A few questions from a D&D newbie

Hi everyone,

I was hoping for some answers on a few things that are confusing me.

1) My Dwarven fighter reached lvl 4 last night and when it got time to picking my FEAT, I was going to go for weapon specialization which becomes available to fighters at level 4 from what I understand. Well the game let me select the feat, and drag it over to the yellow selection box, but then it popped open a list of weapons but the whole list was greyed out. So I was not able to select anything, all I could do was cancel. I fiddled for a while and finally gave up and chose something else. Anyone know why this was happening? And since I was not able to select it at level 4, will I still be able to get it at a later level when I can pick a feat again (assuming the problem I mentioned above can be overcome).

2) I was under the impression from the rulebook that I could take a 5 foot step and still cast a spell. The game does not seem to allow my sorcerer to cast attack spells after I use the 5 foot step. Am I not understanding something?

3) Masrterwork items... What exactly is the benefit from them? I have noticed that on some weapons I get a +1 to my attack roll, and on others a better crit range, is there any other benefit to weapons? And in terms of armor, I don't seem to see a differen between masterwork and regular merchant items. Finally, masterwork lockpicks, do they give me a better chance to pick?

4) Is there a way to identify all the potions you find? Pain in the ass to keep spending 100 gold to ID potions. I figured out I can use read magic on scrolls, is there a similar thign for potions?

FYI I am using the latest CO8 install and the recommended add ones listed on this site.

Thanks,

Swerve

 

1) you need to have weapon focus for a weapon before you are allowed to specialize in that weapon

2) Are you using the 5 foot step option from the radial menu or are you just moving

3) masterwork items can be enchanted.( not sure about the masterwork picklocks)

4) you can use read magic spell on potions, depending on which patches you have installed.

 

Ah thank you kindly for the replies. And yes I have been using the move 5 steps from the radial menu, it allows me to fire my crossbow, but not my spells (i.e magic missle, etc). Maybe it is a line of sight issue, because I am generaly facing away from monsters after I have used the move 5 steps option, but the crossbow shot turns me to face then fires.. maybe it is different for spells?

Swerve

 

2. You definitely should be able to cast after a 5' step. There is no facing in 3.5 D&D, so it's not that you're turning away. Are you sure you have spells left? That's the only thing I can think of that would prevent casting. What spell is it specifically that you can't cast. I gather there are some you can cast and some you can't (because you mention "attack" spells).

3. Masterwork weapons get a +1 to hit. Masterwork thieves tools give you a +2 to lockpick. The crit ranges for weapons are fixed by what weapon it is, and some have a wider range, while some have a higher multiplier. Adding the +1 enhancement will keep that +1 to hit, but add aa +1 to damage and let you bypass things with damage reduction/magic. There is also an enhancement called "keen" that doubles the weapon's crit range.

4. If you have temple.zip installed, you can use read magic to identify potions. When you get to level 5, it's a good idea to make wands of identify with your sorc or wizzy, because it's much cheaper than using the identify spells (unless your mod configuration fixes this error - because it shouldn't be cheaper by the rules of D&D).

 

Lord Plothos,

Thank you for further clarifying the issues. In regards to my casting problem with 5' movement... I am using a sorcerer, and yes I have spells left when I try this. I mentioned attack spells because most of my sorcerer spells are attack spells, the only non attack spells I have are non combat.

So it seems I am running into a strange problem since I cannot seem to cast spells after I use the 5 foot move option, as I mentioned I can shoot my xbow without any trouble. I have been running into the problem with Magic missile, grease and the uncontrolable laughter spell(sorry forget the exact name). Anyway, this is not something that ruins the game for me, just makes it more challenging is all, since random encounters always seem to appear on my Sorcerers head.

Thanks again for the info.

Swerve

 

Hey Swerve,

Couple more clarifiers for you....

1. Yep, as aavar said, you need Weapon Focus on the chosen weapon first...

2. Sorry bub, ya stummped me on this one. As long as all you've done is move 5', you should be able to cast just fine... Oh, if you ever use cast defensive though, make sure to TURN IT OFF when you don't need it anymore. I've forgotten in the past, and randomly miscast for failing a concentrate roll. Argh.

3. Everyone covered the masterwork weapons pretty well... gives you +1 to hit, and item is now enchantable. If you're new, I can maybe clear up some of what Lord Photus said.

