Icewind Dale 2

ICEWIND DALE II

faq and
walkthrough
=================

by kaichern tee
teekc@mail.com

starts Oct 7 2002
finished Oct 19 2002
last update Nov 24 2002

version 1.4
actual version 1.4.1.031079-zdf-bs/99*25


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If you have interest in translating this faq and place it in other
website, please contact me. We can work together to make it better.

If you have any question about this game, i suggest you go first to
one of the following forums because i believe people there will be
more informative while answering your question.
GameFAQs at
http://s1.cgi.gamefaqs.com/boards/gentopic.asp?board=15119
Black Isle at
http://feedback.blackisle.com/forums/
Socerers net at
http://www.sorcerers.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=14

If you want to email me teekc@mail.com, you would need to specify
"icewind dale 2" at your title since i receive a lot of junk mails.
Be inform that my PC operating system can decode chinese (traditonal
and simplified). So if you want to, you can email me in Chinese.

Feel free to correct my mistake. Any help from anyone regarding this
faq will be credited and none of the email address will be post unless
requested. Note that your emails might be quoted in this faq. In the
process, i might modify incorrect words. If you feel that i quoted
wrongly please inform me. Also, if more then a person telling me the
same thing, i will credit everyone but use the expression of my own.
Please inform me if i said something wrong.

This faq may be posted on any site so long as nothing is changed and
you have my permission for doing so. You may not charge for, nor in
any way profit from this faq.

You will find the most updated version in,
http://www.gamefaqs.com
http://www.sorcerers.net
http://www.neoseeker.com

This faq is also posted in the following websites,
http://www.gamesover.com
http://DLH.Net
http://www.ggmania.com
http://www.cheatcc.com
http://www.edbis.com

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This Document is Copyright 2002 by kaichern tee

ICEWIND DALE II copyright 2002 by Interplay Entertainment
Corp. All Rights Reserved.

The BioWare Infinity Engine copyright by 1998-2002 BioWare
Corp. All Rights Reserved.

Icewind Dale, Icewind Dale II, Baldur's Gate, FORGOTTEN
REALMS, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, Wizards of the Coast are
trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary
of Hasbro, Inc., and are used by Interplay under license
from Infogrames Interactive, Inc.

Black Isle Studios are trademarks of Interplay
Entertainment Corp.

The BioWare Infinity Engine trademarks of BioWare Corp.

All other copyrights are property of their respective
owners.


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Table of Contents
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I Introduction ---------------------- ppgint
**Please, read this first, it wouldn't be long**

II Character Creation ---------------- ppgcre
II.1 Race ppgcr1
II.2 Class ppgcr2
II.2.1 Front-line Tanker ppgcr3
II.2.2 Back-row Caster ppgcr4
II.3 Alignment ppgcr5
II.4 Constructing a Band ppgcr6

III Skills --------------------------- ppgskl
IV Feats ---------------------------- ppgfet
III.1 Weapon and Armor Feats ppgfe1
III.2 Self-improving Feats ppgfe2
III.3 Weapon Fighting Feats ppgfe3
III.4 Spell casting Feats ppgfe4
III.5 Class Feats ppgfe4

V Useful Spells -------------------- ppgspe
IV.1 Arcane Spells ppgsp1
IV.2 Cleric Spells ppgsp2
IV.3 Druid spells ppgsp3
IV.4 Spells that Overlap ppgsp4

VI General Strategies -------------- ppgstg
VII Known Bugs That Will Hurt You ----- ppgbug

VIII Walkthrough --------------------- ppgwlk
Prologue ---------------------- ppg01
1.1 Targos Dock ppg02
1.2 Targos Town ppg03
1.3 Targos Palisade ppg04
Chapter 1 ----------------------------- ppg05
2.1 Shaegarne Fort ---------------- ppg06
2.1.1 Somewhere Before Village ppg07
2.1.2 Torak Base ppg08
2.1.3 Somewhere Before Dam ppg09
2.1.4 Dam ppg10
2.1.5 Shaegarne Bridge ppg11
2.2 Horde Fortress------------------- ppg12
2.2.1 Outside Fortress ppg13
2.2.2 Cave to Fortress 1 ppg14
2.2.3 Cave to Fortress 2 ppg15
2.2.4 Fortress ppg16
2.2.5 Inside Fortress ppg17
Chapter 2 -------------------- ppg18
3.1 Foothills ppg19
3.2 Glacier Crevice ppg20
3.3 Ice Temple Upper Level ppg21
3.4 Ice Temple Lower Level ppg22
3.4.1 Battle Square ppg23
3.5 Chapter Ends ppg24
Chapter 3 -------------------------------- ppg25
4.1 Wandering Village ---------------- ppg26
4.1.1 The Missing Children ppg27
4.1.2 The Returning Dead, or Undead ppg28
4.1.3 The Silent Ghost ppg29
4.2 Cold Marshes ppg30
4.3 River Caves ----------------------- ppg31
4.3.1 River Caves Entrance ppg32
4.3.2 River Caves ppg33
4.3.3 River Caves Exit ppg34
Chapter 4 -------------------------- ppg35
5.1 Black Raven Monastery ------- ppg36
5.1.1 Monastery Entrance ppg37
5.1.2 Monastery ppg38
5.1.3 Eight Chambers ppg39
5.1.4 Black Raven's Tomb ppg40
5.2 The Underdark --------------- ppg41
5.2.1 Driders Cave ppg42
5.2.2 Leaving the Underdark ppg43
5.2.3 Z'hinda Citadel ppg44
Chapter 5 ------------------------------- ppg45
6.1 Kuldahar ------------------------- ppg46
6.1.1 Kuldahar Pass ppg47
6.1.2 Kuldahar ppg48
6.1.3 Chult and Yuan-Ti Temple ppg49
6.1.4 Slaying the Guardian
and Protecting Kuldahar ppg50
6.2 Dragon's Eye --------------------- ppg51
6.2.1 Dragon's Eye Entrance
and Level 1 ppg52
6.2.2 Dragon's Eye Level 2 ppg53
6.2.3 Dragon's Eye Level 3 ppg54
6.2.4 Finishing Dragon's Eye ppg55
6.3 Holy Avenger --------------------- ppg56
6.4 Dragon's Eye Exit ppg57
6.5 Ice temple Revist ppg58
6.6 Fields of Slaughter ppg59
6.7 Saablic Tan ---------------------- ppg60
chapter 6 -------------------- ppg61
7.1 The Plam ppg62
7.2 The Fingers ppg63
7.3 Finishing the Game ---- ppg64

