Need help explaining please

[Legacy_X The Catalyst X]

               I had bought the game back in 2005 when the diamond edition came out but I never played it because I was only ten and didn't get the whole battle system. I'm now 15 and still don't really get it haha, the main problem is the AC on armor and the 1d8 on my katana. I know what AC means but I found a +1 splint mail but a regular half-plate is better, how come? and with weapons I'm just clueless on those... and one more thing, have they closed multiplayer yet? If not I would love to start playing multiplayer. Thanks in advance!
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Selene Moonsong]

               You may want to take a look at this site and more specifically, this page , which lists almost everything regarding combat.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_HipMaestro]

               Your questions involve some very basic concepts of D&D gaming.  Any seemingly easy answer can easily snowball into a mass of elaborate information that you probably wouldn't understand anyway and will just confuse the heck out of you (I know.  I've just tried to explain them concisely 3 times and gave up.)

Rather than trying to learn the basics here in the General Forum, it would serve better either by reading basic guides or finding a server that specializes in orientating new players,  And yes, multiplayer is still alive and well but I'll leave it to others to recommend a suitable venue for learning the basics.

As for the written word, here is a "get acquainted" list of NWN resources that all are easy to follow.  A few are slightly out of date, but should get you pointed in the right direction and answer many of your questions.  Kip's guide is about as basic as you can get, so read that first.

Besides the "How To" guides, The Grimoire contains all the information from the manual included with your game plus a whole lot more (like information about prestige classes).  It is also much more accurate and indexed better.  It's easy to download from the Vault and will become a handy quick reference for you.

Once you become better acquainted with the general aspects of playing NWN, The on-line NwN Wiki will answer just about any question and helps even more advanced players.  It is the most current source of NwN information available so bookmark it for the future.

Best of luck for your second excursion into Neverwinter Nights and welcome aboard!
               
               

               

                     Modifié par HipMaestro, 14 août 2010 - 01:24 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_X The Catalyst X]

               Thanks, both of you! I'll keep reading up and I'm sure I'll eventually get it!
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_avado]

               And never forget that there is info out there that isnt quite 100% accurate! Though that isnt about the basics! Once you master that, then you can get into BAB, AB (what makes them different and how to maximize them), Spell DC (a head ache on its own), strength vs dexterity for hitting (pros and cons of each), and on and on and on!!

To answer your question though, Spintmail has an AC (armor class) of 6. Half Plate of 7. Splint +1 has 6+1=7. They should be the same, so not sure what you mean by better.

The next thing with armors is the Maximum Dexterity Bonus. For both it says 1 on the wiki. What this means has to do with the Stat system.

Very Briefly (as this gets out of hand): 10 has a 0, which means you get NO bonus. 12 gives you +1. 14 gives +2 (i never asked why they do it this way in 7 years! LOL Just did it this way)! SO, if you wear these armors, and have a dex of 14, you will get 7 +1 = 8 AC! 

Now, say you had a Dex of 14 (+2).  And you find a +1 Scale Mail (AC4).  To find out your AC, 4+1+2=7.  You find a +1 Splint mail and recall your ac was 8.   Your dex is 14 so you THINK you add +2, right?  NOPE.  The Max dex bonus is 1!  So your AC is still 8.  (on the pc character sheet, you should see a red 1 next to Dex column).  Looking at these numbers becomes important with Dex characters with dex of 30+.  At this point, wearing Robes (or AC0) armor actually give BETTER AC than wearing Full plate!   Lord knows why they did it this way!  To start though, just PLAY the game and mess around with things.  Get a feel THEN read the guides suggested. 
 
Trust me, it goes on from here with different TYPES of AC and on and on. THis should be good to start you.

Just be glad you didnt start with the "old school" rules! When i started D&D, an AC of 8 was horrendous! I loved having AC -10 Then there was THAC0 (To Hit AC 0)! Oh the good ol days when you needed a college degree just to roll the die '> At least NWN rules are "easy" to get your head around!

Hang in there.

I am not sure how long the EPic character builders will be up, but you could go to the old guild site and look around at the stuff there.  I spent 7 years there and learned EVERYTHING i ever wanted to know.  It is unfortunate that bioware feels that it isnt worth saving (it was the most popular guild for YEARS and is probably STILL the most popular '>  ).

http://nwn.bioware.c...d.html?gid=8061
               
               

               

                     Modifié par avado, 14 août 2010 - 05:36 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_HipMaestro]

               

avado wrote...
To answer your question though, Spintmail has an AC (armor class) of 6. Half Plate of 7. Splint +1 has 6+1=7. They should be the same, so not sure what you mean by better.

I was guessing the OP had some +1 bracers equipped to effectively negate the splint mail bonus. At that point, I embarked into a deliberation about sources of AC, AC stacking, Dex & Wis modifiers... essentially opening a huge can of worms... so just deep-sixed the whole monologue concept  in favor of some links.

Nice job elaborating on some basics for the OP, avado.

You have more fortitude than I.  Must be a consequence of all these low Con characters I've been playing recently. '>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_avado]

               LOL  I know what you mean though!  I rewrote the AC calc a few times cuz at first it wasnt enough, then WAYY to much  '>   As it is, i didnt understand it for about a year or so.  The very best way to start is to NOT get too techy!  Just plug on stuff and see if the numbers are bigger or smaller or same (nwn is ALL about numbers).  Once you get the concept, THEN monkey with the techy stuff.  



I found it alot easier to go from THAC0 and -10 AC to nwn, so maybe EVERYONE should start out with basic DnD!  LOL
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Shieldsmasher]

               

avado wrote...

At this point, wearing Robes (or AC0) armor actually give BETTER AC than wearing Full plate!   Lord knows why they did it this way! 

A high DEX character dances around in combat.  Put full plate on that character and it hinders his/ her's movement.  Plus, there's the weight consideration.  You can't dance in and out of combat with 50 pounds of metal on.  A DEX character doesn't have the strength to fight in 50 pounds of metal, but put some leathers on him/ her and you'd have a hard time hitting him.  So you don't really get more armor per say by putting robes on a high DEX character, but robes allow them to move in and out of combat better.  If you put a suit of full plate on Bruce Lee he'd get his butt handed to him.  But if he's just wearing some cotton pants, look out! 
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_avado]

               

Shieldsmasher wrote...

A high DEX character dances around in combat.  Put full plate on that character and it hinders his/ her's movement.  Plus, there's the weight consideration.  You can't dance in and out of combat with 50 pounds of metal on.  A DEX character doesn't have the strength to fight in 50 pounds of metal, but put some leathers on him/ her and you'd have a hard time hitting him.  So you don't really get more armor per say by putting robes on a high DEX character, but robes allow them to move in and out of combat better.  If you put a suit of full plate on Bruce Lee he'd get his butt handed to him.  But if he's just wearing some cotton pants, look out! 

If encumbrance mattered in nwn, sure!  I cannot recall a single instance where i didnt dance in FP!  I even hid in shadows with fp!!  LOL 
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_X The Catalyst X]

               Hahaha getting into detail alot I see, but yes I read some of the guides to figure out the general rules and I get it more than I did a couple days ago. It's all starting to make sense now! Thanks again for all the replies! Thank god the community for this game is nice '>