The IWD2 Belle Sakura Saloon Themed Party

Type casting I see. Good. Triactus should start as a Paladin but his association with the rest of party just might lead to a little relaxation of those high minded rigid attitudes of Paladin.

Skorp is good, I am er Nakia, is good.
Sil? Chaotic good, very chaotic ;D She is good at heart.

Yeah, Triactus was a Paladin. Until he got fed up with the high and mighty (and hypocritical) attitude of the paladin sects and decided he would do a lot more good in his own way.

Mace sounds good to me. 18 WIS will yield some damn nice spells, but the lower DEX and CON worry me a bit, Skorponok should be able to tank as well.

But overall, looks good!

As for the sixth character, how about another Cleric, but human? Not necessarily of evil alignment, even though I admit it would be interesting to have a Banite and a Talassian in the same party.

I agree that Tri should start as a Paladin and have a change from LG to NG after taking a few levels (at least 2 maybe 4?) and then go Bard all the way. I'm going to make Tri an Aasimar so he will have higher physical stats. IIRC Aasimar get 4 extra points so I could put STR and CON at 12 or I could go over the board with Charisma and bring it to 20 which would reflect Tri's amazing personality and explain why he'd manage to stick by such a bunch of crazies.

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Mace sounds good to me. 18 WIS will yield some damn nice spells, but the lower DEX and CON worry me a bit, Skorponok should be able to tank as well.

He will tank (it's not like I have that many options with this party).

Mace is the only blunt weapon (with the staff) that is available to a Cleric in this game (and I don't want to spend two feats for a weapon when there are other feats worth taking). DEX shouldn't be a problem as Skorp is going to go full plate asap. CON is a trade off. I couldn't bring STR any lower and I needed some points in INT and CHA. I would have put more points in CHA if I had more points to spare. I could lower INT to 10 and put 2 more points in CON (or maybe CHA for extra turning), what do you think about that?

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As for the sixth character, how about another Cleric, but human? Not necessarily of evil alignment, even though I admit it would be interesting to have a Banite and a Talassian in the same party.

I'm thinking of adding a Cleric or a Druid as the party could do with a real healer. Possibly with one level as a Monk for Evasion but I can't think of anyone who could be "type cast" for this role.

If I don't powergame at least a little the Tactics mod is going to be too much of a challenge.

Of course a smaller party would work better for the first part of the game. I don't remember the actual math but I remember reading that characters with a level penalty actually make it easier to get more XP and that adding a new character when the XP rewards start becoming scarce is another valid option. I will probably start with three or four characters and then add the remaining characters throughout the game.

What about Dragon as the sixth. IHe seems like a nice guy. Maybe he wouldn't mind being a healer. Even if he hasn't played IWD he is one of us now.

I was thinking about him but I don't know him well enough for the type casting. I've been around you guys for years now so I can imagine what sort of alter ego characters we would enjoy. I guess we'll have to see if he is interested.

I've been thinking about making Cara a Diviner so he would lose on Conjuration spells but Tri could specialize in these to even things out. The thing is a low level Wizard who is not a specialist doesn't get so many spells early in the game and it tends to be frustrating. I expect to be playing Cara as a Barbarian for quite some time.

I find the idea of Tri as a Paladin/Bard with a maxed out CHA really interesting (+8 to all saves with Luck of Heroes at level 1 is quite impressive).

I'm wondering which order of paladins would suit Tri... Paladin of Mystra maybe?

It depends. Do we go with the "left the order because their pretentious pricks and it no longer followed with Triactus' values", in which case I would say Radiant Heart. If it's the "he's still part of an order and is travelling to further their goals", then I would say the Order of Aster.

And at 20 of charisma, shouldn't Triactus be the leader of the party? That's always how I played my D & D games. The highest charisma character gets to lead because he more easily sways the other characters' opinions.

And Triactus should be part of the original 3-4...

The problem is that in IWD2 we can only choose Helm, Mystra or Ilmater. I can't see Tri as a follower of Ilmater (too grim) or Helm (too belligerent). Mystra seems like the best choice within the limitations of the game.

I say let's have him start as LG and then change to NG, it's not too big a cheat.

