The World of Avlis

I had a questions about multiple items that increase your ability scores.
If I had 2 items (for arguement sake):
Item 1: Strength +1
Item 2: Strength +2

Would I get an overall boost of Strength = +3 ? Or could there be a limit or cancellation happening ... ?
Does this work for all ability scores (Cha, Wis, etc) ?

Thanks for your help.

W.

In NWN, ability increases from multiple items/effects do stack.
However, there is an engine limit. You can never have more than +12 to your base ability score.

So, if you have 20 base strength, and equip two rings with +2 str each, and a belt with +4, you'd have 28.
But then if someone casts Bull's Strength on you, no matter how lucky the roll is, you could never get more than 4 more, to a max of 32.

Modifiers stack if they come from different sources, and have different descriptors (or none). I think all ability-modifying items here give a generic +N to your stats, so they should stack.

Woody wrote:I had a questions about multiple items that increase your ability scores.
If I had 2 items (for arguement sake):
Item 1: Strength +1
Item 2: Strength +2

Would I get an overall boost of Strength = +3 ? Or could there be a limit or cancellation happening ... ?
Does this work for all ability scores (Cha, Wis, etc) ?

Thanks for your help.

W.

Yes.

Yes.

Thanks for the replies!

What about various protection on armour etc?

How does a plus 1 AC modified stack with a bracer giving 5/ slashing protection for instance?

argh argh argh

Kev the Toad wrote:What about various protection on armour etc?

How does a plus 1 AC modified stack with a bracer giving 5/ slashing protection for instance?

argh argh argh

5/- slashing resistance has nothing to do with your armor class. It reduces the actual amount of damage you take from slashing weapons.

Armor class affects your chance of being hit by an attacker.

Nothing to do with one-another.

Note, that some armors have AC bonus vs damage type (e.g. +1 AC vs slashing) or even creature type (e.g. +2 AC vs undead). These do not stack with base AC bonus.

E.g.1 plate +1 AC vs slashing and bracers of armor +1, total armor class bonus is +1 against anything (basically there is no additional bonus from the slashing protection)

E.g.2 plate +2 AC vs undead and bracers of armor +1, total armor class bonus is +1 against most things and +2 vs undead.

There are some pretty useless things in the palette and in shops on Avlis like this, basically anything with +1 AC vs something is less useful than just plain old +1 armor which is available just about everywhere.

Kev the Toad wrote:What about various protection on armour etc?

Just a little more detail on how AC stacks

AC bonuses come with different descriptors (even if it isnt listed where you can see it). They will be either armor, shield, deflection, natural or dodge.

Dodge modifiers from multiple scources will always stack, but you loose them if you are flat-footed. For other types of AC buffs, you will only get the highest one of any particular type, but different types will stack.

for example, a +3 ring of defense (deflection AC) combined with a +2 cloak of defense (also deflection) would give a total of +3, but if you combined that ring with a +2 amulet of natural armor, it would total +5

Wow (shakes aching head)

Thanks for the heads-up there, it's a little more complex than i thought.

I appreciate the information, it will certainly help me equip more effectively

Kev

Here are a couple examples to describe the mechanics of Armor Class versus Damage Resistance.

Master Shogo boldly kicked down the door leading to the crypt of Amox'zil, the Scourge of Ferrell. "I have waited to battle you for a long time," Shogo said to the ancient mummy warrior upon his throne. "In the name of Dagath, I shall destroy you!"

Shogo leapt forward with a flurry of blows, relentlessly pummelling Amox'zil with hands and feet. At the first opportunity, the Scourge of Ferrell swung his mighty Greatsword of Doom at Master Shogo. Seeing the blow coming, Shogo sidestepped it and returned with a blow of his own.

Master Shogo has a pretty good Armor Class. When Amox'zil swung his Greatsword of Doom, his attack roll failed to overcome Shogo's Armor Class and thus Shogo took no damage. What Armor Class represents is damage avoidance, the likelihood of not taking any damage in the first place. Armor Class is derived from many things; see your NWN manual for details.

"Har har har!" Amox'zil chuckled as the melee continued. "Your pathetic blows cannot harm me!" Shogo backed off, assessing his foe. Indeed, it seemed that Amox'zil had taken no damage at all from his bare fists.

"Your body is strong, but your form is weak," Shogo replied. "Let's see how you fare against my Crypt Reaper!" The monk brandished a gleaming kama from behind his back and sprung forward to cut down his mummified foe.

Many undead are strong against certain physical attacks. While most are weak against bludgeoning attacks like Shogo's fists, Amox'zil seemed to take little or no damage at all. Amox'zil has high Damage Resistance versus Bludgeoning, a form of damage mitigation. After Amox'zil fails to avoid a blow (his Armor Class is insufficient to consistently avoid Shogo's attacks), he can count on his high Damage Resistance to prolong the fight.

When Shogo became wise to this situation, he switched to his Crypt Reaper, a magical kama that does Slashing damage and does additional Positive Energy damage. Since undead usually take double damage against Positive Energy, this will certainly spell doom for the nasty mummy.

Hope this helps!

Cindare, you rock.