Author Topic: Great mod, but...  (Read 3715 times)

PetrusOctavianus

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Great mod, but...
« on: September 10, 2008, 01:46:03 PM »

...too bad a Bard is included in the party. The War Chant of the Sith song that bards get at lvl 11 totally breaks the game and makes healing spells obsolete. With the Chant most of the tactics goes out the window. No longer is keeping wounds to a minimum and casting the right spells at the right time important. The *only* thing that matters is that nobody dies and after the battle it only takes a few minutes to regain all HP. At least in BG regeneration was *slow*.
After my first time playing HoW I swore never to include a Bard again, but from what I've read on this forum changing Severn to a Mage doesn't fit the story, so I was seduced by the Dark Side...

Now I'm wondering wether to carry on or re-start with Severn as an alternate class...

I also made the mistake of buying the mail that grants Immunity to Normal Weapons from the Auril's Bane mod, which I think also was a huge mistake, so that is another reason to quit or restart as there's no challenge anymore.

Having said that, this mod provides a breath of fresh air to Icewind Dale. The writing is generally good, albeit a bit too modern and "feminine" for my taste.

I'm not crazy about the characters' starting proficiencies, as there are, IIRC, only one with two start in a blunt weapon and only one with two stars in bows, so the Vale especially is rather frustrating with nearly all characters doing only half damage.

Another thing: the characters all have a background story which suggests they have *some* experience, instead of the 0 XP they start with. How about making the characters start with 1000 XP and instead reduce the XP reward from the Fed-Ex quests in Easthaven?

Sorry if this sounds negative. It's a great mod, but it's always easier to comment on the things you dislike or would like to see improved.

Offline Kulyok

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Re: Great mod, but...
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2008, 01:55:06 PM »
This was one of the reason for including a bard in the first place, yes. :) Sorry.

You can play with Severn as a fighter\mage or even a mage, I think. When the game begins, professionally he is still a nobody: he sings a little, he knows some latent magic, he can hold a knife, but he wouldn't dare to call himself a bard. No, he is still an amateur, and he can go either way.

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The writing is generally good, albeit a bit too modern and "feminine" for my taste.

Yeah, a demanding guy or two in a team would've helped. (I'm making sure my first novel gets that!)

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Another thing: the characters all have a background story which suggests they have *some* experience, instead of the 0 XP they start with. How about making the characters start with 1000 XP and instead reduce the XP reward from the Fed-Ex quests in Easthaven?

That would be a tweak mod, I think, because it would be messing up some original game stuff. I'm totally okay if G3 Tweaks do that - if you are interested, you could do your own minimod, or submit your idea there.

I'd like to let the user customize proficiencies\skills like Nythrun does in Lev1NPCs - that would be great fun. When\if she is around again, I'll make sure I'll ask her if she'd be interested to include IWD NPC guys and gals.


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PetrusOctavianus

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Re: Great mod, but...
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2008, 10:01:28 PM »

You can play with Severn as a fighter\mage or even a mage, I think. When the game begins, professionally he is still a nobody: he sings a little, he knows some latent magic, he can hold a knife, but he wouldn't dare to call himself a bard. No, he is still an amateur, and he can go either way.


Since he's Human, i don't think making him a Fighter/Mage is appropriate, so I'm making him a pure Mage instead.
To flesh out the party the protagonist will be a Gnome or Halfling Cleric.

BTW, in my abandoned game Korin was by far the deadliest of my party member with more than 40% of all kills.
I also dualed Nella to Druid when she was lvl 7 (+ 1/2 attack, and two stars in Large Swords (Scimitars) and Missile Weapons). She had the most HP of my party members and would probably have become the most powerful one eventually.
Funny how different the classes are from BG. In BG the Bards, Druids and Rangers are rather weak, while in IWD it's the opposite, especially the Druids.

And while I'm at it - does this mod add the Gnomish books in the Yeti Cave?

Offline Kulyok

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Re: Great mod, but...
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2008, 12:48:58 AM »
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Funny how different the classes are from BG. In BG the Bards, Druids and Rangers are rather weak, while in IWD it's the opposite, especially the Druids.

Yeah, funny, that. When I started playing IWD2 with Domi's IWD2 NPCs and found out the most attractive romance option for me was a druid, I thought "Meh". But he was pretty decent, actually.

Rangers are okay in BG2, though - I think. In BG1, Kivan was very strong. In BG2, Kivan was still good(up until mid-game, I think), Valygar pulled his own and Minsc was - naturally - the best.


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And while I'm at it - does this mod add the Gnomish books in the Yeti Cave?

N-no, it's either vanilla game or IWD UB, if you have it. Or another IWD mod, if you have these installed.

Offline Cal Jones

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Re: Great mod, but...
« Reply #4 on: September 14, 2008, 10:37:09 AM »
I don't think I used Severn's bardic abilities once, actually - I was too busy using him as an archer and spell-flinger. (I didn't have another magic user in party). I guess if you think an ability, spell or bit of equipment is too "munchkin" then don't use it.

Korin had by far the most kills for the first half of the game, here, too, but just like Kivan in BG, he got overtaken by my fighter PC towards the end.

I'll agree on the differences between IWD and BG series, though - druids get much sexier spells in IWD, and bards are actually useful.

Offline Azatril

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Re: Great mod, but...
« Reply #5 on: September 16, 2008, 09:49:10 AM »
Oh, I'm always using Severn's Bard songs. Extra to hit, and damage. Extra defense. Immunity to fear(very helpful in TotL against those Harpies). In my last play through I even found the daze effect useful while wading through armies of yuan-ti.

And yes, druids have some nice new spells, though I miss the way BG2 did the insect spells. And Bards became good classes.  :D (The extra abilities of paladins and rangers are also pretty nifty.)

 

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