Icewind Dale Walkthrough :
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o======================================================================o
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| Icewind Dale |
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o======================================================================o
Written by: Nathan Garvin
Email: Theendbringer (at) Hotmail (dot) com.
If you're going to email me about this guide, make sure you put
Icewind Dale in the title, or I'll probably end up deleting it as junk.
Table of Contents
o======================================================================o
I. Introduction {INT001}
1. Email {INT002}
2. General Information {INT003}
3. Play Throughs {INT004}
4. Party Roster and EXP {INT005}
5. Items {INT006}
6. Traps {INT007}
7. Quests {INT008}
8. HOW AI {INT009}
9. HOW Experience Cap {INT010}
10. HOW Conjurer {INT011}
11. HOF Mode {INT012}
II. Character Creation {CHR001}
1. Composition {CHR002}
2. Gender {CHR003}
3. Race {CHR004}
4. Alignment {CHR005}
5. Attributes {CHR006}
6. Hitpoints {CHR007}
7. THAC0 and Armor Class {CHR008}
8. Weapon Proficiencies {CHR009}
9. Mage Spells (Scrolls) {CHR010}
III. My Party {PTY001}
1. Paladin {PTY002}
2. Fighter/Cleric {PTY003}
3. Ranger/Cleric {PTY004}
4. Fighter/Thief {PTY005}
5. Fighter/Mage {PTY006}
6. Thief/Mage {PTY007}
7. Confessions {PTY008}
IV. Prologue/Easthaven {WLK001}
V. Kuldahar {WLK002}
VI. Vale of Shadows {WLK003}
VII. Temple of the Forgotten God {WLK004}
VIII. Dragon's Eye {WLK005}
IX. Severed Hand {WLK006}
X. Dorn's Deep {WLK007}
XI. Wyrm's Tooth {WLK008}
XII. Lower Dorn's Deep {WLK009}
XIII. Easthaven {WLK010}
XIV. Final Stats {FIN001}
XV. Miscellaneous {MSC001}
1. Experience Tables {MSC002} (In Progress)
2. Jester's Bag of Holding {MSC003}
o======================================================================o
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| Introduction {INT001} |
| |
o======================================================================o
This is my first FAQ, so the format isn't going to be very good. I
attempt to write a lot of FAQs as I play through games.. I just never
finish them. This isn't exactly what I'd call 'finished', and I do
plan to add Heart of Winter to this FAQ, I'm just not.. playing it,
yet. My reason for writing this FAQ is simple-there simply weren't any
FAQs for IWD that suited my play style. This isn't to say there aren't
any good IWD FAQs out there, mind you. I'd like to make FAQs for the
Baldur's Gate games, but frankly, I don't think I could add anything
insightful. That game has some of the best FAQs written, without
stating specific examples. I'm working on a character creation FAQ for
Fallout 3, a Shining Force 1 & 2 FAQ, and I'm thinking of possibly
writing FAQs for Dead Space and Planescape: Torment. We'll see if I
actually finish any of these though.
Email {INT002}
o======================================================================o
If you are emailing about alternative strategies, that's fine. I'm not
terribly interested in how you think building a different party is
better for such and such reason. Not that it's not valid, it probably
is, I just don't care. Write your own FAQ. On the other hand, if you
have insight on some of the character types I've made, then by all
means. (For example, if you think a Druid is a super awesome class and
it should be in any IWD party, I dont care. If you have an idea on how
to improve the general build of one of the characters below, by all
means.) If you find another item than I've found, that's fine too. I'll
try and give as many alternative drops as I can, but this game isn't
going to consume my soul. I wont bother looking for the drop location of
EVERY item in the game, since many of them are random. I'll give credit
if I use the information provided in any emails I get.
General Information {INT003}
o======================================================================o
Throughout the guide I give brief descriptions of areas, the monsters
therein, the treasure to be found, and the traps. I prefer not to be too
domineering, and I wrote this guide loosely so I wouldn't be holding
anybody's hand through the game. If you want a more mindless Icewind
Dale experience, I'm sure there are more condescending guides out there.
