Did BG III inherit the ironic item placement (IIP) problem from the previous game? For example, IIP is when you get an acid-dealing weapon only after you wipe out a troll colony, or you get a set of fire resistant armor only after you face a great red dragon. I am more of a planner type of person, so I would like to be able to scope out some info about my next major encounter, and then go find the stuff I will need, sort of like the way Perseus had to go out and find the Medusa head before facing the Kracken. The Greeks knew how to avoid IIP.
Off the top of my head, the only item I can think of that would be helpful specifically to the encounter area where you find it is the Anti-web Boots(name eludes me). Depending on where you enter the spider cave you may end up going half way through it before you get to the boots that allow you to freely traverse the place.
