OK, I've started the game and here's what I have. fighter monk cleric rogue wizard I've stayed in town and completed enough quests to make 2nd level. If I go to the moathouse, I get my butt kicked by frogs, bandits, rats, etc.... Am I missing something that I should be doing before I venture out of Homlet? Should I be going to another area before trying the moathouse? Thanks for any advice or hints.
If you are getting your butt kicked by the giant frogs, then you are REALLY doing something wrong. Maybe if you were in Ironman setting, but under Normal settings there is NO excuse. Okay, some useful tips... first, you have a well-rounded party; that's excellent. Your fighter should be well-armored (scale mail or better) and either carry a sword and shield for optimal armor class, or carry a greataxe or greatsword for optimal damage. Use your cleric and monk for backup melee fighters, and don't forget to have your cleric cast useful spells before combat, like Bless, and Guidance. Either should carry you through a couple combats if you don't dawdle too much between fights. Save your wizard's spells for situations where you can get a group of foes in one shot... like the bandits near the steps in the Moathouse courtyard. A well-placed Sleep spell will do you far better than a single Magic Missile at a lone archer. Always have your characters with the highest Armor Classes take point position in your formations, as they will likely be the first ones attacked 4 out of 5 times. Maximize your rogue's Tumble skill so he/she can move around the melee and make Sneak attacks while giving flanking bonuses to your fighters and monks. The Monk should have optimized Tumble too, to help with flanking. When fighting a single tough opponent, preferably Humanoid or Undead, have your fighter or monk try trip attacks every once in a while... you get attacks of opportunity when they attempt to stand, and the game doesn't allow attacks to be made or spells to be cast while prone. Lastly, hire a goon or two before you hit the Moathouse... someone nice n' expendable, like Zert (in the common room of the Welcome Wench), Raimol (hired man-at-arms from the Trading Post), or Fruella (have a human or elf male of your party offer to marry her; she comes with her own enchanted Cleaver!). If you need an extra thief, Furnok will have nothing better to do after you've exposed him as a cheater, so take him along for the ride. When you enter a combat that might give you a hard time, send in your hirelings, or your wife in Fruella's case, first. They will soak up the damage that would otherwise hurt you, and will make your combats go down much quicker. Best of all, if they die, you kick them out of the party and then loot them. Furnok has a magic dagger and a ring of invisibility, while Fruella's got that magic axe. They may take a little coin treasure, but with the patches, they don't loot armor and goods anymore so they won't get encumbered unless you give them stuff to carry. Seriously, if you play with just a little bit of simple strategy, there's no reason for you not to be able to sweep the Moathouse with a 2nd level party... Geez, I can't believe you actually lost to the frogs! That's sad.
If your characters' stats aren't good, that may also be hampering you. Try to get even the fighters good dex for the AC bonus, and give your monk wisdom for the monk AC bonus too. High strength lets you hit more often as well as for more damage. As for the hired help, I'd generally avoid it. Elmo is good, because he doesn't loot items, and is fairly capable. Fruella is good too, but get her killed right away. I actually had trouble killing her off, because those frogs couldn't withstand her cleaver! When she's dead, take her cleaver ASAP. These things are, imo, the best weapons in the game, once you enchant them a bit more (get craft arms and armor at some point with your wizard and cleric). Also, did you get the holy longsword from the flirting with disaster quest? It's really nice as well. It says +1, but in my game it was actually +3. Remember to flank, especially with your rogue, and the fight shouldn't be that bad. Another thing to remember is to advance slowly, so you're only fighting one or two enemies at a time, where possible. You can kill those frogs one at a time.
