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Crippling Strike -- Level 10+ rogues only.  This feat appears to only reduce
Strength by one rather than one per sneak attack damage die, and -1 Strength is not going to make a big impact on an ogre, trolls, or giant.

Extra Turning -- There really aren't enough undead encounters to make this worth selecting; if your cleric has normal or above average charisma they will probably have enough turning attempts by default (and if they have low charisma their turning capabilities will be weak anyway so there is no point in getting this feat).

Extra Wild Shape -- Even if your druid shapeshifts fairly frequently you almost never run out of shapeshifting charges, and if you do, that probably means it's time to rest, as your spellcasters are probably depleted as well.

Fiendslayer - It's not worth spending a whole feat on this just to get +1 damage for these relatively rare creature types.

Forestry -- The most useless feat in the game, bar none.

Improved Initiative--Rumor has it that this feat is "bugged," and the author has done experiments that definitely suggest that it isn't having any positive effect whatsoever, which is unfortunate, as on paper it would seem to be very useful.

Resist Poison - Gray dwarf and half orc only.  There isn't all that much poison in IWD2 and what poison there is isn't all that perilous; you are better off just taking Great Fortitude.

Toughness -- O.K., extra hit points are nice, but if you want them that bad, use the "Max HP/Level" option (take a course on guilt management if necessary), and use those valuable feat slots for something else.

Wild Shape, Boring Beetle, Panther, or Shambling Mound -- When all is said and done, these shapes aren't that much more superior to the regular ones, and are pretty much useless by the endgame, so it's not worth using a feat slot on them.


X) Sample Characters and Parties

A) Sample Characters

This section goes provides detailed designs for a few "optimized" builds.  The ability numbers are for a level one character.  Suggested feats and skills are also listed in approximate order of their priority; gaining access to all the suggested feats will require a character of higher level.

1) Tank-o-monk

Race: Human
Class: Monk
Abilities: Str 18 Dex 18 Con 16 Int 3 Wis 18 Cha 3
Skills: Hide and Move Silently
Feats: Power Attack, Rapid Shot, Cleave, Dodge, Dirty Fighting

This build relies on the fact that humans get an extra skill point each level to create a monk that is fully optimized for tanking, sniping, mage killing, and scouting.

2) Courtly Wizard

Race: Human
Class: Wizard
Abilities: Str 6 Dex 10 Con 14 Int 18 Wis 10 Cha 18
Skills: Concentration, Spellcraft, Alchemy, Knowledge: Arcane, Diplomacy, Bluff,
Intimidate
Feats: Courteous Magocracy, Luck of Heroes, Expertise, various Spell Focus and elemental feats

This build takes advantage of a Wizard's large number of skill points to create a wizard diplomat/loremaster.  With low-Strength and Dex this character has almost no combat capability, but a decent Con of 14 will help keep them alive (use spells like Mirror Image liberally to protect this build).

3) Mystic Druid Pariah

Race: Half Elf
Class: Monk 3/Druid X
Abilities: Str 12 Dex 18 Con 12 Int 13 Wis 18 Cha 3
Skills: Concentration, Spellcraft, Hide, Move Silently
Feats: Expertise, Rapid Shot, Spell Focus: Transmutation, elemental feats

This is a shapeshifting-oriented build that uses a monk mix-in to provide additional AC benefits while shifted (the Wisdom bonus for monks carries over to the alternate forms).  Three levels of monk also provides Evasion, Deflect
Arrows, and additional speed and saving throw bonuses, and the latter combined with the half elf bonuses results in a character who is extremely resistant to
Enchantment magics.  This very flexible build can be deployed in a variety of roles: tank, sniper, scout, bombardier, mage killer, summoner, spell sword, and healer.

4) Lightbringer

Race: Aasimar
Class: Paladin 2/Cleric of Lathander X
Abilities: Str 8  Dex 8  Con 10  Int 14  Wis 20  Cha 20
Skills: Concentration, Diplomacy, Spellcraft
Feats: Expertise, Spell Focus: Evocation, Spirit of Flame, Sub-Vocal Casting,
Strong Back

Another non-combatant build, this character will serve as a healer, diplomat, and, at higher-levels, bombardier (using the clerical fire spells like Flame
Strike as well as the Lathander domain spells).  Two levels of Paladin provides the Aura of Courage, insanely high saving throws, and a little bit of Laying on
Hands capability for emergency first aid (and with the Lathander's Renewal special ability this character will have two sources for quick healing).  If you don't care about Aura of Courage then just using one level of Paladin is a reasonable alternative. With the extremely high Charisma and the built-in
Improved Turning feat from the Lathander order, against undead encounters this character can wreak havoc.

5) Trickster Gnome

Race: Deep Gnome
Class: Bard X/Illusionist Y
Abilities: Str 6  Dex 14  Con 12  Int 18  Wis 10  Cha 14
Skills: Concentration, Diplomacy, Bluff, Spellcraft, Alchemy, Knowledge: Arcana
Feats: Dodge, Dash, Expertise, Lingering Song, Spell Focus: Enchantment

Yet another non-combatant build.  For this character, you can adjust the bard and illusionist levels to suit your personal preferences (even one level of bard is useful for the first song and the access to bard-only items).  In addition to covering the diplomat and loremaster roles, this character provides support in combat with bard songs while distracting the enemy.  Since bard songs can be played while fleeing, if this trickster can get a powerful monster to chase them then they can lead it in circles while singing merrily, giving the others an opportunity to heal, cast spells, or apply missile fire.

