Okay....I finally decided to get around to trying Icewind Dale, after having played through Planescape, Neverwinter Nights, and Baldurs gate. In my usual fashion, I've read everything on Gamefaqs about character creation and what-not, and spent several hours creating characters that appear to look good from the gameplay persepective while still being interesting roleplay-wise. So far, I have the following characters. (Note, all stats are from memory, so they may be off slightly. Also, I use almost all the mods by We-what's his name, including the druid ones) Most of the help is with the last two characters.
Arvien Darkstar, Human Sorceror, LE. 18 Chr, 10 wis, 8 str, 8 dex, 16 int, 16 con. Skills are Bluff, Diplomacy, Spellcraft and Concentration, with anything extra tossed into Knowledge Arcana and Alchemy. Starting feats are courteous magocracy and Mercantile Background. Basically, he's the diplomat of the group, party leader, charms the birds out of the trees, or will blast them out with a fireball if necessary. Smooth, evil, looks fine to me.
Svalbard Bloodaxe, Duergar Fighter, NE, 18 Str, 20 Con, 12 Dex, 10 wis, 6 int, 4 cha. Skills are Intimidate. Starting feats Martial Weapon: Axe & Weapon Focus: Axe. Basically, this guy is my tank. He has several imunities due to being Grey Dwarf, incredible fortitude saves, passable reflex & will saves, insane HP and heavy armor. Uses a greataxe, doesnt talk much, just stands there and gets pounded.
Arog Kalraugh: Half-Orc, Fighter 4/barbarian X. 20 Str, 18 Con, 14 Dex, 6 int, 10 wis, 6 cha. Skills are Intimidate. Starting Feats are Exotic Weapon: Bastard Sword & Dodge. This guy is my secondary tank and main melee beater-upper of things. with 18 con and a shield, should be nearly as good at taking damage. Again, dumb as a board, but quite nice at killing stuff.
Iaris Kell'neras; Drow Wizard. 20 Int, 18 const, 16 dex, 8 str, 8 charisma, 10 wis. Skills are Concentration, Alchemy, Knowldege: Arcana, Disable Device, Spellcraft, with extra being tossed at lockpicking. Starting Feats are Spell Focus Necromancy & Combat Casting. Generalist wizard. Basically this guy is the subsidiary spell-slinger, and main summoner of mean monstrosities. I made him a generalist since I couldnt think of any spell schools I can completely do without, since I have only one wizard. High Int means he has spells, Spell-resistance makes him fairly safe in the backrows.
(Now comes the hard part).
Fiera d'Orlinas Human Druid. 18 wisdom, 16 const, 14 int, 12 charisma, 8 dex, 8 strength, Skills are Concentration, with Wilderness lore and spellcraft being raised more or less equally and behind the main skill. Starting Feats I have no idea, so I gave her luck of heroes and Snakeblood... The idea is that this is to give me yet more spell casting power and lots of nice shape-shifting. Issue: I have never played a druid in any game, and I have NO idea how to make one. I read somewhere that the shapeshifting forms over-ride your physical stats, so I gave her good HP and left it at that. the Int and Cha are almost purely for role-playing purposes, I had no idea what to do with the attribute points. A decent pure druid build would be heartily appreciated.
(Now comes the impossible part)
Karl Langaring, Deep Gnome Cleric of ________. 20 Wisdom. 18 const, 8 str, 6 cha, 10 dex, 12 int. Skills are concentration, and I know not what else. Feats I haven't a clue. Basically, I dont know what to do with this character. A sviffy seems like a natural cleric, since they're one of the few races with a wisdom bonus, although the low cha means I'm not going to turn any undead any time soon. I'm thinking of being a Mask cleric, to get more illusion spells and hopefully get a decent scout, (maybe Dash then as a feat?). Bane on the other hand also looks good and sufficiently evil. A good pure-class, evil Cleric build would also be appreciated.
If anyone can tell me what to do on the Cleric and Druid, I would be very thankful, since personally, I'm just confused...
