I know there are a few NWN players here, so I thought I'd throw this out there.

I've been thinking of doing a NWN speedrun. I don't think one has ever been done before - probably because the same is so damn long it doesn't matter. But I'm pretty sure it can be cut down to a fairly small length of time.

My current class of choice is the Monk, because at level 3 they get a feat to improve movement speed every level up, they don't require a lot of loot, and at the start of chapter 2 you have access to a robe that puts a persistent Haste on you. So at the start of chapter 2 until the end of the game, you have a movement speed about 3x that of normal, which is also faster than all monsters.

The only issue is the Monk's rather weak damage-dealing - it could take a very long time to defeat mandatory/boss monsters. I could end up losing that time in various boss battles and in chapter 1.

Anybody have any thoughts?

You see, normally I'd suggest a kensai / mage, but you're doing NWN, which is crappy 3rd edition.

Good luck, and I think the monk idea is good. Speed is always better than power in speed runs. Just might want to get a few extra things to improve your chances on the bosses. Maybe dual class to a sorc?

One level monk, rest cleric. Sanctuary later on will let you skip alot of content. Dual wield kamas and enchant them with your cleric abilities. Probably one of my favorite combos.

Play online at Bastions of War

Speed runs are not that great and neither is the default NWN campaign.

Maybe you should DM a game or something.

It's a complete waste of time (as are all speedruns), but go for it if you really want to.

Try to dual with an arcane class (pref. sorcerer). That way you can waylay groups of enemies instead of having to fight each one. When it's you against a platoon, it can take a while. Don't do any side quests and what not. Trouble is side quests = XP so all your XP would have to be on kills and the main quests. You may not level up quickly. I know in Ch. 3 of HotU you can power through quickly (once you learn those damned five riddles.) Personally, I would play Sorcerer. That way you can keep casting haste on yourself and go MUCH faster than a Monk would. Get extended haste so you don't have to cast often.

To all people who say speed runs are stupid...
I respect your opinion.

But you're stupid.
He wasn't asking if he should do it. He wasn't asking for your approval. Coming into a thread only to try and derail or flame the OP is Trolling. TROLLING.

I only came in to originally ask how long the NWN campaign is on average...look what you made me do

Hey, guess what? If he wants to do it, he'll do it regardless of what I or anyone else says.

And what else? He wasn't posting his opinion on how the campaign is. I guess you're derailing the thread too.

I only replied to give my opinion. Look what you made me do.

That would be amusing, but I'm not interested at the moment.

As for the 1 level in monk, rest in cleric thing - monks get a feat to improve movement speed at level 3, which keeps going up the higher your class level is. I'm thinking that, instead of waylaying large groups of enemies, I just run past them. The only part of the game I couldn't do that in is chapter 1, but as soon as you get that Haste robe you're set for life.

Then it would just be a matter of killing boss monsters before the other enemies catch up to me, and then recalling. Maybe killing some of the larger side enemies for XP and loot. It shouldn't be a problem though. as long as you don't have any followers you collect full kill/quest XP. It makes chapter 1 a bit difficult, but it breaks down to twice as much XP overall. If you play the entire OC alone, by chapter 3 every enemy you encounter cons as "Effortless". I know this because that's where I am right now.

The monk speed doesn't shine until the epic levels. Haste will get you by.

10 fighter 25 weapon master 5 harper scout dexterity based build = FTW

speedruns are cool

[QUOTE=Connection Problem]The monk speed doesn't shine until the epic levels. Haste will get you by.[/QUOTE]
Okay, in case you didn't notice:

We're talking about a speed run :p

Mage class = resting constantly = major time.
Monk = early constant-effect haste item + no resting (that gives me 1 stunning fist per level, which is more than enough once you get improved knockdown) = majorly less time.

Barbs also have an improved speed.

But do they have access to permanent-effect Haste equipment at the start of chapter 2?

I really don't know. I've never played a barbarian.

If you make a speedrun Jon`C, may I suggest you submit it to Speed Demos Archive (correct link in Jon`C's post below) in hopes of having it uploaded? I think we already have a JediKnight speedrun posted there by a Massassian, it'd be cool to get more from us

Indeed.

