Hello to All

[Quist Redfeather]

New to Alfa. Really looking forward to playing. My first PC is a rugged plainsman running from the past.

Can't wait to see you all out there.

[Audark]

Welcome to our game,

Stick with it, be patient and talk to the players and DMs,

ALFAs motto of 'good luck on your second character' need not be so true if you take things slow, ask for advice IC from characters you meet, and never ever for any reason, no not even that seemingly easy static delivery, leave safety without at least one friend in tow.

Take care, we're all in this together ALFA likes to eat our toons

[Rotku]

Welcome aboard mate

Feel free to yell out with any questions.

[hollyfant]

Hello hello!

Welcome to ALFA, and good luck with your se... oh wait, we mentioned that one already.
Welcome to the fold - have fun and be fun!

[dergon darkhelm]

I think I might have met you already ...either way..Welceom to ALFA!

[johnlewismcleod]

Welcome aboard, matey!

I hope to see you IG soon.

[darrenhfx]

Welcome to ALFA.

[Riotnrrd]

Hello, and WELCOME to ALFA!

[Quist Redfeather]

I have a few questions regarding feats:

1. Is Disarm worth taking? Are enough monsters, etc. set to be disarmed? Does it provoke an attack of opportunity? Is there an Improved Disarm -- If yes, what does it do?

2. Point-blank shot. I read that, apart from granting +1/+1 at 15 ft., it also negates the -4 to hit for firing into melee. (This would suggest that it performs the function of two distinctly separate feats from PnP: Point blank shot, and precise shot). Without a prereq. of any kind that seems broken, considering disarm requires a feat in Nwn2 -- it doesn't in PnP. Is this all an attempt to degimp ranged attacks (as they are somewhat limited by range in NWN2)?

3. Background feats. Do they function exactly as they do in Nwn2?

4. There seem to be many feat trees for melee -- but they seem to favour either two-weapon fighting or two-handed weapon fighting. (i.e. 2 weapon fighting, two-weapon defense, or the fact that Power Attack / Improved Power attack, and Disarm, all grant massive bonuses for having a two-handed weapon). If I am correct in assuming that magical items are rare in this campaign, then a light shield will grant a +1 AC for a good period of a PC's career. 2 feats (2 weapon fighting and 2 weapon defense, grant the same AC bonus while also granting an extra attack [albeit at a -2/-2 hindrance]).

Because there are no shield bash feats (or any shield feats at all -- besides, I suppose upgrading to Heavy or Tower) it seems like there aren't many options for a melee PC who wants a shield.

This seems like a lot of questions, BUT I AM HUNGRY!

Thanks,

Q

[hollyfant]

1. Is Disarm worth taking? Are enough monsters, etc. set to be disarmed? Does it provoke an attack of opportunity? Is there an Improved Disarm -- If yes, what does it do?

• Power-wise: no. It's a nice roleplaying trick though.
• Last I heard, most of them are not. I may well be wrong though; I'm no builder.
• Yes.
  • It removes the Attack of Opportunity, and it puts the weapon in your inventory if the character was disarmable.

2. Point-blank shot. I read that, apart from granting +1/+1 at 15 ft., it also negates the -4 to hit for firing into melee. (This would suggest that it performs the function of two distinctly separate feats from PnP: Point blank shot, and precise shot). Without a prereq. of any kind that seems broken, considering disarm requires a feat in Nwn2 -- it doesn't in PnP. Is this all an attempt to degimp ranged attacks (as they are somewhat limited by range in NWN2)?

• You heard correct.
• What is or isn't broken depends largely on the players and how well they exploit an imbalance.
• If it is a de-nerf, it failed. Ranged attacks in NWN2 are mostly a precursor to hand-to-hand combat. Unless you brought a buddy along to keep the baddies off your back.

3. Background feats. Do they function exactly as they do in Nwn2?

• The ones that are left, do. However, the skill system was revamped to be more in line with the D&D PnP skills, and the feats turned out to be hard coded. So, all the feats - background or otherwise - that relate to removed or altered skills, are gone.

4. There seem to be many feat trees for melee -- but they seem to favour either two-weapon fighting or two-handed weapon fighting. (i.e. 2 weapon fighting, two-weapon defense, or the fact that Power Attack / Improved Power attack, and Disarm, all grant massive bonuses for having a two-handed weapon). If I am correct in assuming that magical items are rare in this campaign, then a light shield will grant a +1 AC for a good period of a PC's career. 2 feats (2 weapon fighting and 2 weapon defense, grant the same AC bonus while also granting an extra attack [albeit at a -2/-2 hindrance]).

• Be that as it may, feats are a limited resource. The use of a shield costs a single feat (which many classes get for free) and it can be updated to a two point Armor Class bonus by using a heavy shield. Your "2w trick" costs two feats (which for many characters means they can't employ it until their third character level), has a Dexterity prerequisite and decreases your Attack Bonus by two points. But does add a second attack of course, you avoid the Armor Check Penalty and... it just looks cool.

Because there are no shield bash feats (or any shield feats at all -- besides, I suppose upgrading to Heavy or Tower) it seems like there aren't many options for a melee PC who wants a shield.

And yet, the use of shields is quite popular:

• They're optional: even in the midst of battle your PC can drop theirs and gain a doubled Strength bonus to their damage output at the loss of some AC. Or vice versa.
• They allow emblems or blazons to be displayed - which is always a hit with the priestly crowd.
• Sneaking around can (and does) go horribly wrong at times, and then it's nice to have a few extra points of Armor Class in your back pocket.

This seems like a lot of questions, BUT I AM HUNGRY!

If your hunger is game-mechanical, then the NWN2wiki has a lot of info on the generic game. For ALFA-specific questions the various IRC channels are a good resource; especially the server-specific ones: #alfa-003 (the Silver Marches) and #alfa-bg (Baldur's Gate).

[Audark]

Relatively new to ALFA, at least in its NWN2 variant, but I've some time so here's some thoughts/opinions.

1. I would doubt you'd find disarm useful in an actual mechanical sense, however, with DMed events anything can happen outside of the pure mechanics of the system. If you inform a DM you have that feat, you may be able to circumvent dangerous situations by quickly disarming subdued or held opponents etc. This means the feats value may be mostly for RPs sake, so keep that in mind.

2. A an archery focused ranger currently, I can assure you that no number of feats at low levels really help you out much, enemies can close the gap in the time it takes to fire two arrows, maximum. Maybe three if you have rapid shot. I've never considered it broken because if an enemy gets close enough for those bonuses, they're right on top of you and you'll almost certainly be pulling out a melee weapon soon.

3. As an alternative to background feats, there are many 'regional' feats, that have minor impacts on bonus languages and the like, which mostly just add colour to your character. Some of the nwn2 background traits remain.

4. All these feat trees and such are just flavour for your style of playing/combat, if you feel theres a massive bonus towards two handed weapons, go for it, I myself prefer shields as I enjoy the bonus to AC in a lower magic setting, I feel a +1 or +2 from a shield really aids in melee survivability, moreso than a second attack, but again thats opinion, I would say they are rather balanced.



All I can say is that delving into the system delights me as well, I enjoy finding interesting builds that work. But what I've found in ALFA is that I most enjoy it when my build uses something unconventional that turns out to be incredibly handy in very rare situations. Certain feats make great sense for RPs sake, and have great benefits in certian situations, may not be the best overall build, but when you pull an unlooked for ability out your back pocket its pretty satisfying.

Welcome to the game, don't overthink it, make a character with feats and equipment that makes sense in the context of that characters background and training, you'll have many new experiences in game to shape your character as days go on.

[johnlewismcleod]

What Audark said... +1