Default Party Project - Hands of Fury

[myrophine]

Hi Ravager!

Progress is very good. Much beyond the dragons and worms I'm in the eye of the dragon. Its kind of confusing. I'm debating using a walkthrough to orient myself.

So far (I'm level squatting)...120,000 ish xp but characters at these levels:

Dahel - Most Kills - Fighter 4 Barbarian 7 No problems anymore as he has frontline "backup" from Amraith.

Amraith - Second Kills - Can get AC > 50 (tanked Guardian with blink blur MI stoneskin + buffs to get 50 ac

Oh and he's a fighter 4 Dreadmaster of Bane 3 Magic User 5

Harbesh - Thief and Spellsword but low ac so NEEDS his MI blur maybe blink + fireshield red - Rogue6 Transmuter7

Makados - Sometimes a frontliner but no MI so avoids getting 20 million guys targetting him...

Talos is powerful sphere! Bard1 Stormlord 13

Mirai - Utility caster (has lots of spell selection) Mage 14

Fissera - Repeat caster (many castings...) Druid1 Sorceror12

1: chromatic orb, Magic Missile, Sleep, Grease, Shield
2: MI, blur, Eagles Splendor, Web, Protection Missiles
3: Fireball, Icelance, Ghost Armor, Invisibility Sphere
4: Malison, Stoneskin, Improved Invisiblility
5: Animate Dead, Lower Resist
6: Acid Fog (the one that cuts movement and persists with no save )

Anyhow the party is thrashing the enemy... I just can't imagine how powerful a min/maxed self designed party can get...although I hate min/maxing.

How's your game going Ravager? I think you said in one of your posts in another thread that you were playing HOF?

I'll have to see how this party does later but I think its pretty sturdy...
Well time to check the walkthrough on eye of the dragon...

myro

[Ravager]

Dragon's Eye already? Nice!

Let's see, I got a bit fed up of HOF (in IWDI) so I'm only playing it a bit.
That's a bit odd at the moment. IWDI doesn't seem to like full-screen mode and I keep getting 'Out of Range' errors from my monitor, though I can still hear the music and stuff- so I've had to play in Windowed mode.

Right, there are 2 things in Dragon's Eye you should know about.
First, the Alchemist. I think you blackmail him into making you some potions. One of these will take 8 hours, so rest carefully, it's a pain if you miss it.

Second, the lowest level of Dragon's Eye, can be a real nightmare. Fighting a beholder who can teleport you around the cavern- apparently a character with 18 STR and weighed down with 250+ pounds is too heavy for him to move. Otherwise usual tactics against a beholder. All the ropes you've been collecting will come in useful. Time for a crash-course in bridge repairing!
Stopping Izbelah at the end is tricky, you will need to be quick. Very quick.

You should be safe to rest outside of these points.

How did you fight the Guardian? I had real problems with that. In the end I cleared the temple and destroyed the Guardian later on.

Holy Avenger is quite good and the battle is quite tough, but if you don't have paladins it probably won't be too useful. As it's so class-specific I doubt it would sell for too much, but maybe I'm wrong.

I don't remember unpickable chests.

[myrophine]

I still don't really understand why I can't rest at certain times...

will the 8 hour potion go bad? do I have to wait untill I have stopped izballah from doing the ritual to rest?

Yes I am having problems with the locks and traps too for that matter. I have around 17 or 18 when cats graced...

The guardian? I had so many buffs on each party member that I couldn't see any of their portraits

Amraith had MI, haste, ghost armor, blink, blur, shield, prot acid, stoneskin, cats grace, expertise, a shield +4 to ac, dodge - and had an ac of 50ish...

He put in the last relic and so the guardian went for him . I also had 5 undead, the mage with mordys sword the priest of talos casting bane, prayer, recital, doom, the sworceror with two lower resists then a steady diet of magic missile I'm not sure but I think Finger of death didn't work...(or it got interupted)...

Everyone was still in the green by the end (oh and the frontliners all had prot from acid on them)...

I tried hitting him with electricity (frontliners protected) but he was resistant!

myrophine

PS - I don't really like the dragon eye. its too confusing.

also, mass haste rocks!

