Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter Walkthrough

Icewind Dale - Character Creation Guide version 1.0.1
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Contents
0.0     Introduction
0.1     Abbreviations
0.2     Basics
1.0 Main Game (no expansion pack)
1.1     Race
1.2     Class
1.2.1 Arcane castors
1.3     Ability Scores
1.4     Alignment
1.5     Class combinations
1.5.1 Dual-classing
1.5.2 Multi-classing
1.6     Weapon proficiencies and armour
1.6.1 Armour
1.6.2 Weapons
1.7     Sample Parties
1.7.1 Main Party
1.7.2 Melee Party
1.7.3 Arcane Party
2.0 After installing Heart of Winter
2.1     Race
2.2     Class
2.2.1 Arcane castors
2.3 Ability Scores
2.4 Alignment
2.5 Class combinations
2.5.1 Dual-classing
2.5.2 Multi-classing
2.6     Weapon proficiencies and Items
2.7 Sample Parties
2.7.1 Main Party
2.7.2 Melee Party
2.7.3 Arcane Party
2.8 Other Points
2.8.1 Version History
Introduction (0.0)
Having failed to find any detailed character creation guide for Icewind Dale
and its expansion pack, I decided to write one myself, having completed the
main game thrice (once without the expansion packinstalled and twice with)
and currently playing through HOW in HOF mode, and finding some characters
useless and that I’m missing other vital characters. This is designed to
explain the main pros and cons from first hand experience and I intend not
to quote the manual except where necessary. I found that the differences to
several classes deemed it worth writing separate guides for both with and
without the expansion pack installed. I hope that when writing this I have
not ruined parts of the storyline and would appreciate if anyone told me
if I have. I have tried to refer to any part beyond the prologue as either
by when you pick up a particular item or how far through, and which, chapter
it is.
I realise that there are many different types of styles all focusing on
different aspects of the gameplay. I hope that this guide will help anyone,
whatever style they prefer. My main style of gameplay has an emphasis on melee
fighting and attack and summoning spells, giving all characters high AC, S.T.,
resistances and HP, as I am not keen on using many buffers in combat and prefer
to boost my characters with long-term spells before a fight. I have tried to
allow for other styles and would welcome suggestions from those that use
various other ways of playing this game.
During this guide I have only mentioned character features that affect gameplay
so have not mentioned characteristics such as gender, portrait, appearance,
biography and name.
If anyone finds any error in this guide or has helpful suggestions please feel
free to e-mail me at ihave2manynicknames@hotmail.com. Please put IWD then
whatever the issue is, e.g. question, error, suggestion, etc. as the subject and
I should reply in 2 or 3 days. Mention of errors will be appreciated and will be
updated in the next version. If you leave the subject blank I will probably
ignore you. If anyone sends details of a party similar description of depth as I
have for my parties I will include it in the next version. Please read through
my whole walkthrough and the manual before sending anything. I will not answer
questions where the answer is in this guide, the manual, or in regard to
questions about subjects other than character creation or character development,
unless I have written a guide about that as well.
I have included both objective and subjective details in this guide. I think I
have marked all my opinions as clearly subjective.
I write in a way that assumes that the reader has read all previous parts of
this guide before, partly to avoid repetition, and partly as it is easier for
me, and I have only included changes from the main game in the IWD(H) section.
This guide also assumes that players will play in the order IWD, IWD(H), HOW,
IWD(H)(HOF), HOW(HOF). I am aware though that some players may play just IWD,
and others install the expansion pack immediately. I would advise against people
installing the expansion pack before completing the main game however, as
there are some good items that they will be unable to obtain, and the gaming
experience is different.
Anyone sending in suggestions, notifications of errors, parties or anything else
included used will be credited. E-mail addresses will not be mentioned unless
requested.
I will release an updated version once I have enough changes for it to be
worthwhile.
Abbreviations (0.1)
I am sure that most people will understand most of these anyway but here’s the
abbreviations used during this guide, most are common but a few are created by
ours truly, as there are some important aspects of the game without common ones.
When I use plurals I may not add a "s" on the end, but if so then assume from
context whether I refer to a plural or not. Anyway:
RPG             Role-playing game
D&D             Dungeons&Dragons
2ndER           2nd edition rules
IWD             Icewind Dale (main game pre HOW)
IWD(H)          The main game after Heart of Winter has been installed
HOW             Heart of Winter
HOF             Heart of Fury mode - a game mode option for IWD(H) and HOW which
increases the ability and experience of hostile creatures
massively. Also enables you to double quest experience. Can be
turned on/off in configuration screen.
