So, now that I own the full version of Fraps, I've been seriously considering doing a let's play of ToEE. I know at least a few people have done them.
I have issues, though. Maybe I'm over-thinking, but I'm torn on how I should do a couple things. I was going to ask you all for your thoughts.

First is getting max HP on level-up. The game is so much easier with this turned on, but it's not the "pure" experience. I'd prefer having it off, but what if I have a wizard rolling 1s for level-up HP, and they die from a slight breeze passing by. Not a fun let's play.

The other thing is rolling attributes. I don't know if I should use point buy, or original dice rolls (again, "pure"). And if I do use dice rolls, should I allow myself only 1 roll per character? For all the good rolls you can have, I've had rolls so abysmal, you'd have to be an extreme masochist to bother with. Not to mention, if I want pre-requisites for feats, I'll want a Fighter with a dex and int of 13, to get whirlwind attack.

If I wasn't doing a let's play, I could care less about all this stuff.
I've been debating these things with myself, and basically my mind is just running around in circles. I often think way too much, but for some reason, this feels important to me to figure out first. Any thoughts?

Thing about LP's is that it's all about creating something that's interesting to watch. Try to consider things from that angle. Yeah, I was playing this way and my Sorcerer rolled poorly for HP. When I reached the 2nd level of the temple, the Salamanders would smack him with a fireball that automatically killed him unless he saved, and there were two of them firing these fireballs so even then he'd usually die... and they prioritize the lowest HP party member even if I left him on the far side of the dungeon (because apparently line of effect isn't required for fireball in ToEE).

I'd say go for max HP; if you're going to splurge anywhere, do it here. WW attack is nice, but not necessary. I ran a fighter/barbarian who used the less feat-intensive great cleave and combat reflexes instead. With enlarge person, haste, a holy glaive, and whatever other miscellaneous buffs my cleric, sorcerer, and wizard could provide, she would often kill everything within her reach on her turn.


I'd say a bigger question is how to create a party that will approach combat in a varied manner to make watching entertaining throughout the entire playthrough.

Yeah, my worry is people will be like "Oh, he's cheating. How sad," and that's the end of that. Yeah great cleave might be a decent substitute, but I figured that if I gave a reach weapon to someone with whirlwind, they'd be hitting nearly everybody on screen. Well... maybe a slight exaggeration. I'll be honest, I usually make a pretty vanilla traditional party. I'm not smart enough to pull of multi-classing (I've tried more than once). I am hoping the commentary will be amusing, though. Not like Seinfeld funny. But even without an audience, I'm always cussing at my little guys. I'm not sure why. I know they can't hear me...

Great Cleave is will have a similar effect, provided you can deal enough damage to 1-hit-kill weaker enemies at least some of the time. That should be fairly common once you get holy weapons. Try a Fighter/Barbarian or Fighter/Rogue; they're very simple multi-class combos that are very effective. I used both of these on my ToEE playthrough, and they're some of my favorite 3E martials. Off the top of my head, here are the builds up to level 10:

Virrian - Elf Fighter/Rogue
1 - Rogue (combat reflexes)
2 - Fighter (weapon finesse)
3 - Rogue (exotic weapon proficiency: spiked chain)
4 - Fighter (weapon focus: spiked chain)
5 - Rogue
6 - Fighter (iron will)
7 - Fighter (weapon specialization: spiked chain)
8 - Rogue
9 - Rogue (dodge)
10 - Fighter (improved critical: spiked chain)

Kyra - Elf Fighter/Barbarian
1 - Fighter (weapon focus: glaive) (combat reflexes)
2 - Fighter (power attack)
3 - Barbarian (cleave)
4 - Barbarian
5 - Barbarian
6 - Fighter (great cleave)
7 - Fighter (weapon specialization: glaive)
8 - Barbarian
9 - Barbarian (improved critical: glaive)
10 - Fighter

In making an LP, the most important question is why are you doing one. Is it for subscribers AKA popularity? Is it to serve as a tutorial, showing gamers how it's done? Is it to showcase a mod or other new content? Is it because you have fun playing games and just want to share that with others? Is it because you don't like how others do LPs, and want to show a new style in the hopes others will copy? Is it to appeal to a niche playstyle that is usually ignored in LPs? Knowing WHY you're making your LP will tell you what kind of LP to make.