[Ravager]

Well done! I think I lost a couple a people and came close to losing more .

The potion shouldn't go bad. It just takes ages to be brewed. It is rather special after all.
Rest carefully for this bit to get the potion and then you should be fine for the rest of Dragon's Eye. As for the last part of Dragon's Eye, you have to go as quick as you can to stop Izbelah casting her 'Temporal Stasis' spell.
Then you'll be finished.

If you agreed to help Nickademus in the Ice Temple you will be transported there to do some demon-slaying.

After that, lots of tedious hack-and-slash battles vs. armies of enemies. So buff your party first. Good luck.

Glad you're around at the moment. No-one to talk to in the Heathen Citadel or other threads .

[Ravager]

Well, I didn't get that 'Out of Range' error today. Odd.
Ironically, I'm also in Dragon's Eye, getting beat up by a gaggle of overgrown lizards .
Did you see my Sword Spider experience a few posts up the page?

I looked at my guide for IWDII and most of what you need to do is self-explanatory. Just talk to everyone & follow their directions.
Here's some info. from the guide about the Alchemist on the 2nd floor:

The alchemist makes the brew every eight game hours. The most effective way to be there at the right time is to place a hidden/invisible character in the lab and watch. When it’s time, the Alchemist puts the Root on the empty Histachii brewing table and goes to the chapel to pull the switch. For the next 30 seconds, the lab pulses with green light as the Brew is concocted. Once the brewing stops, the tables become accessible again and you have a few moments to retrieve the brew and make the root swap. You can make the Wyvern Poison yourself by putting the root on the poison table and pulling the switch yourself.

The other switch can only be pulled by a level 9 + cleric and summons a Pit Fiend.

You can intimidate the Alchemist into making a brew for you or if you have Alchemy 16+ make it yourself.

The brew it refers to temporarily turns you into a Histachii so you can get into an otherwise unaccessible room (3rd floor).

Resting should be otherwise fine as long as you continue to do all the other things - going to the right places, finding items, bringing them back .

Once you get started, you shouldn't have too many problems, it's just tedious going back and forth.

Congrats, on making 'Exalted' .

[myrophine]

So if I put Wyvern stingers on the second table (south) AND modified mandrake root on the first table (north east) will I get BOTH the modified Histachii brew AND the wyvern poison?

Or do I have to do them one at a time?

Also am I correct in my guess of what to put on the tables (ie stingers southwest table and modified root northeast table)?

How many modified pots do I need? I'm thinking two or seven? (1 for the nheemo fhutma dude and either 1 or 6 for my disguise)...

How many wyvern poisons do I need? (could help me from running all over creation)...

When does the potion wear off and will that member be able to fight and cast spells as a histachii?

Can I screw the guy over and turn him into a histachii for life (he IS so curious about yuan ti )?

Will I get XP for killing the summoned pit fiend? (well suppose one way to find out)...

I killed a wizard prisoner EXACTLY as he summoned a water elemental...
Guess what happened? The elemental was invisible, regenerating, and couldn't be dropped below zero hitpoints (tested it with lingering song bug). Also couldn't be disrupted... NOT fun!

[Ravager]

That is a lot of questions, myro. I remind you that I don't have the guide in front of me .

Let's see, I think the potions have to be made seperately. You can fight as a histachi but I don't think you can cast spells. Your movement may also be slowed. Same properties for the prisoner who wants it. I think it wars out after 4 game hours or after resting.

Don't know how many wyvern poisons. I basically copied that passage from the guide, I'll have to check for you.

Summoning the pit fiend: It appears on one circle on the ground. Stand in the other for Protection from Evil, so it can't hurt you. I would be surprised if you couldn't get XP, but that may depend how long the demon stays around for. No XP if it vanishes first

Not sure about the tables, but I suspect you're right. You're good at this myro... experiment!

[myrophine]

Well, I didn't get that 'Out of Range' error today. Odd.
Ironically, I'm also in Dragon's Eye, getting beat up by a gaggle of overgrown lizards .
Did you see my Sword Spider experience a few posts up the page?

