Icewind Dale The Icewind Dale Series Thread

[kryminator]

I don't think that version from GOG has classic IWD. Or maybe I just cant find it. Anyway, is that EE really bad?

Any other tips for IWD beginner?

Drop the half-orc. Starting with 19 in Strength breaks the game.

Breaks like it's unplayable or it's supereasy? Or it's a spoiler? Anyway, I can still start with half-orc an 18 str. Btw. what is that second number when You have 18 str?

I really liked that party composition although I had mage conjurer instead of bard at first but switched to bard due to lore as I wanted to be able to identify items immediately without going to shop to get scroll.

 

[NJClaw]

I don't think that version from GOG has classic IWD. Or maybe I just cant find it. Anyway, is that EE really bad?

No, the game still is amazing and incredibly beautiful.

Breaks like it's unplayable or it's supereasy? Or it's a spoiler? Anyway, I can still start with half-orc an 18 str. Btw. what is that second number when You have 18 str?

For certain characters, the Strength score follows different rules: when you have an 18, you also get a second score between 1 (01) and 100 (00). The higher the second number, the higher your bonus to hit rolls and damage: you can check the link I gave you before to see for yourself. For example, with Strength 18/01 you get +1 to hit and +3 to damage, while with Strength 18/00 you get +3 to hit and +6 to damage. Having a score higher than 18/50 is a big deal, and a 18/00 means that you will be able to mindlessly cut through enemies without any real effort. This is also the reason why a 19 breaks the game: you automatically get a score higher than 18/00, which on its own should be achievable once in a lifetime.

Basically, with Strength 19 the game won't offer much of a challenge, and it could become boring.

I really liked that party composition although I had mage conjurer instead of bard at first but switched to bard due to lore as I wanted to be able to identify items immediately without going to shop to get scroll.

You can learn identify with your mage from a scroll.

 

[kryminator]

Ok, thanks. In that case I am going to choose half-elf mage conjurer instead of bard and will stay with the half-orc but set his str to 18. Thanks very much to all of You for some clarification and advices.

 

[octavius]

I don't think that version from GOG has classic IWD. Or maybe I just cant find it.

I don't know about IWD EE personally, but with the BG1 EE there is an extra download version for the classic version.

Anyway, is that EE really bad?

I don't know, but I have little faith in Beamdog. The one thing the BG1 EE enhanced was making it easier to switching between 1H&shield and 2H weapons.

 

[Jvegi]

There is also an issue of higher difficulty levels giving you a bonus to exp, which is dumb. I think it was an EE thing.

There is a way of getting around this. I know there is because I've done it. But I don't remember how.

 

[Average Manatee]

Breaks like it's unplayable or it's supereasy? Or it's a spoiler? Anyway, I can still start with half-orc an 18 str. Btw. what is that second number when You have 18 str?

For certain characters, the Strength score follows different rules: when you have an 18, you also get a second score between 1 (01) and 100 (00). The higher the second number, the higher your bonus to hit rolls and damage: you can check the link I gave you before to see for yourself. For example, with Strength 18/01 you get +1 to hit and +3 to damage, while with Strength 18/00 you get +3 to hit and +6 to damage. Having a score higher than 18/50 is a big deal, and a 18/00 means that you will be able to mindlessly cut through enemies without any real effort. This is also the reason why a 19 breaks the game: you automatically get a score higher than 18/00, which on its own should be achievable once in a lifetime.

Basically, with Strength 19 the game won't offer much of a challenge, and it could become boring.

You're kind of exaggerating things I think. There's lots of ways to get +strength bonuses. A basic Half Orc Fighter is downright balanced compared to a fighter/cleric using just Draw on Holy Might to get 20+ in str/dex/con. This goes double if that character is a dwarf who gets both +con and absurdly better saving throws due to OP shorty bonuses.

The special EE classes are generally much more OP. Single class Berserker isn't too bad (OP at early levels with that HP), but Archer is just nuts compared to default ranger.

 

[NJClaw]

Breaks like it's unplayable or it's supereasy? Or it's a spoiler? Anyway, I can still start with half-orc an 18 str. Btw. what is that second number when You have 18 str?

For certain characters, the Strength score follows different rules: when you have an 18, you also get a second score between 1 (01) and 100 (00). The higher the second number, the higher your bonus to hit rolls and damage: you can check the link I gave you before to see for yourself. For example, with Strength 18/01 you get +1 to hit and +3 to damage, while with Strength 18/00 you get +3 to hit and +6 to damage. Having a score higher than 18/50 is a big deal, and a 18/00 means that you will be able to mindlessly cut through enemies without any real effort. This is also the reason why a 19 breaks the game: you automatically get a score higher than 18/00, which on its own should be achievable once in a lifetime.

Basically, with Strength 19 the game won't offer much of a challenge, and it could become boring.

You're kind of exaggerating things I think. There's lots of ways to get +strength bonuses. A basic Half Orc Fighter is downright balanced compared to a fighter/cleric using just Draw on Holy Might to get 20+ in str/dex/con. This goes double if that character is a dwarf who gets both +con and absurdly better saving throws due to OP shorty bonuses.

