Ok, I'm in the process of making my first party for IWD2. I'm really having a hard time deciding what to do here. I've read a few party guides here and there but they seem to mainly deal with HoF mode and lots of multi-classing leaving making the builds seem powerful but odd. I'm not planning on playing HoF mode so I want to powerful group while still retaining some flavor and distinction. Anyways this what I've been brainstorming so far: (Not sure on stats either so any help there would be greatly appreciated)
1. Shield Dwarf Fighter 4/Barbarian X
2. Sorcerer (Trying to decide between a Human or Wild Elf)
3. Half-Orc STR-based Rogue or Tiefling DEX-based rogue
4. Human Morninglord of Lathander
5. Aasimar Paladin (Not sure if I should Multi-Class or not)
Anyways thats what I have as of now. Not sure about a 6th class. Anyhow I want a party thats interesting and flavorful and effective. Would love some help.
My very first party
Take a party of 6. The game is balanced for a party of 6, with less party members you'll get 0 combat XP more often. I'd add a druid for access to druid spells or a bard for access to bard songs or maybe even both and remove the dwarf or aasimar.
Human yields the slightly better sorcerer. You get a bonus feat, can dump int to 3 and still get 2 skill points per level.
A pure class paladin will refuse to disguise himself in chapter 5, but you don't this extra experience before slaughterin everything. He'll do the most damage when using smite evil and cast holy power near the end.
Popular multiclasses are fighter4/paladin (for weapon specialisation) or paladin1-3/fighter (a fighter who gets the paladin quest bonus, dialogue options and the charisma bonus to saving throws (dump wis).
Human yields the slightly better sorcerer. You get a bonus feat, can dump int to 3 and still get 2 skill points per level.
A pure class paladin will refuse to disguise himself in chapter 5, but you don't this extra experience before slaughterin everything. He'll do the most damage when using smite evil and cast holy power near the end.
Popular multiclasses are fighter4/paladin (for weapon specialisation) or paladin1-3/fighter (a fighter who gets the paladin quest bonus, dialogue options and the charisma bonus to saving throws (dump wis).
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smileycrawford
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I'd agree that you should do a 6 man party. I've tried taking less, and it is always more difficult.
Have you considered an Aasimar Sorcerer with 2 levels of Paladin? They are awesome in this game.
Half Orc Str based rogue would be stronger than a Teifling Dex based Rogue.
I'd build your cleric to be a front end fighter. They are very powerfull.
Have you considered an Aasimar Sorcerer with 2 levels of Paladin? They are awesome in this game.
Half Orc Str based rogue would be stronger than a Teifling Dex based Rogue.
I'd build your cleric to be a front end fighter. They are very powerfull.
Thanks for the tips. I've taken your suggestions and used them. So far, the party has been working great and yes, my Half-Orc pure rogue is pretty nasty lol. For my sixth character I chose just a pure fighter but built her as a dedicated archer. I thought that would be kind of cool. Not sure if I should add any other classes to the mix for her.
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smileycrawford
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Which race did you choose for the fighter? If it is human, half elf or half orc, you could multi-class in barbarian to give them faster speed. Also, if someone ends up getting right up on you, you could switch to a sword or whatever weapon you have and rage on them. I find with my Druid/Barbarian archer that when you start hitting enemies a lot, they start to come after you instead of your front end fighters. I'd definitely take Rapid Shot as an early feat for your build.
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smileycrawford
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I've beaten the game with the following setup : (first playthrough, blind, with a mod that changed the starting city into something harder. I recall some bone lord skeletons? Anyone can remind me the mod's name?)
Con and Cha based Paladin tank (con for hp, cha for defensive rolls and heal)
Str and Dex Warrior physical dps (damage, damage, damage)
Rogue toolbox (traps, doors, damage in the early phase, backstab->invisibility->backstab->invisibility.. in end-game)
Priest medkit (medkit)
Two Sorcerers (explosions, mid-game onward you can solo with one easily)
The only difficult time i've had (both regular and HoF mode) was in monk fortress. The very first test was tough. On HoF i wasn't able to pass the tests at all.
Also due to good alignment "Blasphemy" spell was pain.
So how did this work?
- You can kill any amount of enemies with just one sorc
- You can tank any amount of enemies with just one sorc
- You can do the above even on HoF with just one sorc. (except knights of xvim)
- You have two sorcs
- Paladin is for the beginning, when the sorc doesn't have enough defensive spells to tank anything
- Warrior is for beginning of the game, monk fortress and magic immune enemies
What were the cons?
