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[MOD] -NPC_EE- ... Non-Player Characters Enhanced, for Everyone!

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I'd like to announce the first release of my new mod: Non-Player Characters, Enhanced for Everyone. That's right - NPC_EE!

HUGE update for version 2!

Here is the download link:
https://github.com/UnearthedArcana/NPC_EE/releases

And here is a link to the readme:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/86011511/readme-NPC_EE.html

This makes MAJOR changes. There are no more install options to change kits. Instead, there are options to change NPCs' class. There are many fewer components, because there are not as many class changes that work (for lore reasons, I'm not changing Jaheira from druid, or Quayle from cleric/mage, or Kagain from fighter, etc. Side benefit: less work for me! :tongue:

Then, in-game, the magic happens: I've devised a way to generate a script on the fly that will detect any mod kits you have added. Every single joinable NPC in the game will get an innate ability to add a kit, or to switch to a new kit, and they will have options for every kit that their class allows.

It's frakkin' awesome. You can turn Minsc into a fighter, and then in-game you can turn him into a Barbarian!

Also, as if that's not enough, I've also added options for multiclass characters to take a kit. They can only take a kit in one class, so here how it pans out:
- ranger/clerics: choose a ranger kit
- fighter/clerics: choose a cleric kit
- cleric/thieves: choose a cleric kit
- cleric/mages: choose a cleric kit
- fighter/druids: choose a druid kit
- fighter/thieves: choose a thief kit
- fighter/mages: choose a mage kit
- thief/mages: choose a mage kit

So you can turn Coran into a kensai/thief. You can turn Montaron into a berserker/thief. You can make Imoen into a mage/thief multiclass, and then in-game turn her into a swashbuckler/mage.

YES, you can do all of this and more with EEKeeper. But this is much cooler and easier to use.

I'll keep the old v1 main post in spoiler tags, for posterity:

What is this mod?

Well, this is a bone I'm throwing to BGEE players, since the wonderful, excellent, currently-unsupported "Level 1 NPCs" mod does not work on the new engine. I added some rekitted NPC components to the end of my Scales of Balance mod (SoB); but there were only a few options, and many of them relied on having installed earlier parts of SoB.

So, I expanded it such that every NPC that gets options to change will have their own full component with numerous subcomponents that give you different options. The most basic option for each NPC is to change nothing, except to drop them to 1st level so that you can control their development as they level up. (They will keep all their XP and spells, so you can level them up immediately. This option should mimic the "TOB-style NPCs" component of BG2Tweaks, on an NPC-by-NPC basis.)

The other options will change the NPCs in various ways. Some will add a kit to NPCs who were unkitted. Some will change a kitted NPC's kit. Some will actually change the NPC's class. Some will change the class and add a new kit, and some can even add kits to multiclass characters (e.g. Yeslick can be a kitted fighter/cleric; and Alora can become a kitted cleric/thief).

Okay, so what are the options?

Here's the list (class changes noted in parentheses):
Imoen: Swashbuckler, Adventurer (S&S), or Spellfilcher (mage/thief)
Jaheira: Totemic druid, or Elementalist
Khalid: ranger/cleric, Marksman, Justifier (DR), or Corsair
Minsc: Berserker, or Barbarian Ranger
Kivan: Archer, or Stalker
Coran: Sniper, or Swashbuckler
Branwen: Battleguard of Tempus (DR), or Gloryblood of Tempus (fighter/cleric)
Safana: Swashbuckler, or Bounty Hunter
Ajantis: Inquisitor, or Cavalier
Montaron: Assassin (single-class thief)
Yeslick: Alaghor of Clangeddin
Quayle: Hoodwinker of Baravar Cloakshadow (single-class cleric)
Faldorn: Avenger, or Purifier, or Lost Druid
Skie: Assassin, or Shadowdancer
Eldoth: Blade, or Jongleur
Garrick: Gallant, Chorister (S&S), or Meistersinger
Alora: Sniper, Swashbuckler, or Misadventurer of Brandobaris (cleric/thief)
Xan: fighter/mage, Bladesinger (fighter/mage), or Loremaster (bard)
Shar-Teel: Berserker
Tiax: Strifeleader of Cyric (DR)
Viconia: Nightcloak of Shar (DR), or Darkcloak of Shar, or cleric/thief
Yoshimo: Swashbuckler, or fighter/thief
Valygar: Mage Hunter, or fighter/thief
Nalia: Loremaster (bard), or Loresinger of Milil (bard), or Spellbender (cleric/mage)
Haer'Dalis: Jongleur, or Gallant, or Skald
Mazzy: Hearthguard of Arvoreen (fighter/cleric)
Aerie: Fastpaws of Baervan Wildwanderer (but still cleric/mage)
Keldorn: Paladin, or Cavalier
Cernd: Totemic druid, or Elementalist, or Purifier
Kits marked (DR) or (S&S) will only be available if you first install that kit from Divine Remix or Song & Silence, respectively.

