1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

A couple quick questions (been busy)

Discussion in 'Icewind Dale 2' started by Heisenberg, Sep 29, 2012.

  1. Heisenberg Gems: 5/31
    Latest gem: Andar


    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2012
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    2
    Gender:
    Male
    1. The great Marceror pointed me towards a certain light armor that stats with a Z (full name escapes me) well I think he said Fiddlebender (wacky guy with air ship). Right now hes just selling potions, how and when could he sell me the light armor?


    2. I feel stupid asking this but you guys are sure a level of Ranger on my Cleric of Talos will give me the two dual wield feats for free right? Is it like a hidden bonus? Because I couldn't find it in the stats at all.


    3. Spell Penetration. So, two of the best guides I have found on the game have very different views on this feat. One says its a horrible feat that will actually hinder you more then help. The other guide has both levels taken for almost all his spell casters. So, which guys is right? Or more right I guess.


    As always thanks for your time.
     
  2. Marceror

    Marceror Chaos Shall Be Sown In Their Footsteps Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    May 3, 2003
    Messages:
    2,770
    Media:
    226
    Likes Received:
    235
    Gender:
    Male
    Explore all your dialogue options with Oswald. You may find that there's more to him than just potions. ;)

    Yes, but again, only if you are wearing light or no armor. If you wear medium or heavy armor you will lose the benefit of twf and ambidexterity. You should keep in mind that with 2 weapons equipped, even with these feats you will take a -2 to all of your attack rolls. So the way you can check is to remove your offhand weapon temporarily. Your attack bonus with your main hand weapon should increase by 2, and reduce by two with the offhand weapon equipped again. If you are seeing larger attack reductions than something else is going on.

    I'm guessing that the guy who doesn't like it is thinking in terms of a Heart of Fury game (HoF is a higher level, much more difficult way to play the game, which you shouldn't be worrying about at the moment). One play style in that mode of the game is to use what's called a decoy, which is a character that is built to have amazingly high AC and resistances, including spell resistance. The idea with this character is that very little can hit him or hurt him, so just let him run into battle alone, then have your casters unleash hell in the areas around him, hopefully doing minimal damage to that character. Well, if your casters have greater spell penetration, they are much more likely to overcome the decoy's spell resistance, and he will take a lot more damage that way.

    This is not the kind of stuff you should be concerning yourself with during your first play through of the game. Spell Penetration in normal mode simply means that you will be better at overcoming your enemy's spell resistance. I wouldn't worry about this too much at the beginning of the game as few enemies have any spell resistance to speak of. It becomes much more useful later in the game. It is definitely recommended for any casters who are going to be casting a lot of spells AT the enemy. Casters who are more focused on buffing and healing party members have little cause to take this feat.
     
  3. coineineagh

    coineineagh I wish for a horde to overrun my enemies Resourceful Adored Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
    Messages:
    1,637
    Media:
    13
    Likes Received:
    134
    Gender:
    Male
    I might be wrong here, but I thought that Oswald's armour stock was part of a mod addition. In any case, it's handled as a different shop, that you can only access through different dialogue with him.
     
  4. Heisenberg Gems: 5/31
    Latest gem: Andar


    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2012
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    2
    Gender:
    Male




    I have tried all different dialogue options all he keeps saying is do want to see my potions or ride in his air machine. I wonder if maybe I missed my chance to explore the options or you need to be later in the game?



    Edit: I have not found the item but I have found the stats. Are you guys sure the minus to Charisma (-3) is not a big deal for my cleric? Also, I am a little sad I won't ever be able to use boots of speed. It also seems like there are two different items one is just plain old zuvembie and one is zuvembie impunity. Sorry for all the questions guys but hoping to get alot of play time in today!



    In regards to the Ranger level is there anywhere they tell you in the stats you get both feats? I have studded leather on, I assume I can still take the feats because thats if I want to use them with heavy armor.



    *Going for a quick run, hopefully someone stops by!*


    Thought of another question during the run. Since I will have a Dex above 20 with the light armor do you think it would make sense to invest in the feat called Finesse that allows you to use Dex instead of STR modifer? My STR is 18 I believe.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2012
  5. Marceror

    Marceror Chaos Shall Be Sown In Their Footsteps Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    May 3, 2003
    Messages:
    2,770
    Media:
    226
    Likes Received:
    235
    Gender:
    Male
    Heisenberg,

    Apologies if I steered you wrong with Zuvembie. I've been playing with certain mods for so long that I had thought Oswald's armors were party of the vanilla game. You can still get it in the game, but you won't find it until much later. I believe it's only -2 to CHA, and that's not a big deal unless your character is doing a lot of diplomacy and/or turning undead. You have plenty of other characters who can pick up diplomacy and turning undead duties, so I don't see the reduced charisma being an issue at all.

