AD&D RPG's (Baldur's Gate, etc)

[Shrykull]

Well, I just got icewind dale about a week ago and it's expansion for 20$ and man, it's pretty hard and different. I don't recall having to heal my characters as much in Baldur's Gate or planescape torment. I have a party of a transmuter mage, a regular mage, a fighter/cleric dwarf, a cleric human and 2 fighters.
I'm still trying to figure out what exactly the difference is from those other games I mentioned, some things I notice is it takes a really long time to cast spells, I can pretty much forget about casting a healing spell on one of my characters during a battle, have to buy tons of healing potions, nor can I cast a spell like hold person or something at people either takes too long, or an attack like someone firing an arrow will come first and disrupt the spell. (Must be the real timeness of it, when your playing regular AD&D, you roll your intiative on a d10 and whoever gets it first acts first.) In planescape torment (which I think had better graphics and better more fluid animation) I had the nameless one as a fighter the whole time, with 2 slots of axes, and like a 21 strength and I killed enemies ok without too much healing or resting the whole time, In this I went into the dragon's eye place with all my characters blessed and 4th or 5th level, 3 had protection from evil cast on them, cast prayer and haste, and my fighters have high strengths 2 or 3 slots in the weapon they are using, they got killed without too much trouble from my enemies, what gives?
One other thing I think would help would be if they would show you who or what a spell would effect, I'm afraid to use burning hands or color spray because I might hit my own party members, would be nice since it's goes out in a cone would be for them to show you the cone and you can turn it, and the people the cone is on would be red or something, I'm also concerned that when I get an area effect spell like fireball, they'll get to me way before it's cast, so it will hit the area they were at when I cast it.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

First of all, Icewind Dale 2 is like 20x better than the original. As for spell effects, you can always turn down the difficulty so it doesn't affect party members.

[Shrykull]

First of all, Icewind Dale 2 is like 20x better than the original. As for spell effects, you can always turn down the difficulty so it doesn't affect party members.

also is there any way to disarm traps without a thief, the last place in the dragon's eye caverns is filled with tons of them, and the only way to avoid them for me is to use a find traps spell with a cleric, then I have to walk them one by one around the traps, and couldn't do that in a battle.

[Vympel]

also is there any way to disarm traps without a thief, the last place in the dragon's eye caverns is filled with tons of them, and the only way to avoid them for me is to use a find traps spell with a cleric, then I have to walk them one by one around the traps, and couldn't do that in a battle.

How could you have a party in ANY of those games (Baldur's Gate 1&2, ID 1 & 2) without a thief? Do the words Yoshimo and Imoen ring a bell? You deserve what you get.

[The Yosemite Bear]

In regaurds to Imoen.... I hate my sister....

hmm, too bad my main villian didn't say: Sister, your feelings have betrayed her as well.

[Shrykull]

also is there any way to disarm traps without a thief, the last place in the dragon's eye caverns is filled with tons of them, and the only way to avoid them for me is to use a find traps spell with a cleric, then I have to walk them one by one around the traps, and couldn't do that in a battle.

How could you have a party in ANY of those games (Baldur's Gate 1&2, ID 1 & 2) without a thief? Do the words Yoshimo and Imoen ring a bell? You deserve what you get.

Actually I recall in the second ed players handbook there is a "disarm traps" spell which isn't in the game, right now I'm playing Icewind dale at the final battle for the heartstone gem.