What are the chances that Drazzt Du'Orden, the dual-wielding svirfneblin Ranger, can save Icewind Dale on his own (i.e. solo game)?

I play in normal mode on normal difficulty and have fairly modest starting stats (I'm not a min-maxer by heart):

Str: 13
Dex: 14
Con: 14
Int: 10
Wis: 13
Cha: 10

I took 13 in strength just to get Power Attack, and later Cleave. The next point I got went into strength, while the rest of the points I'll get will go into wisdom (up to 16) and dexterity.

I have three Ease-of-Use mods installed:

1. Some Bonus Merchant that came with the Collectors Edition pack of IWD2. Adds a couple of IWD1 items into the game.
2. Always gain some small amount of xp. With this I'll always get at least some xp while killing enemies and I don't have to chop through hordes of goblins for no reward at all. I haven't reached so far into the game that this would kick in yet, I'm only about to start Chapter 1, so I don't know how powerful this mod will be. I don't want anything that "breaks" the game; I want it to be as close to the straight-out-of-the-box game as possible.
3. Infinite stacking. Says it all.

Any tips and pointers to Drazzt and I'll pass them along? Please no spoilers to anything later than the Ice Palace in chapter 2 as I haven't gotten further than that in my other games. Any good items to look out for?

[ 01-05-2005, 08:23 PM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

You... haven't beaten the game yet, and you decided to solo it? Well, first of, I bow before your bravery.
Second of all, leave wisdom as it is, and put everything into dexterity, just one point in strength(next). Dual-wielding can be mucho fun, especially with a Scimitar/Shortsword combination, or dual Scimmy's(Drizzt enough). What are you planning on?
As for feats, after getting the normal weapon proficiencies and improved criticals, spend the next three on saves feats. With some weapons it might be good to nvest in Weapon Finesse, depends on what you'll be using.
And those are my favorite mods for IWD2. Just try not to install the Bastard Sword fix... that WILL destroy the game...
Good luck!

I concur. Good luck. Actually, since Drizzt had the advantage of R.A Salvatore, you just should bump his level a bit. These are his 2ed stats.
STR: 13, DEX: 20, CON: 15, INT: 17, WIS: 17, CHA: 14

Yes, well Drizzt isn't actually a Svirfneblin either [img]tongue.gif[/img]
So my guess is that it's only the name anf the skin tone that reminds of Drizzt... and the class... and the dual-wielding...
He's level 18 or 19, right?

Drizzt is level 16, If I'm not mistaken.

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The Prelude was very easy; by the time I cleared out the Docks and encountered Rukwurm in the caves under the warehouse, I've taken just one or two hits and then I hadn't even used the MI and Blur innate abilities.

The shapeshifter guy I beated by just running around the beds and shoot him with a crossbow. I could have beaten him in melee as well, but then I would probably have to waste a potion of healing and I was saving money at that time for an armour.

The only save roll I failed in the entire Prelude was against a Ray of Enfeeblement spell casted by Phaen.

I haven't decided yet what weapon combo I will be using or if I'll take Weapon Finesse. If I do, I'm limited to shortswords and daggers, right? Meaning no Moonblade of Selune. A technical question, if I have a longsword in the mainhand and a shortsword in the offhand, and picks Weapon Finesse, will it then only apply for the shortsword and not affect the AB for the longsword? Since I wont be putting more points into strength and focus on dexterity instead, it sounds like a good way to raise the offhand/shortsword AB. I only get one offhand attack, so it better count. I could of course install that EoU component that turns the Moonblade into a small blade...

And yes, Drazzt the svirfneblin Ranger is supposed to be a parody on Drizzt. ;)

[ 01-06-2005, 06:24 AM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

*Update*

MAJOR setback: By installing the bonus merchant, Oswald added a few armours from IWD1, overpowered for being so early in the game but still very expensive, to a secret stash he's been holding on to for too long. One of the armour there caught my eye; Elven chainmail of the Hand+3, a +3 chainmail that acted as a light armour for measly 15600 gold pieces. I actually managed to save up for this amount by the end of the prelude; Shawford Crale gave me his Mail of Life (worth 8500) and and I got hold of a few other magical items, some of which just like the Mail of Life had been added by EoU, and run smiling to Oswald. I quicksaved before just in case, and bought the chainmail. To my dismay the armour negates the dual-wielding proficieny Rangers get despite being a light armour. I reloaded and had to settle with a studded leather+1 and a ring of protection. I just lost the chance to get +4 to my AC.

Oswald had two other light armours available, Mourner's Armour and Zuvembi, but BOTH of them are cursed meaning once I equip them I can't remove them unless someone cast a Remove Curse spell on me. Remove Curse is a staple spell for every temple priest in the game, right? In any case, I still plan to buy Mourner's armour. Both armours are something like leather armours+4; Zuvembi gives you the benefit of Death Ward while equipped and -2 to charisma, while Mourner's armour gives you +25 to max hp and some form of resistance to missile weapons. A strange effect of wearing Mourner's is apparently that you can't see your exact hp.

[ 01-06-2005, 06:48 AM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

Well, Zuvembies(normal and HoF versions) are one of the more usefull armors in the game, even with the curse. And yes, the Weapon Finesse feat applies only to small blades, other weapons are unaffected. A Moonblade and a certain +5 shortsword that you can get early in the game(realistically, around the Woods, but you can get lucky) is an awesome combo with the Weapon Finesse. But I'd opt for a pair of scimitars, especially because of the... well... you'll see.