Evil Party (Need a bit of help)
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NeoTiamat
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Evil Party (Need a bit of help)
When the Armageddon is upon us and Fenris breaks his chains, then Tiamat shall rise up again and devour all life!
NeoTiamat, if you're going to go with a CHA of 6 with your deep gnome cleric, don't go for a Banite cleric. Their domain spells are very centered on charm/domination, which are affected by your CHA. If you're going to stick with this character's stats as is, Mask is probably your domain of choice.
Regarding Feats... well, given the cleric's stats, you might want to take a feat point in your prefered ranged weapon of choice.
BTW, if by chance, you choose to go with a Banite, putting Feat points into spell focus and greater spell focus: enchantment would be feat points well spent.
I wouldn't waste a feat point on Dash with your cleric. Dash has its uses, but not for a behind the lines, spellcasting cleric.
Ditto for your druid. I'm no expert on druids, but I'd think that you'd better better off with more DEX than just 8 and STR of 8. You won't get much help with ranged attacks. And you'll be weak as a kitten in melee, unless you are heavily into shape-shifting.
Regarding Feats... well, given the cleric's stats, you might want to take a feat point in your prefered ranged weapon of choice.
BTW, if by chance, you choose to go with a Banite, putting Feat points into spell focus and greater spell focus: enchantment would be feat points well spent.
I wouldn't waste a feat point on Dash with your cleric. Dash has its uses, but not for a behind the lines, spellcasting cleric.
Ditto for your druid. I'm no expert on druids, but I'd think that you'd better better off with more DEX than just 8 and STR of 8. You won't get much help with ranged attacks. And you'll be weak as a kitten in melee, unless you are heavily into shape-shifting.
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NeoTiamat
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Well, for the cleric, it looks like he will be a Clerimask, after looking through all the spells, they just seem cooler. I'll probably grab a few spell-foci, some spell penetration, and then just use him as a heavy nuker when he gets enough levels. I like spell casters over melee for that reason, lots of mass-spell carnage.
As for the druid, my basic idea is that she'll cast off all the spells at the start of combat from behind the Half-Orc and Duergar, then shift into some Half-dragon form and help clean up. I dont plan to ever use her in combat unless it's spell casting or shape-shifted.
As for the druid, my basic idea is that she'll cast off all the spells at the start of combat from behind the Half-Orc and Duergar, then shift into some Half-dragon form and help clean up. I dont plan to ever use her in combat unless it's spell casting or shape-shifted.
When the Armageddon is upon us and Fenris breaks his chains, then Tiamat shall rise up again and devour all life!
I wouldn't use a duergar, deep gnomes are far superior.
About your druid: Snakeblood is useless.
Most important feats are GSF transmutation and scion of storms for even deadlier call lightning or static charge. Most druid spells are transmutation spells.
Other useful feats are GSF evocation and spirit of flame if you use that spells.
For finger of death you should add GSF necromancy later.
You don't need so much int, the only skills you need are concentration and 10 spellcraft. Even 3 int is enough for this, with 10 int you already get 3 skill points per level. I'd raise con and str by two instead.
I'd raise con by 2 for your sorcerer and decrease int instead, only one character needs knowledge arcana or alchemy and high con helps casting while being attacked.
Give a greatsword or halberd or greataxe to your halforc instead of bastard swords, you'll find more and better ones of them and you get an extra damage bonus with 2-handed weapons. Shields are not that great.
Clerics need only concentration, so I would lower int for higher strength so that your cleric can wear heavy armor. Full plates are heavy.
The low cha won't really affect your turning ability, the slower levelling will.
About your druid: Snakeblood is useless.
Most important feats are GSF transmutation and scion of storms for even deadlier call lightning or static charge. Most druid spells are transmutation spells.
Other useful feats are GSF evocation and spirit of flame if you use that spells.
For finger of death you should add GSF necromancy later.