I will talk strategy and make notes of equipment updates as I go through
the game. Depending on your party and strategy, this could be utterly
useless information. So be it. Skip it. It's especially hard when half
the equipment in the game isn't static, so it might be difficult to plan
characters around this guide. My party and play style represents one of
many ways to tackle this game, certainly not the best, if such a thing
even exists. I would suggest having at least one Mage, Cleric, and
Thief. If you don't have these characters, it's not a problem with the
guide that you're losing, you just aren't prepared to complete a D&D
based game. The goal of this guide is to provide strategy and pertinent
information throughout the game without controlling the experience. I
word the guide in terms of what I did. I'd prefer this guide to be a
checklist with some suggestions mixed within. It is, however, a guide.
There will be spoilers.
Play Throughs {INT004}
o======================================================================o
I did a total of three play throughs of the normal game. One playthrough
I only went to Yxunomei. The second, I played through the entire game
(most of the guide is a compilation of the 1st and 2nd play through).
The reason for this is simple, I didn't have HOW until halfway through
the first play through. I decided to start over with the same party
(and gear) after installing HOW to make sure I didn't miss anything.
Up until Yxunomei on the 1st play through, I went through the game the
same way every other player did. By the 2nd play through, I had two
chances at the same loot for the first half of the game. This gave me
some specialized loot that I wouldn't have gotten in one play-but most
of this loot was inconsequential (seeing as how it's from the first half
of the game.) In the end, nothing I had by the end of the game the first
time was any better than anybody else could get in one play through. I
did a 3rd play through with my party to further fact-check and to
provide further examples on what loot might be found. I wont pretend
that loot I found is from one play through, but I will denote when loot
deviates from one play to the next. Bottom line, at the end of the guide
you can see what items I found and how far my characters got. This is
what you should expect from the game. Repeated plays show what you could
alternatively find. I noted alternative drops by noting (2nd play) or
(3rd play) and the items that were different. If there is not one of
those headings in parentheses, they were either found on the legitimate
play through, or the drops were the same on all three play throughs.
Party Roster and EXP {INT005}
o======================================================================o
Keep in mind, characters lower on the party roster will receive less EXP
than characters towards the top. When Icewind Dale has to round EXP, it
give the left over to the first character(s). This tends not to be an
issue later in the game, as higher, even numbers tend to round easier.
It's not much of a difference. At 200,000 EXP, the difference between
the first and last character's EXP was 603.
Items {INT006}
o======================================================================o
I'll list items found in containers-bookshelves, chests, environmental
bodies, etc. in the ***ITEMS*** category, I'll also list the (x=, x=)
coordinates the container is found at. The container could be quite
large, but I try to find areas in the 100s or at least the 10s if
possible. For example, I wont give you (x=1996, y=217) when I could give
the coordinates (x=2000, y=200). Some items in chests may be variable,
between patches items certainly change, but also different play throughs
can yield different results in the same container. Gold is always
variable, so I'll just give the gold I found, this should give a general
idea of what amount of gold you'll find, if not the exact amount. Also,
enemies drop different items in different play throughs. For example,
in one game an orc named Uligar dropped The Merry Short Horn, in another
he dropped a shield called Stoutward. The armored skeleton Therik
dropped a Ring of the Warrior first time through, and a Phase Dagger on
the second. I'll record what I found, but you shouldn't be surprised if
you find something different. If you are not playing HOW you WILL find
different items.
Note: In HOW you can highlight interactable objects in the environment
by holding down the Alt key.
Traps {INT007}
o======================================================================o
I list the location of traps in a section similar to the items section.
Except it's wisely called ***TRAPS***. I didn't bother recording what
sort of trap it was, I intended to disarm traps I come across, and
frankly, it's just too much of a bother determining the sort of trap.