Can I change things around later?

Yes. This mod should be installed dead last, after all other mods. After BG2Tweaks. After SCS. Even after Generalized Biffing, if you're playing the non-EE engine and using GB. The whole idea of this is that, after you play a game with Kivan as an Archer, you can easily uninstall that component and reinstall him as a Stalker. If this is the last mod you install, then you can do that many times without disturbing anything else.

I've already changed up some NPCs with your Scales of Balance components (or the NPCKits mod, or some other method). Do I have to uninstall those changes before using this mod?

No - whichever one goes in last should control. You should be able to install/uninstall/reinstall this one on top of anything else you've already done. (I have not tested doing this, but it overwrites the various ckass/kit/HP/etc. fields, so I don't see how they would conflict.)

Great. But, don't take this the wrong way, there aren't many options.

Yeah, I know. I'm releasing this as a beta right now under the theory that some options are better than no options. Right now the mod includes options for various vanilla kits (e.g. "make Montaron an Assassin"), for various SoB kits (e.g. "make Khalid a Corsair"), and for @zupsky's very nice Lost Druid kit ("make Faldorn a Lost Druid"). If you choose one of those options, it will install that kit into the game, but only for that NPC - not for the player. If you want those kits to be available for your PC, then you'll have to actually install those mods. (So, you do *not* have to install anything from Scales of Balance to make these options work. Yay!)

Additionally, there will be a few more options if you install kits from the Divine Remix and Song & Silence mods. I'm going to reach out to the keepers of those mods, and maybe one or two others, to see if I can borrow their code to install those kits independently, like the SoB and Lost Druid kits are now. We'll see.

Okay, I installed DR and S&S and there are still only like 3-4 options for most NPCs.

Yeah, well, again: some options are better than none! If you have suggestions for more options for any NPCs, let me know in this thread.

Further, anyone has my complete and utter blessing to delve into this .tp2 file and add to it. Want to add an option for Shar-Teel to be a Wizard Slayer? Well, copy the component that turns her into a Berserker, edit the kit line (0x246) to point to Wizard Slayer instead of Berserker (look in kit.ids) and copy/adapt one of the ADD_CRE_EFFECT lines to give her the 1st-level Wizard Slayer abilities. Done. Send me the code (or just do a pull request on Github) and I'll add it to the mod. I don't have time to add too much, but I designed the mod to support up to 17 options for each NPC. So there is definitely room to grow.

Are you a modder, who makes kits? Want to include them here like @zupsky's? Fantastic! Add your kit installation code as a .tpa file, put it and the kit's clab file and any supporting .spl/.itm/etc. files into a folder in "/npc_ee/kits/" and then add a component to whichever NPCs you think are appropriate (take a look at the code giving Faldorn the Lost Druid kit; it checks to see whether the kit mod is already installed, and if it is not, INCLUDEs the .tpa). Send me the code or do a pull-request, and bam! More options!

What about proficiencies? If you make Coran a single-class thief he can't use his 3 pips in long bow!

Yeah, I've taken care of that. Coran as a single-class thief will get an illegal two pips in short bow. He will also have a short bow equipped when you meet him, instead of a long bow. Turn Khalid into a ranger/cleric and his sharp equipment will be replaced with blunt equipment. Et cetera.

Again: I have no time for anything but the most limited testing. I've installed this, and CLUA'd the NPCs into existence, and it seems to be working fine. Let me know in this thread if you see any bugs.


Cheers!

The "Free For All" LoB + SCS Solo Challenge

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Do not wonder: The old title of this thread was "The Legacy of Bhaal Solo Warrior Challenge".

Thanks to the Baldurs Gate Expansion „Siege of Dragonspear“ there is a new difficulty level called „Legacy of Bhaal“ which works like „Heart of Fury“ in Icewind Dale. This is great! On the other hand we have the wonderful Mod "Sword Coast Stratagems" which puts a glimmer of intelligence into the enemies to make every fight a unique challenge. To make it short: Why not putting the best of these two worlds together to get an epic adventure that will last long in our memories?