You don't need so much int, the only skills you need are concentration and 10 spellcraft. Even 3 int is enough for this, with 10 int you already get 3 skill points per level. I'd raise con and str by two instead.
I'd raise con by 2 for your sorcerer and decrease int instead, only one character needs knowledge arcana or alchemy and high con helps casting while being attacked.
Give a greatsword or halberd or greataxe to your halforc instead of bastard swords, you'll find more and better ones of them and you get an extra damage bonus with 2-handed weapons. Shields are not that great.
Clerics need only concentration, so I would lower int for higher strength so that your cleric can wear heavy armor. Full plates are heavy.
The low cha won't really affect your turning ability, the slower levelling will.
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Raven_Song
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Hi just some random thoughts on your party...
Arvien Darkstar
Personally I'd lose the two feats you've selected on this character and put them in the various spell focuses depending on your personal preference.
Svalbard Bloodaxe
This characters low CHA will penalize his Intimidate skill for quite a while, so really you'd be better giving this skill to you're sorcerer whose natural charisma would make up for Intimidate only being a cross class skill.
Some other points to consider about duergar are that the immunites aren't that great, and he will suffer a penalty on his to hit rolls when fighting in day light and can potentially be blinded by fire spells. Not so great for your main tank, especially given that he will be levelling slower than most of your party.
That being said I personally wouldn't recommend changing the duergar to a deep gnome either.
Arog Kalraugh
Will be a better tank than the duergar ... unless you've got the weimar improved bastard sword component installed change to another weapon, as the majority of bastard swords I found were cursed.
Iaris Kell'neras
You might want to consider a rogue level or two to cover your basic rogue skills, as unless I've missed something I didn't see anybody who could search/disable traps (its not a necessity but it can be really irritating when you're poisoned/diseased as a result of trap and without the means to heal)
Fiera d'Orlinas
Probably doesn't need that much intelligence, I never usually bother with any more than 10 (12 max) and CHA is really dependent on how much you want to make use of the animal empthy skill (which I quite enjoy using as it adds to the role-playing element). Try casting an entangle/rain storm combo during the first chapter and watch the orcs crumble. Druids make the best low level bombardiers.
As for feat selection its all personal preference I usally begin by macxing spell focus evocation as at lower levels Rainstorm/Sunscorch (both evocation are more useful), then I usually selected Transmutation although to be honest I've never really liked Call Lightning.
The usefulness of spell focus Necromancy/Enchantment for druids is negligable as they learn very few decent spells that benefit from them.
Karl Langaring
I'd be wary of having a deep gnome cleric, especially as the parties sole cleric as you might find it levels to slowly, meaning you have to wait longer for vital spells like heal.
AS suggested raise the strength, clerics are supposed to be used as second tier fighters.
Dreadmaster or Demarch would be fine, I'm not sure where Crucis got the information that domain/charm spells are affected by CHA but I have to say in the time I've played this game I've never encountered or heard anybody else mention this, as far as I am aware WIS is the only determining factor in
the effectiveness of cleric spells. (If Crucis could point me to the source where s/he got this information I would be most greatful)
Hope this helps a little
Arvien Darkstar
Personally I'd lose the two feats you've selected on this character and put them in the various spell focuses depending on your personal preference.
Svalbard Bloodaxe
This characters low CHA will penalize his Intimidate skill for quite a while, so really you'd be better giving this skill to you're sorcerer whose natural charisma would make up for Intimidate only being a cross class skill.
Some other points to consider about duergar are that the immunites aren't that great, and he will suffer a penalty on his to hit rolls when fighting in day light and can potentially be blinded by fire spells. Not so great for your main tank, especially given that he will be levelling slower than most of your party.
That being said I personally wouldn't recommend changing the duergar to a deep gnome either.
Arog Kalraugh
Will be a better tank than the duergar ... unless you've got the weimar improved bastard sword component installed change to another weapon, as the majority of bastard swords I found were cursed.
