Guide to Playing Neverwinter Nights 2 by David Milward
AMMON JERRO, M NE HUMAN WARLOCK 17
*Note* I used a giff editor so that the armor he is wearing will actually show on him.
Ammon Jerro is only one of two characters that will be able to use the True Name Scroll on the dreaded Shadow Reavers. Beyond that he is definitely a useful and powerful character in his own right. He can be an effective melee character if he has to be, although such occasions are rare. Even so, the Vitriolic Acid / Eldritch Chain combination is his bread and butter whereby he can devastate numerous enemies by pumping it out over and over again.
Stats
- Str 10
- Dex 14
- Con 14
- Int 16
- Wis 12
- Cha 21
- 20th level: +1 Cha - Pretty much the only logical choice for Ammon. In combination with the Nymph Cloak +8, Ammon's Charisma gets raised to a total of 30. Charisma is the key attribute for Warlocks since it increases the DC of some of his invocations, and saving throws through the use of the invocation called The Dark One's Own Luck.
Skills
Ammon Jerro emphasizes Concentration, Crafty Alchemy, Lore, Spellcraft, Taunt, and Use Magic Device.
The Use Magic Device skill can be used to equip items that would either be unavailable to a character due to class restrictions, race restrictions, or alignment restrictions. For the details, see this link.
Note that if you want to equip a certain item, you must still have the necessary item proficiency feat before you can equip it. To elaborate a little further, a Warlock, Rogue, or Bard cannot equip a martial weapon no matter how high his Use Magic Device skill is until he acquires the Weapon Proficiency (Martial) feat first. Once he does acquire that feat, he can then equip martial weapons that may have class, race or alignment restrictions if his Use Magic Device skill is good enough. However, the only class or race restricted item that I want him to equip is the Thieves' Hood, so this is not an issue for me.
Another benefit is the ability to use spell scrolls and wands to access spells that are normally reserved for Clerics, Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards. Using scrolls and wands in this way can demand some pretty hefty Use Magic Device skill checks. A Warlock, more so than the Bard or Rogue, is well placed to use scrolls and wands for two reasons. One is that the Warlock has a natural incentive to increase his Charisma, and Charisma in turn will increase the rank in the Use Magic Device skill. The other reason is that the Warlock can get the Deceive Item feat, which provides an additional bonus to using the Use Magic Device skill.
Feats
Starting Feats:
- Combat Casting
- Web of Purity
- Battle Caster
- Armor Proficiency (Medium)
- Weapon Proficiency (Martial)
- Spell Penetration
- Greater Spell Penetration
- Deceive Item
18th level: Blind-Fight - Enemies like incorporeal undead enjoy concealment against ray touch attacks, including a Warlock's Eldritch Blasts. Therefore, getting a second chance to strike a concealed enemy is important for a Warlock as well. Improved Critical (Ranged Touch Attack) was another potential choice, only that Ammon Jerro won't be facing too many enemies subject to critical hits by the time he joins me.
Invocations
Starting Invocations:
- Dark One's Own Luck
- Hideous Blow
- Leaps and Bounds
- Beshadowed Blast
- Eldritch Chain
- The Dead Walk
- Devour Magic
- Vitriolic Blast
- Wall of Perilous Flame
- Retributive Invisibility
18th level: Dark Foresight - Provides Damage Reduction 10 / cold iron for a number of rounds. It is a defensive staple for Ammon, as it basically amounts to being able to use Stoneskin without limit.
20th level: Eldritch Doom - Allows a Warlock to inflict damage over an area of effect comparable to Fireball, but with the same drawback that it will inflict damage on party characters caught in the radius. Eldritch Doom may be useful in some situations (e.g. mass of enemies in a cluster and at distance).
Ammon will include his most frequently used invocations in his quick-bar, Dark One's Own Luck, Leaps and Bounds, Devour Magic, Dark Foresight, and Retributive Invisibility. He then goes into his quick-cast menu. At the top of the quick-cast menu will be some small magenta-colored icons that enable different combinations of Eldritch Blast shapes and types. I select the magenta icon that indicates Eldritch Chain combinations, and from there select the Vitriolic Acid / Eldritch Chain combination and place it in my quick-bar. It now becomes very easy for Ammon Jerro to blast multiple foes over and over and over again with acid damage that can't be stopped by spell resistance, even when my enemies have swarmed around party members.
