Save Games for Icewind Dale

These save games for Icewind Dale were created while playing "The Ultimate
Collection" version of Icewind Dale that was already patched to v1.06. I did
not install the Heart of Winter expansion pack until I had completed the
original game. While the expansion pack did offer tempting improvements such
as 800x600, holding bags and a key to highlight interactive items, I did not
like that the Sybex strategy guide told me how several of the key battles in
the standard game was made considerably tougher just by installing the pack.
Also, I did not use any additional mods or cheats.

PLEASE BE WARNED THAT THE FOLLOWING TEXT MAY CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS!

Even though the save games cover my first (and probably only) run through the
game, I sometimes took a sneak peak in the following excellent sources:

	Dan Simpson's FAQ v5.1 (main source of guidance)
	The official "Strategies & Secrets" by Sybex
	Interplay's forum for Icewind Dale
	The forum at Planet Baldur's Gate


My Party for Icewind Dale

I studied quite a few FAQs and forum posts before creating my party, to make
sure I didn't throw myself into the game with a set of utter battles morons. I
believe the party turned out pretty decent if I may say so myself.

The following lists were produced by using the "Output Text" button in the game
itself and then I tidied it up to exclude the uninteresting information. The
names were for the most part concocted, except I wanted the first letter of
their names to indicate either their class or weapon proficiency. Furthermore,
I have listed the attributes from the start in Easthaven compared to the same
attributes as they were in the end of the game, to give you and idea of how I
evolved the characters.


Praescott

A paladin and leader of the party. Meant to use swords and bows. I liked having
this type of leader in Baldur's Gate I and II and wanted one for Icewind Dale as
a backup healer. Also, I wanted him to use the "Pale Justice" sword. The name
starts with a "P" to indicate that this is a paladin.

Class........................ Paladin

Gender....................... Male
Race......................... Human
Alignment.................... Lawful Good

Abilities.................... Start		End

   Strength.................. 18/85		18/85
   Dexterity................. 18		18
   Constitution.............. 17		17
   Intelligence.............. 9			9
   Wisdom.................... 15		15
   Charisma.................. 17		17

Level........................ 1			11

Armor Class.................. 6			-8
Hitpoints.................... 13		129

Weapon Proficiencies......... Start		End

   Bows...................... +			++
   Crossbows................. -			+
   Great Swords.............. ++		++
   Large Swords.............. +			++


Herryck

Not too much thought into Herryck, except that I wanted someone to be capable of
using halberds and spears, hence the "H" in his name. It soon became a little
misleading, however, as I made him use spears most of the time.

Class........................ Fighter

Gender....................... Male
Race......................... Half-Elf
Alignment.................... Neutral Good

Abilities.................... Start		End

   Strength.................. 18/80		19 (item)
   Dexterity................. 18		19 (item)
   Constitution.............. 18		18
   Intelligence.............. 10		10
   Wisdom.................... 10		10
   Charisma.................. 10		10

Level........................ 1			11

Armor Class.................. 6			-5
Hitpoints.................... 14		150

Weapon Proficiencies......... Start		End

   Bows...................... ++		+++
   Halberds.................. +			++
   Spears.................... +			++


Almarin

The dwarven Almarin, with "A" to indicate his proficiency for axes, was meant to
be this race because I wanted one fighter with a darn good constitution. As you
can see, his strength is not too shabby either.

Class........................ Fighter

Gender....................... Male
Race......................... Dwarf
Alignment.................... Chaotic Neutral

Abilities.................... Start		End

   Strength.................. 18/96		18/96
   Dexterity................. 17		17
   Constitution.............. 19		19
   Intelligence.............. 9			9
   Wisdom.................... 9			9
   Charisma.................. 9			7 (item)

Level........................ 1			11

Armor Class.................. 7			-5
Hitpoints.................... 15		151

Weapon Proficiencies......... Start		End

   Crossbows................. ++		+++
   Axes...................... ++		++++


Theyn

As you might already have guessed, the leading "Th" in his name refers to the
fact that his is a thief. He is also a mage, however, partly to support the
second specialist mage, but also because a thief alone doesn't really cut it.

