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Just bought IWD last night and created a party, but I have heard that IWD is fairly melee intensive... any thoughts on that?

My question is just a check on my party by the seasoned IWD campaigners that you people are.
Am I too flimsy in the fighting department?

My Party (1st Go)
Human - Ranger/Cleric (Dualling at lvl-9 [is that too late? - obviously wanting druid/cleric spheres]) - Hammers/Maces (maybe use sling when am cleric) - CG
Dwarf - Fighter - Axes - NE
Elf - Mage (the sp.mage was too restrictive for my tastes) - Dagger/sling - NG
Halfelf - Bard - Halberd/Longbow - CG (I think)
Gnome - Cleric/Illusionist - staff/sling - CN
Halfling - Thief - s/sword / shortbow - CN (again, I think).

I was trying to have one of every race (obviously) and classes that are pretty spread, my fear is that the Ranger/Cleric will take too long to dual and/or can't fight good enough. Cause again I heard you'd want more fighters than 1 - correct???

Thoughts anyone??

An interesting team that covers lots of angles.

The Ranger will take a while to dual but your Gnome can cover the healing in that time. One point - you will only have as many levels of druid spells as the Ranger has - i.e. level 9 Rangers have level 1 druid spells. Druid spells don't continue to grow as your cleric level grows (unlike BG2). You need a multi C/R for that.

The thief will max out his thieving skills pretty quick - suggest making him a fighter/thief.

Your Bard will be invaluable if you have HoW installed.

The choice is entirely up to you of course - but I'd suggest dropping the gnome C/I for another fighter class. A mage and a bard will suffice for magic users. Otherwise you may find melee difficult.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Happy Dale-ing!

Well, I suggest having as many fighters as you can. I like using muli class parties, because alot of the combat protection spells like Stoneskin and Mirror image really pay of in combat. The tradeoffs for the multis is usually less HP than a single class so the two types of classes end up being pretty equal.

A Paladin is invaluable IMO, My Paladin and Dwarven Fighter killed everything in that game followed by a Half-Elven Ranger. A word of advice, do npt take a pure Elf!!

[ 11-22-2001: Message edited by: Nippy ]

Originally posted by Gruntboy:
<STRONG>The Ranger will take a while to dual but your Gnome can cover the healing in that time. One point - you will only have as many levels of druid spells as the Ranger has - i.e. level 9 Rangers have level 1 druid spells. Druid spells don't continue to grow as your cleric level grows (unlike BG2). You need a multi C/R for that.</STRONG>

Damn
Now that will change my mix, cause I really want all races, I understand about the Elf-ressurection part, but I want to have one so I'll just have to live with it this time around .

Revised Party (I'll stick with this)
Dwarven Fighter
Elf Fighter
Halfelf Bard
Gnome Cleric (Damn, 17 wis. )
Halfling Fighter/Thief (Advice considered and taken Grunt )
Human Conjuror (Horray! now I can have the mage I wanted )

Might swap the Elf and Gnome around when I play next, don't know... (I'm only just out of the 1st building in easthaven in the begining)

Decisions decisions decisions...

If you want to roleplay, having an elf is fine. If your going for power, elf is bad (must be ressurected, not raised).

Why not just make a half-elf C/R and have a human bard?

Fighter heavy parties are easier in IWD, but if you can get away from having you cleric (and especially druids) from having to memorize all healing spells, they have some great magic. I always like having at least a cleric and a druid. Just personal preference.

Rail surfaces!

Indeed, tis a fine day .

I, personally, in IWD, prefer a Bard instead of a Mage. Just pop the armor of when you need to cast a spell, then stick it back on right after. The Bardic Horn of Valhalla(?)(I think that is what it is called) is useful. At least, my bard finds it useful.

Current Party (Going to the Forgotten God map);

In party order:
Evil Drawven Fighter - Axes
Good Gnome Cleric - Hammers / Sling
Neutral Halfling Fighter/Thief - S/Swords / LongBow (Damn should have done sling - ow well {I will live with it})
Good Elven Fighter - L/Sword / LongBow
Neutral Human Conjuror - Staff / Sling
Good Halfelf Bard - Halberds/Greatswords / Shortbow

Had to reload once for the elf dying. Funny thing is the gnome has a better AC than the Elf so that is why the elf is at the back and the gnome up the front.

Curiosity;
When I enter a new area it reverts the group to the order in the Making Menu part (ie I made the Bard first to have her rep up there [rather than the dwarf's] and I have her at the back), but entering a new area and she is up the front, seen by enermies first and targetted.
I gather this is something I will have to live with aswell?

Originally posted by Gruntboy:
<STRONG>Rail surfaces! </STRONG>

Yep, I'm alive! Only a couple of reloads. Been hangin' out in the NWN forums here on GB. RL's been kickin' my tail, lately and I can't seem to keep up with most of the forums anymore, especially SYM.

Back on topic, I'd echo Saturn's comments on bards. Their versatility in the party can be a real strength, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a class for beginners, or at least for the impatient. I like bards in both HoW and in BG2, but for very different reasons. BG2 has some great kits which give you some cool options. In HoW, you really get some kickin' bard songs. These songs are really vlauable, especially when fighting certain types of creatures, such as the harpies in TotL, but it takes some experience in knowing when to use which song. And, you can do more than just sit in the back singing. Try throwing spells inbetween rounds. If any of you haven't put them in their party, I'd highly recommend giving bards a shot. Especially for those of you who think they're only good for identifying things.

I'm not sure on the new-area/party-order thing, though. Been playing multi too long, but shouldn't rep be calculated with whoever's the current leader?

Originally posted by Mr Snow:
<STRONG>Curiosity;
When I enter a new area it reverts the group to the order in the Making Menu part (ie I made the Bard first to have her rep up there [rather than the dwarf's] and I have her at the back), but entering a new area and she is up the front, seen by enermies first and targetted.
I gather this is something I will have to live with aswell?</STRONG>

'bout the only thing I can think of that you could do about htis is to Export your Bard and one of the others then import them back into each other's spots. I don't know if this would work or not.