* I think skill training makes the game easier.
* Reloading makes the game much easier
* Less characters make it harder.
* Expert difficulty makes it harder.
* Ironman mode makes it somewhat harder.

It's obvious that less characters are harder to play with, but how far can you go? Would you play a 2-character team on ironman expert difficulty without reloads and without skill training?

What is reasonable?

I have played solo ironman with henchmen. Didn't make it, but it was fun. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Two player Ironman, no henchman is my next goal. But I haven't played for a couple of months (Morrowind, Dungeon Siege & NWN have all come out and occupied a lot of time...)

I'll get back to the game as it is so fun...

up to you really, tough challenge to me is playing solo. playing in ironman doesn't have any difference to me, since i don't reload in any battles. except if I want lightsword from bucanner ghost.

It's inevitable to reload in a solo game, especially on expert difficulty.

Does no training also mean no repeatedly mixing powders/potions for infinite money? That trains Alchemy and makes it easy to have a magic heavy party because you can buy all the spell books. Without it you'd be way more strapped for cash, and have less spells to work with if you wanted to save your picks for the high level ones. Would be alot more challenging.

Also what about patch level? The early patches make PPing way more lucrative, I would say it's alot more challenging to go with a patch past I think 001b, one of the ones that limits PPing so you don't get all the great equipment and extra money so early.

Yup, that's another thing to add.
No potion mixing for cash, or stealing in general.
And by not setting portal in Trynton would also make it tougher.

So how many and what characters can you finish the game (with this in mind).

Hard for me to say, I like having a full house rather than taking a small party, and I don't play IM, so I always had at least 6 and usually 8 characters, but I only play in expert because it's just way too easy in the other modes. More a question for the people who are into the small parties.

Also what about experience mining? You could take a small party as far as the huts outside of the mines and gain quite a few levels with all the wasps, etc that respawn there endlessly, that (and other places/instances) kind of experience mining should probably not happen either.

I would categorize " experience mining" as training skills. If I stand around a place for too long I get bored.

I think it's the opposite, you pick an area to get experience rapidly, which actually can stunt skills relative to level if you're not careful. Bad thing in a way to be a high level with low skills as you'll attract the high level monsters with low skills.

To me training is doing somethine over and over that may or may not (usually doesn't) give you any exp but raises skills quickly. So for example, lots of knock-knocks on a certain vault; casting charm person over and over; or even getting into fights where you defend forever to build stealth or shield, or heal the monster and fight to build weapon skills. Those methods get your skills maxed out early on, whereas exp mining raises your levels.

You could use both of course, but they're different.

If the skills aren't increasing very much it's only dangerous to do it. Like you said, it would respawn even higher level monsters when your skills are low. I don't see how this could be of advantage to a smaller team that already levelup pretty fast. Well, I can see how it's useful when your skills are higher. But in any case, I wouldn't do it.