Multi-Class.................. Mage/Thief

Gender....................... Male
Race......................... Half-Elf
Alignment.................... True Neutral

Abilities.................... Start		End

   Strength.................. 15		16 (item)
   Dexterity................. 18		18
   Constitution.............. 17		17
   Intelligence.............. 18		18
   Wisdom.................... 9			9
   Charisma.................. 9			10 (item)

Level........................ 1/1		11/12

Armor Class.................. 6			-5
Hitpoints.................... 7			86

Proficiencies................ Start		End

   Open Locks................ 30%		100%
   Move Silently............. 30%		120% (item)
   Find Traps................ 30%		105%
   Pick Pockets.............. 35%		35%

Weapon Proficiencies......... Start		End

   Bows...................... +			+
   Missile Weapons........... -			+
   Daggers................... -			+
   Quarter Staves............ -			+
   Small Swords.............. +			+


Chloe

She is a genuine cleric, hence the "Chl" in her name. I have never really tried
a single-class cleric before and I read that their "Turn Undead" ability is a
must in Icewind Dale. Also, she is of course the main healer in the party.

Class........................ Cleric

Gender....................... Female
Race......................... Half-Elf
Alignment.................... Neutral Good

Abilities.................... Start		End

   Strength.................. 17		17
   Dexterity................. 17		17
   Constitution.............. 17		17
   Intelligence.............. 6			6
   Wisdom.................... 18		18
   Charisma.................. 11		11

Level........................ 1			12

Armor Class.................. 7			-7
Hitpoints.................... 10		102

Weapon Proficiencies......... Start		End

   Missile Weapons........... +			+
   Flails.................... -			+
   Hammers................... +			+
   Maces..................... -			+
   Quarter Staves............ -			+


Martaena

Finally there's Martaena, with "M" for mage. She is a Conjurer, a specialist
type I read was one of the best in Icewind Dale (as long as the Heart of Winter
expansion pack is NOT installed on top).

Class........................ Conjurer

Gender....................... Female
Race......................... Human
Alignment.................... Chaotic Good

Abilities.................... Start		End

   Strength.................. 16		16
   Dexterity................. 18		18
   Constitution.............. 18		18
   Intelligence.............. 18		18
   Wisdom.................... 7			7
   Charisma.................. 11		11

Level........................ 1			12

Armor Class.................. 6			0
Hitpoints.................... 6			66

Weapon Proficiencies......... Start		End

   Missile Weapons........... +			+
   Daggers................... -			+
   Quarter Staves............ -			+

I deliberately avoided genuine elves in my party because I didn't like the idea
of not being able to use the "Raise Dead" spell on them.


Miscellaneous

I was relatively thorough during the game and investigated almost all areas in
the game, cleaning enemies out of all the dungeons I discovered.

In general, I have the following notes about these save games:

  * I turned ON the "Maximum Hit Points per Level" option right from the
    beginning in Easthaven.

  * My two mages, Theyn and Martaena, and my cleric, Chloe, have a lot of
    summoning spells prepared. I really love summoning spells and used both
    animated dead and various elementals as "buffer" fighters.

  * All party members are prepared with bows, crossbows or slings, as I
    also liked taking down enemies from a distance. However, the paladin,
    the two fighters and the cleric were also sufficiently equipped with
    great melee weapons for whenever the going got tough. The paladin was
    of course equipped with the magnificent "Pale Justice" sword as soon
    as I found it in Lower Dorn's Deep.

  * As temporary storage, I went to the Evening Shade Inn in Kuldahar and
    used a crate in the second room of the second floor. All surplus items
    and weapons were placed there.

  * One of the few quests I skipped was restoring the Arboretum in the
    Shattered Hand. I didn't deliver any of the items needed to restore it.
    The reason for this was simply that I was too lazy to walk all the way
    through the many dungeons in Shattered Hand just to get to this place.

The last save game states 94 days and 21 hours.

JCH, 31 October 2003