XP              Experience Points, require so many to level up your characters.
HP              Hit Points
S.T.            Saving throws
AC              Armour Class
arcane          refers to mage spells and class types
Lore            How well a character can identify an item
W.P.            Weapon proficiency and specialization
1-H             1-handed
2-H             2-handed
Str             Strength
Dex             Dexterity
Con             Constitution
Int             Intelligence
Wis             Wisdom
Cha             Charisma
A.S.            Ability Scores - refers to Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, Cha. When I
refer to these as low I mean 2-5; below average 6-8; average
9-11; above average 12-14; high 15-18.
x->             Dual over at level x
---             Multi class combination
TCl             Total character level, the level of all multi-class classes
combined. With dual-class this only refers to active classes.
GCl             Group character level, the TCLs of the 3 most powerful
characters combined.
x+              Refers to value x and all values better than it.
x-              Refers to value x and all values worse than it.
Transmutation and alteration are identical for the purposes of this game.
Invocation and evocation are also equivalent to each other.
Summary (0.2)
For D&D based RPGs players are always advised to have a party consisting of:
Fighter
Thief
Mage
Cleric
I feel that is the very basic summary of necessary classes in this game but only
that. It does not elaborate in any detail and in this game other classes are
highly useful and the focus is more on role than on class. I feel that possible
roles are:              Tanker
Archer
Healer
Bombardier
Diplomat
Thief
Distracter
These can all be used by different classes and several can mix together well.
A tanker is a character who relies almost completely on mêlée attacks and
normally has high HP, AC, Con and S.T. to absorb most of the enemies damage.
Generally high Str to deal plenty of damage to them as well. Take no more than
2½, ½ a tanker is a support tanker that also fulfils another role in combat.
An archer is a character with high AC quite high Str and massive Dex, and will
be dealing out ranged damage to enemies. Though not vital, I feel that they come
very close to being so. Take only 1. Cannot perform other roles except diplomat.
Healers are vital. They cure damage done to themselves and other characters
before, during and after battles. They also cast defence spells to reduce damage
obtained. Take 1 or 2.
A bombardier is a character who will be casting attack spells, and/or summon
and/or buffers. At higher levels this character can cast a few spells and
completely wipe out a group of enemies, summon other monsters to take and deal
damage, and cast spells to improve your party members so they can tear through
groups of enemies. Easily the most fun and variable character. Any number
between 1-3½.
A diplomat is not essential but is very useful and provides alternative
opportunities to complete quests and reduces store prices considerably. Should
also perform another role. Could take two, one with high Int and another with
high Wis. Anymore is pointless.
A thief is basically a character who is at least part thief class, can detrap,
and sometimes pick pocket and hide, depending on invested skills.
A distracter is a very optional character. But can only be used if you take less
than 6 characters. A distracter is a character of around level 4 with high Dex,
Con and Wis who you send 1st into battle to absorb damage while you blast the
enemies with spells and ranged weapons.
When creating a character you should always plan how you are going to develop a
character, if intending to dual-class then you need to play human race, adjust
your A.S. and alignment so they’re what the secondary class requires and choose
W.P. sensibly as some classes have restrictions. Multi-class characters are
useless in IWD, but in IWD(H) you can train up in HOF mode in Easthaven once the
TCL 6 or so. If you use this technique beware as the monsters are much more
powerful and even entering the orc-cave is dangerous until the GCL is at least
25.
The number of characters you play with is your choice but any number between 4
and 6 is best. If you want more characters to ensure that each role is filled
twice then take 6, if you want less so that all your characters gain more XP and
get better equipment then take 4, if you are unsure then take 5 or 6. You do
notice later in the game the higher levels of characters if you take 4 or 5
instead of 6. Fewer characters means that a dead character is a much greater
blow than with more though. Also you can carry less equipment to sell with 4
characters than with 5 or 6. At no point in the game did I feel that I was
turning back too much to sell equipment when with 5 characters but with 4
characters I struggled to carry everything worth selling as well as the
necessary spare arrows, magical arrows, potions and scrolls. It should be
possible to play with three but then you can’t have an archer or diplomat class,
and must have all classes with at least 6+ in an active tanker class.
Main Game (1.0)
Race (1.1)
Which race you choose for a role determines how you can develop a character,
affecting benefits to W.P., thieving abilities and magic resistance; A.S.
penalties, requirements and bonuses; and what class you can take.
