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Join Date: March 1, 2001
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Have any of you been reading up on the upcoming IWD II???
Here is a bit of reading if you have not.
(in reverse chronological order)
quote:
From Planet Baulders Gate:
Monday, February 25, 2002
On the Black Isle Developer Boards
Monday, February 25, 2002, 21:06 | MageDragon
From the Black Isle Developer message boards.
Icewind Dale II
J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer)
Aes Dana kit: I have edited the kit description; instead of a +10 lore bonus at 1st level, they gain +6 lore per level (bards normally receive +10 and wizards receive +3).
Fighters and grandmastery: Fighters will be allowed to gain grandmastery in any weapon unless their kit denies such a possibility.
Yes, fighters will be able to gain grandmastery in any weapon.
For those who weep at the thought of archers without specialization in melee weapons, remember: specialization does not grant extra attacks. Specialization gives +1 to hit, +2 to damage. A ranger without specialization in a weapon is hardly crippled.
Thieves: Thieves are awesome in IWD2. Their only shortcomings are low hit points, so-so AC, and poopy will/fort saves. Good BAB, high reflex saves, evasion, sneak attack, crippling strike, and use magic device make them terrific characters -- single-classed or multi-.
Intelligence affecting weapon proficiencies: If I remember correctly, it follows this pattern:
5 or less: -2
6-9: -1
12-15: +1
16 or more: +2
Often mages can start the game with most of their WP's filled. Of course, they still have d4 hit points, so it's not like they're going to send the fighter to the unemployment line.
Constitution and Wisdom: A fighter with a low Con would lose possible bonuses to his or her fortitude save. Wisdom modifies will saves.
WARNING TO PLAYERS: If/when you play IWD2, do not be tempted to, oh, I don't know... make a party of six gold dwarf fighters with average wisdom. Man, it's pretty funny to watch parties like that mow through melee-heavy battles only to flop around like a fish in the desert when big caster battles come up.
One of the QA guys actually made a party of six gold dwarf fighters. It's like feast or famine with them. When there are few casters to be seen, they cut through enemies like harvest wheat. It's sick.
But then you see the party come up a group of wizards with bodyguards and... forget it. The whole party gets held, dominated, or confused in the first two rounds of combat.
Dual-classing: There are no ability scores requirements for dual-classing.
Harpers: No Harpers in IWD2. However, there are a few notable evil organizations running around.
Shapeshifting forms: BTW, I believe the arctic boar gets a chance for a gore attack that can cause a bleeding wound. The panther gets a chance for a rake attack that does a pretty healthy amount of damage.
Paladin halflings: I think it makes just as much sense (if not more) for halflings to be paladins as humans. Halfling culture is very community oriented. Yondalla and Arvoreen are both LG deities. In fact, there are no evil halfling deities in the FR. The closest they get is Urogalan, the halfling god of death and the earth. He's LN.
Archer kit vs. Fighter scenario: That fighter must be pretty high level. Imagine the following scenario. You're playing a wood elf fighter. You get that sucker up to 9th level, take your big fat fifth star in bows. Man, +3 to hit and damage, +1 to critical hits, and a 10% chance to stun your enemies. You are one awesome fighter. Then Rangy McArcher sneaks past you to scout out an area. From stealth, he sees a pack of gnolls. He casts Entangle on the whole group, and then fires off a dozen called shots that do even more heinous damage -- with the exact same benefits that your fighter has.
Does that make sense? Your fighter, who gains no special abilities, no spellcasting, tracking, or stealth, the one that you made specifically to be a bad*** grandmaster bowman, gets outclassed by a character that did gain all of those special abilities, and uses them to devastating effect.
Base attack bonus: IWD uses 3E's Base Attack Bonus instead of the traditional 2nd Ed. THAC0 system. Base Attack Bonus operates in the following manner: each class has a progression rate. Fighters, rangers, paladins, and barbarians have the best rate, followed by monks, clerics, druids, bards, and rogues. Wizards and sorcerers have the slowest progression. As a character gains levels, their BAB increases. Their BAB is applied to their attack roll. When a character's BAB reaches +6, he or she gains an additional attack every round, at -5. Every +5 BAB after that, the character gains another additional attack at -5 beyond that.
