| I've finished IWD1 a number of times, and I'll mention some things that may help.
As some have mentioned, Grease is a useful spell early. I took out the Auril Priestess and her Yetis with it. For the Snake Queen battle, I usually cast Web and throw a Fireball and potion to soften up the attack group. One spell I've not seen a mention of is Chromatic Orb. At the higher levels, it's very effective and can kill targets immediately. I tend to keep the oil flasks for the Severed Hand since you often get attacked by groups there. Another cheesy tactic is to take the max AC character(usually my Halfling Fighter/Thief) to "tank" against some heavy hitters and let the rest of my party nail the attackers with missile weapons. You can lure monsters into archery ambushes with a character using the Boots of Speed. Summoning also has a handful of uses, mostly in Lower Dorn's(the Idol and Ilmadia are perfect for summons). I believe anybody starting this game with a new party should include a Bard. The Lore(no need for ID spells) and spellcasting ability make them fairly useful.  |