Humans:
Dual-class. Humans are the only race that can dual-class. Receives no racial
bonuses but no penalties either. Only race not to get infravision so have at
least one other race in party. Very useful.
Elves:
The best archers. +1 bonus to Dex, -1 penalty to Con, highly resistant to charm
and sleep magic. Gains +5 pick pockets, -5 open locks and +10 stealth; Brilliant
with bows and long swords. Use for archer. Require 8 Int and 8 Cha.
Half-elves:
No penalties. Small resistance to charm and sleep magic. Can have any
multi-class combination except involving specialist mages. Gains +10 pick
pockets and +5 stealth. Better than humans if no intention of dual-classing.
Gnomes:
Magic Resistance. +1 bonus to Int, -1 penalty to Wis. Gains +5 open locks,
+10 detect traps and +5 stealth. Make good mages or fighter --- illusionist.
Limited use.
Halflings:
Highly resistant to poisons and magic. +1 bonus to Dex, -1 penalty to Str. Good
with Slings. Some use as fighter --- thief. +5 on all thieving skills, except
stealth +15. Elves are better.
Dwarves:
Resistant to poisons and magic. +1 bonus to Con, -1 penalty to Dex, -1 penalty
to Cha. +10 open locks, +15 detect traps. Decent pure fighters but humans or
half-elves are better. Their high Con makes them excellent distracters however.
Class (1.2)
Choice of class is an important feature and affects which weapons you can take
and how much you can specialise in them; available spells; special abilities;
S.T., A.S. penalties requirements and bonuses; and what role you can take. When
I mention ability scores here, they are the class requirement, not the gameplay
requirement.
Fighter:
The main tanker class. Levels up fastest of the tanker classes. Can take up to 5
points in W.P. which is extremely useful. Lack any special abilities though. A
great starter class with intention to dual-class and can have a multi-class
combination with any class except the other two tankers and bards. Brilliant
combined with other classes, no problems playing pure. Require average Str.
Ranger:
A tanker with some extra features. Level up slower than fighters. Can take up to
2 points in W.P. Get druid spells at high levels. Get a 2nd base attack each
round when not using shield. Can choose one racial enemy. I would choose trolls
or salamanders. Salamanders are powerful and their auras can really hurt you,
but trolls appear all the time from chapter 2 of the game and keep getting up
unless using fire or acid. A ranger that hates them can walk through them if
equipping a fire-based weapon. Giants would also be an okay choice, but they
aren’t that common or that difficult. Lizard men and Yuan-ti are quite rare.
Goblins and skeletal undead are easy anyway. Orcs, ogres, cadaverous undead and
spectral undead appear infrequently and aren’t too difficult anyway. Spiders are
rare and weak. Umber Hulks are dangerous but extremely rare. If a ranger loses
too much reputation then (s)he becomes a fallen ranger and doesn't have any of
the special abilities any more. Rangers require above average Str, Dex, Con and
Wis. Charm animal is useless. They sound really good, but beyond level 3 are
vastly inferior to the other 2 tanker classes.
Paladin:
My favourite tanker. Levels up same speed as rangers. Can take two points in
W.P.. Gets "Lay on Hands" and "Cure Disease" both are very useful. "Protection
from Evil" is okay as is "Smite Evil", depending on your other characters
alignment, "Detect evil" is useless though. The only class that can use "Pale
Justice", easily the best weapon in the game. Like rangers, can lose ablities
by having a bad reputation. Requires average Con, above average Str and Wis,
high Cha. Makes a brilliant front-line tanker/diplomat.
Cleric:
The healer class. Powerful healing and defensive spells. Weapons limited to
slings, clubs, flails, hammers, maces, quarter staves. Requires average Wis.
Vital throughout. Should not be multi-class as otherwise they don’t get heal for
too long. Best when dual-classed from fighter or ranger.
Druid:
Can heal, adds quest options, gets many good attack and summoning spells at mid
and high levels. Only a few defensive spells but those ones are amazing. Weapons
restricted to missile weapons, clubs, daggers, spears, quarter staves and
scimitars. Require above average Wis and high Cha. One druid from 3+ levels of
fighter class can be at the same time a support tanker, support healer, support
bombardier and diplomat. Very useful, variable and great fun. Easily my
favourite class.
Thief:
Decent archer, and thief skills are extremely important, but is best in
multi-class, otherwise can’t do anything good in combat. Multi-class with
fighter for Str and HP. Weapons restricted to bows, missile weapons, clubs,
daggers, quarter staves, large swords and small swords. Requires average Dex. Do
not take pure. They gain levels extremely fast so can be multi-classed with
little problem.