- I've had to rest quite often, but by turtling up in a corner it wasn't a problem
- Knights of Xvim on HoF were tough
- First monk test on HoF was too much pain for me to bother
Later i tried dumbing down the party. The least i bothered to finish the game with on HoF was 1 sorc + 1 paladin.
As for races - the only thing that mattered was making the sorcs elves, for two more dex and sleep immunity. I'm almost sure the paladin was Aasimar.
What is my post all about? Well.. That you don't need Drow Paladin 2 / Warrior X / Rogue X / Mage.. dual weilding Heaven's Fury characters to finish the game easily. Have you got any experience with IWD 1? How about Baldur's Gate? Take the party you used there and you'll do fine. Take any party, and you'll do fine. (except monk fort and xvim knights on HoF..)
Con and Cha based Paladin tank (con for hp, cha for defensive rolls and heal)
Str and Dex Warrior physical dps (damage, damage, damage)
Rogue toolbox (traps, doors, damage in the early phase, backstab->invisibility->backstab->invisibility.. in end-game)
Priest medkit (medkit)
Two Sorcerers (explosions, mid-game onward you can solo with one easily)
The only difficult time i've had (both regular and HoF mode) was in monk fortress. The very first test was tough. On HoF i wasn't able to pass the tests at all.
Also due to good alignment "Blasphemy" spell was pain.
So how did this work?
- You can kill any amount of enemies with just one sorc
- You can tank any amount of enemies with just one sorc
- You can do the above even on HoF with just one sorc. (except knights of xvim)
- You have two sorcs
- Paladin is for the beginning, when the sorc doesn't have enough defensive spells to tank anything
- Warrior is for beginning of the game, monk fortress and magic immune enemies
What were the cons?
- I've had to rest quite often, but by turtling up in a corner it wasn't a problem
- Knights of Xvim on HoF were tough
- First monk test on HoF was too much pain for me to bother
Later i tried dumbing down the party. The least i bothered to finish the game with on HoF was 1 sorc + 1 paladin.
As for races - the only thing that mattered was making the sorcs elves, for two more dex and sleep immunity. I'm almost sure the paladin was Aasimar.
What is my post all about? Well.. That you don't need Drow Paladin 2 / Warrior X / Rogue X / Mage.. dual weilding Heaven's Fury characters to finish the game easily. Have you got any experience with IWD 1? How about Baldur's Gate? Take the party you used there and you'll do fine. Take any party, and you'll do fine. (except monk fort and xvim knights on HoF..)
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Stworca,
Thanks for your input bud. Right now I'm getting ready to enter the Cold Marshes. The party has really been working out well and my Half-Orc pure rogue has been devastating. I was surprised since, from everything I've read, high rogues weren't too good. I kind of assumed this anyways cause there are no IWD2 rogue guides like there is for the other infinity engine games. Anyways, he's blast to play and does ridiculous damage. Not sure if I should grab arterial strike or not.
I get what your saying though. I guess that's why I enjoy 2nd edition better because I think Rogue 1, Sorcerer 3, Fighter 5, Monk 8 builds are ridiculous. 3rd edition gives alot of options I guess but I just don't really dig it in many ways. Thanks again for your input. I 100 percent agree.
Thanks for your input bud. Right now I'm getting ready to enter the Cold Marshes. The party has really been working out well and my Half-Orc pure rogue has been devastating. I was surprised since, from everything I've read, high rogues weren't too good. I kind of assumed this anyways cause there are no IWD2 rogue guides like there is for the other infinity engine games. Anyways, he's blast to play and does ridiculous damage. Not sure if I should grab arterial strike or not.
I get what your saying though. I guess that's why I enjoy 2nd edition better because I think Rogue 1, Sorcerer 3, Fighter 5, Monk 8 builds are ridiculous. 3rd edition gives alot of options I guess but I just don't really dig it in many ways. Thanks again for your input. I 100 percent agree.
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Darth Malignus
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This is my party of choice:
Human Paladin 8/ Fighter 22.
Str 13
Dex 15
Con 18
Int 3
Wis 11
Cha 16
Never been a fan of Smite Evil or having my Paladin casting spells in general, so I'll give him the Every God Ring to cover his bases and get lvl 6 Paladin spells, just in case I feel the need to divert from that rule on a rare occasion. And it's indeed a rare occasion. In Icewind Dale I didn't find the Paladin spells terribly useful, aside from the occasional Cure Light Wounds, and I'm even less inclined in Icewind Dale 2. BG2 put me off in those regards, as the best IE games Paladin class ever, the Inquisitor, had no access to spells at all. Guess I've picked up that notion all too well. Perhaps it's a fault with me, but I can't really recall a spell the Paladin can cast that a Cleric can't cast better.
