[Midget Gems]

To celebrate the dubious honour of reaching the 3rd page of this thread, I thought I would give a quick résumé of the party, so that latecomers would know what is going on without having to read all the previous posts.

The Suicidal Gnomes

At the start this was to be a mini-adventure, I set out with a party of 5 Gnomes to see how far I could get without using any Level-Up’s. My initial target was to maybe complete the Prologue and Chapter 1 on Insane difficulty setting, then as the fights became too tough I would reduce the difficulty and then finally bow out in a final battle against impossible odds (somewhat akin to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). Indeed this was almost the case in Dragon’s Eye, but we survived the onslaught of the Cold Wights on DE3, plus the traps and mega-battles on DE5, to continue with our adventure deeper into IWD. As the Chapters went by we have acquired better equipment, together with a stock of potion and scrolls, so we are still in good shape. The difficulty setting is on Easy and the party as we press on towards the final (suicidal) showdown is as follows:

Fighter Level 1 HP=12 Sword & Darts
Fighter/Mage Level 1+1 HP= 9 Axe & Dagger
Fighter/Thief Level 1+1 HP=10 Bow & Short Sword
Cleric/Thief Level 1+1 HP= 9 Mace or Sling
Cleric/Mage Level 1+1 HP= 6 Sling & Hammer

HP is supplemented by special items that gives additional points.
XP gained so far, but not used, is about 1 million each, enough for about Level 10 to 12 if I used it.
Weapon choice is continually changing, as it is sometimes better to have a weapon with special abilities even if the character does not have proficiency with it. For example, additional spells or resistance to fire are features that are well worth having. Sometimes I even equip a ‘cursed’ item just for the extra spells it provides.
Our favourite attacking spells (sadly) are Magic Stone and Magic Missile - I am happy just to do some damage no matter how small it may be.
Perhaps the single biggest problem we have faced is the ‘call to arms’ feature. As long as we can pick off the bad guys a few at a time then we are fine, but getting out-numbered by a dozen or more monsters is bad news. That’s when we have to retreat and resort to the age-old trick of fighting in doorways and at choke points.
Obviously, reloads are the order of the day with this party, but I try to avoid using Raise Dead unless the situation is desperate, I guess I have used it about 5 or 6 times so far.