For all of you D&D experts out there, what do all the +'s (+1,+2,+3) mean? Are they just added to your damage points, so if you have a +3 weapon and you rolled a 5 you do 8 damage, (I don't thik that's it right?) or do they mean something else?

Example - A sword +3 would mean it is +3 to hit , and +3 Damage.

your THAC0 (To Hit Armour Class 0) would be reduced by 3 when using the sword.

+3 to damage does just that, the roll you get and 3 added to that
also some monsters need +1,2,3 or higher to be hit

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Just that? So what's the big difference between a +3 and a +4 sword, 1 point of damage and one point of THACO?

95% of all foes may be damaged by weapons of +3 enchantment, but some very highly magical foes require +4 enchantment. Also, if you're facing a mage and he casts Improved Mantle then you'll need +4 to damage that mage.


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The most distressing thing about practicing magic is the fact that even the most learned sorcerers cannot accurately describe what magic *is*....

This is why I always fail to get excited by the +5 swords and so on, I always looked to see what the speed factor is. I figure I can do more damage with a fast +2 or +3 sword than a fast +4 halberd. What I find confusing is the different types of damage, i.e. piercing, slashing, blunt etc. does it still deal the same damage or does piercing increase the likelyhoof of criticals or what?

Slashing, crushing, piercing, and missile are simply different forms of physical damage. Some types of armor are better against piercing. For example, your armor class is currently 3 and you are wearing splint mail; splint mail has a piercing modifier of -1, so your effective armor class against piercing weapons (daggers, short swords, spears, etc.) is 2. The only combination to concern yourself with is chain mail versus crushing weapons, because the modifier is +2.

No damage type increases the possibility of a critical hit, though. A weapon that deals out 1d8 + 3 damage does 4 - 11 damage; the damage type depends upon the type of weapon.

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An intelligent mind is the key to the universe.

The most distressing thing about practicing magic is the fact that even the most learned sorcerers cannot accurately describe what magic *is*....

Also some creatures can only be hit be certain weapons. I believe clay golems fall in that category. Ie they have to be hit by blunt weapons to do full damage to them. Skeletons for example only take full damage from crushing weapons and will only take half from piercing.

JR

Damned i lost cousin Jan's techno gloves

It might not seem a lot but you do get a 5% better change of hitting someone
Áctually if you are a fighter, with this +1 weapon is the difference between your current level and your next because it lowers you thaco
That +1 to hit can be very important as you yourself must have notests sometimes your character end a battle wioth only 2 or 3 hp left, If that monster had a +1 weapon you would have been dead
It doesn't seem a lot but it's always useful

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Going back slightly the +1,+2,+3 works in reverse for armour and saving throws in that it actually reduces your AC or saving throw which is beneficial.

+1 may not seem like a lot but Baldurs Gate two combat is calculated using a 20 sided dice simulator so the bonus is actually far more beneficial than it sounds.

minor spoiler

Clay golems can only be injured by +1 or better blunt weapons-clubs, hammers, maces and the like.

And lets not even mention the Adamite (sp) Golems http://www.tgeweb.com/cgi-bin/ubb/no...miles/wink.gif

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I still get confused over this. Suppose my bloke does a natural +7 to damage through his strength. He then uses a bow giving an additional +3 to damage with arrows giving +2 to damage. Is the bow damage and the arrow damage cumulative giving a +5 to damage on top of the arrows standard damage rating...ie 1D4. Effectively giving a possible (not critical) 9 damage for one arrow and then his +7 strength bonus added giving a base score of 16 damage. Or am I barking up the wrong tree here...........this still confuses me.

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In response to Cavern Sniffer's question here's how it works in AD&D:

With missle weapons you do not get your strength bonus added to damage or THACO unless you have some kind of Magical weapon which posseses that ability. I have only seen one of these in IWD but there could be some in BGII. Also keep in mind that only your arrow's bonus counts towards damage inflicted, the bonus of the actual missle weapon only adds to THACO as far as I know...

mechanical missile weapons (bows, xbows) don't give STR bonuses. iirc, thrown weapons such as axes and darts DO get the STR damage bonus.

That is very true...sorry I forgot to mention.