IX Frequently Asked Questions ----------- ppgque
X Version History ---------------------- ppgver
XI Credits and Acknowlegment ------------ ppgthk



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I introduction ppgint
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Well, This is the first faq i write. i am a bit old now, and most of the
time, i'll wait for an faq to release to buy the game and play according
to the faq. However this time, i amazingly played iwd2 without any faq.
Sure, i do stuck in somewhere along the course, but i have help from the
good and friendly people who visited www.gamefaqs.com IWD2 forum. As time
went on, the itch of writting this faq enlarged and i cannot resist it.
so there you have it.

For your information, i am more a pc gamer then a pnp-er (pen and paper).
So, my knowledge about 3ed is very limited. Basic stuff only i know,
technical knowledge limited i am.

You will notice that for important title in the table of contents, it will
be follow by ppgXXX. i did this for the purpose of simple navigation. You
can now just look at the table, using "find" function in your wordpad
to find ppgXXX and jump to the correspond content. For example, search for
"ppgthk' will bring you to the section. In
case, ppg means 'Powerpuff Girls'. Don't you just adore them?

As you go through the walkthrough, you'll notice that my style and basis
of writting change. There are two main reasons behind this. 1st, the game
has developed into such a state that i cannot continue with my previous
style. 2nd, my mood changed.

Since you can use 'alt' key to highlight interact-able containers, i guess
there is no need for me to indicate each containers in the game. Just press
the key often to highlight containers and on ground items so you wouldn't
miss a thing. Also, traps are expected everywhere. De-trap wouldn't yield
xp like in BG. Plus, i haven't enounter a deadly trap that cost my life,
so i wouldn't mention every trap in the game.

As the faq goes, i'll use more and more short form. I suppose it would be
easy to understand but just in case,
STR = strength DEX = dexterity
CON = constitution INT = intelligence
WIS = wisdom CHA = charisma
BGx = Baldur's Gate 1 or 2 IWDX = icewind dale 1 or 2
3ed = 3rd edition rules pnp = pen and paper
BIS = Black Isle Studios hp = hit points

Enjoy the game, enjoy the faq.

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II. character creation ppgcre
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There are a lot of discussion going on in several iwd2 related forums, so i
would not and could not cover them all. You can always pay a visit to these
forums and post your suggestion there for analysis and criticism. What i
will cover is very general.

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II.1 race ppgcr1
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Race gives you an advantage at start and influence you far into the game.
The more important aspect the a race would influence is the quests
available in the game. Some quests will result in better rewards if you
have a specific race to do the job. There will this never ending discussion
about which race is best for which class going in every IWD2 forums.

Don't be discourage by the level adjusment, it will not limit your level
cap, which is 30. Level adjusment simply means that a character needs more
experience to level into next. If a character has level adjusment of +x,
that means at level 1, that character needs xp needed for level 1+x to
level into level 2. As for the 'favored class', it doesn't nessasary means
that the race excel in that class. It means that the culture of that race
has influenced its people in such way that they will not receive an xp
penalty while multiclass into the class.

Before i go into it, one thing you have to remember,
It is role-playing that counts.

1 >>> Human
Humans are all around people. They don't have heredity
bonuses but they have the finnest educational system to make
them as competitive as other races. So they might not have
+ on any abilities, but they can be train into any class and
do a good job on it.

a. Human
human is very flexable and general. You get an extra feat at start
and extra skill points per level. The best part of a human is the
'favored class: any' bonus that it offers. Thus, the higest class
in multiclasses will the the favored class.
If you have no idea which race you want to choose, human can't be
wrong.

b. Aasimar
Aasimar has a +2 on WIS and CHA. cleric, paladin and druid will
benefit from this stats.

c. Tiefling
Tiefling has +2 on INT and DEX. Rogue, wizard or even fighter+
wizard combination will benefit from the class bonus.

2 >>> Dwarf
Dwarves are very hardcore people. They will slash rather then
talk and think. Dwarves give an impression of very hard to
damage and kill

Generally dwarf makes good fighter for the +2 CON bonus. +2
saving throw against poison is not that crucial. However, +2
against spells is is a big plus. In addition, +2 search will
also makes them a good rogue.

a. Shield Dwarf
Just like human (subrace) to human (race), shield dwarf is the
general version of dwarf. The advantages are not to heavy and so
is the disadvantage.

b. Gold Dwarf
It wouldn't be a good idea to make a rogue out of gold dwarf because
of the -2 dex disadvantage. gold dwarf is more fighter then other
dwarves. They have an +1 attack roll againist underdark creatures.
But then, the underdark is just a part of the whole story.

c. Gray Dwarf
Gray dwarf is more rogue then other dwarves. They have +4 bonus on
move silent to go with the default +2 search. So gray dwarf would
serve best for a figher+rogue dwarf.

3 >>> Elf
Elves are very magical and agile. They are easy to kill,
physically, but they are hard to hit. Elves can be great
spellcasters, especially using arcane magic (they are very
arcane anyway). Elves can be excellent archers as well. you
only heard the term 'elven archer' right? have you ever heard
of 'orcish archer' or 'dwarven archer'? But, the game does not
really promote you to be an archer. so, elves can only show
their magical side but not the agile side.