Here are the rules:

1. Legacy of Bhaal Difficulty (LoB) + Swoard Coast Stratagems (SCS). Mandatory for SCS are the basic improved AI settings, better calls for help, prebuffing, improved creatures & chapter-end-fights - including Ascension for ToB. Everything else is optional.

2. Solo only

3. The ideal playthrough should contain Baldurs Gate → Tales of the Swordcoast → Siege of Dragonspear → Baldurs Gate 2 → Throne of Bhaal.

4. All classe are allowed including Dual- or Multiclassing. All races are allowed as well as unlimited rerolls on character creation screen. Also reloads are allowed, because this is not a no-reload challenge.

5. A reasonably detailed description of your tactics and progress would be great.

Which of the classes will have the best chances to become the new Lord of Murder? Will someone try it? Have fun! :)


The following challenges are running at the moment:

@Arctodus: Fighter
@Blackraven: Cleric/Illusionist

@chimaera: Dragon Disciple ( incl. Spell Revision)
@Grondo: Sorcerer
@Harpagornis: Bounty Hunter
@Victor_Creed_SFV: Fighter/Mage/Cleric


Hall of Fame:

Heroes of Baldurs Gate 1:
@Arctodus: Fighter
@Blackraven: Thief/Illusionist
@chimaera: Dragon Disciple ( incl. Spell Revision)
@Harpagornis: Blackguard + Barbarian + Ranger + Fighter/Thief + Berserker7/Druid + Bounty Hunter

Heroes of Baldurs Gate 1 + Siege of Dragonspear:

@Harpagornis: Blackguard + Barbarian + Ranger + Fighter/Thief + Berserker7/Druid + Bounty Hunter
@chimaera: Dragon Disciple (incl. Spell Revision)

Heroes of Baldurs Gate 1 + Siege of Dragonspear + Baldurs Gate 2:
@Harpagornis: Barbarian

The Almost New Lord of Murder for beating everything but Amelyssan:
@Harpagornis: Barbarian

Special Credit:

@Grond0 & @Blackraven: For pushing this challenge even more playing no-reload only!

The Fellowship of the Cookie

Three word story maker.

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Not sure this will work here as well as it does in the classroom... But lets have some fun.

We will make a story together. You are aloud three words. You are not allowed to double post. Extra info on your thoughts should be added in a spoiler.

Tips:
- Ensure you are creating a sentence, that makes sense. Read it.
- You can use punctuation! This can have a powerful effect on the story...
- Don't get frustrated with other people. You have no power over the story. You can only guide it.

Lets see what happens people...

Aerie or Neera?

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I'm still playing BG EE, but I plan my parties well in advance. I'm a bit split on whether or not one of my arcane caster slots should be Neera or Aerie in SoA. Who would be more useful? So far, I know for a fact that I will have a barbarian MC, Minsc, Imoen, and 2 other NPC's in my party, if that helps.

Also, how do the romances stack up? I've only tried Viconia and Jaheira.

Unpopular opinions

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An idea has come to me to make a thread where we can share unpopular opinions about things in BG and other IE games.

1. Cernd is far from being useless NPC.
In fact, he has tons of high-level druid spells and if CHARNAME is not a druid, than by not having a second class Cernd offers a lot of variety in lvl 6-7 spells if compared to Jaheira. If use the high-level druid spells right, almost any fight in SoA becomes a lot easier.

2. Darts can be a good choice as a ranged weapon for a fighter.
Thalantyr's shop in BG1 has tons of useful darts, Sorcerous Sundries make it even better. There's an unlimited +3 dart on the first level of the Watcher's Keep, available not long after escaping from the Irenicus dungeon. Darts provide 3 APR and with addition APR from specialization and fighter class your darts stay a wonderful weapon from the Candlekeep and to the Hell.

3. 2 thieves in a party is not too much.
I prefer to focus on setting traps and dispelling illusions with one of them and to hide in shadows for backstabs with another. Also, there're Open Locks and Disarm Traps skills. There're always multi-class options available. For example, your character can be a multiclass fighter/thief with amazing backstabs while Tiax or Jan Jansen is focused on setting traps to the place you lure your enemies to. Or maybe a half-orc assassin for backstabs and poison weapon and Hexxat for other thieving skills.

