Seeking advice for an old game...

[WarLocke]

Anyone has suggestions on a character that can reasonable solo through the game on normal diffuculty? I just don't want to get stuck half way through with a fundamentally flawed character that can't progress (and restart). Or go looking for (underleveled) NPCs i long left behind.

Soloing Normal difficulty in IWD2 isn't all that had, with some practice (haven't tried HOF, myself).

The most important thing to realise is that you WILL get hit in melee, no matter how high your AC is. I don't know if this is just an artifact of 3E, or a quirk of IWD2, but melee classes (Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Barbarian) aren't really suited to soloing--at least not as pure classes.

The Sorceror is beyond a doubt the best soloing class for IWD2. With Shield (level 1; +7 AC, immunity to Magic Missiles), Ghost Armor (level 3; +5 AC, stacks with Shield), Expertise (feat, 13 Int requirement--up to +5 AC), Mirror Image (level 2; complete immunity to the first 2-8 attacks that would have hit you) and Stoneskin (level 4; 10/+5 immunity with a looong duration), the Sorceror is just a powerhouse.

The only time a Sorceror will have problems will pretty much be until they reach level 6; at level 6 they gain their first third-level spell, so you can pick Fireball and begin laying mass waste (they will already have Shield, Mirror Image, and Expertise if they choose it), and from there they only get more powerful--with more damaging spells, area effects, and instant-kills.

Soloists level much faster than a party. As an example, my first party of six entered Chapter 4 at around level 11; my soloist Drow Sorceress (who is penalised two levels for her innate abilities) reached the same point at level 22. At level 22 the Sorceror has an insane number of spells to cast per day--IIRC, with my Charisma bonus, she had 9 level 1 spells, 8 level 2/3 spells, 7 level 4/5/6/7 spells, and 6 level 8 and 9 spells. Per day. And I didn't have to choose what to cast when I rested.

The only real pitfall with Sorcerors is that they don't learn a whole lot of spells, and you can't "unlearn" a spell to make room (that was a stupid idea, NWN programmers). However, they do learn enough to get a highly effective array of protections, single-target damage, area-effect damage, instant-kill, disabling, and maybe even a few summoning spells. The secret is to not take duplicate spells (ie, never learn Confusion because Chaos has the same effect with a saving throw penalty).

Any suggestions?

Sorceror all the way. You could go Drow for the magic resistance (which is hella useful) if you don't mind the rather steep level penalty, or Aasimar for the stat bonuses (especially Cha) with a lesser penalty. Either works great.

[Whiggles]

Next, Planescap. For once I have decided to play it without reading any guide in advance or geting any information about the plot. That is, basically play it unknowing about anything to happen. I normally don't do that :)

Anyone have some general tips though (please NO story or plot spoilers). I read some on character generation and it seemed WIS was VERY important and also some for INT. Correct? I never understood if you picked class (like fighter, mage and so on) or got it as you played. Seems you should change mid game, or? In any case, sugestion for good class to pick if that is possible?

Some general advice (that doesn't tell spoilers)? So that I can enjoy it as much as possible.

Jarulf, for Planescape Torment I would definitely recommend building a character with high Charisma, Wisdom and Intelligence. As you have probably heard, the game is very much dialogue-oriented. You will gain far more experience by talking than by fighting, so I always start a character with maximum Charisma. Whenever you level up you get a point to spend in an attribute of choice, so I then proceed to max Wisdom, then max Intelligence. Of course, you're most suited to being a Mage with stats like that.

Basically, standard advice is read everything, and think very carefully about any dialogue decisions you make. It is an incredibly deep game and one that rewards patience.

PS. Definitely download the patch. The initial version has a memory leak bug that can completely kill your performance.

[loonygloss]

The one thing that I like to be aware of in an RPG is if you can increase your stats through quests, etc, and build around that.

Minor Spoiler, highlight text to read.
For that reason, I would not recommend going over 18 with you wisdom by level-ups/starting stats, as it is possible to gain 7 (7!) points to that stat in game. Although a couple are only near the end

[Faragon]

Well, in IWD2 you can raise stats by the use of items (temporary) or potions. (temporary as well as permanent)

[Whiggles]

By the way, just to clarify, when I say "maximum" I'm talking about getting to a level of 18, which is the highest you can go at the character creation stage. In-game, when leveling up (and with the aid of items), it is possible to go beyond 18.