Iaris Kell'neras
You might want to consider a rogue level or two to cover your basic rogue skills, as unless I've missed something I didn't see anybody who could search/disable traps (its not a necessity but it can be really irritating when you're poisoned/diseased as a result of trap and without the means to heal)
Fiera d'Orlinas
Probably doesn't need that much intelligence, I never usually bother with any more than 10 (12 max) and CHA is really dependent on how much you want to make use of the animal empthy skill (which I quite enjoy using as it adds to the role-playing element). Try casting an entangle/rain storm combo during the first chapter and watch the orcs crumble. Druids make the best low level bombardiers.
As for feat selection its all personal preference I usally begin by macxing spell focus evocation as at lower levels Rainstorm/Sunscorch (both evocation are more useful), then I usually selected Transmutation although to be honest I've never really liked Call Lightning.
The usefulness of spell focus Necromancy/Enchantment for druids is negligable as they learn very few decent spells that benefit from them.
Karl Langaring
I'd be wary of having a deep gnome cleric, especially as the parties sole cleric as you might find it levels to slowly, meaning you have to wait longer for vital spells like heal.
AS suggested raise the strength, clerics are supposed to be used as second tier fighters.
Dreadmaster or Demarch would be fine, I'm not sure where Crucis got the information that domain/charm spells are affected by CHA but I have to say in the time I've played this game I've never encountered or heard anybody else mention this, as far as I am aware WIS is the only determining factor in
the effectiveness of cleric spells. (If Crucis could point me to the source where s/he got this information I would be most greatful)
Hope this helps a little
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NeoTiamat
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i've made the party and have just finished the first Targos Gobby killing spree. So unless I get some reason to strongly change something, I'll probably keep the party I have. In response
Arvien:
I admit that I'd probably benefit from a few spell focus feats and such, but I decided that with a total of four casters, I can afford to let him be a little behind. I'll get him the Focus: Evocation line over the next few levels, then concentrate on the elemental dmg boosters. Likewise, I have some of the hidden shop plugins, so I decided that the ability to make extra money should be a decent sop in exchange for a feat or two.
Svalbard:
Frankly, I don't care about intimidate all that much, although I'll probably send some points that way on Arvien. As for the ECL, the way I see it, since he gets spotted the amount of XP at the start, all it means is that once I get past the first few levels (i.e. reach around 6-7), he'll be only a single level behind. Plus, this is an EVIL party, and I find that an evil Duergar mercenary just works.
Arog:
I do have the bastard sword componenet installed, I specifically chose that weapon after reading through the thing.
Iaris:
I'm having Iaris get search and Disable device, since with 20 int he gets excellent modifiers, despite being cross-class. If I find that I'm not getting scrolls for my spells fast enough, I'll consider getting him a level or two of rogue, but so far I don't think it'll be necessary. Plus, I can have one of my tanks open traps, and bashing locks or using knock works well for locks.
Fiera:
I'll work on the Spell-Foci Transmutation and Evocation, depends which ones I use most. I decided to turn her into a tiefling to let me squeeze out some more stats, so she basically has just enough skills to max concentration, animal empathy, and wilderness lore.
Karl:
Again, I'm not convinced about the whole ECL thing, one of the guides on Gamefaqs has a very logical explanation of how after the first levels it's not terribly important. I'm more concerned about con then strength honestly, as after lvl 5 i'll basically have two full time tanks, plus the druid can turn into a Verbeeg in addition. I'm geussing that so long as Karl can take some hits, thats enough for me.
Arvien:
I admit that I'd probably benefit from a few spell focus feats and such, but I decided that with a total of four casters, I can afford to let him be a little behind. I'll get him the Focus: Evocation line over the next few levels, then concentrate on the elemental dmg boosters. Likewise, I have some of the hidden shop plugins, so I decided that the ability to make extra money should be a decent sop in exchange for a feat or two.
Svalbard:
Frankly, I don't care about intimidate all that much, although I'll probably send some points that way on Arvien. As for the ECL, the way I see it, since he gets spotted the amount of XP at the start, all it means is that once I get past the first few levels (i.e. reach around 6-7), he'll be only a single level behind. Plus, this is an EVIL party, and I find that an evil Duergar mercenary just works.
