Forming a party

[Thompson]

Since I never played this kind of rpgs before, including baldurs gate I and II, I was wondering if someone could give me tips about forming a party in the start. I'd appreciate it a lot.

Well it's down to personal preference but here's mine which is currently tanning backsides at the end of level 1

Human Paladin
Human Fighter
Human Cleric
Half-Elf Cleric Mage
Elf Thief
Human Illusionist

Personally, I like 2 strong warriors. Both mine have 18/00 strength, 18 dex, 18 con
Behind them, a cleric( for healing and fighting) and a thief with good pick locks and find traps.
Behind them, an illusionist (probably should have a gnome but couldnt face it!) and a cleric/mage.

Regretting having the cleric/mage now as she is lagging behing in all areas. eg my fighter is now level 4 with 50 hit points where she is 3/3 with 18. She keeps getting killed.

[Epona]

I would always argue that you should go for a good balance. You want some straightforward sword power (Fighter, Ranger, Paladin) some healing and anti-undead power (Cleric) some Spellcasting (Mage) and trap disarming/lock picking (Thief).

Druid has some useful spells, and bard has powerful songs which aid your party, including the ability to regenerate hit points at higher levels (if you have HOW installed), and they can also cast mage spells at a lower level than a mage, so provide useful support to your main spellcaster.

I would be wary of using many multi-class characters because they gain levels very slowly, but on the other hand it is useful to use a multiclass thief so that you get some additional skills.

A good straightforward party might consist of:
Fighter
Paladin or Ranger
Fighter/Thief (multiclass)
Cleric
Mage
Bard

This would give you a good distribution of skills with pretty much every area covered.

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Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

Epona of The Laughing Hyenas
Proud winner of the 'Most Useless Post 250 Has Ever Seen' Award 2001. "I'd just like to thank my friends and family, without whom none of this would have been possible..."

[This message has been edited by Epona (edited 09-06-2001).]

[Gyruss]

Whats up with all the humans? You can't have a complete party without at least one dwarf in there.

[Sir Moosington]

My personal favourite for IWD is

Dwarven Fighter
Human Paladin
Human Druid
Gnome Illusionist/Thief
Human Cleric
Half Elven Mage

I think having a pure thief is pointless. Only three skills matter in IWD pick locks and detect traps. Hide in shadows is only useful for scouting, invisibility is much more useful, as you can open doors and disarm traps without becoming visible. After 5th or 6th level he's not bringing anything new to the party.

Druids spells are pretty cool - low level offensive spells that clerics don't get, some healing and the awesome Static Shock (lvl 4). Plus shapechanging makes them really versatile at high levels.

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Supreme executive power comes from a mandate from the masses, not some farcical aquatic ceremony

[Lord of Alcohol]

IWD is a fighter-heavy game, a thief/mage, Cleric or Druid, Ranger/Cleric, and 3 fighter-types(Fighter,Ranger,Paladin) and your set

[Albromor]

I found the following to be very effective:

Half-elven: Fighter
Dwarvin: Fighter
Halfling: Fighter/Thief
Elven: Fighter/Mage
Gnomish: Cleric/Illustionist
Human: Cleric

* This gives me 4 fighters, 2 mages, 2 clerics, and a thief.

[Thompson]

More questions:

Why can't I cast spells on my paladin or illusionist/thief? And what's up with spellcasting? Why is it so that you can't cast for example cure light wounds more than once before you rest? And is it normal that my mage and illusionist/thief have only 5/5 in the start?

[Albromor]

Originally posted by Thompson: More questions: Why can't I cast spells on my paladin or illusionist/thief? And what's up with spellcasting? Why is it so that you can't cast for example cure light wounds more than once before you rest? And is it normal that my mage and illusionist/thief have only 5/5 in the start?

1. You should most definitly be able to cast spells on all your party members. Please give instances where this isn't working.

2. There is a limited amount of spells that clerics and mages can cast per day. Once they are cast they are unattanable until they rest. The lower the level the less spells you have. As you gain levels you'll gain the ability to memorize more spells for use. It sounds like your character is low level and thus is only able to cast that one spell.

3. An illusionist/thief will divide experience points between classes. Also, hit points will be totaled and then divided. For example, an illusionist uses a 4 sided die for hit points and a thief a 6 sided die. Total the two together and you get 10 hp. But wait, because he is multiclass you need to divide by 2 which will give you 5. Why? Because it is to provide balance. More classes but less hit points.

[Morgan_Corbesant]

i have an elven fighter/mage
elven fighter/thieg
elven mage
human cleric
dwarven fighter
human fighter (used as primary archer)
all of them have access to a ranged attack of some sort. the mages are primarily to summon monsters, and cast area effect spells. of course, flame arrow and magic missles are a must.





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Morgan Corbesant, Elven BladeSinger, Captain of the army of the Seldarine