I know its unlikely but Its always bugged me greatly over the years that the half orcs in game model is just a copy paste of the human model, especially because when you go to your inventory you see a very cool half orc model. Ever sense Baldurs gate II Introduced my favorite D&D race I always hoped we would be able to see a worthy half orc model in game, any chance of my dream becoming a reality with this new expansion?
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Any chance Half Orcs will finally be done justice?
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The Baldur's Gate 1 Standalone Mod
This is a mod that I've been working on for quite a while, and I'm still adding to it. The goal is to turn Baldur's Gate 1 into a "high-level" adventure, where you are much more powerful, but so are the enemies. All the party members have several additional powers, and in general are a good deal stronger than they are initially. However, the enemies get additional powers too, and their new abilities are much more ridiculous than those of the companions. I haven't actually changed the experience cap, though the party will reach it a bit quicker. By the end of the game, the party will probably reach mid to late Shadows of Amn power, but by that point they will facing enemies that would be formidable even for Throne of Bhaal!
I'm not done with the mod yet, but now and then I'll mention a few of the things I've recently put into it. Just keep in mind that the things I'll mention barely scratch the surface of what this mod throws at you. Over the past half a year or so I've been throwing every nasty trick I could think of into this mod and so far my override folder has more than 900 files.
So, recently I added in:
*Fire snakes! These enemies will burn you for 4d6 damage multiple times with their fire gaze, then they'll come in and chomp you up with fireball teeth for AOE melee damage! I've made this creature, but I'm not sure where to place them in the game yet.
*Frenzied sword spiders! These berserk spiders will go up to the nearest creature at maximum movement speed and attack 10 times per round with 25 strength and extremely good THAC0. I'll probably place a one of them in Baldur's Gate so that you could try to save innocent commoners from this horrible beast.
*I modified Tarnesh so that he can cast some nasty spells like Greater Missile Storm, an enemy-only spell which fires 100 Magic Missiles, each doing 1 damage. The good news is that the guards are a lot tougher too and there are more guards. The bad news is that some of these additional "guards" are actually doppelgangers who are working together with Tarnesh to assassinate you!
I'm not done with the mod yet, but now and then I'll mention a few of the things I've recently put into it. Just keep in mind that the things I'll mention barely scratch the surface of what this mod throws at you. Over the past half a year or so I've been throwing every nasty trick I could think of into this mod and so far my override folder has more than 900 files.
So, recently I added in:
*Fire snakes! These enemies will burn you for 4d6 damage multiple times with their fire gaze, then they'll come in and chomp you up with fireball teeth for AOE melee damage! I've made this creature, but I'm not sure where to place them in the game yet.
*Frenzied sword spiders! These berserk spiders will go up to the nearest creature at maximum movement speed and attack 10 times per round with 25 strength and extremely good THAC0. I'll probably place a one of them in Baldur's Gate so that you could try to save innocent commoners from this horrible beast.
*I modified Tarnesh so that he can cast some nasty spells like Greater Missile Storm, an enemy-only spell which fires 100 Magic Missiles, each doing 1 damage. The good news is that the guards are a lot tougher too and there are more guards. The bad news is that some of these additional "guards" are actually doppelgangers who are working together with Tarnesh to assassinate you!
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Foundling: Between the Shades BETA is available
Foundling: Between the Shades BETA is available. The mod fully playable, may need some polishing. I've decided to made the BETA version available.
Foundling is the thrall of Thaxll'ssillvia, the Shadow Dragon found in the Temple Ruins. He is cold, calculating, and determined to be freed from his influence. He can never oppose his master on his own, but everything can change thanks to the influence of the Bhaalspawn.
Foundling is a Shadow Adept who can use Shadow Weave Magic as well as some Shadow Magic. The mod introduces a new kind of magic with its own advantages and disadvantages. Even though Foundling is recognised as a mage, he can't use the Weave. In exchange he is given his own dark spells - mostly dark versions of well known spells, but there are some brand new ones too.
The mod is both an NPC and quest mod and introduces new characters, areas, music, items, soundset etc.
Foundling is not romanceable, but the character will still talk to you frequently, so no worries.
![image]()
DOWNLOAD LINK - http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1128-foundling-between-the-shades-beta/
Thank you to everyone who helped me in releasing this project!
Foundling is the thrall of Thaxll'ssillvia, the Shadow Dragon found in the Temple Ruins. He is cold, calculating, and determined to be freed from his influence. He can never oppose his master on his own, but everything can change thanks to the influence of the Bhaalspawn.
Foundling is a Shadow Adept who can use Shadow Weave Magic as well as some Shadow Magic. The mod introduces a new kind of magic with its own advantages and disadvantages. Even though Foundling is recognised as a mage, he can't use the Weave. In exchange he is given his own dark spells - mostly dark versions of well known spells, but there are some brand new ones too.
The mod is both an NPC and quest mod and introduces new characters, areas, music, items, soundset etc.
Foundling is not romanceable, but the character will still talk to you frequently, so no worries.
DOWNLOAD LINK - http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1128-foundling-between-the-shades-beta/
Thank you to everyone who helped me in releasing this project!
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Dungeons and dragons and philosophy
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Favorite School of Magic
So, obviously you're here because you play Dungeons and Dragons games. Well, I think it's obvious, anyway. And one of the facets of magic in the series is how it is divided into various Schools. Wizards can chose to specialize in a certain school, but all others tap into them one-way or another.
So, what is your favorite School of Magic? (Wizard levels not required.)
