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Personally, I like to play the bard not a support type of character but as a front-line fighter. I mean let's face it - alongside the mage (if using HoW - without it, I say that the Bard takes the cake without any competition), it is one of the most damaging and resilient characters within the game.

Early on, you have access to plenty of spells that help you dealing with many situations - summoning monsters against multiple tough enemies, defensive spells to make you very difficult to hit as well as giving you brief immunity, area spells that allow you to bring your enemies to your terms or to transcend theirs (Antimagic Field, Emotion Spells, Luck and so on and so forth. At level six, after you get a certain spell, the game gets significantly easier - as the bard is able to hit like a truck, with a good amount of attacks per round (Haste, certain swords), while also having ridiculous AC and health (Spirit Armor, Tenser's, Blur) while also being able to fling spells (wands, active item abilities) at the same time all the while immune to damage (Mirror Image, Stone Skin, Globe of Invulnerability). Not to mention that he can open chests better than any thief. A perfect character in my opinion.

Honestly, I don't think I've used all of the bard specific items either - you can buy the horn, give it a shot and always reload if you decide that you don't like it. Don't quote me, but if I remember correctly those berzerkers are quite hardy and there are certain other items that have very useful effects as well.

Things are progressing well

I am now on the upper level of Dorn's Deep and have just crossed the nightmare bridge and I have to say, I am warming to this ramshackle party with remarkable speed.

I have purchased the harp and the horn from the dealer in Kuldahar and the Bard is definitely feeling more Bard-like. I admit, I have yet to use his song once and probably never will and I have yet to equip the harp, but the horn that summons Berserkers is really proving useful, they are indeed an excellent posse of hardened swordsmen! At the stage of the game when they become available (when you have 5 figure gold spare), they are easily the best summons available in the game (when playing a 6 member party).

I notice also a really good combo I have going on with my Bard and Illusionist. The Illusionist is not permitted any spells from the Necromancy sphere of magic, so the Bard has a monopoly on all the Necromancy spells, for which Skull Trap is proving by far the most addictive :mischief:

The Bard also works well in tandem with my thief, my other archer in the group, because many of the magic bows in the game state they are not usable by Thieves and it would be a shame to waste such a good selection of weaponry the game supplies in this area (though Kailessa didn't drop her bow this run-through )

The Druid is still pretty much sitting out of general combat unfortunately, I still can't seem to find a role for him in the heat, but he is starting to prove extremely useful with his summoned Bears pre-fight and his Healing post-fight (or during if it's a really tough opponent). He has a nice little flame spell and can now summon Elementals also which will be fun at some point and he is levelling up the fastest which is encouraging.

Occasionally he will join a melee, but that's normally when things are really bad or so good he's unlikely to be hit. Mostly he's just a guy chucking bullets. I tried the Polar Bear and it was awesome but not really practical enough to motivate me to use it for the sake of it. Icewind Dale has more narrow corridors and tight doorways than a Jackie Chan film and those Bears are just not suited to this environment (unless they are expendable blockers like his summons are).

I've also given up on the Elven Ranger bonus for a while. Now that he has a natural 2 attacks per round I have given him a shield to bolster his AC by 3 to minus 6 as I think this is more useful than one extra attack per round. If I need to I can always drop the shield and Haste him anyway but, for the most part, Icewind Dale is about awkwardly place Archers and those shields are very useful in this department.

The Paladin is chugging along as obnoxiously as I expected and is proving a very tidy and dependable front-line tank (though why he needs 13 detect alignment spells is beyond me :speech: never used a single one, I'd much rather he had 13 mini Heal spells!)

I always have a thief and this one, even though he's a Dwarf, has done pretty much what all my thieves always do, so no surprises for me here (especially as I have a sixth sense as to where all the traps are ).

The character I am having an awful lot of fun with is the Gnome Illusionist. Of the back-up team he is bar far the most kick-ass and entertaining and battle-changing. On almost every level of spell-casting I can find a really good damage spell which not only looks fun but also has a major impact. Having a problem with an Ettin or a Neo-orog General? Just blast him with an Orb. Having a problem with a pack of archers? Just land a Fireball close-by. And even Cone of Cold, I spell I normally don't bother with as I have no idea how to imagine a cone shape, gave me a hilariously easy victory on the fateful bridge, practically wiping out both the Spellswords and the three Neo-Orog Marauders. He can also summon Goblin (now Elite) archers and has a whole host of mini-damage bits and pieces.

