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Originally Posted by arryjan  what would I do without you scott  
thanks, but he's really stuck on the half-elf so no matter how many times I'll tell him that the wood elf and human are better choices he'll rebuke every effort..he says there are already enough human npc's and there's another wood elf in nwn 2 and he wants to be original 
those are a lot of rogue levels btw..seems to me more of a rogue than a ranger build  does this build go for every race you'd want to make a ranger dual weapon wielding character? |
The Half-Elf isn't a bad choice, but it isn't as good as a Human or a Wood Elf. Have him look at the build faces of the Half-Elf.. not the prettiest race in town.
Here are my basic thoughts on melee builds and racial penalties:
IF the character has a racial level penalty or two then it's generally a bad idea for a 1-20 module. An epic module like MOTB however and it's OK. So for the OC, I'd stick to something like this OR with just one level of Rogue and perhaps 4 levels of Fighter (for Weapon Specialization). For MOTB (*with* SOZ installed), I might opt for a Yuan Ti.
The exception to this rule is for a High BAB build that has at most -1 to the progression (..from the addition of just one level of Medium or Low BAB class), and generally has a good attack AND damage number. There are other exceptions as well, but they all rely on good attack AND damage numbers. Note that spell-casters are specifically NOT included, just one level of penalty for them can be brutal.
In the mixed build I presented there is more than -1 to attack because of the levels of Rogue (..which is a Medium BAB class). Further..
..Two-Weapon fighting is the "exception to the exception", because while it IS a melee-type character and could potentially meet the limit of -1 attack penalty from a near High BAB character - IT ALSO ADDS ADDITIONAL ATTACK PENALTIES. Almost as if you were 2-3 levels lower. 2-3 levels lower PLUS an actual 1-2 levels lower (from the racial penalty), results in a Two-Weapon fighter that misses a LOT. Worse, for anything BUT a Ranger, it also makes requirements of Dexterity that results in less damage and requires an extra feat to have near comparable attack numbers (..Weapon Finesse).
As for *why* I spec'ed so many Rogue levels: DAMAGE. Specifically Sneak Attack damage and occasionally attacks of opportunity. Hide in Plain Sight leverages the opportunity to get Sneak Attack damage a LOT more frequently.
Alternatively you could go for just one level of Rogue at the start with the feat Able Learner, and the rest Ranger.
IMO however it doesn't make much sense to just add 3 or 5 levels of Rogue. The reason I pretty much stopped at Ranger level 6 (character level 7) is that it gets you Improved Two Weapon Fighting. 3 or 5 levels doesn't add enough damage to also justify the level of Shadow Dancer for HiPS.
Personally having played multiple types of Two-Weapon characters, I generally avoid them. The extra attacks often don't have enough damage behind them (because of the build) to warrant them. Damage enchantments in weapons can change this.. BUT usually not enough for most of a module's length.
IF i were pressed into a Two-Weapon fighter for the OC then it would be a Fighter 4/Invisible Blade 5/Monk11 (with Greater Flurry and dual-wielding Kama's). The fighter for 4 levels gives you access to Weapon Specialization (Kama).
) i mean the half elf is more of a typical ranger i suppose but the strong heart has an extra feat and seems to be more build for wielding 2 medium/light weapons without suffering penalties.
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