[Artega]

Looks like a miniature flame war has started here, just like the BIG ones on the BIS boards. The eternal Viccy-versus-Anomen conflict...

Well, here's some information on them:

Viconia is a Neutral Evil female Drow. In ToB, it is possible to change her alignment to Chaotic Good. Something to consider. Viconia has a higher WIS stat than Anomen has, even after Anomen passes his test. Viconia has an absolutely PATHETIC CON score of 9. She is killed easily and quickly. However, she has a DEX stat of 19, which means she excels with ranged weapons. Give her the Sling of Seeking +2 and a girdle of giant strength (or Gauntlets of Ogre Power), and she will be capable of doing upwards of 30 damage per hit on criticals. Viconia is also a bit weak, but you CAN allieviate that with the giant strength girdles and gloves or the Mauler's Arm +2 mace. Viconia is a flat-out Cleric, which means she can only reach Proficient in a weapon, and she gains proficiencies at a much slower rate.

Anomen is a Lawful Neutral male Human. He is dual-classed into a 7/x Fighter/Cleric (x being dependant on what level you are when you pick him up.) He has a fairly impressive STR stat of 18/52. Not terribly high, but much better than Viccy, and it allows him more choices when choosing armor, weaponry, and shields. He stats with Specialization in Maces, Proficiency in War Hammers, Proficiency in Slings, and Proficiency in Sword-and-Shield Style. There are two primary trains of thought when taking Anomen. One is to pump War Hammers to Grand Mastery, and give him Crom Faeyr. This makes him absolutely deadly in combat, but you should be aware that the cost of Crom Faeyr is quite high. You will need to sacrifice the Girdle of Frost Giant Strength (sets STR to 21, and is found in the Kuo-Toa Lair), the Gauntlets of Ogre Strength (sets STR to 18/00, and is found in the Planar Sphere), the Hammer of Thunderbolts +3 (2d4 +4, +1d4 electrical, found in Illithid Lair in the Temple District sewers), and you will need the Scroll of Crom Faeyr (found on the body of Thaxll'syllia). Take the items to Cromwell to have Crom Faeyr forged. Among its chief attributes are that it sets users' STR to 25 (+14 damage, +7 to-hit), and kills all Giants outright with no save (this is VERY useful in ToB.) The other train of thought (and my preferred train, since I do not like losing those two STR items) is to give him some points into Flails/Morning Stars and let him use the Flail of Ages +3 (created in the De'Arnisse Keep). The Flail of Ages is very powerful, and is a great weapon for killing trolls. Also, since it is a +3 weapon that you can get relatively early on, it is great for killing magical monsters (Adamantite Golems, Greater Wolfweres, and such.) It also has a 33% chance to Slow the target, with no save. This ability is invaluable. You can also later upgrade the Flail to a Flail of Ages +5 in ToB, through the use of Cespenar (and finding the Poison Head and Electrical Head.) But I digress. Anomen has a paltry DEX score of 10, so you will likely want to find and have him use the Gauntlets of Dexterity (sets DEX to 18) in order to raise his base AC. However, you may wish to use those same Gauntlets on Keldorn, who has only 9 DEX (there is no real difference between DEX 9 and DEX 10; the AC bonuses do not start until about DEX 14), so keep that in mind if you want both of them in the party (which is not a bad idea - since Anomen idolizes the Order, and Keldorn is a member of that Order, there is some good dialogue between the two.) If Anomen passes his Test, he gains +4 to his WIS stat, boosting him to an acceptable 16. It seems BIS cheated with Anomen, as well. In order to dual-class, you must have 15 in your current class's prime statistic (i.e. STR 15 for his Fighter, which he has 18/52 of), and 17 in your proposed class's prime statistic (which means he would need WIS 17 to DC, but he only has 12 to start with, and only 16 if he passes his test.) Passing his Test also changes his Alignment to Lawful Good. I have never had him fail his Test, but I believe I heard that it changes his Alignment to Chaotic Neutral.

To put it quite simply, Viccy is a spellcaster, and is most definitely not good for combat (well, melee combat, anyway), while Anomen is a fairly good spellcaster and is quite capable in melee combat, especially if you give him Quest-level spells such as Aura of Flaming Death and Globe of Blades. Anomen also has significantly more HP than Viconia.