All elves will have a +2 DEX bonus. All elves are immune to
sleep. All elves have +2 saving throw against enchantment
magic (spells that screw up your mind like charm, confusion,
hold person, etc). All elves have +2 search check. In
addition, elves are proficient with large swords and bows
(crossbows are not bows, they are simple missile weapons).
Since elves are magical, their favored class will be towards
spellcasters.

a. Moon Elf
general version of elves. receives -2 CON.

b. Drow
+2 DEX, +2 INT and +2 CHA, you want more? how about 11+lvl spell
resistance? Drow does a great job in a lot of classes and
multiclasses. To make the game interesting, mixing a rogue and wizard
would certainly be fun. the downside is -2 CON so they can't be
fighters that take a lot of damage. Also, whenever under bright light,
a drow receives -1 on everything.

c. Wild Elf
just like moon elf, but the penalty is -2 int.

4 >>> Gnome
Gnomes are suppose to be very scientific and rational people
(rational doesn't mean serious). Ironically, their favored
class is illusionist. Generally gnomes are weak at physical
fighting.

a. Rock Gnome
Seriously, i don't know what to do with rock gnome. Because their
bonus +2 CON conflicted with their penalty -2 STR. if -2 STR makes
you no good at melee, then what's the +2 CON for?

b. Deep Gnome
+2 DEX and WIS with 11+lvl spell resistance. It doesn't not end here.
+2 to all saving throw, +2 to search and hide. Now this is much
better then the rock gnome. Combination of fighter+illusionist or
rogue+illusionist will work fine. Don't worry about the -2 str
penalty. Or if you want, For the fun of it, deep gnome can be good
druid and cleric. Not many race has +2 WIS.

5 >>> Half-elf
i wish i have better things to say about half-elf but there
isn't much. Personally, i like half-elf for the sake of role
playing. In 2e rules, half-elf offers the widest range of
multiclassing. Now in 3e rules, since everyone can multiclass,
half-elf loses its most important advantage. Furthermore,
'favored class: any' might seem useful, but human also offer
this with 1 bonus feats and more bonus skill points. so which
would you rather choose?

Ok, the limited advantages of a half-elf. Half-elves are
immune to sleep and have a +2 save aganist enchantment magic.
This bonus is best apply to a fighter since saving throw
against enchantment magic is a fighter weakness. So, to some
extend, half-elf fighter is better than a human fighter.

6 >>> Half-orc
Most people don't accept half-orc and treat them as babaric
half-breed. Most half-orc are either abandoned children or
raise by their human single mother without acceptance of
the society. (Come to think of it, have you ever come across
a half-orc of orcish mother and human father?)

Half-orc makes the best hardcore fighter with their +2 STR,
the only race with + STR. Who cares about int and cha when
being a fighter?

7 >>> Halfling
Halfling are, in simple term, sneaky. They just like to play
around. The thought of heroic deeds will never come across
their minds. Generally, halfling people are almost equal
to rogues.

Because of their sneakiness nature, they have +2 DEX, +2
move silently and +1 to hit with thrown weapon. Because
they are all small, they receive -2 str penalty. One special
note is that these people are fearless, +2 morale saving
throw against fear. They are not that easy to suffer a
morale failure to fear.

a. Lightfoot Halfling
The key of lightfoot halfling is the +1 to all saving throws.

b. Strongheart Halfling
The key of strongheart halfling is the extra feat available at
start.

*p.s. So it's really up to you for choosing between a lightfoot or
strongheart. You want +1 saving throws or +1 feat? Personally,
i prefer +1 saving throws because its benefit is more long
term.

c. Ghostwise Halfling
Favored class is barbarian. Gains extra ability of setting natural
snares. Natural snares work just like entangle, nothing fancy.


==CONCLUSION==
Remember what i mention earlier? It is role-playing that counts. Of course,
half-orc makes the best fighter. But for the sake of role-playing, pure fun
and not following prototypes, why not try half-orc paladin, halfling druid,
dwarf cleric? If you have a band of six, the 'not so wise choice' of race
and class would not give you much trouble. In fact you can later tell
everyone that you finished the game with some most freakish combination.

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II.2 class ppgcr2
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Because of the freedom that 3rd edition rule gives, most of the time,
people would not stay in one class and become a fulltimer. So, as i discuss
about each class, i will include a little conclusion at the end of each
type of class.

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II.2.1 front-line tanker ppgcr3
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As the name suggest, these people are there to take damage and
protect your spellcaster.

1 >>> Fighter
Fighter is all about feats.

You'll get a lot of extra feats so you can pretty much learn every
skill that is available to you. The crucial thing is in the early
of the game. You only have a few feats, so you'll need to plan well
on what to learn first, and what's next. While deciding what should
a fighter's abilities be, generally speaking, minimize charisma, and
wisdom. STR and CON are equally important. Of course, if you want
to pull down DEX to push INT, you are welcome. Because most likely
a fighter will wear the heaviest armor in the game which might
negates the benefits of having a high DEX. But beware, some feats
require high dex, like 'Dirty Fighting', so don't let your DEX drop
below 13.

You have feats, so use them well. At early of the game, you might
want to choose 'Snakeblood' if you have a choice, Since this only
available in first level. 'Dirty Fighting'is a must have feat later
on. Distribute your weapon feats so that you can attack effectively
with slashing damage as well as bludgeoning damage. Some monsters
have high resistance to a damage type. However, those are open to
piercing damage usually cannot resist slashing as well.

p.s. Holy Avenger is a long sword. There is an axe that slay
construct in HoF mode. 'Club of Disruption' is a club
that destroy undead.

2 >>> Paladin
In the name of law, you smite evil.

First, paladin will have divine spellcasting ability starting from
4th lvl, which are based on wisdom. so if you want to cast a x level
spell, you'll need 10+x wisdom.

Second, paladin has 'lay on hand' in 1st lvl. it's a healing spell
which determine by charisma. Also, by default, you are immune to
disease. At 2nd lvl, you gain 'smite evil' which is also charisma
based. It gives you extra damage to evil foes. Also in 2nd lvl,
you gain 'aura of courage'. It makes you immune to fear and gives
allies +4 saving throws aganist fear. In 3rd lvl, you'll get 'turn
undead' which is charisma and lvl based. Also in 3rd lvl is 'remove
disease' which can be useful. So basically, you are immune to disease
and fear at lvl 3.

Third, you have restriction on multiclassing. if you don't
multiclass to your order's favored class, you cannot lvl up in
your paladin class ever.

