Feat changes

This is a list and explanation of Feats which work differently on Arelith to how they do in Vanilla NWN. Note that disabled feats are disabled only for PCs. Some NPCs that characters encounter on Arelith can still have them.

Disabled & Obsolete Feats

Devastating Critical: "In the judgement of the Dev Team it's unbalanced... You may not agree with the decision, but it's not going to change" -Mithreas

Epic Spell: Epic Warding: This Feat is not technically disabled on Arelith. However, since PCs on Arelith are capped at Lv30, it is impossible to meet the prerequisites of the Feat with a PC. Note that some Epic Feats which can be taken multiple times suffer similar inhibitions with their later "versions" (Self Concealment V, for example, is unobtainable within 30 Levels).

Modified Feats

Arcane Defense: Abjuration: This Feat increases a spellcaster's effective Caster Level by +2 when trying to resist a dispel.

Automatic Still Spell: In addition to its Vanilla function, Auto Still Spell I reduces total Arcane Spell Failure by 5%. Auto Still Spell II reduces total ASF by 10%. (Not cumulative)

Blinding Speed: Is now an Instant action and an extraordinary effect (not affected by antimagic). Duration increased to 3 turns. Has unlimited uses per day, but 8 turns of cooldown period. Rogue levels diminish the cooldown by 1 turn/6 levels.

Dragonshape: Re-balanced stats. Druids may speak to a secret NPC to gain this feat at level 25 with 25 base wisdom. More in the Druid article.

Dirty Fighting: Removes the AB penalty when using Arelith's subdual.

Defensive Casting: Defensive casting and other combat modes like Expertise/Improved Expertise are not disabled when your character moves.

Divine Might/Divine Shield: All characters now have the damage granted by divine might multiplied by 1.5 when using a two-handed weapon, or using the -twohand mode. Using these feats before their duration expires will refresh them.

Epic Skill Focus: Hide/Move Silently: Taking one grants the other for free.

Epic Skill Focus: Listen/Spot: Taking one grants the other for free.

Epic Spells: See: Epic Spell Changes. Druids may speak to a secret NPC to gain Hellball or Greater Ruin at level 25 with 25 base wisdom. More in the Druid article.

Expertise/Improved Expertise: Expertise/Improved Expertise mode is automatically disabled when a spell is cast. Casters using this feat will need to re-enable it after every casting, and will not benefit from the bonus AC during casting.

Expertise/Improved expertise and other combat modes (such as defensive casting) are not cancelled when you move.

Hide in Plain Sight: Shadowdancers will get this feat at level 5 instead. After leaving stealth mode, HIPS will have 2 rounds of cooldown before it can be used again. Note that other ways of sneaking still work while the cooldown is in effect.

Skill Focus: Hide/Move Silently: Taking one grants the other for free.

Skill Focus: Listen/Spot: Taking one grants the other for free.

Summon Shadow: Shadowdancer’s Shadow now has a minimum duration of 24 IG hours.

Lay on Hands: No longer has uses per day. Instead, it uses a 10 minutes cooldown period before being used again.

Weapon Finesse

Works with Quarterstaff and Katana.

Riding Feats

See: Riding.

Magic Crafting Feats

Scribe Scroll: Certain Spells require an additional component to be scribed, which is consumed along with the Blank Scroll from your inventory. What components are needed for which spells is considered Find Out In Game information. Spells requiring a component are;

Firestorm
Greater Restoration
Harm
Storm of Vengeance
Time Stop
True Seeing
Undeath to Death

Note the Bug with Cleric Domain Spells and Item Creation Feats and the Undeath to Death & Remove Blindness/Deafness Scribing Bug listed below. Also, Greater Sanctuary is purposefully impossible to scribe.

Raise Dead and Resurrection scrolls cost 10.000 and 20.000 gold pieces to scribe, respectively.

The XP/Gold cost of most spell-craft feats has been lowered. Scribe Scroll specifically uses:

GP: caster level of the scroll × innate level × 18.75 (then rounded down)

XP: caster level of the scroll × innate level

Scribing scrolls will return the experience lost in Adventure XP.