Hmm. Tips for creating a new protagonist? I am very partial to Paladins, so I have played all three Kits through the game, as well as taking a Paladin from BG to ToB (including ToS in there.) The Paladin is a powerful character - they can use any weapon, armor, or shield (assuming they meet the STR requirement), and can cast low-level Priest spells (up to 4th level), starting from 9th level. They also have the ability Lay on Hands, which heals two hit points per level of the Paladin. It can be used once a day, and is not capped at 20th Level like many Mage spells are. This means that you can easily heal upwards of 60 HP when your Paladin approaches his level cap in ToB. It is also cast at speed 1, which makes it quick and easy to cast. Paladins also have Protection from Evil and Detect Evil as innate abilities. Detect Evil is useful for "scouting" the immediate area, and Protection from Evil will have its uses until your Cleric learns Protection from Evil 10-foot Radius. Paladins also gain +2 to all saving throws simply because they are cool like that. Paladins get to use Carsomyr and Purifier.

Cavaliers are very fun, and don't have many penalties. They are immune to Fear and Morale Failure, they can cast Remove Fear once a day per level, they are immune to Charm-based spells (including Domination), they have an intrinsic 20% resistance to fire and acid, and they gain +3/+3 versus all Demonic and Draconic creatures (Demonic being Imps, Mephits, Quasits, and the standard Ta'anari and Baatezu Fiends, with Draconic being Wyverns, Drakes, and the obvious choice of Dragons.) Their downside is their inability to use Missile Weapons (though they CAN use Throwing Axes and Throwing Daggers - a DEFINITE strong point, which basically allows you to ignore that kit penalty.)

Inquisitors are probably the most powerful Paladins, though they lose some of the more fun abilities of the normal Paladin. Inquisitors can cast Dispel Magic once per day per every four levels of the Paladin; it is cast at TWICE his actual level and at speed 1. This is a world-changing ability. Confusion, Charm, Domination, and significant amount of debilitating spells just got useless because of this skill. Of course, if you aren't careful, you'll often dispell any buffs your party had as well, so be careful using it. Inquisitors also have True Sight once per day per every four levels. This is also very useful. It dispels ALL illusionary spells, such as Blur, Mirror Image, Mislead, Simulacrum, and the Invisibility spells. Inquisitors are also immune to Charm and Hold magics. Being immune to Hold is so useful it's not even funny. However, all of these abilities come at a cost: Inquisitors cannot cast Priest spells, and cannot use Lay on Hands. Acceptable losses, but losing Lay on Hands hurts.

Undead Slayers are fun, but not really useful. They are Undead Slayers true and through. They gain +3/+3 to all Undead monsters, of any form. They are also immune to Hold and Level Drain (being immune to Level Drain is fun.) However, they lose the ability to cast Lay on Hands. Not a good enough tradeoff, if you ask me.

A final note on Paladins: creation can be tricky. Paladins have steep requirements, so it will likely take a while to get a character you are satisfied with. They require STR 12, CON 12, WIS 13, and CHA 17. You will want DEX 18 for the great AC bonus, and will also want STR 18+ (I generally try to get 18/76 or higher), and CON 18. This means you'll likely have a strong, healthy, agile, wise, and charismatic retard :) Of course, if you aren't munchkin like me, you can do whatever you want ;)

Aside from Paladins, I have played the Archer kit for the Ranger, and have played a multiclassed Fighter/Mage elf. Archers are about as overpowered as Monks. F/Ms are also very powerful, though being MC'd kept me from using high-level spells, but that didn't stop me. Once I reached 4th level mage spells (and STONESKIN!!!), I was okay. Dual-classing is probably a better option (Kensai/Mages are very overpowered, though Berserker/Mages can easily give K/Ms are run for the money), but that will keep you from getting such skills as Greater Whirlwind Attack in ToB.

A few tips on gameplay:

Liches are much easier to kill than people think. If you are insane and want to tackle them in the early-game like me, then make sure you have Daystar (you have to get this from a Lich, ironically), or one of the Undead-killing weapons (the Mace of Disruption and Azuredge fall into this category.) You CAN kill them normally, but you'll need a fairly powerful enchanted weapon (speaking of which, the Enchanted Weapon spell is GREAT for this purpose), and likely a scroll of Protection from Undead. Liches only have around 100 HP, so once you start whacking them, they fall fairly quickly. If you are a Paladin, getting Carsomyr just plain changes everything. Once you have that +5 sword, nothing is a threat. You will have 50% magic resistance (a note about this resistance - it has an annoying tendancy to override any other MR you have equipped, so that means you'll need to "re-equip" any MR items like the Ring of Gaxx and the Amulet of Seldarine after starting a game or re-equipping Carsomyr - annoying but oh-so-worth it), as well as a +5 weapon. This means even Kangaxx can be hit and killed (since Kangaxx becomes a Demi-Lich, you will need to be packing a +4 or greater weapon, as well as a mandatory protection from Magic scroll.) With my Paladins, it was not unusual for me to have killed every Lich in Athkatla, Kangaxx, AND the Twisted Rune before starting Chapter 3.

