what decisions are imported to palace of ice?

[geolas]

i am considering if i should start a CotM campaign to import into palace of ice.
what decisions during the campaign have a effect in palace of ice? or is it just the items?

[Agony_Aunt]

I've run with a CotM save and a new party. Didn't notice any difference.

[Ommamar]

A co-op group I play with did just that. We had a ton of potions and scrolls plus the equipment we found or crafted. at the beginning of the PoI campaign we still got the starting equipment you will get with a new group. This was before they changed things so the party was able to level up to 14 when we rested the first time. Story wise CoTM is so linear that none of the actions completed have any real impact thus far, we are probably half way through. Summer hit so we pretty much went on hiatus from playing through it so maybe something from CoTM pop up later on.

[geolas]

its been a while since i played CotM, but the only big decision i can remember that could carry over is if you left the boss of the dark castle alive.

[Sandeath]

There is absolutely no impact of CotM "choices" on Palace of Ice. You just keep your items. But, starting Palace of Ice with the team from the first campaign makes the game too easy since you start level 12 with a complete set of items (my paladin had an AC of 26, my barbarian a strength of 25 with the fire giant's belt...). I did a first run in scavengers mode and I found it too easy. I have just started a 2nd run in the highest difficulty mode and with a new team, which therefore starts at level 10, and there we have a real challenge, the first fights are really tough.
I recommend starting with a new team on normal or scavengers mode to have the best experience.

[Agony_Aunt]

Originally posted by geolas:

its been a while since i played CotM, but the only big decision i can remember that could carry over is if you left the boss of the dark castle alive.

How did that impact the story? Did it cause something different to happen?

[geolas]

Originally posted by Agony_Aunt:

Originally posted by geolas:

its been a while since i played CotM, but the only big decision i can remember that could carry over is if you left the boss of the dark castle alive.

How did that impact the story? Did it cause something different to happen?

you misunderstood, i meant that that is the only big decision i remember from the main campaign that could potentially have a effect in the DLC. i have only just started the dlc

[DiceWrangler]

No campaign decisions or outcomes are imported -- only characters and their personal inventory. Recipe books, bestiary and journal entries are never preserved between games and gold is split evenly between characters.

[LeFrench]

Originally posted by Sandeath:

There is absolutely no impact of CotM "choices" on Palace of Ice. You just keep your items. But, starting Palace of Ice with the team from the first campaign makes the game too easy since you start level 12 with a complete set of items (my paladin had an AC of 26, my barbarian a strength of 25 with the fire giant's belt...). I did a first run in scavengers mode and I found it too easy. I have just started a 2nd run in the highest difficulty mode and with a new team, which therefore starts at level 10, and there we have a real challenge, the first fights are really tough.
I recommend starting with a new team on normal or scavengers mode to have the best experience.

on your comment about difficulty, i've played the first 6 fights of ice palace now, always a new party, so i cannot comment on how much easier the better gear from the first game makes it, BUT i've observed the following from my multiple plays of those first 6 fights:

starting at lvl 10 is EASIER than lvl 12. at lvl 12 the fights have more opposition, and more magic users. it just makes the whole encounter more dynamic and fun. at lvl 10, it was easier, more straight forward ergo boring.

the rolling method, makes you too powerful. i can easily start my characters with x3 20s. and their others stats are also reasonable. i've tried with 27pt buy. now i have at best one 20 attribute and a 16, and the rest suck. OR x3 16s and the rest suck, etc. This is a big difference, and makes the encounters more swingy, more reliant on clever spell selection and casting, ergo more dynamic. i recommend the 27pt buy method.

finally, never play on normal, thats completely too easy, no matter your above choices. scavanger should be for brand new players, but any experienced player should always play on apocalypse. in general 27pt by on apocalypse, starting lvl 12 was the most fun.

by fun i mean that i have characters drop, get killed, need revivification when the rolls go against you. you also have to target their most effective units, like spell casters first so you have to strategically take out certain units and often need magic like dimension door to get to them faster. you need to use potions, like potion of haste which is essential, but very easy to craft (always stock up on those ingredients at any shops that sell). you will need spell disables, like confusion, eyebite and grease, yes, grease is one of the best spells in the game. no concentration and can cause mayhem on a choke point. fun. movement and dmg disables like spike growth is great. the enemy will save a lot, but they will also fail, and those failures turn the tide.

i know apocalypse sounds daunting, even for experienced players, but it adds so much more of a need for using a wider range of spells in the game, rather than just the damage ones. and this lends to strategy, and unique fights, instead of same ole, same ole.

its possible some party compositions will struggle on apocalypse, for example if you play without casters... but why would you want to? all the class types offer fun different strategy to use. You should always have an arcane caster with counterspell (wizard/sorcerer), a cleric(battle is very good because they can serve not just as versatile spellcaster but as tanks to hold a line so you don't need a dedicated tank), a dps (rogue or ranger), and the 4th can be whatever. i'm sure you all have better party compositions, but i've always been able to manage apocalypse with those class types, and never had to save scum. some fight sure i lost, but restart from the auto save which is always made at the beginning, now armed with the knowledge of the loss, and next time you'll likely succeed. though some times its to have a save just before the battle, because its helpful on particularly difficult fights to be able to prep a bit before hand (like drink a strength potion, cast any 10minute or 1 hour duration spells, etc).

the items you get in ice palace are so good they bring a 27pt buy party to OP levels by halfway thru at the latest.