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Best IWD party setup

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  • LordRumfishLordRumfish Member Posts: 937
    AlexT said:

    @AstroBryGuy Every spell that was in the original Icewind Dale +HoW + TotLM is in IWD:EE as well.

    Heck yeah! Then we can port those puppies over to BG. ^_~
  • SniiiimonSniiiimon Member Posts: 153
    My first party, Sisters of the Shieldmaiden, will look something like this:


    Erawyn Shieldmaiden, LG female human paladin of Sune

    Asgara Hornhelm, CG female dwarf berserker

    Kaleen Eldramin, TN female elf druid of Silvanus

    Faebeth Thessana, LN female human mage

    Jorie Hillflower, aka Jorie-of-the-Stories, CN female halfling fighter/thief

    Vela Stormheart, NG female half-elf bard


    I'm however uncertain on what their kits should be... at least when it comes to Erawyn, Kaleen and Faebeth.

  • ButtercheeseButtercheese Member Posts: 3,766
    Whatever you do, do not make a Paladin or Monk your main character.
    You will lose a lot of quest rewards otherwise.
  • ButtercheeseButtercheese Member Posts: 3,766
    Oh, I wasn't aware.
  • FRUTZKFRUTZK Member Posts: 18
    Already making my party via Excel Spreadsheet! Rolls and everything hahah
  • KerthalKerthal Member Posts: 68
    Just a quick question: is it completly silly to have a party with only single class characters?
    In the many years I've played the IE games, I've realized that I'm not very fond of dual and multi classes.

    I was thinking of something like this:
    Human - Paladin (probably Undead Hunter)
    Half-Orc - Barbarian/Berserker (still undecided)
    Halfling - Thief
    Dwarf - Cleric
    Half-Elf - Druid
    Elf - Sorcerer

    Yes, I know there's no bard but... I don't like bards *Flees for his life* :(
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    @Kerthal‌ I always feel like a pure thief is such a waste. Why not make them a fighter/thief to add some steel or maybe some better archery? You get plenty of thief points.

    I like how you have one of each race except no gnome (the best)! If only I could sneak a gnome bard onto that group....
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    @Kerthal‌ Single class thieves are really not worth it in IWD, but the rest of it is okay. You'll miss out on several nifty items without a bard. And special dialogue.
  • KerthalKerthal Member Posts: 68
    edited September 2014
    @booinyoureyes‌ I must admit that in IWD vanilla, there was a Gnome in my party. But I had to make a choice in order to include an Half-Orc. If Gnomes could have been Druid, I would have swapped the Half-Elf for him/her :)
    As for the Thief, yes I could make an exception for that one since having a better frontliner would be nice:)

    @Elrandir I know about the items and special dialogues but no, I'm really not a big fan of Bards. Maybe the Blade but since I've already the dual-wielding Thief (well Fighter/Thief to be exact ^^)...
  • DazzuDazzu Member Posts: 950
    Single Class clerics are kinda meh as well. You'll get your level 7 spells and then... you can't abuse them because you lack APR and THAC0. Multi or dual into a cleric to grant some thieving or fighter skills.

    Ranger/Cleric works well, though a Dwarven F/C has better saves and a C/I or C/T as a gnome is also a good utility character with access to the Trusted Defender.
  • rufus_hobartrufus_hobart Member Posts: 490
    as many folk have said before me, I highly recommend a druid, bard, and (a first for me) paladin, all much fun in an IWD party. I generally have a couple of mages around as well as is my want, but have fun devising your own bunch of miscreants, Crevs!
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    If I remember correctly, in vanilla IWD, Ranger/Clerics were not as OP as in BG. I wonder, will that hold true for IWD:EE or will the EE's system being used for IWD make Ranger/Clerics a monster in this as well? I really want to include one, but I don't really know who in my party I could sacrifice to make room for them...
  • BajeDadBajeDad Member Posts: 9
    edited September 2014
    Minor spoiler below....

