Climb walls...

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, read languages and detect noise.

Is there a way to climb walls in BG2? If there is, how do you do it?

I've never heard of it, but today I was browsing through the manual, until my eye spotted the Thieving Skill Base Score table on page 232.

It mentions the skills:
Detect Noise
Climb Walls
Read Languages

What are these skills?
Never heard of them. I suppose 'detect noise' could have something to do with a thiefs ability to detect people hiding in shadows (?), but the other ones I really don't know about.

 

I think that they pasted a little to fast from the original AD&D rulebook, so they included some skills in the manual which don't apply in the game...

 

These are AD&D thieving skills which can be helpful with PnP ... but don't convert well to BG.

Climb walls is self-explanatory, but in BG there isn't the ability to move up or down without a staircase. I imagine its the same reason they clipped Aerie's wings. No 3-D graphics.

Read languages, depending on the version, is to help identify items, solve puzzles, read ancient wall carvings or scrolls, etc.

Detect noise, I don't think I used much. I think it was to listen for someone else being stealthy.

 

Actually, they could have done the graphics for Aerie's wings pretty easily if they wanted to. Look at FFG in PST. That's the same game engine.

 

@Tayja

All of the dialogue speaks of how Aerie was clearly created because of her cut wings. Her personality and all connected to her in general is as obvious a mark of this as anything can be. No game-developer is so shortsighted as to try and make a character with the ability to fly, and then just cut the wings and renew everything involved in the character just because the engine (which was decided on probably before they even invented Aerie) doesn't allow for flying.

@Rastor

As to FFG in PST, you didn't see her flying there either, did you? The point isn't the wings, but the ability to fly. That's one of the common differences mentioned when comparing 3D graphics with 2D, you can't make depth-dimension into the game without 3D, and flying is pretty much impossible (or very lame at least) without it. While in the world of PS (considering the personality of FFG, added that Succubi wings don't provide the ability to fly without magical aid) there was no reason to ever make FFG fly to begin with. Compared to Faerún in BG2, where the world is wide and expands far into the sky.

There are little other ways to make a character as appealing as Aerie as she is anyway, I mean, how can you invent a story with the same emotional impact as one with an innocent and beautiful angel who lost her wings and needs your personal support to survive. Added that you can actually romance her as well!