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This is a really dumb question, but I need to ask. what does walk silently do? I read the thing and it just says it enables the thief to walk without sound. what I don't understand is what application there is for this in the game? I have played through SoA and ToB once and I never spent a slot in walk silently. now I'm playing again and I'm kinda curious to know if I've been missing anything.

I read in the past that more points in hide in shadows will give you a better chance in hiding in shadows. Then you have to go behind the enemy to backstab them so while you are moving the computer will check your point in walk silently to see if you will be able to remain hidden in shadows since the better you are in walking silently the less likely you will make noise for the enemy to discover you. So it is kind of important to have points in moving silently based on this.

wow, I really was missing something. thanks a lot!

well couple things here. First, someone said that you can backstab without being hidden in shadows. Apparently, only the fact that you are behind them when you attack matters. I haven't tested this, but he sounded sincere and knowledgeable about this, so you may want to prove or disprove this via testing on your own.

Secondly, i'm not precisely sure of what 'move silently' does, but i followed someones advice in developing a character, a stalker/cleric, and they suggested i divide the points evenly between 'move silently' and 'hide in shadows'. And being a stalker, instead of telling me those two seperate values on my record sheet, it simply has 'stealth: 127' listed. Now 127 is not 70 + 70, and it certainly isn't 70, so obviously stealth is a unique attribute in itself, but obviously based on both 'hide in shadows' and also 'move silently'. I would even guess that 'stealth' may be the prime thing that it checks when calculating your chance to 'backstab' rather than, whether or not you are hidden in the shadows. That and the fact that you are behind them....i think, maybe.....doh. I dunno. just some things to think about. Btw, did you check the manual? hehe maybe they explain it precisely in there? Or if not, then go find some AD&D rules 3rd edition or whatever, and see if you can find it in there. Remember BG II is 'based' on those rules. So if not in the BG II manual, you can prolly find info on what it all means, in a thorough AD&D manual.

[ 07-15-2001: Message edited by: Bodhidharma ]

You don't necessarily have to be hidden in shadows - invisibility works fine to. Once you've gone out of the shadows or otherwise gone visible, you can no longer backstab (even if you should be standing behind your ennemy).

It's a shame you can't backstab with the Staff of the Magi (only weapons usuable by thieves work; most staffs are usuable by thieves but not this one). Would be great to backstab, immediately go invisible and then backstab again. Of course, you still got potions and rings but these take longer time to use.

This is just conjecture based on my game xp...

a Hide in Shaddows roll will be needed to first disappear into the shadows. Furthur checks are made from the average of HiS + MS.

Now where Move Silently is important is when sneaking up to enemies. Sometimes you will notice that the enemies shift into different stances when you approach. I believe this to be when the enemy hears someone around, but doesn't know where they are. Also moving silently will not trigger True Sights or other such spells.

As a thief, I tend to max out FRT and OL first, then MS never worrying about HiS. This way while I'm invisible I can look for traps and scout at the same time.

I think it's: Hide in Shadows, become invisible; Walk silently, stay hidden; but I could be wrong...

Originally posted by Bodhidharma:
<STRONG>And being a stalker, instead of telling me those two seperate values on my record sheet, it simply has 'stealth: 127' listed. Now 127 is not 70 + 70, and it certainly isn't 70, so obviously stealth is a unique attribute in itself, but obviously based on both 'hide in shadows' and also 'move silently'. I would even guess that 'stealth' may be the prime thing that it checks when calculating your chance to 'backstab' rather than, whether or not you are hidden in the shadows.</STRONG>

127 sounds like some magic capping number. Resistances also cap out at 127, which, incidentally, is the highest value a one-byte number can have if it supports negatives.

BG1 simply had 'Stealth' for Thieves as well, BG2 splits it up for some reason. Perhaps the Stealth score is figured simply by adding both scores together. Does anyone notice a big difference between Hide 0 & Move 100, Hide 100 & Move 0 or Hide 100 & Move 100?