Well IWD2 finally came out in eth shops in the UK today. I will build my party tonight and heres some initial thoughts... anyone have any advice/reccomendations. (PS I dont really like multiclassing.. like to keep it pure)

1. Tank - probably a barbarian, max out on str, low dex

2. Tank 2 - fighter, maybe a dwarf, max out on constitution

3. Healer - cleric or druid or bard ?

4. Trap finder/disarmer - ?

5. Wizard

Now im not sure about the 4. trap person. I figure that i'll need someone to detect and disarm traps but i dont really need a scout or pickpocket/backstab skills as i dont play like that. Is there a way of maybe having the healer as the trap person as well ... ? That way, i could have number 4 as a second harcore magic caster.

Also, is the bard any good as a healer ?

sorry, i forgot that 4. should also be the lockpicker as well

My advice for the #4 person would be to take a Rogue 2/ Ranger X. If you use a hafling, human or half-elf, there is would be no ecl pentality. Also, b/c most of the ranger skills are rogue skills, they would only cost you 1 skill point instead of 2. I suggest taking atleast 2 rogue levels b/c at level 2 rogue, you get evade, which is a very good feat.

A lot of people would say that a pure rogue is unnecessary primarily because bards have almost the same skill costs available to them and bards also have spell casting ability.

I, however, disagree. I think rogues are the only class where disarm traps costs 1 skill pt a level (everybody else is 2 skill pts a level). And I really love backstabbing.

Don't completely rule out multi-classing because having a few levels of a class can be handy sometimes. You might want to give your Barbarian 4 levels of fighter so he specialize with some weapons and get that extra +2 to damage. I give my Rogue some levels of Wizard so he can use some scrolls and items (a surer method than spending points for Use Magic Item skill).

Right I am narrowing things down a bit and have also decided to add a 6th member for the fun and seeing as the game is supposed to be hard (i'll be playing at most difficult setting):

1. FIGHTER-TANK, fighter, human, high str, may multi to Barb after 4 lvls
2. TRUE-TANK, Fighter, shield dwarf, High Constitution
3. SHARPSHOOTER-MELEE, fighter, elf, Longbow, High Dexterity, Weapon Finesse etc..
4. HEALER, Cleric
5. SPELLCASTER, wizard or sorcerer, plenty of conjuring
6. LEADER, Rogue, for scouting/disarming/lockpicking/backstabbing

Anyone have any alterations to advise or improvements (please bear in mind that i dont really multiclass).

Im a bit worried about the lack of spellcasting and also not sure if the rogue can cover all those tasks well enough ?

Also, in terms of what weapons come up is it best for the party to be evil or good ? Id quite like to be evil for a change... any drawbacks ?

Final question, will the longbow elf be not that effective as a melee fighter after getting all the skills to be a good archer ? How much use will he be in IWD2 ? Maybe i could have a druid instead there or something with majic. ?? I do like the idea of ranged fighters though.

any help appreciated

regards

R

Fighters get a *lot* of feats. You won't have to worry that your sniper fighter will fall behind in melee.

Although if you plan on doing a lot of summon spells, you may want a second mage rather than a third fighter. I like sorcerers myself as they don't have to memorize spells beforehand, and they can cast more spells per level than a wizard. Main drawback is far fewer spells to learn. However, you always get your choice at level up time, so no worries about missing a particular spell because you couldn't find the scroll. And sorcerers can cast spells from scrolls, so you could have a few of those for extra spells.

Playing at insane difficulty doesn't do much for you, alas; it just makes the monsters tougher. You get no extra experience, and the items are pretty much the same as in the lower difficulties. Just so you know.

<center>Nightowl2</center>

P.S. I always take Elves (Moon or Wild) for my mages. They come with longbow skill, which is handy when they aren't casting spells.

I got bored with my original party (just completed the Fell Wood) and so created a new one, 3 members only. They just got back from the Bridge mission:

Aasimar.........Paladin3/Cleric3 (Illmater)
Human...........Fighter4/Cleric3 (Tempus)
Deep Gnome......Rogue2/Illusionist2

The Aasimar's levels will be kept equal (though I'll favor the paladin), the human will advance as a Cleric, and the Gnome will advance as a Wizard. The Gnome is an okay performer, but that 3-level penalty is a huge friggin pain in the ass, especially for a spellcaster. I almost went with an elven rogue/wizard combo, but curiousity won out. Oh well.

Yeah, ECL's are not a good choice for spellcasters. The one level penalty for Aasimar and Tiefling aren't too bad (had an A cleric who was quite good), but after that, it's nasty. My first group had a Drow Sorceress, and I finally abandoned that one; two levels back was too much. Deep Gnomes work better in classes that don't depend on magic.

<center>Nightowl2</center>

I thought having fewer members in the party would take care of the level penalty (more xps); perhaps it's too early to tell. One problem is the multiclassing; without the rogue levels she'd be a 4th level wizard by now.

"1. FIGHTER-TANK, fighter, human, high str, may multi to Barb after 4 lvls"

Sounds good - if you do go to Barb, to get the advantage of their fast movement, you have to be in medium or lighter armor - so a high Dex is a good thing. High Wis is also good for Will saves. Int and Cha can be skimped on.

"2. TRUE-TANK, Fighter, shield dwarf, High Constitution"

I have one of these now, they're very tough - 20 Con at the start is plenty, build up Str from there.

"3. SHARPSHOOTER-MELEE, fighter, elf, Longbow, High Dexterity, Weapon Finesse etc.."

Might want to give him even levels of Ranger/Fighter as you'll get the free 2-weapon fighting feats, those with two short blades and weapon finesse are pretty effective. Or just make him a pure Ranger. The high dex works well with light armor too.

"4. HEALER, Cleric"

Always handy to have around [img]smile.gif[/img]

"5. SPELLCASTER, wizard or sorcerer, plenty of conjuring"

If it's your first game you might want to go Wizard to see what all the spells are like; I would go for a Tiefling generalist, max out Int.

"6. LEADER, Rogue, for scouting/disarming/lockpicking/backstabbing"

They're fine - a human with a good Int would be nice as you'll have tons of skill points to play with.

"Anyone have any alterations to advise or improvements (please bear in mind that i dont really multiclass)."

Well I would probably multi the Elf as I said, build up his stealth with the Ranger levels and let him sneak sometimes with the Rogue.

"Im a bit worried about the lack of spellcasting and also not sure if the rogue can cover all those tasks well enough?"

Hmm, if you're really worried about spell power, you could make the Elf a pure Ranger with a decent Wis, and maybe the 1st tank a Paladin, also with a decent Wis, that will add in a little more spell-wise. But with a pure Cleric and Wizard you wouldn't be too bad.

If you make the Thief a Human and give him a good Int score, you won't have to worry about skills too much either.

"Also, in terms of what weapons come up is it best for the party to be evil or good ? Id quite like to be evil for a change... any drawbacks?"

Only a couple of weapons would not work for you if you're evil; also there's one very nice long sword only Paladins can use. But some enemy casters cast pretty nasty spells that won't effect evil party members.

"Final question, will the longbow elf be not that effective as a melee fighter after getting all the skills to be a good archer ? How much use will he be in IWD2 ? Maybe i could have a druid instead there or something with majic. ?? I do like the idea of ranged fighters though."

He'll be pretty darned effective IMHO for most parts in the game, and very nice to have against enemy casters. If he goes the ranger/fighter route, or pure fighter route, he'll have enough feats to be good in melee and with a bow. Druids are nice too but pretty different. I would say pick whichever you'd rather roleplay.