Edit: The correct url is http://speeddemosarchive.com/

My bad. I usually type it out right <_<

Hmm...I doubt it. Barbarians are restricted to light and medium armors I believe. Armor of Fleetness has AC Bonus (+3) and Haste. You need level 14 to wear it. So you probably won't see it until Ch 3. Chainmail of Speed is AC +2 and Haste. That only requires level 12. You might find it somewhere in Ch. 2. It's 27,294 GP.

Level restrictions are disabled by default when you install HotU. And I wouldn't re-enable those - since I'd be skipping so much content, I'd probably end up quite low-level by the end of the campaign. Because it's turned off by default, it should still be a legal speedrun.

I believe the monk haste robe is under 10,000gp. In chapter 1 you're also given Boots of the Sun Soul +3, which offers +3 AC deflection, plus items that have either +2 AC natural or +2 wisdom (similar effect, depending on what your base wisdom is), and your choice of cloaks: +2 AC against good or chaos or +2 AC deflection. So the AC thing isn't a big deal. I *believe* my current Monk had a 24 AC at the end of chapter 1, and 26-28 by the time I reached Luskan.

Monks don't have a terribly great attack so I'm hesitant to suggest dual-wielding kamas. Even with the feats your combat roll is crippled (-2/-2), and -4 if you're using improved knockdown, and -2 to gain an extra combat turn per round (important for monks), and you have to unequip both weapons to use stunning fist (instead of just one). I suppose it comes down to opinion, but I think for a speed run I would be better served by evasion and dodging feats. Any thoughts on this? (Note that Haste automatically gives you an extra turn per round, so monks with haste can have 3 plus one cleave for free)

Gain weapon focus in unarmed strike and improved critical of unarmed strike. It's without question you have to fight some battles, so these will give you better attack bonus and lower threat rolls. IIRC, (Improved) Evasion, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack only work in combat.

Okay, so major monk and a few levels in fighter, for shields, focus/specialization.

If you equip a shield as a monk, you lose all your monk bonuses (like equipping any armor. This was changed in a later patch). I still stand by the cleric build.

Ouch.

Connection, if you use kamas as a monk you do LESS damage. If you go unarmed you can also take advantage of monk gloves. I'm just not sure what adding cleric levels will do (or taking a single level of monk). If you're going Monk primary you won't be able to use shields, armor, your charisma will be low,...
Plus it's a spellcasting class. See above comments. No, I think a martial class is the only realistic option, so you don't have to rest constantly.

I gave it a trial run.

As I expected, chapter 1 is going to be pretty rough. In 3 separate runs I was able to get to the Intellect Devourer in fairly short order (4 minutes), but then my fight against it resulted in 3 deaths and it was about 7 minutes long. My character had a fairly decent success rate with his rolls against confusion but he had a hard time actually hitting the Intellect Devourer.

The other route I attempted was doing the Docks first. This was quite simple and straightforward. The docks route also gives you an early +2 to AC item, but Callik is basically impossible at level 3. I think I'll have to level the character up to 4 or 5 before attempting the boss creatures.

I think that, no matter what, chapter 1 is going to be the longest part of the entire game. I'm not sure what the "protocol" is for speedruns, but including loading times I was able to complete the Prelude in 7:23. 7 minutes seems to be the magic number for completing legs of the main quest, assuming I can actually deal damage to the boss monsters.

If gold weren't an issue I'm fairly confident NWN could be completed in ~110 minutes.

A barbarian has a better attack and has a higher AC (usually).

But again, it comes down to that haste item. I'll open up ch2 and see if I can find out where that barbarian haste armor is.

Edit: You know, the more I think of it the more I like the sound of a fighter/barbarian with a single level in monk, just enough to get that (relatively cheap) haste robe. The robe could just be used for quick transportation and swapped out when needed. Again, assuming gold weren't an issue, the stone of recall could be used for that purpose.