I set up the Eldritch Doom / Vitriolic Acid combination in his quick-bar, just in case the right situation comes up for it.
Another possibility is Beshadowed Blast / Eldritch Chain, which can blind its targets. It will also work on enemies that otherwise enjoy a lot of immunities, like undead and constructs. One drawback is that unlike Vitriolic Acid, it can be stopped by spell resistance.
Inventory
- Weapon: Balafour's Gnashing Rod (Cold Iron Warmace +3, +1d4 fire damage, +2 Charisma, Combat Casting, Greater Spell Penetration, Hideous Blow without limit, Flee the Scene / 3 times a day, Warlocks only) - Found in a crate in Shandra Jerro's Farm after defeating Koraboros there during Act III. More or less the default weapon for Ammon, and in any event he doesn't engage in melee combat very often.
- Helmet: Thieves' Hood (immunity to knockdown, immunity to poison, +1 Concentration, +2 Open Lock, +2 Search, Rogues only) - Pickpocketed from Yask in Port Llast. The immunity to poison is redundant with the Greater Amulet of Health, but that's a minor point. The +1 to Concentration is nice, but the real point is immunity to getting knocked down. And indeed, Ammon will be only one of two characters that can use the True Name scroll on the Shadow Reavers, so it's certainly a good idea to immunize him against the shock wave that they often emit.
- Amulet: Greater Amulet of Health (immunity to ability / level draining, immunity to disease, immunity to poison, +1 regeneration) - Already part of his starting equipment. All part of the plan of immunizing everybody against draining attacks. The small boost to regeneration is a welcome extra.
- Armor: Kumakawa (Hide Armor +5, Improved Evasion, 22 spell resistance) - Purchased from Edario in Crossroad Keep. I raised the enhancement bonus from +3 to +5. I added 22 spell resistance through custom enchantment. The Battle Caster and Armor Proficiency (Medium) feats allow Ammon to wear this armor without fear of arcane spell failure. The Improved Evasion is actually quite handy for Ammon, particularly in combination with the bonus to saving throws provided by the Dark One's Own Luck buff and his Charisma ability modifier. The spell resistance is also a welcome benefit for a character who usually keeps his distance from front-line action.
- Cloak: Nymph Cloak +8 (+8 Charisma) - Custom made. A no brainer. The damage from an Eldritch Blast cannot be reduced by a saving throw. However, any debilitating effects from an Eldritch Blast (e.g. the blindness effect from a Beshadowed Blast) can be avoided by a saving throw, so there is an incentive to boost Charisma and thus in turn also boost the saving throw DC of Ammon's invocations. The Dark One's Own Luck invocation will provide a saving throw bonus in the same amount as the Charisma bonus (like the Paladin's Saving Grace ability).
- Gloves: Gauntlet of Fury (+2 deflection bonus to armor class, Isaacv's Greater Missile Storm (15) 1 / day, Magic Missiles (3) 1 / day) - Purchased from Caerlyna Seerar in Crossroad Keep during Act III. It provides his source of deflection bonus to armor class, plus a couple of offensive options besides his usual Eldritch Blasts that can add to his versatility. One of the virtues of a Missile Storm spell is that each missile counts as an individual spell for purposes of tearing down the Spell Mantle spells, and therefore provides a great option against a spellcaster who protects himself with a (Greater) Spell Mantle.
- 1st Ring: Finger of the Lame Kobold (+3 regeneration, Warlocks only) - Purchased from Fibba in the Docks District. An easy choice for one of Ammon's rings.
- 2nd Ring: Ring of Resistance +2 - Purchased from Randolph in the Merchant Quarter during Act III. The saving throw bonus will stack with the saving throw bonus of his Dark One's Own Luck power. That in turn will enhance the Evasion feature of his Kumakawa armor.
- Belt: Ceremonial Uthgardt Belt (immunity to death magic, immunity to disease, +5 to Fortitude saving throws) - Found in a chest in the Temple of Seasons. One of the better belts in the game. Ammon's Leaps and Bounds power means that he doesn't need a Belt of Agility. He rarely if ever enters melee combat, so he doesn't really need any Strength enhancement either. So it makes sense to have him wear a belt that confers defensive benefits instead.
- Boots: Boots of Striding +8 - Custom made. Bonus hit points and a bonus to Fortitude saving throws is good for any character. A bonus to Concentration skill checks is especially helpful for a Warlock.
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