E.g., Edward Raith has a +16 BAB. He gets one attack at +16, one attack at +11, one attack at +6, and one attack at +1. Spells that increase a character's number of attacks grant an additional attack at the highest BAB. Spells that increase attack bonus should not be confused with the derivation of BAB, which is done solely through class/level.
Multiclassed characters use the best BAB between their classes and levels.
Monks gain additional unarmed attacks at an increased rate. For monks, they gain an additional attack at +4 BAB, -3. This increases every +3 BAB after that. E.g., Kendel has a +10 BAB. He has four attacks at +10/+7/+4/+1.
At 8th level, a rogue's BAB is +6, so he/she would get another attack at +1.
Use magic device: Any character with a score above 0 in Use Magic Device may use the skill. Only thieves and bards are allowed to take points in it.
A character with points in Use Magic Device can use Scrolls and Wands that are normally not able to be used by their class. The items show up with a yellow tint that indicates they can only be used via use magic device. When these items are actively used, they trigger the skill resolution.
Skill is equal to the character's skill + 5([Charisma/2]-5)
Difficulty is equal to the level of the power being activated (specified in the spell/item) * 5.
Use_Magic_Device_Difficulty is equal to Skill - Difficulty.
Use_Magic_Device_Roll is a random 1-100.
If Use_Magic_Device_Roll <= Use_Magic_Device_Difficulty, the spell is cast successfully.
If Use_Magic_Device_Roll > Use_Magic_Device_Difficulty, the "charge"/item is used, but instead of its intended effect, the user takes 1d6 points of Magic Damage per level of the power being invoked.
Only characters who actually have spent points on it (bards and rogues) can use the skill. It can only be used on wands and scrolls, not any old item.
Damage reduction: IWD2 uses a close approximation of 3E damage reduction rules. This can be broken up into two categories: elemental damage resistance and weapon damage reduction.
Elemental damage resistance is represented by a point threshold. This amount of damage is subtracted from every elemental attack of that type directed at the character. E.g., Shikha Lilah has 15 Fire Resistance. She is hit with a fireball for 22 points of damage. She only takes 7 points of damage.
Weapon damage reduction is represented by two numbers, the former representing a physical damage threshold, the latter representing the enchantment level required to overcome that resistance. All WDR follows this pattern:
5/+1
10/+2
15/+3
20/+4
25/+5
10/+2 means that the first 10 points of damage from any physical attack are ignored unless the enchantment level of the weapon is +2 or better. E.g., Bastine and Pieter are fighting wights with 5/+1 WDR. Bastine's non-magical longsword strikes a beast for 8 points of damage. The creature only takes 3 points of damage. Pieter immediately follows up the attack with a +2 bolt from his crossbow. The attack only does 5 points of damage, but it ignores the wight's WDR.
Spells that cause physical damage always ignore WDR.
Creatures with complete immunity usually just have their resistances set to 100.
Weapon Specialization, Mastery, High Mastery, and Grand Mastery: IWD2 uses modified rules for weapon specialization, mastery, high mastery, and grand mastery (or **, ***, ****, and *****, respectively).
Weapon Specialization (**): Available to fighters at 1st level. Available to rangers, paladins, and barbarians at 3rd level. Character gains +1 attack bonus, +2 damage while using that weapon type.
Weapon Mastery (***): Available to fighters at 3rd level. Character gains +3 attack bonus (total), +3 to damage (total) while using that weapon type.
Weapon High Mastery (****): Available to fighters at 6th level. Character gains +3 attack bonus (total), +3 to damage (total), and an addition 5% chance to critically hit while using that weapon type.
Weapon Grand Mastery (*****): Available to fighters at 9th level. Character gains +3 attack bonus (total), +3 to damage (total), an addition 5% chance to critically hit (total), and a 10% chance to stun (Fort save vs. 20 DC, lasts one round) while using that weapon type.
NONE OF THESE SPECIALIZATION LEVELS GRANT ADDITIONAL ATTACKS.
If you are dual-wielding, you gain an additional attack with your off-hand at your highest BAB. Of course, modifiers can lower this amount, especially if you don't have any points in TWF. You never gain more than one attack per round with your off-hand.
Ability scores: In IWD2, ability scores are initially generated using a point-buy system. All statistics start at 8 and the player has 30 points to distribute. Racial modifiers are applied to the initial scores, do not subtract from the point pool, and modify the minimum and maximum value of ability scores. E.g., an elf would start with a 10 Dexterity, 6 Constitution, and could get as high as a 20 Dexterity and as low as a 1 Constitution.
