My Long hiatus from playing RPG's has come to an end..

i've been playing ultima online for 6 years and decided to quit a couple of month ago...anyways...i was not planning to go back playing rpg's...but these games caught my eye..so here i am..i recently bought the 3 game package of iwd,how and iwd2

my question is...do i need to install all three games at once and get the patch so i get the bug fixed? im have iwd installed right now and it has been a blast so far...im currently working on dorns deep....

next question..i recently deleted my 8 level human fighter and replace him with a human paladin..will i still get gold if i do these?

thanks for the help [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00">No, IWD & HoW go together as HoW is an expansion. IWD can be played without HoW, but you need IWD installed to play HoW. There is another free expansion for this game called Trials of the Luremaster that can be downloaded at http://www.gamebanshee.com/icewinddale/downloads.php . You will need both IWD & HoW to play it. For installing, install IWD, than HoW (HoW is a patch as well than the patch for HoW. I think patch can be found at same link above.)

IWD2 is a separate game with a different story.

IWD uses 2nd edition rules and IWD2 uses 3rd edition rules.

I recommend playing IWD & HoW first as there are many references to this game in IWD2. Not necessary as they are separate stories but for me I think it added something by playing them in order. As your like "I remember that, cool!"

As for the paladin you will likely get better deals at stores do to the fact that is charisma is higher. It does not affect gold or items gained though quests in IWD, although in IWD2 if you allow your paladin to talk he will often refuse quest rewards. In IWD there is a formidable sword that can be found that can only be used by a paladin.

Oh, and welcome to the boards feel free to ask any questions.</font>

[ 09-30-2003, 12:54 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

Pritchke,

As a separate game, how does IWD2 compare with the original? Are the rule differences that noticeable? Do you recommend it?

Paladins refusing quest rewards? Can't have that.

Lymond


Welcome to the boards, Twid! I don't like my paladin as much as I thought I would, but I don't regret playing her because of the variation in the game. For the first time I dual classed a fighter to a mage and that's by for my favorite character- a formidable mage at the start of battles who quicly becomes a hardcore tank/fighter.

yes..soo far i love the game..no more running away from pk's and thieves [img]tongue.gif[/img]

do time played affect any of the game mechanics? ive been trying to level-up my team...resting then waiting for the spawn...i know it deteriorates the challenge..but the more harder monsters in dorn is kicking my behind...and plus..i think i killed some of the npc's not to be killed...i missed a lot of subquest [img]tongue.gif[/img] i guess i should do it over..heheh

thanks for the quick response

do you guys know where i can get the new pool of radiance game..they seem to be sold out or not distributing it anymore in their site....

my party is built like this:

2 elven rangers(8)
1 human paladin(3)
1 human fighter(8)
1 human cleric(7)
1 human mage(6)

what do you think? should i revamped? or stick with this team...my fighter has 80hp..is that good?normal? or a little low for a fighter?

<font color = mediumspringgreen>Twid,

[img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img] Welcome to the IWD forum!! [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img]

HoW patches IWD and adds many features to the IWD portion of the game, in addition to the extra adventuring area in HoW. HoW, in turn, is best patched by using ONLY Trials of the LureMaster (TotLM) which is a free (albeit large [72MB!] ) download. TotLM is a complete and final patch for IWD if you have also have HoW installed. And a very satisfactory one, I might add; not to mention the extra gameplay it will give you if you decide to take up old Stubbletoes on his offer. Here are a few links I have scavenged out of old posts (Thank you, Micah Foehammer and Kezardin!).

http://www.fileplanet.com/files/60000/62184.shtml (pay site.)

http://planetbaldursgate.com/iwd/info/luremaster (free site)

http://patches-scrolls.de/ (has links to *most* game patches, old and new. Select DOS/Windows from the left panel and follow the prompts. There are links to both TotLM, which patches to version 1.42; and the vanilla 1.41 patch, which is a much smaller download than TotLM.)

What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party on!!
</font>

[ 09-30-2003, 02:25 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00">Lymond I think comparing IWD2 with the original is a matter of opinion. Personally I prefer the original with HoW out of the two. I like my second edition rules just fine as it is just far easier to create parties without doing much thinking. Developing characters is far more important in IWD2 with 3rd edition rules, as compared to IWD. Some people like that however I just prefer to start as quickly as possible and play the game. When I first started IWD2 creating my first party took a longer time as there is a lot more you need to know and think about, and I had to start over because I found my party a little week. There are areas of the game that become impossible or very difficult if you didn't plan ahead and if a character doesn't have enough points in a certain skills, but how are you going to know this without playing to that point. It is possible to get almost to the end and realize you need a certain amount of skill in something to get anywhere else, then you are hooped and have to start from scratch. I don't know if this happened to anyone but I for one would have been a little annoyed if it happened to me. Actually if I remember it did happen to me but I used a game editor to make the potion required to move on. After having been through the game you become a little more knowledgeable and know were the pitfalls are. Having said that IWD2 is a good game and I do recommend it. Lets just say I will install and play it again at some point. </font>

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00">Twid, you got to Dorn's deep without a thief? That is pretty impressive for starting out, I have done the game solo with a Fighter/mage/cleric so I know it can be done but that is still pretty good surviving dragon's eye without a thief for a first time through.

No Druids or Bards? After you complete your current game you may like to run through again with 1 or both of these classes. Very powerful classes in this game.</font>

[ 09-30-2003, 02:45 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

well..yeah i did...i used my cleric to detect trap and simply avoided the darn things...and used my rangers to do entagle, mage fireball and stinkcloud.

my rangers and mage has done most of the job...one of my ranges is undetectable...ring or necklase...cant rember right now..i swithced one of my ranger ot do crossbows...but i dont think its as good as a composite bow...we'll see..ill give you guys an update once in a while. i think im going back to killing wights to level up.. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

<font color = mediumspringgreen>Twid,

Now you've really opened a can of worms! There are lots of opinions on the subject. Here's mine:

If (and only if) you have HoW installed, you need a Bard; but more than that, you need a Thief. Most players would agree that a Thief is one of the most essential characters you can have for a party numbering more than two. The problem with thieves is that they suck up a lot of expo without giving back much extra after, say, level 9. I offset this weakness by DC or MC them with a Fighter or Mage. (Can you have a Thief/Cleric or Thief/Druid?)

At least one member in your party should have infravision.

To balance your party with the least amount of change, I would trade in one of your Rangers for a Bard (if you have HoW installed) and trade in the Mage for a Gnome Mage/Thief. (The Bard will help out with magic.)

Looks like you don't have CON maxed out on your Fighter (or you did not select "max HP" in the game options). I think you should be getting more than 10 HP per level during the first 9-10 levels.

I didn't like my Pally, either; but someone convinced me to keep him: Said that his high saving throws come in handy later in the game. Plus, there is an unbelieveable kick-assassin sword found later in the game that only a Paladin can use.

What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK! . . . (with HoW installed)
Party on!!
</font>

well im beginning to find out that my party is inept ... im gradually changing my characters [img]smile.gif[/img]