike: At 5th level, the duelist's skill and precision allows them to inflict much more grievous wounds than their weapon might suggest. Whenever the duelist attacks with a light or one-handed piercing weapon, they adds 1d6 to their damage. This bonus increases to 2d6 at 10th level. Flourish: A 6th level duelist can make an impressive, flashy attack with a light or one-handed piercing weapon that catches their foe off guard. This attack deals 2d6 additional points of piercing damage. There is no limit to the number of times per day the duelist may use this ability, but a 30-second "cool down" period is required between uses. Elaborate Parry: At 7th level, the duelist masters the art of defense with their blade. Whenever they wield a light or one-handed piercing weapon, they add their duelist level to Parry checks. Deflect Arrows: A 9th level duelist gains Deflect Arrows as a bonus feat ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The duelist is a prestige class, so you wont be able to choose it until you have the requirements, and then you need to level up once more. The descriptions can be a little misleading so just so you know you'll be using a light or piercing weapon for this class and you cannot wear any armor, or hold a shield/ offhand weapon. If this doesn’t suit you then I would suggest you rethink what class you wish to become. Now I know what you are thinking, how will I win fights missing so much? That’s the beauty of the duelist class they can really put a hurt on someone in a 1v1 fight even while lacking soo much. Deception is a key here and it opens the locked box of the duelist class. ___________ | WEAPONS | [weap] =============================================================================== Here is a list of all the weapons that you can use to make the most out of the duelist class. Rapier : probably the best one possible, decent dmg, good size, amazing crit rating. You can’t go wrong with it. Dagger: really undersized, sub-par dmg, average critical rating, not your best choice but it is YOUR choice at the end of the day. Short sword: like the dagger but slightly better, still not as good as the rapier. Your Bare Hands: yes I know I put it in here; I'll go into details in the builds section _____________ | ATTRIBUTES | [att] =============================================================================== Now as a duelist you’ll need high dex, high int, decent STR and con, with a low wisdom and cha This translates into approximately Beginning stats str 12 con 14 dex 16 intel 16 wis 10 or 8 if you can stand having a negative modifier cha 10 or 8 if you can stand having a negative modifier Of course these are subject to change depending on what you plan to do with the class. As for the skill points you gain during the game (by leveling up) dex / int should be your main area of focus to increase. Feel free to change things around if you feel it fit, this is just a guide after all. ________________ | SKILLS | [skills] =============================================================================== In order to achieve this class you must have a Parry of at least 5, and tumble of at least 5 These two skills are essential for your survival as a duelist so keep leveling them up. Aside from those there really isn’t anything needed for a duelist however in the builds section There are a few multiclass build latter in the guide and in them I list the other skills needed for success. _____________ | FEATS | [feat] =============================================================================== As a duelist you are required to have: Weapon Finesse, Dodge, and Mobility. Some of the best feats to pick are: --------------------------------------- Weapon Focus (name your weapon) can’t go wrong with it as long as you pick the right weapon your set Improved Crit (name your weapon) same as weapon focus can really help you out Improved Parry This is your bread and butter; boost one of your best skills so take this one for sure. This is by far the most important skill other than the required ones. Combat Expertise on its own not so great but it leads to-> feint Feint amazingly effective if you choose to multiclass with rogue, assassin or anything with sneak attack. As this feat will get you a sneak attack when activated during combat and you are attacking (i.e. not in parry mode) Other Helpful feats -------------------------- Toughness extra hit points makes jonny a happy boy {to the reader: I'm sure people other than jonny will be happy with this, but feats are a rare thing to come by so pick carefully} Cleave as good as it is you need POWER ATTACK, and that just aint the duelist style, feel free though to drop a couple feats and get this. Disarm/ Improved disarm can be very useful, but they require a decently sized weapon (rapier) nice bonus is that with improved version you get to keep the disarmed weapon and sell it for gold. _______________________ | GAMEPLAY/STRATEGIES | [game] =============================================================================== Now a duelist specializes in 1vs1 combat, so when it comes to the official campaign there might be a shortage of those. A few good strategies will be explained in this section to help you get through the swarms of enemies you’ll encounter on your journey both effectivly and while enjoying yourself. Strategies ------------- Tank and Sneak: This strat is a common one for rouges/ assassins, and it involves you sending in your party to attack first then you follow of choosing individuals to pick off with sneak attacks/ attacks of opportunity until the opposing force is eliminated. Another variation of this is to go in first in stealth mode and kill the main enemy with your super sneak attack then when the other baddies focus on you use parry or Hide in Plain sight. If you use parry have the rest of your party flank the mob while you sit back with drink in hand parry-ing yourself to victory. And then once the enemies attack you focus on your allies sneak attack them. Should you use Hide in Plain sight and it works, feel free to target the next strongest enemy and sneak attack them, rinse and repeat ftw. Parry: This is a true duelist style. You run into the middle of the opponents, activate your parry mode grab some snacksand let the counter attack party begin. Beware this style works so much better if you have a high parry skill, and the improved parry feat. It will be better to avoid this in the early levels because your skills will not be high enough to pull it off without getting hit. Bow and Arrow: The beauty of this strat is that it makes use of your already high dexterity. Using a bow you hit the one enemy that you wish to fight that enemy will charge at you now. Switch to your weapon and have some fun. Alson really fun in a pvp server when someone sees you with a bow dressed in clothing thinking easy kill charges at you then you bust out your sword at teach him the "point" of your build (pun intended) Trap and Bow: This is more of a rogue thing to due, but it works out if you take rogue levels before duelist and get some set trap skills. First you set a couple traps (while in stealth mode). Position your self so the traps are between you and the enemies. Then using a bow attacks a couple enemies and they will charge at you going into the traps. Now this one is a little long, but it’s amusing for a while. ___________ | RACES | [race] =============================================================================== This section will go through the races you can chose from in the game and how effective they are at being a duelist. Human ----------- As a duelist they do very well. Best advantage is that they don’t have any disadvantages. Bonus skills points and an extra feat at creation are good as well. Tiefling --------------- One of the better choices for duelist, +2 dex and +2 intel are really helpful. They do experience a small level penalty, but they get other skills that make up for it. Half-Elf ------------- Good if you are multiclassing, and if you must use them for role-playing reasons then do so. However I always found they were underpowered by the game designers. Half-Orc ---------------- Avoid this one, if you are tempted to be a half orc you’d be better off choosing barbarian, and then frenzied berserker as your prestige class. Although i have seen some Half-orc wizard builds that made me laugh then throw up, and then curse at the computer when i tried them. Halfings ------------ They are decent if you chose to take rogue or assassin levels, because they will help with your stealth. Stronghearts get a bonus feat at level one like humans, and lightfoots get lucky (+1 to all saving throws) but lucky cant be erased by taking luck of the hero at the 1st level. Drow ----------- My personal favorite race, they get a lot of bonus attributes and spells that can really boost your duelist potential. However they come with a +2 level penalty and the light sensitivity penalty. Moon Elf / Sun Elf ----------------------------- Decent race to choose, but they are better suited to being other classes Wood Elf ---------------- Not so great, they get +2 dex but -2 int and the negative intelligence will really hurt you in the AC section. Deep Gnomes ---------------------- Considered one of the most powerful races in the game, why else would they have that huge -3 level penalty? There is a build in this guide later on that will use the deep gnomes to their most. Other races --------------- They are not recommended but if you wish to use them do, but you just might cripple your duelist more than you think. _________________ | MULTICLASSING | [mc] =============================================================================== Now as a Prestige class you must use one of the base classes to get the requirements to be a duelist.This section will explain which classes are