As you keep playing ToEE you start to develop certain shortcuts to make the game more enjoyable in whatever aspect you think is best. So please, share it. I find that leveling up and building your char is the most exciting part of the game, so I started playing the game in an optimal way to build characters quickly rather than struggle with lots of low level characters for too long. The first and most important part: start solo then bring the rest of the party onboard later on. If you have a strong enough char, you can do hommlet quests (and/or do welkwood bog, I usually don't bother) and clear the moathouse solo. This will give you around 33k of XP if you always wait 2 levels before leveling and you kill all the NPC followers from the welcome wench at lvl 1 (furnok, toruko, kobort and the other guy). Almost enough XP for level 8. Depending on your build, you already have one nearly "complete" char in the party. Nulb is a very good alternative for face chars that cannot handle the combat in the moathouse, specially for lvl 3-4 chars. At lvl 1 the XP is overwhelming and you might actually waste it since you cannot gain more than 2 levels worth of XP before leveling up. The second part: Be a little naughty If you cannot handle solo combat even after Nulb, you might want to bring otis or burne along with you. For XP, I reccomend Otis, because when he's done smashing things for you and is at near death, you can let him go and land a killing blow for a good chunk of XP even if you are somewhat high level. If you'd like a cheap crafter, burne is the way to go. I do not reccomend killing him since it might bring you the butcher of hommlet reputation, but he is the perfect candidate for crafting since he gains 2 feats in the next 2 levels after you get him and reaches level 10 while doing so. So he is a good companion to have if combat is too tough for your char. Also, if he is not with you when you discover the orb and you never speak of the orb to him, he will always be available for recruitment (at least until zuggy is dead) Third part: Speed-level in the temple After Nulb it gets really easy. Your solo starter should be at level 9 or 10 by now and the early temple critters won't give much XP to him. It is time to bring in the rest of the party. This can be done in several ways, but I like to bring one at a time and while my main PC slays stuff, the other just stands there in a corner gaining levels. After a while the secondary char starts to be of help and you can move on like this with as many chars as you'd like. In my experience, there is enough XP in the temple, before the nodes, to bring 2 or maybe 3 extra chars to level 10. Since every char you bring is going to come into a bigger party, you split the XP more so the last ones should probably be at around lvl 8 or 9 when the solo starter should be at lvl 12 or so. This strategy made my games much more dynamic as I'm always leveling someone up and it fits my playstyle. Share your own strategies to achieve whatever end you think is best in the game.
I have done something simulair to what you do every time I play also. I usually creep into the Moat house strong hold sneeking past the giant frogs. My solo character will have a reach weapon if its not a MONK, and I like to use feats such as * improved unarmed strike * deflect arrows * exotic weapon prof. (for fighters bonus feat) once I get past the first wave of guards there, I sneak into the tower to rest and sneak out avoiding the spider, for now. then I go into the mouthouse entrance and destroy the rats there, or I venture to homlet to pick up another recruit. then go kill the rats and the snake there. I like to pick up a wizard and a rogue by this time, so then I can charm one of the brigands or the leader and defeat them inside past the rats. after this, I will then recruite a clerick to go down stairs and turn the undead that reside there, level 2 of moat house. then I go down to level 3 moat house and find the secret exit, and then go rest at tower or homlet. then I come back and sneak into the secret entrance of moathouse and kill the rest of the brigands bandits, and then finaly kill lareth. I would think that keeping your leader character a couple levels ahead of everyone else is a good idea. I sometimes help my new party recruits by resting outside for random encounter fights for added xp. I hate doing the homlet fed-x quests so, I usually head straight for the action at the moat house. If I feel it necessary I will go kill the bug bears, knolls, and their leader, and clear out anything else there at the moathouse before traveling to Nulb. I come back to homlet eventually after a few visits to the TOEE and, my party has a few levels on there Belt. I head for emedery meadows, and clean out the undead, and kill the giant and the bear there. then I go clean out the big fight out at the broken tower, near TOEE. At the broken tower, I will use charm spells, Fireball (if I have it) to avoid getting bashed too much, I maybe make a wand of charm person, and my caster maybe has mirror image prepared. My fighters, or melee characters, will use reach weapons, and trip attacks to defend the caster's and healer. maybe use a summon monster or spiritual weapon to block off any flanking attackers if I can. My rogue takes advantage of the charmed enemies flanking bonus to put in some killer sneak attacks.
I've been discovering this as well. I don't have the patience to build up a party from scratch anymore. So I just solo and if I feel the game getting too stale, I just bring another character in to shif gameplay a little. But I'm finding soloing really fun. I do them. With the signpost I find them really quick to do and they prevent me from reloading too much in the early fights. Specially since my first level is frequently Rogue, so it comes with very low HP to start. But the main reason I do them is for the holy longsword. Either to use or to sell, I find it a blessing for early game. Selling it enables me to easily buy the goods in Nulb, depending on my char (either +4 gloves or bracers of armor + magical tattoos specially depending on the build i'm using) *** **** ****** ********** I also forgot to mention that to get good XP before Nulb one should always sell lareth items to the traders and kill gremag (I think he has the best loot) and the assassin. It is good light gear and gremag has the only +3 red chainmail before verbobonc if you prefer heavier armor.
I should really get to doing that 6fighter/3rogue/1mage temple solo run I have planned.. But workload and Divinity have taken my time. (Basically rush scather/fragrach) If you do this at level one, would you be able to have enough exp to hit level two. Since I always take revenge with toruko and kobrt because of what happens after the moat house?
If you do this at lvl 1 it nets around 1500 XP. But then there's no ambush in the moathouse and no subsequent verbobonc quest. You can easily replace that XP with random encounters thou.
I never use more than 3 pcs. Usually 1 or 2. I find a big party is tedious (and slower to level up), so I usually only indulge 1 npc at a time until he dies and then loot him (I never heal npcs). I always start off recruiting Furnok, use him as my point man until he dies, then take his ring. I then skip through the entire moathouse by having my invisible character steal lareth's journal. That lets you go to Nulb and Otis then directs you to the temple. Sometimes I'll recruit otis - but usually not. Once at the temple, I don't fight anything until I rescue Thrommel. And then use thrommel to kill smigmal and falrinth. Then I'll usually complete temple priest quests until Thrommel dies. Once his goodies are moved to a barrel or chest for safe-keeping, I raise him from the dead. He then chooses to leave before I have a chance to return his equipment. Oh well. My PCs don't actually use fragarach or scather but I like to have them in safe-keeping anyway, just in case (I am willing to break them out for the final battle against the 4 gods - because that battle is just ridiculous). Also, I usually will have my main fighter use the invisibility ring to claim the holy ranseur before any fighting (while 1st level - before the smigmal fight). FYI, an enlarged character can equip a polearm + shield. When enlarge ends, both are still equipped. Enlarge, by the way, is the one and only spell that I use in EVERY game. [although i also use protection from x spells in every game - but the x can differ depending on alignment]