Brew Potion: On Arelith, all spells (Wiz/Sorc, Ranger, Druid and Cleric spells) from Level 0 up to Level 3 are "potionable", even spells that are normally not potionable in the default Neverwinter Nights, like True Strike, Expeditious Retreat, Camouflage, Entropic Shield and so on.

Note the Bug with Cleric Domain Spells and Item Creation Feats listed below

The XP/Gold cost of most spell-craft feats has been lowered. Brew Potion specifically uses:

GP: caster level of the potion × innate level × 15

XP: caster level of the potion × innate level × 2

Brewing potions will return the experience lost in Adventure XP.

Craft Wand: On Arelith, all spells (Wiz/Sorc, Ranger, Druid and Cleric spells) from Level 0 up to Level 4 are "wandable", even spells that are normally not wandable in the default Neverwinter Nights, like True Strike, Expeditious Retreat, Camouflage, Entropic Shield and so on. Divine Power and Invisibility Purge can not be wanded, and this exception is intentional.

Note the Bug with Cleric Domain Spells and Item Creation Feats listed below

The XP/Gold cost of most spell-craft feats has been lowered. Craft Wand specifically uses:

GP: caster level of the wand × innate level × 132

XP: caster level of the wand × innate level × 8

Crafting wands will return the experience lost in Adventure XP.

Spell Focus Feats

Wizards and sorcerers receive an additional effect with every Greater Spell Focus, detailed in their pages.

Spell Focus: Abjuration

Each Spell Focus in Abjuration grants a cumulative +1 to Dispelling Rolls (with Epic spell focus adding an additional +1), to a total of +4 with Epic Spell Focus: Abjuration. These are applied after the Level Cap imposed by individual spells (so an Epic Abjurer's Greater Dispelling caps at +26, not +22).
With Spell Focus: Abjuration, the Shield spell protects against Isaac's Lesser Missile Storm as well as Magic Missile. With Greater Spell Focus, this protection extends also to Isaac's Greater Missile Storm.
With Epic Spell Focus: Abjuration, the -ward and -ward teleport Commands become available. The character may use one or the other of these, once per rest. -ward creates a large visible symbol on the floor, which lasts for a long time and inflicts brief paralysis on enemies who fail a Will Save upon passing over it. -ward teleport, while it lasts, prevents any PC from teleporting out of the area in question through any means, and prevents them from being -yoinked elsewhere whilst the remain in the area. It also prevents travel to any portals within the area.

Spell Focus: Conjuration

Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration causes a caster to summon a creature one "level" higher than normal when using the Summon Creature I-VIII spells, in the same way as the bonus provided by the Cleric's Animal Domain. Note that Animal Domain and Greater Spell Focus: Conjuration do not stack, but characters with both will receive both the increased tier and the level bonus as per the Summoning Changes. This feat will also grant Fiendish Warlocks an empowered version of their final summon, and allows Summon Creature IX to summon a more powerful Ancient Elemental.
Epic Spell Focus: Conjuration enables the -yoink command. Once per rest, a character may send -yoink as a tell to another PC, which will cause them to enter a dialogue telling them that your PC is attempting to summon them. If they accept, they are transported instantly to your location.

Spell Focus: Divination

Spell Focus: Divination allows a character see whether a character is "attuned" to Life, Death, Fire, Water, Earth, or Air along the usual information of the Right Click>Examine. Through trial and error association, a player may learn much about another character's habits and abilities from their attunement. Also allows a character to use the mysterious Deck of Stars item. Each foci in divination also increases the duration of the True Seeing effect of the True Sight spell by 1, 1 and 2 rounds to a total of max of five rounds.
Greater Spell Focus: Divination increases information gained when using -investigate, Detect Evil, and other things.
With Epic Spell Focus: Divination, the -scry command becomes available. Once per rest the character may send -scry as a tell to another PC (or type -scry [START OF TARGET'S NAME]). This permits the character to spy on their target for roughly one minute. It is possible to protect against this, but means of doing so are considered Find Out In Game information. Also, characters with the ESF will receive a feedback if somebody is trying to scry them. Additionally, epic diviners can recognize projected illusions when examining, if their caster level is above that of the illusionist.