Yeah! 10,000 xp for a spider is pretty decent... I suppose they are pretty mean though! What are you getting for killing the iron golems I wonder?

I'm getting decent xp for the yuan-ti casters (550 xp) and they are pretty easy. Stupid spell scripts... Like yeah cast command at the undead! And that cats grace sure is gonna save you when your surrounded and hit points are dwindling faster than you can say ouch! I have seen them dissmiss my summons which is pretty annoying but still...

2700 for an iron golem...man a tough battle I had to use mirror image, ghost armor, shield, haste, and healing circle at the end. Almost as fun as back in the black raven crypts

What party are you playing in HOF?

myro

[Ravager]

Remember it's IWD1. So similar to the Dragon's Eye you're having so much fun navigating yet slightly different.

I can't remember charcter stats off the top of my head, so I'll post them tomorrow. Then I suppose you'll be giving me advice, right?

Have you played IWD1?

Fortunately no Iron Golems, yet. It's still at the equivalent of Chapter 3, so a bit early, though you've added something to the list of 'Future Monster Encounters To Dread'- along with such favourites as the... Beholder... Spectral Guards... Yxunomei & Belhifet (Unique enemies).

It's a whole different ruleset though, so quite different to IWDII. Maybe Weidu will convert this like BGTutu. That'd be nice .

Anything else you want me to research soon.
BTW, it's my birthday tomorrow. Yay!

I just joined 'Scattered Embers'- it's in the Fan Fiction part of the forum. Create a charcter, come up with an adventure. For a change, I've gone evil. Anti-paladin. Just about to post my intro .

[myrophine]

Happy happy birthday!

Oh I didn't know it was IWD1. I liked those old rules though so I'd probably like the game...

But I haven't played it ever.

I remember the truly old school games when it was totally 2D. You had a "pac-man" like maze you went through representing a city or dungeon or something... and then when there was a battle it went to like kind of a chess board where each guy occupied one square. It was easy to target fireballs cause you knew exactly which squares would be hit. I think the only spells I had mages use was Magic missile, mirror image, fireball, icestorm, and delayed blast fireball. Oh and you could cast dimension door to get out of trouble too. And Ranger/Mages could wear armor which was pretty interesting (and cast spells). And you had to hunt through the proof of ownership manual to solve the puzzles as it would say "Elminster explains (see number 72)" (before the internet of course he he....what would you do with out your precious walkthrough guide?). The only use of the thief was to pick locks and dual class to mage...some things never change

cheers and happy b-day,

myro

[Ravager]

Thankfully I don't have any RPG's that are really old. Although if I got one for my PDA, it probably wouldn't be too different.
IWD1 has Dimension Door just like BG1. Yay!

Think of IWD1 as a cross between BGII and IWDII. BGII rules with IWDII spells (except the new ones like Cat's Grace). If you like IWDII buy IWD1 + HOW. It's definitely worth it.

To be honest, I only bought my guide when I was really close to the end of IWDII. I think I was stuck on a really tough battle and wondered what the guide said. So, impulse buy.

Now the guides have 'security seals' so you can't have a look in them . What good's that?! So I didn't cheat for most of IWDII .

Ranger/Mages. Hardly ever play those. Don't normally like melee/arcance caster mix though as it seems you're wasting a class. Either they are armoured and on the frontline or at the back casting spells wasting their fighting ability. The only real benefit is the extra HP.

Happy happy birthday!

Thanks myro!

Talk to you later. I'll post the character stats at some point.

[Ravager]

Hi myro,
IWDII info.

Histachii table northwest (near cabinet). Put all four Wyvern stingers on other table (southeast).

Here are the charcters I'm currently putting through IWD1 HOF. What do you think?

