A saving throw is a roll made to avoid (at least partially) damage or harm. The three types of saving throws are Fortitude, Reflex, and Will.
Like an attack roll, a saving throw is a d20 roll plus a bonus based on your class, level, and an ability score.
Saving throw types
- Fortitude is related to a character's ability to withstand damage thanks to his physical stamina. It measures a creature's ability to stand up to physical punishment or attacks against vitality and health. The Constitution modifier is applied to fortitude saving throws.
- Reflex is related to a character's ability to withstand damage thanks to his agility or quick reactions. The Dexterity modifier is applied to reflex saving throws.
- Will is related to a character's ability to withstand damage thanks to his mental toughness. The Wisdom modifier is applied to will saving throws.
Notes
Due to a bug, saves against area-based spells like Cloudkill or Mind Fog ignore bonuses granted by:
- The +1 to saving throw vs. spells for every 5 base ranks in Spellcraft
- feats that grant saving throw bonuses against specific threats (e.g., spells, poison, evil, negative energy, etc.) such as a Duergar's Hardiness vs Spells and an Elf's Hardiness vs Enchantments, but not a Svrifneblin's Durability (since the bonus to saves given by this feat is universal)
Example: An enemy gray dwarf with a base will of 9 has 15 base spellcraft ranks and the feat Hardiness vs. Spells. Thus, its will saving throw against a(n area-based) spell like Mind Fog should be 9+3+2=14. However, due to the bugged save calculation, only its base will of 9 will be taken into account. However, if you cast a (non area-based) spell like Charm Person on it, the bonuses kick in and its will saving throw rises to 14.
Difficulty class
The saving throw difficulty class (DC) is determined by the attack itself.
Automatic Failure and Success
A natural 1 on a saving throw is always a Failure, and a natural 20 is always a Success.
Bug - reflex and will saves both say *failure* in the chat window when a natural 1 is rolled, but if the save was successful without Automatic Failure, then the saving throw still succeeds. Fortitude works correctly, however, and always fails on a natural 1. This bug does not extend to natural 20 for Automatic Success.
Save progression
Each class has either a high or low saving throw progression for each save type.
When a character multiclasses, each class provides separate save progressions. Even if all classes provide the same progression, do not combine levels to determine the save. For example, a level 20 rogue (high reflex) has a +12 reflex save, while a character with 10 rogue levels and 10 monk levels (also high reflex) would gain +7 reflex from each class, for a total of +14 reflex. See also Class progression.
| Class | Fortitude | Reflex | Will |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bard | low | HIGH | HIGH |
| Barbarian | HIGH | low | low |
| Cleric | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Druid | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Favored soul | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH |
| Fighter | HIGH | low | low |
| Monk | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH |
| Paladin | HIGH | low | low |
| Ranger | HIGH | HIGH | low |
| Rogue | low | HIGH | low |
| Sorcerer | low | low | HIGH |
| Spirit shaman | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Swashbuckler | HIGH | low | low |
| Warlock | low | low | HIGH |
| Wizard | low | low | HIGH |
| Arcane archer | HIGH | HIGH | low |
| Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep | low | low | HIGH |
| Arcane trickster | low | HIGH | HIGH |
| Assassin | low | HIGH | low |
| Blackguard | HIGH | low | low |
| Divine champion | HIGH | low | low |
| Doomguide | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Duelist | low | HIGH | low |
| Dwarven defender | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Eldritch knight | HIGH | low | low |
| Frenzied berserker | HIGH | low | low |
| Harper agent | low | low | HIGH |
| Invisible blade | low | HIGH | low |
| Neverwinter Nine | low | HIGH | HIGH |
| Pale master | low | low | HIGH |
| Red dragon disciple | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Red Wizard of Thay | low | low | HIGH |
| Sacred fist | HIGH | HIGH | low |
| Shadow Thief of Amn | low | HIGH | low |
| Shadowdancer | low | HIGH | low |
| Stormlord | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Warpriest | HIGH | low | HIGH |
| Weapon master | low | HIGH | low |
| Class level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |
| Saving throws |
High | +2 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +10 | +10 | +11 | +11 | +12 | +12 | +13 | +13 | +14 | +14 | +15 | +15 | +16 | +16 | +17 |
| Low | +0 | +0 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +6 | +6 | +6 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +9 | +10 | |
Formula:
goodSave = classLevel / 2 + 2 poorSave = classLevel / 3
- Division is rounded down.
- ClassLevel should be greater than 0.
External resources
- NWNWiki:Saving_throw