Ironworks Gaming Forum - View Single Post - Newbie to IWD

Leafy · 09-29-2001, 10:42 AM

Good party composition overall. My biggest concern is the Thief. Thief's have some nice abilities (find/remove traps, pick pockets(only in town), and hide in shadows. The locks are harder to pick with all the IWDs installed, but you can force most of them open with a good fighter/cleric. For the Thief, i would recommend a multi classed character (single or triple.. most people hate triple cuz it's slow, but they have the capacity to reach 30/30/30 if you get enough xp). If you don't like multi class, try a dual class at level 8 or 9. By then you have most the theiving abilities you want at max, and it's not too long for the next class to overcome. Thief/Fighters are superb, while a Thief/mage is weak but versitile.
As for the Mage, try a straigh class so you get all spells.
The Cleric? well, clerics are essential. and it's nice to have a high level cleric in the party (maybe 2!). Personally, i like Cleric/mages and Ranger/clerics best cuz you get the essential heals along with extra spells to choose from.
The Druid? well, a fighter druid is the only way to go. Druids are just weak until they're reallly high level. I found that if you make a multi classed fighter/druid, you can only ever put 2 weapon proficiencies in each slot. If you make a Human druid and dual-class him into a Fighter after 18th level, you can make the most powerfull fighter druid who has weapon mastery (5 proficiency points) in two weapons (long sword and dagger, baby!). But of course, this means you'll be a solo druid for quite some time, then a straight fighter at some point in the Hear of Winter part of the game, then hopefully become a druid/fighter combo by the time you reach the Luremaster portion.
You fighters? well, a half-elf Ranger/Cleric or a Dwarven Fighter/Cleric can be very powerfull front men. Remember, clerics can cast "draw upon holy might" at 3rd level. This spell raises Str/Dex/Con by 1 point for every 3 levels of the caster; a deadly combo for cleric/fighter type classes.

Also, Bard are pretty sweet in this game if you got everything installed(sounds like you do). They get some special songs that kick butt on spell casting, plus they can cast mage spells and progress at about the same speed as a mage (though with fewer spells per level).

my all-time favorite party composition?
Half-elf Ranger/Cleric
Gnomish Cleric/Illusionist
Human Thief(lv8)/Fighter
Half-elf Bard

it's totally possible to play with less than 6 characters. as low as 3 even. In fact, it can be done with only one character! (Ranger/clerics and Cleric/mages have proven their powers to 'go it alone')
4 player parties are ideal for the Multi-class fans.

09-29-2001, 10:42 AM	#2
Leafy Zhentarim Guard Join Date: March 5, 2001 Location: The leafy, green forests of Wisconsin Posts: 315	Good party composition overall. My biggest concern is the Thief. Thief's have some nice abilities (find/remove traps, pick pockets(only in town), and hide in shadows. The locks are harder to pick with all the IWDs installed, but you can force most of them open with a good fighter/cleric. For the Thief, i would recommend a multi classed character (single or triple.. most people hate triple cuz it's slow, but they have the capacity to reach 30/30/30 if you get enough xp). If you don't like multi class, try a dual class at level 8 or 9. By then you have most the theiving abilities you want at max, and it's not too long for the next class to overcome. Thief/Fighters are superb, while a Thief/mage is weak but versitile. As for the Mage, try a straigh class so you get all spells. The Cleric? well, clerics are essential. and it's nice to have a high level cleric in the party (maybe 2!). Personally, i like Cleric/mages and Ranger/clerics best cuz you get the essential heals along with extra spells to choose from. The Druid? well, a fighter druid is the only way to go. Druids are just weak until they're reallly high level. I found that if you make a multi classed fighter/druid, you can only ever put 2 weapon proficiencies in each slot. If you make a Human druid and dual-class him into a Fighter after 18th level, you can make the most powerfull fighter druid who has weapon mastery (5 proficiency points) in two weapons (long sword and dagger, baby!). But of course, this means you'll be a solo druid for quite some time, then a straight fighter at some point in the Hear of Winter part of the game, then hopefully become a druid/fighter combo by the time you reach the Luremaster portion. You fighters? well, a half-elf Ranger/Cleric or a Dwarven Fighter/Cleric can be very powerfull front men. Remember, clerics can cast "draw upon holy might" at 3rd level. This spell raises Str/Dex/Con by 1 point for every 3 levels of the caster; a deadly combo for cleric/fighter type classes. Also, Bard are pretty sweet in this game if you got everything installed(sounds like you do). They get some special songs that kick butt on spell casting, plus they can cast mage spells and progress at about the same speed as a mage (though with fewer spells per level). my all-time favorite party composition? Half-elf Ranger/Cleric Gnomish Cleric/Illusionist Human Thief(lv8)/Fighter Half-elf Bard it's totally possible to play with less than 6 characters. as low as 3 even. In fact, it can be done with only one character! (Ranger/clerics and Cleric/mages have proven their powers to 'go it alone') 4 player parties are ideal for the Multi-class fans.