Of personal note, my favorite used to be Transmutation spells. I loved the idea of shaping the world or the power of others, but it has turned into Divination in my later PnP games. I love all the knowledge I can get with them, plus it's a great way to mess with my DM (and watch as he tries to mess back.)
So, what is your favorite School of Magic? (Wizard levels not required.)
Of personal note, my favorite used to be Transmutation spells. I loved the idea of shaping the world or the power of others, but it has turned into Divination in my later PnP games. I love all the knowledge I can get with them, plus it's a great way to mess with my DM (and watch as he tries to mess back.)
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A vial of viel extract, what's it good for?
We killed the slime in the Baldur's Gate sewers and Xzar takes a piece of the slime. It appears in his inventory with the name "a vial of vile extract". Anyone know what's it good for?
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Import romance
I was wondering if there is a way to carry the romance from characters in BG:EE to BG2:EE (example being neera) i tried looking on this forum for a topic relating to this, and i saw a post on the reddit saying that it was in the works 2 years ago, i was just wondering if this is a thing or not?
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Initiative (mod)
This mod introduces an adapted system of initiative from the pen-and-paper AD&D game to the Infinity Engine games. It should be compatible with all Enhanced Edition games, and perhaps non-EE versions too, but I make no promises.
It works as follows: 2 seconds after a fight begins, a random range of bonuses and penalties is applied to the party, allies and enemies. They affect movement, weapon and casting time speeds, quickening or slowing them - sometimes mildly and sometimes drastically. The changes last one round, followed by another 2 seconds of "free time," and so on until the end of combat. The uncertainty may help or hamper you, and best tactics become only best guesses. You can no longer absolutely rely on interrupting an enemy caster with a quick spell, but you also stand a better chance of getting in a long spell of your own before you are interrupted; an ogre's morningstar may swing quickly, but so can your two-handed sword. On some rounds a character may be completely unaffected.
The randomness is not an utter chaos. But by the nature of this mod, it is not recommended for those who like to plan their fights in advance exactly, solving challenges like puzzles. Initiative encourages you to wade in, take your chances and use the situation to your advantage as it develops. You can make the most of it if you act without delay, using the 2-second intervals, when you notice them, to declare (assign) your actions, or you can hang back and hope for a good initiative roll.
The most extreme bursts of speed and drags of slowness are indicated by the Haste and Slow icons on the characters' portraits.
Initiative does not:
Download
It works as follows: 2 seconds after a fight begins, a random range of bonuses and penalties is applied to the party, allies and enemies. They affect movement, weapon and casting time speeds, quickening or slowing them - sometimes mildly and sometimes drastically. The changes last one round, followed by another 2 seconds of "free time," and so on until the end of combat. The uncertainty may help or hamper you, and best tactics become only best guesses. You can no longer absolutely rely on interrupting an enemy caster with a quick spell, but you also stand a better chance of getting in a long spell of your own before you are interrupted; an ogre's morningstar may swing quickly, but so can your two-handed sword. On some rounds a character may be completely unaffected.
The randomness is not an utter chaos. But by the nature of this mod, it is not recommended for those who like to plan their fights in advance exactly, solving challenges like puzzles. Initiative encourages you to wade in, take your chances and use the situation to your advantage as it develops. You can make the most of it if you act without delay, using the 2-second intervals, when you notice them, to declare (assign) your actions, or you can hang back and hope for a good initiative roll.
The most extreme bursts of speed and drags of slowness are indicated by the Haste and Slow icons on the characters' portraits.
Initiative does not:
- Change THAC0, damage or Armor Class
- Give extra attacks - nor does it take attacks away
- Alter regular hasting and slowing spells and effects
- Prevent free-action effects from normalizing movement speed (but you might find it a bit boring)
- Change the speed factor of items or Turn Undead
Download
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Considering a Walk on the Dark Side?
If you don't mind me asking, do any D&D video games, campaigns or mods exist that put the player in a position to be genuinely evil?
And when I say that, I don't mean wandering around a village murdering random villagers and law enforcement or picking pockets or any of that kick the dog stuff. I don't mean playing through a basically benevolent campaign as a blackguard or Dark Moon monk or cleric of Umberlee, doing the right thing for the wrong reasons (money, cover up your evil nature etc) or anything small-time like that. No chance.
I'm talking about a game that puts the player in the role of the villain. We're the bad guys, but we triumph anyway because we're the player character(s). We may go after the servants of good deities. We may go to the occasional village and enslave its enhabitants to sell for cash (or to build a statue of ourselves). Maybe we have selfish or evil motives from the outset, and the only measurement of "morality" or "karma" is whether we become bona fide Evil with a capital E or an evil, but with motivations/limits type.
I've gone looking around for an answer, but I seem to be coming up short. I mean, not for nothing, but the only time I ever feel like I'm genuinely pursuing an evil agenda is when I'm doing Dorn's sidequests. Going up against crusaders, celestial beings, good-aligned dragons - and our motives are definitely selfish or evil. Other than that, I feel like evil isn't generally in action - or encouraged. Evil characters are a lot more specialised than Good or Neutral, but actually being evil gets you nowhere fast. Choosing evil doesn't even feel worth it - in BG, unless you're like me and ruthlessly exploit the opportunities to cheat your ass off, you're stuck maintaining a good reputation if you want to actually get anywhere.
So I'm asking you, are there any D&D games that let me play baddie and put my back into it, aside from NwN2 (which I already have)? And on an unrelated note, are there any that make use of the warlord class?
And when I say that, I don't mean wandering around a village murdering random villagers and law enforcement or picking pockets or any of that kick the dog stuff. I don't mean playing through a basically benevolent campaign as a blackguard or Dark Moon monk or cleric of Umberlee, doing the right thing for the wrong reasons (money, cover up your evil nature etc) or anything small-time like that. No chance.