In fact, at this precise moment in the game I seem to now be overwhelmed with summons options, so much so that my entire tactics are probably going to start changing - though maybe not SO much as the AI in this game is still relatively bright and can still target main members rather than summons). I now have a choice of:

Summon Animals II
Summon Monsters II
Horn of Valhalla (Berserkers)
Summon Elemental
Summon Fire Elemental
Summon Water Elemental
Summon Air Elemental
Summon Shadow

And this is without all the lesser (hardly worth it) summoning spells. And I think the Gnome or the Druid is already up to number III if I want them! The Bard has also learned Animate Dead (but has no access to level 5 spells yet)!

I make it sound a bit easier than it is as I am still dying and reloading here and there, but most times this is where I'm either pushing too fast and run-on-empty or where I'm just being lazy and not preparing the battles properly with shadowed intelligence, summoned front-line, magic splash damage and final charge, but, instead, I'm just charging from over-confidence.

Sometimes I'm still being surprised however, and these surprise deaths are pretty unavoidable. The bridge battle being a classic example:

I shadowed my intel, sent forth my summons, followed up with some splash damage to take out the ring of archers then, just as I'm heading back to my tanks to prepare for the left-overs, I find two pathetic little spiders eating my tanks alive while I wasn't looking. I'm still unsure as to how these spiders emerge, they do appear out of nowhere, but meh, what can one do but try again!

I am currently looking forward to having enough level 4 Illusionist spell-slots to fully practice the Emotion spells and I'm still looking forward to the Druid getting something really nice, I dunno, like a Flame-Strike or something I mean, come on, the Gnome had the Fireball aaaaaages ago! :laugh:

LastDanceSaloon wrote: The Paladin is chugging along as obnoxiously as I expected and is proving a very tidy and dependable front-line tank (though why he needs 13 detect alignment spells is beyond me :speech: never used a single one, I'd much rather he had 13 mini Heal spells!)

Since these Detect Evils are instant one can use them to detect evil-aligned opponents in the game in order to use anti-evil damage if appropriate.

I am not very experienced at Infinity-based games. Finished BG once, started BG2 several times. But druids in IWD seem to me the most powerful of bg, bg2 and iwd. Probably because I started to use them more properly.

Right now i break through Dragon Eye and i got impressed by Entangle+Spike Growth on Presio's Level, Invis+Static Charge on Monks' Level and I think I'm going to like Star Metal Cudgel on final one since I don't have highly enchanted weapons atm.

PS BTW, does anybody divide spells among bard/illusionist. For example do you give bard to learn Haste after Mage or just keep the scroll?

Quite a lot of what you said there is all new to me and probably aspects of the game I'm not applying properly.

Does the Paladin have some special ability which increases damage to evil-identified characters?

The problem I have with Entangle (and Web and Grease for that matter) is that it entangles my own guys as well as the monsters :/ and in Icewind Dale the monsters are normally on top of one before the mage/druid even has time to cast said spell.

I guess I could use a guy with freedom of movement to bring monsters into a prepared trap as it were, but I don't fancy having to rest and reboot my spells after every battle.

For Presio I simply shadowed my Ranger and Thief and cast Invisibility on my Paladin then Hasted everyone and Presio was chopped up before he could cast a single spell. The Zombies and Whites were then relatively easy, even in huge numbers, needing a critical in order to hit me.

I can see how Entangle and Spike Growth would be fun here though.

The Static Charge is a spell I do like but can't fathom how to work. I got it to work once and it was great, but I've no idea how I got it to work. For that spell one doesn't get the sword pointer to change into a moon and stars and directly click it on an opponent, so I'm never sure if the spell has been activated or not, especially as I'm a chronic pause and change direction kind of player. I never know how long to give him to find out if he's actually casted the thing or not.

But, yes, I did miss the opportunity to use invisibility purge on the Monks, that would indeed have been the ideal opportunity!

With the spells I never keep any as scrolls. I prioritise the Illusionist with everything and have him write everything then give all the Necromancy spells to the Bard and any scrolls which duplicate what the Illusionist already has, which he then writes. I sell any triple scrolls or just don't buy a scroll they have both learned.

A bit like potions, I found I always keep scrolls for emergencies then decide that each battle doesn't qualify as an emergency and end the game packed to the hilt with potions and scrolls - so now I just sell everything apart from the odd potion I call a necessity rather than an optional bonus, such as healing potions (including curatives), speed, freedom, invisibility, clarity and fire bombs. In this game I also keep Agility for my un-agile Paladin.

