my first reaction is why is this party / guide any better then those that have gone before, both upp and jupp had a focus / plan on how that party is supposed to play.
while currently this is a collection of some very nice builds it lacks the base tactics or roles that each member is supposed to play.
to expand on that there are a lot of very quick rules and not so much explination on why certiain choices were made.
(example)
wizards are capped by you at level 20, yet sorc's should go to at least lv 25. you may well have a very good reason for this, but it's not explained.
2nd major gripe - don't go down the summons vs hof path. it's dull.
q: how does this influence the game?
a: in several ways:
- your PC can't stand melee without an ultimate AC or buffs like MI!
- if you don't have the one or the other you need to rely on summons - but due to the casting time this won't work in every battle!
- damage based spells are quite useless
- turning undead won't work anymore (fort-save )
- also all fort-save based spells won't work anymore!
- builds without caster-levels are completly useless in HOF
some valid points, primarily the difficulty of using fort saves, left out are spells that effect opponents w/ lower hit points or a number of hit dice. (some of the power words most notably)
also omitted is the increased usefulness of charm / hold.
and some points that are misguided at best, in paticular the last. non casters can do fine in hof even as hof complicates things. melee types should be prepared to transition to missle damage but they can still be effective even on the front lines - if properly supported by your casters.
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now the quick hits:
interesting trick #1 -> sneak attack works w/ mord's sword, while that's not
gamebreaking it can lead to dealing a lot of extra damage even if it's only 2d6. (also makes rogues appealing mix ins w/ sorcs given other benefits - in class talking skills, evasion ect)
trick #2 -> main cleric can also be drow female, won't get hit w/ multiclass penalty even if you add monk and pally levels early.
trick #3 -> rather than load up a caster w/ all or many of the elemental feats you'll be better served taking one or two then picking up additional spell schools - charm and transmutation in paticular. (or just stick to spirit of flame)
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longer hit -
transmutation is your firend, iirc there are some class specific quests for transmuters in the underdark, not a big deal if you don't have one, but if you are looking for a specialist wizard they are a very nice choice.
further, while trans doesn't have many spells it's got two that are more than worth it - slow and disintigrate. slow can mean that your enemies only deal 1/2 damage, when combined w/ mass haste your enemies move at 1/4th your ground speed, and are easier to hit. and slow is tough to save against as it's a wil save and -2.
disintigrate preceeds fod by 2 levels, and can target undead, and it looks way sweet. bg2 players should note that disintigrate is now the neutron bomb - items are not harmned by this spell. plus in situations like battle squares or large scale combats having both fod and disintigrate may be required.
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enchantment - having the ability to either hold or control the enemy is almost gamebreaking in hof, further even in hof will saves are not usually as high as fort. (should be common sense, enemy mages should be disintigrated / fod'd or wotb'd - enemy ftrs can be charmed, dominated, held.)
nothing will turn the tide in battle like having the enemy shock troops suddenly changing sides.
anyway, enough for now...