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OOTS Party

Discussion in 'Icewind Dale 2' started by dmc, Dec 7, 2009.

  1. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    Crucis has seduced me back to IWD2 with LoS v.2 (damn your soul to hell, like I don't have enough going on with my D2 addiction and my son's decision to play BG2, which led me to replay it).

    So, how to make the party (and I'm going to use Dalekeeper, so don't complain about characters with too many points)?

    Roy - LG Human Fighter - Two hand sword wielding - Stats? I think probably big strength, con, dex, int (he has an MBA). Reasonable wis and cha. Skills (I'm giving him all the talking ones)? Feats?


    Elan NG Human Bard - Long sword wielding (rapier, I guess) - Stats? I think OK strength, pretty good dex and con (he takes a lot of wounds and pulled out his spleen early on). I think subpar int and average wisdom (or maybe reduced wisdom?) and pretty good charisma. Skills? Feats other than lingering song?



    Durkon NG Dwarf (what brand, shield?) Cleric (what god equates to a Cleric of Thor?) - Hammer wielding. Stats? Must have great strength and con, average dex, average int, strong wisdom and average to below average cha. Skills? Feats?


    Haley Starshine CN Human Rogue - bow wielding. Stats? Average strength, top dex, reasonable con, reaasonable int and wis, high cha. Skills? I think I'll give her some talking skills and the traditional thief skills. Feats other than rapid and precise shot?


    Belkar Bitterleaf CE Halfing (which brand?) Ranger - dual wielding daggers. Stats? Average strength, top dex and pretty good con. Average int, below average wis and below average cha. Skills? I'm going with hide and move silently but no other thief like skills I think. I WILL saddle him with max ranks in animal empathy because I will find that comical. Feats? Really not sure on this, but I think weapon finesse is a must.



    Vaarsuvius TN Elf Wizard (I'm making V female, just cause) - I have no idea what weapon to give V as I don't recall seeing one. Maybe a sling and a staff. Stats? Average strength and con, decent dex, top Int, not sure about wisdom (that whole bargain with the devils bit leads me to doubt the wisdom). I think average cha. Skills? Typical mage ones, I guess. Feats? Again, typical mage ones I guess.



    Thoughts?

    (And, again, damn you Crucis!)
     
  2. Blades of Vanatar

    Blades of Vanatar Vanatar will rise again Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    I think Race wise they are spin-offs of the 3rd edition PHB. So, I would go with the FR equivilants for IWD2, Shield Dwarf for Durkon, Moon Elf for V and Lightfoot Halfling for Belkar.
     
  3. Loreseeker

    Loreseeker A believer in knowledge Veteran

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    Maybe Luck of Heroes feat for Elan.

    Something that reflects how badly Belkar fares in Search checks would also be nice, imo.
     
  4. coineineagh

    coineineagh I wish for a horde to overrun my enemies Resourceful Adored Veteran

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    [​IMG] Great idea, have fun!
    If you take Ghostwise Halfling, you can take Belkar's level barbarian without getting an XP penalty. It's probably his correct race, because why else would he have chosen it?
    V is both unwise and uncharismatic, so you won't need Dalekeeper for him/her...
     
  5. kmonster Gems: 24/31
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    Roy has greatsword specialisation and great cleave as feats.

    Elan has 18 charisma early in the comic. His wisdom is very low since he does a lot of stupid things, I'd say about 6. His int is higher than average, he even considered taking a wizard level in the comic. He wears chainmail without spellcasting failure since it's a 3.5E comic, so you might want to give him 3 armored arcana feats for free at the start.

    For Durkon I'd choose Talos as god. The destructive blow is similar to Thor's might and both use lightnings. Use DK for the alignment.

    Haley could also get mercantile background and weapon focus in bow, also dash and dodge since she's good at keeping enemies at distance.

    Belkar takes a barbarian level later, so I'd take ghostwise halfling. The sexy shoeless god of war fought and defeated hundreds of enemies alone when the city was attacked and wiped out nearly the whole thieves' guild after the curse was lifted. He should have at least maxed out str (in spite of his small weapons he kills most enemies with just one hit) and dex, maybe even superhuman physical stats. A few skillpoints in intimidate would fit well to him. I'd take feats which allow to kill fast like power attack, dash and WF small blades. Racial enemy: goblins.

    Vaarsuvius would never use a sling, he even refuses to use a bow. Str is low, you can't conclude he's unwise from the desire to be powerful and to save his family. Since he doesn't do any physical damage I'd take the expertise feat.
     
  6. Mordokai Gems: 6/31
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    No proof of good DEX, as least as far as I can remember. Better than average WIS and CHA. Remember the mind flayer bussines early on? The general consensus is that that very comic prooves that Roy has better WIS and/or CHA than V. I'd 12 in the very least in both of them, maybe higher. As for feats, two levels of Cleave, Power attack, Weapon focus and expertise(which, translated to 3.0 would mean take Weapon Expertise in Greatsword all the way).

    Elan is, by canon, CG. Maxed charisma, subpar INT and probably even lower WIS. Take DEX based feats.

    Once again, Durkon is, by canon, LG. WIS is maxed out, CHA around 8 or so, maybe even a little lower, but not much. Good INT would fit him well. He can be diplomatic, since he acts as party straight man, after Roy, so I'd give him max rank in Diplomacy and at least few ranks in Intimidate.

