Weapon Proficiencies¶
A weapon proficiency represents a character's knowledge and training with a specific weapon. When a character is created, he or she has a few initial slots that must be filled before the first adventure. A character can assign weapon proficiency slots only to weapons allowed by their class.
As characters reach higher levels they earn additional weapon proficiency points to assign. The rate depends on class:
- Warriors concentrate on martial skills and gain proficiencies quickly.
- Wizards spend their time studying magic and gain proficiencies very slowly.
Non-proficiency penalties¶
If a character wields a weapon in which they have no proficiency, they suffer a to-hit and damage penalty that varies by class:
| Class group | Non-proficiency penalty |
|---|---|
| Fighters, Rangers, Paladins, Monks, Barbarians | –2 |
| Clerics, Druids, Thieves, Bards | –3 |
| Mages, Sorcerers | –5 |
Fighting styles¶
Characters can also specialize in a fighting style. There are four:
- Two-Handed Weapon Style
- Two-Weapon Style
- Single-Weapon Style
- Sword and Shield Style
Fighting with two weapons
To fight with two weapons at the same time, simply place a second weapon into your shield slot. Without proficiency in Two-Weapon Style you'll incur significant penalties on both hands:
| Proficiency slots | Main-hand penalty | Off-hand penalty |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | –4 | –8 |
| 1 | –2 | –6 |
| 2 | 0 | –4 |
| 3 | 0 | –2 |
Two-Handed Weapon Style¶
For characters wielding a two-handed weapon — two-handed swords, halberds, spears, quarterstaves.
- 1 slot: +1 damage, –2 speed factor, scores critical hits on rolls of 19 or 20 (not just 20).
- 2 slots: an additional –2 speed factor (total –4).
Magical two-handed weapons are more powerful than their one-handed counterparts to offset the loss of a shield or second weapon.
Single-Weapon Style¶
For characters who carry no shield and want a bonus when wielding a one-handed weapon.
- 1 slot: +1 AC, scores critical hits on 19 or 20.
- 2 slots: AC bonus increases to +2.
Sword and Shield Style¶
Anyone can pick up a shield for its basic protection; this proficiency maximises the benefits.
- 1 slot: +2 AC against missile weapons.
- 2 slots: an additional +2 AC (total +4).
Note
Despite the name, any one-handed melee weapon combined with a shield earns these bonuses.
Weapon specialization¶
Fighters, Paladins, Barbarians, Rangers, and certain class kits can train and hone their weapon skills to higher levels than other classes. This is done by assigning more proficiencies to a single weapon class.
| Level of Proficiency | Slots | Bonus to Hit | Bonus Damage | Attacks per Round** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proficient | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Specialized* | 2 | +1 | +2 | 3/2 |
| Master | 3 | +3 | +3 | 3/2 |
| High Master | 4 | +3 | +4 | 3/2 |
| Grand Master | 5 | +3 | +5 | 2 |
* Only Fighters can hone their weapon skills beyond Specialized. Archers can only exceed Specialized with crossbows, longbows, and shortbows.
* Fighters, Rangers, Paladins, and Barbarians also gain an extra half-attack per round at 7th level in addition to the extra attacks from specialization. Non-warriors do not gain additional attacks* based on specialization.
Source: bg2ee/original_manuals/baldurs_gate_2_ee_mastering_melee_and_magic.pdf — "Weapon Proficiencies", "Fighting Styles", "Weapon Specialization".