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I finally just finished my campaign throug IWD/HOW/ToTL. For quick bragging rights, it was my first time going through the whole thing, and I did it in under 40 hours of play with a solo human ranger and only 5 reloads (3 of which were in ToTL). I think the reason it went so quickly and easily was because (1) I didn't have a large party to manage; (2) my ranger stealthed his way through some of the tougher sections, avoiding a lot of fights; and (3) I entered HOW after the Severed Hand. It's this third reason that I'm posting this discussion.
Going it solo with a single-class ranger meant that I hit 9th level midway through Dragon's Eye, at which time I decided to finish the dungeon rather than go back to Kuldahar for HOW. After Dragon's Eye, I had the Heartstone Gem, and I felt compelled to bring it to Larrel rather than socking it away somewhere and entering HOW. After Severed Hand, I had some good gear and was 12th level, so I went with Hjolder to Lonelywood.
In HOW and ToTL, the levels go up very fast (480,000 xp/quest), and I hit 30th level before completing ToTL, which I did after my first return from Barbarian Camp. After ToTL, the game was very easy and took only 12 hours of play and two reloads. My question is this: at what point should you enter HOW and ToTL so as not to throw off the balance of the game? I didn't find any better armor/weapons than those found in HOW/ToTL.
[ 10-25-2004, 03:32 PM: Message edited by: jmsteven ]
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