Assorted DM2 gameplay questions

[lazygamer]

1: Does armor help reduce the chance that im hit, the damage I take or both?

2: Does armor protect against non physical attacks ie: magic, elemental etc.

3: Are ranged weapons useless against short monsters ie: thief's, dinosaur beasts, worm etc.

4: Is their anything outside of Skullkeep that I will have to come back to later on in the game after im in Skullkeep?

5: How big is skullkeep?

6: Is armor for characters in the back as important, as characters in the front?

7: Must I have the best possible weapons and armor before entering Skullkeep? Can't I just have some really good stuff but not the best? I was thinking I could just buy better gear as I progress through Skullkeep?

8: Do all monsters regenerate?

9: Should I bother to train my 2 magic users in Ninja and Fighting some in order to raise their hitpoints, vitalitity and dexterity? Or does this really matter?

10: Do priest spells consist of more then just potion making spells?

[Sundeep Nandra]

1. damage
2. yes
3. don't use ranged weapons...probably not useless though
4. nothing you have to come back out for. There are ways to come back out if you choose to do so for any reason.
5. hard to answer. It's not humungous...it's big enough.
6. yes.....to protect against magic attacks
7. I didn't buy anything that special...had good stuff but not the best. The best is only if you have money to spare and want to buy all the best things.
8. not all montsers. In Skullkeep I think only the flying sentries and fire elementals regenerate.
9. yes, train them to a decent level (say Artisan or Adept) in fighting and ninja levels, otherwise they'll die easily.
10. yes...but to be honest it depends on the style of play. I only ever make potions..but still get to high priest levels.

I've finished this game twice so if you want to know anything more, just leave a message here and I'll reply to it (last played it about 2 years ago so sorry if there are small details which are slightly incorrect).

[Mark]

Where do I find the Numen staff and the NETA staff in DM2?

[Zelmo]

The Numenstaff is in the castle, on the second floor. After ascending the stairs to that floor, there will be a gate a few paces ahead and one pace to the right of you. There's a rope on the wall which, when pulled, summons a Vexirk (of which there are several on the other side of the gate), who will cast a spell to open the gate for you. If you don't bother the Vexirks, they won't bother you. If you want the Numenstaff, though, you'll have to kill the Vexirk King, who is holding it. You'd better be either tough or skilled, because if you start picking on one of them, they'll all fight back with poison missiles, poison clouds, and fireballs. The Vexirk King will use the Numenstaff against you, which shoots three fireballs in rapid succession. When you manage to kill him, pick up the Numenstaff quickly or another Vexirk will get it and use it against you.
I don't remember where the Staff of Neta is; seems like it was just lying about somewhere (probably also in the castle).

[Slick]

Staff of Neta is available for sale from the Magic Merchant near the fountains outside the crypt where you get the last key.