The absolute low point

madgamer

I am in the Dragon's eyer dungeon and I have 1 minor problem amd a potential game ending problem

1. minor problem: How the heck do you kill the fire beatlles in Dragon's Eye cavern?

2. I can't believe that I have :
fig. lev. 9/Mage level 10
drac Sor lev. 11
cleric lev. 9/Illu.Lev 10
Noone has a web spell. I have perhaps 7 Fireball spell, 5 sleep spells, and some hold spells, plus perhaps 5 burning oill and I don't seem to be able to kill the trolls in Dragon's eye. I doubt even on easy level it won't wash.
I would think that by this time I could do better in combat but without web spells how the heck do I kill them darn trolls? If by chance I have to go to story level then it just is not worth the effort to go on.

OH YEAH IS THERE A WAY I CAN TRADE BG2EE from my library to someone for another game that is not part of this series?

BillyYank

Get your F/M to the best AC you can. Move toward the trolls until one of them sees the character, then engage with a ranged weapon. The other two chars should be slightly behind so the troll concentrates on the fighter/mage. As the troll moves closer, the other two can start in with their ranged weapons. When the troll reaches the F/M, switch to melee weapon. When the troll falls down, you need to inflict at least one point of fire or acid damage to kill it completely.

That said, I really think your main problem is that you're a beginner trying to play an advanced party. You have three characters and two of them are multiclass, this is a very difficult party to manage. The fighter mage especially, you really need to know the combat system and the magic system to play effectively. Given the right mix of spells, it can be a true melee monster, so what spells are you using? You mention fireballs, sleep and hold, but what about stoneskin, mirror image and Tensor's transformation? Those are the spells that turn a fighter/mage into an unstoppable juggernaut.

I've been playing the BG series on and off for the last 15 years, and I have decades of experience in PnP D&D dating back to the 1st edition of AD&D, but I didn't even consider playing a party like this for my first run-through of IWD. My first party was 2 tanks, 1 sorc, 1 thief, 1 cleric and 1 cleric/mage. 6 characters and kept it simple. Now, I'm starting to experiment with different party makeups, but I needed to get a feel for the game first.

Also, it would be easier to give you advice if you were more detailed about your tactics. This game is far more about the tactics than just about the party makeup.

(BTW, I hate those f***ing beetles. I found them more of a pain than the trolls.)

BillyYank

You might want to move this over to the IWD forum, I don't know that all that many people bother to check this part of the board.

madgamer

If you tell me how to find my save files I will send one. The party ;
Lev, 9 fighter/LEV. 11Thi. Dwa Male 121HP
Lev. 9 Fighter/Lev. 10 Mage ELF Female 75HP
Lev. 11 Dragon Sor. Female Human 81HP
Lev.9 Cleric/Lev,10 Illusionist Gnome Female 56HP
Lev. 6 Fig. Hal-Orc Male 72HP
Lev. 6 Ranger Human 72Hp
The first 4 went through most of HoW and when I created the other two to join them were Level 1. I
Have all the spells you mention above except the last one. I had know Idea how to aquire spell but thought you would get a choice when a spell caster went up a level. I can't even find a spell caster who can cast web.
I thought characters 1, 5, and 6 were tanks. I think yoou are right in the use of the fighter/Mage in that
I can make him stronger with defense spells. but I can't cast spells wearing armor so I gave her a couple of items to increase her HP's.

BTW you did not say how to kill them darn Beatles.

BillyYank

The fighter and ranger should definitely be able to tank. They should be in plate mail at least and have shields if their fighting style is compatible. Put the fighter/thief in studded leather and have him scout ahead in the shadows to find the enemy. Then follow the steps I gave in my previous post only with the fighter and ranger out in front. The goal is to draw the trolls out in ones and twos so you don't get swarmed.

Save files are at Documents\Icewind Dale - Enhanced Edition\save
Zip up the whole sub-folder for the save in question and attach it to your post.
But I really think it would be better if you could give a play-by-play of how the fight goes. With a party as powerful as that, you shouldn't be having trouble with trolls. My party was probably 5-7th level at this point and I don't think I used any attack spells against trolls, apart from the big fight with the trolls and the priests.

Mages get spells from scrolls. The usual way is to save up until just after a level up where you get a new spell level, buy a bunch of scrolls from Orrick, drink a potion of genius, then use the write magic button on the scrolls to write them to your spellbook. If a scroll has a green tint to it in your inventory or the store screen, it's one you haven't written yet.

I like to kill those beetles from a distance. Hit them with arrows and slings, and if they start getting close, back up and do it again.

semiticgoddess

madgamer said:

I have perhaps 7 Fireball spell, 5 sleep spells, and some hold spells, plus perhaps 5 burning oill and I don't seem to be able to kill the trolls in Dragon's eye. I doubt even on easy level it won't wash.
I would think that by this time I could do better in combat but without web spells how the heck do I kill them darn trolls? If by chance I have to go to story level then it just is not worth the effort to go on.

Fireball, Sleep, and Hold Person will have no effect at all on Fire Beetles. Hold Monster will affect them, however. You will have to rely on your weapons if you have no other offensive spells whatsoever. Focus all of your attacks on a single Fire Beetle at a time.

Bear in mind that you have to wait until Trolls fall down before you can kill them with fire. Otherwise they will get up again and again and again and keep fighting. If you launch a Fireball at them at the start of the fight, it will not kill them right away. It will only kill them if you fire it after they slump down and lie on their side. If you hover your mouse over them, eventually a message indicating their health will appear. If they are at "Near Death," then they're about to fall down.

Take your Cleric/Illusionist and cast Protection from Fire on the whole party, or as many party members as you can. Have your Cleric/Illusionist cast Animate Dead before the fight begins. You can also use any other summoning spell, but in case you never picked one, your Cleric/Illusionist will still have Animate Dead. Send out the undead critters you've summoned to distract the Trolls.

The Trolls will attack the undead. This will give you time to use ranged weapons and cast any spells you may have. Trolls are hard to disable, but they have no defense against spell damage. If you have absolutely no other forms of spell damage or Web, no skill in ranged weapons, and no others summoning spells whatsoever, then you can use Fireball. And 5 castings of them, as you say you have, is enough to kill a group of them. Have your mage(s) cast Fireball on the Trolls, and have your Cleric/Illusionist re-cast Animate Dead when your summons get hurt by the Trolls and Fireballs.

A Fireball does 10d6 damage at your level. That's 17 or 35 damage on average. Cast four of them, and you're looking at 80 damage to every Troll even if your luck is bad. They will then fall down. It will take a few seconds, so wait a moment before casting your next Fireball spell.

If you cast Fireball four times on a Troll while your fighters are all attacking it at once, and it still will not fall down, then you have a bug.

Grum

As a note...I have sometimes found that when you get a troll to 'near death' it won't fall down when it should. If this happens, stop attacking and walk away. The troll should then fall.

And another note: The fire bombs you found on lvl 1 of dragon's eye: You don't need to target a troll directly. If there are two trolls lying down you can throw it inbetween them so both are hit by the fire. That should help you ration your fire bombs so you don't run out.