Do you ever use weapons not proficient in?
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In Black Pits, everyone will use the starting weapon all through Tier 1. So clubs quarterstaff or short bow, because my weapons break in every damn fight and I just can't be assed to buy new ones for every gibberling.
As mentioned, for fighters the penalty is quite low
Minsc may believe in swords for everyone, but I believe in ranged weapons for everyone. Mages and clerics get slings (I find the superior range over darts leads to better tanking setup), almost everyone else gets a bow. Sometimes if I'm feeling amiable towards an NPC I'll let them use the ranged proficiency they start with until they learn to use a bow/sling.
So, yeah. I have mages with THAC0 in the mid-low 20's for a large part of the game, that sort of thing. Ranged firepower is just so effective in BG1 that even a party that's kinda lousy at it can often gun down a thing or two before it reaches the party.
Aside from that, sometimes I use a non-proficient weapon to hit something that requires a magic weapon, or as others mentioned, is immune/highly resistant to my normal weapon. I could imagine even weirder scenarios, let's say... I've got a party where no one really wants Spider Bane +2 or can use it properly. I give it to someone like Eldoth or Garrick to hold in their 2nd weapon slot. If the party gets hit by a web (or an angry hamadryad) I can quickly switch out his weapon so he can escape and maybe even dispel the offending magic. Sounds good doesn't it? It's never actually happened though. Hamadryads don't do much damage, so maybe Garrick or Eldoth could melee her dead... that would be such a train wreck to watch.
I'm looking at you Edwin. Staff proficiency. Honestly? *Sigh*
And even then, you don't really use a mage staff as a true ranged weapon, it's just a more versatile uber-wand with several possible effects instead of just one.
Balduran island is a really good example. I generally don't have anyone proficient in Bastard Sword, and no mele'er proficient in dagger. So... But as has already been said, the non-proficient penalty for fighters is pretty small. They are still going to hit a goodly percent of the time.
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/18108/item-mod-more-style-for-mages-wizards-staffs-with-ranged-attack/p1