Hention Kelteel
Paladin (Level 12)
Human
Lawful Good
STR 18/33, DEX 11, CON 16, INT 11, WIS 14, CHR 17
Equipment Full Plate +2 (Bathed-in-Blood) AC –1, Black Wolf Talisman (AC +1, +10 HP, 10% Cold Resist, +1 Save vs. Breath), Ring of Free Action, Helm of Lathander (-2 AC, Cast Cure Mod. Wounds, Neut. Poison + Remove Paralysis once/day), Girdle of Beatification (Permanent Bless spell)
Current Weapon- Two Handed Axe +3 (Joril’s Axe)- +1 CON, - 1 DEX 1d12+3 damage
Backup- Pale Justice (equiv. of Holy Avenger) 1d8 + 4 (+7 vs. evil enemies), Immunity to Cloak of Fear, Horror, Symbol of Hopeless and Dire Charm

Doisin Credwyr
Fighter (Level 13)
Dwarf
Neutral Good
STR 18/99, DEX 11, CON 19, INT 11, WIS 11, CHR 13
Equipment: Full Plate (Black Swan Armour) AC 1 - +1 CHR, 10% Cold, Elec. Fire, Acid Resistances, Black Wolf Talisman, Dead Man’s Face (Helm)- -2 CHR, Immune to Horror & Cloak of Fear, Girdle of Stromnos (19 STR), Boots of Speed, Gauntlets of Weapon Skill (+1 THAC0), Ring of the Warrior (+1 THAC0)
Current Weapon: Restored Blade of Aihonen – 1d8 +5, +5 HP, 25% Cold & Fire Resistance
Backup Weapon: Trollslayer- 2d4+1 (+4 vs. Trolls) – 1d4 Slashing & 1d4 Fire Damage- Only available in HOF mode.
Shield – Reinforced Large Shield +2 (AC+3) –1 vs. missiles, +15 % resistance vs. crushing and fire

Zachanu Ashaller
Cleric (Level 14)
Human
Chaotic Good
STR 16, DEX 10, CON 16, INT 9, WIS 18, CHR 8
Equipment: Full Plate +1 (AC 0) -3 AC vs. missiles, weights half of normal (20). Clasp of Bron’s Cloak – 5% resist – piercing, missiles and slashing attacks.
Gauntlets of Weapon Skill
Ring of Strength- +1 STR, -1 DEX
Ring of Holiness- +1 spell- 1st to 4th levels (Divine spells)
Current Weapon: Star Forged War Hammer +4 (1d4+5) 10% Magic Resist, +2 vs. spells
Backup Weapon: Morning Star of Lesser Phasing (2d4+2) 25% chance of +1d3 cold damage, 15% chance of enemy phasing.
Shield- Nym’s Rhino Beetle Shield (AC +3) +1 vs. missiles, 15% fire resistance

Celadra Be’fessen
Bard (Level 16)
Half-Elf
Lawful Neutral
STR 14, DEX 13, CON 14, INT 15, WIS 9, CHR 15
Equipment: Bracers of Defence +6, Mithran’s Cloak (AC+3, Saves+2), Sune’s Laurel of Favour (Helm)- CHR+1, AC+1, Bone Talisman (5 charges of Vampiric Touch), Ring of Free Action, Ring of Dwarven Bone (+1 STR)
Current Weapon: Throwing Axe +2 (1d6+3) Returns after thrown
Backup Weapon: Poisonous Battle Axe +2 (1d8+2) 25% chance enemy poisoned.
Shield Slot: Lyre of Progression- Two extra second level & one extra third level memorisations.

Peridoc Sunnealadium
Thief (Level 16)
Halfling
Chaotic Good
Equipment: Studded Leather +1 Shadowed- +15% Stealth, 5% Magic Resist (AC 6)
2x Ring of Shadows- +15% Stealth, Permanent Non-Detection
Symbol of Corellon Latherian (Necklace) AC+2
Current Weapon: Static Short Sword +3 (1d6+3+ 1d4 electric), AC+1
Backup: Short Bow +1

Delinde Cys’varilo
Mage (Level 13)
Elf
Lawful Neutral
Equipment: Robe of the Watcher – AC3, + 10% Magic Resist, +2 vs. Spell, Non-Detection, Immunity to Umber Hulk gaze
Mantle of the Coming Storm- Casts Free Action (3 charges) AC+1, +1 vs. paralysation, +30% fire and cold resist
Amulet of Metaspell Influence- +1 second level spell
Bracers of Defence AC6
Kontik’s Ring of Wizardry- Doubles memorisation for 1st and 2nd level spells, cold damage increase by 15%
Current Weapon- The Salamander’s Tongue (1d4+3), +10% fire resist, +3 vs. poison, 20% of hits do +1d4 fire damage, Permanent Non-Detection
Backup: Edley’s Sling +2 missile damage, +3 THAC0

All characters around the 1,460,000 XP area


I can post my IWDII charcters (that finished the game) if you want to see them.

