Ironworks Gaming Forum - View Single Post - What's a good party to get your feet wet with?

NobleNick · 08-30-2005, 06:59 PM

krunchyfrogg,

Party: Assuming you are doing IWD/HoW/TotLM (instead of just IWD), then I have several suggestions...

1.) You need a thief; but a straight Thief is a waste of XP.
2.) You need lots of healing and party buffs --> Cleric
3.) A Bard is really, really nice.
4.) Druid spells are really, really fun.
5.) If you have a Bard you can afford the luxury of specializing your Mage. There are very few good choices, but an excellent one is Illusionist.
6.) You need at least one tank. A Fighter makes an excellent tank. A Paladin is even better. A Fighter/Cleric might be even better still.
7.) You need lots of physical firepower to prevail. Don't skimp on Fighters and the like.

Given that you might want an introduction into as many character types as possible and still have a balanced party, I would suggest:

1.) Human Paladin (tank and spokesman)
2.) Human DC neutral Fighter/Cleric. DC at F(9) (Optimum HP gain)
3.) Human DC good Cleric/Ranger. DC at C(11) (Gives SLVL 6 Cleric spells)
4.) Non-Human Druid
5.) Gnome MC Illusionist/Thief
6.) H-Elf Bard

This is not even close to the strongest party you could take, but is powerful enough, and still gives you every class and has race variety.

It might tax your patience; but to get more "umph!" into your party for HoW and beyond, keep both DC characters until they hit CLVL 12: The Fighter(12) gets another Proficiency Point and 3 points better natural THAC0 over the F(9); and the Cleric gains a bunch of spell slots (including a 2nd SLVL 6 slot) at CLVL 12.

Your Fighter/Cleric will be your main offensive weapon for much of the game: Stack his PP 5 high in Mace and 3 high in sling ("missile weapons," not bow); 4 high in sling if you DC at 12.

Specialize your Paladin in Longsword and Bows.

If you can handle having a 4th human in the party, a DC Fighter(9)/Druid is quite a bit tougher than a straight Druid. A F(12)/D is even better; and having the extra Fighter in the early game is really sweet. This is a difficult character to roll correctly. Do a search on this subject if you think you might want to do it but want more info.

Get your Bard the Bardic Horn of Valhalla as early in the game as possible.

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!

[ 08-30-2005, 07:22 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

08-30-2005, 06:59 PM	#13
NobleNick Quintesson Join Date: February 5, 2002 Location: Huntsville, AL, USA Age: 65 Posts: 1,045	krunchyfrogg, Party: Assuming you are doing IWD/HoW/TotLM (instead of just IWD), then I have several suggestions... 1.) You need a thief; but a straight Thief is a waste of XP. 2.) You need lots of healing and party buffs --> Cleric 3.) A Bard is really, really nice. 4.) Druid spells are really, really fun. 5.) If you have a Bard you can afford the luxury of specializing your Mage. There are very few good choices, but an excellent one is Illusionist. 6.) You need at least one tank. A Fighter makes an excellent tank. A Paladin is even better. A Fighter/Cleric might be even better still. 7.) You need lots of physical firepower to prevail. Don't skimp on Fighters and the like. Given that you might want an introduction into as many character types as possible and still have a balanced party, I would suggest: 1.) Human Paladin (tank and spokesman) 2.) Human DC neutral Fighter/Cleric. DC at F(9) (Optimum HP gain) 3.) Human DC good Cleric/Ranger. DC at C(11) (Gives SLVL 6 Cleric spells) 4.) Non-Human Druid 5.) Gnome MC Illusionist/Thief 6.) H-Elf Bard This is not even close to the strongest party you could take, but is powerful enough, and still gives you every class and has race variety. It might tax your patience; but to get more "umph!" into your party for HoW and beyond, keep both DC characters until they hit CLVL 12: The Fighter(12) gets another Proficiency Point and 3 points better natural THAC0 over the F(9); and the Cleric gains a bunch of spell slots (including a 2nd SLVL 6 slot) at CLVL 12. Your Fighter/Cleric will be your main offensive weapon for much of the game: Stack his PP 5 high in Mace and 3 high in sling ("missile weapons," not bow); 4 high in sling if you DC at 12. Specialize your Paladin in Longsword and Bows. If you can handle having a 4th human in the party, a DC Fighter(9)/Druid is quite a bit tougher than a straight Druid. A F(12)/D is even better; and having the extra Fighter in the early game is really sweet. This is a difficult character to roll correctly. Do a search on this subject if you think you might want to do it but want more info. Get your Bard the Bardic Horn of Valhalla as early in the game as possible. -------------------- What's a party, without a song? Bards ROCK! Party On!! [ 08-30-2005, 07:22 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]