The spelled Flameblade, descritptions, functions, fixes, etc...

[Roana]

Hello,

 

while fixing my game, I stumbled certainly over this:

 

// per descript flame blade is non-magical, does 1d4 slashing damage plus 1d2 + 4 fire damage

// actual item is magical, does 1d2 + 4 slashing damage plus 1d4 fire, and has a spurious thac0 bonus

 

 

Well, I read my description - and - WONDER... - I read in my AD&D rules book and WONDER more:

 

It seems, that the German translators for BG2 have most times not "translated", what Bioware has written in the descriptions, but copied the true descriptions from the AD&D rules books into the game:

 

In my German description (in the game and exactly also in the rulebook) it is:

- non-magical

- made ONLY fire damage - NO other damage

- makes 1d4+4 FIRE-damage general

- makes 1d4+6 FIRE-damage against Undead

- makes 1d4+2 FIRE-damage to fire-resistent foes

- makes NO damage to fire-immun foes

 

well, you see, why I am wondering

 

Additional the flameblade is per description handelt as a scimitar. I guess, this is the reason for the THAC0-bonus, Bioware have given (although they have flagged the item false - as shortsword): Priest will get a -3 penalty, if they are fighting with a weapon, in which the have no proficiency. But as this is a spelled weapon, they should be able to use it with their normal THAC0 - so Bioware have given the penalty back in a bonus (although it is 1 too many), as not all priests in the game are Jaheiras or druids (which are allowed to learn scimitar by rule)

 

To get this all in a fix to the flameblade in the game, I have:

- removed the magical flag

- changed the category to "long swords"

- given the item the proficiency for long swords, so that all priests will get their penalty for unlearned weapon usage (including druids)

- reduced the THAC0 bonus to 3

- given normal damage: 0d4

- changed the effect with general fire-damage to 1d4 plus 4 fixed-damage

- added an effect with 1d2 damage vs. Undead to the Melee-Header

 

and hope, that the fire-resistance and the fire-immunities from foes will do the rest well

 

For the damage of 1d2 vs. Undead: I haven't found an effect-file, that will do a fixed fire damage of 2 to Undead (there are only 1 fixed damage or 3 fixed damage in my game), and I don't wanted to create a new one only for this blade. Otherwise, I would have taken a Use Effect File-Effect on the Melee header with a fixed fire-damage of 2 vs. Undead.

 

Well, this are only my suggestions, how to fix this spelled blade in an easy way. I hope, my comments are this time a bit more clear as in my last post .

 

Regards

 

Roana

 

Edited: typos

[CamDawg]

I'm not sure why they didn't translate the English description instead of using a random, unassociated one.

 

In the English version the spell explicitly states that you do not receive a proficiency penalty, that it's not magical, and that damage is 1d4 from the weapon plus an additional 1d2+4 fire damage. Fire damage is reduced to 0 for fire immune creatures and to 1d2+2 for fire resistant ones--in both cases, the original 1d4 from the weapon itself still applies. Fixpack removes the magical flag and the THAC0 bonus (the spell indicates none) and corrects the damage (it originally did 1d4+4 slashing and 4 points of fire). Proficiencies are unchanged, per the descript, and there's no damage against undead whatsoever.