I've completed nightmare second time, this time with a different build that rapes the game with glitches and intentional/unintentional exploits. The game's unfair on normal difficulty levels and downright sadistic at nightmare.
Only thing in the end that could harm me were nilfashees (or something), greater demons who had a too strong charisma draining attack and some kind of purple lesser devils + bodaks, both have an bugged instadeath gaze attack that's impossible to avoid.
Fairday was a rogue at beggining 'cause the multiclass system prevents you gaining skill ranks in side classes. Since rogues rock in skill department and have very nice starting equipment..
After tense period of trap disarming, lock picking, sucker stabbing few lads and drinking dimension doors like crazy I've immediately got druid level which gave me pet (trap proof and infravision), produce flame (as broken here as in the tabletop). 2nd rogue level and then 2nd druid (barkskin, nature sense + obscurement), then 1 mage level with arcana specialization.
By this point I was invincible sans occasional stat drain. Empowered barkskin + empowered mage armor with silly luck bonus gave me armor rating of a granite wall. After that game was rather boring because of the annoying message-flooding monster fights at lower levels, which there are 15 in nightmare mode. I've phased into goblin castle without waking anyone, poked the king few times with dex draining dagger till he was reduced to a spastic sack of crap and walked out like nothing happened.
About difficulties and remedies:
- traps, lots of 'em. Problem is that effective DL is higher and traps are both extremely deadly on the very first level and hard to disarm when you don't dump skill points and have a good ability modifier.
remedy: always search in corridors. Use nighthunter druid pet as a mount to make this a non-problem and always invest in searching.
- stat draining. These come from traps, poisons, monsters and occasional cracked wands you ID by use to train intelligence.
remedy: play a halfling, they get stat drain resistance which grows stronger. Cloak of the Hin also gives a boost to resistance. Stay the hell away from devils/demons.
- crap armor. This will be a big problem since rogue's high defence won't help you in lower levels where some enemies get >30 bonus to attack rolls. Bear in mind critical hits, which most of the time bypass conventional armor but not natural one.
remedy: get empower spell feat and use it with barkskin/mage armor combo. Halfling's high luck gives nice boost to the second spell and they stack istead of using only the bigger bonus like other bonuses. You can get platemail-grade armor with barkskin at 3rd character level (1 rogue/2 druid)
- weak rolls. You'll need them high to impregnate yourself from stat drains/diseases/cursing instadeath/everything else
remedy: play a halfling with 18 base luck. Go for the one body one soul feat.
- weapons. You need ranged weapons till the mid-late game as one hit can mean one critical hit and death.
remedy: get on your druid mount, cast produced flame few times and watch your pet killing everything with fire pellets. PF has outrageous -tohit and range so you can safely kill OOD monsters by cherry tapping them from afar as you'll never run out of ammo.
Some tips:
- don't be ashamed to savescum, as this game is glitchy as hell and screwed my savestates few times.
- equiping shields with resistances gives you these resists even after you drop the shield.
- alchemy rocks even when you don't invest in it. Make yourself 20 stimtabs, then gulp them down at once before a tough fight. Speed bonus from tabs stacks, so you can in theory gain 10000% attack speed with them for some time (I had 1000% in the final fight)
- get 5 levels of worship with xel if you wish to use a weapon (instead of beastclaw or produced flames for the rest of the game). He gives you Improved Critical feat for free, so you'll get more crits with a choosen weapon which is always nice. Xel is very easy to please - get a high level monster summoning wand, cast protection from evil, order summoned monster to stand on the altar and to not move and kill him without retaliation.
- 1 level of Zurvash piety (which means 1 sacrifice) gives you one of the hardest to get and best feats for free.
- produced flames can be used in meele without penalties. Which means ~3 attacks in turn for armor-bypassing fire damage. Some common monsters (shadow/grey ooze) are immune to PF.
- scribe scrool sometimes gives you rare, impossible to cast from spellbooks spells (haste, major drain..) you can make yourself for almost nothing.
- very high levels of luck forces the rng to swim in treasure chests. Seriously, there are at least 5 at each level.
- dexterity draining weapons are great, as they give you experience for kills (poisons don't), work on everything except undead and many dangerous monsters have lousy dex. Buy one from shop with all this platinum laying around in chests.
- exploit the 'flanking' mechanic to get free sneak attacks - summon few monsters before a nasty fight, use 'call companions' spell to surround your adversary with too much to kill at once, close in and stab. Sneak attacks are untyped damage, which means it can kill everything except undead.
