Weapon Capabilities per class
TethorilofLathander
Member Posts: 427
This is going to seem like a very "noob(er)" question considering the many, many years I've played Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights and Dark Alliance, but here goes...
Why can clerics/mages not use certain weapons such as greatswords? Is it a discipline thing? Strength? Divine restrictions?
All this time I didn't question it and just enjoyed the game as is, but I've always been subconsciously curious about it
Hope you all had good holidays!
Why can clerics/mages not use certain weapons such as greatswords? Is it a discipline thing? Strength? Divine restrictions?
All this time I didn't question it and just enjoyed the game as is, but I've always been subconsciously curious about it
Hope you all had good holidays!
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Comments
And yes, most PNP gamers look at those restrictions and make a lot of changes. But BG uses the core rules. It's only fair; if it calls itself 2E (and it does), it should follow the actual 2E rules.
Yeah, I think weapon restrictions are dumb.
Anyways, the weapon restrictions are also partly the fault of the games engine. There are specialty priests for the various gods in 2E that can use bladed weapons (Demarchs of Mask can use daggers for instance), its just a pain to implement this in the game (without giving all clerics access to these weapons) because of how the engine works.
When 1st ed was first published, FR deities where not fully developed, so clerics where pseudo-christian.
As for druids, they don't like metal armor and weapon because it symbolises what they hate:people taking pure stuff from the nature (iron) and industrializing it for their own selfish ends, and putting it where it does not naturally belong. Leather and wood are okay, because they are parts of living things, and can be borrowed or put to good use. But metal has no place on a living creature naturally. And apparently people of ad&d do not know blood has iron in it, as well as we have other trace metals in our bodies too. They still utilise spears with metal point ends and helmets, so let's say great amounts of metal is forbidden. Scimitar is an exception because it represents the sickle, the one and only holy metal instrument used in druidic rituals.
Mages spend a lot of time studying, and do not have much time left for mastering weapons, so they get by using simple weapons. Those weapons are very easy to learn and are useful for other things, as well. A dagger or knife is very essential for a mage who wants to take sample of monsters or dissect creatures for spell components and research. A staff helps with balance and walking, also they hold the best spell enchantments, like staff of power and the magi. Dart is easy to learn too. Sling is an odd duck because apparently it takes great time to learn and needs dedicated practice from the childhood, historically best war slingers were raised from childhood. It is not a very simple weapon to use effectively. I dare say a crossbow is much easier to learn, just point and shoot. But for game balance reasons again, I guess. Clubs are the easiest and simplest weapons, but they are crude and do not offer utility or magical boost like a trusty staff does, so mages do not bother with them.
Thieves do not need huge, bulky weapons like great hulking two handed swords or large and crude halberds. They always need to be light on their feet and have great manueverability, so they utilise deadly but light-easy to carry/hide weapons.
Learning to shoot a sling as a child, then beginning studies in magic at puberty, imo is not out of the question.
Also, do these rules/logics apply even if the person is in mortal danger? i.e. druid going to die unless if they pick up the sword and use it.