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Old 02-05-2003, 11:50 AM   #2
Dundee Slaytern
Ironworks Moderator
 

Join Date: June 10, 2001
Location: Pasir Ris, Singapore
Age: 41
Posts: 11,063
Crazed Silly

Frequently Asked Questions

This post will deal with issues that are not game spoilers, but get asked regularly. Reading this post will in no way, spoil you on the game, so feel free to browse through this post. If you feel that something should be added or edited in this FAQ, you are welcome to send me a Private Message or an E-Mail about it.

Quickguide:
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00FFFF; font-weight:bold">Where can I get the game patch?

No game is perfect, as much as we want it to be. As such, patching a game is almost inevitable. It is very common to read of problems that fellow gamers encountered during their gameplay that are rectified in the game patch. To prevent trouble and frustration, take the time to download the relevant patch and fixpack and install them. Just remember these guidelines,

1) Install the game first
2) Install the Official Patch next
3) Install the Fixpack
4) Install third-party mods if any

If you do not have ToB installed, get the Official SoA Patch first, then get the Baldurdash SoA Fixpack v3.61.

If you do have ToB installed, get the Official ToB Patch first, then get the Baldurdash ToB Fixpack v1.12.

Happy patching, and may it solve whatever ails you. If it does not, let us know and we will try to help you as best as we can.

00FFFF; font-weight:bold">What is 1d20?

As this game is based on Second Edition Dungeons And Dragons, it uses dice to determine success and failure. The "d" stands for dice, and 1 indicates that there is one dice, while 20 represents the number of sides the dice has. Therefore, 1d20 simply means one twenty-sided dice, giving you a range of 1-20.

00FFFF; font-weight:bold">Is higher AC/Saving Throws better than lower AC/Saving Throws?

It is only logical to assume that higher values must be better, but this is not the case when it comes to AC( Armour Class) and Saving Throws. In both cases, you will want them to be as low as possible, negative values even, if you can.

How AC is handled will be explained in the next segment of this FAQ. Saving throws are more straightforward. 1d20 is rolled, and the value rolled must match or beat your saving throw in order for you to pass your saving throw. This might lead one to think that with a saving throw of 1, one is invincible, but do not forget that there are times when penalties are applied.

Finally, a roll of 1 is always considered a failure, while a roll of 20 is always considered a pass.


What is THAC0?

To Hit AC 0.

Basically, if you have a THACO of 10, you need to roll a 10 or better on 1d20 in order for the hit to connect on a target who has an AC of 0.

The basic formula is as follows,

THACO - AC = Number to match or beat on 1d20.

ie: THACO(5) - AC(2) = 3( Must roll 3 or better on 1d20)


Always remember that when you subtract a negative number, it works out like this. 2 - (-2) = 2 + 2 = 4.

Additionally, a roll of 1 is always considered a Critical Miss, while a roll of 20 is considered a Critical Hit and doubles the damage( if the target has headgear, it will still be an automatic hit, but the damage will not be doubled).


How often do classes gain their weapon proficiency points?

As this is not mentioned in the manual, it can be a puzzle for some.

Fighters, Rangers, Barbarians and Paladins get 1 point every 3 levels.
Clerics, Druids, Bards, Thieves and Monks get 1 point every 4 levels.
Mages and Sorcerers get 1 point every 6 levels.


What is a HLA?

HLA stands for High Level Ability. You can only get them if you have ToB installed. Characters gain one HLA per level up after their XP exceeds 3,000,000 XP. For Multiclassed characters, the XP from both classes( or three) is added up to get a collective total. For Dualclassed characters, the XP of the their second class needs to be above 3,000,000 in order to gain HLAs.


Dualclassing FAQ.

With thanks to SixOfSpades and Arquendil Lorigollo. Kudos to Alson and Pirengle for chipping in as well.

Dualclassing enables you to add a second class-type to a character and hopefully gain the benefits of both class-types, with minimal penalties from either class-types. The following is a general guideline for dualclassing, with a few exceptions which will be further discussed afterwards.
  1. You must be Human in order to dualclass.
  2. You need to be at least level 2 in your first class.
  3. You may dual from a kit, but not to a kit.
  4. The resulting combination must be a valid multiclass option as well.
  5. Your alignment must not conflict with the second class.
  6. You need a score of 15+ in your first class' primary statistic(s), and a score of 17+ in the desired class' primary statistic(s).
  7. Using potions to boost your statistics will not help. The game looks at your base statistics.
  8. When you dual, you temporarily lose the abilities of the first class. The level of your second class needs to exceed the level of your first class before you can reuse your first class' abilities.

    The Throne of Bhaal Expansion High Level Abilities do not apply to this rule however.
  9. The XP from both classes is added together to get the character's total XP.
  10. Once you dual, there is no going back and your first class will no longer improve in levels
  11. Characters can only Dualclass ONCE.

Quirks:

Fighter

When you dual from a Fighter class-type, you are able to retain the Grandmastery ability for your second class. You are also allowed to wear all types of armour that a normal Fighter can wear( with the exception of the Kensai). All weapon-types are available to you as well( unless you dualled to a Cleric, whose weapons restriction holds higher priority). Certain fighter-only items are open to you.

