First playthrough of Temple of Elemental Evil: Party advice??

Eadwyn_G8keeper

Just found this in my local Thrift store a few weeks ago and ready to give it a shot. It seems like mastering the huge variety of turn-based mechanics is going to be a big challenge so I have done a bit of research to start off with a generic munchkin party of 5 [Neutral Good].

1) James O'Carolan--92pt Dwarf Wizard -- with 2 levels of Ranger for Archery feat and +3Reflex or 2 levels of Barbarian for +10@Movement, Uncanny Dodge, +4HP. [Note: Barbarian Rage just does not suit my cold-blooded Playstyle...also with plenty of Melee power -as I plan on recruiting Elmo- maybe I should drop the Barbarian levels and go straight wizard?]

2) Gorlac Dobrynyi--88pt CG Half-Orc -- Fighter 8 Barbarian 2 Power Attack/Cleave/Uncanny Dodge schedule with Reach Weapon replaced by Scathera in end-game. Do not plan on trying to harvest the other sword also unless it can be Pickpocketed.

3) Magnus III -- 88pt NG Human Cleric of Pelor -- Nothing fancy. Good and Sun domains.

4) Gabriella de Marseilles -- 93pt Human Rogue5 Wiz5 Party leader with Spiked Chain

5) a) Siondha Berethiel -- 98pt Elf Ranger5 Sorceror[or Wizard]5 with Dual Short Swords
b) Seamus Anarawdh -- 95pt Human with mostly Druid levels or some combo of Druid-Bard-Sorceror Archery
c) 12 Strikes Monk -- 92pt Ranger2 Wizard1 Monk7 with Dual Kukris

I am unclear about some discussions about Scribe Scroll with only a single level of Wizard being mega-OP. I like OP as a general M.O. for the first few playthroughs of any game!! Attacking with 3-1 odds always seems like a good plan to me. Do not like taking Casualties!! Have also read some opinions that Druids in ToEE are way better than a woodsy alternative to Clerics and possibly better than Fighter-Mage types as 5th Party-member - since some good Fighter NPCs can become followers if extra melee is desired.

Also interested in whether the game provides the sort of goodies that makes Monk characters valuable even though a single level of Monk [as in NWN] is wasted choice.

Thanks for your attention and suggestions. Cheers!!

Gusinda

Hi @Eadwyn_G8keeper, not sure if you are aware, but the original game was full of bugs. If you haven't already done so, I recommend getting hold of two mods which will enhance your game play..

The first is Temple + which is located here with the forum located here, and the second is 'The Circle of Eight Mod Pack' located here. Install the Circle of Eight Mod first then Temple + (which is still being developed with adding new classes, support for DirectX11 etc...).


One party that I enjoyed:
Elf Rogue 5/Wizard 15 (Longsword/Long Bow - Party Leader, sniper, rogue duties)
Human Fighter 20 (Glaive - Tank - suprisingly good fun!)
Dwarven Cleric (Moradin) 18/Paladin 2 (Dwarven Axe and Warhammer - Healer, Second Tank, Buffer, Crafter - Good/Earth)
Elf Druid 17/Monk 3 (Spear/Long Spear, Animal Companion - some healing duties, Summoner, Crafter)
Half Elf Bard 17/Mage 1/Cleric 1/Rogue 1 (XBow, Rapier - Support & Crowd Control)
Dwarven Rogue 16/Fighter 4 (Bastard Sword/Dagger/Xbow - Opportunist, Trap specialist and Pickpocket extrordinaire)

Gus

scriver

Glaives are great. I remember having a Paladin with a Glaive and the Cleave and Combat Reflexes (which allows you to make more Attacks of Opportunity), and then casting Enlarge Person on her. Any monsters trying to make their way past my front line were in for a surprise.

Gusinda

@scriver, Enlarge Person is an absolute must on my tank... I have always leaned towards the Rogue as my fav class type but this fighter was trying to prove it wrong and was also my big damage dealer. In the end, I still prefer the Rogue mixin... Another weapon that I had fun with was the Spiked Chain (on a Bard/Rogue - Weapon Finesse) but I felt the Glaive just better.

Eadwyn_G8keeper

Thanks! I want more info on the Bard's Fascinate ability. How does it stack up against different Saves. Is it useful against Melee Damage Dealers and Bosses but not so good against High-level Casters. What about range?

If Bards can reliably sideline the main enemy threat in most encounters until the lesser dangers have been taken out ~ while risking little danger to the Bard PC in the process, that could be huge. Worth consideration as 5th wheel along with Druid and Fighter-Mage types. Certainly seems better than Monk PCs in ToEE.

Also not sure whether Bards can use Wands in 3.5DD. Need to download the rules for further study.

Eadwyn_G8keeper

Fascinate has a range of 90ft with line-of-sight and visual contact. Very nice!! Saves are made using Will save against Bard's Perform skill which seems a very high % chance of success even against Casters. ???

At 6th level Suggestion can be employed against a Fascinated character which does not break the Fascination or trigger another Save. But there is a Save against the Suggestion which I gather is DC [1d20 +Will Mod??] vs [10+Half the caster's Bard level [rounded down??] + Charisma Mod] ~~Is that right??

Now a further question arises. Is there an NPC, suited for Melee Tank Damage Dealer who can be reliably equipped with Scathera?? Which would open up other profiles for Party of 5 perhaps...

Gusinda

Unfotunately, I don't use NPCs much as mostly they tend to cost too much. I generally have my own created party of between 4-6. Perhaps Elmo might do the job after some levelling management? He appears to be of the right alignment for Scather.

Skatan

I don't remember much about this game, only played it (unmodded) once many, many years ago and didn't even finish it. I do remember a fist fight in the docks area though where you have to pit on your team vs some kind of drunken sailor or whatever and I ended up using my dwarf fighter instead of my dwarf monk since the monk was too weak.

Anyways, I know I don't really contribute to this thread, but just wanted to say the monks felt underwhelming when I played.

OlvynChuru

One really annoying thing about the Temple of Elemental Evil is that many enemies have ridiculously good Armor Class. In the first level of the game you encounter gnolls with AC 19. Even with a minmaxed character you're going to be missing these gnolls constantly.

Eadwyn_G8keeper

OlvynChuru said:

One really annoying thing about the Temple of Elemental Evil is that many enemies have ridiculously good Armor Class. In the first level of the game you encounter gnolls with AC 19. Even with a minmaxed character you're going to be missing these gnolls constantly.

Good to know. Makes Barbarian Rage and Bull Strength more valuable. Lots to consider and that is one of my favorite parts of Gameplay. Assembling a Database and seeing how all the options fit together without inadvertently peeking at too many spoilers. But I do want to avoid situations where I think I have made reasonable choices that simply do not work in the game for one reason or another.

Getting a better feel from some threads today about the importance or non-importance of certain Skills such as Appraise, Spot, Listen, Heal, Survival, Hide-Move Silent, Tumble that should reassure me.

Research definitely fits my Playstyle!! ~Cheers!