Party of 4

Philos · Post by **Philos** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 2:53 pm

I want to try a party of 4, not quite ready yet to try solo or dual. Looking for ideas for party composition. I have thought up the following party but would like suggestions for good 4 member parties as this one is not carved in stone. I will take the group through IWD, HOW, & TOTL. I like to keep a stat at least around 8 or 9 so they would be playable as in a PnP D&D game. I was tempted to multi-class (or dual class another 1 or 2 of the 4, but gave in to my desire to see them rise as high as they can in level by the end. But again nothings carved in stone at the moment, so that could change.

At the moment:

1. Human Paladin (really like the sword “Pale Justice” and only Paladins can use it. Plus back up healing)
2. Gnome Fighter/Thief (IWD 1 doesn’t really give much opportunity for thieves like BG 2, so couldn’t justify a single class one. Used a gnome because of that great Helm sold by Conlon and natural AC bonuses, so he should have lowest AC in the party)
3. Half Elf Cleric (was tempted to multi-class this one, but with so many undead encounters I wanted max turning ability)
4. Elf Mage (another multi class temptation but again the lure of being high enough level to use those 8th & 9th level spells later on finally won out)

Other considerations I toyed with,

Half Elf Cleric/Ranger (some say they are cheesy in Bioware games but I like them)
Elven Fighter/Druid (couple of cool druid only items are a lot of fun)
"Any race" Bard/Mage (a lot of intriguing bard only items)
Human dual class fighter7-9, mage X (a pretty powerful combo)

Klorox · Post by **Klorox** » Mon Aug 21, 2006 4:34 pm

The problem with a single-classed mage is that you won't find high-enough level scrolls quick enough. This problem is even worse in a smaller party where you'll advance in levels even faster.

Going with your theme, I think you'd be better with:

1) Human Paladin (you like Pale Justice)
2) Gnome Fighter/Thief (awesome character)
3) Half-Elf Cleric/Ranger (as I said above, a 4 person party will advance quicker and make up for the loss of levels. Having ** in slings off the bat is very good for you)
4) Elf Fighter/Mage (Give this guy a Long Bow and use him as a archer when not casting spells. This will probably be your most powerful character end-game.)

DaveO · Post by **DaveO** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:15 am

I did create a party of four to go thru the game. My selections were Ranger/Cleric, Halfling Fighter/Thief, Bard, and Fighter/Mage. In my opinion, you don't need another source of healing for a party of 4 since you will find healing potions and a few regeneration potions to boost hit points back up. I can't say how effective this group would be in the two expansions for the game or in the Heart of Winter game mode. You're not going to have a chance to use those high level spells unless you do play thru the expansions at least.

The only slot that I can see needing some thought about is the mage slot. You may be better off with a Dual Class that starts as a Fighter and then switches over to Mage. You could choose a different combination of characters. In my opinion, only the Fighter/Thief combo would be a requirement. There are pros and cons for single and double or dual class characters, so weigh your choices according to what you want the most.

Philos · Post by **Philos** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 2:55 pm

Hmm, good ideas.

Some good food for thought guys. Definitely will be problem for the mage. Have the same problem in IWD 2 with my experiment in level squatting, mage is ready to level up to 9th but I haven't found any 5th level spells yet and none are for sale at the present location. I have previously used a fighter/mage multiclass and recently tried a dual class fighter7/mageX in IWD 1, both were a lot of fun. With no other mage, I will probably go with the multiclass, but still wavering. Rough guess, what level would a multiclass fighter/mage reach but the end of all three modules in a normal game with 4 party members?

Klorox · Post by **Klorox** » Tue Aug 22, 2006 4:12 pm

In IWD 1 there's no point in level squatting.

If you want to gain levels faster, increase the difficulty.

kmonster · Post by **kmonster** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 2:37 pm

My party had about 15,000,000 XP at the end of the game, so each of your 4 characters should have about 3,750,000 at the end, your fighter/mage will have about level 15/15 at the end, only pure or dualclassed mages will be able to cast level 8 or 9 spells in a normal game.
If you play insane difficulty you get twice the XP which will make the game easier.
I'd consider replacing the HE cleric with a human ranger2/cleric for far more fighting power. If you play insane difficulty use a multiclass.

Philos · Post by **Philos** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 3:43 pm

More good food for thought kmonster, thanks. Still not settled yet. At this point I am even starting to think I might have to try 2 concurrent parties of 4 as there are so many good choices.

