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I've played NWN so Im not completely new to 3rd edition rules, but it seems that the aurora and infinity engines handle the rules quite differently. So, a few questions to clear things up....

1.) Improved two weapon fighting ( ITWF ) . Does this feat exist in IWD2? Mathematically, in NWN the consensus has pretty much formed that dual-wielding, even after spending the three feats on it, is inferior to both 2-handed fighting and sword/shield fighting ( with a few exceptions ). The manual suggests that using two weapons grants an extra attack, but I couldn't find any mention of anything beyond that. Are multiple off-hand attacks ever granted, or does it just stay at 1? Also, is the off-hand attack made at half the STR damage bonus, like it is in NWN?

2.) Assuming there is no ITWF, does this mean that taking a lone level of ranger is now a viable tactic for the TWF and AMBI feats? In NWN it was a sure sign that the person building the character didnt have a clue what they were doing.

3.)Sneak attacks. Every now and then my rogue will pull one of these off, but very few and far between. I think I have seen maybe 1 for every 3 battles so far, and I am watching the message log quite carefully. Even when coming out of the shadows, I don't seem to be able to get them unless the enemy is already in combat. My rogue in NWN was great - By level 13 I had all three Dual-wield feats, could step out of the shadows and do a double-sneakattack-flurry resulting in +14d6 damage. I was typically out-damaging fighters 3, 4 levels higher then me. But in IWD2, my rogue seems kinda... useless. Can missile weapons cause sneak attacks? Is there anyway (even with lots of micromanagement) to get a lot of sneak attacks?

4.) I realized a while ago my wizzie could only learn new spells by reading scrolls. Are high level scrolls hard to find?

5.) A bit off topic for this forum anyway, but figured I would ask. Is there anyway to play the original icewind dale in 1024 or 800 resolution?

1#no.. but still.. dual wielding is better than shield/weapon..

2#I would say yes..

3#i dont use rogues.. theya re pointless in this game..

4#Yes they are.. use sorc..

5#with expansion pack.. resolution could be 800..

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1) there is no ITWF in IWD2 and AFAIK you get only one extra attack from dual-wielding !

...but from my point of view dual-wielding still makes sense:

- there aren't any good magic shields in IWD2

- MC-builds with a few monk levels (which results in some of the most powerfull builds in IWD2) can't use shields

- best weapon in game is single-handed - btw. with WEIDU you get usefull bastard swords

- there are lots of really good off-hand weapons (especially with bonus merchants installed)

- most benefits from dual wielding come from the magic effects of the off-hand weapon not from there damage!

- 2-handed weapons only make sense with a high strength PC !




2) I would only go for ranger if you really need many feats! - 2 fighter levels also give 2 bonus feats - same as the 2 free ranger feats !

...but for the max amount of feats you could take 1 or 3 ranger levels and 2 or 4 fighter levels as minor classes



3) you only get one sneak attack per round (even if you have 4 attacks per round only the 1st one is sneak - not sure if dual-wielding gives a second one)

but you get automatic sneak attacks if the enemie is helpless!

and there are some good feats powering up sneak attacks a lot especially arterial strike, hamstring & crippling strike (2nd one only available for rogues at level 10) !

...and from my point rogues aren't useless - I wouldn't take one as a SC-build
but for MC-builds they are great !

...would always use 3 rogue levels for MC-builds - or 10/11 levels for a dual build (with wizard)



4) you will find most of the scrolls to late for a SC-wizard !

...this means for a SC-caster I would always use a sorc

...but for MC-builds wizards are a geat choice - cause of the INT synergies & bonus feats!

...and the scroll-availability doesn't hit you that hard cause you will reach higher caster levels at a point where scrolls are available !


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1 & 2. Dual-wielding makes the Ranger a viable multiclass option. I say this because compared to IWD, the Ranger pretty much sucks. I never had a party in IWD that didn't include a Ranger. But IMO, IWD2 slander the Ranger and the only thing I find useful about him/her is dual-wielding.

Two-Weapon Fighting Penalties
A melee fighter may choose to wield two weapons in combat, one in each hand. Although this provides a great boost in offensive prowess, it means the character cannot make use a shield and suffers defensively. Also, using two weapons effectively requires great training, and a character without the right feats is more of a liability than a benefit. The effects of feats on two weapon fighting is detailed below.

Normal Penalties -6 -10
Off-hand weapon is light -4 -8
Ambidexterity feat -6 -6
Two-Weapon Fighting feat -4 -8
Off-hand weapon is light + Ambidexterity feat -4 -4
Off-hand weapon is light + Two-Weapon Fighting feat -2 -6
Ambidexteiry and Two-Weapon Fighting feat -4 -4
Off-hand weapon is light + Ambidexterity feat + Two-Weapon Fighting feat -2 -2

3.

Sneak Attack, and the feats used with it, are used soley by Rogues.

Sneak Attack: To use Sneak Attack, a rogue must attack an enemy's back when he/she has a melee weapon equipped. The rogue's first successful attack on the creature's back will do normal damage plus 1-6 points of damage with an additional 1-6 points at 3rd level and every two levels thereafter.

Crippling Strike: This a feat in Icewind Dale II. When making a succesfull sneak attack, you are able to deal a devastating blow that weakens an enemy. The prerequisite for Crippling Strike is 10 levels of rouge. The benefit is any time the rogue makes a successful sneak attack, the attack does its normal damage and also causes 1 point of temporary strength damage for every die of sneak attack damage that the rogue inflicts.

Hamstring: This a feat in Icewind Dale II. When making a sneak attack, the rogue can maim the target in such as way that their movement is significantly decreased. The prerequisite for Hamstring is at least three levels of rogue. The benefit is it allows a rogue to sacrifice 2d6 points of sneak attack damage to reduce the target's movement by 50% for ten rounds.

I think Rogues are very useful, maybe not a single class one, but they make some interesting multiclassing choices. One of my favorites characters I built was destined to be Male Drow Rogue 2/Ranger 2/Fighter 3/Wizard 25 dual-wielding shortswords, bow for range attacks and wearing robes.

Looks like your questions here have alreday been answered.

You may want to also take a look at the "IWD2 Character Development Guide" written by Mike Malone. You can download it from sorcerers.net on their IWD2 tips page. Some of it may be repetitive for you if you're already familiar with the 3e rules but this guide talks specifically about the IWD2 implementation. Also, I found it very useful because its not just telling you about one specific party he thinks is the "ultimate" group. He gives some examples but 90% of it is practical guidelines on how to put together a group based the roles each member will play, etc. It helped me a lot since this is my first exposure to the 3e rules.

-ishuman