Well, with D&D 3.x rules, elemental damage negates stoneskin. stoneskin protects vs. physical (usual) damage only. im not sure if magical damage negates stoneskin aswell. magic missile does, but this is a bad example because of the force effect.

@Blades:
well, i think that there are many devastating dual-combos, right. but there is also a logical kind of thought which makes dual-wielding in certain cases just ... ridiculous.
a longsword can be pretty long, around 100 cm. same goes with katanas. therefore it just does not fit to the wielders agility and size to swing two larger swords perfectly and in harmony.

thats why d&d 3.x gives the penalty for off-hand weapons which a pretty large (mentioned above).

thats why i would like to use a larger sword in the main hand and a smaller in the off hand (parry-like weapon).
so, for off hand would short swords be fine or daggers (maybe scimitars too, but thats the hard limit).

A couple of points, BG2 is a modified AD&D 2.5 E rulesystem (2.5 because of the implementation of combat and tactics book rules - mastery, etc, as well as various splatbook additions (pages from the mages, race/classbooks, etc),

In AD&D wielding two weapons is possible but carries a -2 penalty to the main hand, and a -4 penalty to the offhand (modified by reaction adjustment for dex), specialising in two weapon fighting style reduces this to -0/-2 (for main and offhand respectively) while being ambidextrous reduces this to -0/-0 (as there is no offhand) (or -2/-2 if not specialised in two-weapon style), the specialization also allows the use of two weapons of the same size. (gaining both benefits however costs 2 weapon proficiency slots, quite expensive to a low level fighter)

as for your question, I would get the bonus merchants (it's not really an add on-as it was released for those people who bought the collectors super special uber edition and was developed for the game) then use the Robe of Vecna (AC 5 reduces casting time of spells) and Dakkon's Zerth Blade in the offhand (katana that grants extra mage spell slots), then decide on a decent weapon for the primary hand (I'm partial to the blade of roses despite it's lack of uber utility, it just seems like the kind of finess weapon a F/M would devote themselves to).

RE the mod which places a % miscast on armor, what about changing that to wild surges per the Wild Mage spells, would definitely make things more interesting than a simple "spell failed" dialog.

It makes sense to carry the lighter weapon in your weaker hand, but for Baldur's Gate, it's the opposite that's actually more efficient. The first attack of each round depends on the Speed Factor of the weapon in your *main* hand, and your offhand weapon always hits last. So, if you have a really heavy weapon (Flail) in your right hand and a really light one (Dagger) in your left, that makes sense in the real world, but in BG you're just slowing yourself down, possibly even costing you Attacks per Round because your opening Speed Factor is so high. (NOTE: This refers only to weapons *in general,* not specific weapons. I am not advising anyone to offhand the Flail of the Ages here.)


More "interesting," yes, but that would make Wild Mages much less unique, thereby robbing them of one of the main reasons why they're fun. There's no point in stealing anybody's thunder.

I think this is a great idea, but perhaps it should only be applicable to wild mages.

Hmm,
i really hope Icewind Gate will come true so that D&D 3.x rules will apply to BG2 ;)

[ 11-22-2005, 06:54 AM: Message edited by: Karrde ]

It makes no sense to me. When wearing clumsy armour that limits movement you sometimes lose a spell because you fumble some magical gesture required for the spell. When being a wild mage you sometimes lose a spell because the mysterious energies you tried to channel broke free from you control. Those are not the same thing.

And if you apply the wild surge tables to armour, you must also apply them to being interrupted while casting, like being hit whit an arrow. Imagine trying to fry some goblins with a fireball. An arrow hits you. You accidentally change your gender instead of the intended explosion of fiery destruction.

Yes, it does make things more interesting but when I try to slow poison on myself I don't want to accidentally summon a balor if it fizzles.


edit: broken quote tag

[ 11-22-2005, 07:01 AM: Message edited by: Iron Greasel ]