IWD 1st timer

[BRKO]

Hi dudes,
choosing from several games I picked IWD, got the 2004 complete edition with HoW and started to play. Here are some observations...you might have read here before I am sure

I have never played a game based on D&D rules before so - lead by common sense I hope - I ended up with these guys to beat the game in normal difficulty:

2 fighters (swords & maces, swords & hammers)
2 archers (bows & crossbows, bows & javelins)
A mage (grease spell)
A cleric (sleep, bless, curse spells)
All lawfully neutral with low charisma. Fighters and rangers are designed the same way, max str+dex+con. Mage has max int+dex+con while cleric has max wis+dex+con. Weapon classes and spells chosen randomly.

I have reached Kuldahar and must say its an awesome game! However there are a few things I quite dont get. The melee guys durability, low casting frequency, healing thru sleeping and


EDIT:
I have just noticed that it would be better if I posted my observations a bit later while I progress because some of them could be due to early stages of the game

[Stworca]

Low casting frequency

Combat in game takes place in rounds, they are 6s long i believe. You can only cast one spell per round, thus the frequency is low.

healing thru sleeping

You don''t get too much health back, as it should be. Broken necks don't heal up in one night

The melee guys durability

Make sure to give them potions and focus the cleric on saving their hides.

Also : When you press SPACE the game pauses, and you can still give orders while its paused. If you already know this : Damn it, am i the only one who didn't on first play? (i've beaten it w/o pausing, with many tears shed and lots of sweating)

Can't remember what the optimal parties are for IWD1, but you'll see that for yourself.

[kmonster]

A round takes 7 seconds in IWD, if you want to get fully healed after resting just enable the "rest until healed" option which lets your cleric cast healing spells and rerest until everyone is healed.
It's possible to play without thief, you can bash locked chests open (or use the knock spell) and reload when a trap gets too harmful.
Maxing physical stats was a good idea, low charisma doesn't hurt in combat and you can live without a shopping discount.
To make your meleers last longer you can try to get their AC as low as possible or make the enemies spread their attacks among more targets, you'll get additional options when you gain new levels and spells.

There are many tactics you can use in combat, discovering them yourself is the fun and challenging part, if you get into trouble just ask and you'll get help.

[GawainBS]

If you're willing to start over/make new characters, I'd advice to make one of the archers or fighters a Fighter/Thief, since being able to lockpick & disarm traps helps. (Not necessary, but it helps.)
I also think replacing an archer with a Bard (who uses a bow ;-)) is a good idea. The extra casting is nice, as are the later Bard songs.

[DaveO]

Personally, I'm going to skip advice or comments since pretty much almost any party can make it thru. For a first timer, nothing beats the joy of discovery!

[BRKO]

Thank you guys for posting

I will see how the game goes on and try to find out stuff myself as you suggest. Hopefully I will have some time to play on weekend.

Btw Im surprised and glad the game runs just fine on win7.

[wise grimwald]

I think that trial and (lots of) error is the best way of learning, though the occasional question sometimes works wonders.

When you have played through a couple of times, you might want to join in on the no-reloads challenge.

The Trials of the Luremaster patch not only eliminates some glitches, it also adds new areas to the game.

Just type into Google or other search engine:

"Trials of the Luremaster" Download

Unfortunately getting the download free takes a LONG time. However, you can pay to get it quicker