Arog:
I do have the bastard sword componenet installed, I specifically chose that weapon after reading through the thing.
Iaris:
I'm having Iaris get search and Disable device, since with 20 int he gets excellent modifiers, despite being cross-class. If I find that I'm not getting scrolls for my spells fast enough, I'll consider getting him a level or two of rogue, but so far I don't think it'll be necessary. Plus, I can have one of my tanks open traps, and bashing locks or using knock works well for locks.
Fiera:
I'll work on the Spell-Foci Transmutation and Evocation, depends which ones I use most. I decided to turn her into a tiefling to let me squeeze out some more stats, so she basically has just enough skills to max concentration, animal empathy, and wilderness lore.
Karl:
Again, I'm not convinced about the whole ECL thing, one of the guides on Gamefaqs has a very logical explanation of how after the first levels it's not terribly important. I'm more concerned about con then strength honestly, as after lvl 5 i'll basically have two full time tanks, plus the druid can turn into a Verbeeg in addition. I'm geussing that so long as Karl can take some hits, thats enough for me.
When the Armageddon is upon us and Fenris breaks his chains, then Tiamat shall rise up again and devour all life!
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NeoTiamat
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Meh, should've though of this before, but: Here are the characters as I've made them, so so long as no one notices any glaring faults, this is what I'll use. (Has to be glaring enough to justify redoing the prologue)
Arvien Darkstar: LE Human Sorceror
8 Str, 8 Dex, 16 Con, 16 Int, 10 Wis, 18 Cha
Skills: Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Spellcraft, with a bit of intimidate and knowledge arcana
Feats: Mercantile background & Courteous Magocracy
Svalbard Blood: :LE Duergar Fighter
18 Str, 13 Dex, 20 Con, 7 Int, 12 Wis, 4 Cha
Skills:Concentration (In preperation for maximise Attack)
Feats: Weapon Focus: Axe & Power Attack
Arog Kragsnarr: CE Half-Orc Fighter (To be multiclassed into a barbarian)
20 Str, 14 Dex, 18 Con, 8 Int, 10 Wis, 4 Cha
Skills: Intimidate
Feats: Exotic Weapon: Bastard Sword & Weapon Focus: Bastard Sword
Fiera d'Sheol: NE Tiefling Druid (Extra-Planar nature... Oh the Possibilities)
10 Str, 14 Dex, 16 Con, 12 Int, 18 Wis, 8 Cha
Skills: Concentrate, Animal Empathy, Wilderness Lore
Feats: Luck of Heroes
Rorn Cobbrick: NE Svifrneblin Demarch of Mask
8 Str, 10 Dex, 18 Con, 12 Int, 20 Wis, 6 Cha
Skills: Concentration, Spellcraft
Feats: Combat Casting
Iaris Arken'Virr: NE Drow Wizard
8 Str, 18 Dex, 16 Con, 20 Int, 12 Wis, 8 Cha
Skills: Alchemy, Concentration, Knowledge: Arcana, Spellcraft, Disable Device, Search
Feats: Combat Casting & Spell Focus: Necromancy.
