Games PC ICEWIND DALE II User Manual

Table of Contents

Welcome to Icewind Dale II ..........................................................2

How To Use This Manual ................................................................3

How To Install and Start Playing ....................................................3

How To Get Help ..........................................................................4

Starting Out ..........................................................................5

Party Choice ..........................................................................5

Character Generation ......................................................................6

The Interface ..........................................................................9

Muliplayer ........................................................................25

Faerûn and the North ....................................................................29

The Dungeons & Dragons Rules....................................................38

Experience and Gaining Levels ................................................44

Races and Sub-Races................................................................47

Classes ........................................................................50

Skills ........................................................................63

Feats ........................................................................65

Magic and the Spell System ..........................................................73

Spells ........................................................................75

Outfitting Yourself ......................................................................132

Arming Yourself ......................................................................133

Magic Items and Treasure ..........................................................135

Tables ......................................................................134

Table 1: Character Ability Scores............................................134

Table 2: Experience and Level Dependent Benefits Chart ......135

Table 3: Base Save and Base Attack Bonuses..........................136

Table 4: Monk Unarmed Bonuses ..........................................137

Table 5: Spell Progression......................................................138

Table 6: Simple Weapons........................................................145

Table 7: Martial Weapons ......................................................146

Table 8: Armor ......................................................................147

Table 9: Two-Weapon Fighting Penalties ................................147

Credits ......................................................................148

Index ......................................................................150

Interplay Contact Information......................................................152

1

2

ICEWIND DALE II

Black Isle Studios is pleased to bring to you Icewind Dale™ II, the sequel to
the critically acclaimed Icewind Dale™. Using the Dungeons & Dragons®
Third Edition rules, Icewind Dale II continues the classic dungeon crawling
experience of the first game, with a horde of new monsters to slay, spells to
unleash, and areas to explore in the windswept north of the FORGOTTEN
REALMS®. A grave new threat has arisen in the North, a threat that seeks to
seal off the Ten-Towns from the rest of Faerûn in a bitter power struggle. The
town of Bremen has fallen, and a vicious horde of goblins, orcs, and bug­bears have gathered beneath the mysterious banner of the Chimera and are
marching on the port town of Targos. Fearing that they will be overrun,
Targos has sent out a call for all able-bodied adventurers, soldiers, and mer­cenaries to sail north to stand with the town’s defenders against the
encroaching horde. You and your companions have answered the call.

Icewind Dale II uses a highly modified version of the BioWare Infinity
Engine™, originally developed by BioWare Corp. for Baldur’s Gate™ and
Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn™. Among the many features included in
Icewind Dale II, you will now be able to choose new races like the Half-Orcs
and sub-races like the Gold Dwarves. You may even play some of the
Underdark races, including the Drow and the Duergar. For players who like
to equip two scimitars and do a spinning dance of death through their ene­mies, Two Weapon Fighting has also been included.

Many of the mechanics described in this manual will be familiar to those who
have played the Baldur’s Gate series and Icewind Dale. If you wish to refresh
your knowledge of the interface, feel free to thumb through the manual and
read what you wish. The notable differences you will find are the change from
AD&D Second Edition rules to D&D Third Edition rules including new races,
skills, feats, spells, and the world background, which describes the port city
of Targos and its inhabitants.

Welcome to Icewind Dale II.

2

How To Use This Manual

This manual is intended as a reference guide for Icewind Dale II, not something that needs to be read from
cover to cover. Refer to it when you need to, or if you are confused about a certain aspect of gameplay.
Several tables and an index have been provided at the end of the book to allow you to get the information you
need at a glance, and a quick reference card has been included in the game box.

This manual is divided into two parts. The first part gives you the information you need to create your party,
use the new interface, and run multiplayer games in Icewind Dale II. It’s the nuts and bolts of the game, and
it has everything you need to get up and running. The second part, “The North,” gives you information on the
city of Targos, the world of the FORGOTTEN REALMS, and definitions of certain aspects of the Third Edition
Dungeons & Dragons rules, which may be new to some players.

How To Install and Start Playing

To install Icewind Dale II, first insert the CD-ROM labeled Icewind Dale II Disc 1 into your CD-ROM drive and
follow the on-screen instructions. If your Autorun is not enabled, click on the icon representing your CD­ROM Drive under ‘My Computer’ from your desktop. This will bring up a listing of the files on Icewind Dale
II Disc 1. Find AUTORUN.EXE and double-click to launch the install application.

Press the ‘Install’ button to begin installation.

After installing the game, other options will be available on the launch menu:

Play. After you have everything set, click on the Play button to begin playing. After viewing the logo and intro­duction movies, select “New Game” to go directly into Party Choice and begin your adventure in Icewind Dale
II.

View Readme. The readme file contains last minute information and changes that could not be printed in this
manual. Please take the time to view the readme file if you are having any problems with this product.

Uninstall. When you’re ready, the Uninstall option will remove Icewind Dale II from your computer, except
your saved games.

Exit will close the launch window.

Starting Icewind Dale II from the Desktop: After you have installed the game, if your Icewind Dale II CD is
already in your CD-ROM Drive or the Autorun menu did not pop up after putting in the CD - go to your Start
Menu, select Programs, and then select the Black Isle program group and finally the Icewind Dale II selec­tion. At another time, you might also want to look at the other interesting programs and material that was
installed along with Icewind Dale II under the Black Isle program group.

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4

How To Get Help

Troubleshooting Documents Online!

Interplay Entertainment Corp. Technical Support now offers troubleshooting guides with complete installation
and setup instructions as well as information that will help you overcome the most common difficulties. If you
have access to the World Wide Web, you can find these at www.interplay.com/support/.
Here you will find troubleshooting information on as well as information on regular system maintenance and
performance.
(For game-specific information and additional troubleshooting, visit our main page at www.interplay.com)

If you have questions about the program, our Technical Support Department can help. Our web-site contains
up-to-date information on the most common difficulties with our products, and this information is the same
as that used by our product support technicians. We keep the product support pages updated on a regular
basis, so please check here first for no-wait solutions: www.interplay.com/support/

If you are unable to find the information you need on our web site, please feel free to contact Technical
Support via e-mail, phone, fax, or letter. Please be sure to include the following information in your e-mail
message, fax, or letter:

• Title of Game

• Operating system (Windows® 95,Windows® 98, Windows® ME, Windows® 2000, Windows® XP)

• CPU type and speed in MHZ

• Amount of RAM

• CD-ROM

• A copy of the Direct X Diagnostic Report

• A description of the problem you’re having

If you need to talk to someone immediately, call us at [phone] Monday through Friday between
8:00AM-5:45PM, Pacific Standard Time. Our automated wizard is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. Please
have the above information ready when you call. This will help us answer your question in the shortest possi­ble time. When you call you will initially be connected with our automated wizard. For information pertaining
to your specific title, press “1” on the main menu and listen carefully to all prompts. All titles are listed
alphabetically. After you have selected your title, the most common difficulties will be listed. If the difficulty
you are having is not listed or you need additional assistance, you may press “0” on your games main menu,
and you will be transferred to a Technical Support representative. No hints or codes are available from this
line.

Interplay Entertainment Corp. Support Fax: [phone]
Interplay Entertainment Corp. Technical Support
16815 Von Karman Avenue • Irvine, CA 92606

HOW TO REACH US ONLINE
INTERNET E-MAIL: [e-mail]
WORLD WIDE WEB: www.interplay.com
FTP: ftp.interplay.com

4

Starting Out

You can play Icewind Dale II either solo (creating your own party) or multiplayer (adventuring with one or
more of your friends, with each of you controlling one or more characters). The following directions regard­ing character creation and interface apply equally to both types of games, but the means of starting a single­player game and a multiplayer game differ.

Single Player Game: When you begin the game, you’ll be presented with the Main Menu screen. If you
wish to start a single player game, make sure the Game Mode at the top of the menu is set to “Single Player”
(it should be by default), then select “New Game,” and you’ll be taken to the Party Choice Screen.

