[Midget Gems]

Finally the Midgets are back online and reporting for duty.

Neomi, here is some more background information:

1) Yes, I used lots of slings and darts, but also throwing knives and axes. My favourite is the Throwing Axe +2, I wish it was available earlier in the game.

2) Sorry if I was a bit vague about the party. I used the 'exploit' to recruit the 5 Illusionary NPC's from the Candlekeep Training Room. They are a well balanced Level 2 party with a few extra skills thrown in for good measure. This gives a powerful group for the first few chapters but I lose out later on by not upgrading to any of the 'better' NPCs. Arkanis and Deder are two examples of NPCs who can truly be classified as 'midget gems'

3) As for the Skeleton Warriors I knew from experience they would not be a problem - the way for a weak party to deal with them has been posted several times on the Forum by me and by several others. When most people see a trap they immediately want to disarm it, what they forget is that it may be useful to set it off and cause damage to a dangerous opponent. This is one such case, if you protect one character from the potential damage and set off the traps, then the result is spectacular. For some (unknown) reason the damage from the traps ignores most of the Magic Resistance of the Skeletons and causes them massive damage. Nice and Cheesy!

4) Looking back what makes this type of adventure possible is the availability of a large quantity of powerful items to use when the situation needs them. There are dozens of Wands, Scrolls, and Potions so there is no shortage of fire-power for a low-level party. I have always maintained that there are far too many Wands and Potions in BG1 (especially in the shops at low prices) and this is something the designers appear to have corrected in BG2 and IWD. I am presently running a No-Level-Up party in IWD and it is so much more difficult due to the lack of resources. I know I can't go further than the first few chapters but it's fun to try, just the same.