The rest of the attribute points at every 4th level goes to Charisma. I guess I could pump it into Strength, but Charisma sort of befits him more as the party leader. Maybe not from a "raw power"-standpoint, but what the hey. The 22 Fighter levels will give him a buttload of feats to expand his combat skills anyway. To get Fiendslayer I'll have to go all the way to level 8 as a Paladin, but he gets a combatitive (is that even a word?) edge towards the end of the game (monsters in the Hand, Isair and Madae in particular, comes to mind), so I think it's a justified build.
Being Human, he gets 2 skill points with each level up, so he gets a decent Diplomacy score, even when leveling up as a Fighter. Some (probably most) would definitely get more Paladin levels for more oomph in Lay on Hands, Smite Evil, etc., but I never found a need for more than that. Some would probably choose Aasimar, but a Human suits me just fine. No ECL as well.
Drow Battleguard of Tempus 30.
Str 18
Dex 18
Con 16
Int 5
Wis 18
Int 5
She's a frontliner along with my Paladin, and the healer. She'll get a pretty decent Magic Resistance along with my Paladin (Cera Sumat) and my Monk as well, so they'll be able to hold the line with the rest of the party nuking away with spells and missile fire. I made her a female just in case I perhaps find it prudent to add some other class levels into the mix, say Fighter, but so far a single class Cleric has worked out fine.
Some would probably choose another race (Half-Orc or Dwarf, perhaps) or order, but I like the Drows innate spell resistances. I've simply had more use for magic resistance in the later stages of the game than the +2 to Strength that Half-Orcs get or the +2 to Constitution Dwarves get. Immunity items coupled with the Drow spell resistance and Sleep immunity will keep her going where others would be disabled.
Also, a Battleguard of Tempus seems geared towards combat more than the other orders, and I prefer a frontline Cleric. Way better than a ranged Cleric, at least. I put all points into Constitution, because the spells of a Cleric usually benefits the party, so the DC is not that big of a deal. It also boosts her Concentration and hit points. A ring of Wisdom or whatever can get her the last spell level.
Human Monk 30.
Str 16
Dex 18
Con 18
Int 3
Wis 18
Cha 3
My scout and a decent unarmed warrior as well. She'll need to be looked after early on, but she comes into her own later on, with magic resistances, evasion and so on. She haz gud Kung-Fu. Pretty simple to level up, as there aren't really a multitude of feats relevant to a Monk. The spellfeats and weapon proficiencies are a waste, and with her good saving throws and magic resistance later on, she's pretty much set from the start.
Human Wizard 30.
Str 9
Dex 18
Con 18
Int 18
Wis 10
Cha 3
The essential spellcaster. I've found that I got to annoyed trying to figure out which Specialist Wizard was the best in the game, and many online guides gave God knows how many different choices and even more reasons why I should pick another Specialist Wizard than recommended by the other guides, so I picked a generic Wizard. So I don't get that one extra spell per tier of spells. And I honestly can't recall ever being in a situation where it hampered my progress anyway, so I'm good.
With his arsenal of spells he's devastating enough as it is, and when he runs out, he shoots and scores with a crossbow. His high Intelligence gives him bonus points to put into Bluff and Intimidate, and this potentially enables him to stand in as the speaker for the party at certain points in the game where Diplomacy won't cut it, even though his Charisma is worse than Violators (you Spawn-fans will know what I mean).
Human Fighter 15/Thief 15.
Str 9
Dex 18
Con 18
Int 18
Wis 10
Cha 3
He picks up the slack in Disable Device, Search etc. His Fighter progression gets the man a lot of feats to expand his lethality. Some would probably go for more Thief levels for more Sneak Attack-mojo. I like it just fine with an even split. The beauty of it is, that even when leveling up as a Fighter, I can still pump up his Search etc. to the max as if I was leveling up as a Thief, even though the skill-ups still cost 2 points. But he'll get tons of skillpoints, and could potentially get a lot more if I put some more attribute points into Intelligence. I find it unnecessary, though.
Some prefer a Wizard/Thief as a back-up caster. I like slicing stuff to pieces with a mix of sneakyness and brute force. Preferences, I suppose. He's also great in a role as a ranged character, where I prefer to equip him with a dart or sling and a shield. Some shields in the game doesn't have a penalty to skill checks, so a Thief can use them along with a one-handed weapon and no disadvantages.