New to Icewind Dale II is the Party Choice Screen. Here you can select an adventuring party that has already
been created, so that you can start adventuring immediately. From this screen you can also choose to modify
a selected party, which you might want to do if you like one of the parties offered, but want to change a char­acter or two. You can also choose to create a whole party from scratch. The choice is yours.

If you chose to create your own party, you will be presented with six empty character slots, each with a
“Create Character” button. Each of these slots allows you to create a brand new character by clicking on the
button. To create a brand new character, follow the steps listed in “Character Generation” on page 6.

Once you have created a character, the empty slot will be replaced with the character’s name. You can
remove a character by clicking on the name of the character, then on the “Delete” button on the sub-menu
that pops up. Doing so frees up the slot for another character.

If you wish to back out of this screen simply select “Exit.” Click “Done” when you have created all the char­acters for your party, and Icewind Dale II will begin. For more information on the Party Formation Screen,
see page 22.

Multiplayer: For details on how to start a multiplayer game, refer to the Multiplayer section on page 25.

Party Choice

A new feature in Icewind Dale II is the ability for you to choose a party of adventurers that have already been
put together for you. We have tried to create a number of interesting parties that offer different playing styles,
but are also well balanced and should serve you well from your first quest to your last. These parties also
start out fully equipped, so you will be ready to quash your first goblin right away.

If you decide to either alter the makeup of one of the pre-made parties or create your own party from scratch
by choosing to create a new party, there are a few things you should remember:

1) Make sure that you include a cleric in your party for healing. Icewind Dale II can be very challenging
if you do not include a cleric.

2) If you are making a party that includes a lot of the special Forgotten Realms character races (dark
elves, gray dwarves, etc.) which develop slower than the “normal” races, please remember that your
party could be underpowered at certain points in the game. Things will be fine if you include a couple
characters of these races, however a party of six deep gnomes could make playing the game very chal­lenging.

3) You can choose to make a party of as many as six characters or as few as one. However, we suggest
that you make a party of at least four characters. The game is balanced for a character group of four to
six characters.

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6

Character Generation

If you’ve chosen to create some or all of your characters from scratch then you will want to read this section
to help you with your decisions. Follow the steps below; at any point in the process you may press “Start
Over,” and you will start with a new character generation screen. Note: If Start Over is selected any work on
that character will be lost! If you find that you don’t like some of your choices and wish to change them sim­ply press the “Back” button at the bottom of the screen.

Gender

Choose your character’s sex, male or female. Your gender choice has no effect on anything other than your
portrait selection and your character’s model in the game. When you have chosen your gender, click on the
‘Next’ button in the bottom right of the screen. (You’ll need to select ‘Next’ after every choice you make
below.) There are male and female portraits for all races in the game.

Portrait Selection

Choose your character’s portrait. If you want, you can import a customized picture of your character rather
than use one of the ones provided. For information on how to customize your character’s portrait, sounds,
biography, and behavior, see the Character Record section on page 20. For more details on using your own
custom portraits, please view the README file.

Race

Choose your character’s race and/or sub-race, whether human, elf, half-elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling, or half­orc. Depending on which race you choose, you may also get a menu with some of the new sub-races in
Icewind Dale II. For example, if you choose “elf,” you will get a menu that allows you to choose between
moon elf, drow (dark elf), and wild elf. The strengths and weaknesses of each race and sub-race will be
described in the text box at the right side of the screen. Your race may affect certain dialogue choices in the
game as well as your character’s favored class and your ability scores, so choose carefully. If you wish further
details on each race, see “Races,” on page 47.

Class

Choose the class you want from the list. The text box on the right side of the screen contains descriptions of
each class. The following classes have other choices to make once you have chosen them.

Clerics: After choosing the path of the cleric for your character, you will then need to choose which deity he
or she will rely on for their faith driven powers. You will want to read a little bit about each of the deities to
determine which is the right one for your character. Remember that the choice of deity does restrict the
alignments that you can choose for your character, which may restrict the choice of classes your character
can multiclass into for the future.

Paladins and Monks: Both paladins and monks must choose an Order to which they belong. The choice
of an Order helps define the faith of the paladin or monk and determines what multiclassing paths they may
take in the game.

Wizards: You may choose an area of specialty for your character from the menu of options that come up after
deciding that he or she is going to be a Wizard. You may want to read each of them carefully before continuing.

If you wish further details on each class, see “Classes,” on page 50.

6

Alignment

Alignment defines how your character acts, whether in a lawful or chaotic manner, with good or evil inten­tions - depending on your choice of class, you may not be able to choose certain alignments (paladins must
be lawful good, for example). Each alignment has a caption describing it in detail. Read over each carefully
before choosing. The choice of alignment will affect dialogue choices and can limit the types of classes that
your character will be able to multiclass to later in the game.

Ability Scores

Six ability scores define your character: Strength (Str), Dexterity (Dex), Constitution (Con), Intelligence
(Int), Wisdom (Wis), and Charisma (Cha). They are listed on this screen with the values set at the minimums
of your character’s race. You will have 16 points to allocate across the six ability scores. The text box at the
right of the screen describes each ability.

Skills / Feats

At this point in the character creation process you will need to pick the skills and feats that your character
begins the game with. Please refer to the Skills and Feats sections on page 63 if you need more information
concerning how skills and feats should be chosen for your characters and how they affect gameplay.

Spells

If your character is a wizard, sorcerer, cleric, or druid, you can choose a selection of first level spells to start
the game with. Consult the Spells Section on page 75 if you want more details on the spells you’re choosing.
There is also an “Auto Pick” button you can use which will select Level 1 spells for you if you are an arcane
spellcaster. The spells you get by pushing this button are a good, varied selection that should get you through
most situations.

Favored Enemy

Rangers have a “favored enemy,” a type of humanoid or creature they have dedicated their lives to hunting.
When attacking this creature they get a special bonus to damage. Rangers can pick from the following crea­tures: Bugbears, Driders, Giants, Goblins, Harpies, Hook Horrors, Lizardmen, Ogres, Orcs, Salamanders,
Shapeshifters, Trolls, Umber Hulks, Undead, Wyverns and Yuan-Ti.

Rangers can choose one favored enemy to start, then they can pick a new one every five levels thereafter.

Appearance

Choose the colors that will appear on your character’s model (some races and sub-races, such as Drow, have
only a limited palette you can choose from). The colors of your skin, hair and clothing can be changed on the
inventory screen over the course of the game.

Biography

This button allows you to type in your character’s personal biography. You can choose to leave it blank. The
biography can be accessed in the game from the “Customize” button in the Character Record screen.

Name

Last but not least, name your character. Either click on the box or start typing your name. When you’re done,
press “ENTER” on your keyboard, or click “Next.”

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8

Polishing Off Your Character

If you’re satisfied with the character, click the button marked ‘Finish’ at the bottom of the screen. If not, just
click on “Back” and backtrack through your choices and make ones you’re happier with.

Import

This button allows you to import characters you have already created into a new multiplayer or single­player game.

Starting Gold

Every character starts with a nest egg, though the value varies according to the character’s class. However, if
you have chosen a pre-made party from the Party Choice screen then they will have already spent their money
on the equipment they begin the game with.

For characters that you create, the gold piece ranges include:

Class Starting Gold

Barbarians 50gp-200gp

Bards 30gp-180gp
Clerics 30gp-180gp
Druids 30gp-180gp

Fighters 50gp-200gp

Monks 30gp-180gp

Paladins 50gp-200gp
Rangers 50gp-200gp

Rogues 20gp-120gp

Sorcerers 20gp-50gp

Wizards 20gp-50gp

8

THE INTERFACE

This section describes all the functions of the windows, buttons, and menus in the Icewind Dale II interface.

While many of the features are self-evident when you play, you may want to look over this section for some of

the finer points of the interface to make exploring Icewind Dale a little easier.

Mouse Buttons

The following section describes the actions you can perform with the mouse, with left-clicking or right-clicking.

Note that most menus in the game (which have scrolling capabilities) support a mouse wheel. By placing the

cursor over the menu and scrolling with the mouse wheel, the menu will scroll.

Left-Click

Left-clicking (“L-clicking”) the mouse is the equivalent of an “action” button. It can perform the following functions:

• Selects a character or a portrait (if a character or group was selected before, this character or group is
unselected and the new character is selected instead).

