Books in IWD & HOW

harleyquinn · 12-05-2004, 09:13 PM

Hi,
I'm playing IWD with the HOW expansion set. Just curious, what are the purpose of the books in IWD? Are they just to give you more of a story or should I collect them for some reason?

I see them in sale in some stores in the towns, but I don't know if I really need them or not.

Thanks all!!

Aerich · 12-05-2004, 10:04 PM

Hi Harley! [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img] Nice to see a fellow Oasian here. Stick around. [img]smile.gif[/img]

The purpose of the books is purely cosmetic. The books are there overwhelmingly for story purposes. There's a few books that are related to quests, but they aren't for sale; you either find them or steal them from a library.

You can pick up and sell all the other books you find, but they aren't worth much. You don't have to buy books if you don't want to.

CerebroDragon · 12-06-2004, 04:44 AM

Fairly self explanatory when you think about it. 'Virtual Books' assist in the immersion factor that the game holds for information and knowledge about its world. The more you read, the more of the Faerun Mythos and trivia and history about the surrounding areas within Icewind Dale is revealed. Whether it be about its inhabitants, a history of a certain conflict or a legend of some kind, the books provide a way to break up the general hack and slash monotony of the game. [img]smile.gif[/img]

They're good stuff to browse when you're just kicking back in a tavern or something.

However, I don't think they are implemented quite as well as they are in the BG series and also in particular, the Ultima series.

Ultima 7 is one game I always remember fondly when it comes to setting the standard of virtual RPG game world interaction and the books of its world are some of my all time favourites mostly because of the humour and philosophy they wonderfuly weave. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Anyway, I'd reccomend you keep an eye out for them and try to be aware of relevant names and places for certain quests. You'll be glad you did.

Cheers,
Cerebrodragon

Otto · 12-06-2004, 09:42 AM

Some of the books are quest-related, others just provide a sense of context. Quite a few were simply carried over from Baldur's Gate.

SPOILERS:
/
/
/

Most of the books are nearly worthless, but some have a little value. For example, the History of the Drow (found in the Temple of the Forgotten God) is worth about 50 gp, but the History of the North is only worth maybe 3 gp.

A couple of books are magical tomes that can increase a particular ability score. For example, the Tome of Leadership, which is a random item found in the TotL expansion, will give permanent +1 CHA to the character who reads it. I think there are also random tomes in this area that give +1 INT (Tome of Clear Thought), or +1 WIS (Tome of Understanding).

The quest-related books also include journals and diaries that can be returned to an NPC for a large experience reward.

12-05-2004, 09:13 PM	#1
harleyquinn Symbol of Cyric Join Date: November 25, 2002 Location: NY Age: 48 Posts: 1,190	Hi, I'm playing IWD with the HOW expansion set. Just curious, what are the purpose of the books in IWD? Are they just to give you more of a story or should I collect them for some reason? I see them in sale in some stores in the towns, but I don't know if I really need them or not. Thanks all!! __________________ [img]\"http://www.bethspage.us/sig.jpg\" alt=\" - \" />

12-05-2004, 10:04 PM	#2
Aerich Lord Ao Join Date: May 27, 2004 Location: Canada Age: 42 Posts: 2,061	Hi Harley! [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img] Nice to see a fellow Oasian here. Stick around. [img]smile.gif[/img] The purpose of the books is purely cosmetic. The books are there overwhelmingly for story purposes. There's a few books that are related to quests, but they aren't for sale; you either find them or steal them from a library. You can pick up and sell all the other books you find, but they aren't worth much. You don't have to buy books if you don't want to. __________________ Where there is a great deal of free speech, there is always a certain amount of foolish speech. - Winston S. Churchill

12-06-2004, 04:44 AM	#3
CerebroDragon Red Wizard of Thay Join Date: March 2, 2003 Location: Ballarat, Australia. Age: 45 Posts: 878	Fairly self explanatory when you think about it. 'Virtual Books' assist in the immersion factor that the game holds for information and knowledge about its world. The more you read, the more of the Faerun Mythos and trivia and history about the surrounding areas within Icewind Dale is revealed. Whether it be about its inhabitants, a history of a certain conflict or a legend of some kind, the books provide a way to break up the general hack and slash monotony of the game. [img]smile.gif[/img] They're good stuff to browse when you're just kicking back in a tavern or something. However, I don't think they are implemented quite as well as they are in the BG series and also in particular, the Ultima series. Ultima 7 is one game I always remember fondly when it comes to setting the standard of virtual RPG game world interaction and the books of its world are some of my all time favourites mostly because of the humour and philosophy they wonderfuly weave. [img]smile.gif[/img] Anyway, I'd reccomend you keep an eye out for them and try to be aware of relevant names and places for certain quests. You'll be glad you did. Cheers, Cerebrodragon __________________ Diddledy High, Diddledy Low, Come Brave Blood Sheep, You've a goodly way to go. - Brilhasti Ap Tarj

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12-06-2004, 09:42 AM	#4
Otto The Magister Join Date: November 1, 2004 Location: Springfield, KY Age: 43 Posts: 100	Some of the books are quest-related, others just provide a sense of context. Quite a few were simply carried over from Baldur's Gate. SPOILERS: / / / Most of the books are nearly worthless, but some have a little value. For example, the History of the Drow (found in the Temple of the Forgotten God) is worth about 50 gp, but the History of the North is only worth maybe 3 gp. A couple of books are magical tomes that can increase a particular ability score. For example, the Tome of Leadership, which is a random item found in the TotL expansion, will give permanent +1 CHA to the character who reads it. I think there are also random tomes in this area that give +1 INT (Tome of Clear Thought), or +1 WIS (Tome of Understanding). The quest-related books also include journals and diaries that can be returned to an NPC for a large experience reward.

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