Creating a new party from scratch can be pretty overwhelming in IWD. The game’s character creation process is quite opaque to those not familiar with D&D. And even for those who are, they probably need to consult non-game resources (ie. the D&D rules) to confirm their choices. Thus I have put together this Quick Guide to those who don’t have access to the D&D 2nd or 3rd Ed rules.

Note: My recommendations refer to D&D 2nd Edition rules used with IWD1 and the HoW expansion. If you are looking for recommendations for IWD2 and D&D 3rd Edition rules, scroll down a bit further to Darvin's posts. Differences between the two rulesets require you need to think a bit differently about your character's abilities.

Quick Guide for 2nd Ed Character Abilities
The following is an overview of the various character classes, with minimum and maximum recommended ability scores. 2nd Ed D&D is quite peculiar in that only extremely low stats or extremely high ones affect your character’s in-game performance. Anything in between is just pointless, so generally you should go for the minimum or the maximum when creating your character. Minimum meaning anything less and your character will be disadvantageously weaker than they ought to be, and maximum meaning anything higher and your character likely won’t see any benefit at all. Numbers in bold refer to an acceptable “sweet spot” for that ability if you don’t have enough points (or patience) to get the maximum:

(Sorry for the formatting. The post engine doesn't support tables)

Strength minimum: 8-16 maximum: (Fighter, Ranger, Palladin) 17 18/51 18/76 18/91 18/00
maximum: (all other classes) 17-18

Dexterity minimum: 7 maximum: (all classes) 15 16 17 18

Constitution minimum: 7 maximum: (Fighter, Ranger, Palladin) 15 16 17 18
maximum: (all other classes) 15 16

Intelligence minimum: (Mage) 9 maximum: (Mage) 10-12-14-16-18
minimum: (Bard) 13 maximum: (Bard) 14 15 16
minimum: (dual mage) 17 maximum: (dual mage) 18
minimum: (all others) 3 maximum: (all others) irrelevant

Wisdom minimum: (Cleric, Druid) 9 maximum: (Cleric Druid) 13 - 18
minimum: (Palladin) 13 maximum: (Palladin) 14 - 17
minimum: (Ranger) 14 maximum: (Ranger) 15 -17
minimum: (dual cleric) 17 maximum: (dual cleric) 18
minimum: (all others) 3 maximum: (all others) irrelevant

Charisma minimum: (party leader) 8 maximum: (party leader) 15 - 18
minimum: (Bard, Druid) 15 maximum: (Bard, Druid) 16 -18
minimum: (Palladin) 17 maximum: (Palladin) 18
minimum: (all others) 3 maximum: (all others) irrelevant

Commentary
Strength
Strength is important to EVERY character class, not just fighters. It is the only stat where every extra point counts, as it determines how much weight you can carry. At less than 12 you will be hampered in the amount of equipment your character can wear and often be loaded down by only a paltry amount of plundered loot. At high strength (17+) you also get combat and damage bonuses, which is why I recommend every class (yes even wizards will benefit from this) take 17 or higher. At less than 7 you get combat penalties, so don’t do it. If you are a fighter/ranger/palladin and can’t be bothered to reroll your stats, 18/51 or higher is acceptable, but you really want 18/91 or higher to get maximum damage output.

Dexterity
All classes benefit equally from high dexterity, not just thieves. In D&D you primary defensive stat is Armor Class. There are only 3 ways to improve armor class: (1) wear better armor, (2) use spells or magic items, (3) have high dexterity. Also, high dexterity gives to-hit bonuses for ranged weapons, and EVERYONE will use some kind of ranged weapon in IWD. So you can see neglecting this ability is quite detrimental. This is an all-or-nothing stat. At less than 7 you start taking combat and AC penalties, so don’t do it. Between 8-14 there are no bonuses or drawbacks, so don’t bother. With 15 or higher, you get bonuses. At 17 you get +2 to-hit and +3 AC bonuses, thus it is my prefered “minimum” for any class, although you really should just go ahead and take 18 for everyone to get maximum benefit to your armor class.

