Elves +1 with long swords - bug

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Last night when playing with my Eleven Ranger I notice his +1 bonus with long swords carried over to broad swords and even 2 handed swords. I have ToTSC installed, but currently I don't have the latest patch. Does the latest patch resolve this bug? If so maybe I will play with it out.

[ September 01, 2005, 21:27: Message edited by: Taluntain ]

 

It's not a bug. Elves have +1 to SWORDS, not just long swords.

 

Aren't they supposed to only have a +1 bonus to lonmgswords in PnP 2nd ed?

 

PHB, p.29:

I figure it would be pretty stupid to limit their expertise to only two specific types of swords (it's the same f***ing design), so I always interpreted that as size rather than type. IOW, they get the bonus for swords of any size, whether they're tiny or huge. I suspect the designers felt the same way.

 

Okay, I guess it's one of these sort of things you can interpret differently. The quotation is after all not that specific

 

With the Elf gaining a +1 to swords and bows it only make sense that anyone who wants to be a pure bred fighter or thief should be an elf so they can take advantage of this ability.

Does this hold over into BG2? If so than I am definitely going to specialize in 2 handed swords with my stalker/ranger.

 

Man you would like to have pointy ears to get a measly +1 ???

 

Actually, both swords mentioned are one-handed, though of similar size. Your deduction holds thus true for all one-handed swords of any size. However, based on this logic, the bonus should not carry over to two-handed swords, as they are not wielded at all in the same manner as both other swords.

But, one thing that's wrong in your logic is that not all swords of the same size are handled in the same manner. Longsword and shortsword are more of the pointy kind of swords, good for stabbing. Scimitars and Katana's on the other hand are made for cutting motions.

 

@Meatdog:
Long swords are slashing, not piercing. (Look it up if you don't believe me. ) They can also be wielded with two hands (and in fact MUST be by gnomes, halflings, and dwarves, though it's not implemented in the game) with no change in the sword's numbers. Most simply do not do it because there is no advantage to it and it deprives you of the chance to use a shield.

The reason that swords and bows are easier for elves to use is that they supposedly invented them. It may be a bit cliche, but they were made by elves, for elves. The katana (oriental) and scimitar (desert?) are exotic weapons and would not be easily available to elves unless they had grown up in the area where they were invented, but it's still the same basic design.

You might be able to argue the bastard sword since it was supposed to have been made by half-elves (mostly considered bastard children), and has different styles (and numbers) when wielded one-handed versus two-handed. But the broad sword is simply an in-between, and the two-handed swords were made for the original elven kings as a symbol of power.

EDIT: If anybody cares, the length of swords is laid out like this (from shortest to longest):
P=piercing, S=slashing

P-Short sword
S-Broad sword
S-Long sword, Scimitar, Katana, Bastard
S-Khopesh sword (Egyptian, but included in the PHB for some reason)
S-Two-handed sword

[ September 01, 2005, 20:39: Message edited by: Felinoid ]

 

The ingame reason for it is probably an engine issue.

There's only Small Swords and Large Swords to distinguish between in BG1, so since Short Swords are in one and Long Swords the other they have to apply the bonus to all swords.

To answer Silver Knight's second post, I believe that in BG2 they only get a bonus with Short Swords and Long Swords as per pnp.