Alright, this is my first time playing with the 3.5 edition rule set in D&D. I am familiar with 2nd edition from playing Icewind Dale but by no means considered knowledgeable. After spending the last 3.5 hours reading the manual, the forum and playing the tutorial as well as doing a quick test play, I now have questions.

I'll try to write this as best I can so its organized..

1. I prefer making my own characters but are the pre-made characters good enough and worth adding or should I roll all my guys myself?

2. Should I just create my main character and then recruit members as I meet them based on what class they are and my needs?

3. Having a full party of 5, you can still have 3 NPCs follow you? Will they participate in combat and be controlled by the A.I?

4. In Icewind Dale it certainly paid to dual class your characters. I would always start my casters as a fighter and then dual them over at level 2 which would give them good hit points as opposed to starting as a mage with a pathetic 6 HP. Are pure class characters good or should I be dualing everyone?

5. I want to have a Thief in the party and I am very interested in a Monk. Ranger and Cleric are my favourite classes from 2nd edition and Druids were very good in 2E.

6. What is a good party composition for a first time playthrough that features a balanced party? I really wish we could have a 6 man team but 5 will have to do. My test party was: Paladin, Sorc, Wiz, Ranger, Cleric. I need thief skills and really want a Monk. Here's my idea:

Cleric - unsure race
Wizard - same
Monk - probably human
Fighter -dwarf
Ranger - half elf or human

I need to incorporate thief abilities somehow. I could replace the Ranger with Paladin or Barbarian.

That's all I can think of for now. Thanks!

1. The pre-made characters all usually have some strengths and flaws. From a roleplay standpoint, this can actually be more fun than power-gaming with uber-strong stats. The first time I played through ToEE like you I was a bit overwhelmed, so I did it with an all-pre-made party, and it worked fine. You may also like to read the "Sample Parties" intro from Jagged Jim's walkthrough (don't spoil the fun by reading the rest), as it has some good examples of feats to take.

2. That can certainly be done, but ToEE is infamous for ganking your low-level party with very strong wandering monsters. Experience is divided by # of party members, so a smaller party will level faster. If you complete all the Homlett fetch-and-carry quests before leaving to explore the world, you can probably get a single starting PC up to about level 3. You could then add in some new bait - I mean join new party members - by clicking on the ledger book in the Welcome Wench Inn. If all your PC's get knocked unconscious/die, then the game aborts to the main menu and is considered a "loss". So make sure to save often. You can hire some NPC's right from the get-go in Homlett, and that is a good survival strategy for the early game, even if it makes you level a bit slower. Once everyone is up to about lvl 3, you should be able to handle most of the random monsters. Then you will just die per the normal dungeon encounters ;)

3. Yes. Yes. No. The AI controls charmed or summoned allies only. You control everyone else.

4. Dualing in D&D 3.0 can be useful, but it works quite differently than 2.0 rules. On level-up you can add any class you want, but the exp points needed will be the same as if you stayed "pure". Vanilla ToEE has a level cap of 10 TOTAL levels counting all your classes iirc, while the Co8 mod raised this to 20. So if you start multi-classing in ToEE, you risk having a mediocre character right till the end of the game. However, it can work to add 1-2 levels of certain classes so as to synergize their class-based knowledge, while you otherwise pursue a "pure" build. Examples would be a Wizard1/Bard9 (a Bard that gains a Familiar and can learn extra spells from scrolls and scribe them) Rogue1/Fighter9 (a fighter that can disarm traps and backstab) Bard1/Fighter9 (a Fighter that can buff the party with inspiration songs and acts as the party leader) or Wizard1/Sorcerer9 (a Sorcerer that gains a Familiar and can learn extra spells form scrolls and scribe them). Don't dual a Cleric or Druid in ToEE, as you will want them to be as high level as possible so they can eventually forge better magic Weapons and Armor.

Also, remember that if you mix magic knowledge, you cast/scribe a spell according to the level of the class that KNOWS the spell (ie. a Wizard1/Sorcerer9 that has the Magic Missile spell copied to the Wizard's spellbook will only ever be able to scribe lvl 1 MM scrolls, however if he learned the Magic Missile spell as a Sorcerer, he can scribe it as a lvl 9 MM spell).

Starting as a Fighter will give you weapon/armor knowledge, 1 bonus feat and extra hp and a +1 combat bonus, but you only get a few skill points to distribute. Barbarian is like a fighter, but you lose the extra feat and instead start with Rage ability. Starting as a Rogue opens easier access to the thief skill set + backstabbing + lots of skill points to distribute. Starting as a Wizard gives you a Familiar (used for extra skill bonuses), the Scribe Scroll feat for free + ability to Copy Spells into your spellbook ( or scribe them as scrolls, even spells you couldn't possibly know yet). Starting as a Bard gives you spells + song buffs + weapon/shield/armor knowledge + lots of skill points + primary knowledge of most "party leader" skills.