Constitution
All classes benefit from high constitution, warrior classes even more so. In D&D high Con also bestows saving roll bonuses, but I haven’t seen any evidence that this has been implemented in IWD. On the other hand your “hit points” determine how much punishment your character can take before they die. This is an all-or-nothing stat. At less than 7 you take penalties to your hit points, so don’t do it. Anything from 8 up to 14 does nothing at all. At 15 or higher, each extra point “buys you” 10 additional hit points more than what your character class could normally have (1 hp per level up to lvl 10). Only fighter/ranger/palladins benefit from constitution 17 or higher. Thus for any character that is even going to see a modicum of combat (in IWD that means everyone) you want either the recommended 16, or 17+ for f/r/p classes.

Intelligence
Only Mages or Bards need worry about intelligence in IWD. All other classes can consider this a dump stat and set it to 3. For mages/bards it determines what level spells are able to be learned, how many total spells can be written into their spellbook, and the success rate of transferring said spells from scroll to spellbook. Obviously Mages want 18 and Bards 16 (bards can’t learn spells higher than lvl 8, so they see little benefit from higher intelligence). But lower intelligence for both classes is perfectly feasible. Potions that raise intelligence are common and can assist in writing spells to spell books, thus those limitations are really not hard to overcome. At Int 12/13, magic users can learn lvl 6 spells, which covers the most important combat spells. At 14 they get lvl 7 spells, at 16 they get lvl 8 spells, at 18 lvl 9th spells. But there are several magic items found in the game that will raise your intelligence permanently (as long as they remain equipped), so it will be possible to “upgrade” your mage to higher level spells, even if they don’t start with high enough IQ in the beginning. If you intend to dual-class a human into a mage, you need a minimum 17 Int.

Wisdom
Only Clerics, Druids, Rangers and Palladins need worry about wisdom in IWD. All other classes can use this as a dump stat and set it to 3. In D&D high Wis (15+) also bestows saving roll bonuses against magic, but I haven’t seen any evidence that this has been implemented in IWD. For the priestly classes, wisdom mostly determines whether they get extra magic spells or not. Palladins/Rangers can’t get extra spells higher than lvl 3 spells, so they see no benefit from a wisdom higher than 17. Clerics/Druids obviously want an 18 for maximum extra spells. But lower wisdom is perfectly feasible for all your holy casters. Your clerics will still turn undead just as well, and your spells have the same potency regardless of wisdom. So if you can make due with a few less spells, having a priest with less than the maximum wisdom is fine. Humans who intend to dual-class into a Cleric need a wisdom of at least 17.

Charisma
In IWD the character whose icon is shown at the top of the screen is considered the party leader. This character is considered to be the one who interacts with all NPCs in the game and conducts all transactions and dialogues. Thus this character is the only one who needs concern themselves with charisma. All other party members can consider this a dump stat at set it to 3. Bards, Druids and Palladins are the only classes that have a minimum requirement for charisma. Thus if you intend to include one of those classes in your group, they make the obvious choice for party leader. At higher than 14, each additional point of charisma adds +1 to the interaction score between the leader and an NPC. In IWD if the score is high enough, certain dialogue choices will be “unlocked”. You can complete the game without them, but sometimes you will get extra experience, different quest choices or lower prices. At less than 8, sometimes an NPC will refuse to talk to you (for a little while) or raise prices, or you lose out on extra quest choices. There is also a spell (Friends) that raises your charisma by 5 temporarily. So it is possible to even set your party leader’s charisma to 3 (assuming they can cast the spell) and still do just fine.

