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I agree. Bards get those fantastic songs, and druids get very useful shape-changes via HoW. It's worth it.

I also agree that longsword of action+4 is much better than Pale-justice. Plus, rangers can use it too, they naturally get another bonus attack via dual-wield, with the sword's bonus, add a haste, and this guy will have A LOT of attacks in a round, especially at high levels of experience!

I say, bard, druid, and ranger classes are very useful and versatile!

 

By the time you get the long sword of action your fighter should be very close to level 9. If he's put 5 stars in long sword he will have the exact same number of attacks per round as the ranger with more damage per hit and the ability to use a shield.

I think both the paladin and the fighter can make better use of the long sword of action than the ranger. The paladin is more defensive, the fighter more offensive.

I can't give up too easily

 

^You are right on that one, and there are some very neat shields for fighters to use too. Grand Mastery is very powerful in IWD. (it is nerfed in BG2 but can be fixed)

 

To which we could reply that the Ranger would be more useful for most of the game until that point and would be a fairly close second afterwards. Let's not turn this thread into another Fighter v Ranger argument like the 'Opinions on Rangers' one.

 

where is the second Longsword of Action +4?

 

The second is in the big crypt area in TotL.

When you get the first longsword of action+4 in HoW you are closer to level 15 than to level 9.

If you don't have HoW the LSoA+4 can only appear as random treasure at one location in chapter6. You won't find one there if you have HoW installed.

 

While I am a big fan of paladins, I think you aquire Pale Justice too late in the game to build a whole character around it. I usually take two fighters instead.

 

Only recently bought HOW and started with a brand new party. Here it is:

Human paladin. For the pale justice sword.

Dwarf fighter. axe profience 5*(Axe the defender). A dwarf fighter is awesome you will get a +5 bonus to death/wands/spells. Dwarves are simply the best option for pure fighters.

Half-elf cleric/ranger. Made a mistake here, thought they would get all druid spells as fast as they gained their cleric spells. But in HOW that is not the deal, the manual stated they would get the druid spells from lvl 6 on. Thst is true, but they get their druid spells very,very,very slow. And i played it for a while already so i decide to play on with this mistake. Should have been a dwarven fighter/cleric for the massive saving throw bonusses. Half elves suck,bah!

Gnome fighter/illusionist. Great choice! A +5 saving throw bonus for wands/spells. Stoneskin, mirror image and bash away without getting hit. And can cast a decent fireball too!

Elven thief/mage. You don't need a fulltime thief, so always mix him/her. As an elf they get a +2 thaco bonus on ranged attacks, this way they will hit something when shooting with their bow.

Human bard. I don't like half- elves their racial bonusses are very minor so i prefer humans. Without HOW bards are just bad, but with HOW they are great. Some bard songs are magnificent. War chant of the sith gives you regenerating. A perfect add on for any party.

Halflings suck you don't need a fulltime thief and halflings can't get a 18+ strenght. So if you want a fighter/thief take an elf(or a dwarf! dwarves kick ass!). Rangers aren't the best choice either, their special abilities are no match for the other choices you have with fighters.

 

I think your party is a good one, but I'm not sure I agree with all your statements.

A gnome is arguably a better fighter than a dwarf. The Dwarf get an extra 9 hp, but the gnome will be 1 AC better because of dexterity. The dwarf gets +5 save against death, but this is not the most important save. And the gnome can wear the better helm, which is 1 AC better than any other helm and allows you to haste him without his getting tired. I udnerstand that you're using the helm on the F/Ill, butI think that item is ideal for your tank.

I think you're underestimating you cleric/ranger. On balance I find them to be better than fighter/clerics. Especially when you already have a paladin who can fill most of the roles you'd want the F/C in. The R/C will always get one more melee attack than the F/C. This is makes him much more destructive. The R/C gives you a character who can stealth and attack enemy casters - if you had an F/T this wouldn't be useful, but with the M/T he fills a useful gap. Of course you can use spells and potions for the same thing, but the R/C does it for free. And you don't have access to druid spells without him, and some of them will be very useful (sunscorch to start with is excellent). Give this guy a chance he'll be very powerful.

 

I disagree in some points
- The save vs. paralyze/poison/dead is the most important save. Poison,disease and hold spells are very common.
- With HoW you have the cat's grace spell, so hardly anything remains from having 18 instead of 17 dex, but there's no similar spell for increasing con.
- IWD is a party game, switching the helm from one character to the other doesn't improve your party much.

 

Huh? You don't like half-elves because they have a slight advantage, with no disadvantage since bards can't dual in this game?

 

^Maybe he does not like slim and too fragile looking HE avatar? Humans are more flashy anyway.

