GameBanshee Forums

Advice Request Re: Party Composition

I've recently gotten through the entire BG Saga. I'm currently on the last third of Planescape Torment. Next up, finally... Icewind Dale (with both expansions).

I plan on using all 6 NPC slots, to be able to use as many of the different classes as possible (all human, and unfortunately no room for a Paladin or Bard):
TN Druid
NG Fighter
CG Ranger
LG Cleric
NG Invoker
TN Thief
I want to get the best out of each class, so each NPC slot is a dedicated class specialist. My thinking is that the best "thief" is a single-class Thief, and so on.

Most opinions regarding the "best" party composition seems to be 3 fighters, a priest, wizard, and thief. Or multi-/dual-classes. "Best" seems to mean "powergaming", and I'm not looking to powergame. At least, I don't feel I need to, having gotten thru BG and PST just fine in "vanilla" mode. For example, I want to see what combat-role-playing a single-class Druid is like, having to need to use all the abilities of a Druid to contribute, etc, instead of just having a Fighter/Druid that bashes like a fighter with a few healing spells (plus I had Jaheira the whole way in BG).

Hopefully this helps explain my train of thought in preparing to play IWD for the first time. Based on that, I'm interested in any opinions yous might have regarding the party composition listed above. Pros? Cons?

Thanks people in advance.

First I would say change your Invoker to a general mage, you will miss out on a lot of spells in-game. A single-class thief will quite quickly amass the neccesary skill in Pick Locks and Disarm Traps and quite soon you will end up having quite a weak character. A multi-class thief can be better in that regard.

My template is usually 1 fighter, thief, cleric mage and 2 more exotic characters (e.g. druid, paladin, bard) to fill the other slots. This is for non-power-gaming. I haven't tried any level squatting or other powergaming things.

So apart from the Invoker I would agree with your party.
If you wanted to, you could swap either the druid or cleric for another mage-type but bear in mind some of the best IWD spells are hard to acquire and only appear once.

Yes, swap out the Invoker for a true mage - the extra spell per level per day is not worth losing two spell schools (Enchantment/Charm and Conjuration/Summoning?) or even one (just Conj/Sum?).

I also wholeheartedly agree with switching the pure thief for a multiclass thief - a pure thief is the closest thing to a useless character because so much of IWD is linear fighting. Once you get past midgame, there aren't any unavoidable traps of note, and most locks can be broken open. A Fighter/Thief would make a wonderful scouting/sniping tandem with the Ranger, and a Mage/Thief would give you a fair bit more "punch". This is not powergaming by any stretch, as a pure class thief will max out its abilities very quickly, far surpassing the difficulty of the traps and locks it will encounter. A multiclass thief with max Dex should handle all "thieving" duties with ease, leaving you another class to mix in for a character that will perform MUCH better than a single class thief in a fight.

With these two tweaks, the party looks very strong.

Question: do you just have IWD, or do you have the expansion Heart of Winter (HoW) as well? If you don't have HoW, I would recommend getting it - it doubles the power of two of the more interesting classes, druids and bards, through increased spell selection and better shapeshifts and songs, respectively.

You will have fun with the single-classed druid. It is quite strong, especially with HoW - HoW adds at least a dozen fantastic offensive spells of all levels, and spells added by HoW are accessible all through the main game.

[QUOTE=Aerich]This is not powergaming by any stretch, as a pure class thief will max out its abilities very quickly, far surpassing the difficulty of the traps and locks it will encounter. A multiclass thief with max Dex should handle all "thieving" duties with ease, leaving you another class to mix in for a character that will perform MUCH better than a single class thief in a fight.
[/QUOTE]
Curious: With HoW and TotLM installed, how high does a thief need to make his Locks and Traps skills to be high enough to handle everything?

BTW, nice party CFM. I recommend a Gnome Illusionist/Thief in your thief slot and a bard in your mage slot. You will have all of your magic and thieving skills covered this way, and the multiclassed mage will have the advantage of being a specialist, which will offset his slower advancement.

[QUOTE=Ravager]...but bear in mind some of the best IWD spells are hard to acquire and only appear once.[/QUOTE]
I didn't realize! In BG, scrolls practically grow on trees. Good point!

[QUOTE=Aerich]Question: do you just have IWD, or do you have the expansion Heart of Winter (HoW) as well?[/QUOTE]
I have it all: HoW, as well as the free download Trials of the Luremaster. When I go to install IWD, I'll install them all at once, then everything (new spells and abilities, higher screen resolution, etc) will be available from the get-go, and the expansion areas will be accessible through the main game.
Right?

[QUOTE=Krunchyfrogg]Curious: With HoW and TotLM installed, how high does a thief need to make his Locks and Traps skills to be high enough to handle everything?[/QUOTE]
Very curious. That would certainly end the debate of the usefulness (uselessness?) of a single-class thief...

I have it all: HoW, as well as the free download Trials of the Luremaster. When I go to install IWD, I'll install them all at once, then everything (new spells and abilities, higher screen resolution, etc) will be available from the get-go, and the expansion areas will be accessible through the main game. Right?

Yes that should be the case. I think new items are available from the merchants in-game and new abilities apply after reaching the required level.

Very curious. That would certainly end the debate of the usefulness (uselessness?) of a single-class thief...

A single-class thief is pretty useless if played in Heart of Fury mode as all the skills are at 100% and a thief is weak in combat.

Well I suggeest you change to a true mage as other suggested. And well I guess you don't need a ranger when you have druid. Change him to a bard or something else.
I always played with only three characters: Cleric, Mage and a Thief. A base party, but they can get realy powerfull cause you'll get much more XP whene you have only few NPC's.
Good luck! Chosen

A multiclass thief is pretty good, though.

Question: If you play with the flanking rules, do you get bonus damage when not using thief weapons (like a f/t using an axe)?