4. Mazzy's relatively low starting STR is not a problem.
She has innate Strength spell, there're lots of STR-enhancing items in BG2, so that leaves you with a shorty fighter (and thus all saving throws bonuses) who has a chance to become GM in any weapon you like (or choose a standard short bow proficiency providing 5 APR with the Tuigan bow).

5. Keep trying using every and each consumables in any fight if you have any.
You won't believe how easier it will become if your fighters nearly always have 22-23 STR for fights and get their saving throws improved drastically. Wands will often be enough to defeat even bosses.

Carry on! Share the things that are relatively not popular among BG fans.

(Spoilers) Dorn Story Question

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Background: So I went through Dorn's story once on a previous play-through and I vaguely remember the details (Dorn is caught between two patrons and we basically choose which one he follows, if any.) Last time around he stayed with Ur-gothaz. However, I abandoned that character not long after.

Question: Is it possible if Dorn becomes "free" for him to get another patron later (I am hoping for myself even if it is unofficially [no powers] but the question is for any) either in SoA or ToB? What effect if any does this have on his story later?

Conclusion: Thank you in advance for taking the time to read/respond!

EDIT: The main thing that made me ask this question is the occasional reference from both Dorn and Sarevok about them basically being your "right-hand" as a god and I wanted to know if it was explored any more beyond that 1-2 lines of dialogue.

General Question - Edwin

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It's been awhile since this old chicken played Baldur's Gate EE. I noticed that some verbiage about Edwin gaining Larloch's Minor Drain after a battle. I didn't really understand that. He gained a spell from combat? Is that something new for mages, or did I misread it. He already had the spell, so it didn't matter anyway.

Thanks!

Half-Orcs as Strong as Hill Giants, and Comparing the STR stat to Pen and Paper AD&D

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I've always thought the modification to Half-Orcs to make them capable of being naturally as strong as a Hill Giant (19 Strength) was a bit amusing - I tend to be a bit old school though. I still remember from my pen and paper AD&D days back in college, how humans capped at 18/00 (Ogre Strength) and that was such a small percentile. You literally had to roll (like you do in BG Char Gen) 00 on percentile dice, however unlike BG (which I understand is a video game) you got to roll only once. So you usually had someone with a nat 18/00 every few years at best. Which made sense - given the rarity.

Then there's half orcs, which you can just put a 19 in. Crazy. And not really logical, considering being naturally as strong as an ogre while being humanoid is one thing - being naturally as strong as a giant while being that small, is something else.

2nd Ed did tend to eliminate some of the logic 1st Ed introduced though. Also gone were demihuman level limits and other stat max/minimums that made sense based on body-type (such as Elves having a max 18/75 strength).

Ah, nostalgia.


Returning to BGEE after absence -- mod confusion

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Howdy. I have played these games (well, not SOD yet) in various forms and with hundreds of mods for well over 15 years. However I am returning to the EE versions after a 2 year absence to play the whole saga with SOD, and so much has changed in two years I don't know where to start anymore.

Is this correct:
After installing the games (which I have done -- from beamdog) and moved them from Program folder to Games folder, I then install:
1) EETrilogy, then
2) Big World Fixpack, then
3) Big world set up and choose my mods from there.. and that will have me covered?

Instead of going old school like I used to and going mod by mod by mod?

And that will cover all the EE content including SOD? I don't need the EEtrilogy per se but I used to love BGT, so why not give it a shot, right?


I know there are lots of links on this forum and elsewhere attempting to give directions but there are so many explanations and links that I am confused. This is always so labor intensive I want to get it right. After playing maybe 20 times, I have yet to try the new shadowdancer thief kit --maybe EE keepered as a multi cleric. I want to get started, man!

THANKS!

P.S. last time I was playing and on these boards, ascension and refinements were either not ready or super buggy with the EE -- are they ready to go or still in need of work? And would Ascension with SCS be just too hard?

P.P.S. And thanks to all those who labor on these mods for free for the love of the game!

How was your first experience with Baldur's Gate?

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I figured it would fun and interesting to hear about the misshaps and goodies that took place when you took your first steps on the Sword Coast or in Amn.

I don't remember exactly when it was, but Throne of Bhaal had been released and I bought a box which contained both Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal. The reason was that I had gotten the demo of the game with one of those demo discs you got with various gaming magazines back in the days, and well, I thought it was fun. I had never ever played the original Baldur's Gate.