[myrophine]

The Paladin and the dwarf seem like tough frontliners...

Paladin
fighter
cleric
bard
thief
mage

pretty solid...

Did they have the same kits available as BG2? I multiclassed like crazy in BG2...

Ranger/Cleric (ironskinned anchor) - Flail, Mace, Hammer
Fighter/Mage/Thief (jack of all trades) - staff, katana, shortbow (PFMW)
Blade (bard) - (jill of all trades) loads of weapons: 2 hander, halberd, etc
Archer - shortbow, longbow, longsword
Kensai13/DruidX - scimitars (another ironskinned menace)
Sorceror - dagger, staff, sling, darts

Is it worth taking chaos for my sorceror with no GSF enchant? Alternatives are Cone of cold or Ball lightning... (IWD2 question)

myro

[Aerich]

I think you're ok taking Chaos. It's a -4 to saves already.

@ Ravager - that IWD1 party looks solid enough, but IMO you get more out of the 2nd ed. rules by multiclassing and dual classing. Your thief will certainly top out on XP before the end and end up just being a poor archer character.

I ran a bard through with a 6 character party on Insane (never mind HoF) and topped out partway through TotL. I replaced that character with a dual class cleric[14]/necromancer for my current run through HoF.

[Ravager]

Chaos is the souped-up version of Confusion and should be quite good. Unfortunately my multi/dual class options are pretty limited. Multi- class is determined at the beginning of the game and cannot change half-way through. And as much as I want to dual-class my thief (+100% in all his skills) his stats will not permit it.
When I created the party I had no idea I was going to take it into HOF so I suppose it's becoming a little unbalanced at the higher levels .

No kits available in IWD1, myro (I wish there were ). I suppose it's closer to BG1 than BG2 (just higher level spells available in IWD).

You'd be surprised how often the front-line gets creamed in HOF even with a paladin and fighter there . The usual tactic is to summon fire and earth elementals. Anyway, I described what I was up against on the last page and that kind of thing is typical of HOF. Thankfully the summons are tougher just like the monsters.

@myro, where are you in Dragon's Eye? Faced off against Xil'tor the Beholder yet? I'll see if I can help if you have any questions.

@Aerich, how far are you in HOF mode? I've only managed most of the 1st floor of Dragon's Eye so far.


I'll probably post my IWDII victorious party stats later. Tell me what's wrong with those.

Thanks
Ravager

[Ravager]

Hi myro,
Did you choose the 4th level Confusion spell, it's not really worth choosing both Confusion and Chaos unless you leave it some time.

IWDII Characters – From December 11 2002 – Farther back than I thought!


Some of the equipment slots I just use like Inventory- not intended to be used, just create more space.

Athan
Paladin of Helm- Level 16
Aasimar
STR 18, DEX 11, CON 16, INT 8, WIS 17, CHA 16
Equipment:
Mithril Field Plate Armour +2, Cloak of Displacement, The Black Hands of Shelgoth (Helm), Flame Dance Talisman, Girdle of Beatification (just like in IWD1!), Ring of Protection +3, Ring of Freedom of Movement, Periapt of Wound Closure, Boots of Speed

Weapons:
Backblighter, Holy Avenger (+Tower Shield +2), Greataxe of Might +5, Sophia’s Flight

Feats: Heroic Inspiration, Weapon Focus: Greatsword, Snake Blood, Blind Fight, Improved Crit., Toughness (1)