Human Ranger 1/Druid 29.
Str 16
Dex 18
Con 18
Int 3
Wis 18
Cha 3
For those Nature spells I can't get with the others. Also a great archer. I usually use her for exactly that, an archer. Not much to say about that, I suppose. She can be a great summoner along with the Cleric, and both can work together to quickly whip up a wall of living shields. That one level of Ranger gives her a some benefits that doesn't affect her advancement as a Druid much, but gives her some extra weapons potential.
Human Paladin 8/ Fighter 22.
Str 13
Dex 15
Con 18
Int 3
Wis 11
Cha 16
Never been a fan of Smite Evil or having my Paladin casting spells in general, so I'll give him the Every God Ring to cover his bases and get lvl 6 Paladin spells, just in case I feel the need to divert from that rule on a rare occasion. And it's indeed a rare occasion. In Icewind Dale I didn't find the Paladin spells terribly useful, aside from the occasional Cure Light Wounds, and I'm even less inclined in Icewind Dale 2. BG2 put me off in those regards, as the best IE games Paladin class ever, the Inquisitor, had no access to spells at all. Guess I've picked up that notion all too well. Perhaps it's a fault with me, but I can't really recall a spell the Paladin can cast that a Cleric can't cast better.
The rest of the attribute points at every 4th level goes to Charisma. I guess I could pump it into Strength, but Charisma sort of befits him more as the party leader. Maybe not from a "raw power"-standpoint, but what the hey. The 22 Fighter levels will give him a buttload of feats to expand his combat skills anyway. To get Fiendslayer I'll have to go all the way to level 8 as a Paladin, but he gets a combatitive (is that even a word?) edge towards the end of the game (monsters in the Hand, Isair and Madae in particular, comes to mind), so I think it's a justified build.
Being Human, he gets 2 skill points with each level up, so he gets a decent Diplomacy score, even when leveling up as a Fighter. Some (probably most) would definitely get more Paladin levels for more oomph in Lay on Hands, Smite Evil, etc., but I never found a need for more than that. Some would probably choose Aasimar, but a Human suits me just fine. No ECL as well.
Drow Battleguard of Tempus 30.
Str 18
Dex 18
Con 16
Int 5
Wis 18
Int 5
She's a frontliner along with my Paladin, and the healer. She'll get a pretty decent Magic Resistance along with my Paladin (Cera Sumat) and my Monk as well, so they'll be able to hold the line with the rest of the party nuking away with spells and missile fire. I made her a female just in case I perhaps find it prudent to add some other class levels into the mix, say Fighter, but so far a single class Cleric has worked out fine.
Some would probably choose another race (Half-Orc or Dwarf, perhaps) or order, but I like the Drows innate spell resistances. I've simply had more use for magic resistance in the later stages of the game than the +2 to Strength that Half-Orcs get or the +2 to Constitution Dwarves get. Immunity items coupled with the Drow spell resistance and Sleep immunity will keep her going where others would be disabled.
Also, a Battleguard of Tempus seems geared towards combat more than the other orders, and I prefer a frontline Cleric. Way better than a ranged Cleric, at least. I put all points into Constitution, because the spells of a Cleric usually benefits the party, so the DC is not that big of a deal. It also boosts her Concentration and hit points. A ring of Wisdom or whatever can get her the last spell level.
Human Monk 30.
Str 16
Dex 18
Con 18
Int 3
Wis 18
Cha 3
My scout and a decent unarmed warrior as well. She'll need to be looked after early on, but she comes into her own later on, with magic resistances, evasion and so on. She haz gud Kung-Fu. Pretty simple to level up, as there aren't really a multitude of feats relevant to a Monk. The spellfeats and weapon proficiencies are a waste, and with her good saving throws and magic resistance later on, she's pretty much set from the start.
Human Wizard 30.
Str 9
Dex 18
Con 18
Int 18
Wis 10
Cha 3
The essential spellcaster. I've found that I got to annoyed trying to figure out which Specialist Wizard was the best in the game, and many online guides gave God knows how many different choices and even more reasons why I should pick another Specialist Wizard than recommended by the other guides, so I picked a generic Wizard. So I don't get that one extra spell per tier of spells. And I honestly can't recall ever being in a situation where it hampered my progress anyway, so I'm good.
With his arsenal of spells he's devastating enough as it is, and when he runs out, he shoots and scores with a crossbow. His high Intelligence gives him bonus points to put into Bluff and Intimidate, and this potentially enables him to stand in as the speaker for the party at certain points in the game where Diplomacy won't cut it, even though his Charisma is worse than Violators (you Spawn-fans will know what I mean).
