Is my approach unrealistic?

The_Grump

I'm playing through the campaign on Core Rules, with a not-quite-min/max'd party.

Cavalier w/ 2-hander
Fighter/Cleric mace/flail+shield(bunch of healing spells, stats for fighter)
Cleric warhammer/shield (semi-front line, buffer)
Avenger (ranged and shapeshifting whenever melee is needed. Spellbook is mixed between buffing, control, offense)
Mage/Thief (will use utility and situational spells; mainly ranged but high enough STR to buff for melee occasionally)
Sorcerer (offensive spells and often-used AOE's like glitterdust, haste, etc).

What I'm not getting is how this game is supposed to be played with role-playing in mind. I just got into the Temple of the Forgotten God. The opening fight with the cleric and 2 Verbeeg's nearly demolished my two front-liners and half of my healing spells were used up to get them back in fighting condition. If 1 fight knocks them down that much, then 2 more and they'll have to rest for 'x' number of hours. As far as RP goes, I'm not sure what I'm trying to do is viable: how can a party of 6 people realistically rest for all that time in a temple full of giants and priests that want to kill them?

Is my approach to trying to roleplay the entire scenario not going to be feasible?

Zyzzogeton

Use summons like Animate Dead, send them in first.

For a single spell slot you have a way to mitigate a dozen or so points of damage. Can't remember how much HP summons have in normal mode.

Blades

Early game can be easily overcome with missile weapons. RPwise this game isn't BGII.

Spungi

Simmons and ranged! That place is cruel... Those verbeegs pack a punch... On insane they 1 shot my poor Ranger...

CutlassJack

The_Grump said:

how can a party of 6 people realistically rest for all that time in a temple full of giants and priests that want to kill them?

Why I feel vanilla bards are a must for this series. Daylong naps after every fight in hostile locales bother me on an RP level. Group regen means you only rest when you need to replenish spells.

Spungi

Didn't HoW make it so the regen only works in combat? Or is that iwd2?

TvrtkoSvrdlar

@The_Grump‌

What do you care if it's 'realistic' or not?

Play the game and have fun! If that means resting for 90 days in an underground cavern, so be it.

Don't let the little things take away from your enjoyment of a product you paid your hard-earned money for.

macomeau

Regeneration works all the time. I use the Bard Controlled script and keyed it to always sing once I reached level 11. By default, the script only has the bard sing during combat.

Wowo

Rp wise adventurers die, and quite often.

Surviving to level up was supposed to be a feat of skill and luck in 2e and of you had a character survive until higher levels he was treasured, respected and quickly retired before something unfortunate happened.

Save/ reload in crpgs ruined that feeling. If you want the correct vibe then play no-reload and see how your appreciation for the game changes.

JuliusBorisov

This is what I've done when entered the Temple of the Forgotten God (and any other area): Invisibility on one party member -> Scout all the location -> Detect where all the enemies are and what are they -> Bard Song -> Haste and attack -> Chant by my cleric -> Sunscorch by my druid and Magic Missile by my mage at enemy caster -> Win

moody_mage

Ranged weapons remain viable throughout the whole game.

OlvynChuru

Well of course it's unrealistic for a party to be able to rest in a temple full of enemy priests and verbeegs, just as it is unrealistic for a mere human to be able to survive a blow from a verbeeg. The game can be nonsensical in ways that some people might take for granted.

Redrake

Verbeegs (and giants in general) are best taken out by ranged weapons. Use haste on your best archer(s) (not the spell as that runs out and leaves your character fatigued, but the speed potions) and try to draw giants one after another. Don't just charge them. They can take quite a punch. Area spells like Stinking cloud, grease, web or entangle can also work wonders for keeping them in place for a ranged character to take them out.

The_Grump

Awesome, thanks for the feedback guys. I guess I'll stick the more serious RP'ing mainly to Baldur's Gate and NWN.

@TvrtkoSvrdlar Normally I don't much care for realism, but I set up this party from the get-go to be more role-play centric. After the third bout of my berzerker complaining about how quickly the priest ran out of his holy magic, I realized there was probably going to be a certain disconnect I'd have to deal with if I wanted to keep the party going.

Frond

Like others said, I've found archers to be a huge help. Also spells like Blindness, Glitterdust, and Ray of Enfeeblement really helped while fighting the giants. Stinking Cloud + Spike Growth is also a very deadly weapon, especially if you lure the enemies down a narrow hallway, double stack Spick Growth, and hit em with a Greater Malison.