Bornan
Fighter
Shield Dwarf- Level 17
STR 18, DEX 13, CON 17, INT 11, WIS 10, CHA 11
Equipment:
Full Plate +1, Farmer’s Cloak, Little Giant (Belt – STR +4!!!), Wyrm’s Maw, Ring of SR, Ring of Freedom of Movement, Houndstooth Collar, Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise, Witherbranch Boots

Weapons:
Valorfoe (+Red Fang’s Tomb), Greatsword of the Soulless +5, Scimitar +5 (+ Tower Shield +1 (+4 vs. missiles), Composite Long Bow +5

Feats: Blind Fight, Bullheaded, G. Cleave, Discipline, B. Sword Proficiency, Improved Crit., Improved Init., Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Toughness (2), Strong Back, Two-Weapon Fighting, Power Attack

^ That’s why you go for Fighter classes

Arval Sunstar
Morninglord of Lathander (Level 16)
STR 16, DEX 10, CON 13, INT 10, WIS 19, CHA 12
Equipment:
Plate Mail +1, Cloak of Protection +2, Helm (Generic), Amulet of Protection +1, Black Goat Girdle, Every God Ring (WIS +5!!!!), Cold Reflection (Ring), Elven Sewn Gloves, Yeti-skin Boots

Weapons:
Brilliant Flail of Wounding (+ Flank of the Virgin), Poisoned Blood Flail +2, Cloudkiss, Mountains of Selune

Feats: Bullheaded, Combat Casting, Courteous Magocracy, Dash, Heretic’s Bane, Improved Turning, Strong Back

Bronwyn
Human
Druid (Level 16)
STR 16, DEX 12, CON 15, INT 8, WIS 17, CHA 12
Equipment:
¼ Weight Full Plate, The Shroud of Bankao, Generic Helm, Incandescent Ioun Stone, Golden Girdle, Ring of Protection +3, Ring of Regeneration, Yet-skin Gloves, Boots of Grounding

Weapons:
Scimitar of Souls +3 (+ Black Urchin), The Skirling Skull (+Tabard’s Shield – All the way from Chapter 1 ), Impaler, Halberd of the North

Feats: Combat Casting, Subvocal Casting, Spell Penetration, Wild Shape Panther & Shambling Mound

Prospero
Rogue 12/Evoker 4
Strongheart Halfling
STR 14, DEX 18, CON 15, INT 16, WIS 7, CHA 10
Equipment:
Zuvembie, Cloak of Displacement, Gohoin’s Charm, Sash of Shadows, Chameleon Ring, Shield Ring, Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise, Chimandrae’s Slippers (+5 DEX!!!)

Skill Points: 19 in Search, Open Lock, Disable Device + stat bonuses
Feats: Armoured Arcana (2), Crippling Strike, Deflect Arrows, Dirty Fighting, Strong Back, Toughness (1)

Weapons:
Dykhast Longsword (+ Large Shield +2), Hagnen’s Folly, Composite Shortbow of Endurance +2 (CON +4!)

Tazienne
Conjurer Level 16
Moon Elf
STR 15, DEX 12, CON 12, INT 19, WIS 11, CHA 11
Equipment:
Chain of Drakkas , Cloak of Mystra, Mirabel’s Pendant, Girdle of Piercing, Ring of Protection +3, Ring of Regen., Bracer’s of Defence +4, Treadlightly Boots

Weapons:
Staff of Greater SR +5, Lamia’s Tongue, Poisonfang, Monkey Paw of Discipline (+ Tower Shield of Charm Protection +1)

Feats: Aqua Mortis, Armoured Arcana (1), Combat Casting, Dash, Spell Focus, Necromancy, Spell Penetration, Subvocal Casting, Toughness

I found a file called Party.ini in the IWDII directory – Write own party description and add link to party characters in the ‘Characters’ folder.

[Aerich]

@Aerich, how far are you in HOF mode? I've only managed most of the 1st floor of Dragon's Eye so far.

I'm only a little beyond that. Not only am I pressed for time now (summer session at university), but I have some yet-unresolved graphics issues causing 'freezing' on Dragon's Eye lvl 2. It's hard to take out swarms of lizardmen and spiders without huge numbers of spells, and my system can't take it. I'll have some time in a few weeks to deal with it.