• If the SHIFT key is held down while L-clicking on various characters on the field or on the portraits,
multiple characters are selected.

• If the CONTROL key is held down while L-clicking on unselected characters, the characters will be
added to the current character selection.

• Double-clicking on a portrait centers the view on that character.

• Selects action - selects action for the character: guard, talk, attack (click on weapon), etc.

• Casts spells and uses items once they have been selected.

• On terrain, walks selected character(s) to targeted location (note: use R-click to move in formation mode).

• L-click and drag on terrain - selects multiple characters (creates draggable selection box).

• Picks up items with current selected character(s). If more than one character is selected, the left-most
portrait (the “leader”) walks over to and picks up the item.

• L-click and drag on a portrait-moves that portrait in the group order - inserts into space between char­acters you move portrait to.

• On the clock pauses and unpauses the game.

• Selects a customizable function to map in the main game interface from the customization menu. Right­click on a button to access this menu.

• Holding down the SHIFT key while L-clicking on spell icon from a good or neutral cleric’s repertoire
causes a healing spell of the same level to be cast in its stead.

• Holding down the SHIFT key while L-clicking on spell icon from an evil cleric’s repertoire causes an
inflict spell of the same level to be cast in its stead.

Right-Click

Right-clicking (“R-clicking”) the mouse has a variety of functions, usually related to information, canceling
actions, customization and formation control. Right-clicking performs the following functions:

• On a portrait brings up that character’s Inventory Screen.

• On an item or spell in the inventory or spell page brings up the appropriate Item or Spell
information screen.

• Cancels current actions - either attacks or spell casting.

• On a monster or non-player character (NPC) or after clicking on a selected character plays selection
sound for that character or monster.

• On terrain - selected character walks there in formation mode (R-click and hold, and drag, rotates
the formation if more than one character is selected).

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10

• On Quick Weapons, Quick Spells, Quick Items, and Group Formations slots allows for the configura­tion of the slot type. After R-clicking, the current options for that quick slot will appear. You can
select one for the slot by L-clicking on it, or R-clicking to go deeper if applicable.

• On any of the main game interface buttons, except the first three, brings up the customization menu.

• Holding down the SHIFT key while R-clicking on game screen allows waypoints to be set for your
characters to walk between. This makes navigating terrain much easier.

Mouse Movement

The main game area will scroll up, down, left or right if you move the mouse to the edge of the screen, either
in windowed or full screen mode. This also occurs if you use the number pad arrow keys.

THE MAIN INTERFACE

Main Game Area

You’ll be seeing this screen the most while playing Icewind Dale II. The mouse clicks and other buttons do
the following on this screen:

• L-click selects characters; also, a SHIFT and L-click or CTRL and L-click combination will select or
select/deselect multiple characters; also, a click and drag on the main game area causes a box to be
drawn and any character inside will be selected (this may be used with the Shift key to add the select­ed characters, or Ctrl, to remove characters).

• L-click gives commands (see buttons, below) to the selected character(s).

• R-click cancels an action and also does formation rotation and movement when a group is selected.
(R-click and hold to rotate a formation.)

• Note that the cursor changes when moved over objects or characters or NPCs to indicate the default
action. The default action mode can be changed by L-clicking on the buttons at the bottom of the screen.

10

Screen Resolution

The standard resolution that Icewind Dale II allows you to play in is 800 x 600. If you would rather play at a
higher resolution, you can modify it in the Config program. The Config program can be reached via the short­cut in the Start Menu. Note that even though you may run the game at 1024 x 768, 1600 x 1200, or 2048 x
1536 resolution, Icewind Dale II officially supports only 800 x 600 resolution.

Drop Away Interface

Certain hot keys will allow you to drop away interface panels on the main screen. By default, pressing the Y
key will make the character and action button panel on the main screen drop away, while pressing the H key
will make the entire interface drop away. Pressing any of the keys a second time will bring up the panels
again. Note that pausing the game while the interface is hidden will bring up all of the panels on the interface.
Unpausing the game will hide the panels again if any were hidden before the pause.

Action Cursors

Action cursors pop up when you can perform certain actions. If a given cursor is selected it may be changed
by clicking on a different action button, by hitting “ESC,” or by L-clicking an area where the cursor has no
effect (e.g. a non-object or the interface border). Casting spells is cancelled by a R-click, or finished by a L­click on a creature or area (depending on the type of spell).

11

Select: You can select the character.

Move: You can walk on this point, if

you can reach it (there may be a door
or other obstacle in the way).

Blocked Location: You cannot walk
to or target this point.

Travel: If you move here, you will leave
the area.

Doors: Opens or closes the highlighted
object.

Enter: Walk through the entry or hall­way.

Stairs: Go up/down staircases.

Pick up Item: Pick up an item.

Attack: Attack a target creature you

click on.

Unlock: Use skills to unlock a locked
object.

Disable Device: You can try to remove
this device from the highlighted area.

Pickpocket: Your rogue can attempt to
steal from the selected character.

Spell: You are going to cast a spell at a
selected target.

Info: You can left-click on this area to
receive information text about it.

Rotate Formation: You can rotate
the party’s formation.

Change Order: You can swap two
characters’ positions.

Use Item: You can use the highlighted
object (lever, switch, etc.)

12

Action and the Fog of War

Most actions cannot be performed in areas that you cannot see. Every character can see a certain distance
away from them, and anything beyond that is called the “fog of war” (i.e., the area is ‘blacked-out’ or gray­shaded). This means your characters cannot see around a building until they move to the corner, and that
they cannot see through walls.

Bottom Menu Buttons

Unlike the other interface menu buttons, the bottom menu buttons are not static. They change dynamically
depending on the currently selected character and if more than one character is selected. These buttons use
the Function keys as default shortcut keys. The left-most button is always “F1,” the next is “F2” and so on
regardless of which sub-menu is being displayed. The buttons on the bottom menu break down as follows:

Action Buttons (F1-F5 hotkey)

Customizing the Interface: All of the buttons on the main game interface, except for the first three (Guard and
Weapon Combos) can be customized to your liking. By right-clicking on an icon, you bring up the customiza­tion menu. If you left-click on one of the buttons shown in this menu, it will place the selected icon on the
main game interface. Subsequently, if you right-click again on one of the icons in the customization menu, you
will bring up the specific icons for the abilities/spells under that icon. For example, if you right-click on the
special abilities button, then right click on the feats button, you will see icons for all of your modal feats (feats
that can be turned on and off). Left-clicking on one of these icons will map that icon in the main game inter­face and replace the special abilities button.

To reset a specific button to its To reset all of the interface buttons to their
default, left-click the default settings, left-click

Clear button Restore Default button

The left-most buttons do the following:

Guard/Protect (F1): Protects either an area or another character. If this mode is selected,
the desired ground area is L-clicked, and then the cursor is dragged, a circle will appear; this
represents the area that will be guarded. The character will move freely within this area but will

not leave it. He will respond to attacks but will not leave the guarded area until moved some­where else or if told to guard/protect another area. If a character is selected to be protected, the character
will be followed and any creatures attacking the character will be attacked. If the Guard/Protect mode is cho­sen but the cursor is not L-clicked and dragged, the character will remain stationary and will not move,
though he will respond to attacks.

Weapon Combo (F2,F3): These slots correspond to the weapon combo slots on
the Inventory page. Load a weapon into these slots (R-click to choose that
weapon) and it will appear in the relevant slots here.

Use Skills (F4): Pulls up the menu of skills available to the character.

Cast Spells (F5): Available to bards, clerics, druids, paladins, rangers, sorcerers, and wiz-

ards. It pulls up the memorized spell list of the caster, allowing you to cast a spell from this list.

12

3 Character Buttons (F6-F8 hotkeys)

The three middle buttons, by default, break down according to class. You can customize by R-clicking one of
the slots and selecting any Spell, Skill, Item, or Special Ability then L-click to make your choice.

Search: Characters will continue to look for traps and secret doors while it is active. If an
action other than movement is selected for that character, this mode ends.