A tip for fighting Firkragg: If you want Carsomyr for your Paladin (you do - trust me), you will need to kill this red wyrm. Some prefer to wait until after Chapter Six to do this, since you will be of a higher level, and likely better-equipped, but I am impatient and I want Carsomyr as soon as possible. Hence, my party is generally between 10th and 13th Level when I take him on. Firkragg is a 25th Level Red Dragon, and has all of the requisite abilities of Dragons: insanely high saving throws, very high Magic Resistance, powerful melee attacks, a limited selection of spells (he's a Red, not a Gold - he can cast some basic spells, but nothing major), and a bitchload of HP (I'm guessing between 170 and 250.) Along the way to Firkragg, you'll find three Dragonslaying items (you may have also found the Dragon's Bane halberd earlier) - equip these on whoever can use them or whoever needs them. Dragonslayer itself isn't really that great, but it has its uses.

Firkragg will likely cast Stoneskin right from the get-go, followed by Dragon Fear, Lower Fire Resistance (on a single target), Lower Resistance, and Greater Malison. Following that barrage, he will likely use Wing Buffet, followed immediately by Red Dragon Breath (a side note: this is targeted at the person farthest away from him, but still in his range of sight - I suggest you have your mages, thieves, and low-HP characters hide near the stairs until this bit passes.) After this, he will recast Stoneskin, Haste himself, and go into melee combat. He is capable of doing upwards of 35 damage per hit, and he gets around three hits a round, so make sure you have plenty of healing potions and spells ready. If someone is hit, heal them immediately, and withdraw them from melee combat for at least one turn. If they were badly hit, or were hit multiple times, have a priest cast Heal on them. Firkragg is susceptible to Critical Hits.

Before starting the battle, you should cast some buffs on your party, and have your warriors quaff a variety of potions. I generally have the party Protected from Evil, Protected from Fear (this is MANDATORY - if Dragon Fear scares your party, you are dead), Hasted, and Invisible. While you won't be high-enough level to have access to the 7th Level spell Mass Invisibility, you will probably have Inviso 10'. Inviso is useful for keeping mages and low-HP characters hidden until needed. They are still vulnerable to attacks like Red Dragon Breath, of course. Have your warriors use potions of Fire Resistance and Scrolls of Protection from Fire until they have at least 100 Fire Resistance. Your warriors should also utilize potions of Heroism, potions of Invulnerability, and potions of Giant Strength of some kind. Having a potion of Icedust or two can be a lifesaver if Firkragg targets a mage. Firkragg is difficult to kill at this point, but the rewards are great: Red Dragon Scales (they can be forged by Cromwell into Red Dragon Scale - +2 Full Plate Mail with 50% fire resistance and a cheery red color), a few thousand GP, some assorted gems, and... CARSOMYR!!!!!!!!!!!

Have fun going through SoA, WarLocke ^_^

[WarLocke]

Well, here's some information on them:

<Snip a whole bunch>

I don't think I've ever used Anomen, but I agree on the Viconia points. If I ever go through the game with an "evil" party, I'll most likely take her for my healer. But right now, Jaheira is doing just fine... B)

RE: Anomen & Crom Faeyr/Flail of Ages

I'm going through with an Undead Hunter and no Anomen, so I had planned on using the Flail of Ages initially, and then switching to Crom Faeyr once I could finish it (might as well capitalise on the undead slayage bit, IMO). Is losing the ingredients for Crom Faeyr really that big of an issue? IIRC, there's still the girdle of Fire Giant strength (Str 22) in the Adventurer's Mart, and my group is fairly strong (Me with 16 Str, and Minsc, Jaheira, Yoshimo and Mazzy have decent Str scores -- only sore spots are Imoen and Jan).