6) Big Brute

Race: Half Orc
Class: Fighter 4/Barbarian X
Abilities: Str 20  Dex 16  Con 18  Int 1  Wis 18  Cha 1
Skills: Intimidation
Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Weapon Specialization, Improved Critical, Dodge,
Iron Will

As ugly and stupid as it gets, but shockingly effective in hand-to-hand combat.
Use a two-handed weapon for maximum damage.  With a Wisdom of 18 this character actually gets decent Will saving throws, but with an ample supply of feats you can add in Iron Will for additional safety.

7) Archer Mage

Race: Moon elf
Class: Fighter 4/Wizard X
Abilities: Str 8  Dex 20  Con 16  Int 18  Wis 10  Cha 4
Skills: Concentration, Spellcraft, Alchemy, Knowledge: Arcana, Search
Feats: Rapid Shot, Weapon Specialization: Bows, Greater Spell Focus: Evocation, elemental feats, Dodge

Delivering damage from a safe distance is this character's specialty. With bonus feats from both the fighter and wizard classes, such a build has ample feats and can afford to invest heavily in both bow-related feats and direct damage spellcasting feats.  Because the four levels of fighter will prevent this character from achieving the highest level spells, you will usually not want such a build as your primary arcane spellcaster.  However, as a support sniper/bombardier/loremaster, this build is almost peerless.  You can do a variant of this build with a wild elf fighter/sorcerer, but that build will have fewer feats and skill points.


B) Sample Parties

This section contains a few examples of parties.  All of these are similar to parties that the author successfully ran himself.  The descriptions show the heroes at or near the end of the game, so you know what to work towards.

1) Mystic Goons from the Outback

The key to this party is that, except for the sorcerer, who is the de facto diplomat, everyone is plug ugly.  But, they're scrappy and have a flexible, magic-intensive offensive.  In combat, deploy this party in three ranks, with the monk and fighter/rogue in front, the cleric and druid in the middle, and the sorcerer and wizard in the rear.

Shield dwarf--level 2 fighter/level 14 monk (tank and mage killer; level up twice in fighter for the proficiencies, hit points and feats and then switch exclusively to monk)

Wild elf--level 2 rogue/level 14 sorcerer (scout, bombardier, spell sword)

Ghostwise halfling--level 1 barbarian/level 15 druid (offensive spell sword; the barbarian mix in adds better weaponry and the Rage ability for use in tough one- on-one fights or in mop up situations)

Human--level 16 Transmute (basic spellcaster; primary loremaster and auxiliary bombardier)

Drow--level 14 Stormlord of Talos (healer and spell sword with some bombardier and mage killer aspects)

Tiefling--level 10 fighter/level 5 rogue (tank, scout, thief)

2) Law of the Land

A mixed bag of mostly lawful characters.  Three of the characters are fairly traditional; the other three builds are a bit more experimental.  The paladin, sorcerer, and bard all have acceptable "presence" and so diplomat functions are flexibly and thoroughly covered.  This party works best in a "pentagon" formation, with the human fighter tank in front, the three multiclass spell swords in the middle supporting with melee, missile, or spellcasting, as needed, and the Morning lord and bard in the rear helping with songs, archery, and support magic.

Aasimar--level 4 Paladin of Mystra/level 11 wizard (serves as a sniper, spell sword, and healer)

Human--level 16 fighter (heavy duty tank)

Human-level 3 Monk of the Dark Moon/level 13 sorcerer (the bombardier, with
Evasion, a little extra speed, and other minor niceties from the monk class giving her more flexibility for SWAT operations)

Human--level 5 Painbearer of Ilmater/level 11 Monk of the Broken Ones (general purpose scout, healer and spell sword)

Stout heart Halfling--level 13 bard/level 3 rogue (primary thief, loremaster, and backup spellcaster)

Moon elf--level 16 Morning lord of Lathander (primary healer and summoner; can use a bow as well as supporting the front lines as a tank if needed)

3) Gang of Four

Playing with a smaller party can be a challenge, but during the first few chapters your characters level that much more rapidly.  If you find that in the later chapters you aren't getting any experience because your characters are such high level, you can add a new low-level "squire" character using the Party
Formation screen, which will bring your party's average level down.  This party works best if the monk scouts and perhaps stuns a key foe, then retreats while the sorcerer applies heavy-hitting direct damage.  At this point, the foe will be weakened and the party is flexible enough to execute either a direct offensive or to retreat and regroup for more skirmish tactics.

Human--level 18 monk (scout and mage killer with some tank capability)

Human--level 18 sorcerer (primary bombardier and summoner)

Aasimar--level 8 fighter/level 9 Battle guard of Tempus (spell sword with tank, sniper, healer, and summoner capabilities)

Strongheart Halfling--level 7 rogue/level 11 fighter (primary tank and thief and can second for scout and mage killer blitzes)