Your kamas will be doing insane amounts of damage when you start getting all the badass cleric buffs. Charisma? Who said you needed charisma? Wisdom will net you bonus spells and AC. All the AB you need will come from your cleric spells, which will give you the AB of a pure fighter. You can also get ALOT better stats and enchantments on kamas than on gloves, AND you can wear gloves AND kamas at the same time (not monk gloves, but probably dex or wis gloves). If you play your cards right, about half way though you will have the melee capacity of a fighter and as well as the awesome priest spells like harm. I may be jumping too far ahead, but even if you don't use 19 cleric/1 monk in your speedrun, give it a try. The versatility is rather overpowered in lower-level campaigns.

But would the improved kill speed of a Barb along with improved movement speed be greater than that of a permanant haste item?

[QUOTE=Connection Problem]Your kamas will be doing insane amounts of damage when you start getting all the badass cleric buffs. Charisma? Who said you needed charisma? Wisdom will net you bonus spells and AC. All the AB you need will come from your cleric spells, which will give you the AB of a pure fighter. You can also get ALOT better stats and enchantments on kamas than on gloves, AND you can wear gloves AND kamas at the same time (not monk gloves, but probably dex or wis gloves). If you play your cards right, about half way though you will have the melee capacity of a fighter and as well as the awesome priest spells like harm. I may be jumping too far ahead, but even if you don't use 19 cleric/1 monk in your speedrun, give it a try. The versatility is rather overpowered in lower-level campaigns.[/QUOTE]
But those cleric buffs require a spell to be cast. Those spells are limited. Once he runs out of spells, he runs out of buff. Then he has to hit the 'r' key to get these buffs back.. Clerics aren't warriors. They're healers. Without and ability modifying equipment, I've never been able to get a cleric have same AB as a fighter. To get these spells like Harm you have to have Wisdom >= 17 (or 18, I forget what level Harm is on), which means you'll have to sacrifice STR points for WIZ.

And yes, the resting thing won't work. Again, Connection Problem, you aren't paying any attention. We're talking about a speedrun. That means completing the game in as little time as possible. I don't doubt that a cleric/warrior isn't a powerful combination but a magic user is not going to be as fast as a pure warrior.

I'm beginning to think that barbarian might be the best way to go. The monk haste robe is ~19k. I think you'd have to loot Neverwinter bare in order to get that much. Perhaps you'd be able to get it by the middle or end of chapter 2, but by that point a barbarian would be in like chapter 4. (even with just +10% movement speed).


Okay. So, not doing the runthrough in a single session. Play ahead one chapter and find out what items are absolutely needed. Chapter 2 will probably be the shortest one (apart from the prelude).

Chapter 1: I'm thinking Docks->Peninsula->Beggar's Nest->Blacklake. Does anybody remember where the +1 (or +2) Greatsword is in Neverwinter? Perhaps grab that first, then get the adamantite off of Loxar? Also, would it be worthwhile to return the reagents to Aribeth as they're found? It would lead to 2 extra engagements but some extra gold (like 1000gp, maybe).

Chapter 1 Finale: Front door, loot gem off of corpse, drop it on altar, let the animated armors go nuts while you go right and take the stairs up. Quick boss fight.

Chapter 2: In the Port Llast area you only have to hop into Charwood, get the journal, recall, go to neverwinter wood, get the dagger from the nymph, kill the dwarf guy and then recall again. Assuming you don't give the info to Aribeth until you have both pieces it won't trigger the interference sidequests. For the Host Tower, loot Aribeth's room, take portal up and first door on the far left side of the room. Kill the powerful mage, take portal gem, go up, go to back of that level, kill the second powerful mage, loot her room, take top floor gem. Destroy braziers. Do you need to kill the monsters that spawn, or can you just destroy the braziers? And when you're on the roof, what triggers the end of the quest? When the gates open, or do you need to get Maugrim's journal from the office?

Chapter 3: This one will be time consuming. The fastest will probably be the snow globe. The longest will probably be the time dungeon. Maybe the red dragon will take longer - I could never remember the layout of that damn place.

Chapter 4: ...? Don't remember it that well. It's probably a fairly straightforward hack-and-slash through the streets of Neverwinter. The final boss probably won't be easy and, as I recall, dying in the final boss fight is rather permanent.

Another option Is a monk/weapon master/fighter dexer. Sneak around with high AB and 8 attacks = ftw

and if use kamas, you can always abuse the bug