Questions about IWD2 and its rules

[ZFR]

I finished all the BG series and IWD1 with all possible expansions and am very familiar with AD&D 2nd ed rules… now I want to start IWD2, which has all new rules… I read the manual of IWD2 and NWN and still am not completely clear about certain aspects of 3E rules….

I have those questions… most require short 1 word, 1 sentence answers…No spoilers included…
I would be very grateful to anyone providing answers…

Note: I’m not asking about the 3E rules in general but specifically about how those rules are implemented in IWD2

1) For table 1: ability score modifier….I just want to clarify this. the bonus modifier is same for all ability scores and same whenever it is used… for example at 20DEX modifier is +5 which means +5 AC bonus, +5 reflex saves, +5 to hit with missile weapons among others…… Right?

2)When assigning ability scores when creating characters. What are the base ability scores? Is it 8 or 9 each? The manual says you have 16 pts to ditribue, can you ditribute those normally or does the point buy system table from pg75 of NWN manual apply? (for example you must spend 2 pts to raise from 16 to 17)

3)So the maximum ability score is not 25 but 45?

4)can anyone give me table of some sort relating strength and weight allowance?

5)I just want to clarify this…. You get AC bonus for high dexterity… but the maximum bonus you get is limited by armor. So if someone has 22DEX giving +6 AC bonus its actually better to wear leather armor getting AC modifier of 8 (2 from armor, 6 from dex) than to wear splint mail and getting only 7 AC from armor. Right?

6)I understand there are no class restrictions on races…. Any race can become any class. Right?

7)So class cant multiclass to other classes if their allignement does not match the others restrictions… e.g chaotic good bards cant multicalss to druids… Right?

8)are there any allignement restrictions on races? E.g can drow be lawful good?

9)when multiclass monks attack unarmed, what bab is considered? The monk-only unarmed bab from table 4, or the combined Bab from table 3?

7)what abilities do monks lose when they wear aromor? What about multiclassed monks?

8)monk special abilty empty body makes him ethereal…. Whats ethereal?

9)When I played iwd1, I tried playing heart of fury with characters made from level 1…. It was impossible… one goblin could kill my entire party…. How is HoF in iwd2? Is it possible to play with HoF with new level 1 character or is it only for imported high level characters?

10)besides HoF, are there any other difficulty levels like in BG and IWD1? How do these effect experience?

11)about the bastard sword? Can it be used without exotic weapon proficiency? Is it used as 1 handed or 2 handed then?

12)how many classes can a character multiclass to ?

13)bard songs: tynoras melody gives +1 luck…. Does it mean +1 to all die rolls? +1 to hit, damage and so on? i.e its completely better than ballad of 3 heroes as that one only gives +1 to hit damage and saving throws?
14)whats flanking?

15)What does spellcraft skill excatly do? I understand it helps recgnize enemy spells and is also a prequisite for some feats… anything else?

16)Just how faster do barbarians move? Does it imrove with levels?

17) I hate when one character moves faster than the rest (that’s why I didn’t use boots of speed much) because he ends up separated from rest of party…. Any way of making barbarian and monk move at normal speed?

18)I really don’t understand the bonus spells at table 1. what are those/? What class do they apply to? What ability score do they refer to?

19)No allignement restriction on rogues?

20)can low int prevent character from speaking normally??

21)can locked chests be opened by hitting with weapon like in BG and IWD1?

22)when mages learn spells from scrolls, is success 100%? Does it depend on INT?

23)The fighter and mage and rogues special feats…. What are those feats? At what levels are they gained… are these feats extra feats gained besides the standard character feats?

24)the druidic shapachange… is it like IWD 1 once per day once you reach certain levels?what about the feat shapechanges?

25)are the size bonuses and restrictions for races applied in IWD2 like in NWN? (eg. Halflings unable to wield large weapons and wield mediun size weapons as 2-handed)

Thank you….

[ 04-16-2003, 07:41 AM: Message edited by: ZFR ]

[ZFR]

few more things....

