Fighting; Effects Of Fatigue; More Than Just Hack And Slash - Black Isle ICEWIND DALE 2 Manual

ADVENTURER'S TIP: If you manage to kill a character critical to the game's plot before
the character has served his purpose, you may cause a "Game Over" screen to appear
a lot sooner than you think. So if you feel like attacking everyone in Targos for fun,
just be sure to save your game first.
There are times when you don't want to talk or run away from a critter, and chances are, they feel the same
way. Sooner or later, your character(s) will have to fight. The real trick is knowing when to fight and when to
talk or run.
Your characters have to rest every so often, both to memorize spells as well as to gain back their strength. If
your characters start complaining that they are tired, it's best to find the nearest place to rest. Go to the spell
list page and make sure their memorized spells are set properly for the next day's adventuring.
Combat in Icewind Dale II is a skill that your characters and you will become skilled at as you progress from
your first steps into Targos until your ultimate resolution of the threat to Icewind Dale and the Ten-Towns.
As important as fighting is to the game, it isn't the be-all and end-all of play; it's just one way for characters to
deal with situations. In addition to explaining the basic mechanics of hitting and missing, this section contains
rules for turning undead, special ways to attack and defend, poison, heroic feats, and more.
Armor Class is the protective rating of a character, and it is the combined value of the armor, shields, dexteri-
ty modifier, and protective items and spells a character has on them- the higher the value of a character's
armor class, the lower the chance that a character will be hit in combat and take damage. Armor Class starts
at 10 (loincloth) and goes upward from there. The higher the number, the better! (an Armor Class greater
than 30 can only occur with very powerful magical armor and magic item combinations).
Armor Class is separated into five classes: armor bonuses, shield bonuses, deflection bonuses, dexterity
bonuses, and generic bonuses. Your character's Armor Class is then determined by adding all of these togeth-
er to 10. Each armor bonus category is described below:
Armor Bonuses: The armor bonus is connected to the benefits you get from wearing armor, bracers of
defense, and even robes. These values do not stack - the player receives the highest armor bonus from all
the items of this nature that they are wearing. For example, if a character is wearing armor that provides
an armor bonus of 6 and bracers of defense that provide an armor bonus of 2, then the player's armor
bonus is 6, not 8.
Shield Bonuses: Armor bonuses due to shields totals all the benefits you get from a shield and does
stack with your base armor bonus. You can only have one shield equipped at a time.
Deflection Bonuses: These armor class bonuses come from spells, rings, hats, cloaks, and so on -
like armor bonuses, deflection bonuses do not stack. The highest value deflection bonus is the one that is
used. The spells that grant deflection bonuses are listed in their descriptions.
Dexterity Ability Modifier: Your Dexterity ability modifier adds to your overall armor bonus.
However the extent which it can effect your armor bonus is impacted by the type of armor that you may
be wearing. Check the Armor Effects Table (Table 8) on page 147 to see these.
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