So that said, here is a list of my recommended “minimum” character builds for IWD. Stats in bold will add higher benefits for that class if you can add more points to them:

Fighter S 18/51 D 17 C 17 I 3 W 3 Ch 3
Thief S 17 D 17 C 16 I 3 W 3 Ch 3
Mage S 17 D 17 C 16 I 12 W 3 Ch 3
Cleric S 17 D 17 C 16 I 3 W 13 Ch 3
Bard S 17 D 17 C 16 I 13 W 3 Ch 15
Druid S 17 D 17 C 16 I 3 W 13 Ch 15
Ranger S 18/51 D 17 C 17 I 3 W 14 Ch 3
Palladin S 18/51 D 17 C 17 I 3 W 13 Ch 17

Note: There are 2nd level Mage spells that increase Str or Dex for a decent number of turns, so technically it is feasible for one character to get away with somewhat less in those two stats, and it might even make more interesting roleplay. But imo its easier to just allocate high Str and Dex from the get-go.

Multi-class characters just combine the attributes from their respective classes. Dual-class humans intending to switch to mage or cleric will need a minimum of 17 in intelligence or wisdom, respectively.

Hope this helps anyone to get through the learning curve of starting a new party.

Humans intending to dual class to Druid will need a minimum score of 17 in both WIS and CHA. It should also be noted that if you intend to dual class, you must have a minimum score of 15 in your original class' primary stat(s).

Another point to note is the game will not allow you to reduce a stat below the minimum required for some classes. For example, if rolling a Paladin, the game will not allow you to reduce CHA below 17 or WIS below 13.

As well, racial bonuses and penalties can allow the character to reduce ability scores below 3 and above 18 at character creation.

Lastly, you're right in your assumption that the game does not take WIS into account when rolling saves.

The precise numbers are different, but the general platitudes are the same: put the biggest numbers possible in your primary attributes, and neglect the attributes that don't matter. That said, some of the tables are very different (for instance, you start taking a hit point penalty if you have a constitution score lower than 10, making that the effective minimum in IWD2).

Anyways, good job. I may be inclined write up an IWD2 version in a similar format later, although things like feats and skill points do come up there.

The differences are more than subtle, IMO. The 3rd edition rules are quite a bit different and, while the advice Darvin gave to max and increase important stats is valid, there are a lot more nuances to the game. As a 'for instance', while once may consider WIS a dump stat in IWD1 for some classes, regarding at a dump stat in IWD2 will affect your saving throws. Low INT means fewer skill points. Multiclassing works completely different from IWD1 and all races can multiclass although some races have favored classes, which could possibly result in the character taking an XP penalty if the player is not careful. Etc.

Sounds complicated. I haven't actually played IWD2 yet, though I own it. But I have played Temple of Elemental Evil, which also uses D&D 3rd Ed rules. In that game, there is a pretty extensive help menu accessible during character creation. So with a bit of reading I could (kind of) figure out what was going on enough to not totally screw up my character. Does IWD2 have that as well?

If not a Quick Help for IWD2 party generation would be great.

Some comments to your guide:

In IWD wisdom is totally useless for paladins and rangers.
Having 19 dex str, dex, con or int can be more beneficial than 18.

I'd prefer having maxed wis for clerics and druids (bonus spells are more fun) and 18 int for bards (less scroll scribing failure and more spells to memorize per level is also better for the game playing fun, with 13 int you'll have to drink 2 potion in a row, take at least 15 as minimum).

Friends spells don't stack, you can't raise a character's charisma by more than 5. 15 cha is needed for getting probably all the charisma-based dialogue options and 20 cha for optimal shop prices. It won't make a difference at all whether you have 3 or 10 cha.

Actually it will. With 10 Cha you will get "normal" prices and "normal" dialogue. With only 3 Cha you will get higher prices and sometimes NPCs won't talk to you, or the dialogue is slightly different. But casting a "Friend" spell first will raise your Cha to 8 temporarily, thus bringing it into the range where you can still get the "normal" play-through.

I agree 15+ Int is a good idea for a Mage if you have the points. Spell transcribing failure is lame, but honestly, do you ever accept losing one of those precious spells or just reload and do it again till it works? But even at 12-13 Int (allows 6th level spells) with only 12 spells per level in their spellbook, a Mage is "doable". You won't find any lvl 7 spell scrolls till Lower Dorn's Deep anyways, and by then you should be able to raise your Int to 14. There is a magic item in IWD that doubles the number of spells a mage can memorize. So even a 12 Int mage can still lay down some serious whoop-a$$.