I'm talking about a game that puts the player in the role of the villain. We're the bad guys, but we triumph anyway because we're the player character(s). We may go after the servants of good deities. We may go to the occasional village and enslave its enhabitants to sell for cash (or to build a statue of ourselves). Maybe we have selfish or evil motives from the outset, and the only measurement of "morality" or "karma" is whether we become bona fide Evil with a capital E or an evil, but with motivations/limits type.
I've gone looking around for an answer, but I seem to be coming up short. I mean, not for nothing, but the only time I ever feel like I'm genuinely pursuing an evil agenda is when I'm doing Dorn's sidequests. Going up against crusaders, celestial beings, good-aligned dragons - and our motives are definitely selfish or evil. Other than that, I feel like evil isn't generally in action - or encouraged. Evil characters are a lot more specialised than Good or Neutral, but actually being evil gets you nowhere fast. Choosing evil doesn't even feel worth it - in BG, unless you're like me and ruthlessly exploit the opportunities to cheat your ass off, you're stuck maintaining a good reputation if you want to actually get anywhere.
So I'm asking you, are there any D&D games that let me play baddie and put my back into it, aside from NwN2 (which I already have)? And on an unrelated note, are there any that make use of the warlord class?
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Version française
Salut la compagnie !
Comme le titre l'indique, je m'interroge sur le fait de savoir si une version française de l'extension sera disponible et si oui, dans quelles conditions.
Comme le titre l'indique, je m'interroge sur le fait de savoir si une version française de l'extension sera disponible et si oui, dans quelles conditions.
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News about french translation and german translation?
On twitter, trent oster had said before the launch
"We're not going to localize for launch. We will be rolling the localized versions after as we complete them."
This game is relased since more than 6 months and no info about translation in other languages.
I would like to know if a translation is always planned.
Thanks.
"We're not going to localize for launch. We will be rolling the localized versions after as we complete them."
This game is relased since more than 6 months and no info about translation in other languages.
I would like to know if a translation is always planned.
Thanks.
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Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition
Друзья, пока вопрос о дополненном издании культовой RPG Neverwinter Nights висит в воздухе, и пока работы над ней не ведутся, я хотел бы обратиться прежде всего к Вам, дорогое сообщество, тем кому не безразлична судьба данного проекта, но пока нет новостей, я предлагаю Вам, в данной теме помимо каких то новостей обсудить что вообще из себя, может (должно) быть собственно дополненное издание? Как по Вашему мнению оно должно выглядеть? Что там должно быть дополнено(изменено) на Ваш субъективный взгляд? И как итог, как Вы видите свое собственное дополненное (идеальное) издание Neverwinter Nights Enhanced (Perfect) Edition? Приветствуются все, даже самые смелые и безрассудные идеи, это прежде всего творческая и идеализированная тема для обсуждения.
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Custom Portrait - Weekend wasted
Hi
To make it short. I have made a complete party with customized portraits. All the portraits I created showed up in the portrait selection during character creation. But when starting the game only two of them showed up to the right - the rest was blank.
I have been careful getting it right. I made the files into 210x330 24bit .bmp files and ended their names with capital L.
All of the four portraits, where I started with capital letters, didn't show up at the right sidebar. I tried to look it up on the forum. I could see it was suggested to rename the files so that i didn't start out with a capital letter. I did that, but it did not work. Then I saw someone suggesting to make a copy of the file and rename it so it ended with M instead of L. So that there where to of each of the "problem files". It didn't work, and looking at it logically I don't see why it should since there are not copies ending with M of the files that are working.
I would really appreciate if anyone had a solution to this. I spend the better part of my weekend (and Monday afternoon/evening) to find the perfect character portraits, getting them just right, getting the image size etc. right, then trying a thousand solutions because I could not get the portraits to show up in the portrait selection part of the character creation part, and now this...
It was really supposed to be an enjoyable trip down memory lane and instead it's been a frustrating waste of time and my computer was lucky it didn't get to go on a trip out my window![:D]( ":D")
![:(]( ":(")
Hope someone have an idea. Anything would be appreciated![:)]( ":)")
To make it short. I have made a complete party with customized portraits. All the portraits I created showed up in the portrait selection during character creation. But when starting the game only two of them showed up to the right - the rest was blank.
I have been careful getting it right. I made the files into 210x330 24bit .bmp files and ended their names with capital L.
BUT!!! for some reason, I wasn't aware that I started the filenames of four of the portraits with capital letters and two of them with small letters.
All of the four portraits, where I started with capital letters, didn't show up at the right sidebar. I tried to look it up on the forum. I could see it was suggested to rename the files so that i didn't start out with a capital letter. I did that, but it did not work. Then I saw someone suggesting to make a copy of the file and rename it so it ended with M instead of L. So that there where to of each of the "problem files". It didn't work, and looking at it logically I don't see why it should since there are not copies ending with M of the files that are working.
I would really appreciate if anyone had a solution to this. I spend the better part of my weekend (and Monday afternoon/evening) to find the perfect character portraits, getting them just right, getting the image size etc. right, then trying a thousand solutions because I could not get the portraits to show up in the portrait selection part of the character creation part, and now this...
It was really supposed to be an enjoyable trip down memory lane and instead it's been a frustrating waste of time and my computer was lucky it didn't get to go on a trip out my window
Hope someone have an idea. Anything would be appreciated
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Crash all'avvio del gioco
Salve! Quando provo ad avviare Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition da Steam, il gioco crasha e mi da l'errore: "There was an error. A crash report was saved to: C:Users\Utente1\Documents\Infinity Engine - Enhanced Edition\crash\dump.2.3.67.3.0022.dmp
Ho provato ad avviarlo in modalità amministratore, ma... nada.