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And at 20 of charisma, shouldn't Triactus be the leader of the party? That's always how I played my D & D games. The highest charisma character gets to lead because he more easily sways the other characters' opinions/

You forget one very important thing! As a paladin Tri can't accept rewards for quests so it's highly probable that he will be stuck at the back of the party to avoid losing out on rewards. That's a deal breaker.

Negotiating prices in shops is a different matter altogether. Being the diplomat for the party is another thing as well (Intimidation will be Skorp's area of expertise and Bluff will be Silvery's).

As far as the leader position is concerned... Triactus is no leader material for this party because he is too "good" just as Skorponok is too evil to be the one "in charge". As a result the leaders will probably be Nakia or Carabas depending on the situation. Both being Chaotic are reluctant leaders and Carabas being somewhat indecisive at times something that is reflected by him having the lowest Charisma in the party is prevented from being too much of an influence on the others (even if he wanted to and that is most unlikely).

As far as I can see Tri's huge Charisma would be the main reason they all get along and the reason why Skorponok actually likes hanging around the "goody two-shoes" despite constantly berating him.

With a Rogue as a leader, two Drows, a sorceress specialized in enchantment and a Paladin who has strayed from his Order we have a party made of renegades, outcasts and strong minded individuals. We can't see them as a regular group.

Yeah, that's one of the things I hate about Paladins. Yes, a good character will not demand a poor person's entire fortune, but not taking a reward is foolish. How can you hope to help people when you don't have enough money to eat and better arm yourself? That's why I dislike Paladins. Don't get me started on the Radiant Heart in BG either. I kept yelling at them in front of my computer...

On the other hand, Paladins are sometimes misunderstood. I was playing a pen and paper game once. We got to the "boss" castle. We quickly realized not only the boss would clean the floor with us, but he had equally powerful friends. As we were hearing the bosses coming, my idiot fellow players all wanted to stay and fight. I was playing a Paladin and I was the only one urging everyone to get the hell out of there. The other players all accused me of not correctly playing a Paladin, as he would never turn tail and run. To me, that's bull. Paladins aren't suicidal. How can the greater good be accomplished by easily dying from a battle? My point was to get out of the castle, find a hole somewhere and devise a plan to strategically attack it. Even more so since we had just rescued the boss's sister (she knew the layout of the castle) (she was a vampire of evil alignment, but we had three wish spells, and I convinced my party to use two of them to cure her vampirism and change her alignment to good... ). At least the DM agreed with me. A Paladin could very well run, but he'll just go out last making sure everyone is safe. If need be, he'll fight and cover the other character's retreat. But he's not going to fight a hopeless fight for the hell of it.

And about leadership, you're right. I hadn't thought about the alignment. I always have good parties in my games, so that problem never occurs...

Well it's understandable that within the limitations of a computer game a reward system taking into account an NPC's wealth would be too much to ask (besides wealthy NPCs are probably not the ones who will donate much to the orders).

I think you're perfectly right about paladins, there is nothing wrong in living to fight another day.

I remember reading an interesting take on the Rogue/Paladin in 3E as there is absolutely nothing wrong about combining these two classes (think of it as a "good" aligned D&D James Bond if you want).

I find it sad that some players have a one dimensional take on these concepts... It's such a narrow view of all the possibilities these games offer.

The argument I would have used with such players is asking them this question: what would Obi Wan Kenobi do? Jedi Knights are pretty much Paladins in space. Is there anything wrong with running away from a powerful Sith Lord? Nope, but you can expect the Jedi Knight to be the last one leaving the scene.

In all fairness a Jedi would probably translate as a Paladin/Monk in IWD2 (no armour, Evasion and speed work perfectly well for such a concept).

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And about leadership, you're right. I hadn't thought about the alignment. I always have good parties in my games, so that problem never occurs...

Well, they're not bad guys. Some of them have their own agenda but they're not trying to change the system and they're not just there to make money.

Nakia and Tri are obviously trying to make a difference, bringing some good to the Realms. It's probably the same with Sil (although she may be more of a wild card).

Skorp is dedicated to the work of the Black Hand and spreading fear everywhere he treads.

Cara is probably trying very hard to find something interesting to do. Boredom is something that he would find insufferable. Good deeds are only a side result. He is not selfless but not entirely selfish either. Most of the time he probably doesn't even care or lacks the drive to do anything about it.

I agree that the immediate translation would be a Paladin/monk. However, I don't think a jedi in the D & D world wouldn't wear armour. In the Star Wars universe, most of weapons are ranged (which a jedi blocks using his saber). The only melee weapon is the lightsaber, but there isn't any metal that can block a lightsaber. So armour is useless to a jedi. In a D & D world, an armour can block melee weapons (or limit the damage inflicted), so I think a Jedi would still ear armour in a metal melee weapon world.

You've played KotoR and armours can be worn with some builds but the reason that is put forward in the game is that most Jedi powers won't work when wearing an armour (which made wearing one in that game a rather weird choice in the end).

As far as most weapons being ranged it's true but you have plenty of hand to hand weaponry (including vibroblades) and a lightsaber can block anything in melee as well so I'm not sure it's such a strong point.

It's probably much easier to wield a lightsaber when you're not wearing an armour especially if you're going to jump around and do all sort of acrobatics and martial art stuff.

Imagine doing all these moves with a 60 pound metal armour on your back:

If I may make a suggestion for our sixth party member... Runescarred.

She could play a second cleric very well. Knowing her, she would be right at home as a Stormlady. I am not sure what her stats would be, but I do know she enjoys a good asswhooping every now and then, so she could make for a good tank as well as a healer, seeing as she would not have the -2 CON penalty Skorp has. While she would make an excellent Drow... three Drows into one party would make leveling up as slow as a dog. As for her race, human works, or maybe one of the other elven subraces who do not have that stiff level adjustment. Alignment? Chaotic Evil. Portrait? 4th row, right in the middle, the black haired one. Soundset? Slightly psychotic female.

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As far as I can see Tri's huge Charisma would be the main reason they all get along and the reason why Skorponok actually likes hanging around the "goody two-shoes" despite constantly berating him.

This does seem to be the proper time to write small tidbits of a bio.

Make no mistake, Skorp cares very little for Tri-Cactus but the silly bastard humors Skorp so he deems him an ally -- for now.

Skorp and Carabas -- Part of two rival houses that fell into a Drow civil war, the two reluctantely joined forces out of a common goal...survive the Underdark. The two eventually developed respect for each other, and became trusted friends. Skorp, despite his evil nature, will stand by Carabas and unleash the wrath of the Black Hand on whoever is foolish enough to cross the two renegades.

Nakia -- Again, despite his evil nature, Skorp looks out for the diminutive rogue and considers her a worthy ally, despite . It is unknown how they originally met.

Silvery -- Skorp sees the silver one as a deeply beautiful and attractive woman. He enjoys her company, and considers her a worthy ally.

Thanks for sharing your input on Skorp's view of other party members. It fits in with what I have in mind and what I have already written as a backstory so this is absolutely perfect!

As for number #6 I have no idea how Runescarred would translate into the game. I can't picture her so it would make things really difficult (especially since the other characters won't be one dimensional -which is pretty much the point of this run).

I think I'll start the game with Nakia and the Drows and add Tri at some point during the prologue (I see him as being stranded in Targos looking for a party that would allow him to do some good without setting out on his own). Sil will be added later once the XP will stop flowing in.

As for number 6 there are many options. 6 can be a prisoner that is rescued from the Horde Fortress or the Ice Temple or even a villager who decides to leave the Wandering Village to join the party.

By that time maybe we will have come up with another concept that will work for my party.

In the meantime with a Halfling Rogue, a Drow Cleric and a Drow Wizard I think I've got all the bases covered. The Rogue can act as a Ranged attacker and decoy, the Cleric will heal or insta harm and the Wizard will be useless until he gets a few levels under his belt... At least with a Barbarian level and a two hander he will be able to contribute even if it delays high level spells (which shouldn't be much of an issue since you don't want a Wizard to level too fast because the game doesn't provide higher level scrolls in advance which is the reason why Sorcerers are so good in IWD2).

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As for number #6 I have no idea how Runescarred would translate into the game. I can't picture her so it would make things really difficult (especially since the other characters won't be one dimensional -which is pretty much the point of this run).

I can help with that part... I do happen to know her pretty well, she and I talked a lot back when she was around "over there".