Some dialogues/quests seem to be class-based as well. For example if you have a Bard (mine had Cha 18) as party leader and talk to the Blue Lady in Easthaven, she will teach you a song and you get extra experience for this.

Icewind Dale 2 character building advice - part 1

Attributes
The attribute tables in Icewind Dale 2 are fairly standardized compared to their predecessors. Penalties start at attribute scores of 9 and get more severe the lower you go, and bonuses start at 12 and get better as you go higher. Even values are universally preferable to odd values, and there are very few reasons to go with an odd number. I will still list these as minimums where it makes sense to do so, but from a practical standpoint you're always better off upgrading to the nearest even number.

There are relatively few enforced minimums for your attributes, unlike IWD1. The game will allow you to play a fighter with 3 strength if you so desire, but that doesn't make it a good idea. As a result, “minimums” are much more subjective. So when I list “15” as the minimum intelligence for a wizard, I'm aware you can go lower and still have a functioning wizard, but you'll start eating some serious penalties below that point.

Finally, different races may adjust your maximum value for any attribute up or down. The values listed below presume you have no racial modifier in play. Any time I list “18” as a maximum where your race allows for a 20, that means going for a 20 is a perfectly valid choice. Similarly, any time I list “3” as a minimum when your race allows for a 1, that means going for 1 is equally okay.

Strength
Benefits: melee damage, melee accuracy, carrying capacity

(Fighter, Paladin, Ranger)*: 14-18
(Monk, Barbarian): 16-18
(Cleric, Bard, Druid): 8-18, sweet spots at 14, 16
(Rogue): 12-18, sweet spots at 14, 16
(Wizard, Sorcerer): 8-14

* Only go lower than 16 if you plan on being an archery specialist

Dexterity
Benefits: ranged attacks, ranged touch spells, armor class, reflex save

(Fighter, Barbarian, Paladin): 10-18*, sweet spots at 12 and 13**
(Bard, Monk, Ranger, Rogue): 14-18, sweet spot at 16
(Cleric, Druid): 8-14, sweet spots at 12 and 13
(Sorcerer, Wizard): 14-18, sweet spot at 16

* No higher than 14 unless you are focusing on archery
** 13 dexterity is the sole exception to the “even numbers” rule. Even then, you're usually best off just paying one more point to go to 14.

It's worth noting that heavy armor prevents you from benefiting from a high dexterity score. For those wearing full plate, there is little benefit to having more than 13 dexterity. If your dexterity score is 24 or higher, then wearing any armor whatsoever prevents you from fully-enjoying your AC bonus. However, only dedicated archers should ever have dexterity scores that high.

Constitution
Benefits: hit points, fortitude saving throw

(Melee Characters): 16-18
(Everyone Else): 12-18, sweet spots at 14 and 16

Intelligence
Benefits: wizard spellcasting, skill points

(Wizard): 15-18
(Rogue): 6-12
(Everyone Else): 3-14

Keep in mind that there is a minimum of 1 skill point per level for non-humans and 2 skill points per level for humans. This means that there comes a certain point at which the penalty for a low intelligence score is effectively capped. This makes this one of the easiest scores to drop down to 3. There is literally no difference between a cleric with 9 intelligence and 3 intelligence.

Wisdom
Benefits: divine spellcasting, monk special abilities, will saving throw

(Cleric, Druid): 15-18, sweet spot at 16
(Monk): 14-18, sweet spot at 16
(Paladin): 4-16, sweet spot at 14*
(Ranger): 16**
(Sorcerer, Wizard, Bard): 6-14
(Fighter, Barbarian, Rogue): 10-16, sweet spots at 12 and 14

*Low wisdom scores will prevent you from casting Paladin spells. Trading your spellcasting abilities for other benefits is a valid approach, but this is not true of other spellcaster classes.