If you think you can figure out how to use traps to cause collateral
damage, that's fine with me, I'll point as many out to you as I found.
Quests {INT008}
o======================================================================o
I'll try and list when quests are recieved and concluded under the
***QUEST*** heading. Whenever that shows up, the following text relates
to the beginning or completion of a quest. It may or may not be relevant
to the text above the heading. Some quests are broken up into multiple
parts. If you're using this guide, I assume you're reading through as
you go. Some quests are resolved under one heading, others are updated
through multiple headings. If you read along, you'll complete the quests
eventually. I tend to try and warn you when a quest will not be resolved
for a while, so long as you're reading you'll be ready for this. Some
quests are resolved multiple ways, and I try to cover this all in one
heading. The rewards are usually the variable parts. I list the rewards
under the ***REWARD*** heading, these always pertain to the quest
heading immediately above them. For quests with variable solutions I'll
put variable rewards where appropriate.
HOW AI {INT009}
o======================================================================o
The HOW expansion seems to make baddies more aggressive. Some hit-n-run
tactics simply don't work well anymore, as the computer will manage to
hound you pretty effectively at times. This isn't to say the AI in this
game is flawless, hell no. Just keep in mind that you're less likely to
be chased far by non-expansion IWD monsters.
HOW Experience Cap {INT010}
o======================================================================o
HOW expands the experience cap to 8,000,000. That allows you to hit
level 40 as a Fighter, 31 as a Mage, 46 as a Thief.. You get the idea. I
have a hard time believing those levels are necessary. In any case,
unless you wanted to scrape a 3rd proficiency point into Bows or
something, there's still no reason to go past 9th level as a Fighter.
Even then, 12th level will suffice, but that's a long way to go,
1,000,000 EXP means a lot of power leveling, or a long long time without
magic. Even then, after you dual-class, you'll need 1,125,000 EXP as a
Mage to get the Fighter perks back. That's 2,125,000 EXP. Good luck.
Fighter/Thief is more plausible at 1,660,000 EXP.
HOW Conjurer {INT011}
o======================================================================o
Originally, it seemed like a good idea to specialize my Mages into
Conjurers. They get extra make-em-go-boom spells, and they lose high-end
divination. Phhbt. Unfortunately, in HOW Black Isle decides to change
a Conjurer's limitation from divination to Invocation. This takes away
a good number of the Conjurer's offensive spells, and really isn't worth
the trade off. For HOW, stick to plain Mages.
HOF Mode ***SPOILERS*** {INT012}
o======================================================================o
Heart of Fury Mode is essentially the 'ultra hard' difficulty for the
game. Monsters have massive amounts of hitpoints and they give much more
EXP (you can expect 2060 EXP from goblins in Easthaven at the beginning
of the game.) To actually make the game challenging though, Black Isle
puts in more monsters, and changes up the AI. In the first orc caves
outside of Easthaven you'll fight alot more ogres in HOF mode, at the
end of the game, Belhifet will come to fight with two iron golems and
two cornugons, and he'll actually bother to use a powerful dispel on
you. Unfortunately, better gear is not found in HOF MOde, and I didn't
bother to play through it all the way. If you want to get more out of
IWD, play HOF Mode, but I won't be covering it in this guide.
o======================================================================o
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| Character creation {CHR001} |
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o======================================================================o
Below are some simple suggestions for creating characters in Icewind
Dale. If you know how to play 2nd Edition D&D, you probably don't need
to read this.
Composition {CHR002}
o======================================================================o
You need a Thief, you need a Cleric, and you need a Fighter. In the 2nd
Edition system, dual-classing with human characters allowed you to get
multi-functional characters. You can be 'hardcore' and play with less
than six characters (A Fighter/Mage, Fighter/Thief, and Fighter/Cleric
dual combo would be more than sufficient.) The game is easy on the
normal setting, it can be made even easier by using certain tactics
(I.E. Fighter/Mage dual with Tensers, Stoneskin, Haste, Mirror Image,
and Greater Invisibility and a Ring of Free Action can win any fight.)
