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Amazing new area, though I managed to find a few issues. Recording them all here.

-Fisher Coric's appraise check for a fish bundle is DC 0.
-Larderer Sera's persuade check to show additional wares adds no additional wares (At least according to the combat log)

Some bugs I have noticed with Arcane Mimic -

1. You can steal certain class features.
I have stolen the "Remove Disease" class ability from a Paladin.

2. Recall Spell does not seem to apply metamagic
When stealing spells that have been cast with Extend Spell (Ghostly Visage and Flame Weapon are the ones I've tried), it properly checks for the metamagic when the spell is stolen (I could not steal Extended Ghostly Visage before level 6, for example), but when the spell is cast through Recall Spell, it is cast as the non-extended version.

Well, it's been quite an adventure, and more then deserving of my first Obit, so here goes. Warning : Rambly.

Esther started out because I wanted to make a herbalist, and I hadn't played a druid since the new systems where put in and figured I might as well check it out. But there was an issue : I don't like polymorph mechanics in nwn, so I came up with the idea of a druid that doesn't polymorph, because she was all about plants, which worked into the herbalist theme. She used plants as her weapon. She used plant-like spells (Sorry to the people who got stuck in my Entangle spams sometimes!). A friendly DM who I unfortunately do not remember the name of gave her plant summons. And she never, ever used animal companion or wild shape (A bit ironically, as she was branded a Changeling by many people at many different times) because those where animals, not plants.

She was meant to be a simple gardener, laying low and protecting her garden and exchanging it's fruits to those who needed them (She tried to sell some of her harvest to Luke Danebluff before he was a bigshot Duke of Deals and he called it all worthless, very ticker-like). That however, failed miserably when she ended up fighting side by side with then-Inquisitor Albert Grim to put down an undead menace, and the inquisitor took offense at her use of plant-powers. As he attacked the plants, she defended them, and after a close fight had to flee. The conflict flared up and eventually led to another Ponds Massacre.

With almost all her friends now dead, she was thrown a lifeline, meeting Horatio Fynn just before the Striders where meant to leave and cross ring 95. And they'd just lost their druid. Seeking to flee the place that had only bad memories for her at the moment, she signed on with the crew. For what I assumed at the time would be just a few rings, because there was no way there was no way they would make it very far before something inevitably made the crew fall apart and stumble, like so many before them. Right?

The rest of the story is mostly houndbait, and so will have to be left unwritten, but in general I very much enjoyed the ringrunning experience, much more then I expected. A big part of that was most certainly the great group I had, so many PCs with varying personalities, which led to interesting character clashes, but with enough loyalty to come together when it mattered and beat the odds and make it all the way to the (current) end despite being -vastly- under-optimized. You guys where amazing. Also special thanks to Abala who was with us most of the way, for better and for worst but certainly for more interesting, and to Arc who handled most of my druid stuff. Missing out on continuing those plots is the big thing that made me hesitate to take the retirement.

The loot and build, for those who are curious :
https://imgur.com/gallery/qItzEZn

Nature's Balance (Level 8 druid spell) considers all non-party creatures to be hostile, meaning it will only heal the user and any summons they might have, while debuffing your actual PC allies.

Cave Bears are animals, but you cannot sacrifice them in druidic rituals. This seems true weather they are currently dominated (With AE) or not.

[Abjurer]

The way wizard favored schools is implemented in Neverwinter Nights is not very good. Picking a favored school does not actually make you any better at using that school of magic. Mechanically, the overwhelming thing that matters from your school pick is which school is forbids you from using.  And while it is true that most people will still pick favored schools based on what fits their character, it would be nice if mechanics and roleplay where more in harmony on this front. Where people who want to focus on evocation spells are actually incentivized mechanically to pick Evocation as their favored school. To achieve this, I believe the favored school system could be revamped to work more like EFU's many Perk systems. Note that the exact numbers in this suggestion are less important then the core which is the system revamp. Developers could change numbers around to buff/nerf wizards so they remain at a desired power level.

The first and most important step is to remove forbidden school. You can achieve this by forcing every wizard to be a Generalist (nwnx character edit) or setting opposed schools to None in Spellschools.2da. Note that setting wizards to Generalist will give them less spellslots, which may be desired or not as a possible balancing factor.