Thieving: This includes pick pockets, open locks, and disable device, depending on the target
chosen. The monk can also use this button, but only to disable device.

Hide/Move Silently: Characters can choose this mode, and if successful they become almost
invisible.

Quick Spells: These are configured by R-clicking on the Quick Spell slot - this brings up a
list of all currently memorized spells. Once configured, the spell is ready for use at the push of
the appropriate button or by L-clicking on that slot.

Bard Song: This is usable by bards - the bard character will begin playing a song, which con­tinues until any action other than movement is selected. Depending on the song you select,
there are different effects both on your party and your enemies.

3 Item Buttons (F9-11)

Use Item: If L-clicked, allows you to use any item with usable properties that you are wearing

or wielding.

Quick Item (x3): You may ready any item in the personal inventory for quick use by R-click­ing on any of these three slots and selecting from all items held personally to configure that slot
(much as per Use Item). This is analogous to the usage of quick spells. If an item is used up,

dropped, or traded it must be removed from the quick item slot(s). If using an item causes a
spell to be cast which must be used on a character or monster or terrain, the cursor will change accordingly
and you must L-click on the target to use the item. R-clicking will cancel use.

Weapons with magical powers can have their magic powers configured in the quick items slots, but not the
quick weapons slots (only weapons with physical attacks go into the quick weapon slots).

You may also customize the Quick Item slots to use any Spell, Skill, or Special Ability.

Special Abilities Button (F12)

Some classes and races have special abilities. Clicking on this button brings up a character’s

special abilities. For more details on Special Abilities, see “Special Abilities,” page 56.

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14

Group Menu Buttons

When more than one character is selected, you get a new set of buttons along the bottom of the screen:

Guard/Protect and Attack are analogous to the buttons for a single selected character.

Stop: Stops all current party actions.

Quick Formation buttons:

Formations form in the same order as left to right on the character portraits bar (left character is #1 in for­mation, and down the list). If less than six characters are selected, they will form up to the number of charac­ters selected, filling in the first, second, third, etc. formation slots until done. Formation movement is accom­plished by R-clicking and holding (for rotation of the formation), or L-clicking, both only when a group is
selected.

Quick formations work analogously to quick spells, quick weapons, or quick items. They allow for real-time
tactical combat: pull your wizard into the middle of your party, or advance your fighters to the front quickly
by using the formations. The quick formation slots are configured via a R-click which brings up all available
formations; L-click selects one as the formation for that quick formation slot. L-click subsequently on that
button selects the current party formation. Movement into formations is then achieved by L-clicking the ter­rain in the game, or by R-clicking and holding, to rotate the formation.

Character Buttons

On the right side of the menu are the following buttons:

Character Portraits: The character portraits select that character if L-clicked upon; if
R-clicked, they bring up the inventory page for that character.

Character Health Status: The bar below the character portrait shows how much of
your character’s current health remains. When the bar is empty, your character dies.

Character Portrait Status: Character portraits display status icons (if your character is Charmed, Held,
etc.) as well as the level up icon if one of your characters has enough experience to advance to the next level.

Character Portrait Order: To change the order of characters in your party, drag and drop their charac­ter portraits to exchange them in the party order. For example, to switch the order of “Char1” and “Char2”
left-click on Char1, hold down the mouse button, then move the cursor over Char2. Release the mouse but­ton and Char1 and Char2 will switch places.

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Interface Menu Buttons

The buttons located in the circle towards the lower right side of the screen give you direct access to the vari­ous interface screens in the game. The buttons are as follows:

Character Record Map

Spell List Journal

Inventory Options

Party Formation/Character Arbitration

Each of these buttons takes you directly to the interface screen for the character selected. If the

entire party is selected, the appropriate screen for the party leader will come up.

Globe

This picture represents the passage of time in the game. L-clicking on this button has the same

effect as pressing the space bar - it will pause and unpause the game.

Select All: Selects or unselects all six characters.

AI on/off: Turns a character’s (or group of character’s) AI on or off. Characters with AI

turned off will not react to their environment unless manually controlled and will not move or

otherwise do anything unless dictated by their unmodifiable section of script (the portion that

players are unable to change, representing the personality of that character).

Rest: When you select the Rest button on the world screen, your entire party will rest until

everyone is at full health. When you select the Rest button on any other screen, you will be pre-

sented with three options: normal Rest (8 hours), Rest Until Healed (rest until everyone is at

full health), and Cancel. When you select Rest or Rest Until Healed and confirm, time will pass
in the game, and your characters will heal and regain their spells. Keep in mind that resting is normally
allowed only in inns, outdoor areas (provided all the monsters in the vicinity or on the map have been slain),
or with permission from a local resident.

ADVENTURER’S TIP: It is possible that you will be attacked while resting in certain
areas if a group of wandering monsters chances upon your party.

Tool Tips

“Tool Tips” are the small information windows that pop up whenever you leave your mouse cursor over any
object in the game for a period of time (including buttons, characters, items, signs, and so on). The time it
takes the tool tip to pop up is set in the options; to bring up the Tool Tips instantly, press the “Tab” button.

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Dialogue Window

You’ll be speaking to a number of people in Icewind Dale II over the course of the game. To initiate dialogue,
simply select the person you want to speak to. You cannot speak to anyone with a red circle (the red circle
means they’re hostile and don’t want to talk to you).

Dialogue occurs with the selected character only; changing the character having the dialogue is not possible
until dialogue is exited and restarted with a new character selected. If multiple characters are selected, the left­most selected character (in the portraits near the bottom of the screen) is the one who initiates the dialogue.

When you speak to someone, you will be presented with a list of numbered options for what to say in red. You
can either L-click on what you want to say from the list, or hit the number of the response you want to choose.
When more text scrolls up in the window than can be read at once, or when dialogue is paused to give you a
chance to read the text, you can L-click “Continue” at the bottom of the dialogue window to view more text.
The text that has been already read can be reviewed with the scroll arrows on the right (up or down).

ADVENTURER’S TIP: Keep in mind that your options can vary depending on your char­acter’s statistics (Intelligence, Charisma), their class, race, and skills. If you’re not
having much luck with an NPC with one character, try speaking to him with another
with a different race, a higher Intelligence or Charisma abilities, or different skills.

During dialogue the character who is talking has his portrait highlighted and will flash in the main game
area. The NPC being spoken to will also flash.

ADVENTURER’S TIP: Keep in mind that there are points in the game where even a
character who is hidden or invisible will still be seen and spoken to in order to allow
the advancement of the plot.

Stores, Inns, Taverns, and Temples

All the stores in Icewind Dale II use a similar interface for the buying and selling of goods, information, and
services. When you speak to the owner of a store, a panel will replace the bottom portion of the screen with
buttons for the various services offered. These services include:

Rent Rooms: Inns usually have four different types of rooms that the player can use to rest at
night, ranging from peasant rooms to nobleman’s lodgings. The more expensive the room, the
more you’ll heal while you rest.

Buying and Selling: This screen is separated into a Buy window and a Sell window. Items
the store offers are shown in the Buy window. Items from the character’s inventory are shown
in the Sell window. To buy an item, L-click on it in the Buy window. The item icon will become

highlighted, but will not be purchased until you L-click “Buy” at the bottom of the window. You
may select multiple items and the total for all selected items will be shown next to the “Buy” button. The Sell
window works the same way, although the shopkeeper may not want to buy the items in your inventory
(unwanted items are gray-shaded). Items unusable by the character are shaded red.

The number of each item the proprietor has in stock of each item is listed in parentheses after each item
(unlimited items have no number beside them), and if you wish, you may buy multiple versions of each item.
To buy multiple versions of an item, double-click on the item in the store, which will bring up a menu that
allows you to select how many of that item you would like to buy. Enter the number, and if you have enough
gold, they’re yours.

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ADVENTURER’S TIP: Prices in stores can vary according to the Charisma of the buying
or selling character as well as the “Mercantile Background” feat, and it can also vary
based on how many items of a particular type the store already carries. (If Deirdre
in the Targos Trade Depot already has fifty goblin battle axes, and you bring her
another, then chances are, you won’t get top dollar for it.)

