Question about roleplaying Baldur's Gate and choosing weapon styles

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I get the impression Two Weapon Style is a popular style, because you can use in your off hand a weapon that confers a beneficial effect (eg. Crom Faeyr, The Equalizer, Hindo's Doom). I like to roleplay my characters and I'm a little torn about when a roleplayer should choose Two Weapon Style. My impression is that it requires a high Dexterity (I'm sure it's not easy to wave two swords around without decapitating yourself), but my random number generator is especially difficult and it's sometimes hard to get a high Dexterity, especially when you're rolling a character with low minimums like a Fighter / Mage. Is it appropriate from a roleplaying point of view to have two points in Two Weapon Style when you have a Dexterity rating of 10? How about the other ones - does it make sense, for instance, to have two points in Two-Handed Weapon Style if your Strength is under 14?

 

From a roleplaying standpoint you would need high dex to dual-wield, but not necessarily high str for all two-handed weapons. A quarterstaff for example wouldn't require high str.

 

Eh...just get the two weapon proficiencies if you want them. There is ALWAYS some way to justify them...like you could weild Kundane +2 in your off-hand. It's meant to be the lightest and most balanced weapon there is, so maybe its really easy to use it once you get the proficiency points down... You know what I mean.

Also, TWF isn't all its cracked up to be. I personally prefer the two handed weapons in this game...

Carsomyr +5, Ravager +6, Staff of the Magi +5, Staff of the Ram +6, Ixil's Spear +6...I mean...come ON!!! Those are WAYY better than almost all the single handed weapons. And before you say it...Crom Faeyr is VERY over-rated.

 

I don't think you can overrate a weapon that gives you a 25 STR, especially if you put a better weapon in your main-hand.

 

IMHO, two handed weapons are better than the single handed weapons, but two single handed weapons are better than any two handed weapon...
Especially Axe of Unyielding. I think it's the most powerful single handed weapon in the game. It makes you regenerate faster than two rings of gaxx! and get more hit points! and with Crom Faeyr in the other hand, it does 1D8+30 damage...
Also, when using two weapons, assuming you have grand mastery in both, you get five attacks per round, which is one more than you get with two handed weapons.
Crap, now that I think about it, I wanted to make my mage\ fighter use staff of the magi, but it means no one will use AoU!

 

The game engine does not enforce a Stat penalty or bonus to any of the styles, and I think that actually fits in well with Role Playing as well. I've always taken those profs to indicate that a character has spent extra time learning and practicing moves and tactics unique to that style. If you have only average Dexterity, but spend 8 to 10 hours a day practicing 2-weapon melee combat, you'll soon be far better at it then some nimble Swashbuckler wannabe who's never really tried it before (Though the Swashy may have a *much* better social life).

 

[RANT]The way dual-wielding is handled in BG2 would be patently absurd in RL. AFAIK, the only two weapon fighting martial arts (fencing styles) to be refined, in the West at least, involved lighter weapons, such as rapier or shortsword and dagger; in addition, these styles were designed for duals between two lightly armored or unarmored opponents, and used stylish weapons that guys could strut around with everyday. Like a fashion statement. However, rapier and dagger wouldn't likely be the best thing to take into a battlefield, let alone when running into some mace-swinging maniac in plate mail and shield (then it would be time to pull out your trusty musket!).

In BG Tutu, when you first meet Khalid, he has ** in bastard sword and TWF, and is standing there with a bastard sword in each hand; I mean, give me a break: the guys a half-elf and the swords are probably as tall as he is! How is he going to effectively swing two of them? The idea of effectively dual wielding two heavy, differently-weighted weapons is more than a little far-fetched. Like so many other weird issues in the FR setting, you have to blame that Drizzt author guy; I mean, some skinny 5 foot tall tosser waving around two scimitars? Give me a break...

But hey, it's a fantasy game afterall. If the engine lets you dual-wield with a low dex, why not? [/RANT]

 

"I get the impression Two Weapon Style is a popular style"

It is but you can finish the game just fine using a single weapon. With or without a shield. So go ahead with your gut feelings.

" does it make sense, for instance, to have two points in Two-Handed Weapon Style if your Strength is under 14?"

