New to IWD2, could use some help with party building

[Starfire]

I just started playing the game last week, ( this game was a little gift from my husband) and all I have done so far is have to restart with new parties.

I could really use some help with building a party strong enough to survive the prologue! lol

My main problems are with the casters and Paladins. Casters don't have enough spells to cast and end up being slaughtered very quickly and the Paladin is a complete wimp in combat and can't heal well enough to be useful in that area either. Other than my two casters, the Paladin is usally the next in line to die. I suspect I am not allocating the stat points properly or picking the right skills and feats to make the Paladin and casters effective. I would really appreciate some help with this.

My fighter, Barbararian and rogue seem to hold their own pretty well. Although I have not figured out how to get my rogue to do the sneak attack thing that I've read so much about. My rogue always proves to be an excellent combatant with the bow, often takes out an enemy with one shot. But really sucks in toe to toe combat lol

I am not a power gamer and don't want demi gods who can breeze through the game without getting a scratch, however I do want a party who can get through the game without dying lol

I have a couple questions, is it possible to have party members resurrected if they do die? Because having to create a new character everytime one of them dies is not going to work, I will end up with really weak characters if I have to keep doing that lol and how does one acquire enough cash to buy the best armor, weapons and spells? Should I be demanding payment for every job I do from everyone I do the jobs for? I guess my mentality is too much like the paladins because when ever I do a good deed, such as putting the weeping widows spirit at rest, I feel bad about demanding payment for my services and end up not asking for any money lol

Perhaps someone could suggest a really easy party I could start with, that would help me get familiar with the game? I would greatly appreciate any help anyone can provide.

thanks!

[Xen]

Make your party! Play with it,and you will see...

The reason why your Rogue is killed so fast is his HP˙s.(Hit points) Thieves have low HP`s...


You can ressurect your characters but you need Raise Dead(Cleric) spell...


About payment for job:roleplay! If you are good don`t do it becuase you are proud of honour...-Especially if you are a Paladin...

[Borg]

Your party should be good enough to survive. Some thoughts:
- Make sure your Rogue sneaks ahead so that you see where the enemy is and can devise strategies ahead of combat (where possible).
- Your Barb should be high STR and CON and pretty good Dex. -- use that rage as a boost at the end of a tough battle and mostly use two handed weapons
- Your Pally should rely on heavy armor because of the need to support so many stats. Also, he/she should probably start combat from the back with ranged weapons, letting the fighter and Barb take the front until another member (the Pally) needs to move to the front as well.
- Healing potions are good!
- Keep those spell casters in the back and safe -- you probably will have to compensate for their low initial spells with potions/scrolls/not engaging the enemy until they can get more levels
- Monster summoning spells can be a good thing

[Magness]

Starfire, welcome to the board!!! GREAT name!

Here's the last party with which I completed IWD2...

Goblin's Bane


It's a really nicely balanced party. Capable of solid spellcasting and good tanking and a pair of great scouts.

Nya Arenthel: Female Elven Paladin of Mystra
Vrolnar: Human Male Fighter/Barbarian
Skalla: Wild Elven Male Ranger
Ranya: Human Female Fighter/Rogue "Swashbuckler"
Kieran: Human Male Painbearer of Ilmater (cleric)
Menoli: Human Female Sorceress

Check out the links for the character stats.

Nya and Vrolnar were my two tanks. Skalla and Ranya were my scouts, both solid archers and dual wielding in melee. And Menoli and Kieran were my spellcasters.

(In fact, all but Menoli were quite capable in melee.)


This was the best party I've every build and I was so attached to it that I replayed it in HOF mode.

Note that my paladin, Nya Arenthel is very much NOT a traditional paladin. She only wears chain mail and fights equally well and equal willingness with bow or longsword. I designed her to be this way to play away from the traditional uber strong, low DEX pally. While not as rugged at my fighter/barb, Nya did exceptionally well in combat.


Survival in the prologue and the rest of the game largely comes down to properly playing the characters within their abilities.