Simply put, the human race with the dual class ability is probably the
strongest way to go.
Gender {CHR003}
o======================================================================o
Gender in no way affects the game.. except for Llew's reaction late in
the game. The biggest draw for having a mixed gender party-there are
only so many portraits to go around. Unless you import your own. Get
your hands on some Icewind Dale 2 portraits-some of them are rather
nice. Also, they fit with the other generic portraits better.
Race {CHR004}
o======================================================================o
Humans can dual class, nobody else can. That ends the discussion for me.
Elves and Dwarves are cool, I know, and it's tempting to make a Dwarf
just because of certain parts of the game. Besides, there's a great
voice for a male Dwarf Fighter. Half-Elves are the most versitile for
multi-classing, but keep in mind multi-classed Fighters can only get
specialization in a weapon.. unless you get a mod that changes that.
Alignment {CHR005}
o======================================================================o
Alignment largely doesn't matter in this game. Being a Paladin will
grant some dialogue options-most of which are inconsequential. In all,
I'd suggest having variable alignments for some flavor. You'll find more
Robes of the Evil Archmagi than anything else (although Orrick has a
robe of the Neutral Archmagi, if you want to kill him for it.) In
Clerics, different alignments open up different spells (with HOW at
least). Notable, a good cleric will get Heal (the best healing spell in
the game) and an evil cleric will get Harm (a spell that reduces a
character to between 1 to 4 hitpoints.) A good cleric will get Greater
Shield of Lathender (complete invulnerability for three rounds) and an
evil character will get Destruction (instant death, save at -4, and they
still take 8d6 if they save.) Besides equipment constraints, this is the
most noticable difference in alignment. Some dialogue options might
change, but the results of the conversation rarely do.
Attributes {CHR006}
o======================================================================o
You can reroll your attributes and modify them, why wouldn't you? Me
and my friends are perhaps a little too anal with this process, but it's
not that difficult to make a killer party if you're not vain. Charisma
is a good dump stat, you don't need more than three points for anybody
but your party leader. If you have a Paladin, problem solved (they have
a minimum Charisma of 17.) EVERYBODY should have 18 dexterity. If you
don't, you're wasting precious AC. (Dwarves can only naturally get a 17,
but with luck you might find a potion to raise it, Gloves of Dexterity,
or Kaylessa's Gloves.) EVERYBODY should have at LEAST a 16 Constitution.
If you are a Fighter (single, dual, or multi classed) you should have an
18. That's extra hitpoints. Most characters should ideally have an 18
Strength. Unless you're making a straight Mage, or an archer, then who
cares. This affects how much loot (in weight) you can carry. A Fighter
(single, dual, multi) or any fighting class (Paladin, Ranger) should
have exceptional Strength of at least 18(91). 18 Strength gives you +1
THAC0, and +2 damage. 18(91)-18(99) gives you +2 THAC0, +5 damage.
That's not big, it's huge. If you are lucky enough to get 18(00)
Strength, that's +3 THAC0, +6 damage. Very desirable for a Fighter.
Intelligence only matters for Mages. If you have a Mage, they need an
18 Intelligence. Period. If not, it's a great dump stat. Wisdom is most
useful for Clerics, Druids, and Paladins, the former should have an 18,
the latter will get by with the minimum of 14. Charisma is only
important to Bards, and even then, I have my doubts as to how crucial it
is under Icewind Dale's rules. One character should have good Charisma,
and this should be your party leader.
Hitpoints {CHR007}
o======================================================================o
You run out of hitpoints, and you die. These are important.
