Newbie to IWD - party composition suggestions

[Hayashi]

Howdy
I'm currently playing BG2 ToB now, but am nearing the end. I just bought IWD and the expansion, HoW and also d/l Trials of the Luremaster as I need my RPG fix.

Any suggestions on what my party in IWD should look like? I'm figuring to play a party of good and neutral characters, out to "save the world" and make a name (and some gold) for themsleves - altruistic, but not completely so.

I am thinking along these lines:

2 fighters (perhaps one of them a paladin)
1 thief
1 mage
1 cleric
1 druid, or perhaps a multiclassed fighter/druid.

Any comments/suggestions?

Thanks.

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"Butt-kicking for goodness!" - Minsc
"Cities always teem with evil and decay. Let's give it a good shake and SEE WHAT FALLS OUT!!" - Minsc

[Leafy]

Good party composition overall. My biggest concern is the Thief. Thief's have some nice abilities (find/remove traps, pick pockets(only in town), and hide in shadows. The locks are harder to pick with all the IWDs installed, but you can force most of them open with a good fighter/cleric. For the Thief, i would recommend a multi classed character (single or triple.. most people hate triple cuz it's slow, but they have the capacity to reach 30/30/30 if you get enough xp). If you don't like multi class, try a dual class at level 8 or 9. By then you have most the theiving abilities you want at max, and it's not too long for the next class to overcome. Thief/Fighters are superb, while a Thief/mage is weak but versitile.
As for the Mage, try a straigh class so you get all spells.
The Cleric? well, clerics are essential. and it's nice to have a high level cleric in the party (maybe 2!). Personally, i like Cleric/mages and Ranger/clerics best cuz you get the essential heals along with extra spells to choose from.
The Druid? well, a fighter druid is the only way to go. Druids are just weak until they're reallly high level. I found that if you make a multi classed fighter/druid, you can only ever put 2 weapon proficiencies in each slot. If you make a Human druid and dual-class him into a Fighter after 18th level, you can make the most powerfull fighter druid who has weapon mastery (5 proficiency points) in two weapons (long sword and dagger, baby!). But of course, this means you'll be a solo druid for quite some time, then a straight fighter at some point in the Hear of Winter part of the game, then hopefully become a druid/fighter combo by the time you reach the Luremaster portion.
You fighters? well, a half-elf Ranger/Cleric or a Dwarven Fighter/Cleric can be very powerfull front men. Remember, clerics can cast "draw upon holy might" at 3rd level. This spell raises Str/Dex/Con by 1 point for every 3 levels of the caster; a deadly combo for cleric/fighter type classes.

Also, Bard are pretty sweet in this game if you got everything installed(sounds like you do). They get some special songs that kick butt on spell casting, plus they can cast mage spells and progress at about the same speed as a mage (though with fewer spells per level).

my all-time favorite party composition?
Half-elf Ranger/Cleric
Gnomish Cleric/Illusionist
Human Thief(lv8)/Fighter
Half-elf Bard

it's totally possible to play with less than 6 characters. as low as 3 even. In fact, it can be done with only one character! (Ranger/clerics and Cleric/mages have proven their powers to 'go it alone')
4 player parties are ideal for the Multi-class fans.

[Leafy]

About the 4 player party thing:
not only do you get to level up more quickly, but you have less likelyhood of someone getting jumpped and dying in a stupid way. (mages and thiefs get smacked around like that) It can be real agrivating having to grab all your party member's loot and going back to town to Raise Dead every few battles. Fighter/Mages, now there's a mage you can't push around! (give him a bow and make him a range attacker; or a long sword and stone skin to make an invincible meele man)
One might Argue that with fewer characters the bad guys will swarm you more. Umm, i suppose they will. but they'll be swarming your two or three front men while the spell caster is ignored. And there are tricks like enchanting or healing a fighter during battle.
Of course, with less characters it means less inventory slots. That's not a problem in the Luremaster portion cuz of that bag of holding. but everywhere else, you gotta use gem bags, potion boxes, scroll cases and lug everything else in an open slot. Luckily, there are some good places to stash items in the game. Whenever you see an empty chest (especially near the entrance to a dungeon!) you might want to consider dropping less valuable items there for later (or valuable ones you know you'll be back for?).
umm, yeah.. sooo.. 4 player parties rock!