    As a veteran of many IWD/HoW/TotLM outings, I can say several things with confidence (assuming you will be playing IWD and HoW (and possibly, but not necessarily, TotLM) ) :

    1.) You will want lots of warrior power, but cannot rely totally on it.
    2.) Cleric-less and thief-less parties will both get soundly spanked.
    3.) Bards are SIGNIFICANTLY upgraded from likely any other D&D2 rules game you played (including IWD without HoW). Their upper level songs are really good, and one of those songs allows priests to not have to load up on healing spells, freeing those slots for other great spells. While not mandatory, Bards should be considered mandatory in a warrior-heavy party, because their songs turbo-charge your warriors during battle, and ensure your party always enters every fight at 100% HP.

    A power-gaming party I rolled (as best I remember it) which did quite well in IWD+HoW:

    1.a. Human Paladin (Longbow++ Longsword++) (used in an earlier party) OR
    1.b. Human DC Fighter12 --> Druid (Sling +++ Scimitar+++++) (used in a later party)
    2. Human DC Fighter12-->Priest (Sling++ Mace+++++)
    3. Human DC Priest12-->Ranger (Sling++ Flail++) Allows priest slot access to some druid spells
    4. Human DC Fighter9-->Conjurer (longbow++ Axe+++++)
    5. Gnome MC Thief/Illusionist (shortbow, dagger or short sword)
    6. Half-Elf Bard (Flail, Crossbow, whatever-- she will not use weapons at all for most the game, just songs and an occasional spell.)

    The DC F/D is a weaker member of the party (relative to the Pally) and is, frankly, a liability for a major chunk of the mid-game. But he is a viable alternative to the Pally because he comes into his own in the late game and his druid spells are useful and add interest throughout the game.

    The Fighter-->Priest and Priest-->Ranger DC levels are to the best of my remembrance. The DCs need to be choreographed such that the party is never without a viable priest. In other words, the Fighter DCs to Priest, well before the Priest DCs to Ranger. In the mid-to-late game, the presence of two priests will make some of the otherwise tough fights not quite so tough. (Stacking Prayer and Chant with the obviously appropriate Bard's song can make a straight-up brawl a thing of beauty.)

    1. Those who specialize their PALADIN in longsword AND carefully search all areas after DE will eventually find great cause to rejoice.
    2, If you choose to make a Bard part of your party, the Bardic Horn of Vahalla (available fairly early in the game) can prove to be a very powerful tool in the early game, and useful even in the late game.

    All my characters were rolled with maxed STR, DEX and CON, no matter what their class, and then max in their prime stat (e.g., INT for mage). That means a bit of re-rolling for most the DCs. The DC F/D, in particular, is tough to roll correctly. An unabashedly depraved power gamer, such as myself, would not be satisfied with a roll of less than 100; and even that must be carefully allocated. To avoid later disappointment, save game and test DC your characters as soon as you hit level 2.
    Post edited by BajeDad on
  • KerthalKerthal Member Posts: 68
    edited September 2014
    So after "tweaking" my first idea of a party, I think I'll go with this one:

    Paladin (Probably Undead Hunter or Cavalier)
    Berserker or Barbarian
    Halfling Fighter/Thief
    Half-Elf Fighter/Druid
    Human Bard
    Elf Sorcerer

    I'll take two multi-class characters in order to have some more "muscles" :) And I had to sacrifice the Dwarf :(
    And I still don't know if I'll take a Berserker or a Barbarian. I'm more tempted to choose the Barbarian but the lack of "strong armor" is bothering me since he's gonna be a dual-wielder.

    PS: See? There's a bard now... @BajeDad‌ 's arguments and the fear of being called a Bardist (thanks @rufus_hobart‌ ) were enough in the end to switch the Cleric for this one.
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Is it a horribly bad decision to give two characters crossbows? One of them's the bard, who isn't going to use his much, most likely. (assuming BajeDad's statement is accurate) I plan to do it more for role-play reasons than anything.

