I'm totally saying that one of the best weapons in the game is pally-only.
I think it's a bit overrated TBH. Compared to Carsomyr, it's a joke. Sure, +7 sounds nice, but a single class fighter with GM, dual wielding 2 +1 APR weapons (not hard to do) will outdo a paladin with this weapon even if they dual wield it with LSoA, MSoA or Valiant.
Considering IWD:EE it's too early to discuss a best party.
If we are talking about Vanilla IWD then I would include a Bard, a Druid and a Paladin, a multi-classed Fighter/Thief and the other two whatever I feel like playing
A single class fighter will outdo a Pale Justice Paladin though with a long sword or morning star of action and GM. For comparison, a 13 Paladin has 2.5 APR with 1d8+7 damage provided the target is evil. A GM Fighter with Long sword of action +4 does 1d8+4 damage 4x per round.
The math is a damage range of 18.5-37.5 vs. 20-48. Now, there are some fear immunities, but there're Emotion spells that easily provide fear immunity instead.
And yet, I still want the paladin with Pale Justice. What's that word that I always use... Oh, right. Roleplay. Not meaning to sound rude, by the way. Your opinion is completely legitimate and probably the "proper way" to powergame, but I'll stick with my pally.
Hmm, this thread is giving me some valuable insights. I've played IWD once, though I have yet to beat it. I think the party I made included a paladin, a fighter/cleric, a fighter/thief, a mage/cleric, a gnomish illusionist/thief and an elven fighter (and she was badass: I got an absurdly good stat roll for her and ended up with 18/98 Str along with high numbers on down the line). They basically did fine, but now that I know more about playing bards I will be sure to include one (perhaps a skald in IWD:EE). I hate to miss out on gear and cool story relevance, so I may include an Avenger druid as well based on what people have said here. I was already leaning towards a cavalier as one of the frontlinesmen, perhaps a barbarian will join him this time.
...did I mention I am totally psyched for IWD:EE to include kits?
All right people. Everyone keep civil. There is no reason for harsh words or lack of respect. Just a warning before this thread derails into a roleplayers x powergamers flame war...
Well, besides the usual, I will tell you one thing for certain: If you don't have a Bard in Icewind Dale, you're a fool.
And having a bard should be even more easy and fun with the introduction of BG bard kits.
Actually, you may want to avoid bard kits in IWD:EE. Vanilla bards get AWESOME bard songs (e.g., Jedi war song), and if IWD:EE follows what CamDawg did in his IWDification mod, bard kits will keep their BG2 kit songs.
All right people. Everyone keep civil. There is no reason for harsh words or lack of respect. Just a warning before this thread derails into a roleplayers x powergamers flame war...
@mlnevese, that's why I said "Not meaning to sound rude, by the way. Your opinion is completely legitimate and probably the "proper way" to powergame, but I'll stick with my pally." I don't want to start an argument. Trust me.
The part that I'm most looking forward to about IWD is making use of all the unused portraits and hypothesized character creations that I had originally intended for BG:EE.
I like the "Standard Party composition" setup in most of team-based RPGs.
Thus - a Fighter + Rogue + Mage + Cleric. Last 2 members are optional, but I'd include another Fighter (Barbarian or Dwarven Defender perhaps) for melee tanking and another Mage-type class, best a Skald bard.
Well, besides the usual, I will tell you one thing for certain: If you don't have a Bard in Icewind Dale, you're a fool.
And having a bard should be even more easy and fun with the introduction of BG bard kits.
Actually, you may want to avoid bard kits in IWD:EE. Vanilla bards get AWESOME bard songs (e.g., Jedi war song), and if IWD:EE follows what CamDawg did in his IWDification mod, bard kits will keep their BG2 kit songs.
I'm not familiar with CamDawg's mod, but I would hope that that isn't entirely true for IWD:EE.
I understand that jesters and skalds have their own unique songsets (which is basically the whole point of these kits), but blades are supposed to have the same song(s) as vanilla bards, so I would hope that that principle remains true for IWD:EE.
Here will be my party composition on the first run, based in large part on content of the game:
LG Human Paladin (Long Sword/Crossbow) OR CG Human Barbarian (Hammers/Longbow) NG Dwarven Berserker fighter (Axe/Crossbow) TN Human Totemic Druid - (Scimitar/Dart/Staff) (Another class that seemingly fits the region) NG Human Skald - Two-handed weapons/longbow CG Elven Mage/Thief - Shortbow/Shortsword/Longsword NG Halfelven Ran/Cle - Mace/Flail/Sling
Already waffling back and forth on this though...I can feel the long dormant restartitus gurgling forth from the depths.
Comments
If we are talking about Vanilla IWD then I would include a Bard, a Druid and a Paladin, a multi-classed Fighter/Thief and the other two whatever I feel like playing
The math is a damage range of 18.5-37.5 vs. 20-48. Now, there are some fear immunities, but there're Emotion spells that easily provide fear immunity instead.
...did I mention I am totally psyched for IWD:EE to include kits?
*wriggles in anticipation*
But start at lvl1 in hof mode for a lot of Xp!
Paladin
Cleric
Fighter/cleric
Fighter(5)/thief (beast with his bow)
Fighter/Druid
Bard
Now, I would probably change the thief to a mage or a mage/thief... So many badass mage drops I couldn't use, but the bard was a really good asset.
Thus - a Fighter + Rogue + Mage + Cleric.
Last 2 members are optional, but I'd include another Fighter (Barbarian or Dwarven Defender perhaps) for melee tanking and another Mage-type class, best a Skald bard.
I understand that jesters and skalds have their own unique songsets (which is basically the whole point of these kits), but blades are supposed to have the same song(s) as vanilla bards, so I would hope that that principle remains true for IWD:EE.
LG Human Paladin (Long Sword/Crossbow) OR CG Human Barbarian (Hammers/Longbow)
NG Dwarven Berserker fighter (Axe/Crossbow)
TN Human Totemic Druid - (Scimitar/Dart/Staff) (Another class that seemingly fits the region)
NG Human Skald - Two-handed weapons/longbow
CG Elven Mage/Thief - Shortbow/Shortsword/Longsword
NG Halfelven Ran/Cle - Mace/Flail/Sling
Already waffling back and forth on this though...I can feel the long dormant restartitus gurgling forth from the depths.