I also specced in Large Swords so I could use Daystar, Blade of Roses, etc. since noone else in the party could. I'm wondering now if I should have gone two-handed to use Carsomyr, since it's supposedly all that and a bag of chips...

Undead Slayers are fun, but not really useful.

Undead Hunters are the bomb. Losing Lay on Hands does hurt, but immunity to Hold and Level Drain? Heck yeah. The bonus against undead is just gravy...

Plus, it's just about as close to being a Paladin of Kelemvor that you can get. :lol:

A final note on Paladins: creation can be tricky. Paladins have steep requirements, so it will likely take a while to get a character you are satisfied with.

True, but it's not that much of an issue since the BG2 character creation system automagically bumps up a stat to the minimum if it would have been lower.

but that will keep you from getting such skills as Greater Whirlwind Attack in ToB.

Hrmm, is there anywhere with a list of these special ability thingamabobs? I'd like to know what Paladins get compared to, say, Clerics.

RE: Dragon fighting...

One thing you forgot to mention: Always have Breach before taking on a dragon. I fought all the way to Thaxll'syllia without it, then had to stumble through on Spell Thrust and Remove Magic alone. That was one hair-tearing fight. :( I could have sworn I picked up a Breach as loot somewhere (and Jan was scribing scrolls like a madman), but I guess I need to find it on a merchant somewhere (Ribald, I'm guessing)...

[Jarulf]

The one time I played BG2, I picked an Inquisitor. Indeed a good choise. The True Sight and Dispell Magic were in many times life saving and a great help.

I did the Paladin quets early really. I had little idea about areas at first but went to the area with the Red Dragon as one of the first things out of town (and with little thing in town done). It was hard but I finally handled it. Not much later I got there again to kill the Dragon. No idea about my level. It took me three attempts (reloading and such). I think I managed to set several traps that got him early and I think I somehow managed to make hit take damage from spells like magic missile (is that possible?) I remember that suddenly I did lots of damage in various ways and he was killed pretty quick. Since I did not have good understanding of the spells and the game system i general I really did not knew exactly what worked or what was happening, but I must have done something right.

The sword was of course super good and with the dragon scales my Paladin was a great tank to run forward into battles :)

As for Viconia or Anomen, well, Vicconia is MUCH prettier :)

[Faragon]

Having to choose between Vicionia and Anomen?

That's literally like having to choose between hot drow sex and whiney conversations ;)

[TriggerHappy]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I like all the suggestions, but i'm split between going pure sorcerror and going with a Mage/Thief multi class/dual class (thief first).

I love the sorcerror's ability to cast spells without the need to memorise them first, but how do i handle traps and pick locks with him :( ?

Looks like i'm going with a Mage/Thief after all. Healing/curing will be done via scrolls/potions, so that will compensate for a cleric. Theif will be good enough in the early levesl as far as fighting goes, and when the sorcerror takes off in power, the thief will only be relegated to picking locks and disarming traps.

Maybe doing surprise spell attacks as well (sneaking, then casting a fireball) :)

Only one decision to make now. Mage / Thief dual class (start as thief, dual to mage once thief skills are decent), or Mage / Thief multiclass.

I understand that it would be better to play through the game with a party first. But i'm sick of the party approach (BG1, TOTSC, BG2, TOB).

Any opinions?

Which will work better, multi class or dual class Mage / Thief? Or can a Sorcerror some how work without thief skills?

[Mithrandir]

Firkragg is a 25th Level Red Dragon, and has all of the requisite abilities of Dragons: insanely high saving throws, very high Magic Resistance, powerful melee attacks, a limited selection of spells (he's a Red, not a Gold - he can cast some basic spells, but nothing major), and a bitchload of HP (I'm guessing between 170 and 250.)

Just to be specific... ;)

Firkraag (Red Dragon)
HP 184
AC -11 (-13 vs Missiles)
THAC0 -5
Number of Attacks 3
Saving Throws:
*Death 3
*Wands 5
*Poly 4
*Breath 4
*Spells 6
Resists:
*Fire 100
*Electricity 0
*Magic 65
*Magic Fire 100
*Slashing 25
*Crushing 25
*Cold 0
*Acid 0
*Magic Cold 0
*Piercing 25
*Missile 25
Spells:
*Chaos
*Fireball
*Haste
*Detect Invisibility
*Magic Missile
*Flame Arrow
Stats:
*Str 25
*Dex 15
*Con 15
*Int 9
*Wis 9
*Cha 9

And just for a sense of completeness...