The special EE classes are generally much more OP. Single class Berserker isn't too bad (OP at early levels with that HP), but Archer is just nuts compared to default ranger.

Doesn't Draw Upon Holy Might only last one turn? I'm probably biased against the half-orc, but the two playthroughs where I had two half-orc fighters ended up being the least fun I have ever had with IWD. With that permanent 19, you can left-click through half the game without worrying about wasting resources, because your fighter already has everything he needs to overcome every challenge.

 

[Average Manatee]

It is one turn, but that's enough to last for the majority of battles. It's also a casting time of 2, so very easy to re-up in battle and won't slow down your attacks by more than 1.

And while, yes, you might not use DUHM in all battles, having 2 or 3 clerics in a party lets you reasonably layer on way, way more of the long-term buffs than a single cleric. Stuff like having Free Action for every melee character is pretty good.

 

[meanwhileInPoland]

Any ideas for a fun 3-4 characters party ? It is time for my yearly winter run of IWD i still have not decided but i will play either vanilla IWD(1.06. no HoW, ToL) or latest EE to try some retarded combinations of new kits. I think i finished IWD only twice but got to Dragons Eye at least 20 times Last year with F/M/T i got bored around Severed Hand so no solo runs.

 

[d1r]

4 man Halfling party with Baldur's Gate characters.

Mazzy Fentan as Paladin / Fighter
Montaron as Thief / Assassin
Quayle as Mage / Cleric
Tiax as Cleric

 

[octavius]

Any ideas for a fun 3-4 characters party ? It is time for my yearly winter run of IWD i still have not decided but i will play either vanilla IWD(1.06. no HoW, ToL) or latest EE to try some retarded combinations of new kits. I think i finished IWD only twice but got to Dragons Eye at least 20 times Last year with F/M/T i got bored around Severed Hand so no solo runs.

I had fun with a power trio based on Sword&Sorcery legends Fafhrd, Gray Mouser and Cappen Varra.

 

[kryminator]

I am not in the middle (?) of Vale of Shadows and have a couple of questions after playing the game (Enhanced Edition):
1. I noticed that my mage is Conjurer instead of planned Invoker (I didn't even realize that until now and 'now' is like 7k exp per character), so it seems that I will miss most of damaging spells as this is the opposing school to Invocation/Evocation. Is it bad? So far my mage seems to be completely redundant shit and I hoped it will change soon as I will be able to buy magic missile scroll, but now I am not sure and I seriously consider starting it all over again.
Ok, I read some guide here and it seems it's not that bad, I will miss some spells but it seems that they aren't that good either and Conjuration magic also have some useful spells.
Anyway, what spells of lvl 1-3 do You recommend for Conjurer?
2. Are gems useful for anything? I have bag full of gems and so far didn't find use of them so maybe I should sell them all (they are gems so I hope they are worth a lot)?
3. Is there any way to enlarge the window with messages as it contains only one line of text which is super-annoying as I cannot see what happened and it is hard to find anything.
4. Is there any way to highlight items laying on the ground, lootable containers etc?

 

[octavius]

2, 3, and 4: yes.
Sell the gems.
Click on the arrows or something in the corner of the message window.
Tab or Alt should work.

 

[NJClaw]

1. I noticed that my mage is Conjurer instead of planned Invoker (I didn't even realize that until now and 'now' is like 7k exp per character), so it seems that I will miss most of damaging spells as this is the opposing school to Invocation/Evocation. Is it bad? So far my mage seems to be completely redundant shit and I hoped it will change soon as I will be able to buy magic missile scroll, but now I am not sure and I seriously consider starting it all over again.
Ok, I read some guide here and it seems it's not that bad, I will miss some spells but it seems that they aren't that good either and Conjuration magic also have some useful spells.

I like having access to all school, but you can easily live without evocation. You miss out on a lot of spells (my favorite are Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb, Web, Fireball, and Stoneskin), but the other schools offer plenty of replacements.

2. Are gems useful for anything? I have bag full of gems and so far didn't find use of them so maybe I should sell them all (they are gems so I hope they are worth a lot)?

Gems are just placeholders for coins and serve no other purpose. Sell them without thinking about it twice.

3. Is there any way to enlarge the window with messages as it contains only one line of text which is super-annoying as I cannot see what happened and it is hard to find anything.

You should be able to click the top border of the box and drag it up.

4. Is there any way to highlight items laying on the ground, lootable containers etc?

Try TAB or ALT.

 

[kryminator]

Thanks, Tab worked (there is also normal interface button for it but didnt pay attention to it). I resized that window and now playing the game is far more comfortable.

One more question, I found Entangle scroll and it seems to be Cleric spell but my Cleric cannot learn/read it. It could be due to low level, but I have other spells like it and they are not marked red in inventory, so probably she really cannot learn it, and my question is why? There is nothing about such thing in kit description.

 

[NJClaw]

Thanks, Tab worked (there is also normal interface button for it but didnt pay attention to it). I resized that window and now playing the game is far more comfortable.

