Good Party

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Can anybody suggest good parties for Icewind Dale

I know a thief and a mage at least are must
But after that what ?

 

Well, I'd go for the following :

1 dwarven tank = fighter with axe
1 elven fighter with bow and long sword
1 halfling (or dwarven) fighter/thief(max out stealth and later on the rest) = scout+assassin
1 human dual ranger(level 2 will do)/cleric = healer with 2* in missile and blunt
1 human dual classed thief(max out find traps=level 5)/conjurer
1 gnomish cleric/illusionist = spell-tank

Haven't tried it out, but they will rock

 

As far as a party goes I'm going to try;

Human Paladin - Battle Axe
Dwarf Cleric - Mace, sling, spells
Gnome Theif/Illusionist - spells
Elf Bard - Crossbow, spells
1/2 Elf Druid - Spear, sling, spells
Human Fighter - 2H sword

Two warrior types in fromt aided by a Cleric who can fight and heal. A Druid & Bard for either missile or spell backup and a Mage/Theif to soout. That's the party I'm going to run.

 

What do u think i can achieve with this one

Ranger
Fighter
Cleric/Ranger
Fighter/Thief
Mage
Fighter/Mage

I still haven't decide on the races yet.

 

Male-Human-Fighter (Two handed Sword / War hammer)
Male-Dwarf-Fighter (Battle Ax / Mace)
Male-Halfling or Gnome-Thief (Scout / Bow)
Female-Elf-Cleric/Ranger (Healing / Bow)
Female-Elf-Druid (Healing / Offensive Power Boost)
Male-Human-Mage (Anything and everything offensive)

Pure offensive front with magical & bow backup and two healers when things settle done.

 

Elf Male Ranger Scimitar
Human Male Fighter Warhammer
Dwarf Male Fighter Axe/Shield
Elf Male Mage/Cleric Mace/Slings/Bow
Human Female Fighter Bow
Halfling Male Thief Bow
Farewell
P.S.Drizzt Do'Urden ,i have done a joke and you take it serious...(i know that the name is Drizzt Do'Urden)

 

Well, I've been playing the game since Saturday (not nearly as much as I'd like to!), and I'll share the party I've been using. Thus far, they've been extremely successful.

Human Male Fighter - Greatsword/Crossbow - He's an excellent tank, with ranged ability.

1/2 Elf Cleric/Fighter - Quarterstaff/sling - Another tank who can heal. The quarterstaff is just a personal preference, and he's pretty deadly with it, but as magical maces and morningstars are fairly common, he's going to learn these types of weapons next.

1/2 Elf Bard - longsword/bow - Mainly a missile weapon user, he has also identified several magic items for me.

Elf Thief/Mage - bow - Utility character. She finds traps, but retreats to the back of the line when monsters attack, casting spells, using wands, or firing her bow.

1/2 Elf Druid - scimitar/sling - A support char mainly, firing her sling and healing, but can step up and fight with her sword if need be.

1/2 Elf Fighter/Mage - sword/bow - She doesn't have much in the way of offensive magic yet, but can support with a spell here and there, as well as support the team with her bow. She also carries a set of armor, since IWD gives you no penalty for going to the inventory screen and taking it off or putting it on.. so she can be another tank when necessary!

As you can see, I love elves, and every character has some sort've missile weapon. This is the same tactic I used to beat Baldur's Gate, in that we never have to close with enemies to take them down. This gives them great versatility in taking on different types of enemies.

 

Although I don't own the game yet, here is the party I will probably use.

Human Paladin -
Good Fighter, Charisma for buying stuff, friendly NPC's, ect...

Dwarvish Fighter -
Tank, absorption of nasty stuff.

Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric -
Fighting and post-battle healing.

Human Illusionist -
Dealing out some nasty firepower.
Unless there are good Necromantic spells. (Unlike BG)

Hafling Thief -
Thiefing, Scouting.
Quicker advancement than Ftr/Thf.

Gnomish Cleric/Illusionist -
Healing, magic.
Gnomes get the Illusionist speciality even while multiclassed so it's worth it for the extra spell per level.

 

How about the complete Mighty Midget Brigade :

2 x Dwarven Fighter
1 x Dwarven Cleric / Fighter
1 x Dwarven Fighter / Thief
1 x Dwarven Cleric
1 x Dwarven Thief

Who needs mages. Well this is the party I`m gonna use when we eventually get IWD in South Africa, besides I prefer themes any way.