Ho Windows 7 come sistema operativo. Baldur's Gate 2, a differenza del primo, si avvia tranquillamente, anche se non l'ho scaricato da Steam.
Ringrazio in anticipo chi mi darà una mano.
Ho provato ad avviarlo in modalità amministratore, ma... nada.
Ho Windows 7 come sistema operativo. Baldur's Gate 2, a differenza del primo, si avvia tranquillamente, anche se non l'ho scaricato da Steam.
Ringrazio in anticipo chi mi darà una mano.
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Did you know?
So this is just a thread for interesting things that people have picked up over the years. While most of the information has been freely available for some time, the game is big enough that you might find something you missed. If not, it's still fun to see just how much detail the developers put in.
Did you know that if you are playing an elf named Drizzt, and your reputation is under 12, Drizzt will attack you? Did you also know that if you kill the three mages guarding the skyship devices in Baldur's Gate, then Shandalar skips the 'asking' part of sending you to the Ice Island? Not surprising, given that they were his daughters. Guy is probably a bit angry at you.
Did you know that if you are playing an elf named Drizzt, and your reputation is under 12, Drizzt will attack you? Did you also know that if you kill the three mages guarding the skyship devices in Baldur's Gate, then Shandalar skips the 'asking' part of sending you to the Ice Island? Not surprising, given that they were his daughters. Guy is probably a bit angry at you.
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Discussion on translating 5e ruleset in to the next RPG
Was torn between necroing a thread that had it's last post in May or starting a new one...decided to start a new thread since that topic had to do with comparing 2e to 5e whereas I wanted to get thoughts from the community about how 5e mechanics translate in a computer game.
Personally, my opinion of 5e is it's the closest thing to 1st / 2nd ed AD&D we've seen, which is a good thing IMO. The power levels for both characters and magic items in 3.x was ridiculous (at least in the video game adaptations) and I never experience 4e in any way, though heard it was atrocious from an RP standpoint and much more focused on tactical / grid based combat simulation. For the first time in more than 20 years I've been playing P&P, running a game at work every other week as DM and I'm loving the 5e rules. Balance can be a dangerous word, and I don't mean to make it seem that the classes in 5e are 'balanced' since full caster based classes are still leaps and bounds ahead of melee at mid-high level. However, I do feel 5e has bridged the gap in two important ways. First, at lower levels through the mid levels the various caster classes have a slow, but consistent climb toward overtaking melee and, second the ability to use short/long rests within a given time period allows for an important aspect to come in to play with regard to resource management.
Regarding the power increase/leveling process, 5e uses very low 'caps' such as proficiency starting at +2 and only going up to +6, vs. THACO starting at 20 and (for fighters) going in to the negatives and worse, in 3.x having attack bonuses skyrocket, especially with +8 magic weapons and spells. This means that a level 20 Fighter is not that much more skilled than a first level fighter... Many more HP, probably some pretty sweet magic items (the best being +3 enchantment!) and also some special abilities based on what subclass they took (Eldritch Knight, Champion, or Battle Master, if only using the PHB). Meanwhile, the cap on ability score increases at 20 and the limited feats available, while quite good, do nowhere near the insane increases feats from 3.x could accomplish.
Meanwhile, as full casters level, some very good spells become available, but there are some very important differences. First, Concentration rules mean that in most cases one caster can only have one buff available at a time. There are a few notable exceptions such as Mirror Image which doesn't require concentration, but the VAST majority of buff spells do. And any hit requiring a save to avoid losing a concentration spell means that Clerics/Wizards/etc. are much better served applying the buff to the party Fighter/Rogue and staying back out of harms way so the buff doesn't prematurely end. This edition has done a fantastic job of allowing the melee warriors to be the best warriors again... No more Clerics and Wizards being able to buff to god-hood and out fight the fighter. I lament the inability to build an effective/strong Fighter/Mage/Thief type (my favorite 2e class, alongside Ranger), but the Valor Bard does a good approximation, and you could always take 1-3 levels of Rogue if you really wanted to. So, again I'll say, casters do become powerful at the mid/higher levels and probably outshine the melee classes a bit with their ability to buff/control/and lay down fiery death, but they don't lose the NEED for their melee counterparts which is a great feature IMO.
In a video game, resting has always been a point of contention, from the ability in BG to take a shot at resting in the middle of a dungeon hallway to the NWN 5 second 'take-a-knee' so long as no enemy is within a certain radius. The 'short rest' feature, IMO allows for some interesting rules that could be in place for a video game, such as only allowing a long rest once every 24 hour time period (or perhaps only allowing a long rest after 14 hours of 'awake time') and perhaps allowing 2-4 short rests during that period between long rests. IMO an interesting path to bringing some ability to heal up, recharge some abilities and continue adventuring while discouraging or perhaps even disallowing long rests in unsafe locations.
Some other thoughts about 5e and the next potential video game from Beamdog...
Even more than in previous editions, I believe a true adaptation of 5e to a video game is better served by turn based combat in the vein of TOEE vs. the RTwP setup in the infinity engine games, though I imagine that (assuming the new game will still be infinity engine) there are probably difficulties converting it to a true turn based system, and that may not be what the fan base of Beamdog wants, bye-and-large. In a previous thread @Dee and @JuliusBorisov among others discussed the issue with Bardic Inspirations and how that would work in a video game for instance, and turn based would definitely make this easier for the player to use. However, there are certainly changes that could be implemented which would allow for the RTwP functionality, although they would be 'home-brewed' for adaptation to a video game, which is nothing new when converting D&D to a CRPG.