So I installed the game and made a character. A mage in this case. I had no experience with D&D and the only other RPG I had played was Fallout, so I didn't know what ability stats to use. I also didn't understand that you could reroll scores so I went with the first one I got, which was something like 74-75. I figured you had to be wise and smart to be a Mage so I maxed those stats out and just randomly put out points in the rest. I mean strength, dexterity and constitution are all for warriors anyway. And charisma, ha! That wouldn't help you kill any orcs (I was like 13 or 14 you see).

Anyway, I finished my character. Played through all of Shadows of Amn with a party that was basically made up of the first characters you meet on your journey (damn you for betraying me Yoshimo!). I had one of the best gaming experiences in my life and became a BG fan for life.

Golem construction mod walkthrouhg

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Could any1 give me a walktrough on golem construction? Im playing single run FMT at hardest difficulty, so i dont care about random creatures giving like 65xp, since a there is bloody skeletons with 50% slashing resistance everywhere i just follow a guide and go stright to targets to save time, so i dont explore all ^^ Killing skeletons and random mobs takes to much time.

So if any1 played golem construction mod, plz let me know where to find the correct parts, where to find the book and where to make them? Remember spoilers or PM ^^ BGEE atm. I got a bunch of body parts atm xD

A question for modders/ Modding and new creatures

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I dont know a thing about modding myself. But I wanted to ask a question. How hard is it to make new creatures for the game. I have long thought that some of the old standards in dungeon critters would be nice to have. Examples would be rust monster(eating nice metal weapons), slithering trackers to interrupt a nice rest, piercers to drop down on a party from above, and trappers to come up from the floor.
Myconids were a great addition I thought to the original games. We already have some nice slimes and oozes. (can you detect my gray druid tendancies yet, hehheh).
Just thinking aloud here and wondering what you folks thought.

How good is an Archer kit late game?

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Could one play all the way from BG1 to ToB with an Archer kit and be doing ok with it?

2.0 update ETA?

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Will Beamdog update ID:EE too with the 2.0 improvements from BG?

BG-related Easter eggs in other games

Your Party Screen Shots

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This is my current and probably my favorite party set up. One thing is she has a huge con handicap.

But gotta say those magic missiles are really terrifying. When you have 4 people who can cast them Xan only uses chromatic Orbs and sleep and mostly support stuff. Edwin / Neera is total bad ass and Garrick is my Tank, PC is semi offensive miscast magic own caster :smile: And Vynd is my thief support.



Did you know?

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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.

opcode 321 does not cancel opcode 0 effects with permanent timing.

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Found a bit of a bug. I'll post it on Redmine but if people don't mind I'll use this post for the files needed to reproduce.

Opcode 321, "cancel effect by resource," is meant to cancel the effects of a specified spell. However, it fails on effects that use opcode 0 (armor class bonus) with permanent timing. Note: it doesn't fail to cancel the target spell; it only fails to cancel any permanent opcode 0 effects within the target spell.

Steps to reproduce:
1) Download the three files attached to this post, unzip them and drop them in your override folder.
2) Start up any game, and type the following into the CLUA Console:
C:CreateItem("d5acbo")
3) Use the newly-granted innate ability with the Shield icon. Observe that your armor class and thac0 have both been improved by 2 points.
4) Now use the newly-granted innate ability with the Remove Magic icon.

Expected behavior:
Both the AC and thac0 bonuses should disappear.

Observed behavior:
Only the thac0 bonus disappears. The AC bonus survives the removal.

You can keep using the bonus ability and the removal ability, and you will see that your thac0 score bounces back and forth, while your AC score continually ratchets down.

More Persistent +Spell Weapons

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Here is a little mod I made on a lark with new trick I learned. Ever cast Melf's Minute Meteors while wielding Dakkon's Zerth Blade and get that sinking feeling because you just lost your extra spell slots? This should fix that. Now, you have a 30-second grace period after unequipping the weapon, before your spell slots disappear.

https://github.com/UnearthedArcana/spell_weapons/releases

As a technical matter what actually happens is, the game checks every 30 seconds after you equip the weapon, to see if you still have it equipped. If you do not, it starts a secondary timer and checks again 30 seconds later. If you still don't have the weapon equipped at this secondary check, your bonus spell slots disappear. So you actually have between 30 and 60 seconds from the moment you unequip the weapon. But at least 30.

Cheers.
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