Drinks and Rumors: Bartenders and innkeepers are good for buying drinks and catching
up on the local gossip. Items offered at a bar vary from expensive liquors to cheap ales. Upon
ordering a drink, the proprietor may share rumors he has heard lately. Be careful, however, as
your characters can become intoxicated if they drink too much - and the bartender won’t hesi-

tate to cut you off.

Purchase Healing: Temples usually offer healing services for a price. A menu will appear
showing the services offered and the price. Select the service you wish to receive and select the
character who needs the healing.

Identify: Shops and Temples can usually identify more items than your characters. If you can­not select the item from the list, then the proprietor cannot identify the item.

Containers

Certain items and containers can be picked up or opened; these are identified with a blue highlight when you
move the cursor over them. L-click will allow you to open a container, and a new panel will appear at the
bottom of the screen. The left side of the panel shows the items that are on the ground or in the container
and the right side is a small portion of the selected character’s inventory. Clicking on items on the left side of
the panel moves the items from the ground or container into the character’s inventory. If the character’s
inventory is full, the item will not be transferred.

This process can be reversed. Items can be moved from a character’s inventory into a container or onto the
ground by L-clicking on them in the right side of this panel.

Note that items added to a character’s inventory will automatically stack with others of the same kind when
possible. Furthermore, some items your party can carry can actually act as portable containers. For more
information on these items, see “Gem Bags, Potion Bags, and Scroll Cases,” on page 20.

The container interface can be closed by clicking on the square in the upper right of the container interface
of by L-clicking anywhere on the game map.

Maps

Area Map

L-clicking the map button brings up the map the selected character(s) are on. Areas that
have been visited are lit up, areas that haven’t are dark. The character(s) current posi­tion(s) are shown on the map by green circles.

World Map

Clicking on the World button on the Area Map brings up the World Map. An icon above the appropriate map
shows your characters’ current location. Usually only the areas visited thus far on the world map will be
shown. Note that you cannot travel between areas unless you either know about them or you have traveled to
the edge of the current area and brought up the world map with the “Travel” icon. To move to another area,
highlight the area and click on it.

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ADVENTURER’S TIP: Your World Map will occasionally be updated through dialogue
and events in Icewind Dale II, allowing you to access more areas.

Journal

The journal is a diary of your adventures. It’ll automatically make notes of important people, plot points,
quests and the completion of quests so you can refer to them later. If you’re ever having trouble on a quest,
refer to your journal. The journal entry for the quest may contain helpful information on where to go next or
who to talk to.

The contents of the game journal can be downloaded to a text file by hitting CTRL-S to download the current
chapter or CTRL-A to download the entire journal while on the journal screen. This text file will appear in the
\mpsave directory where Icewind Dale II was installed, in the folder of the last saved or last loaded save game.

Inventory Screen

(1) Armor Class
(2) Hit Points (current/maximum)
(3) Model
(4) Weapon Combo Slots
(5) Quick Item Slots
(6) Character Name

(7) Party Gold
(8) Ammunition
(9) Character Colors
(10) Ground Slots
(11) Personal Inventory
(12) Encumbrance

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The inventory page can be accessed by L-clicking the Inventory button on the bottom right of the screen or by
R-clicking a Character Portrait. Items in your inventory may be shown with a red, blue, or yellow tint. (Ed.
Note: Most are not shaded at all.) Red items are not usable by the characters holding the item. Blue-tinted
items are magical but have not yet been identified. Items with a yellow tint are capable of being used by a
character with the Use Magic Device skill (although there is a chance of failure when used, so beware). Items
with a blue outline are magical items that have been identified.

The middle of the screen is taken up by the “Model” representation of the character. Along the bottom of the
screen is the character’s personal inventory and encumbrance. Items can be dragged and dropped to be equipped
on the Model, or dragged and dropped onto other characters’ portraits to give the item to another character.

Stackable items can be unstacked by double L-clicking on the item. Unstacked items can be stacked by drag­ging and dropping them on top of each other.

Items placed in the “Ground” slots will be dropped at the character’s feet and can be picked up from the
main game interface.

The party pool of gold is shown on this page as well.

Encumbrance

Each character can carry only a certain amount of weight, determined by their Strength. Exceeding this
weight causes the character to move slower or stop completely depending on how overloaded they are.

Equipped Items

There are 20 distinct areas in the equipped items section: helm, armor, bracers, cloak, amulet, L ring, R ring,
gauntlets, boots, up to 4 weapon combinations and the quiver (of up to 3 sets of ammunition).

To dual-wield, place a weapon in the shield slot.

Weapon Combo Slots

You have four weapon combination slots available for your use. Each combo slot contains a primary hand
button and a secondary hand button. These slots can contain a single weapon, a weapon and a shield, two
weapons to use simultaneously or a ranged weapon. When you are in your inventory you can select one of
these weapon combos by left-clicking the button to the left of the selected combo. You can also select them
from the main game interface by right-clicking on the weapon combo buttons.

Only one bow or crossbow may be equipped at a time. Both bolts and arrows may be in the quiver but only
those usable by the current equipped weapon appear as quick attack choices on the main interface screen.

Quick Item Slots

These slots represent miscellaneous items that are kept at the ready (potions, for example). These items can
be accessed easily during combat (similar to “Quick Weapons” above). Healing potions are great candidates
for these slots.

Personal Inventory

This is your “backpack.” You can carry only 24 different items or stacks of items, regardless of your
encumbrance.

Items Information Page

If an item is R-clicked upon, the view changes to the Items Information page. This page contains the item’s icon
and description. Characters with a high “Knowledge (Arcana)” skill can automatically identify certain magical
items. If the item is currently unidentified, there will be a button to allow you to try to magically identify it with a
scroll or a spell. Potions may be drunk from this page. If the item is a scroll, wizards will have the opportunity

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to try to “Write Magic” and add the scroll spell to their spell list. Certain magical items may even have special
“Abilities” that can be accessed from this page - including the ability to configure the item’s magical powers.

Character Color

Clicking on the colored boxes will allow you to pick from a palette of colors for your character to use for
skin, hair and clothing colors. You can change these at any time.

Rest

L-click on this button to rest your characters. Some areas are better suited for resting than others, so select
your campsite carefully. Resting is normally allowed only in inns, outdoor areas (provided all the monsters in
the vicinity or on the map have been slain), or with permission from a local resident.

Gem Bags, Potion Bags, and Scroll Cases

There are several inventory items that can “store” other items of a similar type. Gem bags, for example, can
hold a number of gems inside without cluttering up your inventory, while potion bags and scroll cases can do
the same for potions and scrolls, respectively.

To use these bags and cases, simply right-click on the item. Now press the button “Open Container” to move
to the next screen. From this screen you can move your gems, potions, or scrolls from the right hand column
to the left hand column. This will move these items into you gem bag or scroll case. You can also drag a gem
or scroll to the appropriate container and release the L-Mouse button over top of it to deposit it in the
bag/case.

Character Record

The character record page shows all the vital statistics and abilities of the selected character.

The Character Record is divided between four sections; General, Weapons and Armor, Skills and Feats and
Miscellaneous. To access these pages use the buttons at the upper right of the screen.

Level Up

This button is dimmed until the character gains enough experience points to gain a level. When the player
clicks the “Level Up” button, a level up screen will be shown. All changes to the character sheet are highlight­ed. At this time you will be able to distribute any skill points or feats your character may have gained. A new
feat slot requires a new feat to be chosen.

Information

This page is an in-game help system that will give you detailed information about ability scores, classes, races,
skills, and feats.

Customize

This page allows you to change a character’s appearance, voice, biography, or scripts (the computer code
that controls behaviors/reactions to situations).

Custom Biography: You can customize your character’s biography with the Customize button. Simply click on
the text and edit it.

Export

This allows you to save the character’s file to your computer for use in other games of Icewind Dale II. The
character’s current status will be saved, including hit points, experience points, level, class, inventory, etc.

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Spell List

This screen is where you choose what spells you will have memorized and view the spells that you know.