Humans and Halfelves can mix freely in any 2 classes. All other races have a "preferred" class, and if you mix classes without using that one, you get an exp penalty. Triple-classing always incurs an exp penalty.

5. All those sound fine. Go for it.

6. Pally's can run into problems in ToEE if you don't play them as their class is intended (ie. you can become 'fallen' fairly easily). Be forewarned. Clerics work well as humans, since they then get a bonus feat (you need all the feats you can get early on, because later you will want to take Forge Arms and Armor). Half-orc monk would also work well (extra strength is always good for melee combat).

If you want a thief in your party the fighter is the best choice for multiclassing. The other classes loose spellcasting power or special abilities they gain up to level 10 while the fighter gains only a bonus feat every 2 levels.

Besides the HP you only loose +1 to hit total for 1-4 rogue levels (+2 for 5-8 rogue levels), the number of attacks at the end stays the same.
If you want to multiclass with rogue it'S important to start as rogue for the extra skillpoints, you can decide later how you distribute the levels, rogue1/fighter8/barbarian1 is an option with many HP for example.

Excellent! Thanks to both of you for replying with very helpful answers. I went ahead and built a custom party using a dwarf fighter, human ranger, elf wizard, human rogue, and human cleric. We just hit level 2 after going right to the bandit hideout and clearing it except for the basement. It took several reloads as I need to figure out the combat system and all the options you get which is freaking awesome - as well as seeing how each party member performs.

So far I'm pleased with everyone. The wizard will take time before she gets powerful but I'm probably going to dual the rogue into a fighter. His damage output is very low and really I'm only interested in the backstab/sneak attack ability and the typical thieving skills like lockpick, detect/disarm traps.

I have to say that 3rd edition is very deep. It's got some really cool features and makes more sense in some areas as opposed to 2nd edition. I've never played anything using the first rule set but it's cool that this game is based off a game module from the 1970s.

It's a fun game.

It's my favorite turn-based combat game. So many options!

I do not take NPCs along with me. Using vanilla ToEE, they take random treasures. And a lot of the times, it's really, really important ones.

I played a monk and he was very difficult. I think it was wise not to take one.

I probably reload ten times in every fight to work out the best solution for my team. I'm horribly slow at this game. But I just love it.

Enjoy!

To add my 2 cents:

Monks are a little tricky. Unless you focus on buffing their Dex and Wis for bonus AC, it will likely be uncomfortably low. They can't wear body armor, period. They'll want bracers and rings to compensate.

Mage Armor is a huge help here, so long as you have someone able to cast it on them regularly.

6. If you use the Circle of Eight mod, you can create a larger base party, from 6 to 8. That will reduce the number of NPCs you can hire, as 8 is the maximum combination of any type of character you can have in the party at one time.

And nothing beats a thief like... well... a thief. Rogues are the clear breadwinners of thievery. Open Lock and Disable Device are Rogue class skills, so any other class can only be half as proficient in them, and it costs more per skill-up. Maybe you can get by without one, though. I've never tried.

Alright so after making my way down into the moathouse and doing a little fighting, I decided to reroll the party and make some minor adjustments.

The rogue is now a female. I really wanted to make her a halfling male rogue but went with human because at level 2 she will switch to a fighter who will specialize in archery. She can wear a sword and shield and work the front line if needed though. Starting feats are point blank shot and precise shot. Also her ability scores are just better now.

The elf wizard now worships Boccob and specializes in evocation. Her spells are a mix of offence and support for now. Her starting feat is spell potentcy. Better ability scores. She has the highest CHA so she does the talking.

The dwarf fighter has power attack and cleave as starting feats. He is using the glaive but will likely use a two handed axe or hammer later on.

The ranger will be dual wielding but for starters is wearing a shield until he gets more hit points and AC. He can use a bow if needed. His starting feats are two weapon fighting and medium armor because he needs more protection while dual wielding.

The cleric worships St. Cuthbert and his domains originally were strength and destruction but I've swapped in protection in place of dest.

I'm happy with these adjustments from a gameplay standpoint and RP point as well. I made a few name changes as well as portraits too. I'm eager to dive in and kick some arse

Speaking as another newcomer to this game I have to say there's some good tips here in this thread.

In relation to your suggestion to roll a single character instead of a team - I understand that this is a posible way of playing but in my experience my character just got absolutely munched as soon as I left town!

I'm liking your use of the glaive; my team's fighter was originally intended as a sword wielder, but I'm findings the added reach to be invaluable! When my Cleric casts the growth / enlarge spell, this character becomes an absolute beast in the tight corridors of the Temple of Elemental Evil!

That's all I have...