multiclassing recommendations please

[SpongeBobTheDestoyer]

Hi, this is my first time playing IWD and here is my party-

human cleric lvl 6
Aasimar druid lvl 5
human rogue/ranger 4/1
human paladin lvl 6
elven sorceress lvl 6
dwarven fighter lvl 5

I read that the rogue/ranger was a nice combo so I tried that one. Should I multi any more of these classes? I want to because I like being able to mix up different battle strategies, but what combos offer up some nice tactics?

On a sidenote - I've just gone into an underground cave the Yuoqc(sp) sent me in to get a note from a Decanter Goblin. While in this cave, and only in the cave, my game stutters non-stop. Freeze, go, freeze, go. Very annoying! Is this a common bug and is there anything I can do or just live with it?

Thanks.

[Black Baron]

AFAIK it is not a bug. Are you fully patched?

Do not dual class. I think that you do not have any one to dual class properly anyway. On the other hand i am a notorious powergamer, so my advice may not be that good.

cheers.

[SpongeBobTheDestoyer]

I am patched. The latest being v2.01 in fact.

Huh? A powergamer not dual classing? From my BGII powergaming career a multi or dual class is most definately more powerful than a straight class. Might be because there are tons and tons of experience points to be had in BGII.

[Pirengle]

There is no such thing as dual-classing with 3rd ed rules. Multiclassing is the way to go, however, you WILL take a exp hit if you multiclass a demihuman race to something other than their favored class. For example, if you multiclass a half-orc rogue to something other than a barbarian, their favored class, you'll take an exp hit. It'll take longer to level in that non-favored class. (That's for PnP though, not sure if it applies here but thought I'd mention it anyway.)

Some classes put other penalties on multiclassing. For example, the paladin classes all have favored multiclasses--the Paladin of Helm's favored multiclass is fighter, Paladin of Mystra is wizard, etc. If a paladin multiclasses to anything other than his or her favored class, then the paladin can't gain any more levels in his or her paladin class EVER AGAIN.

With your party, I'd put a few levels of a different class on your druid. Druids by themselves are weak in IWD2. You could get 2 or 3 levels in rogue and have your rogue/druid be a trap finder (high levels in Search and Disable Device) and keep your rogue/ranger for moving silently and picking locks. Or you could make a fighter/druid for an okay tank.

I wish you luck, but don't be afraid to start over if you find things aren't working out or think of things you wish you could have done. I didn't beat the game with my first party (two paladins, a ranger, a rogue, a cleric, and a conjurer) because I got to a point in the game where there were useful items that my party couldn't use because of class/alignment conflicts and because they weren't strong enough. My second party (a bard, a cleric, a fighter/rogue, a wizard, a paladin, and a ranger) did better and beat the game with power to spare.

EDIT: Oh, and that stuttering thing. It happens to me too, and I find the best way to handle it is to save, quit, and restart. It usually goes away. Closing all your other windows helps as well.

[ 05-13-2004, 05:06 AM: Message edited by: Pirengle ]

[Gnarf]

I've given my rogue one level of barbarian as well as one level of ranger. One level of barbarian gets you some extra hit points, rage once a day, and some weapon profiencies (my rogue is finessing small blades tho, so that wasn't much use) as well as a speed bonus (given him the dash feat as well [img]smile.gif[/img] ). If it'll add exp penalty, I wouldn't bother tho, but one level of barbarian can be quite nice (for some other classes too).

[SpongeBobTheDestoyer]

I should've started playing this game a year and half ago when I bought it! It's a nice break from BG. As of now I've given my Paladin a Fighter level since that's his favored class. As far as the druid goes - he just gained the ability to shapeshift into a panther, which is way spiffy. I think I'm going to multi to something else also. Both suggestions above look promising, giving him some rogue levels or adding a barbarian level for the rage, speed and hp. I really want to add a Wizard class to someone though. My sorceress only gets so many spells and I want to fiddle with some of these 3e spells. Is my cleric the best choice to do this with, or maybe the druid instead? Just wondering if anyone sees a member of my above mentioned party that this would be ideal for.