A happy feel good IWD thread

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Wed Mar 13, 2002 10:19 am

sort of a long post with some spoilers (you've been warned)

Haven't played this game for a while and forgot how fun it is. I had started a new game quite a while back but never got very far because of:

BG2:ToB
BG (just made a party and did the game again)
Ghost Recon
Madden 2002
Halo
Arcanum
and
friends, family, significant other, home maitenance, work, sleep, and eating.

Anyway, I started this game almost a year ago and only got as far as the first level of dragon's eye (right in the entrance). Here's the group:

Graz'zt: ERanger/Cleric
Slayer: H Fighter
Hedwig: H Fighter
Spudz: GN Cl/Ill
J.D.: H Th
Captain Tripz: H Bard

On the second level of dragon's eye, I dualled the following:

Slayer at 6th lvl ftr. to thief
Hedwig at 6th lvl. ftr. to druid
J.D. at 7th lvl. th. to conjurer

The rest of dragon's eye was pretty tough with three characters not worth a squat. Also, I'm finding the bard to be utterly useless. Is there some point where his little minstrel tunes will make a difference??? Thus far I haven't needed them.

I got through most of dragons eye with having one guy with boots that increase movement rate (can't remember the name) haul around luring tons of enemies to a tight spot with the rest of the crew waiting on the other side. Then I'd drop webs, entangles, cloudburst, fireballs, holy smites, the spell that looks like entangle with spikes, and others on that tight spot and just use massive missile attacks. It worked real well and I didn't have to rest more than once on any level. The fight with Presio was tough, I forgot about the imbued wights with the magic missiles. It cause some trouble but no reloads.

By the fifth level the two fighters who had been dualled had their fighter skeelz back. I took down Yxunomei the first time around although it was a crazy battle. No deaths.

Aside from the bard question, I guess there are really no others and am posting simply for the fact that I am psyched to be playing this game again. The graphics and spell effects are superb in comparison with BG and BG2 although when five or six area effect spells are running simultaneously, it can slow down your machine a bit (even a tank like the one I built). Getting ready for the severed hand and wondering what to do with the bard.

Yshania · Post by **Yshania** » Wed Mar 13, 2002 10:54 am

If your bard is really not that good I would drop him (though I have never used a bard, so do not know how they pan out). You could then copy your save game into your multiplayer save folder, open the game in multiplayer and create a replacement char - if you feel you really need one

Otherwise he will carry on taking a sixth of your exp, and still unimpress - I have a level 21 thief who has done just that

Sojourner · Post by **Sojourner** » Wed Mar 13, 2002 12:19 pm

Bards are outstanding in HoW! By the time my party reaches the middle of Dragon's Eye, my bard acquires The Siren's Yearning - very effective against many groups of enemies. By the Hand, my bard gets the War Chant of Sith - similar to the Skald's song in BG2, except it also causes the party to regenerate.

What people coming from the BG series may not realise is that you can switch between the different bard songs by right-clicking on the harp button.

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Wed Mar 13, 2002 5:03 pm

Yeah, soj, I know that.

Right now my bard is level 9 or 10 and he has:

a combat bonuses song, don't know what the bonuses are. didn't come across details in the manual. perhaps I missed

a song that protects against fear (which I have yet to see one opponent use)

protection from silence (which I have yet to see one opponent use)

and one or two other songs I've so far deemed useless.

Sojourner, I know you are right, because I view you as an authority figure around here on these boards. I know the games well, but I always seem to find your ideas sound advice. I believe the siren's yearning is the prot. from silence song.

Anyway, any other bard advice would be helpful. right now he carries a +4 crossbow and a +3 throwing axe; he also occasionly fires a MM or a Melf's.

Boldly brave sir robin rode forth from Camelot...

Sailor Saturn · Post by **Sailor Saturn** » Wed Mar 13, 2002 6:46 pm

Originally posted by Yshania
Otherwise he will carry on taking a sixth of your exp, and still unimpress - I have a level 21 thief who has done just that

Is that thief, by any chance, the one named Yshania?

@In Kuldahar, go to the shop directly across the water from Arundel's house. There, if you have enough gold, you can get the Bardic Horn of Valhalla. IIRC, it summons 5-6 Beserker Warriors 1/day, which really does come in handy.

humanflyz · Post by **humanflyz** » Wed Mar 13, 2002 9:19 pm

and talking about graphics in IWD:

I personally find it totally refreshing from the BG series. The spell effects are waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy better. I wonder why Bioware never produced effects of that caliber.

Skuld · Post by **Skuld** » Wed Mar 13, 2002 10:06 pm

The Horn of Valhalla summons 2-4 Berserkers and that is my favorite non-weapon item in the game. I just finished the Temple of the Forgotten God with my Ranger/Thief duo and got the Flaming Bastard Sword +1, and the Spiked Longsword +1 which are my two new favorite weapons. And when ever I have 3 or more characters in a party I use a Bard as my wizard spellcaster. The way to use a Bard is give him some armor and a bow in the beginning of the game until he gets enough spells memmorized worth taking off the armor(up to you), then throw on some Bracers AC:8, a Ring of Protection +2(it's in Kuldahar and I can tell you where if you want), and the Black Wolf Talisman(optional). There you have a pretty good all around spellcaster/arrow slinger/melee fighter in a pinch. And he allows you to not have to spend your thief level up points on pickpocketing. Damn I love these guys.

Sojourner · Post by **Sojourner** » Thu Mar 14, 2002 12:42 am

@humanflyz: You should see the spell effects in PS:T!

@Ned Flanders:

Warning: Minor Spoilers ahead!