Well yes and no. There are several strength improving items to get in BG2. Ie, a belt or gauntlets. Now, if these are OK from your roleplaying perspective, then yes it makes sense. Because you will get to wear one sooner or later. If a glove that increases your strength makes no sense (it sure does not in RL) and you must roleplay with your base points, then I would say no, stick to single handed weapons.

The game can be played and finished any number of ways. Do whatever you feel is fun for you.

 

As a matter of roleplaying principle, I would never give my characters two heavy weapons to dual wield unless he was a giant half orc or similar. I like the NWN dual wielding rules which impose a penalty if the off hand weapon is too heavy. I would give a sneaky fighter/rogue dual wielding because he would sneak up and stab you twice but I would always make off-hand a dagger (because that seems to make sense to me.)

But you can do whatever feels right to you,

 

Giving the characters in tutu TWF is dumb. A level 1 fighter has THAC0 20 or 19... he can't hit anything! What were they thinking?!

@Chas
How is he supposed to train in the big weapon if he can't use it without a belt? and why would he? Using a weapon is something you train for when you're just a 1st level noob. why would you think that such a thing exist, not to mention that you'll find one...

 

So from a strictly roleplaying point of view, especially if this is the first time playing the game, you would never think of using a weapon that you 'cannot' use. OK, makes sense. You do gain additional attribute points as your character progresses. So you could wait and assign two handed weapon points later. After you know you can use one.

From a strictly game rules perspective, if you want to put one or two points in 2 handed weapons at the beginning of the game you can. If two handed swords are what you really want your character to use. Even if your base strength will not allow it right now. Because you are planning for later when you will be able to use it. In the meantime, you can use a single haned sword just without any attribute bonus. But that is only for replays after you know the game.

 

If you wish to roleplay your characters then the weapon fighting technique should make sense to you. A paladin would be more of a 2-handed weapon role. A ranger is a definite two weapon style (unless your ranger has been hit too hard in the head). I would opt for 2-handed weapon for a fighter mage (just for staff of the magi).

In this game you choose the way you want to fight. Go with what sounds fun to you. There's a lot to be said for dualing katanas for a fighter/mage (especially when tensor's transformation kicks in).

 

well ... i have always tried to roleplay my characters and parties as much as possible, but you have to remember that it is based in a fantasy world with magic weapons that improve your skill and balance ... so using two-weapons is very feasible

personally, my main character (bards) would always use 2 shortswords, or 1 long and 1 short ... any party members using two-weapons would use some small-medium weapon type like 2xhammers, 2xaxes, 2xmaces ... i do feel that swinging a hammer in one-hand and sword in the other would require different swing styles that make them impractical to use

there are benefits to 2-handed weapons though, such as improved critical hits so u may actually do more damage in the long run

 

Dualing blades would require high Dex, since unlike with a blunt weapon getting hit by the flat side is a waste. Dualing blunt weapons would not require high Dex imo, a hit is a hit. Clubs, flails, hammers & mace go together. I agree with Bard that dualing a blade and a blunt weapon is just too odd.

Even with blades, I cant ever see a human being able to dual something as big as a katana or a bastard sword. Perhaps a half-orc could. I generally put a dagger, axe, short sword or long sword in my off hand. Katanas, bastard sword and scimtars go into the main hand at best.

 

Maybe one large weapon and one small weapon is more plausible. Say, longsword and short sword, or katana and short sword (that's what I'm using in my current game, but even that seems a little iffy - we've all seen people put two hands on a katana's hilt in Kill Bill and suchlike).

I agree that larger people can plausibly use larger and heavier weapons. A big strong guy like Minsc should have no problem with Skullcrusher +3 in his right hand and Mace of Disruption +2 in his left.

 

yes, katanas can be used 2-handed and would allow u to do more damage that way, but they can also be used 1-handed ... if u ever watch a martial-artist using katanas u will see plenty of moves that r done 1-handed

all that said, we must remember that this is a fantasy world and the characters in this world fight and use their weapons more frequently than they ever would in our world

so, i think that a character trained in fighting with a katana + dagger would be more than feasible

after all, we have all seen images of people wielding 2-scimitars and they r quite unwieldy things

 

A second weapon should be used to parry attacks (and most swords were never meant to be used to parry) or for opportunity thrusts at an opponent who has lowered his guard (I rather like the idea that the off-hand weapon only grants 1 extra attack: it makes sense in this perspective).