Multi-classing averages your hitpoints/level across your classes. A
Fighter/Mage multi would gain 7 hitpoints a level (10+4)/2 - 5 Fighter,
2 Mage. A multi-classed character will still get bonus hitpoints for
having a Fighter class (up to 4), but a dual-class character can start
out 9 levels of Fighter, get all 9d10+36 hitpoints, and dual class into
something else. This is in every way favorable. You should get max HP
each level, and really, since I'm so anal with my attributes, I'd just
save/reload until I got it anyways (ala Baldur's Gate). Just save
yourself some time and click the button in the options menu.
THAC0 and Armor Class {CHR008}
o======================================================================o
THAC0 is an acronym for 'To Hit Armor Class 0'. This is the roll on a
d20 (a 20 sided dice) that you'd need to hit somebody with an AC of 0.
Statistically, each point is a 5% chance to hit AC 0, and a roll of 20
is ALWAYS a hit, and a roll of 1 is ALWAYS a miss, regardless of your
THAC0/their AC. Fighters get a lower THAC0 quicker (hence a better
chance to hit) than other classes, and Mages have the worst THAC0
progression. A lower THAC0 and lower AC are better-which seems counter
intuitive, but that's 2nd Edition for you. (Nostalgia for a moment
here.) Having a negative AC essentially raises the enemies' THAC0. For
instance, my Paladin has a base THAC0 of 5 (-2 with all her
proficiencies, Strength, the bonus on the weapon, etc), and my
Ranger/Cleric has an AC of -13. My Paladin would need an 11 on a d20 to
hit her (-2 +13 = 11). That's a 55% chance to miss-a 45% chance to hit.
So, for a general rule, lower THAC0 and lower AC are good. Unless the
enemy has them. Then it's not so good.
Weapon Proficiencies {CHR009}
o======================================================================o
Most classes-the non fighting ones, can only become proficient in a
weapon (one rank). This only means they do not take a penalty to hit
with that weapon. Fighting classes (Rangers/Paladins/Multi-classed
Fighters) can get up to two ranks in a weapon. Single classed Fighters,
however, can get up to five, granting them tremendous bonuses. This
takes until level 9 (fortunately, this is as far as you want to go for
hitpoints, too.) A character who becomes a grand master (rank 5) in a
weapon is far superior in its use than others. We're talking +3 THAC0
and three attacks a round-compared the +1 THAC0 of a two-rank character.
If you make a straight Fighter (or better, a dual classed Fighter) take
advantage of their proficiencies, and grand master. The game has many
good weapons, but Large Sword, Maces, and Great Swords are all very safe
choices.
Mage Spells (Scrolls) {CHR010}
o======================================================================o
Mages get new spells from scrolls. To use this handy function, right
click on the scroll, and select the button 'Write Magic'. If you have an
18 Intelligence, you have an 85% chance to scribe the scroll, if you
fail, the scroll is lost forever. This is a save and reload heavy event.
It's a downright wicked 15% fail rate. If you get an item that improves
your Intelligence, you don't have to worry (also mods and sliding the
difficulty slider down will make this automatic.) You do NOT want to
lose scrolls, some spells only show up one time a play through. With an
18 Intelligence, you can learn 18 spells per spell level. Again,
increasing your Intelligence removes this barrier, but for 1st-3rd
level spells, some discretion should be taken. There aren't a whole lot
more than 18 spells in a spell level, but you don't want to risk not
being able to cast something yummy like Haste. Of course, you could
always use a potion to increase your Intelligence and scribe scrolls
then.
Also, Specialist Mages are extra focused in one spell school at the
expense of others. This means you get one extra spell per spell level
(HUGE BOON), but you cannot learn or cast spells from an opposed spell
school. Without HOW, becoming a Conjurer limits high-level divination
spells. The best divination spell in the game (there aren't very many,
either) is the 1st level Identify-which a Conjurer has access to. What,
then, do they lose? The 5th level spell Contact Other Plane. If you have
this guide, you don't need that spell anyways. After HOW, they realized
this is a tremendous advantage, and made the restricted spell school
invocation instead. Which is a much more severe penalty. At the end of
the day, if you have HOW installed, you probably just want to go normal
Mage.
