Let's play Icewind Dale

I'm bored and I need something to distract me from writing my 4th edition campaign, so what is there better than a good old fashioned mindless dungeon crawl using 2nd edition rules? Well, probably a lot of things actually, but who cares.

Seeing as I'm playing through this again, for your edification I'll post my antics on the board so you can follow along in all the joys of being killed horribly by monsters in dark dungeons. Or something.

The rules will be fairly simple:

1) This is iron man. Real adventurers can't reload when some horrible monster sucks their brains out. The only saving will be as a contingency (such as if I need to go somewhere, game crashes etc) and only at the beginning of an area. If everyone gets wiped, then I will just have to cry about it over my adventuring parties cold dead corpses.

2) If someone dies, IE they are gibbed (probably the worst thing that can happen), then it's time to make a new level 1 character. Even if it's at the end of the game: time to suck it up (see point 1).

3) Be as rude and evil as possible. Kick puppies, murder peoples chickens and just be general assholes. There may not be much in the way of CnC here, but at least I can be as big a jerk as possible and they will just have to like it.

Screenshots of character creation and such in a few hours once I finish working on what I'm doing. I'm undecided what I'll roll with, but being IM I'll probably take a tank heavy party with two mages as artillery.

Sounds good so far. I'll be looking for it.

PS: I wouldn't describe Icewind Dale as mindless though.

You haven't seen me play it.

MUAHAHAHAHAHA

[etc].

Ok, like that...

Alright, let's see where this goes. It should be interesting. Btw, no clerics in the party? This might be a short Let's Play.

fastpunk said:

Alright, let's see where this goes. It should be interesting. Btw, no clerics in the party? This might be a short Let's Play.

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Actually, two Clerics. Both start as fighters and dual class to Cleric. Or possibly one starting as Cleric. I haven't decided yet.

Currently looking at:

Fighter (Dual Classed) -> Cleric. Party leader.
Cleric (Single class)
Fighter (Single class, hits stuff hurr)
Fighter/Thief (because a straight thief, aside from traps isn't great)
Mage (Conjurer)

And if I take a sixth another Mage/Thief (specializing entirely in picking pockets). But again, won't have the game handy for another couple of hours so my mood can change.

Just so you know, if it's not as entertaining as this, it fails.

Truth said:

Just so you know, if it's not as entertaining as this, it fails.

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I like how he managed to get all the cats to attack him. I haven't played much of IWD2, but I do intend to carry through to HoW in this if it proves interesting enough. Courier with the game arrives in an hour, it's been a while since the good days of IWD <3

Edit: God, I hate 2nd edition rules so much. I completely forgot something that means I have to restart the whole thing, DOH (Dual classing requires a minimum of 15 in the primary stat for the first class, DOH).

Edward Murrow did a great LP, where he created a party of ninja half elves, and had them use haste all over the enemies.

Part 1: Character Creation and the unkillable Daemon Squirrel from hell



The highly invigorating main menu!



Character generation at its finest.

It's been a long time since I've played 2nd edition AD&D, but I do remember a few things:

1) Elves > *
2) Dual classing is really good if you can bothered with it
3) Every party needs a Dwarf fighter
4) Bows are Gods in IE games

I've been playing 3rd and now 4th edition so long, it's hard to remember things like bonuses only occurring at highish stats (15+) and such forth.

So onto characters!



The Druid of the group seems the appropriate choice in leader for several reasons: They already need a high charisma to do their thing anyway, they fit into the "jerks" profile by default (damn tree huggers) and the neutral alignment will help out the parties reputation (most characters in my party are evil).

I mostly want the Druid for entangle (see later on) and because they get some decent equipment. Making her a fighter as well is just icing on the cake really.



This is the obligatory Dwarf fighter lackey that everyone knows and loves. The high wisdom is for better saving throws against charm effects, which are just a general pain in the ass.

He's the guy we throw into places when we aren't sure if we want to send someone more valuable.



The party medic (yay), who is mostly going to be casting heal and adding a bit of support now and again. Drycha is the one who interferes with peoples shit in general, so I need someone to do the dedicated healing thing. The alignment is out of whack because heal and resurrection cannot be accessed if you're evil in IWD with HoW.



The fighter/thief, who is mostly there to disarm traps actually and not a lot else. Thieves in IWD are kinda bad by themselves, throw fighter on them though and they can be more than handy in a fight. When required, he can beat the shit out of people with big sword, little swords or shoot them to death with a bow. An all round useful fellow.



Finally, obligatory saucy mage. She casts spells.

Yeah.

There just isn't a lot to say here (Pewpewpew) except I remember how terrible 2nd edition wizards are at low levels. Man, wizards in 3rd edition were made to be much better off. She casts a single spell per day for now, but boy does she make it count (and how).



The assembled troop:

Drycha the fighter/druid.
Dendover the obligatory lackey, drunk, dwarf and fighter.
Ivanna the obligatory cleric and general do-gooder scum, AKA: Packmule.
Grafton the fighter thief who couldn't hide in a dark broom closet.
Shastri the one spell wonder.

Together they venture into the world that is



The prologue. An invigorating exploration of a small town, some caves and their first and most deadly opponent.

The game begins being harassed by Hrothgar or something or another (it's hard to spell off the top of my head). Despite insulting him, he decides to

A) Give me a tour of everything in the town

B) Asks me to come to his house.

Either he wants to put his sword in Drycha or put his sword in her. Drycha isn't sure what, but is sufficiently intrigued to go and get a drink.