 

1 human fighter
1 human paladin
1 human cleric
1 elven fighter/thief (bows)
2 mages(half-elf/human)
1 mage
1 specialist

 

Here's my $.02 on character creation:
For those of you thinking of Paladins or multi class fighters, keep this in mind:
Pure fighters can have x5 weapon specialization. Have you ever seen a fighter with a War Hammer +4 and a x5 specialty in hammers? Have you? Have you? It's DEVASTATING!!!!
Paladins and multi class fighter can only have x2 weapons specialties. 'Nuff said. The couple of extra healing spells that a Paladin gives you is just not worth it.

Second, dwarves get to have 19 CON (mucho hit points). And resistance to many types of spells (sleep, poison, etc). Combine 2 of these with above specialization, and you have 2 nearly unstoppable dwarven Death Dealers!!! For variety, have one specialize in hammers, and the other in two handed (great) swords, there are +4 versions of each.

Rangers are good, especially with spectral undead as racial enemy, but I prefer a bard with 18 INT and 18 DEX. High Charisma, Picks pockets, casts mage spells, wields a wicked bow, identifies items 90% of the time, catches criminals, spins a .... er, sorry, wrong song. But you get the idea. The Bard may be one of the most powerful characters in IWD (besides the dwarf "tanks" I described above). Mine is a Half-Elf for no apparent reason (Tannis was my HERO).

Gnome Illusionist is another good one. Gnomes can have 19 INT, for that extra crackle to your fireballs. Unfortunately, they can only be illusionists (no gnome conjurers, my favorite specialist mage, bummer!). He won't be able to cast Necromancy spells, which isn't TOO bad, especially if your bard can learn some of these.

Of course you need a thief. I recommend a halfling because they can go to 19 DEX. A fighter/thief is good, adds a little extra toughness. This is the only multi character I have, and thieves go up faster than any other class, so it's worth it.. Just don't wear anything greater than studded leather or you will not be able to use thief abilities. Focus on traps and locks, the bard will take care of robbing the locals blind.

Finally, don't forget that Clerics can be eqipped with Plate mail and Helms and still cast spells (I went through the entire game of Baldur's Gate without realizing this - d-oh!). Not sure about Druids though, but clerics have more healing spells anyway.

So there you have the ULTIMATE party (in my opinion). Of course, if you want to make 6 evil gnome thieves, by all means do so, the great thing about this game is that everyone can have thier own style. Happy Adventuring!
Lord B.

 

FYI,

Yes, clerics can be tanks and still have full use of their spells, Lord B. I guess you weren't really into AD&D before? Not that it's necessary to have a blast playing this game, but it does help to know the history.

Druids, on the other hand, are restricted to weaker armor. The main rule for them is they won't wear metal, thus studded leather is the best armor they can have (yes it has metal, but it's not entirely metal), and they can only carry wooden shields. The only full metal weapons they can use are scimitars and daggers, which has something to do with the specifics of their faith.

I do agree with you on how kick-ass it is to have a fighter specialize in a weapon, but I heard there is a holy sword in the game, which is why I recently swapped out my fighter/mage for a Paladin. Had I another fighter, it would do alot for my team, but I'm not a *total* min-maxer.

Incidentally, I'd like to re-state how cool a thief/mage is.. the ability to skulk around, then appear just in the right spot to unleash a barrage of magickal death is just too cool for words. Certainly, a regular mage can duplicate this with invisibility, but a thief doesn't have to waste spells to re-disappear, plus she still has a bow at her disposal when she's all out've emagic.

 

I'm going to have to agree with The Wretched. The isn't about min-maxing, at least for me. I'm playing a party with one fighter (for mastery in Great sword) but I've got a Paladin in the other warrior stop for two reasons. 1) It's different and not play for mere power. I like the class and variety is the spice of life. 2) Having more healing, the ability to know aligment, and protection from evil, and undead turning ability at will is great. Not to over look the extra priest spells at 9th level. I think IWD is the first game that I have ever seen the Paladin or Ranger actually reach the point were they can cast. Nothing like a Ranger with Magic Missile. Who needs a dwarf with Grand Mastery.

Is there really a holy avenger in IWD? That would rock!

 

Voltric,

Yes, from several accounts that I've heard, there is a Holy Avenger in IWD, rather late in the game (naturally, for such a powerful weapon). I don't know anything about its stats, or how close it resembles the one in pen & paper AD&D, but I hope to find out someday.

