new guy here. couple questions

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"Battleguard" would be "Battleguard of Tempus" - one of the cleric domains.

 

where would i find information on such classes? i can't find them in the manual i d/l.


Level: Drd 2, Rgr 2, Ilmater 2, Selune 2

i'm assuming that this means druids and rangers get the spell at spell level 2. the ilmater and selune listing must mean if your a cleric with those domains? or are they a different class? like the battleguard? hope i'm explaining this right.

 

I just checked the manual, and I'm really surprised the domain info isn't in there!?!

You are correct that the spell listing means that Druids and Rangers get the spell at spell level 2. the Ilmater and Selune means that the spell is one of their domain spell options for the 2nd spell level slot.

In IWD2, you select domains (or orders) for clerics, paladins, and monks. For paladins and monks these orders affect (and restrict) what dual-classing options you have. Cleric domains affect domain spells (obviously), and provide a few bonus skills or feats. They are restricted by alignment, and there are nine such domains:

 

thanks a TON for the info. much appreciated. where did you get it? is there another manual? what about info about paladins and monks? can i find that anywhere?

 

Yep battleguards are the bomb as you get a cleric weilding a battleaxe! Gotta love it.

 

There no need for such huge-ass posts, just check out the guides and spell lists here:

http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/IWD2/index_tips.php

 

thanks for the info guys. guess i didn't poke around enough or i would have found it.
much appreciated

just now re-reading everything and i noticed this line. why was str useless in BG2?

 

In BG2 there were a lot of spells and equipment which set str to 18/00 or even more.

The answer to "when should i take the 4 levels of fighter?" for the cleric or paladin is never.

It's good for the party balance if the sorcerer levels the slowest, but the game will be far easier when you choose a race without ECL penalty for him.

 

Yeah, similarly there are loads of spell and items which boost strength, though admittedly only the highest single bonus counts. Also these STR bonus items are often for warriors only, another reason to take a level paladin or ranger for your spellcasters.

Constitution bonus items are less common though, and there are precious little spells that influence constitution. There's a Bull's Strength (1d4+1 STR, 1hr/lvl), Cat's Grace (1d4+1 DEX, 1hr/lvl), Champion's Strength (1d4+4 STR, 10min/lvl), but there's no Oxes Constitution spell. This is another reason why improving your constitution takes precedence over strength. With 18STR it's still possible to bump it up to 26 with Champion's Strength, but getting your 18CON improved is more difficult.

The (near) single class paladin is mainly a warrior, so weapon expertise helps them fight. I'd take the 4 levels fighter before level 9. I don't understand what good speedleveling your paladin would do, his spellbook is pretty crummy.

party balance? Yeah, you wouldn't want your sorcerer to become too powerful too soon. Wait, yes you would!
kmonster is playing a different kind of game than I am, I guess. My advice is based on powergaming, but if you think this causes imbalances, you definitely have roleplaying in mind. Roleplaying parties are guaranteed to be more of a challenge though!

 

so should i go aasimar or human for my sorcerer? i figure aasimar because it gives me +2 to cha but it also gives me 1 ECL higher (or is it lower).

think i'll change my fighter/rogue to a drow instead. going by what was mentioned about SR being better for a melee character. or should i keep it tiefling?

 

human sorcerers get access to spells earlier, but aasimar sorcerers get more spells and better DCs for their spells, as well as bonuses to talking skills because of their CHR. Personally I go with aasimar, but there are valid reasons for going human, such as being able to get away with less INT and still have enough skill points, or wanting to multi class to something other than paladin.

 

Human is far more powerful. Being able to cast the spells as fast as possible helps far more than 1-2 bonus spells and the little increase in save difficulty.

If you choose drow you have to keep the levels even in order to avoid a multiclassing penalty since neither fighter nor rogue is favored class. Even then I consider the tiefling more powerful.

 

Yes, they are both good options. Aasimar aree the ultimate spellcasters, but have weak stats when min-maxing, because you need 10INT for concentration and spellcraft. A human, among bonuses mentioned, has enough points remaining for decent melee stats. This gives you more flexibility in combat.
Aasimar: Ultimate powergaming, but very specialized.
Human: Versatile powergaming, at the cost of making spellcasting marginally weaker, you get a more useful character. After taking 10spellcraft, you can then focus your extra skillpoint on diplomacy for example.

Drow and deep gnome have spell resistance, and this can indeed be useful for a rogue. When he's being chased, spellcasters can blast the area with crowd control spells, and the rogue is likely to resist them.

 

Erm...that wasn't my comment. I'm all for having ultra powerful sorcerers.

 

i'm so sorry, I meant to put kmonster. My mistake, it's corrected now.

 

well i should be getting the game today. I HOPE! it's been almost a week now.
my current party make up is:

Triel F Aasimar Paladin
Klepto M Drow Fighter / Rogue
Jodak M ½-Orc Battleguard of Tempus
Moonknight F Human Druid
Nevlin M Human Bard
Akridian M Aasimar Sorcerer

just to give everyone an idea so far. i've made a few changes since my last post of my party make up so i thought i'd update it
the only character i plan to multi class is Klepto. the others i think will just be single class to the end.

is there such a thing as a battleguard of tempus in the P&P version of D&D?

 

I would go with a tiefling rogue - less of an ECL penalty, and they get all sorts of bonuses. I had a charistmatic rogue tiefling as my party leader on my last game. He was fun to play.

 

I'd stick with Drow. There's no need for powerleveling with a rogue, and the Drow's spell resistance beats the weak elemental resistances of the tiefling hands down.

 

how is the game as far as undead go? is there a lot of undead or just a bit?

 

Not that many undead and the ones you meet are often quite weak. I wouldn't change anything in a party for them (although some weapons could be kept for use against undead to make them eaven easier to fight against... you'll see which weapons i mean when/if you find them).