Wizards would then be able to pick a perk at level 1 that represents their specialization.  In this suggestion it will work like Fighter perks (1/5/8) but it could work in different ways. You may also want to remove their level 5 bonus feat to compensate for these perks.

Without further ado, here is my suggestions for what the perks could do. Again the exact details are less important then the fact that schools are turned into perks. Note that all schools recieve Spell Focus at level 1. This ensures that the wizards are actually incentivized to cast spells from that school and not simply pick their school for the passive bonuses of latter levels.

Abjurer
Level 1 - Bonus Feat Spell Focus : Abjuration
Level 5 - Dispel checks made by the Abjurer are done at +2 caster level. Dispel checks made against the Abjurer are made at -2 caster level.
Level 8 - Spell Resistance 12.

Conjurer
Level 1 - Bonus Feat Spell Focus : Conjuration
Level 5 - Summoning spells last an additional 2 rounds/level. Summoning focuses used by the Conjurer have a 50% chance to not be consumed when used.
Level 8 - When the Conjurer summons a creature, it automatically receives one of the following spells at random : Mage Armor, Magic Weapon, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace and Endurance.

Diviner
Level 1 - Bonus Feat Spell Focus : Divination
Level 5 - Spot +4, Listen +4, Search +4.
Level 8 - The Diviner can see invisible creatures.

Enchanter
Level 1 - Bonus Feat Spell Focus : Enchantment
Level 5 - Racial restrictions on enchantment spells are removed.
Level 8 - Enchantment spells that can remove Protection from Alignment can also remove Clarity. +4 Persuade.

Evoker
Level 1 - Bonus Feat Spell Focus : Evocation
Level 5 - Cantrip damage is increased to 1d8+1 (1d6 for Flare).
Level 8 - The Evoker is considered to have every Flame Weapon element for the purposes of Greater Spell Focus : Evocation.

Illusionist
Level 1 - Bonus Feat Spell Focus : Illusion
Level 5 - Using a spell to turn a target invisible creates a Mirror Image of them.
Level 8 - 35% concealment.

Necromancer
Level 1 - Bonus Feat Spell Focus : Necromancy.
Level 5 - 5/- negative energy resistance. Animate Dead 1/day
Level 8 - Disrupt Undead now deals 1d8+1 negative energy damage to non-undead targets. On undead, it grants 1d8+1 temporary hitpoints. Does not stack with itself.

Transmuter
Level 1 - Bonus Feat Spell Focus : Transmutation
Level 5 - Casting an attribute-enhancing transmutation spell (e.g. Bull's Strength) on an ally also casts it on the Transmuter.
Level 8 - The Transmuter makes permanent minor alterations to their body. They gain +1 STR, +1 DEX, +1 CON.




On a final note, this system also allows there to be wizard specializations other then schools. While this is not strictly necessary, I think it is a great advantage of the system, so I will list one such example here.

For some wizards, the dangers of their art are something to be embraced. There is great power for those who will risk their bodies and minds to achieve anything.  These usually short-lived individuals are those whom the greatest tales of Wizard's Madness are based upon.

Unchained Magus (Chaotic only)
Level 1 - Cannot use Arcane Foci. Spells cause 25% more planar sickness. Flame Weapon element randomized each cast and adds the following options : Sonic, Negative Energy, Positive Energy.
Level 5 - The Unchained Magus may cast Unravel up to 3 times per day.  Spells cause 50% more planar sickness.  While Heavily Afflicted by the Planes, gains +2 INT.
Level 8 - Spells cause 100% more planar sickness. While Intensely Afflicted by the Planes, the Unchained Magus gains Spell Focus in every school. While under Planar Madness, they gain Greater Spell Focus in every school.

Going to be a little vague to not be spoiler-y, but the Talisman of Purest Water 's (Crafted through alchemy) description mentions that it should do something. It does not do that thing.

In the explorable full of rats where you have to break boxes until you find a dead ratter, the tile on which the ratter is located appears to be higher then the surrounding tiles. Even after breaking the barricades, it is impossible to move up on it.