When possible, ability scores follow 3E bonus scaling. In almost all cases, the character gains a higher bonus for every 2 points above 10, a lower penalty for every 2 points under 11. E.g., a character with a 14 Strength would have +2 attack bonus, +2 to damage. A character with a 9 Dexterity would have -1 attack bonus (missile), -1 to armor class, and -1 to reflex saving throws.
Here are the things that ability scores modify:
Strength: Melee attack bonus, melee damage bonus, carry weight, bash doors
Dexterity: Missile attack bonus, armor class, reflex saving throws.
Constitution: Bonus hit points (not class-restricted), fortitude saving throws, caster concentration checks.
Intelligence: Starting weapon proficiencies, chance to learn spells, wizard bonus spells, dialogue options.
Wisdom: Will saving throws, priest, paladin, druid, ranger bonus spells
. Charisma: Store prices, dialogue options, bard and sorcerer bonus spells, turning undead, paladin saving throws.
Bonuses granted to ability scores do not stack. The highest available bonus is applied. E.g., a character is wearing a ring of strength that grants a +1 bonus. The party sorcerer casts a strength spell on the character, granting a +3 bonus. The target will only use the +3 bonus.
Charisma also affects turning undead and paladin saving throws.
Saving throws: IWD2 uses 3E saving throws, which are categorized as follows:
* Fortitude -- Protects against physical attacks (poison, disease, death spells, etc.). Modified by Constitution.
* Reflex -- Protects against attacks that can be dodged (fireballs, lightning bolts, etc.). Modified by Dexterity.
* Will -- Protects against attacks that affect the mind (domination, hold person, etc.). Modified by Wisdom.
Generally, most classes have one or two good saving throw categories and one bad saving throw categories. A few classes, like the monk, have good saving throws across the board.
When a character attempts to roll a saving throw, a random number from 1-20 is generated. The character's saving throw bonus, and modifiers, are applied to that roll. If their sum is equal to or greater than the DC (difficulty check) of the attack, they successfully save. While some saving throw DCs are arbitrarily derived (a dragon's breath, for instance), most spells are derived using the following formula:
* Spell Level + Caster's Ability Bonus + 10 = Spell DC.
E.g., Marfain Vaer casts a fireball. She is a sorcerer with a 16 Charisma. Since fireball is a 3rd level spell, and her ability score modifier is +3, the DC of her spell is 16 (3 + 3 + 10 = 16).
Armor class and types: IWD2 uses distinct armor types to arrive at a total armor class. These bonuses are defined as follows:
* Armor Bonus: bonuses granted by suits of armor or magical bracers.
* Shield Bonus: bonuses granted by shields.
* Deflection Bonus: bonuses granted by other magical devices.
* Dexterity Bonus: bonuses granted by a high dexterity.
* Miscellaneous Bonus: all other bonuses.
Excepting miscellaneous bonuses, only the highest bonus of any type is applied at any given time. E.g, Alender Kaan puts on a suit of leather armor that grants a +2 armor bonus. He also puts on some bracers that grant a +1 armor bonus and give him a bonus spell slot. The leather armor's higher armor bonus is the only bonus applied. Alender still gets the benefits from the bracer's bonus spell.
Armor class is added to 10 instead of subtracted. Generally, bonuses to armor class are the same as they were in 2nd Ed.
In IWD2, touch spells ignore armor bonuses. Thus, the caster only needs to overcome shield, deflection, dexterity, and miscellaneous bonuses to hit their target. E.g., Alender attacks a Zhentarim agent wearing a suit of chain armor, a small shield, and a ring of protection +1. Normally, the Zhent would have a 10 + 5 + 1 + 1 = 17 armor class. When Alender's shocking grasp spell homes in, he only has to hit a 10 + 1 + 1 = 12 armor class.
However, if you wore two rings of protection, or, for example, a ring of protection +1 and a cloak of protection +2, only the +2 deflection bonus from the cloak would apply.
Spell disruption: When a caster takes an amount of damage over 0, there is a chance that the caster's spellcasting for the round will be disrupted. Use the following formula on each ROUND in which the character takes damage.