You mean the Brilliant Shortsword+5? The one that strikes through all armor and shield AC like a hot knife through butter? I've heard about it in another forum.

Anyway, I intend to use Emma's Moonblade as my mainhand weapon. I find it a very good sword.

Yes, that one. Best weapon there is against armored opponents. Untill you get ot Kuldahar that is. But I don't want to spoil you further..
And Emma's Moonblade rockses big much!

Progress update!

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I just went to Shaengarne River, despite only having an AC of 21, I tore through the enemies like nobody's business. I was at lv. 4 when I entered and am right now lv. 7 and just cleared out the area where Toraks camp is. No one here proved any difficulty, not even Torak; he died in three hits. :D I also got my second mainhand attack along the way and does currently have 3 attacks/round.

As for the slime cave, MI protected me well against the ochre slimes, and Power Attack made short work of any inhabitant with damage reduction. Vrek Vileclaw wasn't much of a challenge either; I manage to score a critical hit against him on the second hit or so, and after that he went down in a matter of seconds followed by a jar of flaming oil. The rest of his cronies isn't worth mentioning. :D Emma was nice to reward me with her Moonblade, and I soon intend to buy the Shortsword of Sure Striking from the merchant in the ruined loggers village.

I now have enough cash to buy one of the armour from Oswald. I'm thinking of buying the Mourner's Armor; it gives you +25 hp, raising my max to 109 hp, and 15/- resistance to missile weapons. The drawback, aside from the curse, is that I can't see my current hp. This might present a problem if I'm not careful. The armour also gives you a -1 penalty to thief skills but who gives the monkey. :D

Are there any characters later in the game capable of removing the curse in case I find a better armour along the way?

[ 01-06-2005, 02:58 PM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

Every cleric can remove the curse. SSSS isn't bad, but I wish it's +5 Enchantment was a +5 Attack Bonus [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Me too. Besides, how many enemies in the game requires +5 or better to hit?

I've never tried that item mod. It seems really rigged, though your justified for soloing with THOSE stats ;)

Where do you find that brilliant short sword? I've never seen it. Is it part of the mod?

I never really liked the moonblade, as I don't think it gives you your STR bonus when you attack with it. Still, you aren't missing much, and a +2 weapon this early is useful.

Well it deals magic damage, incorporeal blade and it kills trolls quite skillfully.
The Brilliant Short Sword is found in the Ice Temple, the last reward(complete the squares).

The Moonblade of Selune doesn't add your strength to attack rolls? I'm talking of the longsword you get from Emma, not the spell. There's a component in the EoU that makes the longsword into something similar to the spell, but I haven't got that one installed.

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Anyway, I cleared the rest of the Shaengarde River areas with very little trouble, destroyed the dam and saved the bridge. The Goblin Fortress has proved more of a challenge, especially the trolls and those pesky half-goblins. I'v also found out that the spell progression of Rangers is extemely slow; I got access to lv.1 spells at Ranger lv. 4 and had to wait until Ranger lv. 10 until the next spell level opened up to me. :rolleyes:

Rangers spellcasting level is one half their actual level. Meaning a level 10 ranger is a level 5 spellcaster. This reflects to it's speed of obtaining spells, the effectivenes of spells and the DC.
I'm also talking about the Moonblade sword, not the spell. Someone once said that being an incorporeal blade(altho the game info says it's blunt and all) it also ignores armor and shield AC bonuses. Never confirmed it tho..

Strange. In my game it's just a +2 longsword in regards to AB and dmage bonuses, and a +4 enchantment, I assume in regard to what it can hit.

The description says it bypasses armor, weight 2 lb. , does magic damage instead of slashing and that you can't sneak attack with it. The spell "Moonblade" sounds alot like what you described, on the other hand. There's also a component in EoU that changes the stats of the longsword into that of the spell.

I don't know if the longsword adds your strength to you damage, but I'll try to look into it.

Here's a description of the longsword.

And here's a description of the spell "Moonblade".

*Update!*

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I just cleared out the Horde Fortress. I proved to be more of a challenge than Shaengarne River. The enemies that provided the most challenge were the trolls, of any kind, and the spellcasters; one failed save against a Hold Person spell really ruin your day. Fortunately, I rarely fail those saves.

A good tactic against spellcasters, I found, is to buff up (in my case MI and Blur). cast Invisibility, walk past the enemies front lines directly towards the spellcaster and start chopping away. Most of them dies within a few hits, and they are the only enemies that can turn the tide of battle against me.

Somewhere during my exploration of the caves under the Fortress, I leveled up and my third mainhand attack. I now have four attacks per round, and with MI and Blur, I am a whirlwind of destruction.

The battle with Guthma was not particularely difficult if you take out the enemies in portions; kill a few (preferably the spellcasters first as they rememorize their spell if you rest), run out to the Fortress yard, rest, buff up and then head straight back in. It took me three of those to kill Guthmas and all of his groupies.

I'm currently level 12, an AC of 25, 169 HP and ready to kick some Aurilite ass. :D

Heh, seems like the guy is having some fun, eh [img]smile.gif[/img]
Yeah, when soloin, I find the Invisibility spell, or Hide skill if available, of extreme use against spellcasters. In fact, I think I'll go solo again, Fighter4/mageX, Drow, Staff wielding, light armors... Heh, I can imagine that one getting quite powerfull...

Invisibility have also proven useful in taking out the war drums at the Fortress.

[ 01-09-2005, 06:52 AM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

I love my rogue on those missions. It gives him a reason to be in the group with his 18 strength in a sneak attack! Only takes a few more slashes for the spell caster or the drummer to die.