In NWN, a character that lacked the appropriate weapon and armor proficiencies flat out couldn’t wield/wear specific items. In some cases this made sense, such as where a weapon or armor were physically too large to be carried/worn based on character size. However, in other cases, it didn’t really make sense to prevent a character outright from wielding or wearing something; they should be allowed to wield/wear it, albeit with penalties for lacking proficiency. What changes, if any, have been made to address this?

Ferret: That’s definitely the way the rules work in pen-and-paper. The practical effect is that in PnP hardly anyone ever uses gear they don’t have the proper feat to use – because they would be at such a disadvantage. Converting any rule exception to a CRPG takes more work, because programmers have to set up the system. It’s a system which I could see being used occasionally (probably as much as PnP, is my guess), but it’s up against features which can really add tremendously to gameplay. No dice this time around… who knows about the future, though.