things they don't tell you in the manual

[Joel]

One other major letdown is the spells - they've justed pasted all the info from BG1 and haven't really typed in any new updates for BG2.

See - Animate Dead does NOT create 1 skeleton per level.
It's a skeleton warrior at 15th level (I think)

[Fljotsdale]

Originally posted by RudeDawg: If you ask someone to join a full party, teh game automatically goes to the "reform party" screen. Saves you from doing it first.

If you know you want to ditch someone, take all the good stuff out of their inventory BEFORE you ask someone else to join, or you will lose it!


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Smile! Life is too short for bitching!

Fljotsdale

[Father Bronze]

Another thing missing in the manual is a Sorcerer's spell progression table. Someone was kind enough to post it in this forum a while back.

Check the archives if you need it.

Originally posted by Gimlee: If you read the books, it is suppose to give you more lore. I haven't tested it but I'll do it with my skald, might be usefull.

.
No they don't. I specifically tested this in my last game, and not one damn book increased my lore value! They only serve as general background to the Forgotten Realms. The only books you need are the ones you find in Bodhi's lair after you kill her the final time

[jabidas]

something they dont describe well in the manual is attack speeds obviously 2handers are slower than darts but taking on mages you should be using daggers so you get more attacks per round to disrupt their spells nothing like small tactical info like that is mentioned or like if you have a sword that does extra dagae of +1 fire or someting gets through stoneskin never turns up

[Tancred]

Just how DO you calculate THAC0? I could never find it in the manual.

Tancred

[masteraleph]

Actually, there are 2 books which might actually help you during the game. They are [Spoiler]

The book about the Zhentarim (in the Umar Hills, it's part of the Human Flesh quest).
And the Vampiricus Omnibus, found the second time 'round in Bodhi's dungeon. It deals with reversing vampirism.

[Gimlee]

Originally posted by Tancred: Just how DO you calculate THAC0? I could never find it in the manual. Tancred

Yes, I was wondering that too. You can read previous posts for that.

I think that it's: your thaco - his armour class= the # you need to role

[Black Knight]

Originally posted by Epona: I haven't come across any valuable books in the game . . .

I seem to remember a book a certain dwarf was looking for . . . AND in BGI certain books increased your stats . . .

Oh and the thac0 thing . . . I'm gonna do a search on this. I wrote something many many moons ago on this and it will be tons easier to cut and paste.

BK

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The Black Storm Cloud of the Night
Consort to a Queen
Champion of Truth, Justice and Cloudy's Way
Captain of the Knights of the Golden Dragons
Heart, Mind, and Soul
Offical Wizard and Warrior Questioner

[Black Knight]

Here it is:


OK. Base THAC0 (To Hit Armor Class Zero) is a measure of how hard it would be for you to hit something with AC (Armor Class) = Zero. Meaning what you have to roll on a twenty sided dice (1d20) to hit that person/creature/thing. Experience, Class, Dexterity, and what Armor the person/creature/thing is wearing affects what their AC is.

What Determines your THAC0? What Level your PC is, what type of Character, and how Proficient you are with your weapon of choice.

If their AC is, say 2 and your THAC0 is 5. If you need a 5 to hit armor class 0, then you need a 3 to hit an AC of 2 (the lower your AC, the harder it is to hit you). But what if their AC is -2. If you need a 5 to hit AC 0, and AC of -2 is harder to hit than 0, that makes your roll on a 1d20 needs to be higher than your THAC0 minus their AC of -2. So you would need a 7 (or higher) to hit AC of -2.

Here is the Formula: Take your THAC0 and SUBTRACT their AC (remembering if you subtract a negative, you are really just going to change the second number to a positive and add). Any questions?

Base Damage goes the same way. Each Weapon has a hit dice associated with it. A two handed sword has a 1d10, while a long sword has 1d8. Mace 1d6, Daggar 1d4. The 1dX means that you roll an X sided die with and whatever number is on top, that is your Base Damage. So if you Hit with a long sword, you roll a 1d10. You get a 9. You did 9 points of damage to whatever you hit. So whatever you hit has 9 less hit points than it did a second ago.

The Tricky part comes in with the modifiers.


On Melee Weapons, if you have a high enough Str, you get certain pluses onto your rolls. Take Minsc with his 18/00 STR, he gets a +3 on his To Hit rolls, and a +6 on his damage rolls. So if his Base THAC0 is 5 add his Stregth bonus to his 1d20 roll. His Damage is done in the same way. Just add +6 to whatever you roll for the damage.

In order to use the weapon with no minuses, you have to have one Proficiency slot used on it. (ya know, the pluses beside the weapon). This allows you to not be clumsy with the weapon. Which makes sense. If you have never seen a bow before, does it make sense that you will brandish it nearly as well as the sword that you have practiced with for 6 months? The more Proficiency slots (pluses) you have, the more your pluses. See your guide or manual for a more accurate account.

AND there is the weapon itself. If it is a PLUS +5 HOLY AVENGER, then add 5 to both your to hit roll and your damage roll.

SO, if you have a +5 Holy Avenger and you are double proficient in it and you have a STR of 18/00, you get +1 for you proficiency, +3 for STR, and +5 for the sword itself, for a total of +9 on top of what you roll on the 1d20.

Damagewise (with same scenario) +2 for proficiency, +6 for STR and +5 for the sword gets you +13 on your damage rolls.

WHEW. The worst thing is, this all changes slightly with 3rd edition rules. But you get the idea. It is a lot easier than it sounds. On the above character, when you roll your to hit roll, just add 9 to it. When you roll your damage, add 13.

BK