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Video-Based Walkthrough for NWN2: Storm of Zehir

INTRODUCTION  |  USING YOUR CHARACTERS  |  EQUIPPING YOUR CHARACTERS  |  EPIC BUILDS  |  CAST OF CHARACTERS  |

PROLOGUE  |  ACT I  |  ACT II  |  ACT III  |||  MotB  |  SoZ  |  MoW  |

About the Walkthrough  |  Future Updates  |  About the Maps  |  About the Author  |

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STORM OF ZEHIR  |  EPIC BUILDS   |  CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT FOR SOZ   |  CHARACTER ROSTER   |  ITEM CRAFTING IN SOZ

Prologue  |  Act 1  |  Act 2  |  Act 3

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Core Party Members   Janette  |  Gallard  |  Logan  |  Vandala  |

Cohorts Who Join   Umoja  |  Finch  |

Other Cohorts   Inshula  |  Lastri  |  Chir Darkflame  |  Soeravora Aeravand  |  Belueth the Calm  |  Grykk Bannersworn  |  Quarrel  |  Ribsmasher  |  Septimund  |

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Vandala, F CG Human Warlock 26, Hellfire Warlock 3, Cleric 1

A Warlock really shines in Storm of Zehir because she can engage in offensive spellcasting that combines damage with debilitating effects. She can also do so without limit.

Three levels of Hellfire Warlock allows this character to access an attack mode whereby 6d6 damage gets added to each Eldritch Blast. The drawback is that using Eldritch Blast each time in this mode will result in a cumulative -1 loss of Constitution, albeit temporary. If you want to play a Hellfire Warlock in the OC or MotB, the solution is as easy as getting an item that provides immunity to ability and level draining (e.g. Amulet of Health, Bone Ring, etc.).

Unfortunately, such items are typically unavailable during Storm of Zehir. However, the Constitution drain goes away every time after an Overland map encounter. How about the dungeons? All I need to do is have either Janette or Umoja cast a Death Ward spell on the Warlock. The spell lasts for several hours, and will prevent the Constitution loss, so she can fire away.

Stats

• Str 10 - Strength isn't important for a Warlock
• Dex 16 - Dexterity is important in two respects. Warlocks often wear lighter armors, so a high Dexterity score is definitely warranted on that point. More importantly, it's the Dexterity bonus that increases the Warlock's chances of connecting on her Eldritch Blast attacks.
• Con 12 - Somewhat low, especially for a character that uses Hellfire Warlock powers. But I'll give it a big boost with some Boots of Striding +6 when I get the chance.
• Int 12 - Just enough to get certain skills for her.
• Wis 10 - Not especially important.
• Cha 16 - Important for the sake of raising the DC for some of the nasty effects her Eldritch Blasts can inflict (e.g. Noxious Blast, Beshadowed Blast).

• 4th level: +1 Charisma
• 8th level: +1 Charisma
• 12th level: +1 Intelligence
• 16th level: +1 Charisma
• 20th level: +1 Charisma
• 24th level: +1 Charisma
• 28th level: +1 Charisma

Charisma is obviously crucial for a Warlock, and after the 24th level up she'll reach a Charisma score of 22. She adds a +1 to Intelligence on her 12th level up so as to be able to obtain the Combat Expertise and Improved Combat Expertise feats.

Skills

• Concentration - Obviously important if she needs to cast invocations in the middle of combat.
• Lore - Important for properly identifying magical items, and sometimes unlocking certain dialogue options.
• Intimidate - I'll actually rely on Logan for Intimidation. For Vandala, I raise it only to 6 to satisfy a prerequisite for the Hellfire Warlock prestige class.
• Spellcraft - Increasing her saving throws.
• Use Magic Device - Allows her to use scrolls and thereby cast spells otherwise unavailable to a Warlock.

Feats

1st level (Warlock 1): Fey Heritage - Unlocking the Fey line of feats, which will enhance this character build on several levels. Has to be selected at first level or not at all.

Spellcasting Prodigy - Will raise the DC for her invocations by 1. Also has to be selected at first level or not at all.

2nd level (Cleric 1): Taking a single Cleric level allows me to get three useful feats in just one level up, as follows:

Selecting the Darkness domain gains her the Blind-Fight feat. It can be really useful when the Warlock needs to hit enemies with concealment with her Eldritch Blast, since it will give her a second chance to overcome the concealment during an attack roll.