Ok, what is the benefit of using a +2 arrow then and how would it work on a thrown dice set?

And how is strength determined on a dice throw?

Finally, you say that +1 makes a difference (especially on 20 sided dice I know), but what I said is still vaild, if you have a faster weapon that does less damage, the longer the battle, the more attacks you will make than a slower, bigger hitting weapon and therefore the more damage you will deal, thus a +3 halberd will probably be less useful than a +2 short sword.

you may get more attacks in , but a good hit with a Two handed sword could deal a devastating blow!.

could being the operative word....

In response to DonkeyWan, here is my take on the weapon speed/damage/etc. situation:

Bigger, more damaging weapons are generally slower but one has to remember that the speed factor only determines when an attack gets made in a round, not how many attacks are made in a round. The number of attacks is determined by things like class, lvl, and weapon specialization. So a tank wielding a +5 2-handed sword may strike after the thief with the fast +2 dagger, but I garuntee that he will hit a hell of a lot harder...also fighter types generally have more hits/better AC and so can afford to take a few minor hits before they deal out their devastating attack.

Another consideration with big, slow weapons is that taking proficencies in specific styles ie. Two-handed weapon style actually gives bonuses to speed factors, helping to curb the slow attack problem. Some magic weapons have faster speed ratings also.

I'm currently playing as an assasin, so I have no bias against fast-hitting small weapons, but to see Keldorn chunk something with the Holy Avenger IS a thing of true beauty.

As they say in the strategy guide, "Black and Brown Dragons are immune to acid...but nothing's immune to a Holy Avenger..."

As I posted elsewhere - Gimme the Warblade 1D12 +4 all day long. Speed factor of 6. Grand Mastery in 2H swords & 2 points spent in 2H weapon style brings the speed down to 2.

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Northraven,
regarding missile weapons, damage, THAC0 etc

If you take the Heartseeker Longbowas an example -
THACO: +4
Damage: +2
Weight: 7
Speed Factor: 4

Couple that with an arrow of Piercing
Damage: 1D6
THACO: +4
Special: +6 physical (piercing) damage (save vs. death for none)

My point is do we now have a THAC0 of +8 (added to the characters base THAC0)
With a damage of +8 being inflicted alongside the 1D6 standard damage of the single arrow for a possible 14 (non critical) damage per arrow before (if incorporated) any strength modifiers are applied.

Also this is my thing about these no ammo' weapons......are they really worth it? IE can the Mana Longbow really compare to the Heartseeker in the damage or THAC0 department (setting aside its magic resistance properties).

How about the Short Bow of Gesen that takes a lot of effort and time to find and build.
THAC0: +4
Damage: 2 piercing, 1-8 electrical.

It appears that it has a +4 to THAC0, fine, but can only deal out a max of 10 (non critical) damage.

It seems to me people rant and rave over these no ammo weapons but if you read the smallprint they hardly seem worth it. The Heartseeker can actually be bought in the A.M later in the game too.



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Cavern Seeker,

It seems like the math is right on that last post regarding the Heartseeker bow...although I have no idea if that particular bow allows Strength modifiers to be applied to the attack roll. I don't know if I agree with you on the whole unlimited ammo bows point. I would have to say that the Gesen Bow and Tansheron's Bow are both short bows, making them attractive to the Thief/Bard set. Also keep in mind that these bows have an essentially unlimited supply of +1 ammo, meaning that you can save inventory space by only carrying around the Really good ammo. Anyway this is all just my humble opinion, I can see where you're coming from on this point.

All this discussion has made me curious about bows in BGII myself. I've been using mostly slings and crossbows in my party, I think I will check out some of the long bows for my group. Can anybody tell me who the best NPC is with bows? (Aside from Mazzy who can only use short bows I believe).

Fisrtly as to bows, Heart seeker was the best for me when I played as an archer and since it allowed you to hit at +7 once a day, was rewally useful versus high level critters. I was very disappointed with the Gesen bow, it really wasn't up to much, my crossbow of speed did as much damage with electric bolts and faster too.

As to quicker weapons, first strike means first chance to get spelled, so a stun weapon, or slow, or confuse will halt any major attacks.