Bion made a point about rapiers and their counterparts (what was appropriately called main gauche i.e. "left hand" in French), I also remember reading that katanas and wakizachis were actually used together by samurais, they were called a daisho, meaning "big and small".

The game itself is slightly nonsensical (to say the least) and I believe that the way some weapons are implemented is not really satisfactory. Consider morningstars and flails for instance. Or even worse, spears and halberds...

Does it really make any sense to have a character with an average STR use a two handed sword, or even (worse) try to picture a dwarf wielding a Claymore that is as tall as a man?!

Anyway my next character is going to be an elf weakling dual wielding axes, that should be fun -IRL I'm a six footer but I'd never dream of using two axes to chop wood

 

When placing weapon proficiencies I role play seriously. I think of who my character is and where I imagine him drawing his influences. A man dual wielding bastard swords never comes up as an issue for me because I consider the bastard sword by its other name, the hand-and-a-half sword. Knowing the delicate and precise craftsmanship that goes into katanas, dual-wielding two because plausible in a weight stand point, since they can be insanely lightweighted. (Plus since it's companion blade, wakizashi, is a seperate weapon proficiency, I can't have a katana with a wakizashi early on, unless I'm a ranger.)

In short, if it makes sense to you, don't worry about it. Even if it doesn't make sense don't worry about it, you'll live longer.

 

Katanas and wakizashi were meant to be used together, and the Katana is basically a VERY high end, classy bastard sword -- it's balanced perfectly and is lighter than the bastard sword used in the West.

That said, for a fighter mage (under the BG2 rules, anyhow) I'd rather have a shield of some sort than another weapon, since you don't have any problems casting spells with a shield but can't wear armour and cast. Perhaps later you could go for Two-weapon style, but you can only get 2 points in it (which makes sense to me) and so you wouldn't be as effective with the two weapons as a fighter or ranger with 3 points.

I usually have my F/M characters carry a shield and long sword (they tend to be elves, duh!) and use spells for distance. If I really feel like giving them a ranged weapon, I use either a throwing axe (which isn't really elvish, but whatever) or a dagger like Firetooth. That seems right to me for an Elven FM. For a Gnome F/I, short sword and throwing dagger and a good shield are also good choices.

By the time the really good quarterstaves are available, I can put some points into staff and 2 handed weapons, but that's later on in the game.

IMHO, only ballsy rangers (NOT archers), slender fighters (high Dex, high Con), Barbarians (?)Swashbucklers and Blades should even think about 2 weapon style, as they can put 3 points in. The tiefling bard you meet (brain freeze, lost his name!) is an excellent example -- 2 short swords is a fine combo, and seems very deadly to me -- fast and piercing!

A smart fighter, cleric or paladin uses a shield, at least until they have better HP, THAC0 and armour, at which time they can upgrade to 2handed weapons if they feel gutsy.

IIRC, a pure Druid can't use shields, so they'd be best off with 2 handed weapon style coupled with points in quarterstaves or spears. Or, they could do 1 handed style for the AC bonus in melee and carry scimitar, darts, throwing knives or sling. I tend to see druids leaning on spears or staves, though, as they threaten you with dire consequences if you don't clear out of the woods.

A dumb fighter, paladin or barbarian would likely select 2 handed weapons right off the bat, particularily if the race is 1/2 orc, or if it's a berserker dwarf. I value the defensive value of a shield early in the game.

Non-swashie thieves and non-Blade bards are best off with bows and crossbows, so go with another 2 handed weapon (like 2 handed sword) or single weapon style for defence if someone closes with you -- bards in particular should enjoy the fact they can use 2 handed swords or halberds.

Arcane magic users can't get any style at all, IIRC. I say they use a heavy throwing dagger that they can also get a good, quick strike in melee if someone gets too close. Later, of course, a cool staff is a must for any real magus.

Lastly, in a stunning lack of realism, Monks can only get 1 handed fighting -- whoever heard of a Monk who can't wield a quarterstaff? Anyhow, since they have no armor or shields early on, give them that point in 1 handed weapon to boost their AC -- they need all the help they can get early on, though later . . .