So, if you want to play a full time paladin, you'll need to
distribute your abilities wisely. Well, since i never play a full
time paladin before, so i wouldn't give me unwise suggestion here.

3 >>> Barbarian
Barbarian is strong but unpolished fighter.

By default, a barbarian walks faster then others. Barbarian gains
most hit points per level.

A barbarian has 'Rage' ability at start. Once cast, it grants you
some useful bonuses for fighting. As it wears off, it makes you
fatigue and lower your abilities. As you lvl up, your 'Rage'
becomes better and at lvl 20, it will become 'Tireless Rage'.

At 2nd and 5th lvl, you'll gain 'uncanny dodge'. Respectively,
while attacked by invisible foe you apply your dex bonous to
armor class, you cannot be sneak attack by rogues unless the
rouges is 4 lvl highier than you.

At 11th lvl, you'll gain damage reduction and resistance to all
sorts physical damage.

STR, DEX, CON max them out. WIS, CHA minimize, whatever left is
in INT.

4 >>> Rogue
Rogue is about sneak attack.

A rogue damage may not be as high as others, but as soon as they
are sneak attacking, They deal out extra damage according to 1d6
per 2 lvl.

Rogue gains 'uncanny dodge' just like barbarian but in lvl 3, 6.
in lvl 2, rogue has 'Evasion' to evade area effetive spells.
sucessful reflex save to evade all damage and uncessful reflex
save to take half damage.

The show starts at 10th lvl. Now the rogue will have access to
some rogue-only skills. Since these are strictly availavle to
rouge, you might want to pick them as soon as possible, because
these skills are very useful, like 'Crippling Strike',
'Improved Evasion', 'Slippery Mind'.

Simply put, DEX max. CON, STR, INT are up to you. WIS and CHA,
min. Your DEX is going to be highier than you STR, so it would
be useful if you pick up 'Weapon Finesse'. Most people will dual
wield a rogue so you might want to pick up 'Two-weapon Fighting'
and 'Ambidexerity' as well. but there is a better solution to
this. please see the conslusion of this part.

p.s. 'Hamstring' is also a must pick feat.

5 >>> Ranger
Ranger sucks.

i know i'll get flamed about this comment. But sadly, it's true.
i like ranger also, i started my D&D adventure as an half-elf
ranger. and now it turned out that half-elf is the most useless
race and ranger is the most useless class. Note that 'most useless'
doesn't not mean 'absolutely useless', just 'relatively useless',
in this game. Bottom line is, rangers just cannot show their
usefulness in the game people called Icewind Dale 2.

Though it sucks, ranger has one minor advantage, automatically
gain 'two-weapon fighting' and 'ambidexerity' while wearing light
or no armor. Now keep this in mind.

One important note is while choosing 'favored enemies' and 'weapon
focus'. Both are deeply related. Don't do stupid thing like Valygar
did in BG2, racial enemy: golem, weapons: katana and spear, like
that is going to help?

>>according to [Adam Frederick] who built a solo ranger.
STR- 16 DEX- 18
CON- 16 INT- 8
WIS- 10 CHA- 8
Every level I put my point into either hide or move silently and
because of that I can scout out most maps without getting in a
single fight. As for proficient points. I put 2 into martial
weapon bow and if you want to get 4 lvls of fighter put 3 in
(I did this it helps). After that I just put in Improved critical
and improved initiative and after that I just put it into whatever
is appealing. And once you get to around lvl 8 I find I can fell
most opponents in 2-3 hits and I lure them to my tank so that by
the time they get to him 3-4 of the enemies are dead. And this is
the build I use for party and solo games.

6 >>> Monk
They might be useful

If you want to be a monk, be a full time monk. Multiclass a monk
will utterly spoil their unarmed damage ability. In simple words,
a 20lvl monks will have much much higher base attack then a
20monk/2fighter.Monk has a long list of bonuses while leveling,
so i wouldn't list them here.

The reason that they 'might be useful' is that, IWD2 don't count
unarmed attack as a weapon which they should. Furthermore, in IWD2
unarmed attack will evoke 'Attack of Opportunity' which further
de-grade the real power of a monk.

Conservatively building is to max out WIS because this is what gives
a naked monk Armor Class. CON should be maxed also for high hp. STR
and DEX are equally important. INT and CHA can be neglected even if
the modifiers go to negative. There is no use of CHA for a monk. INT
for a monk will only affect the skill points. Monk don't have any
much needed skill to invest so INT can be minimized.

>>[Domen Gostincar] defending the usefulness of monks (and nuns).
I have made a human monk, with the following starting stats:
STR- 16 DEX- 18
CON- 18 INT- 3
WIS- 18 CHA- 3
She gets 2 skill points per level, which I put into hide and move
silently, making her an excellent scout. Also good for saving money,
as she doesn't need any armor or weapon. For feats, I choose dirty
fighting, dodge, great fortitude, iron will and lightning reflex
(the last three because I ran out of other sensible feats, and the
better ones were still beyond my reach, and because having high
saves can't hurt.
In the Clack Raven monastery, my monk was level 11, and I had no
problem defeating the 8 rooms with her. The only damage she received
was via lightning bolt, the spinning blades and the flame strikes -
those that were not avoided (high accuracy means a high reflex save).

==CONCLUSION==
Except for monk, you might want to multiclass your tanker into at
least one other class, simply because you don't really need a
fulltimer in any of the above classes. By multiclassing, you'll
have bonuses that other class provide which would be really useful.
for example,

A rogue are bounded to wear light armor. in addition, they are not
proficient in shield. So what the hack, multiclass to a lvl 1 ranger
to gain 'Two-weapon Fighting' and 'Ambidexerity' by default. In
addition, you can further multiclass rogue into fighter for some
extra feats.

A fulltime paladin would not bring you far also. wWat people
usually do is set a low WIS and CHA paladin and stop leveling
up after 3rd level, after gaining all the bonuses. Continue to
level up in fighter, rogue or barbarian. Doing so, the character
not only has some nice bonuses but also the luxury to use
'Holy Avenger' one of the best weapon in the game, well almost
every other game. Or you can go the other way around, by building
a 4 lvl fighter and every lvl to paladin. Doing so, you'll get
the much needed 'weapon specialization' and not letting go the
spell casting ability of a paladin. Either way, it works.