Nizidramanii'yt (Black Dragon)
HP 200
AC -12 (-14 vs Missiles)
THAC0 -3
Number of Attacks 4
Saving Throws:
*Death 3
*Wands 5
*Poly 4
*Breath 4
*Spells 6
Resists:
*Fire 20
*Electricity 20
*Magic 45
*Magic Fire 20
*Slashing 25
*Crushing 25
*Cold 20
*Acid 100
*Magic Cold 20
*Piercing 25
*Missile 25
Spells:
*Chaos
*Fireball
*Haste
*Detect Invisibility
*Magic Missile
*Improved Invisibility
Stats:
*Str 25
*Dex 21
*Con 21
*Int 20
*Wis 21
*Cha 21

Thaxll'ssillyia (Shadow Dragon)
HP 160
AC -12 (-14 vs Missiles)
THAC0 -3
Number of Attacks 3
Saving Throws:
*Death 3
*Wands 5
*Poly 4
*Breath 4
*Spells 6
Resists:
*Fire 0
*Electricity 0
*Magic 60
*Magic Fire 0
*Slashing 25
*Crushing 25
*Cold 0
*Acid 0
*Magic Cold 0
*Piercing 25
*Missile 25
Spells:
*Chaos
*Fireball
*Haste
*Detect Invisibility
*Magic Missile
*Improved Invisibility
Stats:
*Str 25
*Dex 15
*Con 15
*Int 14
*Wis 16
*Cha 13

Adalon (Silver Dragon)
HP 184
AC -11 (-15 vs Missiles)
THAC0 -2
Number of Attacks 3
Saving Throws:
*Death 3
*Wands 5
*Poly 4
*Breath 4
*Spells 6
Resists:
*Fire 0
*Electricity 0
*Magic 60
*Magic Fire 0
*Slashing 25
*Crushing 25
*Cold 100
*Acid 0
*Magic Cold 100
*Piercing 25
*Missile 25
Spells:
*Chaos
*Fireball
*Haste
*Detect Invisibility
*Magic Missile
Stats:
*Str 25
*Dex 15
*Con 15
*Int 17
*Wis 14
*Cha 9

Abazigal (Blue Dragon)
HP 200
AC -12 (-14 vs Missiles)
THAC0 -6
Number of Attacks 3
Saving Throws:
*Death 3
*Wands 5
*Poly 4
*Breath 4
*Spells 6
Resists:
*Fire 0
*Electricity 100
*Magic 65
*Magic Fire 0
*Slashing 40
*Crushing 40
*Cold 0
*Acid 0
*Magic Cold 0
*Piercing 40
*Missile 40
Spells:
*Chaos
*Fireball
*Haste
*Detect Invisibility
*Magic Missile
*Flame Arrow
Stats:
*Str 25
*Dex 17
*Con 16
*Int 14
*Wis 12
*Cha 17

Draconis (Brown Dragon)
HP 190
AC -10 (-12 vs Missiles)
THAC0 -4
Number of Attacks 3
Saving Throws:
*Death 3
*Wands 5
*Poly 4
*Breath 4
*Spells 6
Resists:
*Fire 50
*Electricity 0
*Magic 55
*Magic Fire 50
*Slashing 25
*Crushing 25
*Cold 0
*Acid 100
*Magic Cold 0
*Piercing 25
*Missile 25
Spells:
*Chaos
*Fireball
*Haste
*Detect Invisibility
*Magic Missile
*Improved Invisibility
Stats:
*Str 25
*Dex 16
*Con 16
*Int 12
*Wis 12
*Cha 9


It appears as though I never wrote down their respective melee attacks or special abilities (all of them have Wing Buffet, Abazigal has a Tail Slap, etc.) when I cared enough about this stuff to go IE diving... which is unfortunate. Hmm, Saladrex also seems to be missing from my notes *shrug*

[Baajikiil]

An interesting thing to note is that the dragons also get their str bonus added to their thaco. str 25 gives them +7 to hit and +14 damage. Thus, firkraag actually has -12 thaco for melee. I don't think D&D planned on dragons getting their str bonuses to their attacks, but it is a good balancer when you are fightning them with partys of 6 very high lvl chars...

Also interesting is that the black dragon duel weilds his claws, thus getting one extra attack(4, compared to the usual 3), but at a penaly to his thaco(still has a negative thaco though, due to the str bonus).