Edit: All my weapons are enchanted by this point. I'm not sure how one could get to this point without a hoard of enchanted weapons? There are two +2 swords guaranteed on the Second level of Dragon's eye just for starters, let alone all the booty from the four boss kills of the King Lizard Man, Yxunomei, Presio and the Council of Yuan-ti, not to mention all the random finds.

Static charge works like described. Assume a level 12 druid casts it 3 times in a row before battle. Each time it's cast you get the message "static charge dissipates harmlessly" unless an enemy is near, in this case he takes 14-104 damage (save for half).
If you cast the spell at round 1,2,3 it will go off at round 1,2,3,11,12,13,21,22,23,31,32,33,...,121,122,123, causing either heavy damage if an enemy is near or dissipating harmlessly if not.
If you want to test it you could have your druid cast as many static charges as he can (outside you can add some call lightning to the mix), cast invisibility at him, move him near an enemy and wait.
One round takes 7 seconds real time, so if you don't pause your game he'll get off as many static charges as he did cast every 70 seconds.

Be aware that static charges and lightnings aren't saved when you save your game so when you reload they're gone.

Actually, a round is 6 seconds.

GawainBS wrote:Actually, a round is 6 seconds.

According to the IWD manual it's seven seconds long. Maybe you confused it with BG.

kmonster wrote:According to the IWD manual it's seven seconds long. Maybe you confused it with BG.

BG has 6 seconds, as does the general AD&D ruleset. Maybe a misprint in the IWD manual? I find it highly illogical that they would have rewritten their engine.

LastDanceSaloon wrote: Does the Paladin have some special ability which increases damage to evil-identified characters?

He has Smite Evil ability. Also Cleric has Holy Smite spell.
They are pure anti-evil according to the manual.
And there are too few evil-aligned monsters in the game according to Detect Evil. Though this spell is not as useful as in BG2 where it was like Ranger's Tracking in evil areas.

The problem I have with Entangle (and Web and Grease for that matter) is that it entangles my own guys as well as the monsters :/ and in Icewind Dale the monsters are normally on top of one before the mage/druid even has time to cast said spell.

I guess I could use a guy with freedom of movement to bring monsters into a prepared trap as it were, but I don't fancy having to rest and reboot my spells after every battle.

When there are hordes of monsters coming, you definitely have time to cast entangle. Reinforcements usually get caught. Grease might help here and auto-free action gear on 1-2 party members simplify things a lot.
I also had troubles with Web/Entangle in BG2. Probably monsters are slower in IWD and BG or I learned to time it's casting better

For Presio I simply shadowed my Ranger and Thief and cast Invisibility on my Paladin then Hasted everyone and Presio was chopped up before he could cast a single spell.

I just moved in with shadowed thief and shielded mage. The latter deflected all magic missiles, the former stabbed Presio disrupting her first spell. After that both fled hasted luring the undead minions. Only Presio stayed in her appartments. That's probably a bug.

The Static Charge is a spell I do like but can't fathom how to work.

Just get invis and come near an enemy (the red one). It will be hitted every 10 rounds (1 turn). I used that boring technic once just to get the feel of it.

Edit: All my weapons are enchanted by this point.

I never fought Yxunomei yet but read that she can be hitted only with highly enchanted weapons. And I have only +2 after the 4th Dragon Eye Level.

+2 is enough to hit her.

Yes, +2 is fine. I doubt those weapons are left laying about for no apparent reason

I had a little experiment with the Druid's electric shock spell and it was very revealing. The gap between the shocks is indeed very long, so I find nothing to rave about it, it's certainly no battle changer. In a regular battle it's highly unlikely one will get any more than one shock on one random, un-selectable opponent. Ok if one wants to slowly beat the game by having an invisible Druid wandering about shocking someone every few minutes, but, jeez, that would be a long game! Invisibility purge is proving very useful against the Thieves in and around the Castle, allowing my Illusionist (who has that spell as well) to have a few spell spaces spare.

I now have 3 of the Badges required to enter the end-game and so far no major mishaps or unbeatable dead ends. I had five or six reloads for Malavon, as expected, but this was mainly trying to figure out a way to block off the Umber-Hulks rather than Malavon or the Golems. I only had one re-load for the Tower of Archers, which is unusual for me, but my Illusionist now has room for six Invisibility spells (and two Improved Invisibility spells) so I just walked in with my whole posse invisible and gave them everything I had and kept my finger's crossed.

