So following my topic on strength last week, today we talk about dexterity, the attribute that measures your physical reflexes and nimbleness. To my mind two kinds of dexterity have been condensed into this stat: physical and manual dexterity. Physical being how adept you are at dodging blows, avoiding pitfalls and performing elegant moves in battle, and manual being how good you are at tinkering with locks, disarming traps, or firing that top-of-the-line crossbow in record time.
Dexterity has often been a stat that every class is recommended to have a good score in, as it affects armour class. However, the existence of the Gauntlets of Dexterity means that even a character with mediocre dexterity can boost it artificially, often becoming a powerhouse in the process.
Dexterity Scores
9: Osprey, Keldorn, Cernd, Wilson
And the Captain Butterfingers award goes to... though like with strength, no NPC has such bad dex that it causes serious penalties. Osprey is the female half-elven cleric/mage with 16 strength btw, some strange stats there. Cernd should endeavour to be like the supple willow instead of the rigid oak. Having fought in plate mail for most of his life, I'm sure Keldorn never got to grips with more fluid fighting styles... I imagine him as someone who often gets knocked down in battle but just keeps on fighting. His ass bone has been broken many times in the service of justice.
10: Edwin, Anomen
Again, Anomen is fighting in plate mail most of the time. I'm not sure what Edwin's excuse is.
12: Arkanis, Kagain, Yeslick, Eldoth
None at 11, so let me take you to dwarfy-town. Dwarves in my view are generally good with their hands, but not their physiques. This oddly fits Eldoth too, since he crafts those poison arrows.
13: Canderous, Ajantis, Dynaheir
Reaching the higher end of average, Canderous and Ajantis being reasonable dextrous for plate mail fighters. I must stress though that there is no mechanical difference between Dexterity of 7 and 14 unless you're a thief, bard or ranger. Weird, but there you go.
14: Jaheira (BG1), Baeloth
Ah yes, Jaheira learnt a few tricks in BG2 ;)
15: Minsc (BG1), Faldorn, Quayle (BG1), Korgan
Finally at 15 we get a -1 armour class adjustment. From here on armour class rises with each point up to 18, so there's no reason not to increase it as far as it will go. This is why Minsc (and Jaheira, though she frontlines less often) is a lot better in Baldur's Gate II. Good ol' Korgan showing his fellow dwarves how it's done.
16: Xzar, Khalid, Garrick, Branwen, Xan, Tiax, Minsc (BG2), Quayle (BG:EE), Dorn, Rasaad, Clara
Wow, tons of characters here. 16 gives you -2AC and +1 when attacking with missile weapons, and didn't the game makers want plenty of people to have this. Giving Quayle an extra point of dexterity really made him better... was he always meant to have this score? I really never saw Xzar being this slippery, or Branwen being this limber, but there you go. On the other hand it seems low for Rasaad, but I'm aware that Monks have to spread their points pretty thin.
17: Mordaine, Montaron, Kivan, Safana, Shar-Teel, Jaheira (BG2), Aerie, Jan, Sarevok, Neera
A fair amount of character have 17 as well, giving -3AC and +2 to hit rolls with ranged weaponry. These are really nice benefits to have. Even though Kivan could have as high as 19, he still kicks ass with 17, for example. Even a big guy like Sarevok can get his dexterity up here, suggesting it's a skill that can be learnt.
18: Imoen, Deder, Skie, Yoshimo, Nalia, Mazzy, Valygar
These individuals are at the peak of their gracefulness. In fact, have Yoshimo and Valygar in the party for long enough and they start organising dance recitals (not really). -4AC, +2 ranged. What poise.
19: Viconia, Alora
Viconia and Alora go beyond the human limits of dexterity - these are girls who always land on their feet. I actually imagine Alora as being very feline, squeezing through the narrowest gaps in gates to rob places. Despite being a cleric (often consigned to heavy plate mail), in the Underdark Viconia would probably have grown up wearing lightweight, unrestrictive chainmail, letting her develop dextrous skills. In addition to -4AC they both get +3 to hit rolls with ranged weapons.
20: Coran, Hexxat
Wow. Yes, Coran is illegal, but I personally like these flavoursome stat scores. Coran is a guy I can see performing multiple backflips in the heat of battle, scaling walls barehanded to reach his paramours, and being banned from every archery competition on the Sword Coast. What makes it even funnier is that generally it's the female NPCs with the higher average Dex scores. Hexxat is a vampire so this stuff is pretty standard for her, but wow. You've got to love flexible Coran... right?
