Icewind Dale The Icewind Dale Series Thread

[Waterd]

If so would you recommend me to buy the enhanced edition?

 

[laclongquan]

Use one DeepGnome rogue/fighter. Using bow, because the ECL will kill your HP and backstab is suicide. (plus I dont like micromanaging backstaber). A great scout, because nobody going to see through her many bonus toward stealth. It drive down your average party level and bring many benefit with it. A great bowyer, and shooting like crazy~

Thanks to a scout like that I know IWD2 teleport reinforcement in cutscene, but they cant see me~

A full party can lead to situation where the XP gain from battle is too low. A DG will drive down your average party level 0.5 point. Couple with some other ECL race you experiment with and your APL will be down to -1 compared to your human characters, and therefore raise XP gain.

And no matter what your best caster should be human/ECL0. With DG in your party, sometimes that caster can be overleveled and not enough high level spells, but that is a great condition to be in instead of underlevel and full of shitty weak spells.

 

[Transfiguring Roar]

If so would you recommend me to buy the enhanced edition?

I recommend it. Beamdog just enhanced the engine and interface, included a few small changes to the game and that was pretty much it. I've got it and think it's the best EE they've released (in before that's not saying much, the EEs suck donkey dick all day long and Beamdog deserve to be crucified...).

 

[Dreaad]

The only downside is added kits and classes mess with the balance, not that it was such a careful balance to begin with but still.

Anyway.
IW2 - better/harder and more interesting encounters, much shittier story and atmosphere.
IW1 - pretty repetitive encounters overall with a few really hard interesting moments, story and atmosphere much better. Also better itemization.

If you do play IW2 don't pick improved initiative for any of your characters (kinda OP), and limit yourself to two casters e.g. druid and cleric or mage and cleric etc.

 

[pippin]

In IWD2 there are very few mage scrolls at the beginning. Pick a sorcerer instead of a wizard.
The original character creation in 1 felt somewhat limited, so I'd say adding a little bit of diversity could be interesting, even if balance gets a little fucked in the process.

 

[Courtier]

don't pick improved initiative for any of your characters (kinda OP)

That feat only works with spells, and while the casting time for low level spells is reduced to almost 0, casting say Animate Dead still takes a while. Besides you can only cast one spell per round anyway, it's not like this can be abused like BG2's Improved Alacrity.

 

[Dr Skeleton]

IW2 - better/harder and more interesting encounters, much shittier story and atmosphere.
IW1 - pretty repetitive encounters overall with a few really hard interesting moments, story and atmosphere much better. Also better itemization.

Yeah, but the high points of IWD1 encounters are better than in 2. In 1 you have the final fight in Dragon's Eye, the Lich in Dorn's Deep, Malavon. In 2 there's... the lost followers, off the top of my head. Most bosses and mini bosses are pretty bland, even if there's less of just waves and waves of melee enemies like in 1.
IWD2 has a tactics mod btw, it improves many encounters, especially with enemy spellcasters, but ramps up the difficulty A LOT.

If you do play IW2 don't pick improved initiative for any of your characters (kinda OP), and limit yourself to two casters e.g. druid and cleric or mage and cleric etc.

I've read somewhere that improved initiative is bugged and doesn't do anything. Never bothered testing it though.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

That feat only works with spells, and while the casting time for low level spells is reduced to almost 0, casting say Animate Dead still takes a while. Besides you can only cast one spell per round anyway, it's not like this can be abused like BG2's Improved Alacrity.

afair it's bugged and doesn't work at all, don't know if there's any unofficial fix for it since IWD2 isn't really worth revisiting.

 

[Courtier]

afair it's bugged and doesn't work at all, don't know if there's any unofficial fix for it since IWD2 isn't really worth revisiting.

I have been playing 2 and in the most recent version from GOG it still doesn't work for any physical attack at all (never has - that's the bug), but it does work for spellcasting. As in the animation is shortened for each cast.

 

[Waterd]

I hoped someone would come with a nice rest restriction (which was what interested me the most ) by the time i woke up, sadly it seems nobody creative posted a great idea Now instead of playing IWD all day i as planed will go to do something boring like going to play backgammon.

 

[Waterd]

I was thinking what about
-One yellow rest per zone + One rest per green room or space in the zone (though based on other rpg this number is rarely if ever higher than 1)
-One rest per room in a town.
-One rest after a quest is completed

Any problem with that?
Too many rests? too little rests? to abusable ?

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

Soloing IWD2 with deep gnome monk, or cleric or sorcerer is fun.

