Just wondering if there is a guide that lists all the effects of negative/positive alignment. I do know that certain characters won't join your party if you have it one way or the other. But according to the manual it also says it limits spells and items; but is very vague on the subject. So basically a(n) (semi-)in depth guide to alignment is what I'm looking for.
Also since I'm asking questions...Weapon/armor stats? specifically the numbers in parenthisis->(). For example a sword with a damage of +10(+4) or an armor with AC of +6(+7). What does the number in the parenthisis mean and how is it applied?
Spells and items: The part about alignment affecting spells is untrue. Many spells are affected by magickal aptitude, but none by alignment. Same for items, none affected by alignment. The Shadow Shield's description says that it's protection is proportional to the user's evil alignment, but it actually does not work (a bug not fixed even in the latest Unofficial Arcanum Patch). Followers: Evil followers refuse to join a good character, unless the character is a persuasion master. Good followers refuse to join an evil (or not good enough) character, unless the character is a persuasion master. Good followers will complain when you kill a good NPC and their reaction will drop. If you have a charisma of 20, their reaction will no longer drop in such a case, though they will still complain. There are neutral characters who couldn't care less about your alignment and will agree to join you no matter its value. Main plot: Spoiler Being evil allows you to join the Dark Elves = follow the evil path of the latter part of the main plot. If you follow the good path while being evil, Nasrudin will insist that you kill the Bogaroth before sending you to Vendigroth. That's pretty much it. Numbers in parentheses are magickal bonuses. How much of that bonus you receive depends on your magickal aptitude and the items magickal complexity and it's expressed by Magickal Power Available (a coefficient you can see in the items description). The greater your MA, the greater the items MPA and the more magickally complex the item, the higher your MA must be for you to receive the full bonus.
So basically the MPA percentage is the percentage of the parenthesized bonus that I can actually use? i.e. If the bonus was (+20) and my MPA 20% then the bonus would actually be (+4) at that particular time?
Not to nitpick, but wasn't Harrow's script partially dependent on player alignment? Or am I remembering incorrectly?
You are correct, I forgot about Harrow. Its damage is indeed alignment-dependent if its wielder is a dwarf or an elf.
Its description says "10 AC, Evil Alignment / 10 AC", but the way it works, no matter alignment and MA it always gives a measly 10 AC = on par with a Battered Wooden Shield or a Flow Spectrometer, which is kind of an achievement, I guess. Even if it did work, it would still be weak. Assuming the "10 AC" is fixed and "Evil Alignment / 10 AC" is the alignment & MA dependent bonus, the best one would be able to squeeze out of it would be 20 AC. Better just buy the Shield of Force in the same shop, 30 AC and that electrical damage thing. Unless they meant "Evil Alignment / 10 AC" the way the game sees it. 1000/10 = 100 AC (capped at 95) when fully evil? It seems that they intended it to be either underpowered or overpowered, but with the adjustment system not working altogether (I wonder if it's even implemented), roleplay and the fact that it looks cool are the only reasons one would want to use it.
On a side note some items effect your alignment, e.g. the Dark Helm. Now, I've had a problem with Geoffrey when I gave him the Bangelian Scourge to play with. It pretty much gives you a 100 Evil alignment and when he equipped it his alignment was now MUCH more evil than my measly 35 Evil and he left my party. There was no "nice" way at the time to get the sword back from him so I was just forced to kill him.