To find the tavern doesn't have anything because their innkeeper is scared of beetles.

Loser.



After insulting the fat tavern owner, Drycha decides this task is well beneath the party and the task for killing the beetles falls to the Dwarf, because nobody likes the drunken sod anyway.

So we send in the Dwarf.





These beetles look huge and intimidating, but are no match for wooden sticks swung by drunks.



The beetles are unceremoniously dispatched and I pick up a crappy reward of 5 gold, that I intend to spend somewhere else: not this poop hole. We decide that, if we're going to be proper adventurer types, waving around sticks might not be the best idea.

Time to pimp my characters.



First, we observe some childs harassing a squirrel. This will be the perfect thing to test out our new weapons on.

We'll come back to him later.

The shopkeep proves to be some pompous git and we insult him copiously, before buying things from him because it's not like we have anything better to do. TAKE THAT CHOICES.



We then litter his store with our discarded quarterstaffs to spite him and leave.



Check us out now, ohhh yeah.

Now, where is that Squirrel? Time to do the most basic thing of being evil: traumatizing small children.



This should be fun.

We charge the squirrel, weapons waving and screaming for bloodlust. The children and townspeople scatter in all directions, but the squirrel is oddly undisturbed!



What the flying...!!!!

Despite our best efforts, the squirrel prevails in the resulting combat, shrugging off mighty blows that would have felled one of our party members with ease. Fearing the worst, there is only one solution:



RUN THE FUCK AWAY

Our first act of evil along our adventure fails miserably, with group morale at an all time low and our pride in tatters. How we are to rise above this humiliating defeat at the hands of the super squirrel is something we may never know. Despite numerous attempts to coax it away, the squirrel holds its original ground and continues to taunt us each time we move past the area. Perhaps it is plotting some terrible revenge upon us, but all I know is that if I cannot defeat a squirrel am I really worthy of becoming an adventurer?

Am I really?

the first IWD was the one with the CG drow ranger whoes name is a pain in the ass to spell right?


Kill him when you can reasonably expect to win, please.

deuxhero said:

the first IWD was the one with the CG drow ranger whoes name is a pain in the ass to spell right?

Kill him when you can reasonably expect to win, please.

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I have plans for this place, I have plans.

And I think he turned up in Baldurs Gate and Baldurs Gate 2. I'll certainly kill him on sight if I find him in IWD (But I don't think he is in this one).

There's something oddly suspicious about people who use female characters as their main.

Lyric Suite said:

There's something oddly suspicious about people who use female characters as their main.

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The only name I could think of was "Drycha" and it's a branch wraith (aka angry Dryad) from Warhammer. So it stuck.

Lyric Suite said:

There's something oddly suspicious about people who use female characters as their main.

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I seriously think that as well...

I'm not a misogynist btw

Is that squirrel a bug? Is that supposed to happen?

I can't quite remember that.

I started replaying Icewind Dale 2 recently. Why? Because I had the idea of playing like this:

- 6 karrate fightingt midgits. One dwarf, 2 gnomes and 3 hobbits, all monks.
- I pump them up with the Gatekeeper editor so that they'll keep all the ass there is to kick in the game.

It's hilarious trying to visualize how the battles would go on in a movie scene. Six little midgits going kung fu on a polar bear and roudhouse kicking every orc in the Horde Fortress.

Son of a bitch. I got to Arundell (I'm a bit further ahead now) and I cannot progress any further, it constantly crashes the second I talk to him.

Fuck this shit.

Edit: Yeah, there is no way past and unfortunately, the son of a bitch is required to advance the game. Unless someone has a solution, this is the end of this

You have the latest patch 2.01?

Jaesun said:

You have the latest patch 2.01?

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I'm playing Heart of Winter, which is 1.41, not Icewind Dale 2.

In BG, there was a cheat that let you teleport your party around. Doesn't something like that exist in IWD?

Would it even help in this case?

Aegeri said:

Jaesun said:

You have the latest patch 2.01?

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I'm playing Heart of Winter, which is 1.41, not Icewind Dale 2.

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Hvae you tried downloading and installing the free expansion:

Trials of the Luremaster?

That may fix this error; again it may not.

You're not playing wtih any mods? Just the expansion: Heart of Winter?

I installed to a different directory, as is often common with these sorts of games, it truly hates that concept and that's why it was crashing. It has unfortunately corrupted the saves that I had meaning I will have to restart.

So, we have a new beginning and a new start, with an especially frustrated Aegeri now.

There will be blood.

So here is what I propose, if you wish to nominate yourself for a share of the punishment as a character say so, your class and such forth. There are five slots for this (I don't use six for some reason I can't remember):

1) Leader. Must have high charisma, good intelligence. Could be a mage (you can adjust formation later).

2) Prime meatsack (needs to take a beating)

3) Team medic.

4) Fighter/Thief (unfortunately, thieves are really crap by themselves in IWD)

5) Magic user

6) ?????

Let me know the various choices and I'll begin anew, this time with the mind to reap my horrible revenge on the game.

Horrible revenge.

All I ask is that the dwarven meatshield is named "Grabcrotch Shinkicker".

What about a second mage? Maybe a specialist that dabbles in invocation or one of the other spell schools ? I remember from my many playthroughs of this game that 2 mages came in handy - especially somewhere around the middle of the game. Or you could make a mage/thief ? Two tanks (or meatsacks as you call them) are also very nice, I find.

Are you playing on Vista or XPSP2? Anyway, I'm glad you got your problems sorted out.