The spell disruption difficulty is defined in this manner:
* 10 + Spell Level - Caster Level/2 (round down) - Constitution /2 (round down) -5
spell disruption roll is defined in this manner
* Random 1-20.
If spell disruption roll >= spell disruption difficulty, the spell is cast successfully. Otherwise, YOU BLEW IT.
I think that playing mages is hard enough without a BB-to-the-arm automatically disrupting spell casting.
Concentration is what is being checked. The idea is that an 18th level mage is so accustomed to casting 1st level spells that maintaining concentration over such simple magic under pressure is not difficult.
That's exactly how it works once casters get a total of +14 to Concentration (skill ranks + con bonus + whatever). Defensive casting eliminates all ability to disrupt spellcasters unless you have a readied action, which almost never happens.
The best you're going to get is a partial charge, which, like charge, requires an unobstructed path. If there are any interposing barriers, all a caster has to do is move 5' to the direction that presents an obstacle. Most of my PnP games have encounters in outdoor environments with significant distances between characters.
This is balanced out in 3E by the presence of the concentration skill. Since we can't access the amount of damage at the time the check is made, it's a moot point.
It depends on the level of the spell being cast. However, a 1 never fails. If you're a 10th level mage (decent level, but not mind-blowing) you can have 13 ranks in Concentration and a 14 Con for a +15 to your roll. Casting a 1st level spell is automatic. Casting a 9th level spell would happen on a roll of 9 or more -- 55% of the time. Those are pretty good odds.
Force casting: We try to avoid force casting unless it's absolutely necessary (like in a cutscene). Force casting is lame.
50 fire resisted meaning a fireball would be zero damage : Yes, but a 50 fire resistance should be more difficult to achieve in IWD2.
Damien Foletto (Junior Designer)
Dialogue initiation: If you're concerned about who you want to speak for your party, then click the character you want to do the speaking (just use the one character, not the whole party), then click on the NPC you want to talk to. All the variable checks that will go on in the conversation will then go off the character you chose to speak, rather than the first character in your party. Of course, this won't work in forced dialog situations, unless the person you would rather do the talking is the first character the NPC sees.
Josh Grant (Quality Assurance Project Supervisor)
Drow daylight penalty: Correct, the penalty only occurs when in an outdoor area, during daylight hours.
Saturday, February 23, 2002
On the Black Isle Developer Boards
Saturday, February 23, 2002, 21:18 | MageDragon
From the Black Isle Developer message boards.
Icewind Dale II
Doug Avery (Associate Producer)
New items: I will say that a number of new items have been created for IWD2, but I don't want to give away details on any of them. Sorry, but I don't want to ruin anyone's gameplay experience by telling what items are in the game, what they do or where they can be found.
Okay, I am going to comment on the Holy Avenger/Holy Sword/Unholy Sword thing. I will not tell you guys what unique items are or are not in the game. The only reason I am being so extreme is because I don't want to give anything away that might ruin someone else's gaming experience. I am a big fan of exploration, rather than feeling I am on a mad treasure hunt to "get the power-up and win the game." Please be patient ladies and gentlemen and I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the diversity and histories of all of our uniques.
J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer)
About the Archer kit: Disagreement doesn't irk me. Failure to do basic arithmetic irks me. Failure to make appropriate comparisons irks me.
People believed that the blade's offensive spin and defensive spin were poopy. I changed them because I eventually saw their point of view; they were losing powers and getting replacement abilities that weren't worth the loss.
I have yet to see any sort of compelling argument that leads me to believe that this kit suffers from a similar malady. I have seen many arguments that a) tell me yes, the ranger should have some of his ranger abilities and the capability to achieve missile grandmastery and b) tell me that a character called an archer should be the best possible archer in the game.
Since a number of people seem intent on comparing the ranger kit to a fighter instead of ranger -- or ignoring the ranger's benefits because they don't like them -- or ignoring the fact that they can play a grandmaster bow fighter -- or ignoring the fact that kits like the assassin don't meet their standard for naming -- it seems logical that an archer kit for rangers can't be made to player satisfaction without shafting anyone who would want to play a missile grandmaster fighter.
Tantrum? I'm just walking down the logical, but hardly sensible, road that several people are laying out before me.
