help for a newbie

sheridan · 03-31-2005, 11:42 AM

hi all.

i've looked on the board and you all seem pretty familiar with IWD. forgive me if i'm asking ultra basic questions.

the fact is i'm relatively new to RPGs, and i can't find the instruction manual for the game, so i have some simple questions to ask. no lengthy responses are required. perhaps one or two sentences at best.

thanks in advance,

1. what does the priest's "turn undead" do? does it turn him undead, or someobody else? and what, exactly does it mean to be "undead?" i went to the vale of shadows, and in one of the dialogues the guy says, "you must turn undead to be one of us" or something like that. so i exit the cave, turn my priest undead, and then go back in, but it doesn't seem to have any effect. (so i figured screw it, and killed everyone).

2. are there any good uses for some of the other races than humans and elves? like...what are gnomes good for (and the others)?

3. is it best to have elves as your archers, or does it not really matter?

4. what is THACO?

5. my group has a fighter, ranger, paladin, thief, mage, cleric. would you consider that to be balanced?

6. my thief helps detect traps, but i never can seem to pickpocket anybody. everytime i do, they attack me. is the only real value to a thief that he can detect traps? further, what does "hide in shadows" do? most of the time, mine "fails" and when it works, i'm not sure exactly what it does.

sheridan

NewbietoRPGs · 03-31-2005, 12:34 PM

Welcome to Ironworks!!! [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img]

I think I can answer a couple of your questions.
1. The turn undead thing turns undead characters such as zombies into basically non threats for a period of time.
3. Personally, I like elves as archers because they are the best at it.
6. Hide in the shadows makes it so your thief is invisible and can check out enemies' whereabouts without being seen, sneak up on enemies etc.

Sorry I can't be of more help but I hope I helped a little.

NobleNick · 03-31-2005, 03:02 PM

sheridan,

Welcome to the IWD forum! Hope you stay for a while.

1. "Turn Undead" will turn the undead away from your party (scare them off) for a few rounds *IF* your priest's Character level (CLVL) is high enough With Respect To (WRT) the monster's CLVL. If your CLVL is really high WRT the monster's CLVL, you can get the monster to explode. If your priest does anything besides walk around, after you've activated "Turn Undead," then the effect stops.

2. Gnomes are the only race that can be used to make an MC Illusionist (which is the only MC Specialist Mage allowed in the game). I am quite fond of my MC Thief/Illusionist. Most non-humans, including Gnomes, have infravision and better saving throws than humans in one area or another. Dwarves make excellent Fighters.

3. Elves do get a bonus in bows. I've been told that it is exceedingly easy to roll an awesome Elven Ranger.

4. THACO is Throw (on a 20-sided die) to Hit Armor Class 0 (Zero). The lower the THAC0 the better. The lower the Armor Class (AC) the better (in 2nd edition rules, which are the rules in IWD). Example: If you have a miserable THAC0 of 14 and your armor-plated opponent has an AC of -3, then you must roll a 14 - (-3) = 17 or higher on a 20-sided die; which means that each of your blows stands a (20-17+1)/20 = 4/20 = 20% chance of landing. If your THAC0 is a more respectable 10 and your opponent's AC is a lousey 7, then you must roll a 10 - 7 = 3 or higher on a 20-sided die; which means that each of your blows stands a (20-3+1)/20 = 18/20 = 90% chance of landing.

5. "my group has a fighter, ranger, paladin, thief, mage, cleric. would you consider that to be balanced?" Very much so. You are well represented in the warrior department: a very good thing. You are slightly underrepresented in the Druidic spell set; but that is a very minor thing when considering the point of your question. You could build a power party that includes some DC and/or MC characters, that would pack some more skill sets in, and make it a bit less challenging in the expansions; but your party should do well. For a party with all SC characters, I don't think one can improve on what you've done

6. You need to add skill points to those Thief skills that you want (when the Thief levels). This is going to force some decision making early on, since you don't have enough points until late in the game to be good at more than one or two things. Also, save before pickpocket attempts and reload if you fail. Elsewise you'll have all the folks in town, that should be helping you, chasing you with swords instead!

Hide in shadows is EXTREMELY useful: Except for special circumstances (that you do not need to be worried about now), it makes your Thief invisible to your enemies, allowing you to scout out territory and plan your attacks right under their noses.

To keep from popping out of shadows as often, pause the game to issue orders, and then unpause only long enough for your characters to carry out the desired orders. The game makes your Thief requalify to stay in shadows at regular intervals of UNPAUSED game time. So, if you are sitting and thinking with the game unpaused, your Thief will fail the re-test sooner or later (and a young Thief much sooner, rather than later). Stay in the shadows, i.e., out of strong lighting.

Hope this helps.

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!

[ 04-14-2005, 11:28 AM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

Azred · 04-01-2005, 12:33 AM

Gnomes are good for cannon fodder--place them in the front line (preferrably armored only with loincloths) to keep your party safe.

Bards are especially nice when slow-roasted at 350F (175C) and basted with butter until golden brown.

