What's a good party to get your feet wet with?

[lost prophet]

There is an exp cap on the game so yeh im pretty sure you'll find that it is 15/15 for multiclass characters.

[Aerich]

The XP cap is for each class - so you can have a dual class 29/30 character or (in extreme cases) even a triple multiclass character of 30/30/30 - getting that high is a lengthy task. The cap is not dependent on total levels like IWD2. Total XP is not a factor, it is entirely based on levels.

However, even a single class character will not get close to the cap in one run through on Core difficulty. I did max out a bard in one run on Insane (x2 XP) with around 4.5 million XP, but rogue characters have comparatively tiny XP requirements per level. The paladin got to lvl 23. A full run on Core difficulty will net probably around 2.3-2.5 million XP.

You can expect a normal character in a 6-character party to get up to at least lvl 17, I think.

[NobleNick]

krunchyfrogg,

Party: Assuming you are doing IWD/HoW/TotLM (instead of just IWD), then I have several suggestions...

1.) You need a thief; but a straight Thief is a waste of XP.
2.) You need lots of healing and party buffs --> Cleric
3.) A Bard is really, really nice.
4.) Druid spells are really, really fun.
5.) If you have a Bard you can afford the luxury of specializing your Mage. There are very few good choices, but an excellent one is Illusionist.
6.) You need at least one tank. A Fighter makes an excellent tank. A Paladin is even better. A Fighter/Cleric might be even better still.
7.) You need lots of physical firepower to prevail. Don't skimp on Fighters and the like.

Given that you might want an introduction into as many character types as possible and still have a balanced party, I would suggest:

1.) Human Paladin (tank and spokesman)
2.) Human DC neutral Fighter/Cleric. DC at F(9) (Optimum HP gain)
3.) Human DC good Cleric/Ranger. DC at C(11) (Gives SLVL 6 Cleric spells)
4.) Non-Human Druid
5.) Gnome MC Illusionist/Thief
6.) H-Elf Bard

This is not even close to the strongest party you could take, but is powerful enough, and still gives you every class and has race variety.

It might tax your patience; but to get more "umph!" into your party for HoW and beyond, keep both DC characters until they hit CLVL 12: The Fighter(12) gets another Proficiency Point and 3 points better natural THAC0 over the F(9); and the Cleric gains a bunch of spell slots (including a 2nd SLVL 6 slot) at CLVL 12.

Your Fighter/Cleric will be your main offensive weapon for much of the game: Stack his PP 5 high in Mace and 3 high in sling ("missile weapons," not bow); 4 high in sling if you DC at 12.

Specialize your Paladin in Longsword and Bows.

If you can handle having a 4th human in the party, a DC Fighter(9)/Druid is quite a bit tougher than a straight Druid. A F(12)/D is even better; and having the extra Fighter in the early game is really sweet. This is a difficult character to roll correctly. Do a search on this subject if you think you might want to do it but want more info.

Get your Bard the Bardic Horn of Valhalla as early in the game as possible.

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


[ 08-30-2005, 07:22 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

[NobleNick]

Oh, yes; and Aerich is right about the levels, assuming you have IWD installed.

Assuming you are in the U.S., installation order is:

1.) IWD
2.) HoW
3.) TotLM
4.) and nothing else! (Especially no other patches)

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


[ 08-30-2005, 07:34 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

[ZFR]

Originally posted by NobleNick: 4.) Non-Human Druid If you can handle having a 4th human in the party, a DC Fighter(9)/Druid is quite a bit tougher than a straight Druid. A F(12)/D is even better; and having the extra Fighter in the early game is really sweet. This is a difficult character to roll correctly. Do a search on this subject if you think you might want to do it but want more info.

Another good idea is to simply have a non-human multi fighter/druid. easier to roll too. single class druid cant wear decent armor and can be a pain.

[krunchyfrogg]

If you're going to level 12 as a fighter, aren't you better off just going to level 13 for the extra 1/2 attack?

Maybe a multiclassed character is better. if this is a hack/slash game, the figter levels wont hurt me.

why have a gnome illusionist/thief? wouldn't a fighter/mage type combo (multi or dual) be better? A fighter/thief combo can backstab better, and I wouldnt be as worried having a fighter do some scouting than a mage.

