Mechanics questions thread (possible minor spoilers) Thread - Rogue's Tale

Since so many of the topics in here are basic questions about games mechanics that aren't covered in the official guide (which is awesome, by the way), I figured it might be helpful to have a dedicated thread for them.

Obviously, if you don't want the minor spoilers entailed in knowing how things work, you probably shouldn't read on.

- How exactly does the claw (small/medium, 1d6, piercing) know when to be small or medium? I've tried to use it as a small off-hand weapon (with a medium main-hand weapon) on an agility-based character a couple of times, with the Dual Wield talent, and my accuracy and damage seemed to drop drastically each time, as if the game thought I was using two medium weapons and switched to strength-based attacks instead.

- Can non-magical rings/amulets be blessed or cursed? I've noticed that, say, amulets of Yendor can have significantly different sell prices, but I've never seen one say it was blessed or cursed.

- Do naturally cursed rings/amulets like the ring of thirst receive any benefit from being blessed?

- Do cursed and blessed tomes have any special effect? I've noticed that cursed tomes can sometimes erase spells I already know from my memory (presumably only spells of the same category?), but I don't know if there's any other impact.

- Do creatures "wake up" as soon as you enter the level, or is there a minimum proximity? I've noticed that sometimes I see damage numbers in the darkness, but they don't start to appear until I get near the room, even if it's far away from where I came in. At other times, I get messages about skeleton crossbowmen reloading with no idea where they are. Also, do they "fall asleep" if you leave the level?

- What determines whether creatures pick up/equip loot? Could you trick a creature into picking up and equipping a cursed ring or amulet?

Thanks in advance!

About the claw, it just knows. As for why it failed is because of this: "as a small off-hand weapon (with a medium main-hand weapon) on an agility-based character". Agility based characters should use either one medium or two small weapons. One claw or two claws are the best choices, medium weapon and claw is one of the worst. The way weapons work is explained at the start of Melee Weapons here Rogue.epixx.org but in that case you were using strength for your main hand and agility for your offhand.

You can learn some extra spell from blessed tomes.
I gotta take a strong guess that creatures wake up when you enter the level, and "fall asleep" when you leave it.

Why are some rings and amulets (and possibly other things?) worth twice as much as others of the same type even when neither item is blessed or cursed?

Am I right in thinking that, because of the ability cap, an ability score of 13 or more is identical to 12 for humans? Does this also hold for the two-handed weapon multiplier (meaning it gives no advantage once your stat is at 12)? Do talents and spells that work off STAT/2 (like Blade Flurry) still round up a +5 modifier to +6 before dividing?

Is there any advantage at all to having a stat above 12, apart from the point of bonus HP you get for each point of stamina?

Helmets say they may hinder climbing or jumping. Are they lying?

Edited by: Metaillusion