Selecting the Water Domain allows her to gain the Evasion ability. In combination with a high Charisma bonus, and the Dark One's Luck, and she'll frequently be able to avoid taking elemental damage altogether.

Taking a single level in Cleric also gets her the Shield Proficiency feat, allowing her to use a shield that has no chance of arcane spell failure.

3rd level (Warlock 2): Fey Power - Like Spellcasting Prodigy, it will also raise the DC of her invocations by 1. The Fey Heritage feat needed to be selected at 1st level as a prerequisite.

4th level (Warlock 3): No feat selected.

5th level (Warlock 4): No feat selected.

6th level (Warlock 5): Craft Magic Arms and Armor - The first in her item creation and enchantment feats. At this point in the game, she may be able to add things like +1 enhancement bonuses and extra elemental damage to weapons assuming the party can find enough resources for it.

7th level (Warlock 6): No feat selected.

8th level (Warlock 7): No feat selected.

9th level (Warlock 8): Craft Wondrous Items - And now the party can craft things like magic rings and amulets.

10th level (Hellfire Warlock 1): No feat selected. But now she gets to select the Hellfire mode, which will add extra damage to her Eldritch Blasts.

11th level (Hellfire Warlock 2): No feat selected.

12th level (Hellfire Warlock 3): Improved Critical (Ranged Touch Attack) - Increases the critical hit range for her Eldritch Blast to 19-20.

13th level (Warlock 9): No feat selected.

14th level (Warlock 10): No feat selected.

15th level (Warlock 11): Combat Expertise - The penalty won't affect ranged touch attacks, so it amounts to 3 free points of armor class.

16th level (Warlock 12): No feat selected.

17th level (Warlock 13): No feat selected.

18th level: Improved Combat Expertise - For the same reasons as taking Combat Expertise, but now with a 6 point bonus to armor class.

19th level (Warlock 14): No feat selected.

20th level (Warlock 15): No feat selected.

21st level (Warlock 16): Eldritch Master - Increase the damage from Eldritch Blasts by 50%, and increases the attack bonus of Eldritch Blasts by +2. A key target for any Warlock build.

22nd level (Warlock 17): No feat selected.

23rd level (Warlock 18): Vampiric Feast - The epic feat that adds bonus damage (+1d6 each time) isn't available yet, so I take the opportunity to grab the epic instant death spell while it's available.

24th level (Warlock 19): No feat selected.

25th level (Warlock 20): Epic Eldritch Blast (+1d6) - The prevailing train of thought, and one that I agree with, is that it is better for epic Warlocks to pile up on this feat and not even bother with epic spells. The reasoning is that epic spells are often used rarely at best. By comparison, Eldritch Blasts are the Warlock's bread and butter, something the Warlock does over and over and over again. Multiple +1d6 additions to Eldritch Blast damage, in combination with the Eldritch Master feat, represent a far better investment of epic feats. The only reason I took Vampiric Feast previously was because Epic Eldritch Blast was not yet available.

26th level (Warlock 21): No feat selected.

27th level (Warlock 22): Epic Eldritch Blast (+2d6) - Continuing to pile up on damage with my Eldrtich blasts.
Epic Eldritch Blast (+3d6) - And so on ...

28th level (Warlock 23): No feat selected.

29th level (Warlock 24): Epic Eldritch Blast (+4d6) - And so on ...

30th level (Warlock 25): Epic Eldritch Blast (+5d6) - And so on ...

Invocations

1st level: Draining Blast - Adds a Slowness effect to the Eldritch Blast.

2nd level: Dark One's Luck - Allows her to add her Charisma bonus to her saving throws bonus for 24 hours, allowing a benefit similar to the Paladin's Divine Grace.

4th level: See the Unseen - Allows her the option, without limit, to reveal hidden or invisible creatures. Will also allow her to see through a Darkness spell.

6th level: Eldritch Chain - This is where the fun begins. It's the ability that allows the Warlock to damage multiple enemies, even when they are locked in close quarter combat with other party members, and without harming the other party members. It can also be combined with debilitative effects like Hellrime Blast, Draining Blast, or Noxious Blast.

8th level: Hellrime Blast - Has the Eldritch Blast inflict cold damage plus a -4 penalty to Dexterity if its targets miss a Fortitude saving throw. The -4 Dexterity penalty lasts for 10 minutes, so it can be a good alternative to other effects that only last 1 round. Can be especially useful against fire-based creatures like Fire Newts that may be vulnerable to cold damage.