A very fun part of EFU's character progression comes from slowly acquiring higher quality equipment as your character progresses, among this adventuring tools (Bedroll, Shovel, Grapples). Getting lighter tools so that you can carry more equipment is a nice part of the game. There is an issue however, in that for Small sized characters, they cannot upgrade their shovel and are stuck with the very heavy starter shovel (as far as I know at least). This is because most of the "improved" shovels are the Holdable shovel, which is a Large weapon and as such impossible to equip for Small PCs.

I understand why the Holdable shovels where chosen : It's cooler if PCs actually equip a shovel to dig. But it would be nice if there where alternate acquirable shovels that are lighter then the starter shovel, perhaps only usable by Small PCs? Or perhaps still heavier then the Holdable shovels. I don't realy have particular stats in mind, I just think it would be cool if Small PCs could also invest in better shovels like Medium PCs can.

The 3rd level Einherjar theme summon has the Weapon Specialization : Greataxe feat, but uses a halberd as his weapon. I'm not 100% sure it's a bug, but it certainly is very strange.

The traps in Morghul goblins (Mongrelwoods dungeon) seem quite random in their effectiveness.  They will relatively frequently trigger and stun the PC without dropping them into the appropriate cave.

The static alchemy lab in the Drips does not give the standard "You hear something dangerous ahead" message when entering it with a monster near the door. Considering how dangerous the monsters there can get, it probably should have it.

[+15 Tinkering]

tl;dr for those who don't want to read my wall of text  : Apothecary is too good, it should probably be split into 3 different perks.

For reference, this is what the Apothecary perk does :

Apothecary

"For whatever reason, you have taken up an apron and refined yourself into both a formidable alchemist and herbalist - rivaling even mages in these same fields."

Perk bonuses: +15 Alchemy, +15 Herbalism, +15 Tinkering. Create a set of dissipating potions each reset.

It seems unassuming at first glance. All of the rogue perks are very powerful, so a few potions and some EFUSS skills might not seem like much, but there is a lot more then meets the eye.

First off, it is good to note that the Apothecary perk, which was always pretty good, has been consistently buffed since the start of v5, both directly and indirectly. Here is a list of changes that have increased the power of Apothecary.  None of them are game-breaking on their own of course, but together they certainly add up.

-Perk bonuses: +15 Alchemy, +15 Herbalism, +15 Tinkering. Create a set of dissipating potions each reset (new potions have been added and broken ones removed).
-v5_638: Alchemy has received some buffs across the board. This may change some recipes, and we apologize for the inconvenience. Please report if anything seems out of wack.
-v5_897 free Polymorph Self shapes have been improved.

It is hard for me to get into discussing exact examples because crafting recepies are FOIG, but from what I have seen, the things you get access to with crafting are significantly more powerful then what most rogue perks will give you. Having access to all 3 craftings just makes it even better. On top of that you can now polymorph like a level 8 druid in important fights.  A lot of a character's power on EFU comes from which items they have (And how well they use them), and apothecary just gives you all the best items by a longshot. Yes, it's true that crafting takes time and effort to learn, and that it is normal that it has a little more power because of it. Unlike other perks where you get to 8 and it's done, you still have a lot of work to do after 8 with Apothecary to unlock your potential. But that potential is really, really high, no matter which kind of rogue you want to play. If you are a merchant? You can make a whole lot of money making the right items and selling them to the right people. Assassin? You'll have all the best tools at your disposal. Duelist? Some of these items will absolutely win you some PvPs.

But I don't think the power level is even the biggest problem. The biggest problem is how it allows one character to do everything (Where "things" is "crafting"). On a server like EFU that strives on character interaction an character variety, Apothecary's biggest sin is that it reduces interaction and variety by concentrating all the crafting into one character. This is because the opportunity cost of taking other crafts once you've picked up your first one is incredibly low. Let's say you are building for Alchemy. You already have Lore (And grab all the +Lore items you can get), and the massive bonus from Apothecary, so all you need is Heal (very useful skill anyways) and Craft Trap (Or not. You don't even really need it) and the appropriate EFUSS skills (Which you have a lot of, because you probably have good INT) to become better at herbalism then any druid, and massively better at Tinkering then any other possible character. (Something I'll get back to).

