[Sir Heinrich Godfrie IV]

Posted By: DraconisRex 1. Approach with caution. I could bet the farm that you're just "rushing" right up there.

Nope. The first thing that I do when I see ANY enemy is to make atleast one ranged attack, then I have my fighter and ranger rush up on them, while the rest of my clowns continue firing bolts and bullets from a far.

3A. If the goblins are clumped, have your rogue sneak and get them with a flaming oil attack, then retreat back to the main camp. 4. Sleep spells are effective on goblins - cast that spell first and center the spell on the goblin party leader. The soldiers tend to stay around the leader and hopefully you'll get a few. 5. Pause at least at every other melee around. Two missile firers for each goblin missile soldier, then footsoldier. Concentrate your fire! Rush them with your ranger and rogue, if necessary. Keep your tank against the leader.

I have about 6 flaming oils and I am trying to preserve as many as I can for the last of the baddies. Nevertheless, when the opportunity presents itself, I do not hesitate to throw a flaming oil in a concentrated group of monsters. When casting a sleep spell I try to project where the horde is heading and center it there. This spell seems to effect about 75% of Goblins and Wolves that it comes in contact with.
I pause more often than is probably necessary, I'm the type of person who needs total control.

A. You've totally messed up your halfling rogue's rate of fire and to-hit chances due to poor weapon selection - rapid shot does NOT apply to crossbows (just like it says in the feat description - or didn't you read it). The halfling to-hit with ranged weapon bonus applies to THROWN weapons, just like it says...

My rogue's attack roll seemed to be higher (IIRC) with a crossbow than it did with a regular bow. As for the Rapid Shot, I assumed that this particular feat would apply to all ranged weapons, my mistake. I spent roughly 3 hours of pondering, praying, and soul-searching during the creation process of my party. Some of the decisions that I made were based, no doubt, on admiration of certain clases such as: Drow or Deep Gnome, and YES, you have guessed it, even the hero Drizzt Do'Urden. SUE ME!

B. Your lightly armoured ranger is being mis-used. His AC bonus only applies to attackers in front. Those that flank him or are behind him negate his AC bonus for dexterity. Rangers are STAND OFF missile fighters in situations where there are hordes of nearly equal enemies. And like it or not, in many respects those goblins are nearly equal. Their (rangers) light armour and loss of dexterity bonuses in heavy fighting makes them far more vulnerable than most people realize. You think he has an AC of 17. In reality, it's 12 or 13 in a crowd. Unless, of course, you're playing NWN where item selection is fudged to make them viable as tanks.

I am not particularly familiar with all of the new 3rd edition rules, admittedly I have much studying and learning to do. I also appreciate you bringing to my attention the vulnerability of my lightly armored Ranger while he is in melee combat. However, it seems rather odd I must add, that he is always the last one standing among my party, and is no less, right in the thick of the battle. But then again, I could just be getting lucky.

C. Get those #&@^$@!!! heavy crossbows to the mages!!! They are wasted where you have them and the mages are not going to do nearly as much spell casting as they are missile firing at this stage of the game. You're seriously wasting thier offensive capabilities. One of the sling & stones (thrown weapon) goes to the halfling. D. You have only one tank. Not two tanks. To tank a ranger AND dual weild, you need to take the ambidexterity and two-weapon fighting feats. Otherwise a ranger is not a tank. Despite any thoughts of Drizzit Do'Urden floating through your head...

I will try your suggestion of giving the crossbows to my mages. I figured that they would take an enormous penalty for not being proficient in that specific weapon. My mistake.
And yes I do realize that in the traditional context, a Ranger is not a tank, however in comparison to my other 4 lackeys, HE IS! That is why I labeled him as such. Oh, and mind you, my Ranger (or Drizzt as you like to call him) does have the feats: Ambidexterity and Two-weapon Fighting.

Enemies that don't see you will still react to the "sounds" of battle. And the enemies have a lot of nasty, nasty tricks, too. You will earn every inch of ground you take by paying in blood. And if you don't use your party to its fullest capablilities, and don't keep it balanced, you'll pay with a lot more blood than you should.

Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems as if you are making a supposition that I do not like IWD2 or the new 3rd edition rules for that matter. I for one, actually think that this highly improved AI is a wonderful change. It will make each and every victory... that much sweeter.
The primary reason for my initial posting was to see if anyone knew of any "tricks" or quick ways to beat these hordes of goblins, that was all.
Oh and by the way DraconisRex, no hard feelings.