Klorox, I concur. I don't level squat in IWD 1 either.

I was just comparing the situation in my current IWD 2 party, that is gaining XP so fast, that there are literally no spells available to learn if my mage levels up (in that game) with what you were saying would possibly happen in IWD 1 due to more rapid gaining of levels with a party of only four, that's all.

Aerich · Post by **Aerich** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 12:25 am

Well, here's my $.0.02. I've done a party of 4 before.

Paladin
Ranger/Cleric (half-elf)
Fighter/Mage (half-elf)
Illusionist/Thief (gnome)

I like spellcasting ability, especially with a smaller party. With this party you can play the I/T as a bomber and the F/M as a battle mage. You could also replace the R/C with a Fighter/Druid - a F/D is an awesome tank in TotL with the water elemental shapechange if you find the Bone Marrow Belt in the Severed Hand (or cheat a bit to get it). Alternately, if you prefer extra priest spells over extra mage spells, you could substitute the F/D in for the I/T.

I definitely recommend multiclassing for a small party, unless you're using a paladin. Don't worry about turning undead - unless your character is high enough to destroy them, TU isn't really necessary.

Klorox · Post by **Klorox** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:38 pm

I've already recommended what I think you should do for a 4 man crew. Here's what I'd do:

Elf Fighter/Mage/Thief
Half-Elf Cleric/Ranger
Half-Elf Fighter/Druid
Half-Elf Bard (TotLM only) I'd add the Bard a little later, since he'll skyrocket in levels. At least kill the bugs in the bar basement without him to give the multiclassers a little headstart. I'd also line the characters up in the order I listed, since the first character gets marginally more XP than the others.

Philos · Post by **Philos** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 11:46 am

Well I finally started "them"

So many good suggestions. I ended up on the fence and decided to try 2 different parties of 4. Having a lot of fun with both. I decided to go ahead with one party being mostly single class as I wanted to see the difference and honestly my curiousity got the better of me in seeing how far they would advance.

Party #1 is doing Kresslelack tomb in the Vale of Shadows.
Paladin single class
Cleric/Ranger
Fighter/Mage
Fighter/Thief

Party #2 is beginning the Lost Temple.
Paladin single
Fighter/Thief
Cleric single class
Mage single class

Klorox, I like your party too, especially since I do miss having a druid. May try another down the road. Good idea about putting the 3 class first, I had noticed that little anomaly in XP too.

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 8:18 am

Single class Mage...

Actually, it's not so true that you don't find scrolls fast enough in higher levels... I played both the vanilla game and HoW trough with party of four, including single class Mage. I never had any problems with spellslots with no spells to fill. I even ended up having several level 9 spells long before I reached that spell level...

Also, you gain other adcvantages with single Mage than higher spells... more lower level spells, for instance. This is alone IMO very good reason to use pure Mage only. And you should also consider it this way: It would ruin the game if you got high spells too early in the game. WHere would be the challenge if you got Fireball while exploring the Kuldahar Pass?? (this is just an example...)

Philos · Post by **Philos** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 9:36 pm

Hi Kipi,

Just saw this today, sorry not to reply sooner. Both my parties are doing good. Have taken a break to try NWN again. I did "briefly" have a time where my single class mage was 9th level but hadn't found any 5th level spells yet. It occurred IIRC at the Hand of the Seldarine. But found a couple on an upper level and in the towers. So was not long. I probably could have bought some from Orrick I think. When I returned from the Hand to Kuhldahar, Orrick had some 5th level spells for sale. I suspect that once my mage reached 9th I could have returned at any time and done so. You are right about the upper level 7th-9th spells. I had collected and learned a bunch of them way before I could memorize and use them.

Kipi · Post by **Kipi** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 10:11 am

Yup, I bought some spells from Orrick. IIRC he usually offered one level higher spells than you were able to cast... can be wrong though. But at least he sells spells from level you are able to cast instantly your level allows you to cast them...

Philos · Post by **Philos** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 9:41 pm

@Kipi,

I think you are right about the spells when you first reach Kuldahar, he sells second and I think a few third level spells even though your mage is 2nd level. But later on he seems to only have spells available for sale that match your ability to cast. But as you say, at least he has those.

kmonster · Post by **kmonster** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 6:47 am

AFAIK Orrick's spells and inventory only depend on the chapter (1 or 2-3 or 4-6) you are in.

Philos · Post by **Philos** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 6:43 pm

Well that would make sense and characters would be a pretty easy to plan for level acheivement wise.