Now that Invisibility isn't a problem I no longer need to shadow my Elf and have now equipped him with strong armour, so both front men are -7 and -8 AC respectively. It's a shame I am no longer using either of the Ranger's key abilities/advantages, but -8 AC just seems so much more appealing than -3 AC and one extra attack and the ability to shadow. I can always take off the suit anyway if I'm desperate for him to do some shadowing.

I'm a bit concerned about my Illusionist. While exploring all the avenues of Wyrm's Tooth (Lower Dorn's Deep) I have now found Mage spells all the way up to level 9 and my Illusionist still can't cast anything more than level 6, so casting level 9 spells seems somewhat of a distance away and I've no idea why I've been given them. I'm not lugging around 15 scrolls so I've dumped them in a chest of drawers in the hotel in Kuldahar, hope fully they wont vanish, lol.

The Bard can finally cast level 5 spells, though the choice is just two lame summonses, Animate Dead and Lesser Shadow, both of which only last one hit at this stage of the game. The Beserkers are still one of the best Summons. I have found a Flute for him which was nice, but I still haven't converted him into a swordsman so he can carry the Harp and I don't think I ever will, but I keep carrying it anyway.

My two front-liners both have +4 weapons and I have the Cairn Blade +4 if I want it as well. Everyone else has +3 weapons, but one weapon which still hangs on in my inventory is that lovely +2 Flame Sword which can only be acquired by being naughty, lol. I remember I had a Flaming Mace drop in one game once, but I do wish they'd have more items like this, particularly at the +4 stage when the player wants to start feeling like he can cream bad-guys without getting bored.

My trick for clearing out the Umber-Hulks leading up to Malavon's Dome - I just had my Paladin wander around on his own, with the thief at a safe distance to remove the traps and assist the kills from a distance. Thereby, even if the Paladin gets tranced, he wont be able to lash out at any of my own party and the Umber-Hulks needed a critical to hit him so there wasn't too much fear of him dying while in a brief trance. I thought it was amusing how we are given an item which makes one immune to Umber-Hulk gaze only once we have defeated Malavon - bit late...! lol.

In regular IWD, Mages can't scribe lvl 8 & 9 scrolls, IIRC.

You won't get enough XP to memorize level 7-9 mage spells during the game so just use those high level scrolls in combat or sell them.

You'd reach high enough levels in HoF, no? But I think that's HoW exclusive.

Well, that all finished off quite surprisingly well, both Pomab and Bellyfit only required one reload each. For the former the Druid proved his worth finally and made everyone immune to electricity and for the latter the Druid again proved crucial providing constant healing to my Paladin as my Paladin and Ranger quickly chopped up Belly on a potion of Speed. The Illusionist performed a neat trick as the AI sent both the Golems after him at the start of the battle, so I just put him in a resilient sphere and the Golems were out the picture. The Bard and Theif stood around drinking tea.

All in all, I was utterly amazed at how well this hotchpotch of a party performed. I was expecting disaster and got a walkover.

My final stats, for those that like stats and info were as follows:

Heatwave - Paladin - Human - Lawful Good - str 18/89, dex 10, con 15, int 8, wis 14, cha 18 - Level 11 - exp. 1,049,620 - Free Action - THAC0 9 (2) - attacks 2 - Lore 1 - Turn Undead level 9 - lay on hands amount 22 - p/p/d 3 (-2), r/s/w 5 (-2), p/p 4 (-2), bw 3 (-3), sp 6 (-2) - Axes++, Hammers++, Spears+, Great Swords++ - Missiles -4 - piercing -3 - slashing -4 - to hit +2 - damage +4 - open doors 70 - weight allowance 280 - AC 0 - Miss adj 0 - react adj 0 - HP p/l +1 - Reaction +5 - Cold 10 - AC -9 - Hit Points 67 - Most powerful Malavon - Time in Party 352 Days - fave spell Lay on Hands - Fave weapon Battleaxe - exp value 34% - Kills 32% 514 - exp value of kills 859,935 - Weapons: The Celebrants Blade, War Hammer +3 Lifegiver, Conlan's Hammer, Foe's Fate - Armour: Mithral Field Plate +2, Cloak of Protection +2, Blessed Helm of Lathander, Gauntlets of Weapon Skill, Black Wolf Talisman, Girdle of Labelas, Mystery of the Dead (shield) - Potions: Speedx6, Agilityx5, Elix of Healthx8.