Further multiclassing rogue into fighter would benefit much also.
A lvl 20rogue/10fighter is just slightly worse than a lvl 30 fighter
in face-to-face fighting. By multiclassing into fighter, a rogue
gain more feats to fully acquire all the needed abilities.

Another popular multiclassing pattern is go into 4lvl fighter with
any other tanker class. By do so, the character will have access
to the ever useful 'weapon specialization'.

All these are just multiclassing a tanker class to another tanker
class. Because i see that unless you are not playing a band of 6,
there is not need to multiclass a tanker into a spellcaster simply
because their abilities don't overlaps. If however, you are doing
trio, duet or solo, you might need to do so and this would be above
my limited knowledge.

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II.2.2 back-row caster ppgcr4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
They provide support to frontline as well as main fire power to
damage monsters. In general, you would want to pick up 'Combat
Casting', 'Sbuvocal casting, and max 'Spell Penetration' as soon
as possible. Although i would not mention, but 'Dispel' is equally
useful and important for all spellcaster and should pick up as
soon as possible. Throughout the discussion, arcane refers to
wizard, sorcerer, bard and it's spells; divine refers to druid,
cleric and it's spells.

1 >>> Bard
Jack of all, master of none.

Bards do have something they are specialize in. A bard provides
bard song that will boost everyone's ability, as they gain level,
they gain new songs which have different uses according to different
occassions. Note that a bard casting ability is based on CHA,
so to cast lvl x arcane spell, you need 10+x CHA.

The significant level for bard is lvl 11 as this level gives
you the final song to sing. You can continue after to level up
after this or choose to concentrate in other multiclass. If you
are not planning to have highier bard level and cast highier
level spells, don't invest too much in CHA then. The major
selling point of a bard is bard only items you found along the
way. You can get a horn in early Chapter 2 from an evil merchant.
This horn will instantly summon some barbarian to fight for you.
Handy meat shields instantly.

2 >>> Cleric
Heal

Yes heal. Of all the spells that a cleric has, heal is the single
most important spell you have. It provides instant and full hit
point to any character and its casting duration is very short.

Other seriously important cleric spell are 'Animated Undead' and
'Tremor'. 'Animated Undead' is the best and the only useful
summoning spell. It upgrades as you lvl up. 'Tremor' will
instantly damage all enemies and might knock them unconscious.

Different domain affects cleric's domain spell. each lvl of domain
spell has 1 additional spell over a choice of two. What god you
want to worship is totally up to you. I like Demarch of Mask just
because of its invisibility spells and 'Executioner's Eyes'.

Max WIS for cleric. Max CHA if you want but it is not that crucial.
CHA controls your undead turning ability. Have some points in INT
and that's it. One important note, you can take 1~2 points intended
for WIS and put them to DEX, later into the game, you will encounter
a potion that exchange 1 DEX for 2 WIS in Battle Square, not a bad deal.

Simply put, cleric strength allies, weaken enemies.

3 >>> Druid
Nature's servant awaits - Jaheira from Baldur's Gate

A druid do not support that much as cleric, but heal is still
available to druid at a highier level. Generally speaking, druid
has druid spells which deals some amount of damage and cannot be
learn by cleric nor arcane spellcasters.

Some might use druid as a support to main tanker(s) but i just
use druid as pure spellcaster. Shapeshifting might work but sadly,
it looses its usefulness because enemies get stronger faster.

>>[Jae Shin] wants to denfend for shapeshifters
"It basically allows your druid to become a tank (which is why I
use my druid for the Battle Square). The bear you get at 12th level
combined with a 'champion's strength' spell is vicious and can
easily do over 20 damage per attack. The only problem is that the
game seems to have a minor bug in it which causes attack damages
and bonuses to get a bit confused whenever you switch between
forms. It's easily overcome by unequipping and reequipping weapons,
but it can be a bit of a hassle. Then again, having a tank with
healing spells is really, really useful. What's even better is that
it changes your characters' stats. Bears have no problems with
forcing locks open."

4 >>> Sorcerer
Keep'em coming

The thing about socerer is that they have more ammo to dispose
for a particular spell. Therefore, a sorcerer can cast a chain
lightning, another chain lightning, another chain lightning and
again and again. The hard part is, what spell should they learn,
in what order? Different with Neverwinter Nights version, you
cannot unlearn learnt spells. so you really need to consider
which spells will benefit in a long run and which cannot.

Beside casting spells, sorcerer can play an important part as
diplomat/speaker of the party. You could give a sorcerer extra
INT to gain extra skill points in order to learn all the needed
'talking skills'. Together with their high CHA and the fact that
they don't refuse reward like paladins, they are a good choice
for speakers.

As you adventuring under HoF mode, you'll notice that it is your
sorcerer and wizard who do the most damage. Your tankers will be
shouting for medic every few hits by enemies. But sorcerer and
wizard, they never need to heal. If they die, you can bring them
back to life and they can jump into fight without pick back their
stuff.

Considering a sorcerer abilities is an easy task. First of all,
max CHA. then, max INT. adjust other abilities as you like, it
is not that crucial. The reason you want a high INT is that it
gives you extra skill points to upgrade your skills.

5 >>> Wizard
Level 1 summon? Yes i can do that.

Different to sorcerer, a wizard offers you versatility and
flexibility. You can almost learn any spell under the sun
(specialized wizard has restrictions), and you are not afraid of
doing so. You wouldn't give a sorcerer to learn 'Summon Creature
lvl 1', but you can do that for a wizard. Summon Creature lvl x
is always useful until you have animate undead.

Furthermore, there are these i called 'one time spell', like 'Mass
Haste'. You only need it once (twice at most), before or during a
fight. there is no need for you to keep casting mass haste right?
so why let a sorcerer to learn 'Mass Haste' which she/he will only
use it once before the next rest.

For me there is no need to take specialization because my sorcerer
is already specialized enough. i'll need a person who can cast
every spells rather a person who can cast a kind of spell more
times.