The spells your spell casters know are shown on the right. To memorize a spell, L-click on it. The spell
appears on the left in the “memorized” area, unusable until the character has a chance to rest. (See the Rest
button on page 15). Spells can only be cast when they are memorized.

The memorized spells are shown on the left. Every time the spell caster sleeps he will memorize the spells in
this area, allowing them to be cast. If the memorized spell area is full and you want to memorize a different
spell, L-click on the spell, and it will vanish.

Bards and Sorcerers are special types of spell casters who are not required to memorize spells. Like other
spell casters they are only able to cast a certain number of spells each day, but unlike the other spell casters
they do not need to prepare which ones they will be before hand.

Class Spell Type: This lists the spells available to your selected class. The classes that can cast spells are
bards, clerics, druids, paladins, rangers, sorcerers and wizards. If you have more than one casting class then
more spell buttons become available.

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(1) Class Spell Type
(2) Domain Spells
(3) Spell Level

(4) Spell Slots Available
(5) Known Spells

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Domain Spells: Your cleric also gains spells based upon their choice of deity. Some of these overlap with
the main cleric spells so be certain that you choose your domain spells first.

Spell Level: Use these buttons to select the spell level that you wish to memorize spells from. Make certain
to check back here after you level up and see if another spell level has become available to your caster.

Spell Slots Available: Upon character creation and at certain levels, your character will receive more
available spell slots. Use these to memorize additional spells.

Known Spells: This is a comprehensive list of the spells your character knows under their currently select­ed spell class. Right-click on any of the icons to see a detailed description of the spell and its effects.

Party Formation Screen

This screen allows you to change your party configuration (it is also called the Character Arbitration screen
in multiplayer, see page 26 for details of how this screen works in multiplayer). On this screen you can delete
characters, import new characters, or in multiplayer games, change the permissions for each character. Each
created character is identified by name. By clicking on the name (or on the empty box) a sub-menu pops up
that will allow you to either delete (if there is a character already in the slot) or create a new character (if
the slot is empty). If you delete a character, they are gone and lost forever.

Importing a new character is done by selecting ‘Create Character’ and going through the character genera­tion screen. If you choose to import a character into Icewind Dale II, the character will start at the level they
were exported at.

Options Screen

Save, Load, and Quit

These buttons allow you to save games to your hard disk, discard your current game and load a previously
saved game, and quit to the main menu.

Graphics

Brightness/Contrast: Adjusts the brightness and contrast of the display.
Color Depth: Toggles your display between 16, 24, or 32 bit color. The other graphic options on this page

should be used only if Icewind Dale II is not displaying correctly on your system. Please refer to the Readme
file for the latest information on how to correct any display errors.

Static Animations: This option toggles the background animations in the game. Turning them off can
improve performance.

Translucency: This option toggles translucency on and off. Certain ghosts and shadows are translucent, but
they will be made solid when this toggle is on. Spell effects will not be translucent, but this should improve
performance on slower machines.

Transparent Shadows: This option enables transparent shadows beneath the characters. Disable this
option to increase game performance.

Sound

This menu allows you to adjust the volumes of various sounds in the game independently.
Select Sounds: Toggle some specific sound effects on/off and set the frequency which your characters ver-

bally respond to your orders.
Environmental Audio: This option uses the Creative® Environmental Audio™ technology to increase the

realism of your audio environment. You must have a sound card with EAX™ technology to enable this
option. (e.g. Sound Blaster Live.)

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Gameplay

Tool Tip: Delay adjusts how quickly the Windows Tool-Tip pop-up help appears. The left of the slider is the

briefest period of time.

ADVENTURER’S TIP: You can always make the tool tip appear instantly by hitting the
“Tab” key.

Mouse Scroll Speed: Adjusts how quickly the screen scrolls across the game world when the mouse is at
the edge of the screen.

Keyboard Scroll Speed: Adjusts how quickly the screen scrolls across the game world when the number
pad arrow keys are used.

Difficulty: Adjusts the game’s difficulty. Sliding to the left makes the game easier to play.

Dither Always: Allows your characters to dither through obstacles that would normally obscure them.

Group Darkvision: Enables darkvision if any character in the selected group has the darkvision ability.

Weather: Disable this to remove all weather effects. This may improve performance on some lower

end machines.

Max HP/Level: This toggles the random roll for hit points for level increases on and off. If this is on, then
the character always receives maximum hit points when leveling up. If this is off, then extra hit points are
determined randomly when the character levels up.

Gore: This toggles on/off the blood and ‘excessive’ damage and death animations in the game.

Feedback: Modifies the frequency that markers and locators appear in the game, and turns on and off the

various messages that come up during the game. Note that you can ask the game to display the ‘to-hit’ rolls in
your Feedback settings (for explanation of the ‘to hit’ roll, see Combat on page 39).

Auto-pause: Allows you to set various conditions under which the game will automatically pause.

Screen Resolution

Icewind Dale II allows you to play at 800 x 600 resolution, but if you would rather play at a higher resolu­tion, you can modify it in the Config program. The Config program can be reached via the shortcut in the
Start Menu. Note that even though you may run the game at 1024 x 768, 1280 x 960, 1600 x 1200, or 2048 x
1536 resolution, Icewind Dale II only officially supports 800 x 600 resolution.

Heart of Fury

If you’re finding Icewind Dale II too easy, or if you just want to play the game again at a much higher difficulty
level, Heart of Fury Mode is a special option available in the Config screen that allows you to greatly enhance
the strength of creatures in the game (and give you more experience points as well as cool new items not
available in the normal game). Heart of Fury mode can only be turned on via the Config utility, which can be
run via the ‘Icewind Dale II Configuration’ shortcut in your Start Menu, or via the Autorun program.

Miscellaneous Functions and Hot-Keys

You can key many of the actions in Icewind Dale II to hot keys (see the reference card and options screen).
Quick Save: You can quickly save your game by hitting the ‘q’ key. Your Quick Save is always saved in the
same slot, which is labeled as such.

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Quick Load: In single-player games only, hitting L allows you to quick-load your last save game file.

Support for Increasing the Path-Searching AI: If you are dissatisfied with the path searching in

Icewind Dale II, there is a box for path search nodes in the Config utility. To increase or decrease the AI, vary
the number of nodes (beyond 32,000). The range can vary from 4,000 to 40,000. Increasing the number
above 32,000 will increase the number of nodes in path searching at the expense of responsiveness to move­ment commands (i.e., your characters will react slightly slower because they are “thinking” a little bit longer
about how to get where you want them to go).

See Party’s Health: There is a default hot-key command that allows you to display each character’s cur­rent health/max health by pressing the ‘.’ key. The current health/max health appears on the character por­traits in-game.

Alt: The hot key (ALT) is an adventurer’s best friend. It illuminates all doors as well as any items on the
ground. When the ALT key is held down, all doors, containers, and ground items will be highlighted in red,
green, and blue, respectively. This key will not illuminate secret doors, triggers, or traps, however.

ADVENTURER’S TIP: The ALT key is arguably the most useful key in the game aside
from the “attack” button. Don’t hesitate to use it, even when you think you can see
everything in the area - you might be surprised by where some containers are.

Miscellaneous Information

Fatigue: A character can operate at peak efficiency for 24 hours game time (2 hours real time). For every 4
hours beyond 24, however, the characters will receive a cumulative -1 to all of their rolls until they rest.

Intoxication: Drinking affects your statistics. The average character can down about 5 drinks before
becoming intoxicated - although this amount may vary depending upon the character’s Constitution.
Intoxicated characters gain a bonus to Morale, but a penalty to almost everything else, including attacks,
damage, and attack speed. The greater the level of intoxication, the greater the bonus/penalty. The effects of
intoxication diminish over time, so if the morale boost isn’t worth it, sleep it off.

ADVENTURER’S TIP: Please do not drink while playing Icewind Dale II. The monsters
will take advantage of your intoxicated state and leave you tied up naked on your
friend’s front porch. Trust me on this.

Darkvision: Some characters and monsters have darkvision. Darkvision allows a character to see better in
the dark.

Effects of Wearing Armor
Maximum Dex Bonus: This number is the maximum Dexterity bonus to AC that this type of armor allows.