 

Kmonster is right my gnome mage/fighter got the precious helmet, so if i created a gnome fighter instead of a dwarf i would be a precious helmet short. And i prefer the +5 death saving throw/9 hitpoints above the +1 dexterity. And you are right Felinoid it would be a little wiser to pick a half-elf(bah) bard but humans just look a little bit better in my opinion. By the way if there wasn't a pale justice sword i would play with 2 dwarven fighters(the second dwarf fighter using flails) and kick the paladin out.

 

Ah, aesthetics over mechanics. Commendable.

 

Tinus, Pale Justice isn't that good. I recommend an extra Fighter.

 

I believe this topic is quite suitable for a debut in this brilliant forum.
I've been reading these boards a great deal before taking the decision to become a member, and with all due humility I now feel free to partecipate.

Few words about my BlackIsle gaming experience, before getting into the topic itself:
I really adored BG I + expansion, and later I had a wonderful time playing that masterpiece sequel, BG II... whose grand ending took place in ToB, with my immense gaming pleasure.
I played, won and played once more those gorgeous adventures... then I realized I just HAD TO acquire the Icewind Dale saga too, at last! So I did, and a couple of days ago I eventually purchased the notorious IWD "3 in 1 Box Set". I am quite impressed by IWD 1, although I've just made a few steps into the game, and look forward to installing HoW when I'll have won the base game.

Let's get to the core of it, finally: even if I perfectly know that my current party isn't one the "perfect" parties, I nonetheless care to share it with the seasoned (or green, as well) audience, just to gain a few comments, suggestions, insights, or hints. At the present time, every party member of mine is about at 5th level, so I think I'm going to keep them all through the whole adventure. I'll obviously omit the names, since no one would be interested in them ...so here's my party the way it started off at level 1.

Human Paladin
LargeSwords ++
Bows++

Human Fighter
GreatSwords ++
Bows ++

Half-Elf Cleric/Ranger
Maces ++
Mis.Weapons ++

Elf Thief
Bows +
LargeSwords +

Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric
Maces ++
Mis.Weapons ++

Half-Elf Mage
Mis.Weapons +

-----

Certainly I keep in mind various alternative party combinations, but as a matter of fact this party is working out well and I haven't detected serious imbalances in it, so far. Sure, I'm no IWD expert, so I might well be wrong...

 

Welcome

Your party is good enough to beat the game without too serious problems, although it's rather a roleplaying than a powergaming party. Have fun with them !

You probably already know that pure class thieves aren't very good, that "raise dead" doesn't work on elves, starting the mage with a few fighter levels would make him more powerful and multiclass clerics don't level as fast as single or dualclassed class ones, so you'll never get level 4 druid or level 7 cleric spells in a normal game.
But this doesn't mean that you can have a lot of fun !

 

Thanks for bidding me welcome, kmonster!

Yes, I'm aware of my current party's drawbacks... and anyway I deliberately chose not to assemble a powergaming group. At the present time I'm not attracted by a flawless party consisting of characters who can and will become absolutely perfect and top performing heroes, for their class and tasks. I enjoy guiding six fellows who are not bound to become unstoppable and demi-divine legends, but have instead to carry on with their lacks day by day, developing refined strategies and techniques to survive, and improving as much as they can. Call that "extreme roleplaying", if you wish!

Sure, sure... the next party I'll build will have neither pure class thieves nor multiclass clerics, as well as I shall perhaps be availing of some wild (and highly profitable) dual-classing for mages, as you suggested, instead of using a plain and simple wizard! Mmh, personally I never liked bothering with dual-classes (in BG & BG II) just to let a character reach the most complete and most powerful performance, but I think it will be worth a try in IWD! Luckily, it seems that we have different choices, in order to create an enjoyable and/or excellent party!

By the way, yesterday evening my "humble" party has reached level 7... and I can't really be disappointed if I look at their behaviour on the battlefields!

 

If your heroes have made it that far, they'll surely be able to get even further until the end.
It's not a weak party just because you kept your characters simple, it's rather a standard party. If you got your party from the pregenerated characters it wouldn't have been stronger.

Like most other crpgs IWD is a mix of adventure and strategy, the party and the player's skill decide how big the strategic part is. Weaker parties need more strategy and make the gaming experience longer.

 

I finished the game yesterday, and I had huge loads of fun, indeed! It seems you were right... I didn't have particular problems or frustrations beating Icewind Dale. During the whole IWD experience I had to use Raise Dead only twice, and I'm really happy with my current party's features and performances!
I obviously look forward to installing HoW now... and that's exactly what I'll do today, as soon as I'll have the time! I'd ask, by the way, a single little question: where may I download Trial of the Luremaster without being forced to pay any subscription? Sorry if the question turns out silly for someone...