Distributing a wizard abilities is even simpler. max INT, which
is the prime abilities and gives you tons of extra skill points.
Then you can distribute other abilities points to anywhere you want.
Generally, high CON and DEX.

>>[Yorien Dragonard] has another view on sorcerer and wizard.
"I usually play with rather specialised casters. Have a main
wizard (pure), a main healer (usually pure) and then some
support casters (for example a male Drow rogue-wiz with a
lot of protection and enhancers learnt) and commonly some
other chara with support spells . That's why I use more
disablers than direct damage."
"Well, the main idea here is to have a rather specialised
spellcaster, whose main role is to cast some party enhacers
pre-combat and make a quick first move just before combat by
casting one or two area disables before party rushes. As
caster is specialised, he'd have skills/feats conveniently
arranged so his spell's DC is sufficiently high to connect
on many creatures. So, caster's job is to disable lower
menaces while party can focus in the big foes (and commonly,
you'll find that some big foes also fall to the disabler).
Since it uses only a little variety of spells, sorcerers are
pretty capable of being disablers."


==CONCLUSION==
Keeping a fulltime spellcaster might just be a good idea simply
because the highier the level, the more spell slots available.
But remember, the game sets the level cap at 30 (which is a lot).
By the time a spellcaster reaches level 20 ~ 25, there will be
enough spell ammo for any fight. So, starting from level 20 ~ 25,
a spellcaster can multiclass to another class for example fighter
(for feats), barbarian (for hp), rogue (for evasion).

a special case is, monk benefits their armor class from their WIS.
You can start your cleric/druid as a monk, then multiclass to
cleric/druid after level 1 monk. Take note on the alignment
restriction, if you want to do so. Also, similar to this is to
start a sorcerer as paladin. Paladin uses CHA modifier in saving
throw, so your sorcerer who are weak at saving throws (due to low
CON, DEX, WILL) can benefits from this.

A druid and a cleric will have similiar ablilities. As i played the
game, i found out that during many fights, my cleric was just
standing and waiting for anyone who call for medic. By multiclassing
and druid to a cleric or vice versa according to 20major/10minor,
you'll have a druid that can bring back your fallen members
into life and a cleric that can call down lightning to strike
enemies.

Another lame way to exploit the game mistake would be taking a
specialist wizard and take a level in sorcerer. That way, the wizard
will have access to all schools of spell.

Of course there is this ever popular fighter and wizard
combination. Fighter+wizard don't have to worry about armor
since a lot of spell will balance off the disadvantage.
Useful spells for a fighter+wizard would be 'Mirror Image',
'Blink', 'Fire Shield', 'Tenser's Transformation', 'Antimagic
Field', 'Trollish Fortitude', 'Seven Eyes', 'Aegis' and 'Black
Blade of Disaster'. Abilities for this multiclass would be max
STR or DEx and INT, min WIS and CHA, what is left distribute to
CON and DEX or STR.

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II.3 alignment ppgcr5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surprise to see alignment in here? Usually alignment isn't that important
because ultimately, alignment is a role-playing thing. But alignment in
this game has a very significant effect in a matter of life and death.

Spoilers--
At the end of the game when you finally meet the bosses, one of them
is able to cast 'Blasphemy', this area effective spell will instantly
stuns anyone that is non-evil alignment for 1 turn, which is very
long.

So, you must have some members as evil alignment, if not all. i would
suggest that at least your spellcasters be evil alignment.

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II.4 constructing a band ppgcr6
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Solo would be challenging but i think IWD2 was initially designed as an
adventure for a band. You can have maximum six people in a team, so you
can really specialize them. Ultimately, it all falls down to 2 things,

a) Playing style
Some would find that a certain combination is very strong and they can
just 'walk' through the game. But when that combination falls into
others hand, it will not work at all. That is why whenever my friends
ask me about what is the best character in Diablo, what is the best
combination in Final Fantasy N, i would always give them the same answer
'there is no best sword in the world, only best swordman'. Any
combination would work. How would the combination works is totally
dependent on how you control its members.

b) Role playing
Some classes are not that usefull in the game. It does not really matter
if you have them in your band or not, like bard, druid and ranger.
However, there are people out there, insist certain class be included in
the band. For me, it is druid. Partly because i am an environmentalist
and partly i just don't know how a band without a druid can adventure
into the wild. Yes, sure, a durid isn't that useful. There wasn't a time
that i am thankful for having to bring a druid along, but there was time
when i curse myself for not bringing an extra cleric. But then, i still
like druid.

If you are not a newbie in the game, you don't have the need to look at the
uninspire team suggestion below.

A simple combination for newbie,
1 - fighter with paladin 2 - rogue with fighter
3 - wizard 4 - sorcerer
5 - cleric 6 - cleric

With a combination like this, you'll have two person for each category of
class.
Fighter/paladin will be the main tanker and rogue/fighter will be
the support tanker. It seems that 2 tankers is rather weak but
don't forget that you have 4 summoners which means 4 summons in a
time. So most of the time the two tankers would carry the task of
protecting the spellcasters rather then dealing damage and take
the pain. Rogue is a must because you need someone to detrap, and
only rogue can do that. There are traps in the game that will not
go away even you triggered it. Paladin is an 'almost must' because
the Holy Avenger you get under HoF mode offers +10 enchantment, you
don't want to miss that, do you? On top of that, how about the idea
of dual-wielding Holy Avengers? A +5 and +10.

Sorcerer is the main arcane spellcaster. Sorcerer learns all the
main damage spells, all spells that is going to be used again and
again. Wizard on the other hand provides the 'clean out' job.
Whatever usefull spells that the sorcerer don't or haven't learn,
the wizard can help out.

Two cleric can carry out two different kinds of job, to make the
band looks pretty and to make the enemies look ugly. Above all, you
have two people that cast provide quick 'Heal' and crucial
'Resurrection'. Accident happens, if one cleric dies, another can
bring her/him back.