Arvien Darkstar: LE Human Sorceror
8 Str, 8 Dex, 16 Con, 16 Int, 10 Wis, 18 Cha
Skills: Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Spellcraft, with a bit of intimidate and knowledge arcana
Feats: Mercantile background & Courteous Magocracy
Svalbard Blood: :LE Duergar Fighter
18 Str, 13 Dex, 20 Con, 7 Int, 12 Wis, 4 Cha
Skills:Concentration (In preperation for maximise Attack)
Feats: Weapon Focus: Axe & Power Attack
Arog Kragsnarr: CE Half-Orc Fighter (To be multiclassed into a barbarian)
20 Str, 14 Dex, 18 Con, 8 Int, 10 Wis, 4 Cha
Skills: Intimidate
Feats: Exotic Weapon: Bastard Sword & Weapon Focus: Bastard Sword
Fiera d'Sheol: NE Tiefling Druid (Extra-Planar nature... Oh the Possibilities)
10 Str, 14 Dex, 16 Con, 12 Int, 18 Wis, 8 Cha
Skills: Concentrate, Animal Empathy, Wilderness Lore
Feats: Luck of Heroes
Rorn Cobbrick: NE Svifrneblin Demarch of Mask
8 Str, 10 Dex, 18 Con, 12 Int, 20 Wis, 6 Cha
Skills: Concentration, Spellcraft
Feats: Combat Casting
Iaris Arken'Virr: NE Drow Wizard
8 Str, 18 Dex, 16 Con, 20 Int, 12 Wis, 8 Cha
Skills: Alchemy, Concentration, Knowledge: Arcana, Spellcraft, Disable Device, Search
Feats: Combat Casting & Spell Focus: Necromancy.
When the Armageddon is upon us and Fenris breaks his chains, then Tiamat shall rise up again and devour all life!
You should be able to beat the game with your party without facing bigger problems.
Low strength isn't fun. You have 4 characters who can hardly carry their equipment. Bull's strength is nearly permanent but it's still not much what theese characters can carry under the effect of this spell.
The cleric ECL penalty has the advantage that you don't get some too powerful spells so early. But what kind of armor do you exspect your cleric to wear ? Weapons,shield and potions will already take him to his limits.
Low strength isn't fun. You have 4 characters who can hardly carry their equipment. Bull's strength is nearly permanent but it's still not much what theese characters can carry under the effect of this spell.
The cleric ECL penalty has the advantage that you don't get some too powerful spells so early. But what kind of armor do you exspect your cleric to wear ? Weapons,shield and potions will already take him to his limits.
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NeoTiamat
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On the strength issue, the Wizard and Sorceror aren't actually going to be carrying anything. Robes, some bracers & rings and such, maybe some scrolls and potions. The druid has a bit better strength, and so I haven't had much problem with her. For the Gnome, I had some issues with him, but I bought the Hawk's Mail, which is both pretty light for an armor and gives +4 strength, meaning he has 90 total encumbrance, and 65 left over for items and weapons after armor.
As for the Cleric spells, I suspect I'll survive, although I'm having some mild issues (fighting Torak and his bunch) with the survivability of my casters.
As for the Cleric spells, I suspect I'll survive, although I'm having some mild issues (fighting Torak and his bunch) with the survivability of my casters.
When the Armageddon is upon us and Fenris breaks his chains, then Tiamat shall rise up again and devour all life!
having slight problems with torak
i didn't have any problems with torak he was easily
and i have nearly same party as you have..
maybe a bit better on attributes
- human fighter
- half elf monk
- drow wizard
- human cleric
- thiefling thief
- human sorceror
i'll update the attributes if u want..athough i'm in the marshes already and kicking ass ^^
on a new party I will replace the thief that's for sure...they are basicly useless hen a party has strenght of 20 and your monk can evade traps..
so most likely I will replace the thief for a druid
i didn't have any problems with torak he was easily
and i have nearly same party as you have..
maybe a bit better on attributes
- human fighter
- half elf monk
- drow wizard
- human cleric
- thiefling thief
- human sorceror
i'll update the attributes if u want..athough i'm in the marshes already and kicking ass ^^
on a new party I will replace the thief that's for sure...they are basicly useless hen a party has strenght of 20 and your monk can evade traps..
so most likely I will replace the thief for a druid
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NeoTiamat
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The problem isn't with Torak, per-say, so much as the large number of orcs and the odd exploding barrel. mostly it's just the fact that my two arcane casters are insanely fragile, and orcs seem to like going for them. Oh well, hasn't been too much trouble, just more irritation then with the gobbos.
When the Armageddon is upon us and Fenris breaks his chains, then Tiamat shall rise up again and devour all life!