Caps and limits
This page lists the caps a character reaches - level, ability scores, attack bonus, armour class, saving throws, skills, and what a single item can give - and for each one whether A Dawn of Heroes uses the standard Neverwinter Nights value or a different one.
Three different things are called a cap, and they do not add up:
- What an item property may hold. No item can be made past it.
- What an effect may give. Spells, potions, feats and anything else that lands as an effect.
- What the rules count. The +20 attack bonus cap is this kind: the bonus is on you, and the attack roll ignores the part above +20.
Character
| Limit | Here | Base game |
|---|---|---|
| Character level | 40 | same |
| Classes on one character | 3 | up to 8 |
| Hit points gained on level up | always the maximum for the class | rolled |
| Ability score bought at creation | 18, before racial modifiers | same |
| Negative levels | 100 | same |
A natural 1 on a saving throw is not an automatic failure here. In the base game it is.
Ability scores
| Limit | Here | Base game |
|---|---|---|
| From all your items together | +12 per ability | same |
| From effects | +12, and -30 for a penalty | same |
- On one item, bonuses to the same ability do not add up: only the highest counts.
- Bonuses from different items add up, to +12 per ability.
- Points added at level up are not a bonus, and no cap above applies to them.
Skills
| Limit | Here | Base game |
|---|---|---|
| Ranks in a class skill | character level + 3 | same |
| Ranks in a cross-class skill | (character level + 3) / 2, rounded down | same |
| From one item property | +50 | same |
| From effects | +50 | same |
| Spellcraft ranks per +1 to saves against spells | one per 10 ranks | one per 5 ranks |
Spellcraft gives +1 to saving throws against spells per 10 ranks.
- It needs at least 1 rank bought. Ranks from gear and spells then count towards the total.
- It shares the +20 saving throw cap with save bonuses from items and effects.
A cross-class rank costs 2 skill points where a class rank costs 1. Half ranks are not tracked.
Attack bonus
How an attack roll is put together is on the attack bonus page. This is only where it stops.
| Limit | Here | Base game |
|---|---|---|
| Magic attack bonus counted on the roll | +20 | same |
| From one item property, attack or enhancement | +20 | same |
| From effects | +20 | same |
| Maximum attacks in a single flurry | 5 | same |
The +20 counts the higher of your weapon's attack bonus or its enhancement bonus, plus spells and spell-like abilities. An activated feat counts as a spell-like ability. It does not count passive feats such as Weapon Focus, Epic Prowess or Epic Weapon Focus, nor feats spent on a single attack. Those add on top with no limit, so two characters with the same "+20 capped" gear can have different attack bonuses.
Armour class
| Limit | Here | Base game |
|---|---|---|
| Dodge AC from every source together | +20, measured after penalties | same |
| From one item property | +20 | same |
| Armour, shield, natural and deflection AC | do not stack - highest of each kind | same |
Dodge is the only kind of AC that adds up. The cap applies to the total after penalties, so dodge AC above +20 absorbs a dodge penalty, such as from a Taunt, before the cap applies.
Saving throws
| Limit | Here | Base game |
|---|---|---|
| From one item | +12 | same |
| From all items and effects together | +20 | same |
| A natural 1 | is not an automatic failure | fails |
Damage and defences
| Limit | Here | Base game |
|---|---|---|
| Damage bonus from one item property | up to +1000 | +20 |
| Massive criticals from one item property | +1000 | +20 |
| Damage bonus from effects | +100 | same |
| Spell resistance from one item property | 60 | 32 |
| Damage resistance, the X/- kind | 50 | same |
| Damage reduction, the soak kind | 50 | same |
| Damage immunity from one item property | 95% | 100% |
| Regeneration from one item property | 20 | same |
Damage immunity from one item property stops at 95%. No item on this server gives 100% immunity to a damage type.
How these combine - what absorbs damage first, and what stacks with what - is on Damage and stacking.
Movement
| Limit | Here | Base game |
|---|---|---|
| Speed bonus | 1.5x | same |
| Speed bonus, monk | 2.5x | 3.0x |
| Slowest a penalty can make you | 0.125x | same |
Feats whose numbers we changed
These are not caps on a character. They are limits written into a feat.
| Feat | Here | Base game |
|---|---|---|
| Epic self concealment, ranks 1 to 5 | 20 / 30 / 40 / 60 / 70% | 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50% |
| Epic toughness, per rank | 30 hit points, to 300 at rank 10 | 20, to 200 |
| Defensive stance | +6 Con, +6 dodge AC, +4 saves, +4 Str | +4 / +4 / +2 / +2 |
| Dwarven defender damage reduction | 6 | 3 |
| Extra stunning attacks per day | 5 | 3 |
| Epic bane of enemies damage dice | 3 | 2 |
| Epic overwhelming critical die | 2 | 1 |
| Improved power attack, to hit | -5 | -10 |
| Quivering palm base DC | 12 | 10 |
| Two-handed weapon Strength multiplier | 2.0x | 1.5x |
| Taunt modifier | 6 | same |
Where these numbers come from
Nothing here is quoted from a description. The character and combat values come from the server's own rules settings, the item property values from the tables every item is built from, and the base game column from the same settings as Beamdog ships them. When a number changes, this page changes with it. Tell us at the foot of the page if you find one that did not.