[Arachree Mae] has a suggestion of a band consisting of all classes,
Paladin(mystra)/wizard (8/22) aasimar
8 lvl paladin to get their cavalier (i forget their name) feat (author:
the feat is called 'Fiendslayer'), 22 lvl wizard didn't hurt their spell
to level 9.

Ranger/rogue/fighter (5/21/4) tiefling
5 lvl ranger to get 2 racial enemy, 4 lvl fighter to get weapon
specialization, 21 lvl rogue to detrap of course.

Barbarian/fighter (20/10) dwarf
20 lvl barbarian to get tireless rage.

Monk (30) human
They just rock with high wisdom (you could stun 30 wizard a day if you
could find that many) just hide them and sneak attack the wizard (throw
in some rogue would help (to sneak attack). (author: not too much rogue
as it will destroy the basic attack bonus of armed attack, 3 lvl is enough)

Bard/sorcerer (11/19) wood elf
On my exp with IWD 1 you just need bard that's why i'm putting in a bard,
11 lvl to get their best song. If you think the song didn't that great (on
IWD 1 that song could regenerate hp all the time i hardly need a cleric to
heal, but IWD 2 ruin it by only activate this regeneration in combat),
still you get 2nd healer (from bardic spell).

Druid/cleric ((?/?) depends on defensive or offensive playing) female drow
this one like i said depends on playing style. i really wish i could split
the cleric in to some one else (like monk) but i really like high level
monk. and that ruins clerics ability.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III skills ppgskl
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This section is about skills. If feats give you the extra edge fighting
enemies, then skills give you an upper hand interact with the NPCs and
surrounding. As you level up, you'll gain skill points, how many skill
points you gain is dependent on your class and INT. Class provides you the
basic skill points each level, INT modifier gives you the bonus skill
points. That's why in 3ed rules, INT is generally important. If you really
don't want to invest heavily on INT, at least don't let your INT modifier
becomes negative value. It will hurts. Beside class and INT, human also
gains extra skill point per level.

Rule number one in distributing skill points, give them to class skills
first. When you distributing your skill points you will notice that some
skills require 2 points to move up a level but some only need 1 point.
Those that need 1 point would be the class skill for the class that you
level up now.

Rule number two, give some points to talking skills (bluff, diplomacy and
intiminate). You cannot always select who to initiate a conversation. So,
you would want all of your members to have some points in major talking
skills just in case.

And lastly, every skill has association with your abilities. The Ability
modifier will affect if you make a successful skill check aganist a
situation. The ability followed every skill title incidates that the
ability modifier will be applied while throwing a check. Related ability
will be indicated after each skill title.

1 >>> Alchemy (INT)
You'll encounter a lot of unidentified potions in the game. Alchemy is the
skill used to identify these potions. Beside that, Alchemy has a very
important role in progressing the story. Whenever the story requires you
to perform potion mixing or creation, an alchemist will be required.

2 >>> Animal Empathy (CHA)
This skill has potential, but not in this game. You don't need any aid from
animals to finish any quest. Also, there will not be a time when you curse
yourself for not charming an enemy animal to help you. Animals fighting is
very very rare in IWD2.

3 >>> Bluff (CHA)
One of the 3 talking skills. Bluff is the cunning way of conversation.

4 >>> Concentration (CON)
This one of the best part about 3ed rules. Once upon a time, whenever a
spellcaster (especially arcane spellcaster) is being hit, she/he will lose
the spell currently casting. Concentration gives you a chance to continue
with the spell casting progress when being hit.

5 >>> Diplomacy (CHA)
One of the 3 talking skills. Diplomacy is the polite way of conversation.

6 >>> Disable Device (INT)
This skill is used whenever a character is required to disable, mostly,
trap. Of course whenever you encouter any mechanical device that need to
disable, this will be the skill applied.

7 >>> Hide (DEX)
This is the skill that makes your character 'poof' into thin air. Hiding in
day time is harder then hiding in night. Of course, wearing heavier armor
will affect your hiding skill.

8 >>> Intiminate (CHA)
One of the 3 talking skills. Intiminate is the violence way of conversation.

9 >>> Knowledge (Arcana) (INT)
This stat determines if your character can successfully identify a magical
item or scroll.

10 >>> Move Silently (DEX)
This skill determines if you can move while maintaining hidden. Heavier
armors and some noisy weapons (like fails) will penalize this sill.

11 >>> Open Lock (DEX)
As of the name suggest, it determines how good you are at lock picking.

12 >>> Pick Pocket (DEX)
Determines if you can steal something from an NPC. While being pick
pocketed, the NPC's level and INT modifier act as the saving throw against.
So you can see that adventuring under HoF mode, pick pocket is a totally
useless skill. There is no way that you can beat the 'saving throw' against
pick pocket of an NPC.

13 >>> Search (INT)
Determines if your character can spot hidden traps.

14 >>> Spellcraft (INT)
When someone not from your band casts a spell, this skill kicks in to see
if you can identify that spell. It will show in the conversation box as
'Someone casting -spell-'. It makes life easier if you can identify the
spell can counter it.

15 >>> Use Magic Device (CHA)
It allows your chatacter to use wands and such that usually can only be
used by wizard and sorcerer.

16 >>> Wilderness Lore (WIS)
When using this skill (select under 'skills' menu), it will tell you the
general information about an area. Information like what kind of monsters
are likely to linger around or is there a friendly settlement nearby is
always useful if you are adventuring into an unfamiliar area. Ultimately,
this skill helps you to get through the Fell Wood maze.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV feats ppgfet
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feat is what makes your character different from my character. Ultimately,
especially for spellcasters, feat is all about preference. Some might think
this combination will work but some don't. This part of the faq will
provide with a general reference on what is good and what is not so good.
As you play the game, you'll discover your style, and know what feat you
want to choose next.

Note that some feats will automatically put in use once you have taken the
feat. However some feats don't. This kind of feats give you an extra skill
that you have to select it under 'Special abilities' menu to use it. An
'auto' or 'select' will indicates the difference.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV.1 Weapons and Armors Feats ppgfe1
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some classes automatically gain proficiency in certain feats fall under
this category. Classes noted after every feats indicate that these classes
automatically gain this feat. One exception is that elves gain longsword
and bow feats regardless of classes.

