Lots of newbie doubts...help please

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Like the topic says, I've got a few doubts regarding IWD2, and 3rd ed rules in general, since I'm extremely comfortable with 2nd ed(ala Baldurs Gate 2) but know next to nothing of 3rd ed...NWN didnt help either...anyway, on to the questions...

1) Very important question: Does weapon finesse apply to all weapons or just the small blade class of weapons? I'm asking because I'd made a druid who had 20 Dex at creation to act as an archer/bombardier...but midway through decided to take Weapon Finesse and duke it out with the baddies... but I'm not sure if a Fighter who played as a sniper took this feat, would be able to use heavy weapons like Two Handed Axes/Swords, Large Swords, Maces etc. So, HOW exactly does this work?

2)In various item descriptions, I came across the term, "Armor Check Penalty", especially in Shields. What exactly does this mean?

3)Also, in various item descriptions (Widow Through), I came across the term "keen: increases chance of scoring critical hit", how does this work? In the same vein, does casting the spell Luck on a fighter increase his chances of scoring a critical hit? Also, if I boosted him with spells and items which increased Attack Bonus, would he just hit more often or score Critical Hits also more often?

4)Spells like Eagle's Splendor are pretty useless...who'd want to boost CHA unless buying items - unless, would casting it on a Sorc or Bard make it harder to resist their spells? Increase their DC or something?

5)If you decide to change your party midway through the game, and use the Character Arbitration options to change your party around, keep the exact same items, and boost them with the console to the exact same total amount of XP, would it be cheating?

6)For around the time you are in Kuldahar, would an AC of about 30 on your main tank and averaging about 20-25 on the others be good? If not, what is?

7)I'm playing a party of four and am in the Wandering Village/Fell Wood area now. My party level is approx. 12 and I get hardly any experience when I kill enemies...( around 50-60) which makes leveling up extremely painful. If I decided NOT to level up, just to get the extra XP per kill, would that also count as cheating?

[ December 10, 2003, 21:08: Message edited by: Beren ]

 

1) I believe weapon finesse only applies to small blades.

2) Armour check penalty goes against skills - eg hide in shadows, etc.

3) Don't know about critical hits...

4) Charisma is now an important stat if you're a bard or sorcerer. Paladin's and cleric's turn undead is also based on charisma.

5) No it wouldn't be cheating, the game is hard enough as it is.

6) Not up to Kuldahar yet... (I'm going solo).

7) Not levelling up is not cheating, but definitely cheesy.

 

I think that keen means that the roll needed for critical value is extended by 1: so rather than needing a 20 (is that right? I haven't played IWD2 for ages) you'll get a critical with a 19 and a 20.

Not sure about whether luck does this as well.

Eagles Splendor is useful for Sorcerers to get extra spell slots.

 

2) Some skills, in their description, have armor check penalty next to them. The armor penalty is added to the effective skill level when checking whether the skill works. In addition, if the character is not proficient with that sort or armor--shield, light, medium, heavy--, then the armor check penalty is also added to attack bonus (I forget whether the penalty is negative or positive. If positive, you subtract it instead of adding it).

3) Even type of weapon has a critical range. On your to hit roll, if you roll in that range, you multiply the damage you roll by the critical multiplier, which differs by weapon. Increasing the critical range means just that: one more means your critical range gets increased by 1, so a weapon that needs 19-20 will now only need 18-20. Luck is added to your actual roll, so if you roll a 17, that coulds as a 18, and you are in the critical range. However, spells like Prayer, Bless, Emotion: Hope only add to your attack bonus, so a +1 from Bless will not shift that 17 into the critical range.

4) Eagle's Splendor boost paladin saving through bonuses, smite evil bonuses, and lay on hands, and it can actually increase the spell stock of bards and sorcerers. There's also the turn undead use.

5) You decide.

6) No. By Khuldahar, you should have 35+ AC to have a decent change of dodging attacks.

7) A lot of people do this. Some instead take a low level character or two to lower the party's average level. It's almost required by the game mechanics.

 

1) Agree with above - positive that it only applies to small weapons
2) Armour Check - explained well above
3) Critical Hit - well explained by Hojo Jojo. Can be devastating with a high strength character with a two handed weapon
4) Eagles Splendour can be very powerful for Paladins, Sorcerers, and Bards in combat. Actually I never thought of casting it while shopping!
5) I would call that cheating, but that's just me.
6) Depends whether you mean AC before or after 'buffing' up. I would have thought 30 was more than fine before buff up spells.
7) To avoid the boredom of fighting for no XP, you can either 'level-squat' as you described, or you can install Weimer's mod which alters the XP table slightly to ensure that you still get some reward for a big fight, or you can introduce a new low level character to reduce average character levels in your party.

 

Thanks a ton for the info guys...but I was playing the game some more and I got a couple of questions more...

8) If I picked up Ambidexterity and Two Weapon Fighting for my Fighter, and not getting them for free with the Ranger, would the 'Light Armor only' restriction still apply? Also, would I still have to follow the ridiculous(in my opinion) rule that the weapon in the off-hand has to be smaller than the main-hand's weapon? (you know, like you HAVE to dual a short sword with a dagger)

9) Are there sufficient two handed axes in the game to merit Weapon Specialization? I really love the x3 criticals so...

And that AC of 30 was for the main tank only...the other chaps dont NEED a higher AC, coz I just have the druid shapeshift and beat on the enemies...(red half dragon kicks ass), and I buff my tank like mad. He's a dwarven fighter 4/battleguard of tempus x, weilding the Widow Through as of now (love the increased criticals at x3 ), and when he's fighting, he gets Barkskin, cat's grace, haste, luck, Draw upon Holy Might and Recitation...good enough eh? It takes a good two-three rounds, but he's untouchable after that...

 

Actually, I think that Keen doubles a weapon's critical threat range. So a vanilla longsword with a Critical threat range of 19-20 would have, with Keen, a threat range of 17-20. Obviously, if this is still the way it works, this is a very powerful enhancement.

About 8: No, the light armour only thing is only for Rangers getting it free. If you pay for it by taking it as a feat, you can wear any armour. The rule isn't that the off-hand weapon must be smaller. You can weild any two one handed weapons togethor in any combination. However, if the off-hand weapon is the same size or larger then the main-hand weapon, you start taking to hit penalties.

 

8. If your offhand is not lighter than your main hand, then you get a -2 penalty to your to hit for each attack.

9. You can buy +4 greataxes, and +5 greataxes are not rare--I think they might have a set location in mid chapter 5. There is a +5 greataxe that adds fire damage, but that's a random drop. You decide whether a +5 greataxe is enough. Personally, I prefer the more reliable greatsword of the soulless +5.

 

3)Ever had bad luck cast on one of your characters? My fighter just had 20 critical misses after each other!
So I guess luck helps on the criticals alot!

 

Just a quick clarification here folks. There is a bit of a misinterpretation with 2-Weapon Fighting. The off hand weapon doesn't have to be 'smaller' than the main weapon. It just has to be considered a small weapon. In other words, you could dual-weild 2 short swords, and you won't receive the -2 penalty. So, if your main weapon is a short sword you don't HAVE to use a dagger in the other hand. The only thing that is important here is that off-hand weapon is considered a 'small' weapon.