Flashwave - Ranger - Elf - Neutral Good - str 19, dex 18, con 16, int 10, wis 15, cha 6 - Level 11 - exp. 1,049,473 - Strength, Resist fire/cold - THAC0 8 (-2) - attacks 2 - Lore 16 - Move Silently 131% - Racial Enemy: Spiders - p/p/d 7, r/s/w 9, p/p 8, bw 8, sp 10 - Flails++, Maces+, Large Sword++, Small Swords++ - slashing -3 - to hit +3 - damage +7 - open doors 75 - weight allowance 500 - AC -4 - Miss adj +2 - react adj +2 - HP p/l +2 - Reaction -5 - Cold 25, Fire 25, Magic 25 - AC -9 - Hit Points 84 - Most powerful Gorg - Time in Party 352 Days - fave spell Charm Animal - Fave weapon Longsword - exp value 31% - Kills 34% 550 - exp value of kills 770,440 - Weapons: Restored Blade of Aihonen, Misery's Herald, Alamion, War Hammer of Greater Phasing +3 - Armour: Bathed in Blood, Dead Man's Face, Symbol of correllon Larethian, Girdle of Stromos, Kaylessa's Ring, The Argent Shield - Potions: Oil of the Serpent's Scalesx2, Clarityx6, Extra Healingx3.

Shockwave - Druid - Half-Elf - True Neutral - str 16, dex 8, con 16, int 4, wis 14, cha 18 - Level 13 - exp. 1,048,989 - Bonus Priest Spells Level 1 +2 - THAC0 12 (7) - attacks 1 - Lore 0 - p/p/d 3 (-2), r/s/w 7 (-2), p/p 6 (-2), bw 9 (-2), sp 8 (-2) - Missiles+, Clubs+, Spears+, Long Swords+ Quarter Staves+ - slashing -4 - to hit 0 - damage +1 - open doors 45 - weight allowance 150 - AC 0 - Miss adj 0 - react adj 0 - HP p/l +2 - Reaction +5 - AC 0 - Hit Points 82 - Most powerful White Wyrm - Time in Party 352 Days - fave spell Cure Moderate Wounds - Fave weapon Sling & Bullet - exp value 4% - Kills 5% 80 - exp value of kills 109,925 - Weapons: Slayer, Edley's Sling, Wand of the Heavens - Armour: Umber Hulk Plate, Mantle of Hell's Furnace, Badge of the Brave, Ring of Holiness, Ring of Protection +2, Boots of Speed - Potions: Freedomx5, Mummy's Teax5, Antidotex13, Healingx10, Invisibilityx6, Scroll of Raise Dead.

Bullet - Theif - Dwarf - Neutral Good - str 18/01, dex 17, con 19, int 18, wis 4, cha 2 - Level 14 - exp. 1,048,898 - Non-Detectable - THAC0 14 (10) - attacks 2 - Lore 32 - Locks 100, Silent 160, Traps 100, Pockets 75, Backstabx5 - p/p/d 5, r/s/w 3, p/p 7 (-2), bw 13, sp 4 - Bows+, Missile Weapons+, Clubs+, Daggers+, Small Swords+ - Missiles -1 - piercing -1 - slashing -2 - to hit +1 - damage +3 - open doors 60 - weight allowance 220 - AC -3 - Miss adj +2 - react adj +2 - HP p/l +2 - Reaction -9 - Piercing 20, Slashing 20, Electricity 20, Fire 20, Magic Fire 20 - AC -2 - Hit Points 74 - Most powerful Joril's Bodyguard - Time in Party 352 Days - Fave weapon Dagger - exp value 8% - Kills 8% 133 - exp value of kills 200,526 - Weapons: Short Bow +1, Short Sword of Shadows +3 - Armour: Studded Leather +4 Shadowed, Scarab of Defence, Ring of Shadows, Ring of the Warrior Theif - Potions: Blur Deckx2, Emeraldx2.

Spellbound - Illusionist - Gnome - Neutral Good - str 8, dex 18, con 14, int 19, wis 2, cha 18 - Level 12 - exp. 1,048,406 - Non-detectable, Shielded - THAC0 17 (12) - attacks 1 - Lore 28 - p/p/d 11, r/s/w 3, p/p 9, bw 11, sp 2 (-2) - Missile Weapons+, Daggers+, Quarter Staves+ - Missiles -2 - Chance to learn spell 95% - to hit 0 - damage o - open doors 9 - weight allowance 50 - AC -4 - Miss adj +2 - react adj +2 - HP p/l 0 - Reaction +5 - Magic 10 - AC -1 - Hit Points 24 - Most powerful Fire Giant - Time in Party 352 Days - fave spell Chromatic Orb - Fave weapon Sling & Bullet - exp value 9% - Kills 9% 149 - exp value of kills 238,906 - Weapons: Fire Kiss, Giant Killer, Wand of Lightning - Armour: Robe of the Watcher, Bracers of Defence AC8, Shield Ring, Kontik's Ring of Wizardry - Potions: Firebreathx3, Firey Burningx1, Power word Kill, Summon Monster VI, Summon Monster VII, Mind Blank, Incendiary Cloud.