    Regarding the ranger, so the deal is you don't actually have the feats. If you did, then the light armor restriction would not apply to you. A ranger can fight *as if* they have two weapon fighting and ambidexterity as long as they have light or no armor. If you go to your character record, click on the information button, select classes, then Ranger, you will see this explained in the ranger's class description.

    By the way, I think Hank is on to you!
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2012
  6. coineineagh

    coineineagh I wish for a horde to overrun my enemies Resourceful Adored Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
    Messages:
    1,637
    Media:
    13
    Likes Received:
    134
    Gender:
    Male
    That's the Heart of Fury version, of course. Check the stats of the regular armour, because that's the one you'll get hold of later on. Even in HoF, Oswald's mod shop will only sell regular Zuvembie, while the HoF version will be acquired from it's original location later in a HoF game.

    If you don't know what mods are, then read this.
     
  7. Heisenberg Gems: 5/31
    Latest gem: Andar


    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2012
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    2
    Gender:
    Male
    Hey guys thanks for setting me straight. I guess I could just use DaleKeeper to twink the armor in and then waste some of my cash. I have been tempted not to even go there but its nice to have in case there is a glitch. (for example yesterday a Boss did not drop any of the items he was supposed to). I hesitate with mods just in case it does something I don't want.



    Its good to know the Ranger level would be useful.


    So, what do you guys think about Weapon Finesse?
     
  8. coineineagh

    coineineagh I wish for a horde to overrun my enemies Resourceful Adored Veteran

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
    Messages:
    1,637
    Media:
    13
    Likes Received:
    134
    Gender:
    Male
    It would improve the accuracy, but bonus damage is still handled by STR. The difference is not significant enough for you to be worth it, and you shouldn't prepare your build for upcoming equipment, as you may find better equipment later on, making your preparations a waste of time & feats.

    WF is best for low-STR high-DEX rogues who get a lot of added value from their increased hit chances, because they get extra damage from Sneak Attacks. It will only increase our character's overall damage very slightly, so there are more important feats for you, I'd think.
     
    Heisenberg and (deleted member) like this.
  9. Marceror

    Marceror Chaos Shall Be Sown In Their Footsteps Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    May 3, 2003
    Messages:
    2,770
    Media:
    226
    Likes Received:
    235
    Gender:
    Male
    Weapon finesse is good for character's whose dexterity is higher than their strength, as they will be able to substitute the dexterity bonus for strength on their attack roles, when using light weapons.

    If strength is similar to the dex bonus, or higher, weapon finesse will offer little to no benefit. Your typical character that uses it is a low strength, high dex build that is using light weapons.
     
  10. Heisenberg Gems: 5/31
    Latest gem: Andar


    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2012
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    2
    Gender:
    Male
    Thanks Genie and Marceror (Congrats on the forum graduation by the way


    I have come to the conclusion I need to take a couple levels of Long Sword for my Cleric of Talos. That way I can use Dagger,Short Swords and Long Swords. I want him to be very powerful in Melee so I think adding Long Swords is needed.


    Could someone give me a quick explanation of Power Attack? It subtracts a point from your hit chance and adds it to damage right? And you can do this up to level 3 (so you can have minus 3 to hit and plus 3 to damage) So, do yo basically want to use this on everything that is a non boss? Would you just do level 1 or 2 or even 3? I have a decent hit chance with my Cleric I think Base is around 5. Like I said before I want to graduate to Long Swords for some extra ommph and added Utility.
     
  11. Paracelsi

    Paracelsi Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2011
    Messages:
    1,098
    Media:
    10
    Likes Received:
    104
    Gender:
    Male
    Rule of thumb, unless you have something like two bards singing Tymora's Melody use Power Attack only sparingly in normal mode. You don't really need the extra damage since you have more than enough spells to soften up mobs. You'll want your attacks to be more accurate so you have an easier job finishing them off.
     
    Heisenberg and (deleted member) like this.
  12. Heisenberg Gems: 5/31
    Latest gem: Andar


    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2012
    Messages:
    130
    Likes Received:
    2
    Gender:
    Male



    Ohh I see. So, I need the attack bonus more. What do you think about using Long Swords in one hand and a Dagger or Short Sword in the other? I want my Stormlord to be badass in melee.
     
  13. Paracelsi

    Paracelsi Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2011
    Messages:
    1,098
    Media:
    10
    Likes Received:
    104
    Gender:
    Male
    If your cleric has high strength feel free to use longswords (or any other one-handed weapon).
     
  14. Marceror

    Marceror Chaos Shall Be Sown In Their Footsteps Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

    Joined:
    May 3, 2003
    Messages:
    2,770
    Media:
    226
    Likes Received:
    235
    Gender:
    Male
    Something to consider about power attack is that it is a requirement for cleave, which is quite useful for a melee focused character. This feat allows you to gain a free attack when drop a foe in combat and have another foe within striking range. Greater cleave is much less useful and should generally only be taken if you don't have anything better to spend your feat on
     
  15. spmdw45 Gems: 8/31
    Latest gem: Skydrop


    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2009
    Messages:
    293
    Likes Received:
    8
    It's a decent feat, worth taking in some circumstances. A decoy with low STR and high DEX may find himself wielding the Xvimian Fang of Despair + Golden Heart of X, and if so Weapon Expertise could be an effective +5 to hit. Not as good as Improved Critical, but better than Heroic Inspiration.

    I usually have trouble finding worthwhile feats to take, and this one is better than many others.

    -Max

    ---------- Added 0 hours, 17 minutes and 42 seconds later... ----------

    Long swords are okay, especially for a paladin (1d8 + 5 + 2d6 vs evil creatures), but there are also some very powerful polearms (2d8 + 5 IIRC) and axes (1d8+5 plus Slow/Fear effect), and at least one very powerful hand-and-a-half sword +3 with +3d6 slashing damage on every strike. If you have high STR you probably want a two-handed weapon for the extra STR damage bonus (50% higher than for a one-handed weapon, e.g. STR 18 will give me +6, not +4). I'm just saying you can be very powerful in melee almost no matter which weapon proficiency, if any, you select in addition to the basic Cleric options.

    Power Attack lets you convert up to +5 BAB into +5 damage bonus instead. It is primarily useful for breaking through weapon immunity. 7 damage (10 damage resisted) is far better than 2 damage (10 damage resisted) even if you only get it 70% as often. Power Attack is secondarily useful for characters who get lots of criticals with x3 weapons like axes and hammers, either because of Tymora's Melody or other luck sources, or Improved Critical + Executioner's Eyes.

    -Max
     
  16. Sir Rechet

    Sir Rechet I speak maths and logic, not stupid Veteran

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2003
    Messages:
    1,357
    Likes Received:
    68
    Power attack has three primary uses:
    - Whenever your victim is incapacitated (Held/Unconscious/Hopeless etc.), it's free extra damage since you'll hit anyway.
    - In the rare case you need to overcome damage resistance and cannot switch to an alternate weapon which would bypass it.
    - Once you have enough attack bonus from OTHER sources besides your BAB to match or nearly match your enemy's AC value, it once again becomes free extra damage. Most notably, buffed up berserkers with 30+ STR double-dip into their STR score by first making it easy to hit stuff so that they can activate Power Attack and again via the straight damage bonus of it.
     
    sansserif likes this.
  17. sansserif Gems: 1/31
    Latest gem: Turquoise


    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2012
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Female
    In the mod ''Ease of use" you get the option to allow Oswald Fiddlebender to sell armor.
    The dialogue option is "You dont happen to have a stash of magical armor" something like that.
    The light armor is Zuvembie, and you will get it late in the game, at Dragon's eye. Tee's walkthrough (Malaysian player) states it is the best rogue armor in the game, but it decreases Charisma by -2. It is also cursed, so if i wish to unequip it to use my Bluff Skill (my rogue has Bluff Points) I have to cast 'remove curse' with a cleric. Nevertheless, the AC my rogue gets is way better than a full armor of Boring Beetle shell. So I used it till the very end :D
     
  18. spmdw45 Gems: 8/31
    Latest gem: Skydrop


    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2009
    Messages:
    293
    Likes Received:
    8
    For a high-DEX rogue, the 1st-level Armor spell is about as good as Zumembie's Impunity, and it lasts forever. Spirit Armor is even better but doesn't last as long.
     
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.