-
- Forums
- Chatrooms
- Gallery
- Gameplay Videos
- Upload
- Articles
- Mod Reviews
- Shop SP: Games, Movies, Books
|
|
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN STORM OF ZEHIR
A lot of the advice that I previously gave on developing characters, including my Epic Builds page, remains relevant. Nonetheless, there are special considerations when it comes to developing your characters. I've devoted a seperate section to each one.
The Need for Infinite Resources
Storm of Zehir places a LOT of emphasis on random monster encounters on the Overland Map. Sometimes you can go a long period of time travelling on the Overland Map without encountering much of anything. Sometimes you will get bombarded by several fights, one after the other. Now the rub is, spell buffs are very likely to expire after a random fight or two. You cannot rely on spell buffing to make your characters effective, especially when you're in for several overland fights one after the other without any chance to rest up.
You need to develop your characters in such a way that the resources that they rely on to make themselves effective can be called upon without limit, without running out.
One such resource is the Shocking Weapon power of the Stormlord, which allows the Stormlord without limit to add bonus electrical (and later sonic) damage to her spear. I've designed my party leader, Janette, around the idea. She combines together Paladin, Storm Lord, and Favored Soul levels so that she becomes at once a divine caster, a damage dealer, and a tank. She is able to tank it after selecting the Monkey Grip to allow her to use a spear and a shield together.
Sometimes the resource that is infinitely available is a skill. Another character in the party is Gallard, who combines together Rogue, Swashbuckler, Duelist, and Divine Champion levels. The idea is that he combines a very good armor class with a very high Parry skill rank so that he's virtually untouchable in combat. He's typically the character that sticks his neck out ahead of his comrades. He also takes care of the thieving skills.
Sometimes the resources are the right collection of feats. Such is the concept behind Logan. Logan is a warrior who wields his Falchion two-handed. He combines Fighter, Weapon Master, Frenzied Berserker and Divine Champion levels together. The bonus feats from Fighter and Divine Champion allow him to maximize his damage with his Falchion. Special feats from the Frenzied Berserker levels improve his use of Power Attack. Special feats from his Weapon Master levels allow him to improve both the critical hit chances and the critical hit modifier with his Falchion.
The Warlock also commends itself, because its Eldritch Blast and other invocations can be used without limit. Such is the concept behind Vandala, a Hellfire Warlock who can at once sear her enemies with damage and inflict debilitating effects on them without limit.
Less Emphasis on Limited Spells
Consistent with what I've talked about, you should be wary of characters who rely on a limited number of spells to be effective. Such characters may struggle once their spells run out.
Please do not take my comments as a prohibition against spell-casting characters. If you do want to create or use such characters, it is imperative to design those characters in such a way that they have other resources to fall back on. In other words, such characters must somehow be effective and survivable in some way without having to cast spells.
My development of one of the cohorts, Umoja, is such an example. Umoja can be powerful with his spells, but he has two other cards in his deck. One is his pet dinosaur, Yushai, who pretty much provides an extra tank. Druids would normally have to take the Dinosaur Companion feat to get the dinosaur, which is probably the best animal companion in the game due to all the buffs it can have cast on it. Umoja's other card is his ability to combine the Zen Archery feat with a very high Wisdom score and two Ranger levels to become a lethal archer. Even when he's not casting spells, he can simply tear into his enemies from afar with arrows that inflict plenty of elemental damage, while Yushai is tanking it up front.
Leadership
If you want a sixth cohort, don't forget to have a character take the Leadership feat. I had Janette take the feat, so that I could pick up Finch as my sixth character. Finch can simply keep his Inspire Defense inspiration active without limit. He also picks up a Shadow Dancer level so that he can use the Hide in Plain Sight ability without limit. The idea is that he can activate an inspiration, plant himself in the thick of combat, and then safely stay in hiding after using Hide in Plain Sight. He can also use abilities like Curse Song, and later Hymn of Requiem, without blowing his cover.
Different Conversational Skills
Storm of Zehir won't force only the main character to conduct dialogue, unlike the Official Campaign and Mask of Betrayer. It is very possible in Storm of Zehir to enter a dialogue and have multiple options at your disposal depending on what skills your different party members have. For example, for any given dialogue I may have the option to have Janette make a Diplomacy or Heal check, or Gallard make a Bluff check, or Logan make an Intimidate check.
Different Skills on the Overland Map
A character's skills also have different benefits when it comes to travelling on the Overland Map. They are as follows:
However, if you click on a monster group during Overland travel, or if a monster group catches up to you and wants to fight, then a dialogue window will open. It is then that you will have some options for selecting different characters to use certain skills like Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Wild Empathy.
Suffice it to say, it pays to have your party members cover as many skills as possible between them so that you're ready to handle just about any possible situation when it comes to travelling Overland.
Item Crafting
Your characters will rely on custom made items to be effective, at least in comparison to the Official Campaign and Mask of the Betrayer. I have seperate comments on item crafting on this page.
Other Cohorts
I have Umoja and Finch in my party. Umoja can be found in Samargol almost right away. Finch is initially in one of the taverns in the Sword Coast, and can join the party after you do a quest for him that involves clearing his name in Neverwinter.
The other nine cohorts are:
