The Let's Play Archive

Icewind Dale 2

by CapitanGarlic

Part 1: Character Selection




You know what? Icewind dale needs heroes. The ten towns are under assault by hordes of horrible little goblins, and so the people of the towns have done the only reasonable thing: Asked for help from people hundreds of miles away.

Apparently it works wonders.

Shiploads of thugs, mercenaries, and other adventuring types venture north to seek fame and wealth. Most of them, however, fall prey to said horrible little goblins, leaving only a handful of adventurers left to save Icewind Dale's bacon.

Guess where we come in?

That's right.

The create-a-party screen.

SO!

I need six (count 'em) fearless* adventurers to conquer the day. Who's bold enough? Who's CRAZY enough?

Just a few quick biographical queries before we can send you to your horrible doom pending glory.

First off:

Do you have dangly bits?

Second: What do you look like?

Men:
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Women:

For ease of communication: Horizontally, the columns are A through E, and vertically they are numerical 1 through 11. That is, crazy owl lady would be Female B2.

Third: What race are you?

The races and benefits are as follows.

Human: Joe Vanilla. One extra feat, two bonus skill points at first level, and one extra skill point per level.

Aasimar: Half-celestials. +2 to Wisdom, + 2 to Charisma, Darkvision, Sunscorch 1/day, and +5 to Acid, Cold, and Electrical Resistances. +1 Effective Character Level.

Tiefling: Half-infernals. +2 to Intelligence -2 Charisma, +2 to Bluff and Hide skill checks, +2 to Dexterity, +5 to Cold, Fire, and Electrical Resistances, and can cast Blindness 1/Day. +1 ECL.

Shield Dwarves: "Standard" Dwarves. +2 to Constitution -2 Charisma, +2 to Search, +2 to Fortitude saves against poison, +2 to saves against spells, +1 to hit vs. orcs, goblins, and bugbears, +4 to AC vs. giants, and Darkvision.

Gray Dwarves: Duergar. Horrible greedy dwarves, basically. +2 to Constitution -2 to Charisma, +2 to Search, +2 to Fortitude saves against poison, +2 to saves against spells , +1 to Hit Drow, Mind Flayers, and Driders, +4 to AC vs. giants, Darkvision, can cast Invisibility 1/Day, Immunity to Paralysis, +4 to Move Silently. -1 to hit, damage, and saving throws when outside during the day. +2 ECL.

Gold Dwarves: Dwarves whose population is in growth rather than decline +2 to Constitution -2 Dexterity, +2 to Search, +2 to Fortitude saves against poison, +2 to saves against spells , +1 to Hit Drow, Mind Flayers, and Driders, +4 to AC vs. giants, and Darkvision.

Elves: Certifiably fancy. +2 to Dexterity -2 Constitution, +2 to Search, Immunity to Sleep and Charm spells, starts with the Feats Martial Weapons: Large Sword and Martial Weapons: Bows, and Darkvision.

Dark Elves: Drow. I shouldn't have to explain this one. +2 to Dexterity, +2 to Intelligence, +2 to Charisma -2 Constitution, +2 to Search , Spell Resistance of 11 + character level, +2 to all Will Saves, Immunity to Sleep and Charm spells, Faerie Fire 3/Day, starts with the Feats Martial Weapons: Large Sword and Martial Weapons: Bows, and Darkvision. -2 to hit, damage, and saving throws when outside during the day. +2 ECL.

Wild Elves: If elves could be crossed with hippies, this is the result. +2 to Dexterity -2 Intelligence, +2 to Search, Immunity to Sleep and Charm spells, starts with the Feats Martial Weapons: Large Sword and Martial Weapons: Bows, and Darkvision.

Gnomes: Pointy hats and such. +2 to Constitution -2 Strength, + 1 to hit vs. kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears, +4 AC Bonus when attacked by giant sized creatures (ogres, giants), +2 to Alchemy, and Darkvision.

Deep Gnomes: Svirfneblin. Spell that on your first try. +2 to Dexterity, +2 to Wisdom, -2 to Strength, -4 to Charisma, +2 to Search, +2 to Hide (+4 when "Inside"), +2 to all saves, Spell Resistance of 11 + level, + 1 to hit vs. kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears, +2 to Alchemy, +4 Miscellaneous bonus to AC, Mirror Image 1/day, Invisibility 1/day, Blur 1/day, Nondetection, and Darkvision. +3 ECL.

Halflings: Froooo-doooo. +2 to Dexterity -2 Strength, +2 to move silently, +1 to all saving throws, +2 on saving throws vs. Fear, and a +1 to hit with Missile Weapons.

Strongheart Halflings: Industrious midgets. +2 to Dexterity -2 Strength, bonus Feat at first level, +2 to move silently, and a +1 to hit with Missile Weapons.

Ghostwise Halflings: Bloody savages. +2 to Dexterity -2 Strength, +2 to move silently, and Set Natural Snares 3/Day. Favored class: Barbarian.

Half-Elves: Name says it all. +1 to Search, Immunity to Sleep and Charm spells, and Darkvision.

Half-Orcs: 50% more choppy. +2 Strength, -2 to Intelligence and -2 to Charisma. Darkvision.



Next off: Profession.

What are ya?

Barbarian: Fast. Tough. Crazy. Wild. Dumb. Good tanks, more HP than other classes.

Bard: Noted for occasional spooniness. God willing that's the first AND last time that joke will crop up. Jack of all trades, master of none, can buff the party with songs, cast some spells, hold his own in combat, and have a decent selection of skills.

Cleric: Primary healers. Decent in combat as well, due to the ability to wear heavy armor. Go HERE to see the various faiths available, as they drastically change the cleric.

Druid: Shape-changing hippies. Decent healer/caster class.

Fighter: Hits things. Lots of feats. Really, quite simple.

Monk: Unarmed fighter; recommended not to multi-class as bonuses are best if focused. Weak at low levels but compensates later on.

Paladin: Holy warriors. Lots of smiting, praying, and generally being stuck-up.

Ranger: Either good at shooting or good at dual-wielding depending on your tastes.

Rogue: Tons of skills. TONS. Good at sneaking, being dodgy, opening locks, and disarming traps. Very handy to have.

Sorcerer: Like a wizard, but with a focus on being charismatic instead of smart. Gains spells slower but has an easier time learning them once the right level is reached.

Wizard: Like a sorcerer, but with a focus on being smart instead of charismatic. Gains spells faster, but memorization and acquisition can be a hassle sometimes.


Next, choose an alignment. Note there are restrictions for some classes.





Abilities, skills, and feats: Unless you specify otherwise, I'll just choose a sensible layout. If you REALLY want your fighter to have 3 charisma, though, just let me know and it'll be so.


Color scheme. How do you look?

Name:

Hopefully you're better at this than I am.

Finally: Personality? I'm planning to play through with choices and actions based on what your characters are like, rather than what actually makes a damn bit of sense. If your monk is a kleptomaniac, let me know. If you have a rogue who insists on trying to rape everyone, let me know. More personality makes for a better LP.

I can't do an update tonight -- work, and all -- but I should be able to get one up tomorrow morning or early afternoon.

Who's stepping up?



*fearlessness optional