D&D rules and BG2

Canis Lupus

Dug up my copy of Balders Gate 2 and am replaying it now but I lost the manual and to be honest I've never really gotten the rules governing armour and weapons.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a website that can explain stuff to me like an idiots guide.

For example one weapon I have (can't remember which is the bastard sword and which is the two handed sword) But one has a rating a rating of 2d4 and the other has a rating of 1d6. Which is better?

Also in other RPG's I'm sure when u put armour on yur armour rating goes up but in BG2 it goes down or am I wrong?

Basically any pointers anyone could give me would be helpful to let me properly enjoy this game.

[CrimsonGhost]

2d4 min damage is 2, max 8, avg 5, 1db min is 1 max is 6 avg is 3.5. 2d4 is better.
D&D rules the lowers your armour the harder you are to hit.You should be aiming for 0 or lower really. But certain classes will find it hard to get it that low, and just won't manage it without magic.

Ave

iirc, it operates under the THACO guidelines(To Hit At ArmourClass0), which is what you have to roll to hit.

Higher armour class(ie, 5 instead of 0) would decrese the number needed to hit, making it easier.

Sarky

For the sake of completeness, the damage system uses different sided dice. A four sided dice is commonly referred to as a D4, while a six sided dice is called a D6. When you're told a weapon does 2D4 damage, on a hit the computer rolls 2 four sided dice and totals the result, for a number between 2 and 8. There are a few other factors affecting the end damage, including your strength (An extra +1 for every 2 points above 10, I think), and enchantments on the weapon (A +3 weapon would do an extra 3 damage on top of what that weapon would normally cause)

Baldur's Gate used AD&D rules, whereas most games like Neverwinter Nights and such use the newer D&D 3rd ed. or 3.5th ed. rules. The new rules got rid of the whole THAC0 (lower AC is better) because, frankly, it was crap and confusing. Under the latest rules, higher is better, and an attacker has to beat that AC on a roll of D20 + what ever other modifiers he'll have for level, strength, weapons, etc.

Canis Lupus

[CrimsonGhost] wrote:

2d4 min damage is 2, max 8, avg 5, 1db min is 1 max is 6 avg is 3.5. 2d4 is better.
D&D rules the lowers your armour the harder you are to hit.You should be aiming for 0 or lower really. But certain classes will find it hard to get it that low, and just won't manage it without magic.

Okay stall the monkey there..... 2d4 so the 2 is just a doubler. Okay. In fairness given that I'm at work at the moment it might be smarter for me to wait till I get home and I throw a few specific questions yur way. But cheers for advice so far.

[CrimsonGhost]

Fire away with the questions. Must go back and finish BG1. I'm just at the end. Never actually tried the final battle though. And then install BG2. and transfer my character across. Might spend the christmas doing that.

ShiverinEskimo

I loved the way you could back and do the game with the character you completed it with first..hehe. total bad ass with all the cool weapons. Thats a game i really enjoyed..

Sarky

ShiverinEskimo wrote:

I loved the way you could back and do the game with the character you completed it with first..hehe. total bad ass with all the cool weapons. Thats a game i really enjoyed..

The only trouble with that was that the people you met and joined with started at your level, but stayed with 1st level hit points...