better than others. Barbarian: Not your best choice because they rely on str and rage to do well in combat, you on the other hand will be using dex and intelligence in a fight. No tumble either. Rage will actually be ok on its own becasue youll be moving/ attacking more. Bard: If you wish to use the bard class to earn your duelist class be sure to boost up your charisma as well as put some points into the perform skill. This option will give you inspirations provided you take enough bard levels. Cleric: Does not have tumble as a class skill, so you will be able to reach duelist through this class but it will take twice as long. Druid: see cleric. Fighter: Probably the best to use, in order to gain a combat oriented prestige class, They get many feats, and have a high BAB, can’t go wrong here, but they don’t have tumble as a class skill. Monk: Actually does very well as a duelist, I will post a build using them as a duelist latter on. Furry of blows + precise strike is too much fun. Paladin: If you chose to be a paladin you might want to consider going pure ( ie all paladin) By taking any other class you take away from your casting abilities, but it is still possible. Ranger: A rather interesting class to choose, however you must choose between two weapon fighting or archery style, and neither of these is how the duelist plays. I mean you could take ranger then switch to duelist but why waste all those skills you gained for your combat style. Rogue: Among the better choices, sneak attack + precise strike is devastating, however you cant dual wield so this takes away from the number of sneak attack you can land before your enemy turns around. Sorcerer: A duelist is not a spell casting class, however some spell casting can be beneficial.They don’t have parry or tumble as class skills, and they have really low hit points which is not favorably with a melee class. Warlock: Taking duelist levels will handicap your Eldritch Blast skill, so you may want to avoid this choice. Wizard: You get to summon a fury little bunny, need I say more?...What I do.. Ok well low BAB, no tumble or parry as class skills, and by taking duelist you will lose some of your more powerful spells. But you'll end up a decent fighter with some average spells. That takes care of the base classes now for the prestige classes. And rather than listing them all I will only put in the ones that are useful. Assassin: Boost your sneak attack, and makes it stun enemies, very nice. You get Hide in Plain sight, which is a good skill if you like to stealth. This is probably best for those who took rogue as their base class. Duelist: No wait never mind your already that… Neverwinter Nine:you must chose the path of good when you reach Neverwinter. These skills are beautiful when your party isn’t far off. Pale Master: This is a part of a caster build that I will speak of latter. Shadowdancer: Many useful skills, including shadow evade, works well as support to a rogue's stealth, Hide in PLain sight at lv 1. Shadow thief of Amn: Interesting choice, more sneak attack, and some bonus feats. Requires you took the evil path when you reach Neverwinter. Weapons master: The best choice for those who took fighter as their base class, continues the high BAB, as well as all the special WM feats will really boost your damage output. ______________________ | SAMPLE BUILDS | [builds] =============================================================================== WARNING BEFORE YOU GO ANY FURTHER, the builds section is mainly comprosed of builds that theoritically will work, i have not tested all of them yet, and hope to in the near future (hard to find time with school, and i start new job this week) Another note is that im not sure if i used all of the skill points availible to you at character creation, and as such add in any extra points where you see fit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- fighter 6/ duelist7/weapon master 7 Race: human Alignment: any Weapon: rapier Important skills: parry, tumble, and intimidate (4 needed) Important feats: dodge, mobility, weapon finesse, combat expertise, spring attack, whirlwind attack, weapon focus rapier Ability scores Useful items STR 10 maybe 12 head band of intellect +8 Dex 16 +3 belt of agility +8 Int 16 +2 Con 14 Wis 8 Cha 8 PRO/CON + Good hit points - Non versatile + Weapon Master Criticals - A lot of feats required, + The important Duelist/ WM feats so it is hard to customize - no spell casting This build turns you into a front line damage dealer, the weapon master feats give you better Criticals, and more often. Combine that with the steady damage of a duelist as well as parry and you’ve got a winning combination. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- rogue 4/ fighter 4/ duelist7/shadow theif of amn 5 human alignment: any any weapon important skills (atleast there values): bluff 3, intimidate 3, hide 8 , move silently 3, tumble 5, parry 5. important feats: weapon finesse, dodge, mobility, stealthy, combat expertise, feint Ability scores STR 10 or 12 dex 16 or 17 int 16 con 14 or 12 wis 8 cha 10 This build is an extension of the sneak attack ability, fighter class is in here to raise your BAB to gain duelist levels. Take Rogue lvls early to get rid of your required skills and start concentrating on the skills you want. Also get weapon finesse a.s.a.p. becasue of your low str you need it to deal decent damage so upon character creation is good. A variation of this build involes dual weilding at the cost of the Precise Strike skill. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rogue 5/ Assassin 8/ Duelist 7 Race: human Alignment: any evil Level progression Rogue 1->5 Assassin 6->10 Duelist 11->17 Finish assassin Important skills: hide, move silently, tumble, parry, and bluff Important feats: weapon finesse, dodge, mobility, weapon focus, improved parry, combat expertise, feint. Ability scores: STR 10 or 12 INT 16 DEX 16 CON 14 WIS 8 CHA 8 This build brings in a lot of sneak attacking, and is used in an attempt to bring a rogue into the front lines of combat and get them on the road to becoming more of an offensive threat. Keep hide/ move silently maxed, as well as parry to fall back on once you’ve revealed your position. Hide in Plain sight is amazing for after you've already scored your first sneak attack. You can just hide again and repeat. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monk 5/ Wizard 5/ Pale Master 3/ Duelist 7 [this build originally written By Snipercon on gamebanshee.com] Race: Drow or Deep Gnome (Svirfneblin) History feat: Devout Level progression: feat(s) to get 1. monk Luck of the Heroes 2. wizard 3. monk Weapon Finesse 4. wizard + DEX 5. monk 6. wizard circle kick 7. monk 8. wizard +DEX 9. monk Dodge 10. wizard Spell Focus Necromancy 11. Pale Master 12. Pale Master Mobility, +WIS 13. Pale Master 14. Duelist 15. Duelist Greater Spell focus Necromancy( or Improved parry depending on your playing style) 16. Duelist +WIS 17. Duelist 18. Duelist Toughness 19. Duelist 20. Duelist +DEX Important Skills: Parry, Tumble, Spell craft, Concentration, Move silently/Hide diplomacy if you are a Drow. This build is really fun to use, you get some nice spells to use from necromancy (pale master), some of the sweet monk skills and the duelist stuff that you really need. Your bare hands are considered finesse-able weapons and you should get the extra damage from precise strike with them. Now a good addition to this build is to get the Ring of Might which will give you some free feats for powering up your fists. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rogue 2/ Fighter 6/ Duelist 7/ Neverwinter Nine 5 human choose good path when you reach neverwinter Level Progression: 1 rogue 2 fighter 3 fighter 4 fighter 5 fighter 6 fighter 7 rogue 8 Duelist 9 Duelist 10 Duelist 11 Duelist 12 Duelist 13 Duelist 14 Duelist 15 Neverwinter 9 16 Neverwinter 9 17 Neverwinter 9 18 Neverwinter 9 19 Neverwinter 9 20 Fighter Feats to get: Dodge, Mobility, weapon finesse, weapon focus, weapon specialization improved parry, spring attack, improved critical Skills: Parry, Tumble (10/20 for +1/+2 ac) Ability scores str 12 dex 16 int 16 con 14 wis 8 cha 8 any extra points put into dex/int, unless you want to get rid of the negative modifiers. Points you get form leveling up should go into dex/int Spring attack is really useful when you are running around in combat for avoiding attacks of opertunity. This build gets a small sneak attack bonus, a good BAB from from duelist/fighter/neverwinter nine. For this build dont rely too much one your sneaking abilities becasue only rogue has hide/ move silently as a class skill. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rogue 4/ Fighter 6/ Duelist 10 Human STR: 10 DEX: 17 (+5) CON: 14 INT: 16 WIS: 9 CHA: 10 1. Rogue Able Learner; Luck of Heroes 2. Fight Weapon Finesse 3. Fight Mobility; Dodge 4. Fight +DEX 5. Rogue Evasion 6. Rogue Weapon Focus 7. Fight Weapon Spec 8. Duel Canny Defense - +DEX 9. Duel Improved Reaction; Improved Critical 10. Duel Enhanced Mobility 11. Duel Grace 12. Duel Precise Strike 1d6; Improved Parry 13. Duel Flourish 14. Duel Elaborate Parry 15. Duel Skill Focus: Parry or other choice 16. Duelist Deflect Arrows 17. Duel Precise Strike 2d6 18. Fight Power Crit. or toughness 19. Fight Blind Fight or other choice 20. Rogue Uncanny Dodge A lot of good skills/feats, decent ac, and increases your weapon damage. More of your straight forward fighter turned duelist, you get a small sneak attack bonus as well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ranger 11/ Duelist 9 Race: Drow Alignment: Any Starting stats: Str - 12 Dex - 16/17 Con – 14/13 Int - 16 Wis - 14 Cha - 10 Class Feats Ranger 1 - Dodge, Favored Enemy Human (or your choice) Ranger 2 - 2 Weapon Fighting Style Ranger 3 - Weapon Finesse Ranger 4 - Dex +1 Ranger 