Yeah I know, it's way off topic and belongs elsewhere but a chat with the Black Knight and Cloudbringer prompted this post so I'm blaming them.
I've posted it in the BG2 forum too but I know the old hands are in here a hell of a lot.
THIEF SKILLS
Some are ok and I understand both the attribute and the need to increase your proficiency in some of them. Others on the other hand are mind boggling and I can see neither the use or point of their implementation. In the skills to which you can add points to on level up you will see -
Move Silently. Err why?
If you can move silently and creep up on someone from behind then surely you should also be able to backstab them without the need for shadows. If I was never to put a point into any other skill bar move silently how will this help my thief? Is it possible that even though my thief has 200% (for example) in hide in shadows that he can be heard approaching...I think not.
Checking in the manual for answers only served to increase my confusion. Page 124 of the English manual lists all the thieving base scores as follows -
Pick Pockets - 15%
Open Locks - 10%
Find/Remove traps - 5%
Move Silently - 10%
Hide in Shadows - 5%
Detect Noise - 15%
Climb Walls - 60%
Read Languages - 0%
Well I'm baffled by some of them and their % figures. Even though I can't see or figure out the points behind their inclusion my logical head says there must be a reason. Going on the above base scores I must assume that my thief (providing he's sober and rested) has a 10% chance to silently climb a wall to sit upon in order to read a book or scroll that he's stolen. He has a 40% chance of falling off of the wall, and should he make it to the top of the wall he has absolutely no chance to read the stolen tome anyway. If he does make it safely to the top he then has a 15% chance of hearing any other thieves climbing up the opposite side of the wall in order to peruse their stolen undecipherable tomes too. Any ideas?
Baffled from London.
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One love, peace.