Ok, I read somewhere that some races will receive penalties and have some disadvantages, among them the drow. What does that mean? That they lose experience? Have less proficiencies? I would make sense if the drow received a penalty to THACO (or whatever it's called in IWD2) and AC during the day; and that they have some extra abilities at night.

DROW ELF:

Dark elves, also known as drow, are the subterranean cousins of high elves. Their black skin and pale hair are a curse for their allegiance with the spider goddess, Lolth. Drow societies are usually ruled by cruel priestesses of Lolth and their noble houses. Dark elves are known for their arrogance, cruelty, and penchant for civil war.

Advantages:
+2 to Dexterity, +2 to Intelligence, Faerie Fire 3/day, 25% Magic Resistance +1% per level, 90% Resistance to sleep and charm spells, +1 Attack Bonus with large swords and bows (not crossbows), +5% Pick Pockets, +5% Move Silently, +10% Hide in Shadows.

Disadvantages:
-2 to Constitution, -50% Experience Points through 10th level (about one level lower), -2 Attack Bonus, Damage, and Saving Throws when outside during the day, -5% Open Locks.

Check this out: http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/IWD2/races.htm

[This message has been edited by Taluntain (edited February 20, 2002).]

Wow ... only 1/2 of the Experience. That's kinda harsh. I guess the resistances MORE than make up for it though ....

My real question ... why no bonus with crossbows? From my Lair of the Spider Queen / Vault of the Drow days, I remeber that most of the drow warriors had those cool wrist crossbows. I actually don't remember running into any with long bows ... :confused:

Any news on how the drow magic resistance is going to be inplemented in IWD2? Will it only affect offensive spells against the character in question or will it affect everything, including healing spells etc. , as in BG1 with Viconia?

Wow +2 intelligence and +2 dex? This race is REALLY gonna work well with mage/thieves! And a thief's best time is at night anyway!

Oh, and I'm gonna LOVE that magic resistance! Drow Wizard Slayer :grin:!

[This message has been edited by Lord Sarevok (edited February 24, 2002).]

I'm not sure I understand the language. Does it mean that drow XP penalty stops after 10th level?

[This message has been edited by Lokken (edited February 24, 2002).]

In a word, yes.

(Sir Dargorn slaps Lord Sarevock for daring to say he likes Wizard Slayers)
But i must agree, the benifts firmly outweigh the disadvantages. Personally i will be taking my drow ranger as first choice.

Lokken, as for the XP-Penalty, this is from a forum update ;) :

Icewind Dale 2 Forum Update
Posted Tuesday, February 19, 2002 - 0:49 CET by Tiamat
J.E. Sawyer, Lead Designer
How big a difference will the XP penalty make?
It will make exactly one level of difference, actually. A moon elf fighter with 250,000 XP can be 9th level with his or her standard bonuses. A dark elf fighter with 125,000 XP is 8th level and gets an additional +2 to intelligence, faerie fire 3/day, magic resistance, day blindness, and vulnerability to fire spells.
BTW, the reason the penalty ends at 10th level is to keep dark elves and other races one level behind everyone else, instead of many levels behind everyone else. If they kept their penalties, the moon elf fighter above would be 20th level with 3,000,000 XP and the dark elf would be 14th level with 1,500,000 XP. That's a little severe.

The game also includes an XP-penalty for multiclassed exotic races :D

Icewind Dale II Forum Update
Posted Sunday, February 24, 2002 - 17:32 CET by Tiamat
J.E. Sawyer, Lead Designer
Multi-Class Characters and XP Penalties:
Well, it certainly wouldn't be ten total levels, but perhaps we could make an allowance so multi-classed characters dropped the penalty one level earlier for each of their additional classes. That way, a deep gnome fighter/thief (for instance) would lose the XP penalty at 9/9. A dark elf f/m/t would lose the penalty at 8/8/8. That should keep them roughly even... I think.

btw - there will also be an xp-penalty for humans multiclassing (since they have the advantage to dualclass) :
Icewind Dale 2 Forum Update
Posted Tuesday, February 19, 2002 - 0:19 CET by Tiamat
JE Sawyer, Lead Designer
XP Penalties:
Yes. You will only be one level behind "other" multiclassed characters. When you reach 10th level, the penalty is lifted, and you should stay one level behind the other characters for the rest of the game.

[This message has been edited by Ragusa (edited February 24, 2002).]

That does seem pretty harsh, It would seem that they will need a lot of protection, early on especially.

Hmm, I doubt that. See, it'll only take you one level - and that will happen on lvl-10. So at that point your char won't need too much protection any longer. This is the only time the xp penalty comes to work.

That is unless you are a Svirfneblin and you take a 60% experience cut. Ouch.