The way the system of 5e is set up will allow for any subsequent adventures, be they DLC or a true 2nd game in the series to require less power creep. Since magic is so much less over the top, it is not unrealistic for level 1-5 to consist of getting maybe 1 or 2 +1 weapons, possibly an armor or a couple other low end magic items and some potions for a party of adventurers... By level 10 it would not be unbelievable for the party to be split with some still using +1 and others having collected +2, but still not having magic in every slot.... +3 is the uber/epic high end, near artifact stuff, with only very special items (such as intelligent weapons, holy avengers, etc.) going above. This would allow for a 'BG1' type of game to take a party 1-10 and in subsequent adventures still have lots of room to go up to 20 with a much better feeling of joy as you get the higher end items without it becoming out of control where items are more responsible for a characters power than the class/racial abilities and levels.
Sorry for the wall of text, excited about the possibility of a 5e based CRPG...![:smiley:]( ":smiley:")
What are some of your thoughts about the potential for a brand new offering from Beamdog?
Personally, my opinion of 5e is it's the closest thing to 1st / 2nd ed AD&D we've seen, which is a good thing IMO. The power levels for both characters and magic items in 3.x was ridiculous (at least in the video game adaptations) and I never experience 4e in any way, though heard it was atrocious from an RP standpoint and much more focused on tactical / grid based combat simulation. For the first time in more than 20 years I've been playing P&P, running a game at work every other week as DM and I'm loving the 5e rules. Balance can be a dangerous word, and I don't mean to make it seem that the classes in 5e are 'balanced' since full caster based classes are still leaps and bounds ahead of melee at mid-high level. However, I do feel 5e has bridged the gap in two important ways. First, at lower levels through the mid levels the various caster classes have a slow, but consistent climb toward overtaking melee and, second the ability to use short/long rests within a given time period allows for an important aspect to come in to play with regard to resource management.
Regarding the power increase/leveling process, 5e uses very low 'caps' such as proficiency starting at +2 and only going up to +6, vs. THACO starting at 20 and (for fighters) going in to the negatives and worse, in 3.x having attack bonuses skyrocket, especially with +8 magic weapons and spells. This means that a level 20 Fighter is not that much more skilled than a first level fighter... Many more HP, probably some pretty sweet magic items (the best being +3 enchantment!) and also some special abilities based on what subclass they took (Eldritch Knight, Champion, or Battle Master, if only using the PHB). Meanwhile, the cap on ability score increases at 20 and the limited feats available, while quite good, do nowhere near the insane increases feats from 3.x could accomplish.
Meanwhile, as full casters level, some very good spells become available, but there are some very important differences. First, Concentration rules mean that in most cases one caster can only have one buff available at a time. There are a few notable exceptions such as Mirror Image which doesn't require concentration, but the VAST majority of buff spells do. And any hit requiring a save to avoid losing a concentration spell means that Clerics/Wizards/etc. are much better served applying the buff to the party Fighter/Rogue and staying back out of harms way so the buff doesn't prematurely end. This edition has done a fantastic job of allowing the melee warriors to be the best warriors again... No more Clerics and Wizards being able to buff to god-hood and out fight the fighter. I lament the inability to build an effective/strong Fighter/Mage/Thief type (my favorite 2e class, alongside Ranger), but the Valor Bard does a good approximation, and you could always take 1-3 levels of Rogue if you really wanted to. So, again I'll say, casters do become powerful at the mid/higher levels and probably outshine the melee classes a bit with their ability to buff/control/and lay down fiery death, but they don't lose the NEED for their melee counterparts which is a great feature IMO.
In a video game, resting has always been a point of contention, from the ability in BG to take a shot at resting in the middle of a dungeon hallway to the NWN 5 second 'take-a-knee' so long as no enemy is within a certain radius. The 'short rest' feature, IMO allows for some interesting rules that could be in place for a video game, such as only allowing a long rest once every 24 hour time period (or perhaps only allowing a long rest after 14 hours of 'awake time') and perhaps allowing 2-4 short rests during that period between long rests. IMO an interesting path to bringing some ability to heal up, recharge some abilities and continue adventuring while discouraging or perhaps even disallowing long rests in unsafe locations.
Some other thoughts about 5e and the next potential video game from Beamdog...
Even more than in previous editions, I believe a true adaptation of 5e to a video game is better served by turn based combat in the vein of TOEE vs. the RTwP setup in the infinity engine games, though I imagine that (assuming the new game will still be infinity engine) there are probably difficulties converting it to a true turn based system, and that may not be what the fan base of Beamdog wants, bye-and-large. In a previous thread @Dee and @JuliusBorisov among others discussed the issue with Bardic Inspirations and how that would work in a video game for instance, and turn based would definitely make this easier for the player to use. However, there are certainly changes that could be implemented which would allow for the RTwP functionality, although they would be 'home-brewed' for adaptation to a video game, which is nothing new when converting D&D to a CRPG.
The way the system of 5e is set up will allow for any subsequent adventures, be they DLC or a true 2nd game in the series to require less power creep. Since magic is so much less over the top, it is not unrealistic for level 1-5 to consist of getting maybe 1 or 2 +1 weapons, possibly an armor or a couple other low end magic items and some potions for a party of adventurers... By level 10 it would not be unbelievable for the party to be split with some still using +1 and others having collected +2, but still not having magic in every slot.... +3 is the uber/epic high end, near artifact stuff, with only very special items (such as intelligent weapons, holy avengers, etc.) going above. This would allow for a 'BG1' type of game to take a party 1-10 and in subsequent adventures still have lots of room to go up to 20 with a much better feeling of joy as you get the higher end items without it becoming out of control where items are more responsible for a characters power than the class/racial abilities and levels.