10th level: Beshadowed Blast - Will inflict Blindness on its targets. And the best part is that the Blindness will actually work on creatures that are usually immune to being blinded, like undead and elementals. It takes over from Draining Blast as my weapon of choice against such creatures, because it will have a higher saving throw DC.

11th level: Noxious Blast - This is one of the keepers, as it will Daze its targets for 10 rounds. Daze isn't as severe a condition as the others. But the fact that its targets will stop attacking for 10 rounds, instead of the others, makes it that much more valuable. The Noxious Blast / Eldritch Chain combo is bread and butter for Vandala.

13th level: Vitriolic Acid - Inflicts acid damage that lingers for a few rounds afterwards, and bypasses spell resistance. Can be really useful against Trolls, and monsters that are spell resistant.

15th level: Devour Magic - Gives her the option of bringing down a single target's magical buffs and replenishing her own hit points at the same time.

16th level: Eldritch Doom - Allows Vandala to use Noxious Blast or Vitriolic Acid in an area of effect similar to that of a Fireball. Can be really useful to land in a mass first strike at a distance.

18th level: Retributive Invisibility - This can be a game breaker. It only lasts three rounds, but cannot be dispelled or removed. The Warlock remains hidden for the three rounds even when taking offensive actions. Conceivably it can be used in a cycle, Retributive Invisibility, use Eldritch Blasts for next rounds, use Retributive Invisibility again, etc.

20th level: Dark Foresight - Grants damage reduction 10/alchemical silver for 1 round each Warlock level.

Inventory

• Primary Weapon: Brainscrambler (+1 Morningstar, Confusion DC=20 25% / 1 round, Wisdom Drain DC=16) - Looted from Skullcrusher. It provides a defensive resource for her when an opponent gets close enough to her to force her into melee combat since she can then inflict confusion on her target.


• Shield: Witch's Ward (Zalantar Light Shield +4, +10 acid resistance) - Custom made and enchanted. Vandala can wield this without any chances of arcane spell failure. Acid resistance is sugar on top.


• Helmet: The Imarkskarcana (spell resistance 26, Legend Lore (5) 1 / day, True Seeing (9) 1 / day, Gate (17) 1 / day, Lore +10) - Obtained after defeating One of Many. Her having this helmet is partly out of default, since other characters have different helmets according to their different development plans. The spell resistance is certainly nice, as are the spell-like powers that she would not normally have access to as a Warlock that increase her versatility, and are renewable upon resting.


• Amulet of Natural Armor +2 - Looted from Skullcrusher's Cabin. More armor class never hurts, right?


• Armor: Hell Hath No Fury (Mithral Chainshirt +4, +10 cold resistance, +10 sonic resistance) - Custom made and enchanted. Vandala can take full advantage of the +6 maximum Dexterity bonus of the Mithral Chainshirt in combination with her Gloves of Dexterity +6. The armor also counts as light armor, so a Warlock (automatically having the Armored Caster feat) can wear it without any chances of arcane spell failure while using invocations. Elemental resistances are sugar on top.


• Cloak: Nymph Cloak +6 (+6 Charisma) - Found a little southeast of the Eldreth Veluuthra camp. It improves the DC of Vandala's powers, as well as her saving throws in conjunction with the Dark One's Luck power.


• Gloves: Gloves of Dexterity (+6 Dexterity) - Custom made. Allows Vandala to take full advantage of the maximum Dexterity bonus of her Mithral Full Plate. Also frees up her belt slot for Lathar's Last Belt.


• 1st Ring: Ring of Protection +3 - Custom made. Vandala's source of a deflection bonus to armor class.


• 2nd Ring: Ring of Resistance +2 - Looted from Serpentguard D'Shai in the Ruined Temple. The bonus to saving throws will stack with the saving throw bonus provided by the Dark One's Luck power.


• Belt: Lathar's Last Belt (immunity to Finger of Death and Power Word: Kill) - Other characters will often have gloves of dexterity and belts of strength. Melee combat isn't so much a concern with a Warlock, so she will wear Gloves of Dexterity +6 and a belt that provides protections against death magic.


• Boots: Boots of Striding +6 - Custom made. Boots of Hardiness, or the resources to make them, are comparatively rare, so I prefer to save those kinds of boots for characters who will spend more time on the front lines. Vandala prefers to hang back and pelt foes with Eldritch Chains. And besides, I'd rather she have a relatively higher Constitution bonus than what is provided by Boots of Hardiness. More Constitution means that she can make greater use of her Hellfire Warlock abilities during Overland Map random encounters.

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