o======================================================================o
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| My Party {PTY001} |
| |
o======================================================================o
Yes, I play lots of D&D, yes, I wrote a biography for each of them. I am
aware I have no life. With that out of the way, the reason I decided to
make this party is simple. In 2nd Edition D&D, dual classing can make
some ridiculously strong characters. So much so that it's almost a waste
to have a single-classed character. Taking nine or so levels as a
Fighter uses up 250,000 of the 1,801,000 experience you can legitimately
gain in this game. This essentiallly deprives a Fighter dual-classed
character of one class level if they had single classed. The trade off?
You get all the Fighter hitpoints (9d10), the Fighter THAC0, and the
ability to attain Grand Mastery in a weapon. Afterwards, you can become
another class, and essentially get two characters out of one. You must
be a Human to dual class, and you must have an 18 in the prime requisite
of the class you want to dual class into. I'll explain each of my
characters below.
My Characters Classes/Levels
Catylania Ceiriladon Paladin(14)
Amirule Alteslay Fighter(9)/Cleric(14)
Ceyalya Ceiriladon Ranger(9)/Cleric(14)
Kmir Volgstaag Fighter(9)/Thief(17)
Eraithul Fighter(9)/Mage(14)
Syrenil "Softstep" Thief(11)/Mage(14)
Dual-Classed Experience Calculations
Fighter/Cleric
Lv. 9 Fighter (250,000) + Lv. 14 Cleric (1,350,000) = 1,600,000 EXP
Ranger/Cleric
Lv. 9 Ranger (300,000) + Lv. 14 Cleric (1,350,000) = 1,650,000 EXP
Fighter/Thief
Lv. 9 Fighter (250,000) + Lv. 15 Thief (1,540,000) = 1,790,000 EXP
Fighter/Mage
Lv. 9 Fighter (250,000) + Lv. 14 Mage (1,500,000) = 1,750,000 EXP
Thief/Mage
Lv. 11 Thief (220,000) + Lv. 14 Mage (1,500,000) = 1,720,000 EXP
My (legit) Starting Stats
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
Catylania Ceiriladon 18/96 18 18 10 13 18
Amirule Alteslay 18/97 18 18 10 18 10
Ceyalya Ceiriladon 18/95 18 18 10 18 10
Kmir Volgstaag 18/99 18 18 10 10 14
Eraithul 18/98 18 18 18 10 10
Syrenil "Softstep" 18 18 16 18 10 14
Catylania Ceiriladon
Human Female Paladin {PTY002}
o======================================================================o
Despite everything I said above, Paladins are useful for every party.
Unless you like evil. Even then Icewind Dale doesn't impose much in the
way of alignment abuse. They naturally have a high Charisma, making them
ideal party leaders. Even though they can't Grand Master in a weapon,
they have other abilities that will make a Paladin indespensible to my
party (Lay on Hands). Also, there's a paladin-only sword in the game
that just begs for a Large Sword specialized Paladin. Paladins can also
gain low-end priest spells, which will let my Paladin heal a bit. I also
make sure to focus on axes as well, as there are some useful axes in
this game.
Amilrule Alteslay
Human Female Fighter/Cleric {PTY003}
o======================================================================o
My Fighter/Cleric will dispose of two of her potential Cleric levels to
gain nine Fighter levels. She'll have access to 7th level spells still,
but will also benefit from 18 more hitpoints and a better THAC0. Because
she can't use edged weapons after she dual-classes to Cleric, she'll
attain Grand Mastery in maces (there are some killer Morning Stars in
Icewind Dale.)
Ceyalya Ceiriladon
Human Female Ranger/Cleric {PTY004}
o======================================================================o
Much like the Fighter/Cleric, the Ranger/Cleric will give up a level of
potential Cleric in order to gain eight levels of Ranger. Like the
Fighter/Cleric, she'll have better hitpoints and THAC0 than a straight
Cleric, and she'll have the ability to sneak in light armor. She can't
attain Grand Mastery, so she'll split herself between maces and hammers.