Sorry for the wall of text, excited about the possibility of a 5e based CRPG...
What are some of your thoughts about the potential for a brand new offering from Beamdog?
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So I just finished Siege of Dragonspear... (Spoilers)
And here are my feelings on the game.
What I liked:
My PC is a mage, and this seems to be acknowledged a lot more in SoD. Being a magic user seems to provide alternative ways to solve problems which I found pretty cool.
Examples:
- Pretending to cast an 'anti-ageing spell' on the noblewoman in the Three Old Kegs so she'd give you her necklace - Suggesting an alternative ingredient to the Blue Moss in the dungeon of Korlasz for the old woman
- Halbazzer from sorceries sundries gives you an extra reward as 'one wizard to another.'
The only real example of this in the original game is Melicamp's quest when you attempt to Dispel his polymorph spell (which fails anyway), and the planar sphere quest/stronghold in SoA.
I liked way the game used Liia Jannath as Imoen's magical mentor, and tying her change of career into her desire to feel closer to Gorion. It also shows that she is starting to grow up and develop aspirations of her own, something that she lacked in Candlekeep, and explains why she is less bratty and childish in SoA and beyond (though being relentlessly tortured and having her soul stolen probably contributed as well...)
I enjoyed the quest with the priestess (Madele) that links the letter from Gorion in the first game to the priestess of Bhaal story in the second game. I also love her captor's journal (Akanna, the half-dragon), and how she evilly describes torturing Madele to the brink of madness, and eating her eyes after roasting them.
I loved the battle at the coalition camp and Dragonspear Castle. Choosing your units against specific enemy types, the scale of the battle and how epic it all felt; very exciting and immersive. It really felt like the characters were caught in the middle of a war.
Hephernann's portrait. He looks every inch the evil, arrogant, slimy bad guy. Pretty cool. I also liked what they did with Khalid's character.
The voice acting was decent. A shame about Jaheira though... I appreciate they couldn't find her voice actress but a convincing sound-alike would have been better than nothing at all.
What I didn't like:
The Enhanced Edition of Baldurs Gate stopped working on my laptop when the version 2.2 patch came out. I just could not get the game to run. Even when I converted back to the 1.3 beta and managed to get it to load (albeit without SoD), the game would crash every time battle ensued, so I was unable to play it (and still can't). I now have to play the game using my partner's laptop. I contacted Beamdog who blamed Steam, and I contacted Steam who blamed Beamdog. After trying everything I just kind of had to accept that this game was not going to work anymore on my machine (which is kind of bad, seeing as the original is a REALLY old game...)
I found a lot of the writing and quests to be infantile and amateurish. Some of it completely didn't make sense. Here are a few examples that baffled me:
- Dynaheir asks Edwin 'thou runnest - or should I say thou waddlest - away from the shining lady?'
Then captain Corwin says 'for the love of the gods, save that filth for a chamberpot.' What does that even mean?!
- The exchange between Glint and Safana... when Safana accuses him of calling her old and threatens to beat him when all he did was ask about her life... that made no sense to me at all. Why did she react that way? Safana is a sultry rapscallion lass and former pirate. She likes attention and isn't easily offended. She would would be more likely to flirt with and tease the gnome and make him embarrassed.
- And can someone explain why Minsc started whimpering after the goblin Shaman encounter? That joke sailed completely past my head.
Anyway...
I disliked the journal system, which I found confusing. Why include the quests from the base game? It's not like they are going to be used again in this game. Also, the way the journal updates for the tiniest little thing, and basically spoon-feeds you what to do, feels condescending.
The eight million quick save slots make no sense either. Confusing?! If you want more than one save slot just do it the long way, otherwise what is the point of having a quick save slot to begin with?
The interface is convoluted and difficult to navigate. It also looks quite garish, and I really wish they did what they had done with BG:EE and used the nice leather-effect SoA interface. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
There are inconsistencies with the plot of the original game. For example, Corwyn says that the Elfsong is a little fancy for her tastes, but in the original game the Elfsong is a dive (hence the thugs on the first floor) in the rough part of the city. Minsc behaves like a child (yeah, he's never been the sharpest tool in the box, but he's not a complete bufoon either), and Safana's new, sarcastic personality really grates on my nerves.
I absolutely HATED the ending. It was so hammy! The whole thing was just a regurgitation of the Iron Throne leaders murder from the base game, and felt massively rushed and unconvincing.
In conclusion:
Parts of SoD are quite fun, and the game is not quite as horrible as a lot of people make out, but I probably wouldn't play through it again.
What I liked:
My PC is a mage, and this seems to be acknowledged a lot more in SoD. Being a magic user seems to provide alternative ways to solve problems which I found pretty cool.
Examples:
- Pretending to cast an 'anti-ageing spell' on the noblewoman in the Three Old Kegs so she'd give you her necklace - Suggesting an alternative ingredient to the Blue Moss in the dungeon of Korlasz for the old woman
- Halbazzer from sorceries sundries gives you an extra reward as 'one wizard to another.'
The only real example of this in the original game is Melicamp's quest when you attempt to Dispel his polymorph spell (which fails anyway), and the planar sphere quest/stronghold in SoA.