5 - Favored Enemy Undead Ranger 6 - Mobility, Greater Two Weapon Fighting (Ranger Feat) Ranger 8 - Dex +1 Ranger 9 - Two Weapon Defense Ranger 10 - Favored Enemy Outsiders Ranger 11 - Improved Two Weapon Fighting (Ranger Feat) Duelist 1 - Improved Two Weapon Defense, Int +1 Duelist 4 - Improved Parry Duelist 5 - Int +1 Duelist 7 - Your Choice Duelist 9 - Int +1 or Dex +1 Final Stats: Str - 14 Dex - 18 Con - 13 Int - 19 Wis - 14 Cha - 10 Important skills: Parry, Survival, Tumble, listen or spot, Bluff. This build is pretty good, however since you dual wield you don’t get the bonus damage from Precise Strike. Some people say that the bonus from Precise Strike is not worth single wielding, so this is where this build comes in. Another modification to this build is to make duelist only lv 7, and add in Rogue lv 2 for sneak attack. If you choose the Archery style its still fun, you’ll just be a good archer with the ability to fight hand to hand when the enemy gets close. Swift tracker is an amazing feat, so keep your survival skill maxed and you'll know where every enemy is on the minimap. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fighter 1 / Wizard 5/ Eldritch Knight 7/ Duelist 7 Human str 14 dex 15 (+5) con 14 wis 8 int 16 cha 8 Important skills: Parry, tumble, Concentration, Spell craft. feats dodge, mobility, weapon finesse, two weapon fighting, two weapon defense, empowered spell, improved two weapon fighting, improved two weapon defense, greater two weapon fighting, weapon focus. You get a lot of spells with the ability to fall back on your hand to hand combat skills should you need it. But it removes the Precise Strike damage. You could always modifiy it so you dont need dual wielding.Instead of taking: two weapon fighting, two weapon defense, improved two weapon fighting, improved weapon defense, and greater two weapon fighting you could take feats like: improved critical, disarm/ improved disarm, or get luck of the hero at level 1 and push everything back by one. Another option for this build is to only go to lv 6 eldritch knight, and go to level 2 figher which ill give you one more feat at the cost of some spells. ________________ | F.A.Q. s | [FAQS] =============================================================================== Q: Is it true that the duelists class wont work properly I you dual wield weapons? A: The class will still work, the only problem would come with the Precise Strike feat which only works if you are wield a SINGLE one-handed piercing weapon and no shield. Q: All of your builds seem kind of the same. A: That’s not a question, but this is because the duelist class is a combat class and must use a light piercing weapon. This takes away from their casting abilities, and restricts the damage output. Feel free to use your own builds though this is only a guide after all. Q: Precise Strike or dual wielding? A: This all comes down to your preference. From a role playing perspective precise strike with a single handed weapon, but from say a powergamer’s (a.k.a. statistics whore's) perspective then dual wielding will win out. Q: In the race section you put in -3 penalty for Deep Gnomes, and a +2 for Drow what do they mean? A: The answer is basically, the races with experience penalties are considered more powerful, becasue they get either more stat boosting (ie +2 Int) or Spell like abilities (ie cast darkness). All the experience penalty is that it will take your character to reach a level than a race with a lesser penalty, or no penalty at all. Say you party has A drow, a human, and a deep gnome; if the human is level 5, then the drow is level 3 and the deep gnome is lv 2. Q: Do you have any cheats for this game? A: If you are going to use cheats then you dont need a guide so click back on your web browser.NO. Q: I have questions not posted here any help for me? A: You might want to try the message boards at some NWN 2 sites and if all else fails google them and you might get your answer. _________________ | VERSION HISTORY| [vers] =============================================================================== 1.0 The base for this guide was created including all the sections except this one 1.1 Added in the Version section because i relised i had a few mistakes -fixed weapons choices (morningstar is not finesse-able) -fixed some gramatical and spelling errors -some additions/ edits to builds section -edited shawdow dancer in multiclass section (they dont get S.A.) -added to FAQs -added information to race section _______________ | COPYRITE | [copy] =============================================================================== All the material written here is copy of myself and will not be used without permission from me. © Dutman April 2007 Thanks to Gamebanshee.com, and Gamefaqs.com to whom I found my self referring back to many times to sort something out. And to Snipercon on the gamebanshee site for his build contribution.