Kmir Volgstaag
Human Male Fighter/Thief {PTY005}
o======================================================================o
The Fighter/Thief is a versatile combination. He'll be able to use all
the Fighter weapons, but he'll need to stick to light armor to use his
Thief abilities. His hitpoint bonus over normal Thieves will be a
whopping 36 points, and with fifteen levels of Thief, he'll still get
320 points to spend between his Thief skills. I'll have him Grand Master
in large swords when he needs to backstab, but I'll mostly use him as an
archer, focusing on bows. Also, since my Thief/Mage will lose her Thief
abilities temporarily, my Fighter/Thief will become a Thief just in time
to pick up the slack. His primary duties will be detecting and disarming
traps, especially during the period when the Thief/Mage is unable to do
so. There will be a period where he may be the only character who can
open locks (without forcing them). Be sure to get his Open Locks up to
100% quickly. Stealth and Find Traps would be good secondary skills for
him as well, but by the time he dual-classes, you will soon have clerics
that can cast Find Traps.
Eraithul
Human Male Fighter/Mage {PTY006}
o======================================================================o
Possibly the most powerful dual or multi class in 2nd Edition, the
Fighter/Mage can become truly awesome. Fortunately, Icewind Dale caters
to this end almost as much as Baldur's Gate. You'll get decent armor to
use, and to make him potent in melee, I'll specialize in crossbows and
grand master in great swords. This will let him have an impact without
having to risk his neck quite as much. The best bit, you don't have to
give up a single Mage level to fit in nine level of Fighter, doubling
the THAC0 he'll have over the first nine levels, and giving him a 54
hitpoint advantage over a single-classed Mage. when you throw Tenser's
Transformation into the mix, he becomes a 250~ hitpoint juggernaught.
Defensive spells are his forte, beefing himself up as much as possible
before using Tensers and breaking the game.
Syrinel "Softstep"
Human Female Thief/Mage {PTY007}
o======================================================================o
The Thief/Mage doesn't have as much going for it as the Fighter/Mage,
but another Thief will be handy. She'll be the primary Thief in the
early part of the game, and later she'll still be able to save 2nd level
spell slots she'd otherwise have to use on knock spells. Being able to
sneak and get the drop on enemies with spells will help in a big way.
She wont be as strong in combat as any of the other characters, but she
will still be able to use a short bow to aid in combat. Also, eleven
levels of Thief will let her backstab should she need to. At the very
least, there are good 'Mage Daggers' in the game that facilitate her
use of daggers. For her skills, get her Pick Pockets up to 40% to steal
items early on in the game. Otherwise, get her Find Traps and Open Locks
up to around 80%, and put the rest into Stealth.
Confessions {PTY008}
o======================================================================o
My party will be terribly weak in spell power early on, so I'll be doing
everything I can to get enough experience to reach their dual-class
level. Afterwards, they'll become strong in spells, but they'll lose a
good deal of their fighting ability. After they surpass their primary
class, they'll become mighty fighter/spell casters. The early going will
be trouble since I wont have spells to fall back on, but brute force
should be enough to get enough experience to dual-class. You can deviate
from this model, of course, but at the very least try and spread your
weapon proficiencies out to avoid competing for weapons. There are good
battle axes, great swords, long swords, bows, crossbows, morning stars,
and hammers in the game, so you shouldn't have to really compete much at
all.
Now to come clean. I used the Dalekeeper mod for cosmetic reasons. It
fit the personality of my characters better to have the Ranger/Cleric
look like a Cleric Female Human, and it fit the Fighter Mage better for
him to look like a Mage Male Human. This mod has been extremely easy to
use and effective, and I recommend it to anybody who is interested.
Thanks to Mr. Aaron O'Neil for creating this mod, and to sorcerers.net
for hosting it.
I considered using |