New Player and New Party - Advice Needed Please

There are afew spots i like to rest in the game for big random encounters, especially when i need a few hundred XP to make the next big magic item. I like the big round room on the 3rd floor of the temple late in the game, or on the path in front of the moathouse early. You can pop in the moathouse tower to rest between encounters if necessary, and its a short trip back to town to unload the junk.

 

Thanks so much for the input. Keep it coming!

Posting from my phone so i will address more later but a couple of quick things.

1. Xp: Will having 7 characters greatly hamper my levels? I dont mind being a little behind but i dont want to get smashed in places.

2. Do NPCs take XP? i thought they took gold but does having NPCs in your group hamper your XP as well?

3. What spells are a must have through the game for Sorc or Wiz? I am still deciding on a Sorc or Wiz but if i go Sorc i want to make sure i dont miss good spells for the game.

4. Improved Init: i am thinking this would be good on the main tank as well so he could rush towards the baddies and make sure they go after him. Or do the baddies have priority targets and ignore the closest targets? I really like giving this to the Rogue and Sorc/Wiz, maybe Druid for entangle.

 

1 and 2 - yes they take portion of the xp so recommend to you a 5 person party and its all you need. So just create all the chars your self, you do not really need NPC's for main play. They will just join in couple of cases and quests but you just ask them to leave the party for example later on or when you done with quest (or get them killed *evil*)

3 - to put in a nutshell - Fireball

4 - actually your tank do not really need it, it is much better for your magicuser to have it - refer to point 3

 

That's funny, because your considerations seem very power-gamerish. Maybe you should start by asking yourself why these people are together in a party in the first place, how the leader attracted his followers etc., that'll narrow down the choices a bit immediately. For example, I find it strange to have both a druid and a cleric at the party center, usually these classes would probably be a bit suspicious of each other.

 

Just because i am not a power gamer doesnt mean i have to be a roleplayer.

When i say im not a power gamer it means i dont have to use the best group out there and multiclass fighter to each class or something like that.

I just want to have an effective group as this will be my first playthrough and i have heard the game can get pretty difficult.

I never use walkthroughs or cheats as well. Unless some bug stops me.

 

Ok, having thought about your requirements some more, I think that you don't want a paladin in the party. Paladins tend to be leaders, spokes-people, and main tanks, and it's unclear why one would join up with a druid in the first place. The focus of your party should probably be the druid. You could make the cleric a quasi-barbarian shaman type, then a barbarian (or two) would be the natural muscle these two would bring. There could be a ranger, either summoned by the druid, or maybe in a kind of blood-brother relation with the barbarian (I tend to see these classes as "trappers and indians"). A bard/rogue would go well with them and also serve as sniper and spokesperson. You may want to not go with a pure fighter from the beginning, but start with another barbarian and have him pick fighter levels only later, to keep with the idea of a tribal war band that is accompanying the druid on some mission. A sorcerer would then fit with this theme much better than a wizard, but since druids can also muster awesome offensive powers at higher level and the bard would be an arcane caster already, you might even skip a full arcane caster and go with the "no fireballs" challenge.

 

Heh, there's nothing wrong with that. But I feel the difficulty lies mostly in the tactical challenge of the numerous battles, and the truth is that while the tactics will depend on you party composition, you can find viable tactics for almost any party. Of course some parties are more challenging than others (no clerics, no tanks, no good offensive spells ...), but if you have all basic roles covered, then one is as "effective" as the other.

 

Tech Questions time:

1. Can I change the resolution at any time while playing the game and not have it mess up my save games? I know the game can be "sensitive".

2. I know the max HD and max HP are for monsters. Are these recommended to be on or off. I couldn't find a FAQ for these options.

3. Show Exact HP for NPCs. I am assuming this will show how many HPs a monster has left? Again, on or off?

4. What is the delayed blast fireball option for?

Thanks

 

my words enclosed below

 

1. I think you can yes.
2. Max HP should be the option when you level your characters to get the max possible health for their class, if not mistaken. Well for first play I would say keep it ON. You will need it.
3. That's just show the HP with numbers over your players portrait.
4. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/delayedBlastFireball.htm

 

Sets the timing for DBF. In the P&P, the spellcaster can set the timing per each casting. A great way to set a trap for people chasing you. But in the computer game, there was no way to do this with each casting, so you have to set it for the spell. I always go instantaneous, works just like a regular fireball, just more damage. I have tried it with a longer delay, but the enemies just move too much for it to be reliable.

 

thanks for clearing these up for me.

another thing. with regards to the HD and HP for mobs. Can I change these mid game if I decide the game is too easy or hard?

 

@Odium, I agree that the whole trick with TOEE is balancing the role-playing aspect (why would your party get together, what are their goals within the context of the game, how do they "play their alignment" and so on) with how effective they are in combat. "Effective" and "power gamer" aren't really the same thing - I too like to come up with party concepts that make sense, but I still want to be able to put the hurt on the baddies.

That said, it's also true that TOEE's difficult fights are fundamentally about strategy, not statistics. There are a couple of battles you can't just charge into and hack away and hope to win. A lot of the posts on this forum are about different strategic approaches to the key fights: the Moathouse boss fight, the Temple factions, the Elemental Nodes, the Slavers, etc.

Having played through about four times now, I find I can win tough fights on the first try now where I used to get slapped around.

 

@kungfuramone Thanks for the insight and I understand what you are saying

A couple more quick questions.

1. The Survival Skill: Does only one character need to have this maxed or does each skill point on any characters help in the "roll"?

2. When you get an Attack of Opportunity, if you kill the monster does it generate a cleave attack? Or does Cleave only trigger when you just do a normal attack on your turn?

3. Whirlwind Feat. Using a weapon with reach this seems really neat for a Barbarian to get in the middle of a pack and go to town. Is the Feat worth getting because looking ahead it seems I can only get this on a Barbarian at lvl 9 and that is taking all the prerequisites: Combat Exp, Dodge, Mobility, and Spring Attack. For a Barbarian it seems not taking Cleave will be bad since he will be a major damage dealer.

Thanks again and I'm sorry for all the questions. I promise I will be playing soon!