1 >>> Armor Proficiency (auto)
Depend on how many rank you choose/have, you can wear certain kind of
armor without suffering heavy penalties.
Effect: When you wear a type of armor with which you are proficient at,
the armor check penalty applies only to 'Hide', 'Move Silently'
and Pick Pocket.
If a character who is wearing armor with which she/he is not
proficient at, she/he suffers its armor check penalty on
attack rolls and on all skill checks that involve moving.
Proficiency Types:
1 rank - Light - leather armor, studded leather
(babarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, paladin,
ranger, rogue)
2 ranks - Medium - chainmail, splint mail
(babarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, paladin,
ranger)
3 ranks - Heavy - half-plate, full plate
(cleric, fighter, paladin)

2 >>> Shield Proficiency (auto)
Effect: You can use a shield and suffer only the standard penalties.
(babarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, paladin, ranger)

3 >>> Weapon Proficiency, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization (auto)
You are proficient with using all the weapons from the listed
category.
Effect: One ranks in this feat, you make attack rolls with the weapon
normally.
Two ranks in this feat is Weapon Focus, which grants +1 to
hit.
Three ranks in the feat is Weapon Specialization, which grants
+2 to damage. Only characters with four or more levels of
fighter may take Weapon Specialization.
A character who uses a weapon without being proficient with it
suffers a -4 penalty on attack rolls.

Simple Weapons:
Simple Weapon: Crossbow - light crossbow, heavy crossbow
(babarian, bard, cleric, fighter, monk, paladin, ranger,
rogue, sorcerer, wizard)
Simple Weapon: Mace - heavy mace, morningstar
(babarian, bard, cleric, fighter, paladin, ranger,
rogue, sorcerer)
Simple Weapon: Missile - dart, sling
(babarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, monk, paladin,
ranger, rogue, sorcerer)
Simple Weapon: Quarterstaff - quarterstaff
(babarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, monk, paladin,
ranger, rogue, sorcerer, wizard
Simple Weapon: Small Blade - dagger, short sword
(babarian, bard, cleric, druid, figher, monk, paladin,
ranger, rogue, sorcerer, wizard)


Martial weapons:
Martial Weapon: Axe - hand axe, battleaxe, greataxe, throwing
axe
(babarian, fighter, paladin, ranger)
Martial Weapon: Bow - shortbow, composite shortbow, longbow,
composite longbow
(babarian, fighter, paladin, ranger, rogue, ELF)
Martial Weapon: Flail - flail
(babarian, fighter, paladin, ranger)
Martial Weapon: Greatsword - greatsword
(babarian, fighter, paladin, ranger
Martial Weapon: Hammer - warhammer, throwing hammer
(babarian, figher, paladin, ranger)
Martial Weapon: Large Sword - longsword, scimitar
(babarian, figher, paladin, ranger, ELF)
Martial Weapon: Polearm - spear, halberd
(babarian, figher, paladin, ranger)

Exotic weapon:
Exotic Weapon: Bastard Sword
(Bastard)
(Actually, no one automatically gains this feat. Keep
in mind also that, some bastard swords are two-handed
and some are one-handed)


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IV.2 self-improving feats ppgfe2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Self-improving feats are mostly feats that increase your various saving
throws. These +bonus to saving throws are not that crucial and big deal.
Because later into the game, you have all kinds of spells that can counter
all the bad effects if fail a saving throw. Pick only when there is extra
feat and you don't know where to put it. DEX affect reflex saving, CON
affect fortitude saving and WIS affect affect will saving. There are also
feats that enchance your skill checks and overall performance.

1 >>> Bullheaded (auto)
Effect: +1 bonus on Will saves and a +2 bonus on Intimidate checks.
Prerequisite: Human or dwarf

2 >>> Courteous Magocracy (auto)
Effect: +2 on all Diplomacy and Spellcraft checks.

3 >>> Dash (auto)
Effect: Character moves about 15% faster than normal.

4 >>> Discipline (auto)
Effect: +1 bonus on Will saves and a +2 bonus on Concentration
checks.

5 >>> Forester (auto)
Effect: You receive a +2 bonus on all Wilderness Lore checks.

6 >>> Great Fortitude (auto)
Effect: +2 bonus to all Fortitude saving throws.

7 >>> Iron Will (auto)
Effect: +2 bonus to all Will saving throws.

8 >>> Improved Initiative (auto)
Effect: The weapon speed and casting time for all spells is reduced
by 1 to a minimum of 1.
Note: All of the feats listed under this category, this feat is
equally important and useful to everyone IF BIS could fix the
fact that this feat isn't working at all.

9 >>> Lightning Reflexes (auto)
Effect: +2 bonus to all Reflex saving throws.

10>>> Luck of Heroes (auto)
Effect: a +1 luck bonus on all saving throws.
Prerequisite: Human
Note: If you cannot decide which saving throw you want to enchance,
pick this one. Luck will provide an minor extra edge to all
your saving throw.

11>>> Mercantile Background (auto)
Effect: 5% discount on buying items and a 5% mark up on selling
items at stores.
Prerequisite: Human, deep gnome, or gray dwarf
Note: To maximize the benefit, give this feat to the person with
higest CHA. But then, money isn't any real problem in the game.

12>>> Resist Poison (auto)
Effect: +4 bonus on Fortitude saving throws against poison.
Prerequisite: Gray dwarf, half-orc
Note: You may only take this feat as a 1st level character.

13>>> Snake Blood (auto)
Effect: +2 bonus on Fortitude saving throws against poison and a +1
bonus on all Reflex saving throws.
Prerequisite: Human
Note: You may only take this feat as a 1st level character.

14>>> Strong Back (auto)
Effect: Carry weight increased by 50%.
Note: If your cleric has problem wearing heavy armor, you might want
to sacrifice a feat for this.

15>>> Toughness (auto)
Effect: You gain +3 hp each time you pick this feat.
Note: A total of +15 hp at the end isn't that big deal.


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IV.3 weapon fighting feats ppgfe3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you want to fight like the people in