Priest-heavy parties (expect spoilers)

[javan]

Keep posting Aerich! I enjoyed playing clerics in my PnP AD&D days. When I play with CRPGs I prefer balanced parties until I know the game extremely well. Recently I would experiment with a "themed" party from time to time. I have not tried an all spellcaster party yet.

[Aerich]

I will keep posting. This party is a whole heck of a lot o' fun. I've put my other party on the back burner for a while. With this party I've got 5 spellcasters, and will eventually have six, including a dual class, evil cleric/necromancer. Once he can cast from both classes, he will be practically good enough to count as two. In my previous parties, the fighter-types have carried the day, supported here and there by damaging or protective spells. Not here.

I have to admit, though, that it would not be easy at all without my fighter multi-classes. Even with all the spells I'm casting, the three of them (F/M, F/C and F/D) account for 75% of the kills; about 25% each. The pure Druid is around 12%. I expect this will change as I get to the higher levels. Also, the kill/damage percentages do not tell the whole story (Lies, damn lies, and statistics). Many of the spells I'm casting weaken or paralyse the enemy, making them easy meat for the fighter-types to finish off.

Thac0 *is* a problem without some sort of warriors. I once played a solo cleric (evil) almost to the end of the Vale, and he was a pathetic fighter. If his AC hadn't of been so good, he would have been wiped out. Nothing like standing in front of a yeti and whiffing on half your attacks (at 1 attack per round).

[Aerich]

Just sold off a few magical items so I could buy the Giving Star. I figured it was a sound investment, as my evil cleric alternates tank duties with the F/C. Didn't get very far last night; it was too hot in the afternoon to turn on the computer.

Ready for the third level of Kresselack's tomb =)

[Aerich]

Another small update - now through with the Vale.

I finally figured out that the detect traps skill must also be used to disarm the traps. Since you get the removal cursor by clicking on the same button as open locks, I thought that open locks was the skill that disarmed traps - what was I thinking? So my thief will have to stay a thief a while longer before dualing to cleric.

The third level wasn't too challenging. Web, Sunscorch and concentrated missile fire got me through the entryway. The mummies attacked my undead summons and didn't get through them before falling to weapons, Moonblade, Sunscorch, Alicorn Lance, and Magical Stone. The Imbued Wights used MM on my F/C (not the undead summons that were farthest forward - ouch! I had forgotten to memorize Shield with the F/M), but were not otherwise a challenge. Apparently skeletons of all sorts are not evil. They walked right through a Wall of Moonlight without taking any damage. Grrr...

Lysan was kind of tough. I cast Entangle and Web along the right side as soon as I entered, then moved forward to talk to her. I cast Thornspray, Chromatic Orb, and two scrolls of Silence. I followed it up with Sunscorch and Alicorn Lance while my other characters took out the immobolized yeti. Mental Note - a straight-class druid does not have the AC to take on yeti in single combat, even with Beast Claw. Anyway, Lysan made every single save! It took a little while longer to get rid of her than I expected; at least the constant pelting disrupted her spells.

I'm going to be a little more innovative in the ToFG if I can. I need to get more mileage out of summons and spells like Mold Touch and Glyph of Warding. Here's hoping that the acolytes fail their saves against my Charm spells!

[ 06-24-2004, 02:08 AM: Message edited by: Aerich ]

[Aerich]

Went through the Temple of the Forgotten God tonight. Had some trouble at the entrance, my first time in. I tried to use my well-protected (I thought) dwarven F/C as a tank/decoy to allow spells and missiles to be thrown by the other 5. Well, he got hammered, then I moved up another character to take the heat off while the F/C ducked behind the lines to heal himself, and the second character (a 60 HP evil cleric) got toasted in three hits.

Second time around I made better use of the deadly Grease-Entangle-Chant trio. Cast Entangle again once the first one ran out. Managed the entrance fight without taking a hit, even though the Call to Arms seemed to draw half the verbeeg in the joint.

Used Animate Dead and two Glyphs of Warding on the left side (library). No trouble once I moved those lacking in Free Action out of the acolytes' Entangle.

Had some difficulty at the second level entrance. Not only did I draw the first verbeeg, four of his pals and an acolyte showed up. Good thing I had cast Animate Dead first thing upon entering, and had them moving in advance of the party. Despite my Entangle, the verbeeg made quick work of my skeletons and went to work on my poor abused F/C. He was reduced from 80 HP to 2, and I had to pull him back. I had my druid take his place, shapeshifted to a boring beetle. That 50% resistance to piercing damage helped a lot against the verbeeg halberds. I Charmed the acolyte, drew it to my party, cast Mold Touch on it, and sent it to attack the verbeeg that was farthest away. The acolyte didn't last long, but gave me a needed respite. Once finished that fight, I shapeshifted the druid to a winter wolf and ran rings around the verbeeg and acolytes in the hall.

The last fight in the Temple was the most fun. I pulled out all the stops, casting all the spells I had. Just before the fight started, I cast Static Charge, Animate Dead and Call Insect, then Prayer, Chant, Draw Upon Holy Might, and Haste. Sent the summons down the hall to engage, then went to town. Three Spike Growth, Cloudburst (IMHO one of the best-looking spell effects), Web, Grease, Chromatic Orb, Magical Stone, Charm, and multiple Sunscorches and Alicorn Lances. As you may guess, no damage done to me, but the summons were beaten into the ground between acting as tanks against verbeeg and getting caught in my spell effects.

Wrapped it all up neatly and went to tell Arundel.

Some final thoughts on the ToFG:

1) By the time you get there, no one will advance in level throughout the temple.

2) Who ever made verbeeg only worth 70 XP (it's 140 on insane) more than shadows? They do so much more damage. Also, why aren't acolytes worth as much as the skeletal priest? They cast the same spells (Static Charge, Magical Stone, Silence).