Stoneskin spell: It's still very useful for a mage, assuming that you're using it from a defensive position. You do not understand how damage reduction works. 10/+5 means that the first 10 points of physical damage is ignored unless the target has a +5 weapon or equivalent (super monk fists). In your example, the target hit for 22 points of damage would take 12 (the amount over 10) and his protection would go down to 140 points. If he were then hit by an arrow for 3 points, he would take no damage and his protection would go down to 137 points.
If you insist that we get rules "right" (assuming that means "by the book"), please make sure you understand how they function.
The problem with fascist regard for rulebooks is that it often ignores the merit of individual items inside. Take Shout and Great Shout. Those are two of the most flaccid, worthless spells as they are written. In HoW, we improved Shout and Great Shout because, frankly, 4th and 8th level spells shouldn't suck. I don't know anyone who would have used Shout and Great Shout as written. With changes, they're pretty decent spells.
Stoneskin, as written in 2nd Ed., is incredibly easy to abuse. People still use it in IWD2, even with "only" 10/+2 damage reduction. I asked for 10/+5, but was told that, for some strange reason, this was extremely difficult to do. If it winds up being less useful than other 4th level spells, maybe it will be changed. Right now, people still use it. A lot.
Constitution bonuses: A 10th level mage with an 18 Con can have 80 hit points, max. A 20th level mage with an 18 Con can have 160 hit points, max. We're using 3E rules for applying Con bonuses and HD above "name".
Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting only affecting party members: It has to be like that. It's easily the most powerful offensive spell in IWD:HoW. Making it "foes only" makes it sickening. You start out doing 16d8 damage with it. That's 16-132 points of damage. Yikes.
Spells showing outline of the area effect: I would like to do this, but I don't know if it's possible.
Desslock Told You So
Saturday, February 23, 2002, 05:00 | MageDragon
Desslock officially hands out the "told you so" cards for Icewind Dale II being announced. We posted about the rumor and he was right.
I guess it's my day to pass out the "told you so" cards to folks who doubted the veracity of my August 10th editorial , in which I announced that Icewind Dale 2 was in development. The game has finally been officially announced . Although it wasn't directly entangled in the dispute between Interplay/BioWare, it's probably not a coincidence that it was only officially announced after that dispute was resolved, since the game's prospects could always have been threatened as a result of that lawsuit (since Icewind Dale 2 is being developed by Interplay, but will use the Infinity Engine licensed from BioWare). There's a short Q&A at GameSpot as well as a bunch of additional information, including a FAQ at the official site.
Friday, February 22, 2002
On the Black Isle Developer Boards
Friday, February 22, 2002, 18:09 | MageDragon
From the Black Isle Developer message boards.
Icewind Dale II
J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer)
Cavalier kit receiving natural 30% resistance to fire and acid: No.
Drows being good or neutral alignments: Yes.
New shapeshifting: The new forms for the shapeshifter kit are arctic boar, black panther, and (my favorite) shambling mound.
Ravager kit: I think that the ravager emphasizes cruelty and maiming in combat. His/her powers don't just "cause more damage", they cause persistent, annoying wounds, blind, and hamstring targets.
Kits were created, then areas were designed. Kits are now being revised in light of close-to-final area design and QA feedback. The three specialty priest kits may very well possess turn undead but lack some other powers by the time the game reaches consumers.
However, it does allow designers to give custom dialogue options when appropriate. The more "appropriate" a character is for the campaign, the more opportunity we have to let them pipe up in their own individual way.
For those among you who are complaining that the ravager seems excessively powerful, you have seen the addition of the halved curing effects, yes? Imagine your "awesome" ravager with 150 hit points getting a heal spell that gives back 70. Better yet, imagine your ravager at 1st level drinking a potion of healing that only gives back 4 hit points.
Cleric kits and turn undead: Kits were created, then areas were designed. Kits are now being revised in light of close-to-final area design and QA feedback. The three specialty priest kits may very well possess turn undead but lack some other powers by the time the game reaches consumers.
Archer kit: Before the trumpets sound and the crusading army mounts up, let me tell you exactly what the goals of this kit will be:
* Better with missile weapons than a standard ranger.
Let me tell you what it will not be:
* Better with missile weapons than a grandmaster fighter.
Fighters in IWD were awfully powerful compared to many of the classes. Until HoW, they were significantly more powerful than paladins and rangers as well. In IWD2, fighters have been pulled back considerably. Not only have the ranger and paladin been beefed up, but the base classes now can get similar bonuses from strength and con -- oh, and extra attacks as they increase in level.