Human Fighter 15/Thief 15.
Str 9
Dex 18
Con 18
Int 18
Wis 10
Cha 3
He picks up the slack in Disable Device, Search etc. His Fighter progression gets the man a lot of feats to expand his lethality. Some would probably go for more Thief levels for more Sneak Attack-mojo. I like it just fine with an even split. The beauty of it is, that even when leveling up as a Fighter, I can still pump up his Search etc. to the max as if I was leveling up as a Thief, even though the skill-ups still cost 2 points. But he'll get tons of skillpoints, and could potentially get a lot more if I put some more attribute points into Intelligence. I find it unnecessary, though.
Some prefer a Wizard/Thief as a back-up caster. I like slicing stuff to pieces with a mix of sneakyness and brute force. Preferences, I suppose. He's also great in a role as a ranged character, where I prefer to equip him with a dart or sling and a shield. Some shields in the game doesn't have a penalty to skill checks, so a Thief can use them along with a one-handed weapon and no disadvantages.
Human Ranger 1/Druid 29.
Str 16
Dex 18
Con 18
Int 3
Wis 18
Cha 3
For those Nature spells I can't get with the others. Also a great archer. I usually use her for exactly that, an archer. Not much to say about that, I suppose. She can be a great summoner along with the Cleric, and both can work together to quickly whip up a wall of living shields. That one level of Ranger gives her a some benefits that doesn't affect her advancement as a Druid much, but gives her some extra weapons potential.
Aasimar Sorc with 1-2 Paladin Levels a mix ins:
Most overrated combination I ever saw. A Drow Sorc gets the crucial spells faster compared to a 2 Pal/ X Sorc Aasimar unless you get the paladin levels at the end where it does not matter anymore and his SR easily compensates for the lower saves. His SR is better than a Pal/Sorc with HA even.
Anti Fear Aura is so useless it's not even funny because a meager level 1 cleric spell can solve all fear issues.
Why anyone would go for 2 level Paladins is beyond me at least if you use Paladin just as mix in class.
A Drow Evoker by the way is more powerful the first 19 levels being able to get all 4 GSF and 3 Elemental Feats at level 15 easily while having about the same spells per day.
Sorcerer is a bit more powerful only after level ~22 because Bioware stupidly granted them access to more high levels spells which is so laughable against the base rules it is not even funny. Even in the Epic Level handbook all Sorc NPCs had 3 spells only with the exception of the Simbul but she used a Wish spell for a 4th evel 9 slot and be sure if I'd allow a PC to get that with a Wish spell he'll gonna bleed a lot of exp and resources for that. There was a reason why Sorcs got restriced to 3 spells of spell level 7 and higher in the original rule set.
The difference differece in power is not very big though. The biggest advantage a Sorc gives you is convinience not thinking about memorizing spells.
Most overrated combination I ever saw. A Drow Sorc gets the crucial spells faster compared to a 2 Pal/ X Sorc Aasimar unless you get the paladin levels at the end where it does not matter anymore and his SR easily compensates for the lower saves. His SR is better than a Pal/Sorc with HA even.
Anti Fear Aura is so useless it's not even funny because a meager level 1 cleric spell can solve all fear issues.
Why anyone would go for 2 level Paladins is beyond me at least if you use Paladin just as mix in class.
A Drow Evoker by the way is more powerful the first 19 levels being able to get all 4 GSF and 3 Elemental Feats at level 15 easily while having about the same spells per day.
Sorcerer is a bit more powerful only after level ~22 because Bioware stupidly granted them access to more high levels spells which is so laughable against the base rules it is not even funny. Even in the Epic Level handbook all Sorc NPCs had 3 spells only with the exception of the Simbul but she used a Wish spell for a 4th evel 9 slot and be sure if I'd allow a PC to get that with a Wish spell he'll gonna bleed a lot of exp and resources for that. There was a reason why Sorcs got restriced to 3 spells of spell level 7 and higher in the original rule set.
The difference differece in power is not very big though. The biggest advantage a Sorc gives you is convinience not thinking about memorizing spells.
Evoker is the strongest wizard in IWD by far. All you lose is Divination (very minor spells and close to useless most of the time) and Conjuration (only really missed spell: Flame Arrow and some summons) but you can still summon Shades, Shadows and Animate Dead which provide more than enough summons.I've found that I got to annoyed trying to figure out which Specialist Wizard was the best in the game