Kits like the Wizard Slayer and Kensai will transfer their equipment restrictions over to the second class.

Berserkers and Kensais cannot use certain ranged weapons. This restriction is transferred over to the second class if you choose to either dual from a Berserker or a Kensai.

Cleric and Druid

When part of the dualclass is a Cleric or a Druid, you are automatically forbidden to use non-blunt weapons. You gain the ability to use priest-only items though, and certain spellcaster ones if the other half of the dualclass is a non-spellcaster.

Mage

When part of the dualclass is Mage, you gain the ability to wear robes, even if you have armour restrictions from the other class( for example Kensai). Mage-only items become available for your usage, as are all spellcaster items.

NOTE: The following table lists ALL the valid combinations for dualclassing. If any of the default classes or kits is NOT mentioned in the table, it is not a valid combination. Classes or kits from Mods will specify whether or not they are valid for dualclassing.


FF0000">VALID COMBINATIONS
1st Class2nd ClassRequirements
Fighter
Berserker
Kensai
Wizard Slayer
Cleric15 STR, 17 WIS
Druid15 STR, 17 WIS, 17 CHA, True Neutral Alignment
Mage15 STR, 17 INT
Thief15 STR, 17 DEX
Cleric
Including the kits
Fighter15 WIS, 17 STR
Mage15 WIS, 17 INT
Ranger15 WIS, 17 STR, 17 DEX, Good Alignment
Thief15 WIS, 17 DEX
Mage
Including the specialist kits except the Wild Mage
Fighter15 INT, 17 STR
Cleric15 INT, 17 WIS
Thief15 INT, 17 DEX
Thief
Including the kits
Fighter15 DEX, 17 STR
Cleric15 DEX, 17 WIS
Mage15 DEX, 17 INT
Ranger
Beast Master
Cleric15 DEX, 15 STR, 17 WIS
Druid
Including the kits
Fighter15 WIS, 15 CHA, 17 STR



Common acronyms.

ADHWAbi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting
AFAIKAs Far As I Know
AoPAmulet of Power
ApRAttacks per Round
CCCopper Coronet or Chain Contingency
CFaeyrCrom Faeyr
CFuryCelestial Fury
DoEDefender of Easthaven
DUHMDraw Upon Holy Might
FoAFlail of Ages
GoWEGauntlets of Weapon Expertise
HiS/MSHide in Shadows/Move Silently
HLAHigh Level Abilities( ToB only)
IIRCIf I Recall Correctly
IMHOIn My Humble Opinion
IWDIcewind Dale
LOLLaughing Out Loud
MMMMelf's Minute Meteors
PMPrivate Message
SoAShadows of Amn
SotMStaff of the Magi
TDDThe Darkest Day Mod
ToBThrone of Bhaal Expansion



Portraits and Sound Sets.

This site has a flood of links. The following links below are a summary of the more commonly-known ones.

PORTRAITSSOUND SETSWhat are mods?

Mods are third-party programs that modify your game in some way. It may be something as small as adding new items, or it may add entirely new quests. WeiDU mods are compatible with each other and will not cause any conflicts between themselves. Non-WeiDU mods though, may conflict with other mods, so always read the readme files to make sure that you do not have two or more mods that clash with each other.

Kelsey the Sorcerer NPC
Nalia Romance
Tashia the Sorceress NPC
WeiDU Mods

For a more comprehensive list of mods, you may refer to the following.
Quote:
Originally posted by icelus:
Almost a year ago, I decided to create a comprehensive list of all the mods made for Baldur's Gate 2. As time went by, the list grew and grew, and was eventually complemented by similar lists for Baldur's Gate 1, Icewind Dale, and Icewind Dale 2, as well as lists of all the various modding communities and portrait sites. To say that it took up quite a bit of time is an understatement. All of the lists were posted on numerous sites around the 'net and usenet.

To make things easier for me and more convenient for players everywhere, we at the Pocket Plane Group have setup a centralized database to consolidate all of these various lists. This new setup allows for easier categorization of all the mods, as well as allowing mod authors to submit their own entries.

The database is by no means complete just yet. TeamBG is still down, and a few other sites are inaccessible, but they will be added when and if the situation changes. The database population will be an ongoing project of ours for the next several days, so please bear with us. Feel free to help us out, however, and submit your own links. Please note, however, that only completed/beta mods will be listed.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone individually for making the IE modding community for being one of the most diverse and vibrant groups around. Without you all, my work would all be for naught.

So, without further ado, I present to you the Pocket Plane Group Infinity Engine Modlist: Pocket Plane Group's Infinity Engine Modlist
Relevant links.

As this is only a basic FAQ, I direct people who are more interested in learning more to SixOfSpades' guide.

Volothamp's Comeuppance

Aspiring spellcasters should take a look at the Baldur's Gate II Spells Reference and make it mandatory reading. It contains a lot of tricks, tips and trivia from veterans old and new.

Baldur's Gate II Spells Reference
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Land of the Psycho-moe

Last edited by Dundee Slaytern; 05-03-2009 at 04:40 PM.
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