finished with one PC--no cheats

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Okay, so there had been much ado lately about how some people thought it was impossible to beat IWD with only one PC without cheating. Myself and several others took up the gauntlet. I'm not sure how the others are doing, but I have finished it.

That's right--one PC with *no cheating of any kind*! If you doubt me, consider the strength of the following character:

1/2 elf Fighter(10)/Mage(11)/Thief(12)
True Neutral, female
115 HP
S-19*, D-19*, C-18, I-18, W-3, Ch-12*
(*these stats include equipment modifiers)
Proficiencies: large sword**, maces**, bows**, axes*

Carrying the following equipment:
Kaylessa's Chain Mail
Red Knight's Shield
Dead Man's Face
Black Wolf Talisman
Gauntlets of Elven Might
Bone Marrow Belt
Boots of the Fox
Ring of Dwarven Bone
Kontik's Ring of Wizardry
Alamion
Joril's Axe
Static Star +3
Long Bow +4: Hammer
Various magic arrows

Ya gotta admit...this is one seriously tooled-up character, and all of this was acquired fairly in the course of the game.

Now imagine said character casting the following defensive spells before big battles (this, perhaps, is the only appropriate use of "cheat"--since I'd played it already, I knew what was coming): Mirror Image, Blur, Protection from Normal Missles, Emotion: Courage, Haste, Minor Globe of Invulnerability. Really...just unstoppable. And since she's wearing elven chain and under the minor globe, she can cast area of effect spells like fireball at her own feet if necessary without taking any damage at all.

If you're wondering how I beat Malavon: scroll of antimagic shield. And the final battle (with all it's dispelling traps)? Potions, lots of potions.

The only thing that really tripped me up was forgetting that the XP cap is per person, not per class. So I wasn't able to advance as much as I had hoped, but in the end it didn't matter. I never lost more than 50HPs on any of the battles in Chapter 6.

So there you have it. Give it a try...it was fun.

 

*clap* *clap* *clap*
Congrats. Hmmm I think I might have to delve into the game in such a manner now. I have beaten the game twice myself. Once fairly and the other with sup'ed up characters.

Cheers!
Logun

 

Me thinks U a god!!!
Seriously way to go. I have enough problems with six PCs. Congrats.

 

Kudos, kudos. I salute you.

 

*applause*
great, great! i never thought that anybody could do it, but u sure did. maybe im gonna try that one too...btw, how long did it take? (in real time as well as game time) hurrah!

 

Regarding how long it took...a long-ass time. Especially at the beginning, when you're character is pretty weak, you have to do a lot of the ol' tiptoe in step by step. That way, you don't end up fighting too many opponents at once.

Early on, I was really worried about the Hand, because I knew there were a lot of battles where you have to fight many badass elves at once, but by the time I reached its upper levels, my PC was so tough that it really didn't matter. I'd enter an encounter pumped up on defensive spells and hasted, take out the mages and clerics with my bow, pause, then finish the job with my sword. (Funny side-effect of 1-player game: spells like mental domination and dire charm become irrelevant. When they are successfully cast against you, your enemies treat you as an ally and stop attacking. But since you don't have party-mates to attack, everyone just stands around 'til the spell wears off.)

By the second half of the game, you don't do so much tiptoeing...it's more like what I just described. But because of all the hasting, you have to rest a lot, so your game time ends up being ridiculously long. Were I to do it again, I'd probably play the same character but as a gnome so that I could get that helm in Kuldahar that makes you immune to fatigue. Also, for some reason the resting time for HP recovery is much longer when you're alone, so you'll end up resting something like 30 days just to recover 20 HPs. All told, I think game time ran up to something like 1400 days.

 

First, let me just congratulate you on beating the game with a solo PC. I've considered doing it myself, but I guess I just don't have the patience. I like having a small party, but solo-ing is just a little too time consuming.

I also wanted to comment on the excessive rest times you had to go through. It was not because you were solo; the reason your character had to rest for such long periods, is that there was no cleric in the group. What the game does normally, is when you rest, your clerics/druids automatically cast healing spells, then re-memorize them. This results in rest times of about 12-16 hours.

On the other hand, with no cleric, when you choose to "rest until healed", your character is literally just sitting around waiting until his wounds heal naturally... which takes much longer periods of time.


-The Wretched

 

Mmmmm... I don't think playing as a triple split class really counts as a "single character". You gain 6 times the experience, so all 3 classes will level up really fast, unlike if you had 5 or 6 people.
Regardless, that's still quite an accomplishment, and I raise my sword and salute you! It must have taken a LOT of patience.

 

OK I'll add my pinch to the broth. I believe that having a multi class character in indeed only one character. That one person has to do all the work and they are still only one. And like sminnis I too have attempted this task. I have just finished chapter 5. I have a fighter/mage/cleric. What really sucks is that all the really great weapons are edged and I have maxed out my levels. I'll give update at end of game.

 

I considered playing f/m/c instead of f/m/t, but all the traps had me nervous. You should be in good shape if you made it this far, though, as I can't remember many traps in chapter six except for in the final battle...and those can be avoided by just staying out of the circle. I certainly wish I'd had Recitation and Prayer at my disposal later on.

As for the weapon issue, I see what you mean. My main weapon for most of the game was the Long Sword of Confusion +2. Later on, I really liked having Joril's axe (even though it did a number on my AC). I think you'd be in good shape if you can get your hands on the Static Star +4, a super weapon. Unfortunately, I can't remember where you get it. But it sure makes hay out of any monsters succeptible to blunt attacks.

Good luck.