Niggles about Book 2

[xolotl]

I was prepared to deal with the cost, however, there isn't enough food to feed JUST ME at the first towns in.

Yeah, there should be more food available for sale in general, IMO. It'd be nice if you could at least buy a "meal" at any inn, even if the one in Eastwillow doesn't let you do an overnight (which does bug me, though once you know where one of the other towns is, you can just buy a night's stay there, which will fill up your hunger/thirst bars). Also note that the most "logical" first dungeony quest that you take up should provide you with quite a bit of sustenance for awhile.

Not knowing that health regen would be so slow and that food/water use would be astronomical has me on the verge of restarting the game.

Health regeneration will go up with increased Endurance, so be sure to put some points in there. Healing potions, of course, can help, and if you develop some Alchemy skill you may be able to get those more cheaply than via shopkeepers. Some skill in Foraging will help you acquire reagents, and have the side effect of making your hunger/thirst bars go down less quickly.

If I'm going low on the magic am I basically forced to have a high forage/first aid skill? Is the game even doable w/out turning into a mage/cleric?

Your first question seems to imply you're a magic user, whereas the second implies that you're not. :) Regardless: Perception is what controls MP regeneration, so you may want to spend some points in that direction too. In regards to the second question: I've done quite a few playthroughs with non-magic-using characters. It can be quite a bit of fun! I do admit that I tend to make sure I have some Foraging skill though. In terms of game balance, Foraging is a very powerful skill to develop.

Oh, and you should know that the game is sort of built with an assumption that perhaps you'll have to restart if you decide that your character's not effective enough. The engine doesn't really hold your hand, and it's certainly possible to build a character which doesn't work too well. One big problem that first-time players have (and which I had on my first playthrough) is that the game rewards specialization over generalization. If you spread your skill points out too thinly, you'll have more trouble than a character that's pumped them all into one or two skills.

[Antigrav]

Without forage, my characters have all done fairly well on raw rodent, apples, biscuits, and whatever else I run across until I have plenty of cash and foraging skill, and will have raided plenty a dwarven pantry to never have to worry about hunger.

Camping and quick traveling do burn through your rations.

If you are camping a lot, that could mean there's another problem. Maybe the area you're in is a bit over your character's head? Try going another, easier route where you can gain some experience as well as some rat meat.

[Kreador Freeaxe]

I find that there's usually plenty of food in Eastwillow for you to get by for a while without having to buy any. There's some ala cart in the inn, a barrel of apples in the church, more in another barrel out by the rats, and they provide good snacks while you're going along.

I almost never take the foraging skill until I can buy it from the trainer, and have never had an issue with my character being hungry or thirsty unless I just wasn't paying attention. There are plenty of wells around for water.

Anyway, a mage is certainly the easiest class in Book II if you construct one properly (lots and lots and lots of Perception). But every class is playable if you try to focus on a few core skills early on and diversify later. Unless you're going as a Pacifist, you want to get your primary weapon skill to 10 as soon as possible for the Feat (the piercing feat is second only to the Bow feat in my book, and that only because you have to be next to the opponent to use it, as opposed to across the entire screen).

[Toxxus]

I managed to get over the difficulty hump before I lost my character. I got to Everdale literally starving to death (taking damage every couple steps, mana wasted from self-healing).

I managed to get a create food scroll and my guy has mutated into a rogue-priest hybrid in order to survive.

On a second playthough, now that I understand the game mechanics better, I think I could get by with a zero magic character.

Though, the buffing spells do seem really strong and point effective compared to the skills. 11 Divination feels like it's worth 100 skill points with Bless, Nimble, Ogre strength, heals, detox, etc.

However, now that I'm not constantly on the verge of death I'm 30 hours into the game and loving it.

[Kreador Freeaxe]

Crossing that bridge from "I could die any moment this is so freaking impossible oh my gawd" to "Ahhhhhhhhhhh" is fun and gives you a great feeling of accomplishment, doesn't it?

[SpottedShroom]

Though, the buffing spells do seem really strong and point effective compared to the skills. 11 Divination feels like it's worth 100 skill points with Bless, Nimble, Ogre strength, heals, detox, etc.

I definitely agree with this assessment. While it's certainly possible to get through the game with no magic, magic is probably the "best" investment of skill points for any character build besides weapon skills and one point in armor. I mentioned that imbalance in my Book III wishlist.