To maintain the fighter's role in an IWD2 party, the fighter must be allowed to keep a hold on those things that are sacred to fighters: specialization at first level, mastery, high mastery, and grandmastery at 3rd, 6th, and 9th levels. That is how fighters keep their edge in a sea of characters with special abilities, spellcasting, and other assorted benefits.
Also, let's not try to bring "realism" into the discussion as a heavyweight force of reason. If you want "realism", we'll give you friendly fire rules. You probably don't want that.
You got me; just as the assassin is, in fact, not hired to kill each individual goblin on the battlefield, does not smoke hashish, and is outclassed in killing efficiency by a fireball, the archer is not a better bowman than a fighter with grandmastery.
It is not going to happen. If you want to play the most powerful offensive missile weapon character in the game, make a fighter and give the character grandmastery in bows or crossbows.
Wood elf fighter + bow grandmastery = excellent character.
Wood elf ranger (archer) + bow mastery = excellent character.
Here is what an archer has with mastery:
+3 to hit and damage
Here is what a fighter has with grandmastery:
+3 to hit and damage
Increased chance to critically hit
Chance to stun on a successful attack
The archer will hit exactly as often as the fighter. Please do some calculations on the effectiveness of these characters before you write them off. Not only does the archer have exactly the same chance to hit as the fighter, he or she has druid spells and stealth.
Guys, you are not going to have your cake and eat the fighter's, too. People asked forever and ever and ever and ever that rangers be able to have extra kick with missile weapons. The archer kit allows you to do that. You are not, not, not, not, not, not going to get an archer ranger that outclasses the fighter in weapon combat.
Here's a question: would you ever include a ranger in your party? If so, would you consider the archer to be a viable alternative to the base ranger? That is really the answer I am looking for. Does the archer seem balanced compared to the base ranger?
You guys are well on your way to convincing me that the archer kit should be removed from the game.
Do you understand how ranger spell progression works? You start getting spells at 6th level. That means that at 6th level, you can cast entangle on creatures, lock them in place, and rain down death on them with mastery in bows. At 15th level, the ranger has 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th level druid spells. You can cast static charge, for crying out loud.
Avenger kit: That's the point. Many people don't think shapeshifting is cool. They never use the abilities, so they're like wasted powers. The avenger lacks shapeshifting, and gains two free uses of good druid spells at each of the levels where they would have received shapeshifting powers.
Evil characters: Evil characters are selfish. If he's a greedy b*****d, your character may have answered the mercenary call for phat loot. If your character is a bloodthirsty maniac, it's easy to get away with murder when he's knee-deep in goblins.
Protection spells: The mage's protection spells in IWD2 are much harder to abuse than they were in IWD. Stoneskin, in particular, is nowhere near as valuable. It's valuable if you're a mage in the back of the party, but it's less than awesome if you're a fighter/mage in the thick of battle.
Stoneskin and haste, at 4th and 3rd levels, were the deals of the century in 2nd Ed. Those spells were so easily abused, particularly by fighter/mages.
Spellcasters now make checks to overcome spell disruption. It works pretty well. You don't need to worry as much about your mage losing a spell for taking a bump on the head.
Haste now grants an additional attack per round, instead of DOUBLING your attacks per round.
Stoneskin as written in 2nd Ed. is useful for a mage who tends to stay out of harm's way. The mage needs that protection in case a stray enemy comes his or her way. For the mage, it is a life-preserver. It gets abused quite easily when a hasted fighter/mage with 80 hit points runs into the midst of enemies. When that happens, it is being used defensively/offensively to ignore the first x attacks on the character while they brazenly deal out gobs of damage. The spell still works quite well for mages, but not so well for people who run a fighter/mage up to twelve barbarians.
Priest of Tempus: Priests of Tempus may be of any alignment. Though 2nd Ed. Battleguards must be CE, CN, or CG, 3E FRCS opens the priesthood up to any alignment.
Landsknecht kit (possible replacement for Mercenary): I just edited the kit description
* 6th Level: Hold Ground: When activated, this ability slows the landsknecht to quarter movement. For the next five rounds, the landsknecht gains a +2 generic AC bonus and 2 points of damage reduction. This power is usable 3/day.
Removed: 1 point movement penalty.
This is more in the spirit of the slow-moving defensive fighter and it's not as powerful as a +2 to criticals.