26) "All spells require the casting ability score to be equal to 10 plus spell level". What does this mean... does it mean for cleric to cast 9th level spell he must have wisdom 19? is it like this for all spellcasters?

27) can enemies chase you through the doors like in BG2? Is there 'call to arms' like iwd1?

[ 04-16-2003, 05:04 AM: Message edited by: ZFR ]

[Dilbert]

Originally posted by ZFR: I finished all the BG series and IWD1 with all possible expansions and am very familiar with AD&D 2nd ed rules… now I want to start IWD2, which has all new rules… I read the manual of IWD2 and NWN and still am not completely clear about certain aspects of 3E rules…. I have those questions… most require short 1 word, 1 sentence answers…No spoilers included… I would be very grateful to anyone providing answers… Note: I’m not asking about the 3E rules in general but specifically about how those rules are implemented in IWD2 1) For table 1: ability score modifier….I just want to clarify this. the bonus modifier is same for all ability scores and same whenever it is used… for example at 20DEX modifier is +5 which means +5 AC bonus, +5 reflex saves, +5 to hit with missile weapons among others…… Right? 2)When assigning ability scores when creating characters. What are the base ability scores? Is it 8 or 9 each? The manual says you have 16 pts to ditribue, can you ditribute those normally or does the point buy system table from pg75 of NWN manual apply? (for example you must spend 2 pts to raise from 16 to 17) 3)So the maximum ability score is not 25 but 45? 4)can anyone give me table of some sort relating strength and weight allowance? 5)I just want to clarify this…. You get AC bonus for high dexterity… but the maximum bonus you get is limited by armor. So if someone has 22DEX giving +6 AC bonus its actually better to wear leather armor getting AC modifier of 8 (2 from armor, 6 from dex) than to wear splint mail and getting only 7 AC from armor. Right? 6)I understand there are no class restrictions on races…. Any race can become any class. Right? 7)So class cant multiclass to other classes if their allignement does not match the others restrictions… e.g chaotic good bards cant multicalss to druids… Right? 8)are there any allignement restrictions on races? E.g can drow be lawful good? 9)when multiclass monks attack unarmed, what bab is considered? The monk-only unarmed bab from table 4, or the combined Bab from table 3? 7)what abilities do monks lose when they wear aromor? What about multiclassed monks? 8)monk special abilty empty body makes him ethereal…. Whats ethereal? 9)When I played iwd1, I tried playing heart of fury with characters made from level 1…. It was impossible… one goblin could kill my entire party…. How is HoF in iwd2? Is it possible to play with HoF with new level 1 character or is it only for imported high level characters? 10)besides HoF, are there any other difficulty levels like in BG and IWD1? How do these effect experience? 11)about the bastard sword? Can it be used without exotic weapon proficiency? Is it used as 1 handed or 2 handed then? 12)how many classes can a character multiclass to ? 13)bard songs: tynoras melody gives +1 luck…. Does it mean +1 to all die rolls? +1 to hit, damage and so on? i.e its completely better than ballad of 3 heroes as that one only gives +1 to hit damage and saving throws? 14)whats flanking? 15)What does spellcraft skill excatly do? I understand it helps recgnize enemy spells and is also a prequisite for some feats… anything else? 16)Just how faster do barbarians move? Does it imrove with levels? 17) I hate when one character moves faster than the rest (that’s why I didn’t use boots of speed much) because he ends up separated from rest of party…. Any way of making barbarian and monk move at normal speed? 18)I really don’t understand the bonus spells at table 1. what are those/? What class do they apply to? What ability score do they refer to? 19)No allignement restriction on rogues? 20)can low int prevent character from speaking normally?? 21)can locked chests be opened by hitting with weapon like in BG and IWD1? 22)when mages learn spells from scrolls, is success 100%? Does it depend on INT? 23)The fighter and mage and rogues special feats…. What are those feats? At what levels are they gained… are these feats extra feats gained besides the standard character feats? 24)the druidic shapachange… is it like IWD 1 once per day once you reach certain levels?what about the feat shapechanges? 25)are the size bonuses and restrictions for races applied in IWD2 like in NWN? (eg. Halflings unable to wield large weapons and wield mediun size weapons as 2-handed) Thank you….

