Attributes

A comprehensive guide to character attributes in Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. Learn how Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Dexterity impact your gameplay, combat, and skills.

During character creation in Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, you will "roll" your characters' attributes. You can swap points between attributes, provided you don't go below the class minimums or 3. You can re-roll as much as you like if you don't like the numbers. A good rule of thumb is to aim for a total of around 90 attribute points. For Fighter-type characters, pay attention to the percentile score when Strength is 18; an 18/91 is better than 90 points and an 18/01. Generally, you cannot start with an attribute of 19 or greater, though some racial choices allow this at the cost of reducing other attributes' maximums. Characters imported from Baldur's Gate might have attributes of 19 or 20.

Strength

Investment in Strength increases THAC0 (To Hit Armor Class 0), damage per attack, bash chance, and weight allowance.

Value	To Hit	Damage	Bash %	Carry
9	0	0	8	50
10	0	0	10	70
11	0	0	10	70
12	0	0	12	90
13	0	0	12	90
14	0	0	14	120
15	0	0	14	120
16	0	+1	16	150
17	+1	+1	18	170
18	+1	+2	20	200
18/01-50	+1	+3	25	220
18/51-75	+2	+3	30	250
18/76-90	+2	+4	35	280
18/91-99	+2	+5	40	320
18/00	+3	+6	45	400
19	+3	+7	50	500
20	+3	+8	55	600
21	+4	+9	60	700
22	+4	+10	65	800
23	+5	+11	70	1000
24	+6	+12	75	1200
25	+7	+14	80	1600

The "To Hit" column applies to melee weapons; Dexterity provides the THAC0 bonus for missile weapons. The damage bonus applies to thrown weapons and slings. "Bash %" is the chance to break open locked containers, though a Thief is more convenient. "Carry" is the maximum weight for items; exceeding it slows movement, and greatly exceeding it can immobilize your character. Some equipment has a minimum Strength requirement; 15 is sufficient for all items.

Intelligence

Intelligence is crucial for Mage characters, governing maximum spell level and spells per level. For all characters, it provides a bonus to the Lore skill.

Value	Spell Level	Learn %	Max Spells	Lore Bonus
9	4	35	6	-10
10	5	40	7	0
11	5	45	7	0
12	6	50	7	0
13	6	55	9	0
14	7	60	9	0
15	7	65	11	3
16	8	70	11	5
17	8	75	14	7
18	9	85	18	10
19	9	95	All	12
20	9	96	All	15
21	9	97	All	20
22	9	98	All	25
23	9	99	All	30
24	9	100	All	35
25	9	100	All	40

Intelligence above 18 is not strictly necessary for spellcasting. A score of 19, achievable by Gnomes, reduces the chance of failing to learn a spell, which can otherwise waste scrolls. Some consider this a reload condition. At 17 Intelligence, failures seem more frequent than the stated one-in-four chance. The Intelligence requirement for spell level only affects scribing, not casting. Mages can use potions of Genius or Mind Focusing to scribe spells and temporarily bypass the maximum spells per level limit. Sorcerers do not need Intelligence for high-level magic. Characters with Intelligence below 9 cannot use wands or scrolls, even if their class normally allows it.

Wisdom

Wisdom directly benefits Cleric and Druid characters, providing bonus spells at high values.

Value	*Bonus Spells	Lore Bonus
9	-	-10
10	-	0
11	-	0
12	-	0
13	1st	0
14	1st	0
15	2nd	3
16	2nd	5
17	3rd	7
18	4th	10
19	1st, 4th	12
20	2nd, 4th	15
21	3rd, 5th	20
22	4th, 5th	25
23	5th, 5th	30
24	6th, 6th	35
25	6th, 7th	40

Dexterity

High Dexterity provides an AC (Armor Class) bonus. For Thief, Ranger, Bard, and Monk characters, it also boosts (or penalizes) their skills.

Value	To Hit	AC Bonus	Pick Pockets	Open Locks	Detect / Set Traps	Stealth
9	0	0	-15%	-10%	-10%	-20%
10	0	0	-10%	-5%	-10%	-15%
11	0	0	-5%	0	-5%	-10%
12	0	0	0	0	0	-5%
13	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	0	+1	0	0	0	0
16	+1	+2	0	+5%	0	0
17	+2	+3	+5%	+10%	0	+5%
18	+2	+4	+10%	+15%	+5%	+10%
19	+3	+4	+15%	+20%	+10%	+15%
20	+3	+4	+20%	+25%	+15%	+18%
21	+4	+5	+25%	+30%	+20%	+20%
22	+4	+5	+30%	+35%	+25%	+23%
23	+4	+5	+35%	+40%	+30%	+25%
24	+5	+6	+40%	+45%	+35%	+30%
25	+5	+6	+45%	+50%	+40%	+35%

A Dexterity score close to 18 is beneficial due to the AC bonus.