Spell Focus: Enchantment

Domination spells now have a duration of 2 + CL/3 Turns, instead of 2 + CL/3 Rounds. At GSF Enchantment, this improves to 2 + CL/3 Hours. At ESF Enchantment, a second creature can be Dominated.
Dominated PCs will now be Stunned instead of Dazed. The Stun duration against PCs remains 2 + CL/3 Rounds, and does not improve to Turns or Hours.
Every focus feat in Enchantment grants a +2 passive, soft bonus to Persuade, Perform and Bluff.
Having GSF Enchantment will allow a character to automatically succeed in some social interactions with NPCs, when that NPC is charmed or dominated.
Charm spells now cause Confusion in affected PCs.
The one round Daze upon entering a Mind Fog becomes a Stun if the caster has GSF Enchantment. If the caster has ESF Enchantment, the duration is extended to 1d6 rounds.

Spell Focus: Evocation

Epic Spell Focus: Removes the 6d30 of backlash damage from Hellball and Greater Ruin.

Spell Focus: Illusion

Epic Spell Focus: Illusion enables the -project_image command. Once per rest, the character may send -project_image as a tell to another PC or type -project_image [Character Name], after that the game will ask you to input your message, and the next sentence that you write will be hooked as your message.

Your character's avatar, with the appropriate -conjure or -cast visual, disguise (if any), and/or polymorph state, will appear like a Speedy Messenger beside the target and relate your message. If you are targeting a PC on a different server, they will instead see only a "Mysterious Ball of Light".

On addition to this, if no target is specified, it will create a copy of yourself with your current gear and current stats. The copy can fight, but it cannot cast spells. The copy will last 1 hour/caster level or until you rest. On top of this, you can speak through the copy using the -a command. The copy can be maneuvered and the stealth and detect mode toggled using the Player Tool 1 and the radial menu.

Spell Focus: Transmutation

Greater Spell Focus: Transmutation allows a character, by travelling to the correct place (the locations of which are In Game information), to activate Golems from their constituent parts so long as the character is Level 15 or over.
Greater Spell Focus: "Animal" spells grant an additional +1 to the stat.
Greater Spell Focus: Enables the -teleport command to be used if the character is at least level 21. This allows the character to open the same dialogue from a portal anywhere and travel to any known portal node. Usable once per rest, as long as the transmuter is not in a no-portal area, like the ones created by the epic abjurer.
Epic Spell Focus: Enables the -teleport create command to be used. This creates a short-lived one-way portal node that everybody can use to portal out.

Epic Spell Focus: The bonus granted to "animal" spells increases to a +2.

Spell Focus: Necromancy

Epic Spell Focus: Necromancy now adds 1 use/day of Create Greater Undead to the Innate Ability token.

Note that all the spell foci add to the power of summons of their respective school as per the Summoning Changes.

Player Tool 1

The Player Tool 1 is a gimmick free feat that will appear in your list of feats whenever you summon any "commandable" creature. These creatures include henchmen, familiars, spell summons, transmutation golems, animal companions, shadowdancer's shadow, but not lassoed NPCs.

The feat is active, and you have to use it and target it. You may target a single creature to control that specific creature, or target yourself to select and control all your summons. Target again or switch to deselect.

When you are controlling a creature, you can use the feat and target where do you want it to move. If you target a party member, it'll follow that character. If you target a hostile creature, it'll attack that creature. If you target a door, it'll try to open it. For any other object, it'll try to attack - this includes closed doors and fixture. Usually,a controlled creature will stand still unless commanded to attack, but due to the complex AI, it may still go and attack hostile targets in sight by itself, sometimes.

This feat can be used to have your summons mine for you, as well.

When you lose all your commandable creatures, the feat will disappear again, but if you quickslot it, it will appear automatically back in the same quickslot where you placed it when you summon another creature.

Bugs Relating to Feats

Please Note: These bugs are either inherent to NWN, or in some other way a long-standing & chronic problem. Incidental or minor bugs should not be mentioned here.

Arcane Casters are unable to scribe Undeath to Death, nor Remove Blindness/Deafness. Divine Casters are not affected.

It is no longer impossible to scribe the "Bigby" line of spells.

Whirlwind Attack can cause the character using it to "lock-up" and be unable to attack if it is either stacked in the action queue, or used when surrounded by exactly three enemies.

Circle Kick is still terrible.