[ister]

Just a matter of taste if you ask me. I like the F/T, others like the T/M. The game is largely hack and slash and the T/M frees up more party slots for warrior types.

And slings are much better in IWD than they are in BG - you get the strength bonus.

[krunchyfrogg]

You get the strength bonus in BG too. It's taken away in BG2.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice everybody! Anymore would be appreciated too!

[NobleNick]

Originally posted by krunchyfrogg: If you're going to level 12 as a fighter, aren't you better off just going to level 13 for the extra 1/2 attack? ... Maybe a multiclassed character is better. if this is a hack/slash game, the figter levels wont hurt me... why have a gnome illusionist/thief? wouldn't a fighter/mage type combo (multi or dual) be better? A fighter/thief combo can backstab better, and I wouldnt be as worried having a fighter do some scouting than a mage.

Just full of astute questions, aren't we?

Please forgive me for assuming you were an impatient newbie. Many asking the same questions you did would start gagging at a CLVL 7 DC. I felt I was really pushing my luck at 12. Yes, going to F(13) and C(12) gives you much more solid characters: The extra 1/2 APR and the extra point on THAC0 for the Fighter are worth it. Remember that this forces you to go to CLVL 14 in your second class. Depending on class, a 13/14 costs roughly 500K more XP than a 12/13; but if you do the full meal deal (IWD/HoW/TotLM) with one party, do the quests and camp just a wee bit in the tougher expansion areas, you should still get plenty of enjoyment out of the finished character.

Many on this forum prefer MC. I like to DC Fighters in order to get the 5 stacked PP in a single weapon. MC Fighters can only stack 2 PP.

Instead of ----> DC Fighter/Cleric and MC Gnome Illusionist/Thief;
you could do --> DC Fighter/Thief and MC Gnome Illusionist/Cleric.

The problem with the former, as you have pointed out, and I have experienced, is that a Thief's job is forwrd and a Mage's job is to support from the rear; so this is an awkward (but workable) combo. The problem with the latter is that you will want at least an F(12)/Thief (I know, because my F(9)/Thief lost steam in TotLM and parts of HoW); and 12 levels is a long, LONG way to go without a Thief (that is virtually all of IWD before HoW). You could do an MC F/T and MC Illusionist/Cleric. Just remember you are giving up the ability to stack past 2 PP. The F/T is one of the very few combos I would MC, and the only one containing a Fighter.

Another option (and this shows the lengths I will go to to avoid MCing the Fighter) is to do the DC F(12-13)/Thief, but start with a straight Thief instead of the Bard (or SC Druid if that is what you picked over an MC or DC). Near the time to DC the Fighter to Thief, discard the Straight Thief and roll a Bard (or Druid) to replace him. The Bard and SC Druid are straight classes; so either will soon be performing as though she were a veteran.

Hope you found this interesting.

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


[ 08-31-2005, 09:23 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

[Magness]

As far as your initial question of "What's a good party to get your feet wet with?", I'd suggest not overdoing it with magic, unless you fully understand how to get the most out of it.

That said, my favorite party mix for IWD1/HOW/ToTL is as follows:

1. Paladin
2. Dwarven fighter
3. cleric
4. multiclassed Thief*
5. wizard
6. "utility"

The MC'd thief can easily go one of two ways, possibly depending on your choice of a utility character.

For example, if you chose a fighter or a ranger for the 6th slot, then a more magically oriented MC Thief would be nice. Perhaps a Illusionist/Thief Gnome.

OTOH, if you chose a druid for the utility 6th character, then perhaps a more tankish fighter/thief would be a nice choice.

I've taken both versions with success.


I would generally suggest staying away from too many dual-classed and/or multiclassed characters. I think that they're rather confusing for someone who is unfamilar with these games. That said, a fighter/thief multiclass is fairly innocuous and won't cause any confusion.


I'm not big on dualclassing myself. I find that I prefer not wasting my XP on superfluous classes in my pure class spellcasting characters. I can live without 5*'s in weapon profs when I really want all the high level spells possible. And I've done plenty of major butt kicking with pure class druids and clerics in IWD.