My advice re: the thief? Dump him and get something else. On HoF, a low level character gets respectable in a hurry. A multiclass fighter/thief, mage/thief, or dualclass thief/? would give you more options - just make sure your dual class regains its thief levels before DE lvl 5.

I've found HoF to be pretty simple so far, but my party is a significantly higher level than yours - I did IWD/HoW/TotL all on Insane and completed all the side quests. My party is also built for HoF - lots of dual and multiclasses. Spells rule HoF, but it's good to have the weapon proficiencies so you can use good items. I've got 5 spellcasters, including the dual class cleric/necromancer who will soon be able to cast from two classes, and 5 melee fighters. The weak sister is the Fighter/Thief. No spells hurts, but a repeating heavy crossbow eases the pain.

I've basically got three strategies for HoF: the straight-up fight (only small ones, with lots of DD, single-target spells), the spell-trap (lure a bunch of enemies into a mess of Web, Death Fog, Cloudkill, Spike Growth, Spike Stones, Stinking Cloud, Incendiary Cloud, Skull Trap, Glyph of Warding, etc), and the summons-and-immune-elements strategy (summon creatures with elemental resistance such as fire elementals and bomb the area with the elements they are immune to). The summons-and-immune-elements strategy works extremely well with undead; they are immune to poison as well as cold, so multiple Cloudkills followed up by a couple Cones of Cold (no upper damage limit) are great. If you have a Druid capable of casting 7th level spells, the Stalker is nearly immune to fire - cast protection from fire on stalkers and they will heal when you fireball them. Hasting summons is also worth it.

[Ravager]

Good advice. Thanks, Aerich .

I think my party is from the end of IWD1 not having gone through HOW or TotL. It is frustrating that my party is advancing so slowly on XP. Most of them have only gained one level since the start .
I might try a new thief (dual- or multi-class). Take all the stuff out of the old one's inventory, delete the character and start a new one transferring all the equipment over.

[myrophine]

@ Ravager

My favorite thief has always been the F/M/T multiclass...

But dual classing is nice in that you get to have a lot of benefits while sucking little xp from the main class

The following plan gets you an extra mage with thief skills AND a warrior with high backstab and Very high thief skills.

Step 1: make a rogue with the skills traps and locks (put everything into these). He should have a high intelligence 17+ and high dex 15+ (but why not 18?). Level him up to level 11 at least to max out HP. (maybe 13 to max out backstab but mage/thief isn't the hardiest stabber). Check to see if you have enough in locks and traps to do whatever you need in the entire game.

Step 2: Switch to mage (or cleric) and level up untill you get your thief skills back....

Step 3: During step one also create a fighter with high dex and str. Level up to level 9 (assuming you can weapon specialize and still get 2 attacks/round)... You won't miss the extra half attack at 13 because you will have high backstab and will want boots of speed to run away, hide, return backstab (you already have 2 frontliner meatshields...This man is a slasher).

Step 4: Dual class the fighter to thief at level 9 (or even 7 but lose hp). This should be around the time your thief duals to mage (or earlier). Put points in locks and traps untill you have enough to "tide you over" 'till the mage/thief gets skills back. Now you can devote points to HS MS and become a backstabbing machine!

Anyhow just an idea. I hate being without a thief but I don't find a pure thief to be acceptable either. If you have kits you can get the thief kit for the mage/thief and the fighter kit for the fighter/thief too....


You get thief skills covered the whole game, a full on mage (little xp sacrificed to thief class) with extra hp, a full on thief albeit in leather armor who can backstab the heck out of mages etc and can be a meatshield in a pinch for the mages.

myro

[Ravager]

No kits in IWD1, myro . Do occasionly look at a post above the last one, eh?
I posted IWDII character stats and some other stuff up there too. Sometimes I post twice in a day, so please look .
I've tried F/M/T multi in BGII before- didn't like the progress much though. Maybe I'll try F/T dual.

Are you saying I should create two characters - F/T dual & T/M dual or some kind of combi. of all 3? Don't think that's possible (apart from a multi-class at the beginning) under these rules.