Fairday Greenbottle, The Crazed Psychopath [WINNER]
Gender Male
Race Halfling
Temp. Clawed
Class Rogue 6
Druid 3
Mage 2
Faith Zurvash
XP 128453
Next @ 66000
Align Chaotic Evil
STR: 25/78 [+7/+7] (base 12, +6 magic, +5 morale, +4 inherant, -2 natural)
DEX: 23/00 [+6/+6] (base 8, +5 magic, +3 sacred, +5 inherant, +2 natural)
CON: 11/21 [+0/+0] (base 3, +3 sacred, +5 inherant)
INT: 23/00 [+6/+6] (base 18, +5 magic, -5 morale, +5 inherant)
WIS: 28/04 [+9/+8] (base 18, +5 magic, +5 inherant)
CHA: 5/65 [-2/-3] (base 3, +2 natural)
LUC: 32/06 [+11/+10] (base 18, +5 magic, +5 inherant, +4 natural)
Fortitude +38(+2/+3/+0 +9Ws +5Ma +5Mr +3Ft +11Lu)
Reflex +43(+5/+1/+0 +6Dx +5Ma +5Mr +4In +6Co +11Lu)
Will +43(+2/+3/+3 +9Ws +5Ma +7Mr +3Ft +11Lu)
(+2 vs. death magic, +4 vs. enchantment, +2 vs. poison, +2 vs. traps, +4 vs. fear, +2 vs. theft, +4 vs. knockdown)
Melee +toHit +35 (Rogue +4/ Druid +2/ Mage +1, +7 Str, +5 magic, +5 morale, +1 size, +10 circumstance)
Damage +16 (base 1d6 / 1d3, +11 Str, +5 magic)
Speed 415%(base 100% +5% Rogue +5% Druid +55% circumstance) x 150% magic x 170% weapon
Size Small:
(base small)
Defense Class 35:
(base 10, +3 Rogue, +1 Druid, +6 Dex, +5 morale, +4 insight, +1 size, +5 circumstance)
_______________(27 while casting)
Coverage 0:
(base 0)
Movement Rate 80%:
(base 75%) x 150% magic x 145% skill x 50% hiding
Hit Dice Rolls 172:
[20 + 6d6 (3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3) + 3d8 (4, 4, 6) + 2d4 (2, 2) + 99 (WIS bonus) x 90% (Size)] + 25% (Toughness)
Mana Rolls 409:
10 + 6d6 (6, 1, 3, 3, 3, 3) x 5 + 3d12 (3, 6, 6) x 5 + 2d20 (18,
x 5 + 99 (WIS bonus)
__(Bonus Mana)______(base 409, +40 magic)
Encumbrance None:
(Light 99.9s, Moderate 300.0s, Heavy 600.0s, Extreme 900.0s, Max Press 800.0s)
Magic Resist 75%:
(base 0, +75 magic)
Spell Slots 5th:
3+7 / 2+2 / 1+1
Special Abilities:
Animal Companions
Command Animals
Earthmeld
Evasion
Infravision (100 ft)
Innate Spells:
Heroism
Hold Person
Vampiric Touch
Magic Fang
Pass without Trace
Divine Agility
Hallow
Nature Sense
Phase
Reverie
Scent (70 ft)
Sharp Senses +6
Sneak Attack +4d6
Spellcasting (5th)
Specialist:
Arcana
Strong Soul
Improved Uncanny Dodge
Unearthly Luck
Wild Shape (3 HD)
Woodland Stride
Psychosomatic Might
Thief in the Night (54%)
See Invisibility
Caster Level: Cold Magic +4
Feats:
Armor Proficiency: Light
Combat Reflexes
Empower Spell
Great Fortitude
Improved Critical
Intensive Study:
Improve Stealth and Sneak Attack +1
Iron Will
One Body, One Soul
Scribe Scroll
Spring Attack
Toughness
Resistances and Armor:
Slashing Damage 40