[Lord Brass]

Got to be honest Hayashi, Leafy's probably right (if you don't mind a newbie's opinion). The more I look into my own party composition I would tend to favour some of the cleric/ranger, cleric/illusionist, fighter/druid combos.
Having said that of course, I've been tempted to start from scratch with a bard on the books. Later on these guys can be real useful - you just have to appreciate that their spell-casting abilities will never be on par with a mage. Still, if you utilise the very successful cleric/illusionist they'll be able to learn and cast spells that your gnome cannot.
It depends whether you can stomach a violin playing popstar on your team (and few can).

The best advice is forward-planning; look at what you can do with that character later on when they advance. Also, as I've learned to my cost, read the damn spells veerrry carefully. "Stoneskin?" I mean, just how useful is that? "Static Charge" anyone?

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Making running away an art form

[Albromor]

For what its worth, here was the composition of my favorite party:

2 straight fighters, a fighter/thief, a straight cleric, a fighter mage, and a cleric/illustionist. Thus, I had 4 fighters, 2 Clerics, 2 mages, and a thief. The combination of cleric/illusionist and fighter/mage were awsome to play and real party savers.

[Lord Brass]

Albromor's got the right of it with his mage composition as I've only just discovered with my own party. The single player Bard's going up the ranks nicely, but the spell memorisation is, to use an expression, PONY!

I mean, three first levels spell, max, from levels five to fifteen. Plus you cannot utilise some of the magical equipment for mages that would balance out this "problem" (though I think there is a Bard MI that doubles first level spells).

Of course I put it down to being unfamiliar with the class, and that time will tell. I just hope that the new bardic songs are worth the effort.

Suggestions anyone?

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Making running away an art form

[Last OTTOMAN]

-paladin (human)
-fighter (dwarf) (evil)
-druid (elf) (neutral)
-fighter/thief (halfling)
-cleric/illusionist (gnome) (choose good for alignment!)
-bard (halfelf)

did I miss anything!?! (every race,alignment,class(except ranger..but it sucks)


Nantes=0 Galatasaray=1


[This message has been edited by Last OTTOMAN (edited 10-01-2001).]

[Leafy]

Lord Brass, you dunno what good StoneSkin is? well, it protects the spell caster from direct damage. So let's pretend you're being swarmed by cold wights and needto cast Fireball. Well, if you have a spell like Mirror Imager and/or Stone Skin cast, then the wights can hit you without actually hurting you. This means less broken spells; a much needed lifesaver for spell casters.

As for the Bards, there is a harp adds some extra spells. There's also a Necklace and perhaps one other item (weapon?). All in All, the Bard spell casting is limited in # but since bards level up so quickly, the spells grow in strength very quickly. Spells like Flame Arrow become devastating at high levels. Plus, the bard songs make up for the lack of spells. The 'hold person' song is perfect for Dragon's eye; and the War Chant is ideal for almost any situation. (you'll find yourself always singing that song once you get it)
And as stated previously, bards are an adequate compliment to the Specialist Mage beause they can memorize all the spells of the mage's oposition schools.
It has also been noted that Bards aid the high level Druid's "summon shambler" spell because of their natural resistances to damage and the Bard's ability to augment those resistances with the War Chant.

[Lord Brass]

Apologies for my attempts at humour Leafy, obviously not my strong point!

The reality is that I've only just discovered how good Stoneskin really is. I guess that I was confused with the Barkskin equivalent of the Druids. From the posts you guys have written in the past, the Bard seemed like a nice alternative to the more obvious classes (having never played one before). The songs appear really useful, and I can't wait to try out the War Chant. Still a long way for that however.
One thing though. If you "cast" a Bard song, does that mean that you must maintain concentration (or playing) which would appear logical, or can you cast other spells/move/attack and still receive the benefits? (If the answer's in the manual and I just haven't noticed it then sorry.)

BTW How's the party composition coming along Hayashi?

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Making running away an art form

[Hayashi]

Originally posted by Lord Brass: BTW How's the party composition coming along Hayashi?

Haven't started yet, I want to finish my game of Baldur's Gate 2 Throne of Bhaal first. Almost at the end tho', so I should be starting IWD SOON. Work & family permitting, of course.

I was fooling around with IWD over the weekend. I take it there's no way to create a few characters, save and create the rest of the party during another session?