For example, rogues are not meant to stay in the heat of melee. (Don't bother worrying about sneak attacks with a rogue for a while. SA's grow in strength as a rogue's level increases.) Rogues are best left behind your tanks, using ranged weapons. When your rogue has gained a few levels, you can get a little sneaky and run around behind the enemy line and sneak attack from the rear. Also, attacking from stealth will usually earn a sneak attack bonus.

Paladin's should be pretty much as survivable as any other warrior class. The only difference is that pally's are more stat intensive and this may reduce the number of points spent on CON, thus reducing the CON bonus HP's. Don't worry about pally spellcasting. It's really weak and doesn't come into play for until your reach level 6 or so.

Mages (i.e. wizards and sorcerors) are totally wimpy at the start of the game. Basically, just find them a good ranged weapon and hide them behind your tanks. Mages, particularly early in the game, are absolutely not meant for melee. They have very few HP and will get killed quickly.


Don't let your paladin talk to the NPC's when you're collecting a reward. Let anyone else do the talking. And you don't need to demand payments or rewards. Many times, rewards will be paid freely.

There's a no cost way of resurrections.... RELOAD. Save early and often. Use quick save before any battle.


If you have any more questions, ask away.

[ 09-24-2003, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: Magness ]

[Starfire]

Thank you for the welcome and thanks so much for the suggestions.

I'm very fond of Elven warriors and rangers and decided to replace my rogue with a Ranger. I was only taking the rogue along for disarm trap, pickpocketing and lock picking abilities anyway and I decided the ranger would stand up better in melee combat if she has to due to her having better HP's than the rogue. Bascially this is what my party is looking like now:

Dwarf Fighter
Human Barbarian
Elven Paladin
Half-Elf Ranger
Human Cleric Battleguard of tempus
Wild Elf Sorcerer

I am thinking about replacing my Paladin with another class, a monk, a bard or possibly even another fighter. Would I be making a mistake doing this?

[Magness]

Originally posted by Starfire: Thank you for the welcome and thanks so much for the suggestions. I'm very fond of Elven warriors and rangers and decided to replace my rogue with a Ranger. I was only taking the rogue along for disarm trap, pickpocketing and lock picking abilities anyway and I decided the ranger would stand up better in melee combat if she has to due to her having better HP's than the rogue. Bascially this is what my party is looking like now: Dwarf Fighter Human Barbarian Elven Paladin Half-Elf Ranger Human Cleric Battleguard of tempus Wild Elf Sorcerer I am thinking about replacing my Paladin with another class, a monk, a bard or possibly even another fighter. Would I be making a mistake doing this?

Starfire, I'd suggest making your half-elf ranger a ranger-rogue so that you can get the rogue skills. Despite what some say, they are worth having, if only from a role-playing perspective. A half-elf would make an excellent ranger-rogue, given that half-elves have no favored class. I'd also suggest starting as a rogue for tht initial burst of skill points.

Yes, a ranger will have more HP than rogue. But a rogue, particularly a ranger-rogue (or fighter-rogue) multiclass, with a good CON (i.e. 14 or 16) will have a solid base of HP's and will be able to hold his own in melee. That said, I rarely kept my my ranger-rogues or fighter-rogues in melee for a great length of time if they were taking damage. I tend to use them as archers and secondary melee warriors.


Regarding your paladin... you wouldn't be making a mistake either way. I love playing paladins and am hard pressed to make a party without one. Your party is rather "warrior" heavy with 4 tanks and a semi-tank (i.e. the BG of Tempus). You might want to consider balancing the capabilities of your party. Perhaps a bit more spellcasting. Or some rogue skills. A bard (particularly a bard with a level or 2 of rogue) can make a decent backup rogue and a nice support spellcaster.

[Starfire]

I think I will start the ranger as a rogue. I find I miss that disarm trap and lock picking ability, bit of a pain having to bash things in everywhere I go lol

I've heard good things about the Bard so I think I'll give one a try. I can always replace with a wizard if I'm not happy.

thank you for the suggestions.