Aarchon Anecdote Authority AAAVolume004
This is about dual wield and dual weapon to hopefully reduce confusion on how these skills work, the weight requirements, etc. Dual wield and dual_weapon work in tandem with each other. There has often been a lot of confusion of how they work, and what is needed to dual wield weapons of various weights. Hopefully this explanation below will help some. For calculating chance-to-hit, the higher % of dual_wield and the applicable dual_weapon skill is used. Off-hand weapon weight is checked twice throughout the dual wield process. First, to see if you're strong enough to even wield the weapon in your off-hand at all, and second to see if you're able to wield it with your current main-hand weapon. The maximum weight of your off-hand weapon is weight(main-hand weapon) * max(dwd,dwn) / (150-dwn) where dwd=dual_wield skill and dwn=dual_weapon skill. For dual_wield alone this means at most 2/3 of the main weapon weight. For dual_weapon alone this means you can wield equal-weight weapons at a skill percentage of 75 or more.

Aarchon Anecdote Authority AAAVolume003
With the introduction of the 100% tattoo refund day, we started to receive a substantial number of questions regarding how attacks and damage were calculated. After a bit of research, we're happy to share with you a detailed explanation of these mechanics. Now with 100% less Paradigm Industries information. 1) You make an attack 2) Chance of the attack hitting is called 1) If the attacker is larger than the defender, there is a 3% miss chance per size-category difference. 2) Then there is a flat 1/8 chance to hit. 3) If the attack didn't miss or hit yet, attack_roll and defense_roll are calculated: 3a) attack_roll = hitroll * (100+weapon_skill)/200 3b) defense_roll = (100-AC)/10 If random(0..attack_roll) > random(0..defense_roll) it's a hit, otherwise a miss. Note 1: See "help thac0" for attack_factor and defense_factor. They are around 100, but vary by class. Note 2: There are other conditional things that can affects hit/miss: * Curse provices a 5% miss chance. * Giant feller provides a 3% hit chance per size difference. * Being blind or prone reduce attack_roll by 25% each. * Dimensional blade stance doubles the attack_roll. 3) Damage is calculated 1) Base damage from Level 2) Weapon Damage is checked 3) Shield/Two-hand weapon check is done 4) Damroll Added (4 damroll = 1 damage) 5) Enhanced Damage Checked 6) Sharp Shooting Checked 7) Anatomy Checked 4) Damage modifiers are checked 1) Spears do more damage to bigger opponents 2) Giant feller does even more damage to bigger opponents (spear required) 3) Claws give a bonus damage if you're unstanced 4) Weaken spell reduces damage by 10% 5) Critical hit is checked 6) Leadership damage bonus is added 7) Sanctuary is checked 8) Protection good/evil is checked 9) Fade/Dodge/Parry/Shield Block are checked 10) Vuln/Resists are Checked 11) Stance damage is added 5) Damage is dealt

Aarchon Anecdote Authority AAAVolume002
The Aarchon Anecdote Authority thought the legal battles had finally ended a few weeks ago, until one of Paradigm's lawyers got their hands on SirLance's subpoena for several of their highly prized patents that hadn't been previously resolved in court. An injunction was filed against SirLance to stop him from submitting additional requests, but the judge quickly threw out the case stating that "he didn't want to see one more goddamn question from SirLance". We at AAA are a bit more appreciative of the thirst for knowledge. With the legal battlegrounds cleared, we're able to publish some new and quite exciting information this week. Rumor 1: The Discipline stat determines how many practices you will gain per level. AAA Says: FALSE! Get with the times! Practices are now calculated using each classes' primary and secondary stats. The formula is: Practices Gained = (Prime/30) + (Secondary/45) + (Secondary #2/45) The formula is being refined ever so slightly, so that you can gain a "partial practice" which gets applied at later levels (so you can earn like 8.4 pracs per level meaning you'll gain 8, 8, 9, 8, etc.). The math won't change, the game will just handle it better. Rumor 2: Skills and spells are harder to improve as they reach higher %s. There are break points in place! AAA Says: MOSTLY TRUE. There aren't particular break points in place that make skills and spells harder to learn, but the formula is written in a way that the higher the skill already is, the harder it is to learn it. The last 2% are equally hard to gain. Rumor 3: Most skills and spells don't have a special bonus for being maxed. AAA Says: MOSTLY TRUE. Currently many skills and spells have no special bonus for being maxed out. Yes, they're more likely to work, may cost slightly less, etc., but very few skills and spells have a "mastery" type bonus. Some examples of skills with a bonus are : Mass Combat, Beheading, Assassination, Parry, Dodge, Shield Block, and Duck. When they are maxed out (100% EFFECTIVE) they actually give an ADDITIONAL bonus on top of the base chance of success you would have. Bless is one of the only spells that currently has a bonus as well. Question 1: What are the break points for weapon proficiency messages? AAA Says: 1, 36, 61, 75, 81, 91, 100 are the break points. The messages that you get are : You fumble and almost drop (obj), (obj) feels a little clumsy in your hand, Your skill with (obj) is adequate, You are skilled with (obj), You feel quite confident with (obj), (obj) feels like an extension of your body, and last but not least, You are supremely talented with (obj). The breakpoints however do not reflect your exact success rate with the weapon, meaning, if you have a weapon skill at 94% it will be 3% more successful than a weapon skill that is at 91%. You don't need to hit a breakpoint to actually see an improvement. Thank you for reading. Please remember that Paradigm is responsible for spreading all of the above rumors. You can show your gratitude by submitting more questions for the next volume of Aarchon Anecdote Authority.