Sorcerer solo on HOF starting from level 1 was pretty fun

 

[laclongquan]

Bitch please~ It just lead to us save reporting quest complete until we nearly need rest, then getting it.

A reasonable dungeon design normally give you 2 quest minimum per level, that's two rest. Possibly one require you getting out of the dungeon, meaning you can rest outside.
One or two rest per dungeon level.

The way to fuck with that is to respawn upon leaving, but in that case your dungeon get accused of grindy~ A pain in the ass to play. Another way is to always spawn upon resting (though unlimited rest). IN that method, we will rest with 50% of resource deplete and use the resource to try to get a rest. Pain in the ass but slightly grindy because the number we kill while resting doesnt contribute to massacre monsters of that level.

The problem is that magic being a powerful weapon that can be recharged freely upon rest.

It always trouble the DM's tight fisted soul that player can recharge their most powerful arsenal with no restriction. Well, magic is overbalanced in nature~

 

[Waterd]

Bitch please~ It just lead to us save reporting quest complete until we nearly need rest, then getting it

I can just make it so completing a quest gives me rests, but I dont neccesarily have to use that rest inmediatly after i complete the quest.
Im not sure sure about what you wrote, but you suggest a plain 2 rest per quest?

 

[laclongquan]

No. Straight up unlimited rest.
BUT.
Rest in the wild should be dangerous, and cost supplies that you need to buy in town: food, drink, an bulky set of tent or bedding (taking up valuable space in inventory). Also, monster in the region gather a bit around the camp site to awake you. Refrain from putting in magic to help with rest like Perimeter Alarm and Sleep Sanctuary.
Over all you should make rest in the wild a pain in the ass to do. Player should do it if they persevere, but they normally would want to choose Inn.

 

[Waterd]

Im confused, this is not pen and peper, this icewind dale, the computer game, how im supposed to do what you are telling me?

 

[laclongquan]

Oh, that~ Mod, of course~ If you can make it!

 

[Waterd]

I think im gonna run with this unless someone suggest something better.

1. Party creation
Reroll 75 or lower and 85 or higher. Can swap abilities from place. (like you can do in KOTC you can do it for all spots, since you choose first your class and only then reroll)

2. No casting outside combat except for the following spells:
Healing spells
Mage Armor
Infravision
Enchanted weapon
Stoneskin (I dont like this one but if you cast it in a fight, you have it for another fight, so there is nothing i can do about this and is easier to allow)

3. Normal difficulty

4. Can´t manually pause the game Autopause are set on
Character death
Weapon unusuable
Trap spotted
Enemy spotted
Spell cast
Character Injured

5. rests are stored (I will use the journal to track them)
I start the game with 2 rests on the wilderness
Everytime I complete a Quest I gain 2 rests on the wilderness.
I can rest one time per room in an Inn per game

6. I can only buy the more expensive cure wound spell offered by a NPC healer

 

[Delterius]

5. rests are stored (I will use the journal to track them)
I start the game with 2 rests on the wilderness
Everytime I complete a Quest I gain 2 rests on the wilderness.
I can rest one time per room in an Inn per game

Perhaps you should know that you aren't 'on the wilderness' very often in Icewind Dale.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

4. Can´t manually pause the game

 

[Sykar]

Ahahah oh man I forgot about battle square in II. 10 ranks with seperate prizes for 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 squares each. 250 battles total. I can't not do it. I need that sweet armour and club of disruption.

I have done all 250 of them. More than once.

 

[Waterd]

I had to change the the rule of the creation because you here choose the class, THEN roll, so you cant choose your class based on the roll. So now its infinite swaps, lame, but whatever.

 

[laclongquan]

Perhaps you should know that you aren't 'on the wilderness' very often in Icewind Dale.

What? Doesnt most of the map set in wilderness or ruins? Town/village battle is few.

 

[Delterius]

What? Doesnt most of the map set in wilderness or ruins? Town/village battle is few.

I assume that when he means wilderness he implies something like the fill in gaps in PoE or BG1. As I remember it, Icewind Dale starts sending you directly to dungeons and large enemy fortresses after the Vale of Shadows.

 

[Waterd]

I mean basically anywhere that isnt a town.
Btw, I did my first team, of 1 archer, 1 Fighter, 1 Cleric, and 3 Sorcerers, and died at the first big fight vs orcs in the first small dungeon. I wonder if my team composition was too weak or the early game is too hard for characters that just use the first roll and dont min max.
Also I wonder DO i need a thief for this game? there are many traps? or I can ignore thieveS? i really hate thieves in RPG