Gather 'round kiddies it's nitpicking time... This could be a long one. :)

I've been thinking of some things that I've wished were included in the manuals of BG, BG2 and IWD, but were never put in. I would've hoped that some of the oversights from the first couple of manuals would've been caught and improved upon in the BG2 manual, but that didn't happen. Here's a few of my thoughts.

First, I think they should have regeneration rates listed for characters with high CON, naturally or through spells like Draw Upon Holy Might.

Second, for people without much RPG experience the fact that you can equip armor and bracers at the same time can be confusing. The first few times I played BG I was giving my fighters the best armor plus bracers of defense thinking they were better protected that way. They should have a good explanation in the manual that AC is determined by EITHER armor OR bracers of defense (whichever is better). Luckily for me, I found this site and had this explained here. :)

Third, I'd love a nice one page chart that details exactly what spells are excluded from being cast by each specialty mage. The main thing that's stopped me from ever playing a specialty mage was I don't have the time to page through 100-200 pages of spells to figure out which school of magic I'd like best.

And last for BG2 they should've included a chart that details what dispel spells work against which protection spells. Right now, I’m wasting a lot of spells from trail and error... "Breach didn't work, ok, how about remove magic, darn it, nope, um, secret word maybe?" I know I could find this in the spell descriptions but in the heat of battle I don't want to have to pause the game to leaf through the manual to stumble upon which spells will cancel which protections. A nice, neat chart would've been helpful. BTW, does any spell work against Sanctuary or do you just have to wait it out?

Anyone else have any nits to pick? :D

P.S. If anyone has links to charts on Specialty mages and dispel spells like I've described above, please post the links for me. Thanks.

It is confusing to players with RPG experience too. Numerous times I have thought something was like PnP and it turned out it wasn't. But I could only see this from gameexperience. Not from the manual.
Its easy to see what the Producers put their efforts into. Spells. Half the rulebook is spelldiscription. I would have liked some of this paperspace used as rulesclarification. But hey. We get by.

Pérsonally I like charts a lot. And I am unhappy that they haven't put some more charts in the book. In time people playing the game gets curious of how the excact bonusses works. And it can get frustrating not to know. But Again. This forum is just the right place to discuss theese things.

My conclusion is that I premarily like the book as a spell-encyclopedia nothing more. Anything else I'll try to gameplay my way to. Ask in Forums. Or read from FAQ's



[This message has been edited by Nobleman (edited May 31, 2001).]

overall BG does a fairly good job of sticking to 2nd edition rules. You might find picking up a players handbook at a used bookstore helpfull.

On the other hand, NOT knowing kinda makes the game more fun. It helps resist the temptation to become a rampant min/maxer.

I had alot more fun playing PnP when I made characters with a little advice from a knowledgable DM than when I had an encyclopediac understanding of all the possible bonuses.

*casts Limited Wish*

"I wish for a list on what dispell spells work on what protection spells!"

that would be a good one i agree

You are right jester1137 this is perhaps intended to avoid the min/maxers. But my experience from my years of chairman of a RPG-club is that in a month/year even the most prolivique ( :) ) adventurers wants to get all the rules clear. Then it shows out who are Min/maxers and who are not. Knowing the rules doesn't automaticly make You a min/maxer. That is my experience anyway.
Perhaps You are one of the true roleplayers? They pop of from time to time. That is the Best part for a DMastering.If it is so keep up the good work I'll say :D

They should include a rules section. When I picked up BG1, I hadn't been anywhere near D&D for about seven years! That gave me some funny experiences. Just like a friend of mine, who started a game as a mage with only 3 in str!

Another one I thought of last night...

They should've also included a chart that explains what levels you get more weapon proficiencies to distribute. If you get that nice katana, or a good halberd but don't have a character that has points in them, it'd be nice to know how long you've got until you can put a point in it. That could make the difference on if you'd sell it or hang on to it.

I agree with most of the short-comings listed so far. I was disapointed especially with the BG2 manual that was even more basic the the one for BG1 (UK versioon anyway, I understand the US one is nicer). I was also a bit sad that they didn't have all of the interesting background material that BG1 had (an interesting read on its own). Although I suppose it was less imortant as the background politics had less affect on the plot of BG2.

Anyway, just in case any of you have missed it. Many of the things you have asked for (not all) have been addressed in various tables and guides posted in the main part of this site's BG2 section. In particular, spell tables, weapon profeciencies and basics of D&D. The following links take you to the appropriate sections:
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/index.htm
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/index_tips.htm

Where does it stop?

It would be easy to ask to have everything in there, but then they may as well include the DM guide, Monster Manual, and Players Handbook with the game. We are talking about a very robust gaming system that is already well documented.
Would they have permission to reprint all of the stuff in those books? Probably not.

Jack Funk, it doesn't stop. ;) It's called nitpicking and you can do it forever. :D

But really, I was checking the manual last night and read something to this effect about swashbucklers:

Advantages: combat and AC bonuses
Disadvantages: can't backstab

um, what sort of combat and AC bonuses?!?

If they can spend 200 pages on detailing each and every spell and waste a page at the end with a chart that tells you which months in BG correspond with which months on Earth(????), couldn't they at least give a little more specifics on class descriptions? Choosing your class is the most important choice in the game, and it's also the first choice so having some detailed advance knowledge would help. I know when you create your character you're given more detailed info. but if you're curious about the bonuses of a kit you're not familar with, it's annoying to have to go to the character creation screen to find out what you want to know.

Besides, the suggestions I've made so far would've only taken an extra 5-6 pages in the manual. Just 3 new charts, an additional line in an existing chart and a paragraph or two about AC.

BTW, Slappy, yes I've found those pages and found them useful. However, as you noticed they don't fully address some of the things I'd like to know.