When should I begin Heart of Winter during the original Icewind Dale campaign?

Nas'Greth · 06-29-2002, 12:21 PM

Greetings,

I'm current in Upper Dorn's Deep, in the Tiers of the Dead. I'm wondering, when would be a good time to do the expansion? Right after finishing Wyrm's Tooth? As soon as I enter Wyrm's Tooth?

You see, I want to have my first encounter with 'Giants' to be memorable; as such, I figured it would be best to do so within the original Icewind Dale campaign rather than HOW or TOTL.

I'm trying to fit Heart of Winter into the original plot as elegently as possible, so that it doesn't create an overly ridiculous time gap in the plot (rather, I want to create the least ridiculous time gap in the plot), and so that the challenge is adequetely balanced, both for Heart of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster, and for Lower Dorn's Deep when I finally arrive (or Wyrm's Tooth -- whichever the case may be.)

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

andrewas · 06-29-2002, 01:00 PM

I did HoW and ToL right after Wyrms tooth - and it was very hard at some points, but doable. Party was level 10-11 at that point.

I finished ToL yesterday and HoW today, although i'll have to re-fight the last battle due to my only raise dead spell being disrupted so I had to leave too much behind.

Welcome to IW by the way.

Albromor · 06-29-2002, 03:11 PM

It has been a long time since I played so I can't remember the names of the chapters, but the way I did it was play through the next to last chapter and then go to HoW. You'll be glad you have the higher levels, especially with Burial Island. I hope you have a good cleric or two! A couple of mages wouldn't hurt either! I did HoW right up to its last chapter, then did TotL, went back and finished HoW, and then returned to IWD. As I look at it, no matter when you decide to go, there will be *some* disruption in the time line, but the later the better, IMO. By the way, one thing HoW does better than IWD is the role-play options. You can get tons of experience depending on your dialogue choices and action choices. Trust me on this!

Micah Foehammer · 06-29-2002, 10:50 PM

Spoilers within:
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I stayed with IWD all the way thru Lower DOrn's Deep EXCEPT for the battle with RBP. Once you destroy the idol, that is a good time to start HOW.

Hayashi · 07-01-2002, 10:22 PM

Note that once you embark on the end part of IWD, there's no way to start HoW from your game - you'll have to start an "expansion only" game.

You will need to finish HoW before you finish IWD.

Similarly, ToLM can only be started in Lonelywood (HoW starting area) and must be finished before you finish HoW, as you will be unable to return to Lonelywood.

Come to think of it, once you start ToLM, you have no choice but to finish it as you can't return to Lonelywood until you've finished the expansion to the expansion.

Happy hunting!

Spanner_razor · 07-05-2002, 08:30 AM

i started HOW as soon as i could my party were at about 9-10 and it was quite hard.I had to use loads of area affect spells but it's certainly doable.My advice is to get your party to 12 say and then do as you will enjoy it a lot more.But in the end it's up to you.You could try going in at the moment and if it's too hard wait a bit.

06-29-2002, 12:21 PM	#1
Nas'Greth Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: June 29, 2002 Location: -- Age: 39 Posts: 18	Greetings, I'm current in Upper Dorn's Deep, in the Tiers of the Dead. I'm wondering, when would be a good time to do the expansion? Right after finishing Wyrm's Tooth? As soon as I enter Wyrm's Tooth? You see, I want to have my first encounter with 'Giants' to be memorable; as such, I figured it would be best to do so within the original Icewind Dale campaign rather than HOW or TOTL. I'm trying to fit Heart of Winter into the original plot as elegently as possible, so that it doesn't create an overly ridiculous time gap in the plot (rather, I want to create the least ridiculous time gap in the plot), and so that the challenge is adequetely balanced, both for Heart of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster, and for Lower Dorn's Deep when I finally arrive (or Wyrm's Tooth -- whichever the case may be.) Thanks in advance for any assistance! __________________ ----------------------------------<br /><br />Nas\'Greth

06-29-2002, 01:00 PM	#2
andrewas Harper Join Date: October 2, 2001 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 43 Posts: 4,774	I did HoW and ToL right after Wyrms tooth - and it was very hard at some points, but doable. Party was level 10-11 at that point. I finished ToL yesterday and HoW today, although i'll have to re-fight the last battle due to my only raise dead spell being disrupted so I had to leave too much behind. Welcome to IW by the way. __________________ [img]\"http://www.sighost.us/members/Zvijer/andrewas.gif\" alt=\" - \" />

06-29-2002, 10:50 PM	#4
Micah Foehammer Ma'at - Goddess of Truth & Justice Join Date: November 15, 2001 Location: Asheville, NC Posts: 3,253	Spoilers within: . . . . . . . I stayed with IWD all the way thru Lower DOrn's Deep EXCEPT for the battle with RBP. Once you destroy the idol, that is a good time to start HOW. __________________ “Every tavern’s an opportunity, I say.”

07-01-2002, 10:22 PM	#5
Hayashi Silver Dragon Join Date: March 25, 2001 Location: The Lion City Age: 64 Posts: 1,699	Note that once you embark on the end part of IWD, there's no way to start HoW from your game - you'll have to start an "expansion only" game. You will need to finish HoW before you finish IWD. Similarly, ToLM can only be started in Lonelywood (HoW starting area) and must be finished before you finish HoW, as you will be unable to return to Lonelywood. Come to think of it, once you start ToLM, you have no choice but to finish it as you can't return to Lonelywood until you've finished the expansion to the expansion. Happy hunting! __________________ I visit IW occasionally...

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06-29-2002, 03:11 PM	#3
Albromor Mephistopheles Join Date: June 13, 2001 Location: Northfield, NJ USA Posts: 1,417	It has been a long time since I played so I can't remember the names of the chapters, but the way I did it was play through the next to last chapter and then go to HoW. You'll be glad you have the higher levels, especially with Burial Island. I hope you have a good cleric or two! A couple of mages wouldn't hurt either! I did HoW right up to its last chapter, then did TotL, went back and finished HoW, and then returned to IWD. As I look at it, no matter when you decide to go, there will be some disruption in the time line, but the later the better, IMO. By the way, one thing HoW does better than IWD is the role-play options. You can get tons of experience depending on your dialogue choices and action choices. Trust me on this!

07-05-2002, 08:30 AM	#6
Spanner_razor Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: February 27, 2002 Location: UK Posts: 22	i started HOW as soon as i could my party were at about 9-10 and it was quite hard.I had to use loads of area affect spells but it's certainly doable.My advice is to get your party to 12 say and then do as you will enjoy it a lot more.But in the end it's up to you.You could try going in at the moment and if it's too hard wait a bit.

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