So that's all I have on dexterity. With the spread for strength being much more varied, I think the game makers definitely put a base Dex score of 16 on a lot of characters to make them viable, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the average adventurer does have to have a high dexterity score, because it's the most important stat? Thoughts?
Dexterity has often been a stat that every class is recommended to have a good score in, as it affects armour class. However, the existence of the Gauntlets of Dexterity means that even a character with mediocre dexterity can boost it artificially, often becoming a powerhouse in the process.
Dexterity Scores
9: Osprey, Keldorn, Cernd, Wilson
And the Captain Butterfingers award goes to... though like with strength, no NPC has such bad dex that it causes serious penalties. Osprey is the female half-elven cleric/mage with 16 strength btw, some strange stats there. Cernd should endeavour to be like the supple willow instead of the rigid oak. Having fought in plate mail for most of his life, I'm sure Keldorn never got to grips with more fluid fighting styles... I imagine him as someone who often gets knocked down in battle but just keeps on fighting. His ass bone has been broken many times in the service of justice.
10: Edwin, Anomen
Again, Anomen is fighting in plate mail most of the time. I'm not sure what Edwin's excuse is.
12: Arkanis, Kagain, Yeslick, Eldoth
None at 11, so let me take you to dwarfy-town. Dwarves in my view are generally good with their hands, but not their physiques. This oddly fits Eldoth too, since he crafts those poison arrows.
13: Canderous, Ajantis, Dynaheir
Reaching the higher end of average, Canderous and Ajantis being reasonable dextrous for plate mail fighters. I must stress though that there is no mechanical difference between Dexterity of 7 and 14 unless you're a thief, bard or ranger. Weird, but there you go.
14: Jaheira (BG1), Baeloth
Ah yes, Jaheira learnt a few tricks in BG2 ;)
15: Minsc (BG1), Faldorn, Quayle (BG1), Korgan
Finally at 15 we get a -1 armour class adjustment. From here on armour class rises with each point up to 18, so there's no reason not to increase it as far as it will go. This is why Minsc (and Jaheira, though she frontlines less often) is a lot better in Baldur's Gate II. Good ol' Korgan showing his fellow dwarves how it's done.
16: Xzar, Khalid, Garrick, Branwen, Xan, Tiax, Minsc (BG2), Quayle (BG:EE), Dorn, Rasaad, Clara
Wow, tons of characters here. 16 gives you -2AC and +1 when attacking with missile weapons, and didn't the game makers want plenty of people to have this. Giving Quayle an extra point of dexterity really made him better... was he always meant to have this score? I really never saw Xzar being this slippery, or Branwen being this limber, but there you go. On the other hand it seems low for Rasaad, but I'm aware that Monks have to spread their points pretty thin.
17: Mordaine, Montaron, Kivan, Safana, Shar-Teel, Jaheira (BG2), Aerie, Jan, Sarevok, Neera
A fair amount of character have 17 as well, giving -3AC and +2 to hit rolls with ranged weaponry. These are really nice benefits to have. Even though Kivan could have as high as 19, he still kicks ass with 17, for example. Even a big guy like Sarevok can get his dexterity up here, suggesting it's a skill that can be learnt.
18: Imoen, Deder, Skie, Yoshimo, Nalia, Mazzy, Valygar
These individuals are at the peak of their gracefulness. In fact, have Yoshimo and Valygar in the party for long enough and they start organising dance recitals (not really). -4AC, +2 ranged. What poise.
19: Viconia, Alora
Viconia and Alora go beyond the human limits of dexterity - these are girls who always land on their feet. I actually imagine Alora as being very feline, squeezing through the narrowest gaps in gates to rob places. Despite being a cleric (often consigned to heavy plate mail), in the Underdark Viconia would probably have grown up wearing lightweight, unrestrictive chainmail, letting her develop dextrous skills. In addition to -4AC they both get +3 to hit rolls with ranged weapons.
20: Coran, Hexxat
Wow. Yes, Coran is illegal, but I personally like these flavoursome stat scores. Coran is a guy I can see performing multiple backflips in the heat of battle, scaling walls barehanded to reach his paramours, and being banned from every archery competition on the Sword Coast. What makes it even funnier is that generally it's the female NPCs with the higher average Dex scores. Hexxat is a vampire so this stuff is pretty standard for her, but wow. You've got to love flexible Coran... right?
So that's all I have on dexterity. With the spread for strength being much more varied, I think the game makers definitely put a base Dex score of 16 on a lot of characters to make them viable, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the average adventurer does have to have a high dexterity score, because it's the most important stat? Thoughts?