How strength works/item recharging NO SPOILERS PLEASE

[Sheila Lee]

As fable has closed the other thread I've started a new one to answer RPG Guy's questions.

RPG Guy, you asked:

1. Why is STR sometimes expressed as a fraction? What does 18/77 or 18/93 mean???

2. I understand that certain magical items can be recharged but I have yet to find a source or vendor for this. Am I missing something or should I just remain patient and wait for a 'source' to emerge as the game progresses??

NO SPOILERS PLEASE.

1. STR above 18 for some classes (mostly fighter types) can also include 'exceptional strength' which is expressed as a percentage, so 18/77 is 18 +77%, the highest is 18/00 which is actually 18 +100%. These give you extra bonuses in your 'to hit' rolls and extra damage bonuses when you do hit, the higher the percentage the better it is. It also helps you to in your 'bashing open locks' endeavors. So Minsc is a pretty useful warrior. Note that all of these 18/xx are less effective than having 19 strength (by nature half orcs only, unless you find another way of increasing your strength).

2. Some magical items are 'once a day' use items, so resting will cause them to recharge. You can recharge other limited use magical items, although I personally think it involves an abuse of the game engine to do so, so I only use my magical items sparingly and never recharge them (apart from the once a day items). If you still want to know the details of how to do it let me know!

[wise grimwald]

I have been informed that just selling an item and buying it back will recharge it, though you cannot do it more than once at one shop. I have not tested this however. In ToSC selling and buying it back seems to work indefinitely.
I think that the other methods could be described as spoilers so I will not include them. If bringing equipment in from ToSC, I would recharge it there before meeting Savarok, as you always end up with more money than you can spend at that stage of the game.

[RPG Guy (sorta)]

Sheila Lee, thank you for the answers and the initiative you took to set up a new thread for me. As Korgan would say, "you're a right fine lass".

(yes, I'm such a dork)

Regarding item recharging, I'm only interested in legit ways of doing it. I have a Rod of Resurrection that's down to 4 charges so I better used the rest sparingly because I'm not interested in exploits.

Thanks anyhoo w-grimwald.

[fable]

I have been informed that just selling an item and buying it back will recharge it, though you cannot do it more than once at one shop. I have not tested this however.

You can recharge a wand ad infinitum at merchants: just sell it to them, and buy it back fully charged. Make sure you bring it back with at least one charge, left. When you use up the last charge, the item vanishes.

You also can't sell a wand if it's been stolen, but there are one or two notable exceptions. The merchant at the front of the Shadow Thieves' Guild is one example. You can actually steal from him, sell an item back, steal it again, etc. Very cheesy, and I don't recommend it.

Watch out for strengthening spells that target characters who already possess an 18/** strength. There's a good chance the supposedly friendly spell will temporarily lower that strength. Potions of hill giant, etc, can be useful to anybody. There are several vendors with a good selection of potions,

Spoiler

including one down in the sewers.

I'm changing the thread title to reflect content, so you get more answers to those questions. Useful idea whose time has come. Be sure to check out the search function on the forum database, because we have a lot of useful material in it, too. Just remember, though: there's no such thing as a stupid question. Many things about the game aren't exactly clear, and we're all here to help.

[Celacena]

money troubles / tip of the wand

sometimes having enemies is helpful - when you get attacked and you can defeat the attackers without too much grief, then you can 'harvest' equipment - some people call it "XP farming" - you go to sleep somewhere where the WMR is almost 100%, get disturbed, win, rest and repeat.
that way, you can have lots of money without resorting to naughtiness like stacked potions of master thieving...
plate armour at a few hundred per time is worthwhile - but wait until ToB where you can get into a situation where you are selling 50 suits of +1 or above plate, or elven chain! one battle and I salvaged about 400k in equipment.

with the cash from farming, you can afford to re-charge wands rather than stealing them back.

50 charges of cloudkill can solve a fair number of problems if managed correctly...

rod of resurrection is the best, CK 2nd and monster summoning arguably a close 3rd.

when you exit Irenicus' dungeon - don't waste the wands - even if you can't afford to re-charge them - sell them so that they are there for later.

I suggest that except in extreme circumstances, the rod is only used to raise a cleric, who raises the rest - one at a time if need be - a party's equipment can be too much for one or two characters, so stay nearby and grab the most crucial equipment in case it disappears - it doesn't usually, but if you leave an area, it may go walkies. if there is enough portage available for the gear, an inn or the local priest is a good bet, but I prefer to stay where people fall if possible, so that they can be re-equipped and missing items looked for. I once lost a whole load of good gear, so I am careful.

I like the spider figurine, but that is something that can be lost if the using character dies - I looked throughout the city for it once, before realising that there had been nobody alive for it to return to. hours of wasted searching.

[kmonster]

The level 2 mage spell "strength" works different than it's description.
If a character has lower than 18/50 strength he'll get 18/50, if you cast this spell again or on a character with 18/50-99 strength it will be raised to 18/00.
So a character with 18/00 strength isn't much better than one with 18/51, just 1 spell away.

[fable]

50 charges of cloudkill can solve a fair number of problems if managed correctly...

It's s a piece of standard strategy to give it to a mage/thief like Jan, have him turn himself invisible, and then send him scouting for enemies before using the wand and running away. Very effective. Giving him a good supply of wands makes sense. It also frees him up to memorize different spells.

But cash farming is a lot less successful in BG2 than in BG1. Wilderness encounters respawned in BG1, while I've yet to run into respawning instances in BG2. I just loot whatever I can carry, and if I run over (as I always do), I exchange cheap items for more expensive ones.