Arcane castors (1.2.1)
Mage:
Great bombardier, extremely low HP. Can’t wear armour. Weapons restricted to
Missile weapons, daggers and quarter staves. Requires average Int. Are great
when dualled from fighter. Also no weapon restrictions when part fighter.
Bard:
Useless. Gets pick-pockets and a few mage spells. Can put 1 W.P. in all
weapons.  Bards are useless in IWD from the moment you leave Easthaven. If you
want the features take a thief with high intelligence. Invest all skills in pick
pockets then dual to mage at around level 5. You get more spells, similar
pick-pockets skill and slightly more HP. Requires above average Dex and Int, and
high Cha. The bonus to Lore is cancelled out if you have Wis below 10 anyway.
Specialists:
All specialists are the same as normal mages except they get one extra spell and
can’t cast spells from the opposition school. Well worth it for some mage types.
Require different A.S. as well as mages average Int. Makes a brilliant second
bombardier.
Mage Type       Opposition Schools      A.S. needs      Comments
Abjurer         Transmutation           High Wis        Miss out on a few buffer
spells. Not bad though.
Conjurer        Divination              High Con        Only one good spell is
in divination: "Identify", best choice by far.
Diviner         Conjuration             High Wis        Can’t summon. Rubbish.
Enchanter       Invocation              High Cha        Can’t cast any of the
powerful single target or area-effect spells. Defeats the point.
Illusionist     Necromancy              High Dex        Lose a few powerful
summon spells and attack spells. As those spells are all level 5+ can still be
worth it.
Invoker         Enchantment, ConjurationHigh Con        I don’t like many
enchantment spells but the good ones are amazing. Can’t summon anyway. Not worth
it.
Necromancer     Illusion                High Wis        Miss a few defensive
spells and some summoning, nothing else though. Not bad, but invisibility spells
are vital if dualled from a thief. The shadow summons are quite good at high
levels.
Transmuter      Abjuration, Necromancy  High Dex        Miss most defensive
spells and the better higher level spells. Illusionist misses out on less and
has same A.S. requirements. Don’t bother.
Best arcane castors to worst:
Mage (moves to just below necromancer and above bard if you have any other)
Conjurer
Abjurer
Illusionist
Necromancer
Bard
Transmuter
Diviner
Invoker
Enchanter
Bards get very few spells each level, and all the ones below miss out on too
many good spells to be worthwhile.
Comments regarding A.S. needs:
Dex affects S.T. and AC so is vital anyway.
Con needs to be high with mage hit points. Also affects saves.
Wis affects S.T. so is worth taking some anyway.
Cha has no use if you have a natural diplomat, e.g. paladin.
Ability Scores (1.3)
Ability scores affect a characters abilities in each area. If you get a good
roll but want to see if you can get better then you can store the roll and
reroll as much as you like. The chance of getting a perfect character is almost
impossible, but depending on patience you can roll up to around 20 times and
probably end up with a character that’s better than most as long as you increase
and decrease the allocation well.
Strength:
High strength is vital for any melee based character, any character that wears
any armour heavier than studded leather. An archer should also have a strength
of at least 15 so (s)he can use most bows. No character should have a strength
below 12 or otherwise (s)he might not be able to carry their own equipment.
Tanker type classes can take a strength of 18/x. x ranges from 01 to 100 and the
higher the better. 100 appears as 18/00 and you will only get it on a very lucky
strength roll. 18/76+ is impressive for any character except the main tanker(s).
18/91+ is what you want your main tanker(s) to have.
Dexterity:
Dexterity affects your S.T., AC, thieving skills, ability with ranged weapons
and how likely your character is to be surprised. This is vital for an archer,
thief, mages and the main tanker so (s)he can save against your own area-effect
spells. If your druid is operating as a second tanker then you can sacrifice
dexterity on that character to ensure high Str, if and only if you give him/her
amazing armour. The difference between 7 and 14 is so negligible that you’d do
better using those 7 valuable A.S. points somewhere else. Below 7 is horribly
bad though, and 15+ is what you want ideally.
Constitution:
Constitution affects HP and S.T. so is vital for everyone. Anyone with a
constitution of 14- is playing a risky game unless the character is a full time
tanker class, and then they will probably get hit so much that you find you want
a high constitution anyway. Only tankers benefit from having a Con score of
above 16, so don't increase above that for other characters. The increase in HP
is per level, so constitution is slightly better than Dex overall. Also, if you
concentrate on not getting hit then do get hit and you have little HP, then
you’re much worse off than if you get hit more, but they matter less, because
you can heal.
