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I've been a fan of the BG series for 5 years. When I noticed that the BG Series on DVD was released, I couldn't help buying it as a back-up and noticed I got a reduced price for the IWD series if I ordered that too....so what the hell. I have played a little of IWD1 and not gotten that far into it, feels a little bare and too much to-the-point. I loaded up IWD2 today to see what kind of different experience it would give me and I'm pleased to see my first impressions are very good =) Once I'd figured out how the GUI worked, I was all set and have currently just completed the logging village. My party could be named the Wilderness Guardians I guess...yes there is a drow majority, but I play for the RP angle over power. They don't seem too overbalanced from my perspective anyway:

Morth - M Drow - CG - Ranger3 (archer, front liner)
Taevus - M Wood-elf - CG - Rogue4 (xbow, sneak attack melee)
Naere - F Drow - CG - Silverstar of Selûne3 (back-up melee, healing)
Eol - M Half-elf - NG - Druid3/Fighter1 (least useful on team so far. Fewest kills too. Advice welcome...)
Voro - M Drow - CG - Transmuter3 (awesome with the heavy xbow)

I've had very few problems so far. I'm only playing on normal mode, so I guess with all my BG experience it should be quite easy anyway. I find the lack of a real tank to be quite refreshing, though thus far I haven't been in a situation where a tank was really needed.

Just wanted to vent all that. I'm done now.

BTW - any party opinions or advice on how I should use my characters or can improve them? I'll probably end up choosing feats to match the characters, but more info is always good I'm not a total newb at 3E but I'm still 100x more familiar with 2E. And I miss being able to multiclass splits, e.g. cleric10/mage10 since that makes things a lot more difficult and less preferable to a straight class...though at the same time it's nice to take one or two classes but not dedicate wholly to them.

[ August 10, 2006, 06:01: Message edited by: Morthond ]

 

As far as your Druid / Fighter goes, you need to decide if you're going to be focusing on combat or spellcasting.

Druids can have a variety of roles:
1) Buffing - Barkskin is one of the best AC buffs there is because it is generic and therefore stacks with anything else - provides +5 at level 12 - also spells like Bull's Strength and Cat's Grace and Stoneskin are invaluable
2) Shapeshifting - some of the wild forms can be useful in certain circumstances, especially if you have the ease of use mod installed
3) Summoning - Druids can summon increasingly powerful animals to help you as they level up.
4) Combat - Druids, like clerics, can provide reasonable backup combat capability if required.
5) Spell damage - spells like Smashing Wave, Acid Fog, Flamestrike, Ice Lance etc can be used as backup damage to the main spell damage provided by your arcane caster.

 

As Harbourboy said, you need to decide what your Druid is going to focus on. He's already summed it up fairly well, so I won't bother echoing him.

If you are going to add in Fighter levels, then you are best focussing him on combat and buffing. Should you come across a situation where you feel the need for a tank, then he will be able to handle the role quite well. Your Cleric and Mage can deal with damage and most summoning.

As adding Fighter levels will take away potential Druidic levels, your DCs and damage won't be as high compared to a pure class so he won't be as effective when relying on spells.
While Druids can potentially be very dangerous from a spell-casting point-of-view, for this to happen they need to be kept pure class (like all other spellcasters) for maximum efficiency.

As far as Feats go, avoid Improved Initiative as I seem to recall it being bugged. Forester is another naff one to pick, as is Great Cleave.

On a more positive note, I found the following feats to be quiet useful:
Weapon Specialisation (If you can get it, do so)
Improved Critical (This should be a no-brainer)
Heroic Inspiration (Not really applicable for your party)
Rapid Shot (This one was very good to me)
Spell Focus and Penetration (You do want your spells to work, right?)
The various elemental masteries (Who doesn't want to multiply their Fireball damage by 1.2?)

Well, it seems as if I've rambled far enough away from what I was originally commenting on. Hope some of that will help you.

 

To get the best from your party: Don't multiclass.

Crossbows are nice at the beginning, but you don't benefit from the extra attacks you get at higher levels or for rapid shot.

Rapid shot is very useful, as useful as ambidexterity and two-weapon fighting combined while wearing a shield.
Spell penetration isn't very useful on the other hand.
The best feats for your transmuter are:
GSF enchantment
GSF evocation
Spirit of flame and other elemental feats
The order depends on which spells you prefer.


About your druid:
Don't add other levels than druid levels. Most druid spells are transmutation spells so get GSF transmutation. Get your spellcraft up to 10 so you can take the scion of storms feat.
Call lightning and static charge are very useful, especially in boss-fights.
At higher levels you can take GSF necromancy for very deadly finger of death spells.

Druids are weak at the beginning, but get much stronger with levels.
My druid was the one I chose to fight the battles which 1 party member had to fight alone because she was the best.
And she did succeed very well.

 

Plus your transmuter will get a special transmuter-only quest to complete later in the game.

 

In my current game I have an Elven fighter2/druid8 who is focused on longbow/archery. In my party he is among my more effective killers, and most of those kills come from the bow. I don't plan to take any additional levels in fighter, so as he progresses his casting abilities are becoming quite impressive as well. So I think your druid could likely be more effective than he currently is, you just need to figure out a focus and maximize it.