** There is little benefit to a higher wisdom score than this, and if you want a lower wisdom score than this then you may as well just play a fighter instead. The ranger occupies a very narrow niche.

Charisma
Benefits: conversation skills, paladin special abilities, sorcerer/bard spellcasting

(Sorcerer, Bard): 15-18, sweet spot at 16 (bard only)
(Paladin): 14-18, sweet spot at 16
(Rogue, Cleric): 3-14
(Everyone else): 3-10

Couple things I'd add/change: It would be wise to consider your class' save progression before deciding to gimp your DEX by a large amount, since the penalty to Reflex saves could be a concern. Classes with low Reflex saves may want to only drop it to 10 so there's no penalty (pr maybe 8 so there's only a -1 penalty). I'd add Fighter at the very least to the 16 or 18 category. I disagree that the sweet spot for Sorcerers is 16. IMO, if you're playing a SOR, you should pump CHA as high as your race allows. For Bards, since they can only cast up to level 6 spells anyway, then 16 is all the CHA you need.

Cool. Sounds like the folks at D&D did a major overhaul for 3rd Ed. It actually seems to be more "intuitive" character generation system, rather than in 2nd Ed where it is all about min-maxed attributes.

@ Darvin: I would go ahead make any changes you want, and then edit your first response and paste-in all that info, since it comes right after my original post. I will modify the intro of my post to indicate that people can find advice for IWD2 immediately below in your response. That way, it should be nice and easy to find for anyone whose looking.

To be clear, I'm not recommending a dexterity score below 10, ever. I'm just saying it can be done. You will take a penalty, but it's a manageable one if the character in question is not expected to do any tanking. It also can be cancelled out with magic items and spells. Throwing on cat's grace on an 8-dexterity cleric will completely negate his dex penalty for the duration of the spell.

Due to the fact that IWD2 doesn't implement initiative, the biggest threat of a low dexterity score is a non-issue. Archer specialists don't really need that much, and even melee specialists can make due. I'd certainly recommend higher, and the fighter has enough points to spare to go for higher, but as a strict minimum a D10 hit die class doesn't need more than 12. I'm using Dreamteam's definition of "sweet spot", which I'd agree is somewhat deceptive in this case. I may just wipe out all reference to "sweet spots", since I've already given the talk about even numbers in my introduction.


There's still quite a bit of min-maxing, but it's not nearly as "all-or-nothing" as the earlier edition. Scores as low as 3 shouldn't be allowed (typically 8 is the minimum
Yes, although Icewind Dale 2 still has its issues. It allows for absurdly low values like 3, and does not implement the "point buy" system. Under the point buy system, higher attribute scores are more expensive, encouraging more moderate values. While you can benefit from moderate values in IWD2, it's still highly preferable to max them out.


I plan to add a section on race recommendations, and then a section on feat selection.

Many thanks Darvin, just what I needed. Plus one too

Not to nitpick (although I understand this is exactly what I'm doing), but the logic here escapes me. If you're saying a d10 class like Fighter or Paladin doesn't need that much, then why is the Barbarian (with a d12) in the category? I'd personally put all warrior classes in the 16 to 18 category, as they're more often than not built as melee specialists. You could note an exception for those primarily designed for ranged combat.

But in the end, this isn't a big deal. The guide is a recommendation after all, and I think your suggestions are pretty solid anyway, and kudos to you for taking the time to write it up. Just being pedantic, I guess. :)

Ah, my mistake. In most 3E games the duration of Barbarian rage is dependent on your constitution score, but this does not appear to be true in IWD2. So yeah, I wouldn't treat the barbarian any differently than any other fighter.

I'll probably change it to 14-18 and make the same note I did regarding strength (don't go below 16 unless you're an archery specialist).

No worries; if our positions were reversed, I'd probably be doing the same to you :-P

Actually I soloed a character with 5 cha and no NPC refused to talk to me (it's not like in BG1), there's no benefit in casting a friends spell to raise it if to mediocre. Low cha gives a penalty to shop prices in IWD2 but I don't think it does in IWD1.