[Ian Kognitow]

I suggest that except in extreme circumstances, the rod is only used to raise a cleric, who raises the rest - one at a time if need be - a party's equipment can be too much for one or two characters, so stay nearby and grab the most crucial equipment in case it disappears - it doesn't usually, but if you leave an area, it may go walkies.

The greatness of the rod of resurrection is that you shouldn't actually need to 'raise' anyone. It can be used at anytime as a ranged Heal. Your fighters don't even have to waste time drinking potions, just have someone in back with the rod and zap them whenever they might be getting into critical health. Hopefully you won't have to use it quite so liberally in most situations but certain battles, particularly when a character may have to take some significant damage to cut through defenses, can be made much easier. In any case, unless you're addicted to Cloudkill cheese where you're not even stepping into the room with enemies, the rod of resurrection is far and away the one item you want to keep fully loaded as much as possible.

[Celacena]

Love resurrection

yes - I only recently discovered that raise dead type spells can act as heals - I wanted to raise a spellcaster who had fallen mid battle - Anomen only had mass raise, so I used that with the exciting effect that all my battle-battered characters were restored...which was nice!

I hadn't thought to use the rod as a ranged heal, but that it a brilliant idea - I'm struggling a little with the final battle of ToB at the moment - get part-way through and something goes wrong, one way or another - I had used Wish to restore health, but perhaps using mass raise when the whole lot are weakened and the rod to target an ailing individual may be part of my next strategy.

invisible simulcrum with the rods - say pixie dusted? that it quite a heal store for a battle that is not going to last too long, or where the caster can stay away from damage.

doncha just hate it when enemies are immune to time stop?

[Jedi_Sauraus]

You can use wand of ressurection as liberaly as you like just cast it from a projected image or a simmy :devil: I know I know cheesy, I rarely do so myself except the really hard battles but hey if your having a hard time why not

[fable]

You can use wand of ressurection as liberaly as you like just cast it from a projected image or a simmy :devil: I know I know cheesy..

No, not cheesy. Extremely cheesy. Besides, you can apply this bit of strategy to anything and everything. You can even have a projected image sell a completely filled wand to a merchant, and keep the original, if I recall correctly. It's the ultimate forging machine, that spell, and very broken. I'm surprised they left it in. We had one member a while ago whose name escapes me that specialized in remarkable adaptations of cheesy techniques. He used to wax ecstatic over projected image and the like.

[Ian Kognitow]

No, not cheesy. Extremely cheesy. Besides, you can apply this bit of strategy to anything and everything. You can even have a projected image sell a completely filled wand to a merchant, and keep the original, if I recall correctly. It's the ultimate forging machine, that spell, and very broken. I'm surprised they left it in. We had one member a while ago whose name escapes me that specialized in remarkable adaptations of cheesy techniques. He used to wax ecstatic over projected image and the like.

Surely you haven't forgotten that not only did he expound cheese, he was so good as to write an entire guide:

The Hero's Guide to A Successful Adventure

[fable]

Yes, how could that name escape me, especially when attached to such an engaging personality: UserUnfriendly. This is just the sort of thread he would have cavorted happily in.

In any case, if you want to play things straight, you'll just buy and sell wands without stealing them back, and if you try to steal and fail, you'll take the consequences. -That's the reason I never liked the theft system used in most RPGs; it's so final that most players usually just reload and try again.

But with the added quest mods, you certainly shouldn't lack for cash to spend on refurbished wands.

[RPG Guy (sorta)]

Fear not Fable. I'm playing true.

I've already exhausted my Rod of Resurrection. It was extremley helpful in getting me through the tough (Chapter 2) quests without reloading...including (SPOILER)









...Planar Sphere and Firkraag's dungeon. I'm trying to do every possible quest I can in Chapter 2 before paying the fee for the Shadow Thieve's help in tracking Imoen. The only quests remaining are the Sightless Eye and rescuing that tiefling bard (Haer Dalis?).

The RoR is gone but with all the questing I've done, my Cleric is now LVL 15 and can Raise Dead/Ressurect to pick up the slack.

PS. My Conjurer is pushing level 13 and should hit very soon.

Deaths to date = 53 (10 ressurections, 43 reloads). Strange as it sounds, I'm proud of that number given my D&D newbness and given this is my first play-thru (minus certain intro quests completed during my first, aborted attempt due to an incomplete install) .

No cheese here.

[Celacena]

Surely you haven't forgotten that not only did he expound cheese, he was so good as to write an entire guide:

The Hero's Guide to A Successful Adventure

all that cheese!

even if you don't like the taste - the elegance of some of the ideas deserves praise.

I don't expect to use many, if any, but I'm tempted to try one or two just for the fun of it.

some of the ideas - such as the sanctuaried or the undetectable wizard eye blocking doorways - I found for myself - rather than missile weapons as suggested, I use ranged cleric/mage castings beyond the blocker - holy smite being enemy-only is particularly useful.
I like the mindflayer lair trick of just walking a sanctuaried cleric into the final room and collecting crom freyr then (for example) casting protection from magic on a magic eye and having it act as a decoy to lead them into the next room. setting up lots of snares, skull-traps or delayed blast fireballs and leading creatures onto them using the eye or a skeleton warrior has been honed to perfection. I've also set up glyph traps - sleeping in between - I didn't notice there being a max on glyphs...
having had a cleric loot the room, it is just done for the xp or the satisfaction of clearing the area.

I've still got to decide how to defeat Mel in ToB...