Singsong - Bard - Human - Neutral Good - str 12, dex 18, con 14, int 18, wis 3, cha 18 - Level 14 - exp. 1,048,262 - Resist Fire/Cold - THAC0 14 (10) - attacks 1 - Lore 130 - Pick Pockets 105 - p/p/d 9 (-1), r/s/w 8, p/p 9, bw 13, sp 9 - Bows+, Crossbows+, Missile Weapons+, Large Swords+, Great Swords+ - Chance to Learn Spell 85% - to hit 0 - damage 0 - open doors 25 - weight allowance 90 - AC -4 - Miss adj +2 - react adj +2 - HP p/l 0 - Reaction +5 - Cold 30, Fire 30 - AC 1 - Hit Points 46 - Most powerful Pomab - Time in Party 352 Days - fave spell Chromatic Orb - Fave weapon Bows & Arrows - exp value 11% - Kills 9% 158 - exp value of kills 294,550 - Weapons: Long Bow of Action +2, Cairn Blade, Bardic Horn of Valhalla, Viol of the Hollowmen - Owain's Lullabye - Armour: Bracers of Defence AC6, Mantle of the Coming Storm, Lyre of Progression - Potions: Lots of Arrows of this and that.

Group: 267,268 gp

Also, for those playing Icewind Dale without the expansion, the Druid Spells are:

Level 1: (9 slots @ level 13)
Bless - Cleric Spell
Curse - Cleric Spell
Cure Light Wounds - Cleric Spell
Detect Evil - Pointless
Entangle - OK
Shillelagh - OK
Remove Fear - OK, not unique
Protection From Evil - Cleric Spell

Level 2: (7 slots @ level 13)
Barskin - Pointless
Charm Person or Mammal - Fairly Pointless
Find Traps - OK, not unique
Flame Blade - OK
Good Berry - Pointless
Know Alignment - Pointless
Cure Moderate Wounds - Cleric Spell

Level 3: (7 slots @ level 13)
Call Lightning - Utterly Pointless
Hold Animal - Fairly Pointless
Protection From Fire - OK, only 50% though
Invisibility Purge - OK, not unique

Level 4: (5 slots @ level 13)
Cure Serious Wounds - Cleric Spell
Animal Summoning I - Pointless
Protection From Lightning - OK
Giant Insect - Pointless
Produce Fire - OK, bit weak
Static Charge - OK

Level 5: (2 slots @ level 13)
Animal Summoning II - OK
Cure Critical Wounds - Cleric Spell
Insect Plague - Fairly Pointless
Spike Stones - OK

Level 6: (2 slots @ level 13)
Animal Summoning III - Awesome
Heal - Cleric Spell
Conjure Fire Elemental - OK, not unique
Fire Seeds - OK
Sol's Searing Orb - OK
Entropy Shield - OK

When you think a mage gets a Chromatic Orb, Magic Missiles and Melf's Acid Arrow, just as tasters, from the near get-go, and the Clerics get Prayer and it's improvement relatively quickly, it shows in stark light just how lacking the Druid is in spells, both in attack and defence. Too much choice of nothing for the most part and too much to choose from at the end. Though the one or two good spells can be deal breakers at certain points in the game.

I started a new game recently with 6 characters without modified stats.
The only easing I made was changing numbers between stats. Otherwise it was almost impossible to roll a fair char for druid or mage specialist duals from fighters.

At first I was going to get random gains of HP, but than allowed some number rerolls according to their classes. So they don't get full HP but something from the upper distribution part. It was very sad to see a fighter getting 1 HP per level

Now I'm at the 2nd Level of Kresselack's Tomb with only one char that has 18/X str and only thief having 18 dex. Mage is still a fighter, Bard doesn't have Cat's Grace or Strengthes. Hope I'll finish this w/o rest and lure strategy but I got only 6 cure potions, 3 Blesses and some priest scrolls left

That's one of the toughest levels of the game, quite a horde of varied monsters for characters at such an early level. Let us know how it turned out!