Piercing Damage 40
Blunt Damage 40
Fire 19
Cold 12
Acid 15
Lightning 15
Life Drain 15
Complete Immunities:
Sleep
Slowing
Paralysis
Entangling
Petrification
Proficiencies Simple Weapons, Short Blades, Archery, Staves, Thrown, Spears, Daggers, Flexible, Light Armor, short bow, scimitar and scythe
Skill Ratings:
Alchemy +21 (10 ranks, +6 INT, +3 train, +2 kit)
Animal Empathy +10 (0 ranks, +8 WIS, +2 train)
Appraise +24 (11 ranks, +8 WIS, +5 train)
Athletics +19 (9 ranks, +8 WIS, +2 train)
Balance +8 (0 ranks, +6 DEX, +2 train)
Bluff +2 (0 ranks, -3 CHA, +2 train, +3 synergy)
Climb +12 (0 ranks, +7 STR, +3 train, +2 synergy)
Concentration +3 (0 ranks, +3 train)
Craft +17 (3 ranks, +6 DEX, +4 train, +4 kit)
Decipher Script +11 (0 ranks, +6 INT, +3 train, +2 kit)
Diplomacy +3 (0 ranks, -3 CHA, +3 train, +3 synergy)
Disguise +8 (0 ranks, +6 INT, +2 train)
Escape Artist +8 (0 ranks, +6 DEX, +2 train)
Find Weakness +10 (0 ranks, +8 WIS, +2 train)
Handle Device +20 (8 ranks, +6 DEX, +2 train, +4 kit)
Healing +14 (1 ranks, +8 WIS, +3 train, +2 kit)
Hide in Shadows +32 (12 ranks, +6 DEX, +3 train, +2 racial, +5 enhance, +4 size)
Illusioncraft +8 (0 ranks, +6 INT, +2 train)
Intimidate +12 (0 ranks, +7 STR, +2 train, +3 synergy)
Intuition +14 (0 ranks, +8 WIS, +4 train, +2 synergy)
Jump +13 (0 ranks, +7 STR, +2 train, +4 synergy)
Knowledge (Theyra) +10 (0 ranks, +6 INT, +4 train)
Knowledge (Infernal) +9 (0 ranks, +6 INT, +3 train)
Knowledge (Magic) +19 (10 ranks, +6 INT, +3 train)
Knowledge (Mythology) +9 (0 ranks, +6 INT, +3 train)
Knowledge (Nature) +10 (0 ranks, +6 INT, +4 train)
Knowledge (Oceans) +10 (0 ranks, +6 INT, +4 train)
Knowledge (Planes) +11 (0 ranks, +6 INT, +3 train, +2 synergy)
Knowledge (Theology) +21 (10 ranks, +8 WIS, +3 train)
Knowledge (Undead) +9 (0 ranks, +6 INT, +3 train)
Listen +16 (0 ranks, +8 WIS, +2 train, +6 inherant)
Lockpicking +19 (9 ranks, +6 DEX, +2 train, +2 synergy)
Metamagic +10 (0 ranks, +6 INT, +2 train, +2 synergy)
Move Silently +21 (11 ranks, +6 DEX, +2 train, +2 enhance)
Perform +2 (0 ranks, -3 CHA, +2 train, +3 synergy)
Pick Pockets +8 (0 ranks, +6 DEX, +2 train)
Poison Use +8 (0 ranks, +6 DEX, +2 train)
Ride +19 (10 ranks, +6 DEX, +3 train)
Searching +19 (9 ranks, +6 INT, +2 train, +2 kit)
Spellcraft +11 (0 ranks, +6 INT, +3 train, +2 synergy)
Spot +25 (9 ranks, +8 WIS, +2 train, +6 inherant)
Swimming +10 (0 ranks, +6 DEX, +2 train, +2 synergy)
Tumble +23 (12 ranks, +6 DEX, +3 train, +2 racial)
Use Magic +19 (10 ranks, +6 INT, +3 train)
Wilderness Lore +10 (0 ranks, +8 WIS, +2 train)
Spiritual State:
__You are devoted to Zurvash.
__You are the hand of Zurvash
____on Theyra.
__Zurvash aided you trivially.
____(Favor 110465, Lev 9, Pen 2%)
__Xel is exalted by your
____worship.
__Xel has not aided you.
____(Favor 14694, Lev 5, Pen 0%)
__You flawlessly embody Evil.
__You flawlessly embody Chaos.
CharGen Options and Choices:
__Beginner's Kit: OFF
__Initial Rolling Method: 4d6 + Perks
____(actually used Point Buy)
__Allow Rerolling: YES
__Use the Subraces: NO
__Disallow Wizard Mode: NO
__Maximum Hit Points: NO
__Maximum Mana: NO
__Default Character Gender: ASK
__Monsters Maximum Hit Points: NO
__Roll Attributes First: YES
__Gain Attributes With Levels: YES
__Allow Rapid Intuition: NO
__Monsters Use Djikstra: NO
__Out-Of-Depth Monsters: YES
__Transgression Hints: YES
__Difficulty Level: NIGHTMARE
__Power Stats: BASELINE
__Elude Death: NO
__Disable Complicity Transgressions: YES
Inventory:
hands: mildly damaged blessed keen mighty ironwood stiletto +5 of numbing
shoulder: uncursed shortspear 'Bloodspear' +2 [+4]
belt: blessed Girdle +5 of Surtur [+15] (3 uses left)
eyes: uncursed Lenses +5 of Drow Kinship [+25, +5]
boots: uncursed Boots of Phasing
cloak: uncursed Mantle of Magic Resistance +5 [+75]
ring: uncursed Ring of Free Action
ring: uncursed Ring +3 of Elvenkind [+3]
amulet: uncursed Amulet +4 of Ice [+12]
gauntlets: uncursed Gauntlets +5 of Ogre Power [+5]
helm: uncursed Helm +5 of Orcsblood [+5]
bracers: uncursed Bracers +5 of Blinding Strikes [+55%, +10]
on belt:
uncursed Stone +5 of Courage [+5]
badly rusted uncursed Stone +2 of Channeling [+8]
112 uncursed Potions of Extra-Healing [3d8+12]
uncursed Luckstone +5 [+5]
99 uncursed Potions of Dimension Door [2d20+3]
uncursed force backpack:
uncursed spellbook [Adventurers' Arts]
uncursed spellbook [Grey Ashes Manuscript]
uncursed spellbook [Magician's Manual]
uncursed spellbook [Mystic Aegis]
uncursed Boots +5 of Providence [+5]
uncursed Cloak of Nondetection
33259 uncursed platinum pieces
uncursed Lenses +4 of Drow Kinship [+20, +4]
18 uncursed cottonberry loaves
uncursed Gauntlets of Rust (3 uses left)
uncursed Gloves +5 of Nimble Fingers [+10]
6 uncursed Hearthstones of Onanda
uncursed Helm +3 of Telepathy
4 uncursed torches (with 2700 turns of light left)
uncursed Ring of Elemental Command (Earth) [-4]
uncursed Ring of Elemental Command (Fire) [+12]
uncursed Ring of Free Action
2 uncursed Rings of Infravision
cursed Ring of Elemental Command (Air) [-4]
potions:
4 uncursed Potions of *MANA* [8d20+20]
19 uncursed Potions of *Mana* [5d12+12]
5 uncursed Potions of Growth
42 uncursed Potions of Healing [2d8+8]
8 uncursed Potions of Mana [3d8+8]
3 uncursed Potions of Remove Curse
uncursed Potion of Restoration [4d6]
uncursed Potion of Stoneskin
9 uncursed Potions of True-Healing [4d8+20]
4 uncursed Potions of Vitality [3d4+1]
scrolls:
3 uncursed Scrolls of Floating Disc
On The Ground:
32 uncursed sheaf arrows
uncursed small glass vial (with 5 doses of viper venom)
uncursed small glass vial (with 3 doses of dark reaver powder)
uncursed studded leather
uncursed short sword
uncursed short bow
Known Spells:
Mage Armor 1 100% 10 +15
Protection from Evil 1 100% 5 +4
Shield 1 100% 10
Spook 1 100% 5 -2
Magic Missile 1 100% 1 3d4+3
Spider Climb 1 100% 5 +10
Phase Door 1 100% 2 1d4+4
Resist Fire 2 100% 7 +8
Bull's Strength 2 100% 15 1d4+1
Heroism 3 100% 25 +2
Hold Person 3 100% 6
Vampiric Touch 3 100% 5 3d6
Produce Flame 1 100% 1
Cure Light Wounds 1 97% 0 1d8+5
Lifesight 1 100% 10 +11
Camouflage 1 100% 5 +5
Call Companions 1 100% 2
Magic Fang 1 100% 5 +2
Obscurement 1 100% 10 +2
Summon Nature's Ally I 1 94% 2
Pass without Trace 1 100% 5
Beast Claw 2 100% 20 +4
Barkskin 2 100% 20 +13
Prayer 3 100% 25 +2
Meld into Stone 3 100% 30
Divine Agility 5 100% 45 +4, +25%
Hallow 5 100% 80