After reading how archery is so dominant in this game and how single class characters are underpowered, I concluded that I've been playing wrong, with my wandering band of bumbling fighters and mages (No bard! OMG what was I thinking?). Anyway, as a sort of experiment, I am going to solo a Fighter/Mage/Thief who will primarily use a composite longbow to devestating affect. I have gotten to the vale of shadows with very few reloads, and skelotens are a breeze. I wish I had discovered this sooner!

Unfortunately, my computer is down and I'm using a friend's, so this is just a test. Thanks to all who have shown me the true power!

An elf F/M/T is a pretty good soloist, but cannot heal and must rely on rest, potions, and NPC support. These will vary in availability, and you might find yourself stuck at a few points in the game.

Both the half-elf fighter/druid and cleric/ranger have better offensive and defensive capabilities:

Cleric/Ranger
- extra attack per round
- stealth
- racial enemy
- cleric & druid spells
- turn undead
- charm animal

Fighter/Druid:
- shape change
- immunity to poison
- immunity to fatigue
- elemental form

The elf F/M/T is probably a better soloist in the BG series.

On the other hand, the F/M/T can use a longbow, cast mage spells, detect traps, and sneak past enemies without burning spells. It's a very viable solo character... as are the ones you mentioned, Otto.

Resting isn't bad, unless (as I do) you dislike seeing a week disappear as your character recovers from the latest escapade.

I'm fine for resting extended periods of time. I once played a party and opted for three mages instead of any clarics and routinely slept for 50 days. Finished IWD at day 1000!

Is there any disadvantage to resting for long periods of time (ie. fifty days) or is it just a matter of pride once the game is said and done?

Cary

Its a matter of pride. If any of my friends laugh, I just remind them that none of them have gotten past Dragon's Eye. That shuts them up.

early game spoilers
~
~
~
My F/M/T is now in the last section of the Vale. Mytos and his temple gaurdians were a tad of trouble with their high hp, but once mytos was down I just ran about, twanging away with my composite logbow. The only trouble thus far that I've had is holding all the dang stuff! I need to keep my sword and shield in my inventory since a F/M/T only gets one weapon slot, and I also need room for spare arrows (I use SO many). With all the keys of the Vale, I have only 6-8 inventory slots for holding. Oh well, the game is going very smoothly, and I haen't restarted since the orc camp in Easthaven.

The G3 Icewind Dale Tweak pack has components including higher arrow stacks, which might help with your micomanagement issues. http://www.gibberlings3.net/daletweak/index.html

Whoa! This will help a lot! Thanks! I'll use this when my computer is back up and running.

So far, heres my guy

Marty
Half-elf
chaotic good

Fighter5/mage5/theif6

STR 18/06
DEX 18
CON 18
INT 18
WIS 15
CHA 3

Believe it or not, I got this on my 4th roll! I opted for a low charisma since it really doesn't do much in IWD and if I need to I would be more than happy to make a jerk comment in the game.

I am faced with a dilemma: I found a ring of stealth that gives 15% stealth and permanent non-detection. However, I would rather use my ring of protection +2 and my ring of freedom. Backstabbing is cool, but I think that my guy's superior bowmanship is a better first strike. Should I switch to backstabbing? I've switched everything else.

Also, I've been using studded leather for the whole game thus far, taking it off only to cast a spell. Should I a) switch to plate mail and forget theiving, b) get a mage rove and wear it all the time, or c) stick with the studded leather? Obviously this is only until I can get my hands on elvish chain.

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00">You should be able to find some decent, robes and other items to boost the armor class. If you have the stoneskin spell you are impervious, memorize lots of them. When soloing with a multi mage class I never use armor that hinders my spell casting. If you are going to be using the archer strategy you are going to be avoiding enemies so again armor that hinders spell casting isn't necessary.</font>

[ 11-10-2004, 12:53 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

Whether a player takes advantage of indefinite resting, and other IWD exploits, is just a matter of personal preference, and does not impact the final game.

Some players simply look to "beat" the game. They typically min/max ability scores, play with maximum HP, play a lot of fighter dual-class characters, and generally make decisions based on what is statistically advantageous. These players are sometimes considered "PowerGamers". For PowerGamers, the joy of the game is in winning battles.

Other players might approach IWD and similar CRPGs as if they were playing the pen-and-paper version of D&D. It's still important to win battles, but more attention is given to role-playing than to quantitative indicators like HP, AC, etc. For these players, character motivation becomes a key consideration.

Below is an example decision made by each of these player types.

Event Scene: The Wounded Fighter

PowerGamer:
Human fighter (who will dual to a druid at 13th level) is critically wounded by a Temple Guardian. The nearest cleric is back in Kuldahar, a round-trip hike that will eat up about 10 minutes of unnecessary gameplay; so after the battle he "quicksaves", and rests for two months on the floor of Kresselack's tomb. Then good as new, he battles on.

RolePlayer:
Dwarf fighter is critically wounded by a Skeleton Archer and can no longer press forward. He painstakingly backtracks through three levels of dungeons, across the Vale of Shadows map, and hikes 8-hours to Kuldahar because it is more probable that a wounded fighter would retreat to the nearest town and seek healing services from a cleric than spend several weeks on the floor of a dungeon.

Although they differ in appraoch, both players can still enjoy the game.

[ 11-10-2004, 03:49 PM: Message edited by: Otto ]