Dodging
The Dodge skill is one of three parts of the Evade/Block/Parry system of GemStone IV, therefore being one of three skills that will increase a character's Defensive Strength.
Ranks and Training Costs
Dodging makes a clear distinction of which classes "should" train in it, being severely expensive for a pure, moderately costly for a semi, and relatively cheap for a square, especially a rogue.
| Type | Square | Semi | Pure | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profession | Rogue | Warrior | Monk | Bard | Paladin | Ranger | Cleric | Empath | Savant | Sorcerer | Wizard |
| Max Ranks Per Level | 3 | 3 | - | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 |
| Training Point Cost | 2/2 | 4/2 | - | 6/6 | 5/3 | 7/5 | 20/20 | 20/20 | - | 20/20 | 20/20 |
Defensive Strength
Dodge is the least stance dependent of the three skills, only having a 25% reduction in DS when in an offensive stance. The formula is as follows:
Dodge Ranks + (Agility Bonus) + (Intuition Bonus / 4) = Base Dodge
While:
Stance Modifier = 0.75 + (Stance / 4)
Shield Penalty The modifiers for shields are as follows:
- Small: 0.78
- Medium: 0.70
- Large: 0.62
- Tower: 0.54
Armor Hindrance is given by 1+(Action Penalty/200). For example a metal breastplate (which has an Action Penalty of -20) would have an Armor Hinderance of 1 + (-20/200) = 0.9.
The resulting formula:
Base Dodge × Stance Modifier × Shield Penalty × Armor Hindrance = Dodge DS
Note: There is a 50% bonus to this DS if the attacker is using a ranged weapon.
Evading
Dodge skill also aids a character in avoiding an attack entirely. The higher the character trains in dodge, the higher his chances of dodging the attack. A character singled in Dodge has approximately a 5% chance of dodging an attack outright in stance offensive. A character double trained in Dodge has a 10% chance, and tripled has a 15%. The exact values also depend on stance, Agility bonuses, Intuition bonuses, encumbrance, and spells such as Mass Blur. There is no available formula to determine the exact chance that an attack will be evaded, but character level plays into this greatly. Also, ranged weapons and bolts are harder to dodge than a melee attack, even though there's a DS bonus against such attacks (See the Defensive Strength section above).