Feats Question

[septillion]

hi all.
quick question regarding a few specific feats and what they do - i'm yet to play as a sorc/wiz yet so i dunno.

Silent Spell
Still Spell

what are they, what do they do? more to the point, do either of them allow a spell to be cast in stealth mode? i assume silent is so you can 'sneak' attack cos no-one can hear you, but what about still spell?

[Xandax]

In NwN all spells requier words to be spoken and gestures to be made in order to cast a spell.

Silent spell allows you to cast spell withouth haveing to speak the words for the spell.
The direct usage for this type of spell would be if your character is silenced, in which case he can't cast spells normally, but can cast silenced spells

Still spell makes it so your character he doesn't need to make "gestures" while casting.
In-game this makes it so your character can cast spells and ignore casting penalty from wearing armour

Unless you want to run around in armour there is little reason for either of thoese feats, seeing as I have yet to be silenced in the game. Personally speaking, I think they are more (in my oppinion) a tool for roleplaying.

[D.Windsor]

Those two feats really lack effect in the game, along with a number of others (like Improved Initiative, Improved Parry, and Alertness).

I never considered using Still Spell on an armor-casting hybrid, since the class combination is ALREADY gimped by having a half-power caster aspect that doesn't need to be crippled by taking up what few higher-level spell slots you have with lower level spells.

Silent spell is about as useful in Parry (where you need a skill check that can easily beat your armor class, a low armor class is suicide, and the AI will not attack a player in parry mode unless there are no other available enemies) in that it is absolutely useless. you will NEVER be Silenced, EVER. Particularly less so as a caster with your good will saves.

[shift244]

my 2 cents (going off topic but..):

the still spell feat should be good for characters who are playing mainly fighters but want low level spells to buff up their abilities and make annoying counters at spellcasters that at higher levels are rather a pain, if u can't get close as a fighter.....

[D.Windsor]

I've never had trouble with casters as a melee in general. With some good resistance gear and Improved Knockdown.

Run up, knock down, beat the snot out.. Casters NEVER have the kind of armor ratings that will give melees a hard time.. well, except for demiliches, but they are another issue entirely.

The situation sits at this.. you are a, say, wizard at level 5 with access to (say) one level 3 spell. You *could* fill this with Haste and get a grand, albeit brief, 5 round haste. Or you could have Ethereal Visage in action without spell failure.. Personally, i'll take the haste, thanks. Nor am I going to replace Firebrand spells with quickened True Strikes.. cool? yes.. effective? total waste. Auto Quicken? THAT is effective in that I get to use True Strikes instantly without having to give up my firepower in higher levels, catch? you need to have access to 9th level spells.

I rarely have issues with spell failure rates lower than 20%, save for the odd moment where nothing goes right. Dexterity, a really good small shield, and the best defensive spells you can get will easily make up for the lighter armor without having to take feats that are counter productive. Relying intensely on dexterity, Padded armor becomes vastly superior to full Plate.

Still Spell is for single class wizards or sorcerers who (as a novel idea) want to walk around with insanely heavy armor and shields and still be better than a weenie in a tin can.