Heavier armor limits your mobility, reducing your ability to dodge blows. Shields do not affect your maximum
Dexterity bonus.
Armor Check Penalty: Anything heavier than leather hurts your ability to use some of your skills. The
armor check penalty number is the penalty you apply to certain skill checks. If you’re wearing any armor
heavier than leather, you can’t sneak as well as you would if you weren’t wearing such heavy armor. This
penalty applies to Hide, Move Silently and Pick Pockets checks. If you are wearing armor and using a shield,
both armor check penalties apply.
Nonproficient with Armor Worn: If you wear armor with which you are not proficient, you suffer the
armor’s armor check penalty on attack rolls and on all skill rolls that involve moving.

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Arcane Spell Failure: Armor interferes with the gestures that you need to make to cast an arcane spell.
Arcane spellcasters face the possibility of arcane spell failure if they’re wearing armor, so wizards and sorcerers
usually don’t wear armor. Bards have a hard choice because they’re more likely to get into combat than wizards
and they cast fewer spells, so getting some armor makes more sense for them than it does for a wizard.

Casting an Arcane Spell in Armor: When you cast an arcane spell while wearing armor, you often must
make an arcane spell failure roll. The number in the Arcane Spell Failure column in Table 8: Armor on page
147 is the chance that the spell fails and is ruined. If you are wearing armor and using a shield, add the two
numbers together to get a single arcane spell failure chance.

MULTIPLAYER

The Icewind Dale II multiplayer game is identical to the single player game - at least in terms of game con­tent. The main differences between the single and multiplayer games relate to who is playing in the game - in
the single player game, you create all six characters. In a multiplayer game, between one and six players may
adventure together, cooperatively controlling the characters.

A few definitions are in order. The leader is the player who controls such things as who can join, what kinds
of characters can be brought into the game, and what abilities the players who are in the game actually have
(in terms of game play - see Permissions, below). The leader can control one or more characters in the game,
and has the ability to assign characters to the other players. The server is the computer (usually, but not nec­essarily, the leader’s) which coordinates the various game-states of the client machines of each player. A play­er is one of the people who controls one or more characters in the game. A character is an alter ego, analo­gous to the characters of the single player game, which is controlled by one player in a multiplayer session.

Starting Out

To start a multiplayer game (also known as a session), first you’ll need to select a multiplayer game mode. To
do this, you’ll need to change the Game Mode on the main menu screen from “Single Player” to a multiplayer
status. This can be done by clicking on the Game Mode button on the Main Menu, which will bring up a
Protocol Screen that lists the type of multiplayer connections available to you.

Protocol

There are several buttons you can select from the protocol screen.

Single Player: This resets the game mode to single player.

IPX: When you choose this option, you’ll be shown a list of IPX sessions once you select “Join Game” in the

Main Menu (see “Joining a Game,” detailed later on).

TCP/IP: When you choose this option and return to the Main Menu to join a game (see “Joining a Game,”
detailed later on), a connection screen will come up in which you can enter the host address you wish to
connect to. Once you do this, you will be connected to this session if it’s available. On local area networks,
TCP/IP has an auto-detect feature to automatically set up games.

Properties: When you have selected the type of connection you want, then click “Done” at the bottom of
the screen, which will return you to the Main Menu. From there, you can either choose to host a game or
join a game already in progress.

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Joining A Game

Once you have selected the type of multiplayer connection you want, you’ll need to return to the Main Menu.
From there, you have the option to create a brand new multiplayer session by clicking on the “New Game”
button, or to join a game another player is hosting by clicking on the “Join Game” button. Whether creating
the session or joining it, the next screen that appears is the Character Arbitration Screen, below.

Creating A Game

If you choose to create a game which other players can join, you will see a pop-up window appear, on which
are spaces to fill in the session name, the player name, the password (optional), and buttons to create a new
game or pre-generate a character. If you choose to create a new game, you must fill out the fields for the ses­sion name and the player name.

The “pre-generate character” button allows you to quickly set up a generic character for import before the
multiplayer session begins, for players that want to jump right into the action. Pre-generating a character will
take you to the Character Generation Screen and allow you to quickly make a character (see Character
Generation, discussed earlier).

After you have created your game, you will proceed to the Character Arbitration screen.

When characters join your session (at any point in the steps outlined below, or for that matter in the actual
game) the leader is notified. The leader has the ability to stop listening to requests to join (this is set in the
Player Permissions window, described on the next page).

Continuing A Game

If you are the host and you wish to continue a multiplayer game that you have save games for, simply select
the type of multiplayer connection you want, then return to the Main Menu and select “Load Game.” Players
not hosting a game can simply join this game once it’s loaded.

Character Arbitration Screen

The character arbitration screen is where players are assigned control of character slots and create the char­acters they will play in the game. From this screen, the leader also controls Permissions and other options for
the game.

The player running the server is initially assigned as the leader of the party. As the leader, he or she has the
ability to assign character slots to the players in the session. This is achieved by L-clicking on the player name
slots, after which a panel will pop up with the names of all players currently in the session. Control of a slot
may be assigned to any player.

On the Character Arbitration screen, characters may be loaded into a slot in by the player who controls that
slot. This is done by clicking on the Create Character button.

The Characters in Multiplayer Sessions

The characters in multiplayer may be created from scratch or may be imported into the game using the
“Import” button. The character is created on the exact same screens as in the single player game (see page

6), subject to the restrictions set out by the leader of the session in the Player Permissions submenu off this
page, described on the next page).
Once a character is created, it can be deleted by clicking on the player name, which brings up a window
allowing the player to delete the character (the active character must be deleted before a new character can
be created).

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When the player is satisfied with the character he has imported or created, he clicks on the Icewind Dale II
icon to the left of the character slot to “lock” the character and prevent changes. If a player wishes to change
a character, that character must be “unlocked” by clicking on the Icewind Dale II icon before the character
is editable. The “lock” button is the equivalent of telling the other players, “I’m ready to adventure now, let’s
go.” All characters must have locked their characters in order for the game to begin. When all characters are
locked, the host clicks on “Done,” and the game begins.

You cannot import characters from Icewind Dale, Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter, or Trials of the Luremaster
to Icewind Dale II and vice-versa. Please don’t hate us. Save the hate for the monsters.

Player Permissions

Although both the leader and the other players in the session can view permissions on the Permissions
screen, only players who have leadership privileges are able to modify them. The leader can assign these per­missions to any players he chooses.

The permissions represent what players are able to do in the game. The permissions include: modifying char­acters, spending party gold/purchase items, initiating an area transition, initiating dialogue, viewing other
character’s records, the ability to pause the game and modifying permissions/remove players from the game
(leadership permission).

There is a “boot” button is to the left of each character slot. Pressing it will remove (“boot”) a player out of
the party.

Import Options

On the Permissions page the leader is able to set the options for importing by clicking on the “Import
Options” button. This brings up a window with three settings: Stats only, Stats and XP (i.e. experience points
and levels), or Stats, XP, and Items. By choosing one of these settings the leader limits the types of characters
that can be brought into the multiplayer session from the single player game or other multiplayer sessions.

At the top of this screen is also a toggle for “Restrict Stores.” Turn this toggle on if you want to allow a char­acter to enter a store only if the other party members are present and there are no hostile creatures nearby.

Listen to Join Requests

Also on the Player Permissions page is a button, “Listen to Join Requests,” which allows the leader to listen to
requests to join the session or to turn off requests if there are enough players in the game. For example, the leader
might only want to have one or two people in the game, so having people requesting to join could get annoying.

Starting the Multiplayer Game

When all players have L-clicked on the Icewind Dale II icons to the left of their characters’ slots, the “Done”
button will become active on the leader’s computer. The game launches when the leader clicks “Done.”

Changing Options and Permissions

Both the Character Arbitration screen and the Player Permissions screen are available with the Party
Formation button in the multiplayer game. They work exactly as detailed above.

Playing A Multiplayer Game

Chatting

Players can chat between themselves. There is a chat window - to enter a comment, L-click on the entry area

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and type a comment. To address the comment to a specific person (and only that person) type that player’s
name followed by a colon (“:”) then the comment - only that player will see your comment.