So what's the solution? Rogue 8 perks are supposed to be strong. They are supposed to make you very, very good at the thing the perk is about. Apothecary just makes you good at too many things. So we split it into 3.

Apothecary (New)
Perk bonuses: +15 EFUSS Herbalism, +5 EFUSS Farming. You are now considered a druid when gathering plants. Create a set of vanishing druidic potions each reset (Cure Moderate Wounds, Lesser Restoration, Freedom of Movement. 2 random picks from Barkskin, Camouflage, Endurance, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace)

Mad Scientist
Perk bonuses: +15 EFUSS Alchemy. 20% chance to avoid negative consequences of failing an alchemy attempt. Create a set of vanishing arcane potions each reset (Mage Armor, Blur, Polymorph Self. 2 random picks from Invisibility, See Invisibility, Endurance, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace)

Mechanist
Perk bonuses: +5 EFUSS Tinkering, +4 Set Trap, Weapon Specialization : Light & Heavy Crossbow. Always succeed in deploying a siege weapon. Drawing schematics now draws 2 schematics instead of 1.  In addition to drawing schematics, you can now create  Bundles (Consumes your schematic drawing for the day). The bundles that can be created are Uncommon Object, Royal Objects (3 days cooldown) and Primitive Objects (1 week cooldown). Create a set of vanishing throwables each reset (Magic Disruptors, Vanishing Smokes, Tanglefoot Bag. 2 random picks from Wall of Knives, Bottled Blizzard, Stancebreach and Spark of Revelation).

The first two are pretty self explanatory. They focus on one skill, and get minor other bonuses that help them be better at that skill to compensate for the lost of the two other skills. The last one probably needs more explanation. First of all, no, the +5 is not a typo. There is a big difference between herbalism and alchemy, and tinkering in that Tinkering naturally uses rogue levels in it's formula, while the other two do not. As such, +15 does and would allow rogues with the perk to easily reach bonuses on Tinkering check that are much, much higher then what they can reach on the other crafting skills. +5 to tinkering will still make them without a doubt the masters of tinkering. They just won't be so far ahead that the whole system becomes basically effortless, as it currently does. To compensate for this being lower, I've given the perk many more non-skill bonuses then the other two, making the class better at using mechanical items and the things they might create with Tinkering. The ability to get more Schematics and/or a consistent source of Bundles in particular is something that I'm sure players that want to specialize in Tinkering will greatly enjoy, as it lets them do more actual tinkering.

The item Ice Crystal of Frost Rays (Created by Ice Alchemy) is lacking a way to activate it to do what it's supposed to do according to the description.

The Spring Loaded Boots, Greater (Created through Tinkering, Uncommon Objects theme) are usable 1/day, and the description seems to indicate that they are meant to be re-usable, yet when activated are destroyed after doing their effect.

A lot of cool relics I've seen are weapons, with a good number of these being martial weapons. This is a bit of an issue because clerics don't get martial weapon proficiency normally, meaning that you need to use a feat to be able to use your relic, which is pretty much a core class feature on EFU. If your character is high level, you might not have the opportunity to take this feat for a long time. And if you latter change relics, you might feel that you are stuck with a feat you didn't really want.

The solution? Give clerics proficiency with any relic they are attuned to. This could be done by giving them the appropriate feat (martial or exotic) so long as they are attuned to the relic. I don't think it would really buff clerics so much, but rather it would let them use a greater variety of cool relics and lessen the feel-bad moments of finding a relic that really fits your character, but you can't use because you are missing the feat for it .

Silas Sparrowbrooth's conversation for the Mongrelwoods almshouse quest has a Persuade check (And intimidate, but I didn't try that one). It has a DC of 0, which seems wrong.

The quest area "Groan amoung the drips" (the one with a lot of zombies and the flamethrower) very much looks like a sewer but is not tagged as a sewer area for perk abilities.

I haven't had the chance to try it multiple times, but today I was out questing and my ally got downed to dying (But not dead) while Invisible. I threw a Spark of Revelation at his feet but it did not remove the invisibility effect.

Playing a level 2 goblin rogue, I recieved the following message in my combat log in-game :

"[Adjustment Handler] Failed applying skill increase for skill 6, adjustment greater then 50. Please contact a DM."

And so I contact the DMs.