I liked way the game used Liia Jannath as Imoen's magical mentor, and tying her change of career into her desire to feel closer to Gorion. It also shows that she is starting to grow up and develop aspirations of her own, something that she lacked in Candlekeep, and explains why she is less bratty and childish in SoA and beyond (though being relentlessly tortured and having her soul stolen probably contributed as well...)
I enjoyed the quest with the priestess (Madele) that links the letter from Gorion in the first game to the priestess of Bhaal story in the second game. I also love her captor's journal (Akanna, the half-dragon), and how she evilly describes torturing Madele to the brink of madness, and eating her eyes after roasting them.
I loved the battle at the coalition camp and Dragonspear Castle. Choosing your units against specific enemy types, the scale of the battle and how epic it all felt; very exciting and immersive. It really felt like the characters were caught in the middle of a war.
Hephernann's portrait. He looks every inch the evil, arrogant, slimy bad guy. Pretty cool. I also liked what they did with Khalid's character.
The voice acting was decent. A shame about Jaheira though... I appreciate they couldn't find her voice actress but a convincing sound-alike would have been better than nothing at all.
What I didn't like:
The Enhanced Edition of Baldurs Gate stopped working on my laptop when the version 2.2 patch came out. I just could not get the game to run. Even when I converted back to the 1.3 beta and managed to get it to load (albeit without SoD), the game would crash every time battle ensued, so I was unable to play it (and still can't). I now have to play the game using my partner's laptop. I contacted Beamdog who blamed Steam, and I contacted Steam who blamed Beamdog. After trying everything I just kind of had to accept that this game was not going to work anymore on my machine (which is kind of bad, seeing as the original is a REALLY old game...)
I found a lot of the writing and quests to be infantile and amateurish. Some of it completely didn't make sense. Here are a few examples that baffled me:
- Dynaheir asks Edwin 'thou runnest - or should I say thou waddlest - away from the shining lady?'
Then captain Corwin says 'for the love of the gods, save that filth for a chamberpot.' What does that even mean?!
- The exchange between Glint and Safana... when Safana accuses him of calling her old and threatens to beat him when all he did was ask about her life... that made no sense to me at all. Why did she react that way? Safana is a sultry rapscallion lass and former pirate. She likes attention and isn't easily offended. She would would be more likely to flirt with and tease the gnome and make him embarrassed.
- And can someone explain why Minsc started whimpering after the goblin Shaman encounter? That joke sailed completely past my head.
Anyway...
I disliked the journal system, which I found confusing. Why include the quests from the base game? It's not like they are going to be used again in this game. Also, the way the journal updates for the tiniest little thing, and basically spoon-feeds you what to do, feels condescending.
The eight million quick save slots make no sense either. Confusing?! If you want more than one save slot just do it the long way, otherwise what is the point of having a quick save slot to begin with?
The interface is convoluted and difficult to navigate. It also looks quite garish, and I really wish they did what they had done with BG:EE and used the nice leather-effect SoA interface. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
There are inconsistencies with the plot of the original game. For example, Corwyn says that the Elfsong is a little fancy for her tastes, but in the original game the Elfsong is a dive (hence the thugs on the first floor) in the rough part of the city. Minsc behaves like a child (yeah, he's never been the sharpest tool in the box, but he's not a complete bufoon either), and Safana's new, sarcastic personality really grates on my nerves.
I absolutely HATED the ending. It was so hammy! The whole thing was just a regurgitation of the Iron Throne leaders murder from the base game, and felt massively rushed and unconvincing.
In conclusion:
Parts of SoD are quite fun, and the game is not quite as horrible as a lot of people make out, but I probably wouldn't play through it again.
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Anybody Playing Tyranny?
Being currently a denizen of corporate America, I cannot try out the game; and even if I wanted to, my main boot drive is currently kaput so I am waiting on that issue being resolved before installing any new games. Regardless, I am curious if anyone has had the chance to give it a try yet, and form an opinion about it?
A couple of reviews I've glimpsed at seem to indicate two things that worry me:
1) combat seems to be rather repetitive and boring, many enemies feel very "samey".
2) companion NPCs don't seem to have "loyalty missions" or something of that sort, which seems to me to be a shame considering several appear to have a lot of depth.
I am looking forward to input from all of you![:)]( ":)")
Thanks.
A couple of reviews I've glimpsed at seem to indicate two things that worry me:
1) combat seems to be rather repetitive and boring, many enemies feel very "samey".
2) companion NPCs don't seem to have "loyalty missions" or something of that sort, which seems to me to be a shame considering several appear to have a lot of depth.
I am looking forward to input from all of you
Thanks.
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#ConfessionsofaGreyWarden/ChampionofKirkwall/Inquisitor
This is mostly inspired by @booinyoureyes's thread, #ConfessionsofaBhaalspawn.
I figured instead of de-railing that thread with Dragon Age confessions. I figured that we could put them in here.
Confession: I love Dragon Age: Origins.
Confession: Out of all the romances my favorite is a tie between Leliana and Zevran.
Confession: I really don't like Morrigan, but some how all my Wardens become friends with her.
Confession: I've never completed a Human Noble playthrough.
Confession: I've never completed a dwarf commoner or a dwarf noble playthrough.
Confession: I found Dragon Age 2 to be...mediocre at best.
Confession: My favorite romance in DA2 is Fenris'.
Confession: I think that Anders is a terrorist, and an abomination. Why? Well, the terrorist part is obvious, but the abomination part, its mostly because he's losing his true self the longer he keeps Justice/Vengeance inside of him.
I figured instead of de-railing that thread with Dragon Age confessions. I figured that we could put them in here.
Confession: I love Dragon Age: Origins.