Dialogue With NPCs

When another player initiates dialogue with an NPC in a multiplayer game, the window will resize to fit the
text that comes up. When the other player finishes dialogue, the dialogue window will resize to what it was
before, unless you were typing a chat message in, in which case it will stay in medium or large mode (in
which the chat line is present).

In multiplayer games, all players must see all dialogue. This is to ensure that all players don’t miss any critical
portions of the game. Also, this prevents disturbing occurrences, such as player 1 killing the merchant while
player 2 is bartering. During dialogue mode all players are paused.

Saving and Loading

The leader can save games at any time, just like in the single player game. In order to load a game, the leader
must exit and reload the game.

Additional Multiplayer Information

When you are playing multiplayer, keep in mind the following:

1. Asynchronous: Icewind Dale II is an asynchronous game. If you’re playing with somebody whose

system is close by, you may see different things happen on each system. Keep in mind that while
things happen somewhat differently graphically, the result of the actions is always the same.

2. Explorable Area: When playing a multiplayer game, you’re limited to exploring one area at a time -

characters in the game can only spread out within the same above ground area. While they can enter
structures and underground areas individually, they cannot travel to other above ground areas until
all characters are at the edge of the area and are ready to move on.

3. Loading Time: The loading time for any level is slightly longer while playing multiplayer. This is

because the interiors for each level must be loaded along with the exteriors for each area. (The sin­gle player game does not need to do this, so loading is faster.) Also, the multiplayer game is forced to
wait for the system that loads the area the slowest.

4. Party Gold: Just as in the single player game, all gold is shared between the members of the party.

5. Shared Experience: As in the single player game, all characters in the party get an equal amount of

experience points.

6. The Leader is in Charge: The leader has control over everything that the player can do in the

game, including kicking them out and reassigning their characters to other players. Make sure the
leader is playing the kind of multiplayer game you want to play. If you want a hacked game, join that
kind of game or start it up; if you want a clean game without interference from hacked or edited
characters or players who don’t want to play as a team, then you need to find those players.

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FAERUN AND THE NORTH

The World

Icewind Dale II takes place within the D&D FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign world. More specifically, it takes
pace in the northern wastes of Faerûn (Fay-ROON), a continent of the larger world of Abeir-Toril (Ah-BEER
Tor-RILL), more commonly called Toril. The name is archaic, meaning “cradle of life,” and is rarely used in
everyday speech.

Abeir-Toril is an Earth-sized planet dominated by a large continent in its northern hemisphere as well as a
number of other large land masses scattered about its surface. This northern continent is called Faerûn in the
west, Kara-Tur in the east, and Zakhara in the south. It is the primary purpose of this tome to deal with the
northern portion of this huge landmass, in particular the region of Faerûn bordering the Spine of the World
mountains.

ADVENTURER’S TIP: For more information about the Forgotten Realms, visit Wizards
of the Coast’s website at http://www.wizards.com/ForgottenRealms. There you’ll find
tales from Elminster, songs from Mintiper, and lore to keep you warm during the
long nights of a northern winter.

For Forgotten Realms aficionados, Icewind Dale II is actually a step back in time for the Forgotten Realms ­the game itself takes place in Eleint, 1312 DR, Year of the Cold Soul. (This is sixteen years prior to Drizzt’s
arrival on the surface, as chronicled in the Icewind Dale Trilogy of books by R.A. Salvatore.) Your characters
will be literally making history as they adventure through the game, and their actions may be felt in the
decades and centuries ahead...

Game Units

A game day (representing 24 hours in the game, dawn to dusk to dawn again) is just over 2 hours long in
real time, again about a ten-fold reduction in time in the game. Each time the party rests eight hours passes
(the equivalent of about 45 minutes of running game time).

HISTORY OF ICEWIND DALE

While it is not necessary to play Icewind Dale, Heart of Winter, or Trials of the Luremaster to enjoy Icewind
Dale II, certain story elements and situations may take on a new light for those that have played the previous
games. A brief summary of the previous game and the two expansions is provided below:

Icewind Dale

The seeds of the conflict in Icewind Dale II began a generation ago in Icewind Dale, where a small band of
adventurers, trapped within the windswept Kuldahar Pass were forced to confront a growing evil within the
Spine of the World mountains. The adventurers began their journey in the small town of Easthaven, a fishing
village and one of the Ten-Towns. From Easthaven, they traveled to the great tree valley of Kuldahar, where a
mighty oak, towering hundreds of feet high, shelters the small town beneath its boughs with life-giving
warmth. There, they learned that Kuldahar and the great tree itself were being threatened by an unknown evil
deep within the mountains. The brave band of adventurers tracked the adversary from the crypts of the Vale
of Shadows through numerous ruins of the North, including the decaying elven fortress of the Severed Hand
and the lava-filled caverns of Dragon’s Eye, finally coming face-to-face with their enemy - and ending his
threat to Icewind Dale with a torrent of spells and cold steel.

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Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter

No sooner were the Ten-Towns saved from an ancient evil than a new threat emerged from the North, bring­ing with it a barbarian army that threatened to overwhelm the Dales. The brave party of companions, fresh
from their victory in the Spine of the World, traveled to the small logging community of Lonelywood, directly
in the path of the barbarian army. Attempting to stop the coming invasion, the party traveled to the barbarian
camp as diplomats, attempting to negotiate peace between the Ten-Towns and the northern tribes - only to
discover that their mission was a failure before it had even begun. The leader of the army, a great warrior
named Wylfdene, had returned from the dead to reclaim the North for his people - and destroy the Ten­Towns at any cost. From these uncertain beginnings, the party began a perilous quest throughout the North to
search for clues to the terrible force behind the barbarian horde - and a way to stop it before the Ten-Towns
were destroyed.

Icewind Dale: Trials of the Luremaster

A halfling wanderer by the name of Hobart Stubbletoes appears in the town of Lonelywood - and brings with
him a fantastic tale of lost treasure and untold riches, all for the taking for any band of adventurers brave
enough to follow him to an ancient castle far to the south. After agreeing to the treasure hunt, the band of
adventurers find themselves trapped in an ancient fortress - and at the mercy of an evil challenge by a venge­ful spirit, a challenge that has led many other bands of adventurers to their graves.

ICEWIND DALE II

A generation after the events of Icewind Dale finds a new band of unlikely heroes in the port town of Luskan ­and down on their luck. Not long after their arrival in Luskan, however, the party hears of work to be found
in one of the Ten-Towns - the port city of Targos, which is being threatened by a goblin army that has poured
down from the North. This goblinoid army has overwhelmed Bremen and is making its way southwards,
destroying everything in their path. The Lord of Targos, Ulbrec Dinnsmore, has sent out a call for soldiers
and mercenaries from Luskan and Neverwinter to help defend the town. While the prospect of riches is slight,
the promise of adventure is not, and the band soon decides to set sail on the last ship for Targos, a vessel by
the name of the Wicked Wench.

When the game begins, your band has just sailed into the Targos Docks and stand on the decks of the Wicked
Wench, speaking to the captain, Hedron Kerdos.

Targos

During your voyage on the Wicked Wench, the captain, Hedron Kerdos, has been able to fill you in on some
of the background of Targos - to “let ye know what yer in fer,” as he phrased it. He didn’t seem to think you’d
be staying long after he sailed into port and you saw the town.

According to Hedron, Targos is one of the “Ten-Towns” of Icewind Dale. Situated on the southernmost shore
of Maer Dualdon, Targos is a modest fishing settlement on its way to becoming a prominent community in the
Dale. While the “town” is far from rivaling the burgeoning metropolises that can be found along the Sword
Coast to the south of the Spine of the World Mountains, its location has given the town a distinct advantage
over its sister towns. High cliff walls form a protective cove that shelter the town’s fishing vessels from the sav­age winter storms that plague the region. Additionally, the deep waters of the natural harbor allow for the
construction of larger ships, which, in turn, have made Targos a leading contender in the race for dominance
of the fishing industry. Already, the town’s considerable fleet lands more knucklehead trout than the collective
catches of all the other fishing villages combined.

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