[Baajikiil]

Which will work better, multi class or dual class Mage / Thief? Or can a Sorcerror some how work without thief skills?

Sorcerror, with the proper protection spell can tank most traps, (ironskin stop physical damage traps, and the magic ones can be negated by the proper protective spells). Also, knock will allow you to open locked chests and doors.

As for dual or multi, if you are planning on playing through Tob as well, you are better off with multi. One of the high lvl theif abilities is "use any item". This ability allows you to equip *anything* in the game. Regardless of requirements. need high str to equip that bow? no problem. Need to be paladin to equip that holy avenger? No problem. It also allows you to use any scrolls, potions, or other "use" items.

If you care to play through most of SoA to reach lvl 24 theif, then play long enough in ToB to reach 25 mage that would be best probably, but annoying. I'd go for multiclass, or perhaps a fighter mage theif, for the best of all worlds. The problem with multiclass is the limitations to your mage spells; you'll get them pretty slow, and most of the game(SoA and Tob) will be over before you get a decent amount of 9th lvl spells. Personally I think that the most useful spells are in lvl 3-5, but certainly not the most powerful ones.

If dualing, I'd suggest swashbuckler, then mage. No penalty to theif skills as well as bonuses to AC and thaco/damage. At lvl ten you can max most theif skills(100% at least), and have -3 AC, +2 thaco and damage(as well as melee specialization). Of course, no backstabs for swashbuckler...

Damn, I was just thinking, too bad you can't solo through as Edwin... :( He would be fun(the ultimate mage, +3 all levels of spells).


EDIT: BTW, if it hasn't been mentioned, I recomend checking out the mod scene for SoA and Tob. Even if you're not interested in actual mods, there are several "ease of play" mods that streamline certain rules of the game. An example would be a slight mod that makes ammo have limitless stacks(stupid 40 stack limit).

If soloing, I strongly suggest you have the exp limit removed. You will reach the limit in SoA by the first third of the game, and ToB soon thereafter when playing solo(as long as you do most quests/fight most monsters).

[Mithrandir]

Also interesting is that the black dragon duel weilds his claws, thus getting one extra attack(4, compared to the usual 3), but at a penaly to his thaco(still has a negative thaco though, due to the str bonus).

Oooh, cool :) It's been a while since I've been around a BG2 forum so getting the occasional tidbit filtered down for a classic IE game is very interesting. All this discussion about it makes me want to install it again.

I don't know how commonly known this one is, but... A very "different" way to kill Dragons is to Polymorph into a Mind Flayer and then start wailing away with your Int draining melee attack. In the Dragon's Int reaches zero, they die - just like with the PC/NPCs.

Probably not as effective as more conventional Dragon slaying tactics, but quite humorous none the less ;)

[Scalefang]

Next, Planescap. For once I have decided to play it without reading any guide in advance or geting any information about the plot. That is, basically play it unknowing about anything to happen. I normally don't do that :)

Anyone have some general tips though (please NO story or plot spoilers). I read some on character generation and it seemed WIS was VERY important and also some for INT. Correct? I never understood if you picked class (like fighter, mage and so on) or got it as you played. Seems you should change mid game, or? In any case, sugestion for good class to pick if that is possible?

Some general advice (that doesn't tell spoilers)? So that I can enjoy it as much as possible.

This will probably get lost but ah well..you asked for advise Jarulf and I'll be abliged to offer it:

First, if you have the four cd set nab the official 1.1 patch if you don't the single CD comes pre-patched.

Then, nab the Fix Pack at http://www.accesswave.ca/~cthorpe/

It fixes even more errors that were missed in the official, including a bug where you couldn't properly "upgrade" one of your allies and a whole bunch more.

Actual Game Advice:

High WIS and INT will enable you to usually get the most diologue options and most exp. Obviously this does lend itself to a mage, but if given the chance you should spend some time training other classes when given a chance to.

The only weapons profencincy that a mage can use are your "knife" type weapons.

You do not pick a class to start with, by default you start with a warrior and later get the ability to become a mage and a theif. You also get the ability to switch between them.

The mortuary (where you start) will probably give you a headache, you might want to make an archive save after you leave the mortuary so you don't have to do it again. But your millage may vary.

Oh...and don't piss off the Lady.

[Mithrandir]

Oh...and don't piss off the Lady.

Well, pissing her off once can be interesting. Twice is when it doesn't become recommended ;)