Seems like these weapons were really shortchanged in SoA since you can't backstab with them, nor can you find anything other than a +1 bastard sword before the Underdark...

Hmm, can you think of any classes these would be good for? I'm thinking about making a Paladin who's going to specialize in Bastard Swords and Warhammers...I really wish they had made Daystar a Bastard Sword:(. Maybe a Kensai would be good with these since they do a tiny bit more damage than a long sword and still fit under one handers, thus the single weapon style AC bonus would apply.

yeah why cant you backstab with bastard swords or long swords. why cant you just go up behind them and slam it in? anywhay thats beside the point. i would go for a kensai with that flamesword that the drow had. thats the only bastard sword i realy know so i guess thats not much help.

You can backstab with longswords and katanas, but not bastard swords...

wow what have i been missing out on??? you can backstab with longsword. and i thought you could only do it with daggers, shortswords and katana's

You can backstab with any melee weapon the theif can use...even clubs and quarterstaves, as odd as that may sound...

If you have ToB and some patches it is not possibly to backstab with staffs. Hell I cant even backstab with ninja-tos! And imo that should be allowed.

...but since this forum is exclusively for BG2 without the expansion installed, it doesn't matter. Stick to the topic and don't discuss the changes ToB implements.

The reason I included ToB was that I wasnt sure if this was changed by a patch or by ToB. The only time I have tried to backstab with a staff have been in SoA and it did not work for me.


Back to the topic. There no really good bastard swords in SoA imo. The one you get in the underdark isnt that good and you get it so late so it dont really matter. I was really pissed off when I started my first char in SoA, import from BG1 where bastardswords ruled I put 3 stars in bastard swords and the best one I get that can matter is the +1 +3 against shapeshifters. I went with Katanas instead but I had wasted three slots on bastard swords.

They worn you about the lack of magical katana's when they should be warning you about the bastard sswords agreed?

Don't worry man. You haven't wasted those prof. slots. You will be happy about your choice later (esp. because you are a paladin (I wont say when, because this is the SOA forum :D ))

I disagree with the latest post. Bastard Sword is not a good choice even for a Paladin who plan to continue with ToB. Carsomyr is still the best.
Yes, you might both play a Paladin and bring Keldorn along, but it's not very nice to bring Keldorn along if you're a Paladin yourself. Keldorn has other duties. ;)

Jhor the Bleeder not that good?! That was my favorite sword after I found it. I can't tell you how many Drow fled from me only to fall over dead from the bleeding damage... Very amusing :)

Hang on, you did say why cant you backstab with a bastard sword?? Do you know how big bastard swords are!! You might as well ask why cant I backstab with a polearm!! If your after a good weapon, try the ShortSword of Backstabbing, +3 THAC0 & dmg which cant be half bad.......

I don't realy like Bastard Swords...
I love dual wielding and I don't think dualwielding goes with Bastard Swords, I think they are to big for that. I think a Bastard sword goes best with a shield, but that's just a Role playing issue. :)

About the backstabbing: A club would be cool for rogues. Sneak up to a person, whack your club on the right spot of his neck and temporary knock down a person...what's the word again?

I'm not looking for the best weapons. Screw the holy avenger! With a few magical items you can get 50% magic resistance or at least near it. The Holy Avenger sets it to 50% so unless you like requiping all of your magical items every time you switch areas, you can't get more than 50% with it.

Also I always thought Bastard Swords and Warhammers were more traditional Knight/Paladin weapons.

I wasn't planning on dual wielding either, I was going to use a Shield.

There are actually 4 different magical bastard swords found in the underdark:

1. Blade of Searing +3, +1 fire damage

2. Jhor the Bleeder +2, 2 extra hp damage done per round until a total of 10 damage done, detect invisibility once per day

3. Albruin +1, +3 damage instead of +1, immunity to posion, detect invisibilty once per day

4. Taragarth +2, 50% fire resistance, non-detection

Hmm, actually I'm not sure about going for Warhammers, since I'd probably end up always using Crom Faeyer, and the point of picking bastard swords is to use them. Can anyone think of a better proficency to spend points on besides Warhammers, but that aren't as good as bastard swords? I'm trying to pick a weapon I'll use until I get to the underdark, where all of the good bastard swords are located.

I like bastard swords; as Blackthorne says, Jhor the Bleeder is great. It was Gerald the berserker's main grunt slaughtering tool throughout SOA and it is (I think) available before the Underdark. Beholders, drow, mind flayers and many other tough non-boss enemies fell before its gnarly edge. Plus, it looks cool with its purple hilt and barbed blade; the perfect weapon for your seminal bhaalspawn nosher. Just dont take it as your only weapon as the highest THAC0 bonus you'll get from a bastard sword is 3, and thats only if you thrash the beefy drow pit fighter in the Ust Natha tavern (not easy if your fighters are low level). Three proficiency points at most is all you need, and two would do just fine.

[This message has been edited by Will (edited January 12, 2002).]

Bastard Swords are physically pretty large. On top of that, if you compare then to other swords, such as Long Swords or Scimitars, the speed factor is longer. Most people opt for the Long Swords because the 2 extra possible damage points aren't worth the extra time to hit with a Bastard sword. Look compare the stats of a Bastard sword and a Long Sword. You'll see the difference.

Yeah, but if you're a fighter and have a decent amount of proficiency slots in bastard sword the speed factor should drop considerably. True, the long sword is still faster, but IMHO Jhor the Bleeder is worth a slightly lengthier swing.

This whole bastard sword stuff sounds interesting...

I think I'll make a new char and try to play him through the game...

Party Configuration:

Dungeon- PC, Imoen, Jaheira
Up to Spellhold- PC, Jaheira, Jan
Spellhold On- PC, Jaheira, Jan, Imoen

The char will be an Elven Kensai. With *** in Bastard Swords, ** in Single Weapon and * in something else.. not sure yet. Maybe Long Sword or Flail?

Yeah, Bastard Swords are inferior to Long Swords, but if they had added a few more good magical ones, I might be willing to overlook this. But of course they didn't making bastard swords an even worse pick. I'd just like to try something different for a change. Holy Avenger all game, been there, done that.

Do Elves get a bonus for Bast.Swords too? Or only for long swords? I thought I read somewhere here on the forum that they get the 'racial'bonus for every kind of long sword, including katana's, scimitars etc.
If it is true, does it count for the Bastard sword as well?

[This message has been edited by Master of Nuhn (edited January 14, 2002).]

Iirc elves indeed do get a +1 THACO bonus on all long sword weapons - like longswords, bastardswords and katanas.

And I really think it's a shame they didn't make Carsomyr a bastardsword ... the first good bastardswords you find in BG-2 are in the underdark and you almost get them simultaneously ... Jhor the bleeder is excellent due to it's cool weapon effect (some of the best weapons in the game are +2 only) and the blade of searing is excellent as well .... so the principle for every baastardswordwielder is to go to spellhold *early* ;)

The very first magical Bastard Sword is a +1 and looted from the cambion in Irenicus Dungeon, right?

yeah but that one's nothing special. its only plus one after all

This problem is solved in ToB, but I can't give specifics in this forum, actually I shouldn't even be talking about it! But let me say this...bastard sword problem is definatly fixed!