Build Help Dedicated Crafter.

[SwiftShifter]

As the title suggests I’m looking for help creating an optimised build path for a PC dedicated to Craft Armour/ Weapon. I’d much prefer to be a Bard/X/X multiclass not essential (unless it would improve the ease of use/ overall build).

Functionality as a support would also be greatly appreciated for the levelling process. The character would almost exclusively be played as a duo during levelling so useful buffs etc would go a long way.

I’m looking for help in the whole process (as I’ve never built a PC from the ground up, just strictly followed build guides) and I don’t have enough of a grasp of all the possibilities/ options.
So everything from suggestions of;
Starting stats (INT, STR, CHA etc)
Ability/ Skill point increases
Order of Feats (both required/ recommended for crafting and for general support gameplay)

Would all be greatly appreciated.

[Sapphire]

First you will need to concentrate on INT maxing that out is vital...
Skills max out craft armour and craft weapon ...

I would suggest elf as race choice and have at oleast 8 levels in Bard maybe 14 then the rest in Wizard ... That way using the favoured class for an elf you don't get any xp penalties etc...

Try and obtain as many items/weapons that have skill bonuses to their stats, so what ever your trying to craft weapon or armour is at a max... Also constantly wear rings and such that max your INT out and as a Bard any CHA will assist in your crafting at the forge...

If you have spare skill points consider putting points into Appraise, Bluff, and Persuade ...

Feat wise : Again concentrate on INT bonuses any perform and persuade (both these along with appraise will reduce gold cost a little).. Also of course go for full focuses on your crafting skills (both weapons and armour)

If you follow up on this you'll build a very good crafter capable of maxing out the best results from your forge stones...

[SwiftShifter]

Hey Sapphire, thanks for you reply. I have a few questions though if you wouldn’t mind.

What is considered ‘max’ for something like Craft Armour/ Weapon?

Would you happen to know an ability layout for pre-req’s for feats you know I’m going to need?

Also why the 8 or 14 levels in Bard, is there a reason for 14 over 8?

[Kane0]

43 ranks is the max, plus the bonuses you get from skill focus feats (regular and epic), Int bonus (max +12 int from buffs like items and spells) and skill bonus (max +20 from items, features and spells)
More levels if bard give more bonuses from bard song with the right perform, so presumably those levels are the cut off points between say +2 to skills and +3, i dont know the specifics off the top of my head but the nwn wiki will tell you.

[Sapphire]

The post above is correct it is the cut off for skills bonuses above the +20 limit for bard song ... So what I am saying there is if you already have +20 in the skills it wont matter it will still be at +20 but as more likely than not you'll not be able to reach anywhere near +20 on your craft skills so an extra +2, +3 will help with your bard song...

The MAX out statement applies to both skills and feats for those skills and with INT you can in as am sure you know take stat increases apart from the one you get every 4 levels... So taking the full 10 you get from the every 4th level and the feat greater INT you effectively make 20 levels in INT from leveling 1 to 40... if you start on creation with 18 INT you should br able to make your crafter at level 40 with 50 INT sorce (that isyour start at 18 = 20(leveling) + 12 from items and/or weapons)

Again with skills the standard max you can get is 43 as the previous poster has said... Feats of focuses on skills to crafting add more and then any items to those crafting skills will be added and improved on with bard song...

EDIT : I should also mention that it is best o take your last (40th) level as a Bard as that way you can give as much as possible to the preform skill... :END EDIT

[Cornflower]

As I have understood it (also the reason why I gave up on building a dedicated crafter) you need an effective skill (after buffs and bonuses) of about 80 in your craft.

There are some items in game that give crafting skills bonuses, but I've played for a while and never seen any.
Also, the really good forge stones are very scarce, so unless you play a lot, I wouldn't bother.

My strategy is:

1. Create one character with mediocre crafting skills. You can still use that for "binary" properties. For instance, you can craft Haste on an item with low skill (either you have Haste or not, there's no middle ground depending on your skill), but if you try to craft Divine Damage, you'll get the lowest damage unless you're around 80 in skill.

2. Find someone who has uber-skills in crafting. There are people around that will help you with crafting for a reasonable (or in some cases very expensive and in one case, really cheap) fee.

That way you don't have to go through the hassle of levelling up a bard/wizard combo all the way to 40 and find all the right items.

Again, that's just me. Others find happiness through other strategies.

[SwiftShifter]

I knew from the beginning that it wasn’t going to be an easy task, but I’m nearing max level on my Fighter and am starting to require the gear that the crafter could produce.

I’m also looking to level up another character that isn’t just ‘charge in and bash it to death’. So I thought I’d do 2 birds with one stone, the added challenge of farming for gear on my Fighter is just a bonus.

So all in all I think I’d enjoy the whole process, I just want to try and nail it the first time so I don’t get to the mid-high level range and realise I’ve made a mistake somehow.