Breakdown of the Bard Songs in HoW

Normal Bard Song: The equivalent of the Bless Spell - handy in the early game and a decent counter to those curse spells enemies use in the Vale of Shadows

The Tale of Curran Strongheart: Immunity to panic - useful in the Severed Hand where enemies use Cloak of Fear and a must in Trials of the LureMaster where enemies constantly dispel your combat protections while nailing you with fear effects

Tymora's Melody: I use this to improve my bard's pickpocket chances and lore

The Song of Kaudies : This does not only make you resistant to Silence, but also resistant to the sound attacks of certain nasty female enemies on the Burial Isle - possibly useful in recovering from Stun (have to test more)

The Siren's Yearning : This enthralls ("holds") creatures - pretty much effective against all the enemies in Dragon's Eye - it works like the Sleep Spell and allows you to concentrate on enemies one at a time. Edit: Currently running party through TotLM - discovered this song also works against Minotaurs and Umber Hulks.

War Chant of Sith: This awesome song gives your party +2 AC bonus, +10% resistance to physical attacks, and causes them to regenerate 2 HP per round.

As noted, there are certain areas where different songs are very useful. Like in BG2, a bard can sing, cast a spell, then sing again pretty much without interrupting the song's benefits.

There are a lot of bard-only items which increase your bard's usefulness. Many spells in How continue to improve to level 30, so become more powerful with a bard, like Skull Trap.

Gruntboy · Post by **Gruntboy** » Thu Mar 14, 2002 5:58 am

Keep the bard!

I agree with sojourner and always praise bards.

The Sith War Chant is awesome - you regenerate HP and clerics can therefore carry more defensive spells instead of healing spells.

You get armour that the bard can wear and cast spells.

You can play the musical instruments that have great spells/powers.

Since the bard levels up quick you gain the special songs by end of dragon's teeth. The Sound-proof song is crucial against HoW's wailing virgins (

) and TotL's Harpies.

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Thu Mar 14, 2002 8:17 am

long post with specific replies

@humanflyz,

Bioware didn't include the effects in BG series because multiple long term area effect spells slow things down. try it. cast web, web, wall of moonlight, death fog, and entangle. watch your players crawl across the screen and I'm running a 1.2 Athlon with boatloads of memory.

@SS,

Yeah, I forgot about the bard instruments in kuldahar when writing the initial post. I haven't purchased any of them yet. Cash is hard to come by until the final level of dragon's eye.

@Skuld,

I know where the ring of prot +2 is. thanks though.

@Sojourner,

first, thanks. now...
I did use the bless in the vale of shadows half of the time. Otherwise I just let him attack and it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

I'm in severed hand now, just starting so the Curran Strongheart tune will come in handy. I downloaded TotL right away but I've yet to ever see any of it (sort of the reason for starting this group)
How many people are there to pickpocket in IWD? I haven't found many.
The song of kaudies is useful.
I don't think the siren's yearning works on the denizens of the severed hand.
don't have the war chant yet but that's a no brainer.

One of the reasons for including a bard were taking into consideration the power of spells like chromatic orb, magic missile, flame arrow, and skull trap.

@Grunt,

I didn't know about the spell casting armor. don't tell me anymore. I'm sure I'll find it although I don't remember it from the other times through the game.

Your re-mentioning of the sith chant just made me realize he can play the tune and every can just stand around doing a jig all the while regaining HP's. This must be regarded as cheese.

----------------

With two multi clerics in the game and a druid, I've got plenty of healing. My armor classes really aren't that great (three mages), one thief, can druids wear plate? My ranger/clerics AC is -8 in severed hand. He doesn't get hit much and I gave him the boots that increase movement. He is usually my only melee fighter. My fighter/thief gets in a backstab and then retreats and wreaks havoc with the long bow obtained in dragon's eye (he's got 3.5 attacks per round!). The fighter/druid usually moves in when the fight is basically over to mop up a few enemies.

One more note: I'm really impressed with the third and fourth level druid spells in the game. they seem more diverse and more offensive minded than in BG.

thanks for all responses, it's appreciated.

Sojourner · Post by **Sojourner** » Thu Mar 14, 2002 9:17 am

People in IWD you can pickpocket:

Easthaven:

Everard - potions of healing

Kuldahar:

Orrick the Mage - Ring of Free Action, Amulet of Metaspell Influence
Arundel - Ring of Free Action
Oswald Fiddlebender - Potions, Necklace of Missiles (sell to re-charge), Ring of Protection +2

Wyrm's Tooth:

Vera - Amulet of Protection

Upper Dorn's Deep:

Bandoth - IIRC, you can steal items from his store

Lonelywood:

Kieran Nye - Ring of Greater Resistance
Purvis - Ring of Free Action

Gloomfrost:

Tiernon - Tiernon's Hearthstone (if you talk to him after taking it, you get some interesting dialog )

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Thu Mar 14, 2002 9:33 am

I've already ripped off all of those people. thanks for the comprehensive list though.

Has anyone ever slain every living thing in Kuldahar. what happens to the story.

Sailor Saturn · Post by **Sailor Saturn** » Thu Mar 14, 2002 6:31 pm

Originally posted by Ned Flanders
Has anyone ever slain every living thing in Kuldahar. what happens to the story.

No, but I took my level 20+/20+/20+ Fighter/Mage/Thief and went on a killing spree in Easthaven. I found an interesting thing, most likely a glitch. I managed to make the young girl into an invincible invisible girl. I cast "Flesh to Stone" just as she disappeared into the blackness, which means I couldn't see her when the spell hit her. The dialogue deal said that she died. I walked over that way and there she was, alive and well. I cast a Disintegrate spell on her and she 'died' again. A bit later, I found that she was still very much alive, only now invincible. I tried more instant-death spells, and she would 'die' everytime, but she wouldn't ever go away!!!