Confession: Out of all the romances my favorite is a tie between Leliana and Zevran.
Confession: I really don't like Morrigan, but some how all my Wardens become friends with her.
Confession: I've never completed a Human Noble playthrough.
Confession: I've never completed a dwarf commoner or a dwarf noble playthrough.
Confession: I found Dragon Age 2 to be...mediocre at best.
Confession: My favorite romance in DA2 is Fenris'.
Confession: I think that Anders is a terrorist, and an abomination. Why? Well, the terrorist part is obvious, but the abomination part, its mostly because he's losing his true self the longer he keeps Justice/Vengeance inside of him.
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[MOD] -Might and Guile- a tweak mod and kit pack for warriors and rogues.
Announcing my new mod - er, or a new version of my old mod, with a new name... ah, whatever. Announcing Might and Guile!
Download:
https://github.com/subtledoctor/Might_and_Guile/releases/tag/2.8.2
Readme:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/86011511/readme-M_n_G.html
This springs from the ashes of my Scales of Balance mod. Basically, you can consider the last year of development of Scales of Balance to be a big beta test to prepare for this mod and the others that spring from it. Three big chunks of it are being split off, so that each has room to grow:
- The general game/rule tweaks and overhauls are still in Scales of Balance v5
- The NPC components have been spun off into their own mod, NPC_EE
- The wizard tweaks are being incorporated in Tome and Blood
- The cleric and druid kits and revisions are laying the foundation for a huge new mod, Faiths and Powers
So what's left of SoB? Game tweaks, warrior kits, and rogue kits. Thus, "Might and Guile." SoB had gotten very complicated by the last version, and reliance on a settings file that many people couldn't find only made things worse. So I have streamlined and bug-fixed the remaining components and put them in a new, simpler format. There is no "core" component; everything is optional, everything is independent. This is really more like a collection of several mods. So as always: install what you like, ignore what you don't.
These mod components now contain:
1) Revisions to warrior and rogue classes and kits:
- Barbarian and Monk movement bonuses changed to a speed bonus that can be toggled on and off (and rangers get it too)
- revised Berserker kit and Rage ability
- revised Stalkers, Archers, and Beastmasters
- revised Kensai, actually following the in-game lore of only being able to master a single weapon category (at a time)
- revised monk fist weapons, toggling back-and-forth from non-magical to magical
- revised Blade and Skald kit abilities
- revised Shadowdancer with new "Shadow Pool" instead of HiPS
- "warrior feats" ... 10 choosable combat abilities for single-class fighters and rangers
- "rogue feats" ...20+ 30+ 40+ choosable feats to better define your thief as you progress in levels
2) Warrior and rogue kits:
- 2 fighter kits (Corsair, Marksman, Soulblade)
- 4 ranger kits (Elven Archer, Halfling Slinger, Mage Hunter, Barbarian Ranger)
- 4 thief kits (Sniper, Scout, Alchemist, Psypher)
- 5 bard kits (Jongleur, Loremaster, Gallant, Meistersinger, Loresinger)
- 4 multiclass kits (Bladesinger, Spellfilcher, Spellbender, and Ranger/Mage (!!))
It is compatible with all major current versions of the games: TOB, BGT, BG:EE, BG2:EE, and IWDEE. EET compatibility coming soon!
Download:
https://github.com/subtledoctor/Might_and_Guile/releases/tag/2.8.2
Readme:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/86011511/readme-M_n_G.html
This springs from the ashes of my Scales of Balance mod. Basically, you can consider the last year of development of Scales of Balance to be a big beta test to prepare for this mod and the others that spring from it. Three big chunks of it are being split off, so that each has room to grow:
- The general game/rule tweaks and overhauls are still in Scales of Balance v5
- The NPC components have been spun off into their own mod, NPC_EE
- The wizard tweaks are being incorporated in Tome and Blood
- The cleric and druid kits and revisions are laying the foundation for a huge new mod, Faiths and Powers
So what's left of SoB? Game tweaks, warrior kits, and rogue kits. Thus, "Might and Guile." SoB had gotten very complicated by the last version, and reliance on a settings file that many people couldn't find only made things worse. So I have streamlined and bug-fixed the remaining components and put them in a new, simpler format. There is no "core" component; everything is optional, everything is independent. This is really more like a collection of several mods. So as always: install what you like, ignore what you don't.
These mod components now contain:
1) Revisions to warrior and rogue classes and kits:
- Barbarian and Monk movement bonuses changed to a speed bonus that can be toggled on and off (and rangers get it too)
- revised Berserker kit and Rage ability
- revised Stalkers, Archers, and Beastmasters
- revised Kensai, actually following the in-game lore of only being able to master a single weapon category (at a time)
- revised monk fist weapons, toggling back-and-forth from non-magical to magical
- revised Blade and Skald kit abilities
- revised Shadowdancer with new "Shadow Pool" instead of HiPS
- "warrior feats" ... 10 choosable combat abilities for single-class fighters and rangers
- "rogue feats" ...
2) Warrior and rogue kits:
- 2 fighter kits (Corsair, Marksman, Soulblade)
- 4 ranger kits (Elven Archer, Halfling Slinger, Mage Hunter, Barbarian Ranger)
- 4 thief kits (Sniper, Scout, Alchemist, Psypher)
- 5 bard kits (Jongleur, Loremaster, Gallant, Meistersinger, Loresinger)
- 4 multiclass kits (Bladesinger, Spellfilcher, Spellbender, and Ranger/Mage (!!))
It is compatible with all major current versions of the games: TOB, BGT, BG:EE, BG2:EE, and IWDEE. EET compatibility coming soon!
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