Icewind Dale IIs gameplay is focused on combat. The combat system is a real-time adaptation of the turn-based system used in D&D Third Edition, which caused the developers to remove certain aspects, such as "attacks of opportunity". Dice rolls are simulated by the game. In place of the turn-based rounds used in D&D, characters have independent rounds, during which they may execute one or more actions, depending on such factors as the duration of the action. The player can pause the game and issue orders to characters at any time. Each character can carry a limited amount of items.