Aarchon Anecdote Authority AAAVolume001
Volume 1 - Aarchon Anecdote Authority "The blind man fights using the dreaded flying guillotine, a decapitating weapon that even has it's own movie. It's a metal box with retractable blades connected to a long chain. All you have to do is throw it on your enemy's head, and pop! Off comes the noggin!" For nearly a decade, the revered Aerial Decaptitator was the most valuable and sought after weapon in all the land. Today, the Aarchon Anecdote Authority devalues the item by 15%, by dispelling some rumors that have been surrounding the mechanics behind beheading! Rumor 1: Weapons that do slash damage have a better chance to behead than all other damtypes AAA Says: FALSE. Damtype has no bearing on your chance to behead Rumor 2: Exotics have a high chance to behead. AAA Says: FALSE. Axes have the best chance to behead, followed by swords, then daggers and polearms, then exotics. It is not possible to behead with a spear, mace, flail, gun, or whip. Rumor 3: A heavy weapon has a better chance to behead AAA Says: FALSE. Weapon weight plays no factor in your chance to behead an opponent. Rumor 4: High STR and LUC stats help you behead more AAA Says: Partially TRUE. While these stats don't inherently give you a better chance to behead, if you play a class with the Beheading skill (Warrior or Gladiator), then these stats will increase your effective Beheading skill. The greater your beheading skill, the greater your chance to behead Rumor 5: The beheading skill helps your chance to behead with a gun AAA Says: FALSE. As mentioned in rumor 2, it is not possible to behead with a gun. You can however assassinate your opponent which effectively counts for and appears a behead. Thank you for reading. Please remember that Paradigm is responsible for spreading all of the above rumors. You can show your gratitude by submitting more questions for the next volume of Aarchon Anecdote Authority.

aarchon anecdote authority
Many years have passed since Paradigm closed its doors, but the company has been far from dormant. Representatives of the immortal staff have been meeting weekly with Paradigm's top Lawyers and Public Relations officials in Bastion's Chambers of the Senate. Paradigm's flunkies have argued that we are not allowed to share any of the information on how their technology worked, while we have argued that since the corporation had dissolved, their patents were null and void. Alas, after fighting years of bribery and dealing with Sir Lancelot's petty attempts of defense through case law, the courts have ruled in our favor. After the ruling had been announced, Hymdal was interviewed outside of the Chambers of the Senate. His statement for the papers was "The next Paradigm lawyer that steps into my Chambers will be shot on sight." For any of you old Paradigm stragglers out there, make sure you hide your ID cards before heading his direction. Now that Paradigm's monopoly has ended, and with the court's approval, the immortal staff is proud to announce that we will be starting a bi-weekly newspaper for the denizens of Aarchon. Each column will feature an article debunking the myths and legends that Paradigm has spread throughout the realm over the past decade. If you have a question about how something works, or whether something is fact or fiction, please send correspondence to the immortals on the personal board. Make sure you use the subject "Aarchon Anecdote Authority"