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Old 10-30-2004, 10:58 AM   #1
jmsteven
Dungeon Master
 

Join Date: October 14, 2004
Location: Beregost
Age: 36
Posts: 80
One of my gripes with IWD/HOW is that you seemingly need very high stats, usually in more than one ability, for your characters to do well.

I thought, just for fun, I would purposely make a traditional/modest-stat party of four, and see how they did on the "hard" setting. I'm very much enjoying the challenge of making them compensate for each other's weaknesses, and so far I've taken them [EDIT: Upper Dorn's Deep] without having to reload any of the battles. Here's my party:

Human Cleric (Party Leader) Level 10; HP:51
STR 10
DEX 10
CON 10
INT 10
WIS 16
CHA 14

Dwarf Fighter, Level 10; HP:73 (with Blackwolf Talisman)
STR 16
DEX 10
CON 13
INT 8
WIS 9
CHA 8

Elf Mage, Level 10; HP:28
STR 8
DEX 13
CON 10
INT 16
WIS 10
CHA 10

Halfling Thief, Level 12; HP:42
STR 10
DEX 16
CON 12
INT 10
WIS 10
CHA 8

[ 11-01-2004, 11:08 AM: Message edited by: jmsteven ]
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Old 10-30-2004, 04:18 PM   #2
Soothsayer
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Location: Derbyshire, UK
Age: 35
Posts: 71
well you have 16 in all the important stats, let us know how things go round about lower dorns...
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Old 10-30-2004, 04:26 PM   #3
Aerich
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Join Date: May 27, 2004
Location: Canada
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Well done. It should work out ok. Having the right spells and picking the right targets (for spells and weapons) is the most important thing, not stats.

The party looks a little weak just with stats listed, but the key element is that there are only four of them and you're playing on Hard. Meaning you get lots of extra XP that is split fewer ways. That bonus level or two can mean a lot. You are a little low on good archers, though, and that may pose some difficulty down the road.
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Old 11-03-2004, 04:06 PM   #4
Roboghost
Manshoon
 

Join Date: May 15, 2002
Location: California
Posts: 216
Stats mostly depend on the difficulty level that thee chooses.

Your characters blood will be painting the cave walls if they are too low in Heart of Fury (HoF) mode!

Here is how I look at a pure Fighter's strength for example:

Easy: 14-15
Normal: 16-17
Hard: 18/01-18/51
Insane: 18/76-18/99
HoF: 18/00

Any more would make you less reliant on strategy and any less would make it a pain to get through some of the areas of the game. The one other factor would be character building. You may need stronger characters [guards--basically] if you want to create more powerful (DC or MC) characters for the later game.

Note that with low strengths it will be a pain in the behind to gather up and carry all the goodies you encounter! Looking at the Easy mode; you will be desperate to come across some of that lightweight magical armor.
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Old 11-04-2004, 09:53 PM   #5
NobleNick
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Join Date: February 5, 2002
Location: Huntsville, AL, USA
Age: 63
Posts: 1,045
jmsteven,

Not my playing style; but my hat's off to you. Way to go!


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without a song?
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Old 11-24-2004, 04:13 PM   #6
jmsteven
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Join Date: October 14, 2004
Location: Beregost
Age: 36
Posts: 80
I finally finished all of IWD/HOW/ToTL with my suboptimal traditional party, and didn't have to reload any of the battles the entire game. I even beat I____ and B_____ on the first attempts.

It seems that mostly it's the equipment and strategies, and not the party itself, that makes the difference.

I don't know if I'll ever come back to IWD. I just started BG: Dark Alliance and Final Fantasy XII on my new PS2. The graphics and game speed are much better on the console than on the PC.
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Old 11-24-2004, 07:33 PM   #7
NobleNick
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Age: 63
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jmsteven,

Congratulations! Especially impressive on the first time wins: Way to go!


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What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!
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Old 11-30-2004, 08:43 PM   #8
Otto
The Magister
 

Join Date: November 1, 2004
Location: Springfield, KY
Age: 43
Posts: 100
Quote:
Originally posted by jmsteven:
I finally finished all of IWD/HOW/ToTL with my suboptimal traditional party, and didn't have to reload any of the battles the entire game. I even beat I____ and B_____ on the first attempts.

It seems that mostly it's the equipment and strategies, and not the party itself, that makes the difference.

I don't know if I'll ever come back to IWD. I just started BG: Dark Alliance and Final Fantasy XII on my new PS2. The graphics and game speed are much better on the console than on the PC.
I've been playing PS2 lately, also. You're right in that console games are much, much better (and no patches). But, for some reason, I'm still a PC CRPG junkie and probably always will be.
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Old 12-02-2004, 07:50 AM   #9
CerebroDragon
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Fun party, Jmsteven.
Good stuff for carrying through with your 'unlikely heroes'. Its always cool to hear stories about those who resist the trappings of powergaming statistics by battling away with humble parties.
In Ultima, it'd be almost like the equivalent of going into the fray with a party of shepherds.
Although even they arguably can become pocket powerhouses in their own right.

My personal little powergaming avoidance tweak is to turn the 'max HP per level' off. For RP reasons, I like to simply accept the first roll of the dice. Its something I've always had to accept in the old AD&D goldbox games and I just find my characters more realistic to imagine as they advance.
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