Intelligence:
Intelligence affects arcane spellcasting ability, the chance of learning a spell
from a scroll and the Lore of the character. Also provides extra speaking
options for characters with high charisma in conversation. Any arcane
spellcaster needs 18, have one diplomat with 15+, everyone else doesn’t need
any.
Wisdom:
Wisdom affects the DC of divine spells, S.T. and Lore skill. Vital for clerics
and druids, also useful for characters that use the Lore skill. S.T. are
important for any characters and as these are against enchantment spells such as
"Charm" and "Hold Person", so low wisdom is extremely dangerous for tankers.
Charisma:
Charisma is important for your diplomats and to satisfy a class skill. You need
one diplomat with 18 charisma, anything else is just a bonus. Otherwise useless.
Alignment (1.4)
Alignment plays little significance in IWD, some classes have alignment
restrictions, some weapons only work for some alignments, and that’s it.
Generally chaotic neutral covers the most items. Lawful has the most
restrictions, then good. Here’s the class alignment rules:
Fighter         Can be any alignment            If have paladin/ranger in your
party be chaotic neutral, otherwise be chaotic good.
Ranger          Must be good                    Preferably chaotic.
Paladin         Must be lawful good
Cleric          Can be any alignment            Good clerics get best items.
Neutral also fine. Don’t be evil.
Druid           Must be true neutral
Thief           Cannot be lawful good           Don’t be good or lawful, after
all you’re a thief.
Mage            Can be any alignment            Evil fighter-mages, dual or
multi, get 2 amazing items. Good or lawful mages suffer even more than other
classes for their decency.
Bard            Must be part neutral            Chaotic neutral is best, then
neutral evil.
Multi-class and dual-class combinations (1.5)
Some classes work together, others don’t. Bear in mind with multi-class
characters, it takes twice the experience to get the class up a level. And with
dual-class characters, that when you dual-class your character effectively goes
back to level 1 with higher HP, so is weak for the area until you hit around the
same level as your original class. The later you dual-class your characters, the
more powerful they will eventually be, but will be missing out on abilities for
a longer period, the high hit dice and HP will ensure that the character does
not get killed and the XP in the area should pull the level of the new class up
reasonably quickly, but if you need both activated always then you will need to
train the character a lot.
Dual-classing (1.5.1)
This is a brilliant reason to use the human race. In most of my parties of six,
4 or 5 are dual-classed. However when dual-classing you must have an alignment
that is supported by your new class, you’re A.S. must be 15 in 1st class’ main
A.S., e.g. Str for fighter, and 17 in your new classes prime A.S.. Specialist
mages require both high Int and other class A.S. to dual to that type. Suggested
dual-times for classes(from):
Fighter:
Can duel to cleric, druid, thief, mage or specialist mage. Creates a version of
the 2nd class with more HP and melee ability.
Level 2:        Unless you intend to be a support tanker or are desperate for
HP, dual-classing early is advisable. Once you hit level 3 in you new class you
gain all the item and W.P. bonuses that the multi-class gets, and the fighter
bonuses, at much lower XP cost. Brilliant for arcane castors.
Level 3:        At level 3 you can place a third point in a W.P. slot for a
weapon. Get a lot more HP than a pure class and all the same benefits as level 2
dual. All for 4000XP. Great for arcane castors and clerics.
Level 6:        A 4th level in a W.P., 60 class HP. Costs 32000XP. Should hit
this during the later parts of Chapter 2. The best option for divine castors
that are also playing support tanker roles. Best balance for any character that
uses melee combat.
Level 9:        Fifth point of W.P. in your chosen weapon, and all the class HP
you can get. Takes 250000Xp. Early Chapter 4 if with 3 or 4 characters; late
Chapter 4 with 5 characters; early Chapter 5 with 6 characters. This creates an
extremely powerful character, but will require training up heavily the moment
you dual-class. Probably playing through with those one or two characters till
you get Conlan’s Hammer (assuming you don’t pick the lock) would get you to a
high enough level to continue with your main game. Rarely worth it.
Ranger:
Can only duel to cleric. Better option than fighter if dualling at level 2 or 3.
Waiting for the druid spells isn’t worth the bother, W.P. are much better.
