Ive been playing BG and BG2 for ages and I've gotten very comfortable with the rules, and what certain skills do (even if i still haven't worked out half the ways to use them all !). I bought IWD2 yesterday, got it home and... ta daa!!
A new rule set ?!?!

So has anyone got any kind of... general info or tips for someone familiar with 2nd ed, but new to 3rd ed ?

for eg. Bards can't have magic missile ?
-exactly how crazy *should* I go with multi-classing ?
-how do all these ability modifiers work ?
-I only have 76 points to spend on my character !!! what will I do ?!?!
-why can anyone use any weapon ? (and are there penalties apart from non-proficient, eg cleric using bladed weapons)
-what on earth are all the skills and abilities ? (intimidate, etc)
-do I have to turn them on ? because the only ones I ever see in the abilities menu are rogue/ranger ones (hide, search, woodcraft etc, about 5).
-Everey single one of my characters seems to have thieving abilities...are they just really sucky at it or what ?
-What do the skills and feats do, and what ones are useful as opposed to what ones aren't worth the points spent
-It seems to me that I've had different dialogue options with the 2 parties I've tried. 1 lead by Paladin with diplomacy, 1 led by barbarian with intimidate. Is this the difference in the skills or just the effects of lower charisma ?
-what does the 'spellcraft' feat do by adding more points in it ? is it only for mages or will clerics benefit too ?
-what are masterwork weapons ? ****(really wanna know this one)****
-what skills/abilities affect store prices ? My paladin got waaaay cheaper prices than my dwarven fighter, But my (char 8) + (4 x Intimidate) barbarian got the same as my (10 char) + (no people skill feats) rogue

basically, what skills/feats/stats do you recomend for what classes (and how do I use them ?)
ps. don't worry about monks or druids

I've seen that you made some other posts, so you probably figured much by yourself already, but here are some answears.

Everyone can use any weapons because it make more sense. Given some time to train, even a mage should be able to learn how touse an axe, or a two handed sword, as long as he is strong enough. Older rules made no senses. A fighter trained in sword and a mage trained in sword have the same bonus and penalties, but a fighter to hit rolls (THACO) raise faster, as usual.

The dialogs options you get are dependant on your skills and your race. Sometimes you can intimidate people, bluff,... your race is important, too. Elves might understand orc, for example, while humand might not. As an example, try starting a new game as a drow and going to talk to the two guards on the doc, see how they react.

Some abilities are always on, like intimidate, bluff, ... the game use them for you. Others, like power attack, are in the special abilities pannel, like in BG II.

As you said, any class can take any skills, so a mage could learn to pickpocket, for example, but the cost of each skill change depending on your class. A thief will have an easier time sneaking around, while a barbarian is better at intimidating people.

If you take a fighter, and give him a level in a spellcasting class, he won't gain a "cast spell" button. That's because the butons bar is customisable. Right click on an empty buton space, and you will get the choices of what button you want to put there, right click ont hose buttons to go even farther, so you could make a shortcut to "cast magic missile" or to "sneak", or simply one to "cast spell".

You need spellcraft to learn spells from scrolls, so it benifit mages the most, but it can also allow you to know what spell a monster is about to cast. Sometimes, while a monster is casting a spell, you will see the name of the spell appear above him, so you can react accordingly. If you see your ennemy is about to cast a fireball, you can run away before he does. Some feat also require you to have a some points in spellcrafts before you can take them.

Masterwork weapons are just non-magical weapons, but they are of superior quality, so they give you a +1 bonus to hit. So, they are better than regular weapons, but weaker than magical weapons.

[ 01-16-2003, 11:30 AM: Message edited by: Luvian ]

Multiclassing: keep an eye on that "favored race" requirement if your characters aren't human or half-elf. Given how the new exp works for MC people, I suggest you not do more than two classes per character.

There are several threads on multi-classing; try using the board search to find them.

I didn't do much multi myself. Usually, I gave fighters two levels (or was that three?) of rogue to get the evasion ability (no damage on a save), and that was pretty much it.

<center>Nightowl2</center>

I had my paladin get some fighter levels, my thief get fighter levels, but usually, it's not a good idea to multiclas your spellcasters.

That being said, I gave 4 ranger levels to my duids, and I don't regret it.

thanks Luvian. Yeh I have started figuring some of it out, like the intimidate Vs diplomacy thing, but its all half guess-work. I kinda wanted to have it clarified so I wasn't spending precious points on something I mistakenly thought was making a difference (It *could* have just been the difference in charisma (8 Vs 18).

I also worked out the customisable action bar, which is a higlight of the interface, excellently done. Often playing BG2 I wished I could remove buttons I never used on certain characters to have, another quick weapon or ability etc. I also love the 4 different weapon combos. In BG2 if you wanted a guy with sword and shield to switch to bow, you had to go into inventory and start removing heaps of things and putting new things into quick weapon slots, a pain in the @$$. (but now I'm getting demanding and wishing there was a 'group select 2nd weapon kit' button, lol)

The stats thing still has me a bit bemused though. Only 16 extra points to spend is very... limiting. How important is Int for gaining new skills and feats ? Can I save up skill points when levelling if I only get 1 point each time (to spend on cross-class skills ?)

what are the best starting stats for a aasimar Paladin, and what should I spend new stat points on ? (staying true class)

There is! Right click on your weapon on the action bar.

There is less points to distribute, but you get bonus sooner. Compare the ablities table from Icewind Dale II and Baldur's Gate II, you will see.

Also, every 4 levels, you can raise an attribute by one point.

There is! Right click on your weapon on the action bar.</font>[/QUOTE]no no. I know how to change individuals by right clicking. I mean a way to change every I have selected from their 1st weapon kit to their 2nd weapon kit. Like right click the group attack button to choose what weapon set everyone uses.

Good idea, but no... there's no way to do that - now you're getting greedy. [img]smile.gif[/img]

As far as the points system for attributes... yes, it seems like a lot less points than we got in BG (& I do miss the randomness), but the scales have been modified. Now you only need a 12-13 STR to get +1, 14-15 to get +2, etc., instead of having to have a rather phenomenal roll to get any sort of bonus.

So, while your stats will be lower in total, you'll still get the really good bonuses you're used to getting for having exceptional scores, plus lesser bonuses for stats (e.g. 14) that didn't used to give any bonus.

Plus, every 4th level, you get to add +1 to any stat you want.

- Imrahil

[edit] ...for stupid spelling mistake...

[ 01-17-2003, 09:40 PM: Message edited by: Imrahil ]

I must say karlosovic, it was very smart of you to come here first...when i got this game it was the first place i went...Wow...okay...You really should try making like a ranger or fighter proficient (sp.?) with a melee weapon (long sword for example) and a cross bow (i just sue crossbow because it tends to be the strongest), and this new crazy way of changing your weapon lets you easily fluxuate between melee and missle (almost making the Precise Shot feat unnessesary). And make sure you have some feats that match the desired class like give a mage Scion of Storms, but not Improved Critical, ya dig? All right, you'll do just fine