small party adventuring

[slug]

Two is my favorite # for playing through this game. The fewer characters you have, the less time you need to spend in the towns; listening and waiting and taking turns at the outhouse. And the less money you need, and the more exp you get, and it seems more sensible for horseback riding.

One character would be the fastest and cheapest. but i believe in the buddy system. and a smaller party does face certain inventory problems.

here is a tip or two: distribute your points wisely...only putting points in what you intend to be an expert at...nobody needs one or two points in axe and mace and dagger. that will leave room for your non-theiving character to be an expert at artifacts. that helps to solve some inventory issues.

spend time as barbarions (i will wait till i have crusade, then switch to barbarian and root every baddy out of the ruins. it jacks up the levels and hit points. must be careful not to do too much of the ruins without getting crusade first.)

start both characters as wizards and let them stay that way for a while. with fewer characters, those stone magic spells become all the more important. you can buy unlimited heal and cure-poison so a priest is not really needed. but you do want to get both characters all the spells so spend time on ranger and paladin, and don't switch out until you have all high level spells. of course being a warlock is also important.

it takes practice and patience to manage all the class changes of a small party but it is much fun. and it happens quicker than you might think with the added exp.

there is a stretch of path just west of Ishad Na, which is a great place to grab exp early in a new career. you can kill many spiders without fear of activating the mantraps.

this is getting kind of long, i guess that is enough tips.

[Nanobyte]

I find a single player game is better than anything. Two is nice, but one makes it hard. I started with a Paladin, and then got a Wizard. After a while I just added the rest of the party..

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[slug]

you might be right nanobyte. one would make it harder. and easier (or faster) too. if you give yourself a large inheritance, which is my tendency anyway, you needn't bother with most of the stuff to carry; and only one conversation at a time! that is kicking back.

[Nanobyte]

Well, I just see it as, one person fighting, one person defending, one person to heal. Mainly, one person to worry about.

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[Sazerac]

I'm thinking about playing a 2-character party on my next playthrough. One is just too lonely for me, not to mention, I'd imagine, difficult to manage inventory. (Two will be enough of a challenge as is.)

I'm considering a Warrior and Wizard combination; and go from there. Warriors can become Paladins and Rangers, making the Priest unnecessary, and Barbarians, making the Rogue unnecessary.

That is, if I do another playthrough. I've heard rumors that Wiz 8 will be released on April 16, 2001 (from news:comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg), but that may just be rumormill. Sounds like they have an overseas publisher. If that's the case, that's probably what I'll be playing next...that or NWN.

-Sazerac

[slug]

any character, not just barbarions and theives, but anybody can learn traps and pickpocket from pawn-shop guild. to join simply pretend to want to change to a bard or something, then join, then cancel training. it is too easy.

[mammawlin]

These sound like good tips for me since I am gonna play through a second time pretty soon now - and I want to take only one or two characters. Thanks, again, Slug!

Sazerac, what two breeds would you use? I had a suggestion from Carg to keep the tomes and use them at the beginning of the game to have a Zen Master. What do you think? I like the idea!

Mammawlin