She enjoys dishing out a good asswhooping, and enjoys taking them as well, and she's not afraid of pain, hell, she likes it. She is very intelligent and a very good debater, and being evil, it would make some very interesting banters with Tri-Cacti (religion-based, morality-based, there's plenty of material to work with), hell, maybe even include Skorp as well in those banters, since he and Rune get along so well. Rune has a definitively psychotic side, and relishes in inflicting pain upon whoever she feels like inflicting on. She enjoys the thrill of battle, and the sweet ecstasy of inflicting death on her enemies by crushing their skulls with a blunt weapon or magic.

Despite her evil nature, she values Skorp, Cara, Nakia and the Silver one as worthy allies and trusted friends and will stand by them no matter what. She would make a superb Stormlady, and I easily picture her wielding either a flail or a morningstar.

I get what you're saying but I wouldn't be able to get the right concept while playing the party. The whole idea is to play a game that is set up so you actually care about your characters and see them as virtual representations of internet personas.

Besides I'm playing the Tactics for IWD2 mod and it's not very forgiving at times (I went as far as the Ice Temple once with a very unbalanced party and it became a nightmare).

Another Evil Cleric wouldn't be a good idea. A Druid is not as good as a Cleric when it comes to healing and a Bard is a rather poor substitute.

The other option is to rest after fights in order to recover and use potions instead (just like when you're soloing a non healer).

I've started playing a bit of IWD2 to get the right feel for the game and I've included Carabas, Skorponok and Nakia. Unsurprisingly Nakia has the most kills, the best AC and the highest HP and since she has acquired Weapon Finesse at level 3 she is the best at hitting things (damage wise she is a little behind but that doesn't make her less useful at lower levels when goblins don't have a zillion hitpoints). Skorponok has been forced to act as a tank and meatshield despite the fact that he hasn't memorized any healing spells (just walk it off will you). He is doing a pretty solid job of it with a mace and shield and some casting. Carabas has been using a crossbow for damage and casting sleep on goblins... A mage's early levels are not that glorious. He has a two handed axe for cleaning the mess and Barbarian Rage makes for a nice little boost.

I will probably be adding Triactus before or after the palisade so they can set out from Targos together.

I've taken some screenshots to keep track of the story (it's rather linear but still) and I should probably start a new thread to post what I've written so far.

Sounds good to me, looking forward to read about your adventures with this party!

I've found time to play up to the Shaengarne Bridge but I haven't written more than the intro yet (link).

The Tactics mod made the battle pretty hard with my party. Having two dark elves and having taken a Barbarian level with Cara means that only Skorp can cast third level spells so it's a bit messy... They can do crowd control but direct damage is not that good right now.

I'm more used to soloing, it is easier IMO because you have only one character to manage and this character is of a higher level and higher levels mean everything in this game.

Right now I'm having a pretty hard time keeping everybody alive. Experience is still flowing in so I won't add Sil just yet. It shouldn't be too much of a problem anyway since as a human the character will catch up rather quickly.

A nice fun intro, Cara, I like that about the halfling acting as if she was in charge. Good type casting. It isn't that she wants to be in charge it is just that she is convinced that what she believes is right is right.

The two dark elf males make an interesting back story. I hope to hear more.

Well, I need to take more time and actually write the first part of the story. I'm going for type casting of course.

I think I'm going to turn Sil into a Cleric. This will solve my problems and the need for a good aligned cleric in this party (spontaneous healing). She will be a Cleric of Sune (which isn't supported by IWD2) so for the game either Lathander or Oghma will do (followers of Oghma get Eagle's Splendor and Charm Person, Lathander followers get extra healing but I prefer the domain spell selection of Lorekeepers BUT they can't be CG).

I've actually imagined some banters between Sil as a Cleric and Skorp.

If I have to be sickly sweet and nice then I will bite one of your fingers off and use it to puncture your own eardrum

Fair enough as long as you put the finger back in its place and cast a healing spell to patch up the wounds you've just inflicted.

You can have a paracetamol and a plaster

Sounds good to me. I'm planning to break the fourth wall with this party anyway!

Have Skorp compliment Sil on her beauty, he finds her very handsome after all.

Hell, have some lusty undertones as well if you can make it in character.