Neverwinter Nights 2 conversation skills

[Sheepherder]

Hey, I'm planning a full playthrough of NWN 2 OC and MotB. Which skills are used most often in conversations, interacting with the world, etc.?
I know diplomacy is good, but what about bluff and intimidate? Also, are spellcraft and lore used for anything other that +saves and item identification?

 

[Althorion]

I haven’t played NWN for years now, but from what I remember, Intimidate is sometimes used, but not nearly as often as Diplomacy and I don’t remember it being the only possible options (i.e. you could always use Diplomacy instead), Bluff is even rarer, but it is sometimes unique. Plus, Bluff is also used in fight, for the Feint skill and there is no demoralization (in-fight usage for Intimidate) in NWN, as it was in the D&D 3.5.

Basic NWN doesn’t, as far as I remember, use Spellcraft nor Lore in dialogues, but MotB does, at least the Lore, for some minor things.

 

[Sheepherder]

What about use magical devices? Is there any good non-craftable gear in the game?

 

[Althorion]

I haven’t seen UMD in dialogues at any point in the game, if memory serves right. There are some unique items with with feats that you cannot craft, but if you don’t care as much for uniqueness as for the pure power level, crafting is the way to go. Still, NWN 2 is a very easy game, so you don’t have to focus on you gear too much and just go with non‑craftables through it (I did, since I hate crafting in any shape or form).

 

[DeepOcean]

Hey, I'm planning a full playthrough of NWN 2 OC and MotB.

That is my advice for you.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Diplomacy is the most used social skill in the OC. Shoot for ~24 fully buffed with equipment other than head gear for best results.
In MotB you can most often achieve the same thing with diplomacy or bluff or intimidate.

Buff your social skills:
Finchs fine Hat (OC) / Finchs finest hat (in MotB)
Amulett of the Master
Cha increasing equip in general, i.e. Nymph's cloak +8
Heroism/Greater Heroism
Inspire competence (Bard)
Warlock also has a buff for social skills that lasts 24h, self only tho

UMD
useful for using scrolls or other equipment not naturally intended for the character in question, if nothing else useful for the monk boots on anybody who isn't a monk

spellcraft gives saves vs spells and you identify spells cast in combat (otherwise the combat log would show only "enemy casts unknown spell")
It is used in MotB in dialogues/quests

Lore
item identification
used in MotB in dialogues/quests

 

[Sheepherder]

Hey, I'm planning a full playthrough of NWN 2 OC and MotB.

That is my advice for you.

I gotta do it man.

How's this for a OC/MotB build?
http://nwn2db.com/build/?269613
I was going for minimal pre-buffing and max trash mob clearance speed. Saves and magical buffs covered by party members.

 

[Dorateen]

Storm of Zehir gets the most out of skills.

 

[Lilura]

Storm of Zehir gets the most out of skills.

dat OLM.

re. MotB, you can pass all companion stat checks with a similar setup to what Ventilator outlined, even if you start social skills at zero-dumps. Spellcraft and Lore work well on Safiya, Diplomacy works on Kaelyn, and Gann appreciates the Bluff.

 

[deama]

You might wanna try using a speedhack to speed up the combat, it can get pretty lengthy at times; and you might want to give up after you finish OC just cause of how long it took.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Here's a more interesting question about NWN2, how does Lilura feel about Neeshka?

 

[Lilura]

She's OP.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

I feel like Neeshka is the only interesting companion in the main game. The dwarf is a bland dwarven stereotype, and I've completely forgotten everyone else even though I just completed it last year. But Neeshka, while not particularly interesting in any deep way, is hilarious. The rapid fire delivery in particular.

 

[Fedora Master]

If I recall correctly, only Persuade and Bluff will really help you. Intimidate usually causes a fight even when it succeeds.

 

[Lacrymas]

There is one persuasion check in the OC that you can never pass, at least not legally, if at all. After your uncle tells you to either go to the watch or the thieves, you have a persuasion flag with the first thief (Caleb?) about something. You can never pass it, I tried to do it with a max charisma paladin with all feats and items related to Diplomacy and I couldn't do it. Just an interesting tidbit. The OC could've been more than it turned out to be and there are some things that shine through, but alas. Whether there's a single interesting character is debatable, there are some fun things they do (like Casavir and Bishop fighting over a female PC or the wizards in Luskan going after Qara), but it's just snippets of cut content.

 

[SCO]

You know, gams are not this unfanthomable blackbox. If you want to learn if something is a fake choice in a game, just read the corresponding script.

 

[hellbent]

I feel like Neeshka is the only interesting companion in the main game. The dwarf is a bland dwarven stereotype, and I've completely forgotten everyone else even though I just completed it last year. But Neeshka, while not particularly interesting in any deep way, is hilarious. The rapid fire delivery in particular.

Casavir was p fun for a paladin. Neeshka wasn't bad. Sand was a big tryhard edgelord and Qara just flat out sucked.

 

[Lilura]

Qara just flat out sucked.

Qara is great due to the butthurt she generates.

 

[Lacrymas]

Yeah, Qara has always been fun because everyone else hates her. Everyone seems to hate her more than even Bishop. Anyway, I googled the Caleb thing, turns out it's a bug that you can't pass that check. The other impassable persuade check is with Okku at the gates of Mulsantir, but that's intentional.

 

[Irenaeus]

Thread inspired me to embark on the same quest (play NWN2 OC + MotB again).

Qara just flat out sucked.

Qara is great due to the butthurt she generates.

Agree 100%.

How's this for a OC/MotB build?
http://nwn2db.com/build/?269613
I was going for minimal pre-buffing and max trash mob clearance speed. Saves and magical buffs covered by party members.

Link doesn't work.

 

[Semper]

Anyway, I googled the Caleb thing, turns out it's a bug that you can't pass that check.

it seems that obsidian changed their conditional scripts later in development. there's a nonexistent script referenced which checked for a minimum rank, in this case rank 4. sadly the oc is riddled with bugged and cut content.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Thread inspired me to embark on the same quest (play NWN2 OC + MotB again).

Was doing it anyway, then accidentally my saves. Got a clean win on the trial though, that was fun.
Intimidate+Taunt is hella more fun in the trial and Diplomacy+Bluff

 

[Irenaeus]

Thread inspired me to embark on the same quest (play NWN2 OC + MotB again).

Was doing it anyway, then accidentally my saves. Got a clean win on the trial though, that was fun.
Intimidate+Taunt is hella more fun in the trial and Diplomacy+Bluff

Everytime I played I was a goody goody paladin or fighter. Might as well try a Chaotic Neutral Half-Orc Barbarian or something, going for that intimidate and taunt route.

 

[Lacrymas]

Iirc Diplomacy is used much, much, much more frequently and to better results. Some checks can be passed by your companions, which is great, wish more RPGs used that thing, but it's very rare. Bishop passes one Bluff check with the Githyanki matriarch. Gann passes a persuade check with Caelyn, Safiya passes a Spellcraft check with a golem in the prologue. I think there are 1-2 more but I can't remember them now.