What's the point of using a Duergar?

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Sorry for the thread necromancy, but I see this popping up often enough to warrant an extra warning.

Yes, you can effectively erase the exp gap by bringing a singular character to same level as the rest of your party. And making one of the biggest mistakes you can do in IWD2. You'll effectively raise your party's average level by a whole level by leveling JUST ONE character - thus gaining less experience for killing subsequent monsters - instead of using the book on someone that would actually benefit from the extra exp. Your party's wizard/sorcerer or cleric, perhaps?

 

That sounds pointless; wouldn't the other character also go a level up, similarly raising the average party level? It's essentially the same thing. Maybe this is an idea though: What about waiting and not using the tome? Just store it in your Bag of Holding, and use the XP before resting for the final battle. Not only will you have gained 10,000XP at a point when kills are worth much less, but you'll also have a better idea of which character can use it best.

 

Oh, the end result about experience levels and such might as well be the same, but for heaven's sake, don't use the tome on your lowest level guy JUST so that he could be the same level as the rest. Use it on the character that gets the most bang for the buck for it. In just about all the cases I can think of, this should be your party's main offensive spellcaster, be it sorcerer, wizard or druid at the time.

 

I must disagree here: As you've been saying, being a level higher can have negative consequences to the amount of XP gained, and using the tome at the end of the game (or even in Heart of Fury) will prevent this higher level from counting towards your party's average level through chapters 4, 5 and 6 of the game. It's a (partial) level kept in reserve, which is more acceptable than plain level squatting.

 

Oh, sorry about the miscommunication. I meant that you might end up raising your average party level with that tome whether you give it to your ECL guy or some other, but JUST to erase the level gap to your other characters should be the last of the concerns on that priority queue.

Now that you mentioned it - bringing just one ECL+1 race such as Aasimar to an otherwise non-ECL party might not be enough to push the rest of the party towards higher level due to these very tomes, one in normal and one in HOF. But a Deep Gnome with its ECL+3 is pretty much a sure thing.

When your total ECL penalty goes above the amount of people in your party, there's actually a slight possibility that any non-ECL characters might end up a whole TWO levels higher than they otherwise would.

 

Having a fighter armed with a two-handed weapon, bull strength, power attack, improved critical, who can turn himself invisible and introduce a "baddie" to his party with a sounding smack is priceless, IMO, Druegar in IWD II, should only have a 1 level penalty, however; they are still quite fun.

 

I wanted a fighter that was resistant to paralysis as getting my fighters hit by hold person was really annoying. The duergar has immunity to paralysis. However, the -2 during daylight in addition to being 2 levels lower makes for a possible -4 hit penalty compared to a gold dwarf. I find that a gold dwarf with its already +2 saves vs. spells just seems a better value than the duergar. I just don't feel that the immunity to paralysis for those odd times I run into enemy clerics is worth taking a -2 or -4 penalty to attacks all the time.

 

About Invisibility: almost any fighter with decent Dex can turn himself "invisible" with a minimal investment in Hide skill. (Unfortunately it doesn't help your chances of attacking successfully AFAIK although it might prevent the enemies from getting their DEX bonus.) Thus, you don't need to be a Duergar/Svirfneblin to do this trick.

Invisibility as an innate spell is chiefly useful for disengaging from combat, which Hide can't do.

-Max

 

Sure, if you compare just the dwarves. But the REST of your party surely appreciates two individual level's worth of average party level reduction and thus more exp here and there.

 

I've already got that covered with my Svirfneblin Ranger 1/Monk X. On top of the 3 ECL, I'm taking a -20% XP penalty as well after level 3. I also have an Aasimar and Tiefling as well. Should be enough to lower the party level I would think.