1. right, but think about the max dex. bonus of armors
2. at the generation all abilitys start at 10 (if you are not dwarf or some race with modified attribute points). The you have the 16 Bonus Points to spent. you can spent up to 8 points on one attribute and it always cost you 1 of the 16 points
3. the max. attribute score possible is 32. For example elves can start with 20dex. +7 from the lvl ups +5 of items
4. look in the manual theire is one and you can look at them also in the game
5. yes but there are actually better heavy armors then light or medium so warriors and co. should stick with the heavy armors
6.yes
7. yes but watch the attributes
8. didn't play a monk but I think it makes him less vunreable to attacks
9. it is impossible. One goblin will kill you cause he always hits your lvl1 chars and has like 100hp
10. you can change the difficulty like monsters make half or double damage, didn't try it but I think no effect on exp.
11. no only with the skill, its 1-handed
12. think there is no limit but it makes no sence to mix all classes
13. luck increases all rolls excetpt damage I think ( it is a lvl 5. bard song so it may be better than the lvl 1)
14. the thief does the extra damage when being behind the enemy also if hes not invisible
15. also important to learn from the spell-papers
16. no idea look at the manual table, I think it is explained there
17.no (cast slow spells an them )
18. they refer to the attribute the character needs to cast spells. A mage with 25 in intelligence gets the extra spells
19. (too lazy to look up the meaning of alligment) but I think there are no restrictions to rogues if they are skilled to wear the things
20. no
21. yes, but personnally never opened one chest that way
22. percentage depents on int
23. fighters get one extra skill each 2lvl(no special skills), rogues can get extra skills at lvl 10(10lvls rogue +x lvl other class), mages dont get special skills
24. look at the manual it is listed at the special abblities of the classes (german book)
25. no size restrictions
26. yes
27. chase you trough doors? Don't know if they can open doors because doors are very rare. But they dont switch to a new map with your party. No call to arms in IWD2 enemys are always armed [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 04-16-2003, 09:12 AM: Message edited by: Dilbert ]

[Nightowl2]

Keep in mind that you can also lower the starting values of attributes. For instance, most skills are worthless for pure fighters. So you could lower the int down to tne minimum and you would have extra points for other stats.

The bonus spell table refers to the main attribute for the spellcasting class. Int for wizards, wisdom for clerics, charisma for bards and sorcerers.

There are very few restrictions left in the game. Lawful good for paladin is one of them. For the most part, though, any race can be an class (or classes). So yeah, you could have a LG Drow Paladin, if you wanted.

Rogues can be of any alignment whatever. Even LG nowadays. Weird.

Difficulty modes in IWD2 were poorly thought out. While monsters are tougher in the normal modes, they yield no extra experience. You only get extra exp in HOF, and even there it will be modified by average party level. My suggestion: play on normal (regular) and HOF later.

It IS possible to start a level 1 party in HOF, but very, very difficult. Especially if you don't know the game. Best to play through once first with an advanced team.

Yeah, you can try to force (attack) a chest if your rogue can't pick the lock. Of course, any traps will go off when you do that

Nightowl2

[ZFR]

thank you all very much for answering, just one more question

Originally posted by Nightowl2: The bonus spell table refers to the main attribute for the spellcasting class. Int for wizards, wisdom for clerics, charisma for bards and sorcerers. Nightowl2

what about paladins druids and rangers?

[Nightowl2]

You WOULD ask about those just because I forgot to mention them

Paladins go by wisdom. So do Druids and Rangers. Well, I think rangers do, as they use druid spells. But I never bothered with Druids or rangers myself. Not to worry; someone else will come along and let you know for sure.

One other thing: for turning undead, you'll want a high charisma. This is the stat used for turning undead; it doesnt go by wisdom any more.

By the way, if you didn't get a hardcopy manual with the game, look on the first CD, and you should find it there.

Nightowl2

[Dilbert]

Yes Druids , Rangers and Paldins go with Wisdom, but as Pala and Ranger only reach Spell-lvl 6 they don't need much points on wisdom