Level 2:        Get a few better weapons, two slots in 2 W.P., racial enemy, and
Str in format 18/x. Some more HP. Can use shields and helmets denied to pure
clerics.
Level 3:        Level 2 bonuses and you get one more W.P.. and more HP.
Paladin:
Can’t dual-class.
Cleric:
Can only duel to fighter class, cleric -> fighter is much weaker at fighter
qualities than fighter -> cleric. Don’t bother.
Druid:
Same as cleric.
Thief:
Thieves can dual-class to a fighter or mage, (inc. Specialist). Thief -> fighter
is much worse than fighter -> thief or fighter --- thief. Thief -> Mage is a
very useful alternative to the bard, gets more spells, selects thieving
abilities, has more HP, can get level 7+ spells. As there are several good mage
daggers throughout the game you can use backstabbing ability to good effect,
(cast improved invisibility, then can cast spells and backstab brilliantly).
Thieves can also find and disable traps under normal invisibility without
revealing themselves. Brilliant at high levels but lacking in melee combat. Good
at ranged combat.
Level 5:        Can have one thief skill at extremely good effectiveness.
Level 10:       Gets a good range of thief skills.
Mage:
I’ve never tried to dual-class from a mage or specialist mage. As my mages are
all dualled from fighters or thieves they can’t anyway, and it defeats the
point: mages need a high level to use all the spells so you’d never get the
abilities back or have a weak and pointless mage. Don’t bother.
Bard:
Can’t dual-class
Multi-Classing (1.5.2)
Multi-class characters are better in the prologue and chapter 1, but vastly
inferior in most cases to dual beyond there. In my first game, most of my
starting characters were multi-class. After finding that the single or
dual-class characters were getting up levels over twice as fast I got rid of all
of them. I then found that in some cases a multi-class is better or as good,
basically any character that’s part thief. Fighter --- clerics or fighter ---
druids are much weaker than a fighter 3-> priest or fighter 6-> priest. Fighter
--- mages couldn’t specialise and took ages to get high level spells. The triple
classes, fighter --- thief --- mage, or fighter --- mage --- cleric take far too
long to get HP and spells and can only equip 1 weapon, they are only worth
taking if you don’t mind repeating the first chapter several times to get this
character some XP. My cleric --- ranger was okay but a ranger 3-> cleric is much
stronger, as you still get the 18/x Str, racial enemy and equipment. A thief ---
mage is okay but again the dual-class is superior. However a fighter --- thief
is extremely good, and if elven with the appropriate A.S. then this character
can be an amazing archer, can de-trap effectively, and is reasonable in melee.
This is the only case where the multi is better than dual though.
Weapon Proficiencies and Items (1.6)
One important issue is what items you intend to use. A character cannot cast
arcane spells when wearing any armour except elven armour. Thieves cannot use
their special abilities when wearing any armour heavier than studded leather.
If your character is going to wear heavy armour then (s)he needs at least 18
Str. Most armour, helmets, shields, weapons and items also have class
restrictions. These can be overcome by the ever useful dual-classing, and most
by multi-classing. The multi-class combinations mentioned here also refer to the
dual-class, when both are active. For classes with alignment restrictions I have
not mentioned how that affects armour availability, though have taken it into
consideration for weapon choice. I have placed the weapon choice in order, going
from best weapon to above average, any weapon which the class is not suited to
is unmentioned.
Armour (1.6.1)
Fighter        All
Ranger         All
Paladin        All
Cleric         Many helmets, shields and heavy armour.
Druid          Limited helmets, shields and heavy armour.
Thief          Light armour and some heavier. Most shields. Some helmets and
medium armour.
Mage           Heavily limited on everything. Use cloaks and robes.
Bard           Heavy and medium armour and helmets are greatly limited.
Fighter --- Thief   Almost everything.
Fighter --- Mage    Can use almost everything, make sure you can still cast
spells wearing your equipment.
Weapons and shield (1.6.2)
Shield?
Fighter       Great sword, axe, halberd, hammer, spear.           No
Ranger        Great sword, axe, flail, halberd, hammer, spear.    No
Paladin       Large sword, great sword, axe, crossbow.            Yes
Cleric        Mace, hammer, club, sling, flail, quarter staff.    Yes
Druid         Spear, scimitar, quarter staff, club.               Maybe
Thief         Small sword, dagger, sling, long sword.             Yes
Mage          Dagger, sling, long sword.                          Yes
Bard          Use any 1-H weapons that your others aren’t.        Yes
Fighter --- Thief   Bow, small sword