"Adding the +1 enhancement will keep that +1 to hit, but add aa +1 to damage and let you bypass things with damage reduction/magic. "

In the game, the only bonuses of the same type that stack are dodge bonuses. A masterwork (mw) weapon gives you a +1 "enhancement" bonus to attack. When you enchant an item, and give it a +1 magic rating, that bestows a +1 "enhancement" bonus to attack and damage rolls. Enhancement bonuses don't stack like dodge bonuses do. The +1 from the magic does NOT add to the +1 from the weapon being masterwork (making it +2). It will use the *higher* enhancement bonus. Since their the same, your now magical weapone will STILL be +1 to attack, but you get the +1 to damage, and you now overcome damage reduction that requires +1 magic. Now, later, if you made your weapon +2 magic, the +2 Magic "enhancement" will overide the +1 masterwork "enhancement", making your weapon +2 Att/Dam. Lord Pholtus said if way faster, but I thought I'd type this ESSAY out just in case it went over your head. I remember learning D&D, and it took awhile to sift through the plethora of rules involved...

(Oh, also keep in mind, this *stacking* issue comes into play for your arcane casters as well concering armor. If your natural AC is say, 12, and you cast mage armor, which is an "armor" bonus, you're now AC 16. If you find/steal/buy/loot/cheat and get Bracers of Armor, these also give an "armor" bonus, that does NOT stack with mage armor. Again, it will take the higher of the two bonuses. In this example, if you had +2 bracers, your normal 12 AC would become a 14 AC, then when you cast Mage armor, you are STILL only a 16 AC, not 18, because the spell then overided the item. Better to have a ring of protection (granting a "deflection" bonus) and an amulet of natural armor (granting a "natural armor" bonus))

Now, for MW Armor, which wasn't mentioned. Having master work armor, besides making it enchantable, does NOT increase the armor rating, but it does REDUCE the armor check penalty. That penalty, in case you don't know, is used agains skill checks. You can't sneak around if your armor is clanging. There are several skills this penalty applies to. In PnP D&D, mw weapons cost 300 GP above norm, but MW armor only 150 GP above norm, that's why you don't get an armor boost from it being masterwork. Once you enchant it (or buy/steal magical armor), that rating will go up.

Anyway, hope this helped, and if not, then sorry for windbaggin' on ya.

Ath'

 

Another thought: do you have perhaps any metamagic feats going on? I believe when sorcerers use metamagic, it makes casting the spell at least a full round action. This may be a bug related in some way to that rule, though you should still get a 5' step unless the spell was made into a 1-round casting time spell (which, oddly, takes longer than a full round action), and even then you can 5' step in 3.5. I'm just clutching at straws here.

 

Yes, those options are ridiculous. Oh please, game, decide when I'm done for me and then just end my turn without asking.

 

Ok, thanks for all the additional info, and i appreciate the longer explanation because I had misunderstood some of the original info posted. I am playing Ironman, and I am on my 4th party. Lost the first 2 parties to the Ogre in Emiry Meadows and lost my 3rd party to an insane assassin (well 4 out of 5 and I gave up) that jumped me while I was trying to move on the map from one location to the next. I think this was because I sold some of the items I got from killing the Boss in the moat house.

Anyway, Party number 4 is now lvl 5-6, had two casualties along the way and had to resurrect at Jaroo.. my god the exp penalty loss for resurection is harsh. Anyway.. just completed Nulb, I think I am ready to start the temple. I may end up picking up a few NPC's first since I am tackling the game in Hardcore mode in my first run through it.

Again, thanks for all the tips.

Swerve

 

That's not an Ogre in the Meadows...it's a Hill Giant. This may explain the difficulty in killing it. Also, try getting some restoration spells to help with the xp loss.

 

Can you explain what you mean by restoration spells? I have a minor restoration spell on my cleric. Are you saying that it returns lost exp? And can I keep casting it to get all lost exp back?

Thanks,

Swerve

 

Hi,
Restoration is a 4th level Cleric spell. You need a 7th level cleric to cast it. It will restore both experince points lost to level drains from various causes & ability score damage.
Believe this Ol' Dwarf veteran when he tells ya' the cleric in yer' company will EARN his share o' spoils by keeping everyone else fit 'n' able to kick butt!