    While I hate to repeat myself... canon says Haley is CG. She shows no proofs of anything than average WIS, so I wouldn't give her anything above 10. Same for STR. CHA however is quite high. 14 in the very least, maybe more. Max out Bluff, at least few ranks in Diplomacy and Intimidate. Traditional rogue skills after that. Weapon Finesse sounds like a good feat for her, in case she is forced into melee.

    Looks fine to me.

    For the reasons already mentioned at Roy entry, I don't think you should give V more than 10 in WIS and CHA and probably less than that in CHA. Remember the comic before new year in Azure City, in the inn with ninja girl in training? There's your proof of low(or in the very least, average charisma). Skills and feats look good to me.

    Might want to check this thread for more details. Hope you find information you need there.

    Let me just say, good luck with that. Looks like a mighty fun game :D
     
  7. spmdw45 Gems: 8/31
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    Alternately, just say he had lucky rolls in the comic. How often does Elan cast spells anyway?

    -Max
     
  8. Caradhras

    Caradhras I may be bad... but I feel gooood! Veteran

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    I agree with Kmonster, STR should be rather high for Belkar. A low STR would cripple him, he already has a maximum of 16 only at character creation because he is a halfling. I don't know if his CHA should be so low. He's got a bad attitude but I remember he seemed to be able to socialize in Azure City (didn't he danced on stilts?).

    Elan should have a mediocre INT. 8 seems to be fine as he is not very bright (or perhaps 10). He invested points in Riding so you could consider taking cross class skills.

    I'd put 14 in INT for Roy.

    Vaarsuvius shouldn't use weapons at all, it's not his/her style. ;)
     
  9. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    Thanks for all the thoughts. I only have ever read the strip and never even went into the forums, so "canon" and all of that is new to me. I may stick with my basic estimates and tinker a little with the suggestions. Given that I'm starting them from level 1, I obviously need to grow into these stats and things.

    Should be interesting - I haven't played such a low magic party in ID2 in a long time (then again, I haven't played ID2 in a long time, either).
     
  10. kmonster Gems: 24/31
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    Vaarsuvius has Conjuration as barred school, so I'd make him a diviner. The extra spells per day will also help this character who can't fight without magic.
     
  11. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    Actually, that's going to be a really interesting aspect of this -- playing them according to how they act in the strip. For example, I think everyone is right that V will not fight at all.

    I had some fun last night just doing the various docks quests. Belkar single-handedly killed all of the goblins outside and in the cave area, much to everyone else's annoyance. Haley picked up all of the gold and gems (yeah, I know the gold is communal, but I'm in character here), and they all are close to having their chosen weapons. Mr. Band Aid was hardly needed at all.

    I'm wondering whether I allow Elan to cast any spells or just have him sing.
     
  12. spmdw45 Gems: 8/31
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    *wince* On behalf of Roy's sanity, may I request that you not let Elan sing?

    -Max
     
  13. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    Whadda ya mean??! "Bluff ... Bluff ... Bluff the Ogre . . . "


    Edit: This is fun. They just beat up Phaen, and Haley got the killing arrow in, leading Belkar to loot the bodies in retribution. Phaen got off a sleep spell before he died, and the only character to succumb was Elan. Elan slept blissfully through the death of the goblin sappers, the looting, and the party leaving to do other things (Haley stayed with him).
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2009
    Caradhras likes this.
  14. Umex Gems: 1/31
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    Aww, I really like this party idea. Too bad I uninstalled IWD2 a day ago, so I can't follow up with my own... But maybe I'll make it in bg2. No who should be the bhaalspawn? :hmm:
     
  15. coineineagh

    coineineagh I wish for a horde to overrun my enemies Resourceful Adored Veteran

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    [​IMG]
    "Sneak... sneak... sneak past the goblin horde!"
    Nearly my 1000th post y'all... I'll try to make it more memorable than this one;)
     
  16. Blades of Vanatar

    Blades of Vanatar Vanatar will rise again Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    Let Elan casts spells. Bardic Magic should be song-based as it is.
     
  17. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    I decided to let him cast spells, but I am only taking spells that work with his character. Sleep was a definite one.
     
  18. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    Update: the party has cleared out the first level of the Ice Temple. It's pretty challenging sometimes because V only casts spells and Haley only shoots arrows. Most of the time, I have Elan sitting in back singing because he's a bit of a wuss in combat. Thus, Belkar and Roy are shouldering a ton of the killing load with Durkon doing his share as well.

    Belkar is a lot of fun to play. I have him scout and, because he's Belkar, he often goes into a killing spree and neglects to report back to the others until he's done. He didn't have much fun against the crystal golems with his daggers though.

    One of the mods (I suspect LOS2) has added a shark skin cloak that gives some defensive perks at the expense of two points of charisma (stinky). I immediately gave it to Belkar under the loose theory that it fits because he wore a goblin or kobold skull as a hat.

    Having fun.
     
  19. crucis

    crucis Fighting the undead in Selune's name Veteran

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    Yes, the Shark Skin cloak comes from Light of Selune.
     
  20. Caradhras

    Caradhras I may be bad... but I feel gooood! Veteran

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    I can imagine that! :D
     
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