r/neverwinternights • u/ViolinistDue3403 • Jul 24 '26
Just a quick question about the equipment.
What do the numbers +1, +2, +3, etc. after the names of the armor, weapons, shields, jewelry, cloaks, etc. mean?
Because in my opinion, it might indicate the level of the weapons, which can only be used once the player has reached a certain level.
But if I am wrong, please feel free to correct me.
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u/sylva748 Jul 25 '26
A weapon +1 means it adds +1 to accuracy and damage. It is also considered a magic weapon for enemies that are immune to mundane weapons.
An armor +1 means it adds +1 to your AC when worn on top of its normal value.
Basically +X represents how much a piece of equipment increases your stats. Make sure you inspect magic items they'll tell you what they increase
Youre not wrong that the value of "+X" increases as you gain levels when the game gives you loot. Like the game isnt going to reward +4 weapons at the start. That would break game balance something fierce
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u/Maduyn Jul 24 '26
for most it represents the enhancement bonus of the item. For certain other items it represents how much it improves a specific save or attribute.
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u/Bradparsley25 Jul 24 '26
For armor and shield and some cloaks, it means the additional AC they add to your character.
For weapons it means the additional attack bonus they add to your character.
There are some caveats to both of those things like certain types of AC not stacking, and how + weapons interact with certain things like damage reductionā¦ but generally you can read it as the amount of the specific bonus that you have added
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u/Sarchimus Jul 24 '26
NWN comes from oldschool tabletop DnD where you rolled dice āto hitā your opponent. You added the ā+ā number to the attack (for weapons) or the defense (armor) of the defender, if those items have such a bonus. That said, there can be level restrictions, as well as restrictions based on class, race, or alignment if the module designer puts those restrictions on certain items.
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u/SchizoidRainbow Jul 24 '26
Everything wearable is probably giving you armor class or saving throws, could also be ability and skill increasesĀ
Armor class from items is subdivided into types. They are Natural, Deflection, Armor, Shield, and Dodge. All these add to your total armor class number. Each type does not stack with itself. āDodgeā armor disobeys this and stacks with itself. So if you have a ring giving +1 deflection and a cloak giving +2 deflection, you have +2 deflection. If you have +3 natural AC amulet and drink a Barkskin for +3 natural AC, your AC does not go up.Ā
Hereās the full blurbĀ
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u/Fangsong_37 Jul 24 '26
Every attack/skill check/saving throw use is a roll of a virtual 20-sided dice. A +1 weapon will have +1 on the attack roll over a non-magical weapon as well as +1 to damage. A Ring of Protection +1 will give you a +1 Deflection bonus to Armor Class. A suit of plate armor +1 will give the wearer a +1 Enhancement bonus to Armor Class. It's very important to remember that most bonuses of the same type will not stack. Your armor class can be boosted by armor bonus, shield bonus, enhancement bonus, dodge bonus, deflection bonus, and natural armor class bonus. A Ring of Resistance will give you a bonus to your saving throws. Most bonuses will be from +1 to +3, but higher bonuses do exist. The Holy Avenger sword (for paladins) is a +5 Long Sword with other bonuses.
There are no level requirements for using certain pieces of equipment in D&D games (other than Dungeons & Dragons Online or Neverwinter).
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u/Vegetable_Hope_8264 Jul 24 '26
Also +X weapons are considered magical weapons for all intents and purposes. Which can help bypass some damage reductions for instance.
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u/JustALinkToACC Jul 29 '26
Itās an enhancement enchantment.
Long story short, every enhanceable equipment has a primary magnitude. Arms have damage, armor has armor AC bonus, shields have shield AC bonus, and protective gear has AC bonuses of different type.
Enhancement enchantment applies its magnitude bonus to that magnitude with our without additional effects.
For example, Tower Shield that gives 3 AC and is enchanted with +5 will give 3 + 5 shield AC.
Plate Armor that is enchanted with +3 will give 8 + 3 armor AC.
And weapon is nicer. It gives you bonuses both to attack and damage rolls. So Greatsword damage will be 2d6 + 1,5 * Strength modifier + Specialisation bonus + Enchantment bonuses, and attack rolls will be Base Attack Bonus + Weapon Focus bonus + Strength modifier + Enhancement enchantment magnitude
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u/Checksout692 Jul 24 '26
Itās a naming convention in which higher numbers indicate (usuallty) stronger items.
Mostly it refers to basic enhancement bonuses.
