weapon choice

[sldsmkd]

With all the DR on the server, shields are definitely something you want.

Non-physical damage is not affected by the dr vs slash/pierce/etc. I am pretty sure that it does stack on crits.

rapiers it is

[Amoenotep]

i have a pally/CoT smiter somewhere....he uses a warhammer for crit damage. most output i've had on an evil char with a crit+smite is 500+ damage.....doesn't crit alot, but when smiting evil he hurts.

[Mythri Wolfwood]

Rapiers is a good choice for a Divine Might user. Currently, I have a Fighter/Pally/Weapon Master who can crit over 100 on average using Divine Might (tested this against Shiv'las, Amazons, Ice Giants, and Air Plane mobs). Having a threat range of 10-20 is nice too. So, with a decent AB (helped by Taunt and KD if needed), the crits come fast and furious against most mobs who are vulnerable to crits. I'm thinking even with 100% immunity to pierce, the divine damage from crits is still pretty darn good.

[JesterOI]

I've seen it first hand, it's a beautiful thing!

[Binkyuk]

yeah i made one of them. pally/WMs are schweet.
i did it with rapier, but if i did it again i would actually go for a 20x3 weapon instead. a 18x2 WM has an insane crit range but it's mostly wasted against higher level enemies unless you can boost your AB sky high somehow.

[JesterOI]

1 lvl mage and take True Strike

[CrazyJ]

Robes & no shield, or Still Spell.

[JesterOI]

Don't forget, mages aren't allowed in NC, either

What would be cool though is to see True Strike be castable on other, but have it's duraton remain at 1 round or whatever. Would require some teamwork if the party wanted to do anything special with that.

[sldsmkd]

yeah i made one of them. pally/WMs are schweet.
i did it with rapier, but if i did it again i would actually go for a 20x3 weapon instead. a 18x2 WM has an insane crit range but it's mostly wasted against higher level enemies unless you can boost your AB sky high somehow.

How would the x3 help in this situation? And doesn't taunt help with the AB issue?

[Binkyuk]

1 lvl mage and take True Strike

Sssh. that's my next build you're giving away.

Meh, swings and roundabouts. Yeah, taunt will work to lower AC if you can beat their concentration. There's a ridiculous amount of taunt boosting gear, so it should work. I must admit I've never had the opportunity to taunt in pvp.
personally I also rate bigger single hits more than a higher crit rate because it makes you more likely to get a kill against a pot chugging opponent.

[Maankin]

You should be able to cast true strike in armor without any chance of casting failure if I remember correctly.

[CrazyJ]

*cough*TENSER*cough*

[sldsmkd]

1 lvl mage and take True Strike

Sssh. that's my next build you're giving away.

Meh, swings and roundabouts. Yeah, taunt will work to lower AC if you can beat their concentration. There's a ridiculous amount of taunt boosting gear, so it should work. I must admit I've never had the opportunity to taunt in pvp.
personally I also rate bigger single hits more than a higher crit rate because it makes you more likely to get a kill against a pot chugging opponent.

Well a Pally / Bard if they spend the points should have a pretty outrageous Taunt, i'd expect something on the order of 60-70 so pretty damn hard to resist.

Found this nice website:

http://www.afterlifeguild.org/Thott/nwn/

Putting in the numbers, it put a 18-20 x2 well ahead of a x3 on 20 weapon for damage.

Had a look at a Pally / WM also and the damage rate was sky high with NS4 type weapons, but thats not what i'm trying to build - the feat expense + the need for all stats to be so high is a bit limiting. Can see it would work, but having str/dex/int/wis/cha and some con as well so high has got to be hard work.

But for my build, its hard to pick more than one day to day weapon as it has 5 feats pumped into the one weapon. A backup weapon is doable, but it wont have anywhere near the focus.

Edit: and wouldnt have the points to pump into any stat other than cha after creation as they are all needed to get great smite going, think the build ends up with a *7 great smite.

The big crits are good for bragging purposes, but a higher overall steady damage output seems better. Would love to see what a x4 scythe smiter could do, but losing the shield and being much more reliant on good rolls has got to hurt.

[Binkyuk]

i don't have time to work absolutely everything out, but having whacked some rough values in, i can see what you mean. HOWEVER:

against low AC enemies the crit range pays off handsomely and your expected damage output is through the roof, BUT as the AC increases and the expected damage output goes down, the lines actually cross as you need to roll 15 to hit and the 20x3 does marginally more damage than the 18x2.

So it depends on the expected AC of your enemy. If you're expecting to hit on a 12, then go for the crit range, but if you're expecting to hit on a 17 or 18 then go for the extra multiplier.

Taunt *will* make all the difference, if you can pull it off and lower their AC by 6 then IKD and clean up, but if it fails or they get away and run around until the taunt wears then you'll be worse off, but only a tiny bit.

[sldsmkd]

Taunt *will* make all the difference, if you can pull it off and lower their AC by 6 then IKD and clean up, but if it fails or they get away and run around until the taunt wears then you'll be worse off, but only a tiny bit.

Thats the thing with Pallies, and most melees really tho - there's no self haste so your lucky to get toe-to-toe with anyone. It's a decent vs NPC build, and can be good against non hasting PC's.

Haven't tested it, does taunt work at range? On mobs it works if they are aware of you - there's no need to be in melee range.

Also I thought cits were on a second roll, am I mistaken - thought there was a hit roll then a second roll for damage?

Edit: nm looked at my 3E book and your right, the crits are triggered on the attack roll. What kind of AC ae highend bosses / average lvl 40's hitting? Can probably hit 44atk in day to day use, and 54atk with limited time self buffs.