Please excuse me, while I run and hide from Midget Gems and NobleNick. [img]graemlins/beigesmilewinkgrin.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img]

Serak Moonblade · 04-01-2005, 03:15 AM

hi and welcome to IWF!

i see that all the important points have been covered by noble nick. so there is hardly anything that i can add.

by the way the decision you took to slaughter the guy who asked you to turn undead: thats the right one.

being new to RPG, here's a tip. try to play the game imagining what you as the character would do. often this will get you through the game sequence. once you finish the game once you could explore other party combinations and alternate dialog options. you may discover some that would give you more or less xp.

good luck.

Midget Gems · 04-01-2005, 11:53 AM

Hmmmmm, Azred, are you trying to say that small people, like gnomes, would make a good starter, but for the main course you should roast a Bard, or maybe a Druid or Paladin. Yummy!

Sheridan - I think you got the question the wrong way round - it should be "are there any uses for races like Humans and Elves" 'cos I can't think of any. Get yourself some small adventurers and have some fun.

Aragorn1 · 04-01-2005, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sheridan:
h

1. what does the priest's "turn undead" do? does it turn him undead, or someobody else? and what, exactly does it mean to be "undead?" i went to the vale of shadows, and in one of the dialogues the guy says, "you must turn undead to be one of us" or something like that. so i exit the cave, turn my priest undead, and then go back in, but it doesn't seem to have any effect. (so i figured screw it, and killed everyone).

I remember when i got BG1 and being diappointed that my cleric refused to turn into a Zombie [img]smile.gif[/img] Those were the days

Azred · 04-02-2005, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Midget Gems:
Hmmmmm, Azred, are you trying to say that small people, like gnomes, would make a good starter, but for the main course you should roast a Bard, or maybe a Druid or Paladin. Yummy!

[img]graemlins/laugh3.gif[/img] Especially paladins; I don't think I've ever used one in any party before.

NobleNick · 04-14-2005, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Azred:
Gnomes are good for cannon fodder--place them in the front line (preferrably armored only with loincloths) to keep your party safe.

Bards are especially nice when slow-roasted at 350F (175C) and basted with butter until golden brown...

Azred,

Heh, heh, heh; I get the feeling that Midget Gems and I are the ones getting slow-roasted, here.

I know of quite a few tough lizardmen that WOULD agree with your analysis; that is if they could just recover from the crispy (and terminal) effects of Aganazar's Scorchers and Fireballs, fired off by one determined Gnome Thief/Illusionist and her Bardic sister-in-arms.

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!

[ 04-14-2005, 01:21 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

pritchke · 04-15-2005, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Midget Gems:
Hmmmmm, Azred, are you trying to say that small people, like gnomes, would make a good starter, but for the main course you should roast a Bard, or maybe a Druid or Paladin. Yummy!

Hay Hold on there!! What do you have against Druids? I like little people, half of my companions are always midgets to keep a well balanced party.

[ 04-15-2005, 11:35 AM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

03-31-2005, 11:42 AM	#1
sheridan Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: March 30, 2005 Location: lyon, france Age: 47 Posts: 8	hi all. i've looked on the board and you all seem pretty familiar with IWD. forgive me if i'm asking ultra basic questions. the fact is i'm relatively new to RPGs, and i can't find the instruction manual for the game, so i have some simple questions to ask. no lengthy responses are required. perhaps one or two sentences at best. thanks in advance, 1. what does the priest's "turn undead" do? does it turn him undead, or someobody else? and what, exactly does it mean to be "undead?" i went to the vale of shadows, and in one of the dialogues the guy says, "you must turn undead to be one of us" or something like that. so i exit the cave, turn my priest undead, and then go back in, but it doesn't seem to have any effect. (so i figured screw it, and killed everyone). 2. are there any good uses for some of the other races than humans and elves? like...what are gnomes good for (and the others)? 3. is it best to have elves as your archers, or does it not really matter? 4. what is THACO? 5. my group has a fighter, ranger, paladin, thief, mage, cleric. would you consider that to be balanced? 6. my thief helps detect traps, but i never can seem to pickpocket anybody. everytime i do, they attack me. is the only real value to a thief that he can detect traps? further, what does "hide in shadows" do? most of the time, mine "fails" and when it works, i'm not sure exactly what it does. sheridan __________________ sheridan

04-01-2005, 12:33 AM	#4
Azred Drow Priestess Join Date: March 13, 2001 Location: a hidden sanctorum high above the metroplex Age: 54 Posts: 4,037	Gnomes are good for cannon fodder--place them in the front line (preferrably armored only with loincloths) to keep your party safe. Bards are especially nice when slow-roasted at 350F (175C) and basted with butter until golden brown. Please excuse me, while I run and hide from Midget Gems and NobleNick. [img]graemlins/beigesmilewinkgrin.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img] __________________ Everything may be explained by a conspiracy theory. All conspiracy theories are true. No matter how thinly you slice it, it's still bologna.