    I guess I'm basically stuck on what to give my bard. Longbows are taken, crossbows will (likely) be taken, and shortbows are apparently not a great choice in this game. That leaves slings, darts, and daggers, none of which sound terribly good. Then again, the bard I'm role-playing is more of an onlooker and encourager than a combatant. Songs and some support magic will probably be the majority of what I use him for.
  • CluasCluas Member Posts: 355
    edited September 2014
    ^ I would go with bows then, as the ammo for arrows is easiest to get (IMHO) ...
    That being said, I have often had 2 chars with crossbows :)
  • SpungiSpungi Member Posts: 219
    I had my bard equipped with a 1h, cause of a off-hand you can buy
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    I might do that then. I think shortbows are a perfect fit for him, but they're not terribly good. And hey, so what if the bard and paladin use the exact same weapons? No big deal. *shrugs* (Yes, my bard and paladin are BOTH using Lswords and Lbows now.)
  • BajeDadBajeDad Member Posts: 9
    edited September 2014
    At Kerthal and Sniiiimon--> Yikes! I would be afraid the Pally + Bard + Druid is not going to be an adequate substitute for a priest.. I am getting away with a MC F/D (and no pally nor priest) in BG1, but I know I wouldn't be having fun with that party in IWD+HoW. Really, certain parts of IWD and HoW are designed to severely punish priest-less parties.

    The pain should start to ramp up starting roughly about the time your characters hit level 5 (in a party of 6). If you cannot cure poison and disease on the spot (potions will help) then prepare for reload or paid resurrection.


    At Elrandir --> Unless you have RP reasons for doing otherwise, max ranged damage is with bow, then short bow, then crossbow, then sling. I give everyone a bow that can use one, shortbow to the thief, and slings to the priests/druids. I give crossbow to Bard because: there is a really good one available; and she will almost never use it.
  • KerthalKerthal Member Posts: 68
    @BajeDad‌ Thanks for the warning, I'll keep that in mind :)

    But I must admit I don't remember having a hard time in my previous playthroughs (maybe because I had a cleric each time...).

  • ArchaosArchaos Member Posts: 1,421
    edited September 2014
    For IWD (not 2) you NEED a Paladin. They get their super special weapon later on.

    What I recommend:
    Paladin (for Pale Justice)
    Fighter/Thief multi. (Tried pure-class Thief, very very weak but leveled up faster)
    Fighter/Cleric or single-class Cleric.
    Mage.
    DRUID. Get a Druid in IWD, they are awesome and I missed not having one. Single class.
    Bard too. Awesome Bard songs and some different dialogues. Warchant of the SITH. *Plays Darth Vader tune*

    Don't get a Fighter, unless it's a dual or multi. So boring without kits. And don't get a Ranger. You cannot dual-wield properly and you're basically a crappy Paladin.
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    @Archaos‌ But BG's dual-wield system is going to be in IWD:EE, so rangers DO get to dual-wield properly.

    I'm really torn between two different characters to make the sixth slot in my party. I've got it DOWN (even most of the character bios) except for one character. My party is going to be... (not made for absolute greatest powergaming, but made to not be a painful experience. Still don't know what I'll do with ALL my pips.)

    Undead Hunter (Lsword/Lbow/Flail/?)
    Cleric/Illusionist (Mace/Sling/?)
    Fighter/Druid (Scimitar/Sling/?)
    Fighter/Thief (Axe/SWS/Shortsword/?)
    Bard (Lsword/Lbow/?)

    But I'm unsure whether I want my sixth slot to be a Fighter/Mage multi or a Ranger/Cleric multi. The F/M would dual wield daggers and use a crossbow, while the R/C would... Dual wield maces and flails? I dunno. It's basically more divine magic or more arcane magic? Any advice @BajeDad‌?
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