And yeah, I do like to go for the RP aspect more than min-maxing when creating a party.. I even wrote a full biography for each character! Of course, that doesn't mean that I don't try to roll up the best stats possible, 'cause let's face it.. the game doesn't care if you're trying to RP, it just wants to kick your ass!

 

In response to Lord Balduran's shameless bashing of Paladins, I have only this to say. As a Leader, the Paladin is the best character. Who else has Crazily high Charisma, good fighting skills (perhaps not as good as a dwarven tank, but...), good spell power from the begining (lay hands, detect/protection from evil), and the ability to cast clerical spells later on. No one else. A Paladin will be even better if this rumor I hear of a Holy Sword is true. It's not like I'd make an army of paladins but one as leader is sure worth it.

 

Personally, I too like the variety for simple pleasure of the game. I have:

-A Paladin : Great Swords, and Axes
-An Elven Ranger : Bow, and Crossbow
-A Human Fighter : Sword & Bow (planning on dual classing him to mage once he reaches 9th level fighter; 1 more level to go!)
-An Elven Thief : Dagger & Sling
-A Human Priest : Maces & Flails
-A Elven F/M : Bow & Staff

This still gives me range, variety, and up front power all at the same time. I'll tell you one thing about Paladins though, their granted abilities have come in VERY handy at times.

 

Well, Ajanis is my favorite charcter from BG, so I'm not "anti-paladin"!
In BG, the paladin was a much better class than fighter. In IWD it's the opposite, because of the nearly ridiculous weapon specialization.
I really wish the Paladin could have at least a x3 or x4 specialization.
Anyway, what use are "know alignment" and "protection from evil"? Those are lame spells. Although Paladins can gain some nice cleric spells later (much later) on.
I don't know about a "holy avenger", but there is a sword called "Pale Justice", usable only by Paladins. It provides total immunity from the following spells: Cloak of Fear, Horror, Dire Charm, Symbol of Hopelessness, and it has THAC0 +7 vs evil creatures, and +7 damage versus evil creatures. My question: what does the game define as "evil creatures"?

Anyway, I'm not emphasizing maxing over story. I have a killer biography for each of my dwarves. They are husband and wife, the lone survivors of Clan Blackstone which was overrun and slaughtered by a giant army. Though many, many giants fell to hammer and axe, in the end there were just too few dwarves, and too many giants. Tharkas and Grendel were returning from a trip buying supplies when they heard the sound of battle. They rushed back, but it was too late to do anything but mourn thier fallen kin. Overcome with sadness and rage, they fled to the Spine of the World. Now they feel as though they have nothing to live for, so they want to take out as many monsters as possible and die surrounded by piles and piles of giant bodies. That's why they charge headlong into every battle with no regard for personal safety. There's more (a lot more), but that's a brief synopsis. P.S. the biography will change as I play through IWD. I have a vague glimmering of how it turns out, so I will be changing the story as the characters develop. I am thinking of saving each bio before I make changes, then I can put it all together at the end.


[This message has been edited by Lord Balduran (edited July 07, 2000).]

 

You know, a good party always needs at least 1 or 2 mages. Maybe one mage, and one fighter/mage, for there is a long sword for a fighter/mage that will give you double first and second level spells. I think that is a very good weapon for a fighter/mage to have.

 

Two things; First off I agree with Jerky you can't have an effective party without a mage. You need mage spells and mostly like from more than one caster. I have a Illusionist/theif and a Bard for mage spells. Secondly, the Paladin granted powers are useful. Know alignment will tell you if NPCs are lieing, trying to use the party, or just plain evil. There nothing more important then knowning who to attack. Protection from evil stop attack again you and weakens evil creatures. It is a great defense ability. And you can use it EVERY battle. And that CHA stat is to cool when buying/selling equipment.
Pale Justice sounds like a "kind of" holy avenger and my Paladin would glad to have it.

 

My group consists of:

Human Paladin: (I've always liked playing them!)
Dwarf Fighter: 5x axe is killer!
1/2 Elf Cleric
Halfling Fighter/Thief: for a little more punch!
Elf Fighter/Mage: She's good with a bow...but a little weak if pressed in combat.
Human Illusionist:

So far the party is doing well...I'm still only in the Dragon's Eye on the troll/beetle level...I'm kind of interested in the Mage/thief Wretched was talking about...It might be fun sneaking up on stuff and busting out a touch-based spell. I might try it the next time I play IWD.

I've never played a bard before How are they? I guess I like to have characters that have specialization, rather than someone who's mediocre at everything...Or am I missing a cool character?