04-01-2005, 03:15 AM	#5
Serak Moonblade Manshoon Join Date: November 21, 2004 Location: Mumbai Age: 41 Posts: 169	hi and welcome to IWF! i see that all the important points have been covered by noble nick. so there is hardly anything that i can add. by the way the decision you took to slaughter the guy who asked you to turn undead: thats the right one. being new to RPG, here's a tip. try to play the game imagining what you as the character would do. often this will get you through the game sequence. once you finish the game once you could explore other party combinations and alternate dialog options. you may discover some that would give you more or less xp. good luck. __________________ Aut disce aut discede . . . . Either learn or leave

04-01-2005, 11:53 AM	#6
Midget Gems Avatar Join Date: November 15, 2001 Location: London, England Age: 33 Posts: 568	Hmmmmm, Azred, are you trying to say that small people, like gnomes, would make a good starter, but for the main course you should roast a Bard, or maybe a Druid or Paladin. Yummy! Sheridan - I think you got the question the wrong way round - it should be "are there any uses for races like Humans and Elves" 'cos I can't think of any. Get yourself some small adventurers and have some fun. __________________ Midget Gems - Heroes in their own lunch time and creator of the Suicidal Gnomes.

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03-31-2005, 12:34 PM	#2
NewbietoRPGs Drow Warrior Join Date: January 3, 2003 Location: Connecticut Age: 50 Posts: 264	Welcome to Ironworks!!! [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img] I think I can answer a couple of your questions. 1. The turn undead thing turns undead characters such as zombies into basically non threats for a period of time. 3. Personally, I like elves as archers because they are the best at it. 6. Hide in the shadows makes it so your thief is invisible and can check out enemies' whereabouts without being seen, sneak up on enemies etc. Sorry I can't be of more help but I hope I helped a little.

03-31-2005, 03:02 PM	#3
NobleNick Quintesson Join Date: February 5, 2002 Location: Huntsville, AL, USA Age: 63 Posts: 1,045	sheridan, Welcome to the IWD forum! Hope you stay for a while. 1. "Turn Undead" will turn the undead away from your party (scare them off) for a few rounds IF your priest's Character level (CLVL) is high enough With Respect To (WRT) the monster's CLVL. If your CLVL is really high WRT the monster's CLVL, you can get the monster to explode. If your priest does anything besides walk around, after you've activated "Turn Undead," then the effect stops. 2. Gnomes are the only race that can be used to make an MC Illusionist (which is the only MC Specialist Mage allowed in the game). I am quite fond of my MC Thief/Illusionist. Most non-humans, including Gnomes, have infravision and better saving throws than humans in one area or another. Dwarves make excellent Fighters. 3. Elves do get a bonus in bows. I've been told that it is exceedingly easy to roll an awesome Elven Ranger. 4. THACO is Throw (on a 20-sided die) to Hit Armor Class 0 (Zero). The lower the THAC0 the better. The lower the Armor Class (AC) the better (in 2nd edition rules, which are the rules in IWD). Example: If you have a miserable THAC0 of 14 and your armor-plated opponent has an AC of -3, then you must roll a 14 - (-3) = 17 or higher on a 20-sided die; which means that each of your blows stands a (20-17+1)/20 = 4/20 = 20% chance of landing. If your THAC0 is a more respectable 10 and your opponent's AC is a lousey 7, then you must roll a 10 - 7 = 3 or higher on a 20-sided die; which means that each of your blows stands a (20-3+1)/20 = 18/20 = 90% chance of landing. 5. "my group has a fighter, ranger, paladin, thief, mage, cleric. would you consider that to be balanced?" Very much so. You are well represented in the warrior department: a very good thing. You are slightly underrepresented in the Druidic spell set; but that is a very minor thing when considering the point of your question. You could build a power party that includes some DC and/or MC characters, that would pack some more skill sets in, and make it a bit less challenging in the expansions; but your party should do well. For a party with all SC characters, I don't think one can improve on what you've done 6. You need to add skill points to those Thief skills that you want (when the Thief levels). This is going to force some decision making early on, since you don't have enough points until late in the game to be good at more than one or two things. Also, save before pickpocket attempts and reload if you fail. Elsewise you'll have all the folks in town, that should be helping you, chasing you with swords instead! Hide in shadows is EXTREMELY useful: Except for special circumstances (that you do not need to be worried about now), it makes your Thief invisible to your enemies, allowing you to scout out territory and plan your attacks right under their noses. To keep from popping out of shadows as often, pause the game to issue orders, and then unpause only long enough for your characters to carry out the desired orders. The game makes your Thief requalify to stay in shadows at regular intervals of UNPAUSED game time. So, if you are sitting and thinking with the game unpaused, your Thief will fail the re-test sooner or later (and a young Thief much sooner, rather than later). Stay in the shadows, i.e., out of strong lighting. Hope this helps. -------------------- What's a party, without a song? Bards ROCK! Party On!! [ 04-14-2005, 11:28 AM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

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