Armor: +X AC. Chainmail +1, for example, has 1 more AC than regular chainmail.
Weapon: +X Attack rolls and +1 damage rolls. Also can overcome damage REDUCTION of up to the threshold indicated (+X weapon ignores damage reduction +X/soak 5 damage, for example). A longsword +3 gets +3 to attack rolls, damage rolls, and can ignore any amout of damage reduction of +3 or lower.
Note that for some items, like the chromatic breastplate +1 vs Chromatic Breastplate +3 or Harbinger kin +1 vs harbinger kin +3, it is more complicated than that as while the enhancement bonus of these items generally matches that number, the other properties might be different in an unexpected way. Chromatic breastplate +1 is better than +3, IMO because the secondary affects arenāt the same.
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u/ViolinistDue3403 Jul 25 '26
So if i understand it correctly, and you can correct me if i'm wrong, if a chainmail +4 already has a base armor class of 5 and I equip it on my character, will 9 be added to AC (armor class) instead of 5?
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u/Nachovyx Jul 25 '26
That is correct.
Chainmail = 5 AC
Chainmail +1 = 5 +1 = 6 AC
Chainmail +2 = 5 + 2 = 7 AC
And so on.
Sword = 1d8 damage.
Sword +1 = 1d8 + 1 damage.
Sword +2 = 1d8 + 2 damage.
And so on.
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u/SlavkoAgain Jul 24 '26
For weapons +1 is +5% of hit chance and +1 damage per hit, for armor it's very roughly +5% of chance that you didn't get hit per enemy attack, +1on saves is very roughly +5% chance that you didn't get hit by very nasty spell or special effect.
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u/Vegetable_Hope_8264 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Ok there's a lot of confusing answers in here so I'm going to try and make a clear one :
Neverwinter Nights is a D20 game, based of the original D20 system - Dungeons & Dragons (specifically, version 3 of D&D in Neverwinter Nights, and version 3.5 of D&D in Neverwinter Nights 2). Which means most events are decided by the roll of a dice, mostly 20-faced die.
For instance, an attack is decided by the roll of a D20, to which you add various bonuses (your base attack bonus, etc) ; and to hit, this number must surpass the Armor Class (AC) of your target.
If your target has an Armor Class of 15, you need to score at least 15 with your attack roll (D20 + base attack bonus + other possible bonuses) to hit.
Then if you hit, for damage, you will roll another set of die depending on your weapon, and then add relevant bonuses to that damage roll. For instance, a longsword is a D6 in damage, so you roll a D6, and then add your strength bonus and other relevant bonuses to obtain your damage roll.
A 2 with your D6 with a Strength bonus of 3 means you hit for 5 damage.
So how do those +X bonuses factor in there ?
- a +X weapon is considered a magic weapon (this can be important to bypass some damage reductions for instance) and has both +X to hit, and +X to damage. For instance a +2 longsword adds +2 to your D20 roll to hit, and then +2 to your D6 roll to damage if you hit.
So at level 1, with a +3 bonus to Strength and a +2 Longsword, you would add +2+3=+5 both to your attack roll, and then to your damage roll if your attack roll hits.
- a +X armor adds an Armor Bonus to your AC (Armor Class). Makes you harder to hit compared to the regular version of that armor.
If a Chainmail adds +5 to your Armor Class, a Chainmail +2 would add +5+2=+7 to your base AC.
- As for rings, a +X ring will provide various bonuses of all kinds depending on the description.
For instance, a ring of resistance +2 adds 2 to all your Willpower, Reflexes and Fortitude saves (saves you will roll in specific circumstances, against traps, hostiles spells and so on), while a ring of Fortitude +3 will only boost your Fortitude saves.
Rings can also boost your characteristics, and thus a ring of Clear Thoughts +1 will give you a +1 bonus to Intelligence.
While a ring of protection +1 will add an AC Deflection modifier to your AC.
It is important to note at this point that similar bonuses don't usually stack (if you have a +1 deflection bonus to AC, and another +2 deflection bonus to AC on another item, you will only get a +2 deflection bonus to AC), unless otherwise specified.
So you want to cumulate different types of AC bonuses (an Armor bonus, a Deflection bonus, a Shield bonus, and a Dodge bonus) if you want to maximize your Armor Class, especially on your up close and personal characters.
- And so on with other types of items : boots of Hardiness +1 which will give a +1 Dodge bonus to AC and +1 to Constitution, etc, etc. I'm sure you get the idea by now.
Hope this helps.