3) Why can I never get the boots here that increase movement speed? Anybody wanna trade the Reinforced Studded Leather +1 for those boots? Anyone?

[Cienden]

Wow that was some battle. Good use with the druid shapechanging. That's something I never used. It always seemed rather silly to me and I never delved into it.

Nice touch of using that one charmed acolyte to infect his own grunts with mold spores.

Alas, I tried to install IWD+HoW this morning, and it won't. And I was actually getting into the mood for it.

[Aerich]

Yes, shapechange *can* be used effectively, even at the lower levels. I think I'll be using it more often, as beetles do good damage and have good weapon resistance (50% to slashing, piercing and missile) and the increased speed of wolves is nice. The damage they do in that form isn't great, but it's fast - good against spellcasters. You also heal some damage when you change between forms; very helpful when using beetles to block and wolves to decoy, as you will take some damage.

You cannot install IWD/HoW? What's wrong?

[Cienden]

I am so trying a druid now so I can check out the beetle!

I got the game installed this time. I reinstalled my whole system.

Post some more about your party!!

[Aerich]

Hey Cienden! Druids rock. Also check out the deadly Entangle-Spike Growth combo (I can't stress this enough!). Good news about your install.

I took a wee break towards the end of the week, but managed to play a bit this weekend.

I'm now mostly through the second level of Dragon's Eye. I found the first level of DE the roughest yet. Lizard men aren't as tough as verbeeg, but there's many more of them. Maybe my problem was partly because I had taken a break and forgot what tactics I needed to use. The opening fight was lousy. Because you get attacked by HORDES of lizardmen at the entrance, it's a bit difficult to use summons without being disrupted. My first time in, I used a shapeshifted druid (woo-ha! 50% slashing resistance on the beetle) and the dwarven F/C as the tanks. Also used a Web and a priestly Charm Person, but the lizards got lucky and saved pretty well. My tanks got hammered despite an AC of -8, and a couple of my backline failed their saves against Hold Person, so I disengaged ASAP to get back outside to heal up. Those lizardmen do nasty damage on insane. Even a 90 HP dwarf can't take many hits of 20+. [img]smile.gif[/img] Went back in with a vengeance, and cleaned up the mess. After that, it was summons all the way. Lots of Animate Dead and Summon Insect to take hits from lizardmen (Bombardier Beetles are nice for this). Used Entangle, Spike Growth, Glyph of Warding, and assorted druidic and clerical low-level attack spells on the Wraith Spiders. Sword Spiders burned through my summons, but I replaced them as fast as they got killed, shooting and spelling all the while. Alicorn Lance proved its worth, as the AC penalty to the target means the summons can actually hit it. Phase Spiders fell to the same tactics.

The Lizardman King fight was great! With this party, I find the "boss" fights comparatively easier than the routine fights (we'll see how I stack up against the big Y). That's because I pull out all the stops, as I know I will rest soon after. Those lizards didn't even get close to me. Cast Static Charge, Web, Entangle, Summon Insect, Animate Dead and two Spike Growths before the fight. Moved the Free-Actioned F/C through the mess (taking some damage, but that's ok) to discuss matters with the King, and ran him back to the party. Skellies and bugs moved into the Entangle and got caught, but that was fine. They were just there to be targets. As soon as the lizards got caught in the trap, I fired in a Curse, a Glyph, and two Cloudbursts (cool spell, does electrical damage to everything in the area). Fired away with all characters; slings, a bow, a couple Sunscorches, Magical Stones and Alicorn Lances. Saw a couple reptiles getting loose, so tossed a Grease in there to further delay them, and an Oil of Fiery Burning (I love those) to sweeten the mix. The Lizard King went down, the last two standing lizards were Webbed shaman, so I finished them off with missiles and waited for the Spike Growths to expire so I could claim my booty.

Got my XP reward from the little girl, rested up, and went to the next level.

I've started clearing out the left side. Haven't bothered using summons much here; my tactic so far has been to stand at the entrance, cast Entangle, Web or Grease in front of me, and send the F/C with a Ring of Free Action through it to draw some nasties. They get stuck and become easy pickin's for my slingers. Crushed assorted lizardmen that way with no problems. Then drew a long line of trolls and a couple spiders into a fresh Entangle-Grease-Spike Growth combo. Focused missile attacks on each one in turn, and had a character tossing an oil pot as each troll went down.

That's how it stands right now. I'll take on those evil priests sometime this week. Happy mulching everybody! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 06-28-2004, 01:47 PM: Message edited by: Aerich ]

[Aerich]

Hah, and here's me thinking that lizardmen were nasty! The combination of trolls, spiders and evil priests is TRULY nasty. I managed to clear the beetles okay (with the ever-present summons to take the hurt), but it's getting rough now. Trolls and spiders are coming in BIG bunches and my poor undead can't block for long, even with the help of Entangle. I've had to reload because of character death three times (!) on this level.

After clearing the right side and most of the left, I needed just a little more XP to level up three characters, so I held in a bit longer than I should have; I had run out of summons and healing spells. Took out a couple priests and trolls, outran the rest with the aid of haste, then bumped into 3 trolls and 2 sword spiders that had spawned near the exit. Ouch. Killed them with a hasted polar bear switching to beetle, and my last couple spells (Chromatic Orb to the rescue!). Went down a level to lick my wounds. So I'm now rested up for the big fight against the priests of Talona - hopefully my little whittling did some good. I've used up a few too many fire/acid arrows and various fire potions. Good thing I bought out Oswald's stock of Fiery Burning oils; I've only got one left. [img]smile.gif[/img] I'll have to head for Kuldahar soon, my ammo is running seriously low.