The Equalizer, is a long sword that isn't found intact and ready to use but must be rebuilt and reforged from three key components that are only obtainable during Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn or the Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition.
Description[]
| “ | Such is the age of this sword that its true origin has been lost to time, but markings hint that it was possibly forged in the service of Helm. Also called the "Sword of Neutrality", it seems designed to seek and terminate extremes, to shift the universe closer to harmonious equilibrium. The further the behavior of a target from true balance, the more potent the damage they suffer. | ” |
Aquisition[]
The final weapon can be realized if the party obtains three components/pieces of the sword - all three pieces are brought to Cromwell in the Athkatla Dock District.
Cromwell, the master smith will unite and reforge the components into The Equalizer - for a fee of 7,500 gold. The three pieces required are:
- Blade of the Equalizer: Dropped by the Elder Orb near the entrance of the Southern tunnels in in the Underdark.
- Hilt of the Equalizer: Found in the Eastern tunnels in the Underdark.
- Pommel of the Equalizer: Found in Irenicus's Dungeon 1st Floor.
This means that the weapon can be reforged no earlier than chapter 6.
Gameplay[]
This longsword strikes as a +3 Enchanted item in terms of what it can strike, and the blade inflicts a base 1d8 Slashing damage, with a weapon Speed Factor of 3, and a reach range of 1 foot.
The unusual power of the Equalizer sword is the potential damage and THAC0 bonuses realized, depending on the target's Alignment:
- True neutral: +0 to THAC0 and +0 to damage
- Chaotic & lawful neutral: +1 to hit and +2 to damage
- Neutral good & evil: +2 to hit and +4 to damage
- Other four alignments: +3 to hit and +6 damage
And finally, while the sword is equipped, it bestows immunity to Confusion and Charm Creature status effects.
The Equalizer is quite weak against opponents who are of some kind of neutral alignment (and especially awful against True Neutral opponents, against whom it is essentially a normal longsword), but the majority of opponents that you fight in the game are lawful evil or chaotic evil.
Bugs[]
Shadows of Amn (2000)
Content from the original Baldur's Gate II campaign Shadows of Amn In the original Shadows of Amn, the Equalizer's bonuses are bugged in a way that the improved damage and THAC0 bonuses also apply to any other weapon wielded simultaneously - This is fixed in the Enhanced Edition.
Trivia[]
The Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition ruleset describes this sword as Equalizer of Gran March/Sword of Neutrality - in the PnP game, it forces opponents of extreme alignments (LG/LE/CG/CE) to make a saving throw vs spell or be disintegrated. Both the disintegration and the damage bonus against alignments only apply if the wielder is True Neutral alignment. See the external link for further reading.
The BG video game version didn't faithfully recreate this sword for the game, but did retain some of the general characteristics of the source material.