How about a penalty to Reflex saves and a lack of specialization at first level?
The easiest way to adjust fighter kits is to a) remove grandmastery capability b) slow their proficiency acquisition and c) disallow specialization at first level.
The movement penalty all the time would have been easy (and slight), but people think it's too severe. It's difficult to balance fighter kits because they don't have that much stuff to begin with. Often, removing access to weapons or armor doesn't accomplish a lot.
Modified again, adding the following disadvantages:
* Cannot start play with weapon specialization.
* Cannot gain grandmastery in a weapon.
Removed disadvantage:
* Gains proficiencies at a decreased rate.
This keeps the landsknecht +1 to hit, +2 to damage behind a standard fighter starting out. At 3rd level, he's +2 to hit, +1 to damage behind a standard fighter. At 6th level, he's not getting the bonuses to critical that the fighter gains. When he gets Knockdown, it sort of evens out with grandmastery. I think this makes the kit pretty well balanced.
It is not inconsistent at all. Landsknechts used (and use) long offensive weapons that require two hands. I don't think I've even seen an illustration of one with a shield. They're always carrying pikes, zweihanders, crossbows, and primitive firearms.
Weapons Master kit: I have added a section to the first post in this thread called "What I would like this to be" with my personal thoughts on the kensai. It (IMO) more closely models the OA kensai.
WHAT I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE:
Advantage:
* Bonus +1 attack bonus and damage /3 levels. All weapons that they wield are considered +1 magical weapons for every three levels they have. Maximum +5.
* +1 generic armor bonus, +1 every three levels.
* -1 bonus to Speed Factor for every 4 levels.
* May use 'Focus' ability one time per day for every 4 levels: this ability lasts 10 seconds and makes all attacks do maximum damage.
Disadvantages:
* May not use missile weapons.
* May not use armor.
* May not use shields.
* May not specialize in weapon and shield style.
* May not use magical weapons.
Rangers being any alignment and choosing own race as racial enemy: Yes. Malarite rangers on the way.
Theoretically yes, but practically, no. I'm certain that there are far more monstrous opponents in the games than humans, elves, gnomes, dwarves, and halflings.
Magical armor: There are very few suits of magical plate mail, and they do not start appearing until late in the game. I don't even think you find magical chain until about the halfway point. That said, many suits of armor do possess useful magical abilities other than +'s to AC.
Giant Killer kit: A practical cap of +15 or +20 may be placed on the giant-killer's bonuses. The base ranger stops getting additional racial enemies at 20th level or so... I think.
Battle stances in game: Yes.
Votary kit getting more spells: Because the votary is evil more holy than thou "other" paladins, he/she gains bonus spells.
Chad Nicholas (Scriptor)
Archer kit: I think I'll just chime in with my $0.02 since I'm the one that kept telling Josh the Archer was too powerful.
Well, the Archer is too powerful as it currently is in IWD2.
Seriously. Even when going up against a creature that isn't the Archer's hated enemy, the current +1/3 levels to-hit and damage makes it not only hit more often then a fighter of equal level (Half-Orc with 20 STR), but also hit for more damage. On top of that, he gets all the awesome druid spells (Sunscorch to blind underdark denizens, Entangle to... entangle, Static Charge!, Charm/Hold Animal, Cure spells, Call Lightning!, and protection from element-type spells, etc., etc.). Now, add to that if you're going up against the Archer's Hated Enemy, it's just disgusting how bad-ass the Archer is. (Oh, and I haven't had to use Called Shot yet so I don't know how much more of a bad-ass the Archer could be).
As it currently is, (from my play experience with IWD2) an Archer outclasses any Fighter of equal level up through 13th level (as high as I've had time to play through the game) and I see no reason for why it would change later. That's why Josh is toning down the Archer.
I was writing about how it is currently in the game (like, right now as I type this). Josh has proposed how he would like to balance it out (which hasn't been implemented yet). So, currently, my Archer does have a Hated Enemy and bonus to hit/damage per 3 levels.
Kevin Osburn (Line Producer)
New portraits: Yes, there will be more than 3 portraits included with IWD 2. We aren't sure yet how many new ones will be included, so as soon as we know we will let you know.
Pickpocketing: Yes, there are people in the town that you can pickpocket.
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02-26-2002, 02:21 PM
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