I get the sense that you're doing it for popularity, and thus want lots of people to like it. How many games/ books/ movies of a genre can you experience before you're bored? What keeps them fresh is having something new, something different. To make your LPs popular, you need to do what other LPs haven't, or do it better. Here's an example of a NWN LP series with an emphasis on roleplaying:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0NpK4CiyH0

When dealing with popularity, you will never make everybody happy. Some won't watch you with max hp, some won't watch you without. Some won't watch you with 90 stats, some won't watch you with 60 stats. If you REALLY want to get an idea of what's popular, look at a bunch of LPs and then read the comments. See what people like in the LP, and also note what people wish the LPer would do. Try playing a race/class/magic/weapon combo that hasn't already been done. Consider unorthodox, outside-of-the-box ideas.

Whatever you do, make sure that you at least have fun. A happy LPer can be infectious, and viewers can enjoy it too. If you hate your gameplay, viewers won't enjoy it either.

It's a little bit of everything really. I enjoy playing games and showing fun things off to others. It seems like a try a lot of odd things that people who play it straight just don't bother with. And some amount of popularity would be nice, since I'm not going to make videos just for my 4 friends. They can watch me personally if they want! And I think I have my own style. Not that it's so fantastic, but knock on wood I'd know how to keep things interesting. No copycatting, at least.

And to Darvin about multi-classing:
That may look like a piece of cake to you, but it makes my head spin! It's almost like Simon Says. "Now was I going to go Rogue Fighter Fighter Rogue, or Rogue Fighter Rogue Fighter?" Who has the patience for that? :P
Well even worse, I don't know that I'd know how all the classes would synergize. I know how to play a pure rogue. I could theoretically pretend that I have rogue / fighter figured out, but by level 4, I'll have realized, whoops, I made a bunch of wrong choices on the way there. Eh what can you do at that point, ya know?

Doesn't really matter too much either way. Both of the examples you listed will work just fine.

The rogue/fighter/rogue/fighter will get evasion and more skill points at level 3, the rogue/fighter/fighter/rogue will get a bonus feat and more hit points at level 3. By level 4, they will be identical. It's not really that big a deal in the long-run.

That's what I love about multi-classing; pick the abilities you want, then level up in the appropriate classes to get them. A fighter/rogue is both a fighter and a rogue, which I find to be very cool. Play it out and have fun with it ^_^

If you're not comfortable with it, then by all means stay with single-class characters. The game works perfectly fine that way. I personally don't think there's anything to be afraid of so long as you aren't multi-classing spellcasters.

I think I'll make a Halfling Monk/Wizard/Druid. Yikes! :P
Nah, I should just start it and see how I feel as I go. So what if everybody tells me I'm doing it wrong? Maybe I mean to screw up on purpose! Having fun is maybe most important.

That'd be an exceptional challenge just to create something remotely competent with that kind of class combo. Fighters, Rogues, Barbarians, Paladins, and Rangers make the best multi-classing candidates, and any combination that doesn't incur multi-class penalties and selects feats sensibly will work (even if it's not optimal). Monks are challenging to work into a multi-class combo, and casters require incredible care. Well, good luck if you're seriously going to try that combo. Taking one or two levels of wizard won't be that bad, since it will let you use wands. Take just enough intelligence to be able to cast spells, and avoid offensive spells (since your caster level and DC will be terrible). Not sure if you'll get anything out of the druid dip, though. You'll need exceptional stats to pull it off, and will almost certainly need to be a human for the bonus feat and favored class in monk, but it might be possible to pull off something competent if you roll sufficiently high stats (though it'll certainly be weak).

Probably 1-2 levels of wizard, 1-2 levels of druid, and the rest to Monk. And yeah, it might just be fun to try something ridiculous like that :-)

Goodness, noooo, I would not try that character. I just picked 3 classes I thought would make a great nightmare! :)
I am not that extreme of a masochist! Though you had a lot of interesting ideas on how it might work. What a weird experience that would be.