One more question, I found Entangle scroll and it seems to be Cleric spell but my Cleric cannot learn/read it. It could be due to low level, but I have other spells like it and they are not marked red in inventory, so probably she really cannot learn it, and my question is why? There is nothing about such thing in kit description.

Entangle is a priest spell, but it can only be used by druids and rangers. Also, priests don't learn spells through scrolls, they always know their entire list.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

Thanks, Tab worked (there is also normal interface button for it but didnt pay attention to it). I resized that window and now playing the game is far more comfortable.

One more question, I found Entangle scroll and it seems to be Cleric spell but my Cleric cannot learn/read it. It could be due to low level, but I have other spells like it and they are not marked red in inventory, so probably she really cannot learn it, and my question is why? There is nothing about such thing in kit description.

Entangle is a priest spell, but it can only be used by druids and rangers.

A Priest can cast the spell from the scroll, but he can never learn it.

 

[octavius]

Started playing Trials of the Luremus uh...Luremaster.

Playing the whole "trilogy" in increments, I think Heart of Winter was significantly weaker than the base game, while I used to think they were about on par when I played them back to back several times.

I never completed Trials, though.
One of the reasons may be that you can't return to Lonelywood after traveling by boat for the final part of HoW. You can export the winning characters and import them into a new game starting in Lonelywood, but that means the whole game is reset, you lose all containers, and you have to redo your characters' voices and appearance. Ugh, no thanks! So I ended up CLUA consoling the party back to Lonelywood, and the second time I exited the Inn some of the innkeeper's old colleagues appeared. So I would have missed one of best encounters in the game. I guess I didn't return to Lonelywood often enough when playing HoW.

EDIT: Incidentally I used Power Word: Silence on the enemy leader in that encounter, and yet he was able to start spell casting (I disrupted his casting). I hate it when things like that happen; you can rarely rely on "clever" spell, only on the reliable damage spells.

 

[octavius]

And no spells (Bard Song, Remove Fear, Emotion: Courage) work to counter the Harpy fear and give me control of affected character. Trials of the Luremaster is already pissing me severely off.

EDIT: Dispel Magic worked.
But now I need a way of curing Disease...

 

[octavius]

Turns out those Elixirs of Health also cure Diseases. I thought they only cured Poison and 10 HP.

And now I realize why I find HoW (and TotLM) weaker than the base game: with War Chant of the Sith (which was introduced with HoW) I can just brute force most encounters and preserve most spells and consumables, throwing most resource management and tactics out the window.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

Yeah, art and writing are both pretty good in HoW, but encounter design/variety are weaker than the base game.

 

[octavius]

Luremaster cheats shamelessly, by having some enemy spell casters getting off spells as uninterruptable abilites instead of having to cast them. Usually it's Dispel Magic, but since I don't buff the joke is on them.

 

[octavius]

Completed Trials of the Luremaster.

The hardest fight, needing most reloads, was the fight against the Infernal Harpies, when my trio was spread too thin, Fafhrd dealing with the regular harpies attacking from one direction, Gray Mouser dealing with the Infernal ones coming from the other, and Cappen Verra stuck with singing the bard tune that protects against their wailing.

The final fight was relatively easy and I did it on first try with no pre buffing (would have been Dispelled anyway). The Mouser was killed though.
Annoyingly Power Word Silence again worked, but yet had no practical effect.
I made a stand to the left hand side of the throne, keeping Cappen Verra out of harm's way. My warriors getting confused and berserked was the main disruptor of my combat plan.
The Three White Doves mace worked quite well against the Spectral enemies.

In the end Fafhrd the Ranger was lvl 25, Gray Mouser was Fighter 17/Thief 21, and Cappen Verra lvl 30 (max).
The two warriors had about 49% of the kills each.

Overall I thought it was better than Heart of Winter; both longer and with much better encounter design, and with a more consistent difficulty being quite challenging on the deeper levels. Lack of Arrows and Healing Potions started to become a problem.
Story wise I guess it's a poor man's Durlag's Tower.

 

[Don Peste]

Goddamn piece of garbage... Anybody knows how to make IWD:EE work in multiplayer?
My friend and I had to use Hamachi to be able to host a session, and now that we joined it just crashes when trying to start it.
Enhanced my ass.

 

[Chippy]

I'm playing the original version of IWD (which I haven't played in years) and while I always remember it as lacking music, is it normal for there to be no battle music in Dragon's Eye?.

I installed the Unfinished Buisness mod, and the fix pack. In that order. There's six battle tracks for the game, and so far I've just heard the ones in the Vale of Shadows...

Oh yeah: because I haven't played it in over 10 years, I had a memory that it wasn't the same, but wasn't prepared to commit...but stealth is also a bit boken in IWD1 as well. There's a pause when you use it. Sometimes it's instantaneous, while more often it's a round or more before your character enters stealth. Maybe it's quicker if you get over 100% (haven't got that far yet) but this is further proof that Sawyer nerfed stealth in these two games.