Elven sleep immunity affects other spells

[mxtu]

Greetings to all forum-goers.

 

I've been looking at bg2fixpack code as I was making a mod component to make spiders immune to sleep and, to my horror, I found out that elven sleep resistance also affects color spray and stinking cloud! I'm firmly convinced that it should not be so.

 

reasoning:

1. From Color spray description:

..must make a saving throw or be rendered unconscious for..

No mention of making the target sleep.

2. The target saves vs. spell while sleep has a save vs. death.

3. The spell looks more like it dazes the target with flashing colors or even causes some sort of seizure -- quite the opposite of putting someone to sleep. Are elves meant to be immune to unconsciousness? For example caused by hard hits to the head?

 

furthermore: Color spray is, while sharing its niche, already quite inferior to Sleep. This immunity takes away its only advantage over it that I know of.(save for being available to Invokers)

 

1. From Stinking cloud description:

..mass of nauseous vapors ... make a saving throw vs. poison or be sent reeling and fall down ... dispel magic will remove the nausea on a particular character.

No mention of making the target sleep.

2. Like with color spray, it seems like the effect is meant to represent losing consciousness, though maybe more easily accepted as causing "sleeping" than the spray.

[polytope]

Agreed, I mentioned this a few months ago. It's particularly strange in the case of Stinking Cloud (elves immune to tear gas?) - and Web was already a better spell in most cases.

 

Not to mention Emotion: Hopelessness and PSIONIC_MIND_BLAST, which are certainly not sleep magic... Even if they share the "sleep" opcode due to engine reasons.

 

The fact that the designers included two separate portrait icons in STATES.BAM (one for sleep, one for unconsciousness) suggests they intended a distinction between these effects.

 

A list of spells which should (IMO) respect elf immunity: Sleep, Command, Power Word: Sleep, Greater Command.

[aVENGER_(RR)]

As the original author of this fix, I can say that I never intended for elves/half-elves to be immune to unconsciousness effects. They weren't in my version, and the readme made that pretty clear, but I guess someone accidentally missed that bit when the fix was recoded. I also deliberately made the Mind Flayers' Psionic Domination ignore the charm immunity and I suppose the same could be done for Mental Domination too.

 

I we ever release Fixpack v10, I'll see that this gets sorted out.

 

--- setup-bg2fixpack.tp2	2010-03-15 19:54:10.000000000 +0100
+++ setup-bg2fixpack.v10	2011-11-03 11:57:38.625000000 +0100
@@ -18128,35 +18128,35 @@
		   ~demochm.spl~  ~override~ // demonic charm (demogorgon)
		   ~spcl311.spl~  ~override~ // ranger charm animal
		   ~spcl641.spl~  ~override~ // charm person or animal (unused?)
-			  ~spcl751a.spl~ ~override~ // used as bard song for HELL_PRIDE_EVIL
+//			~spcl751a.spl~ ~override~ // bard song (Jester kit)
		   ~spin108.spl~  ~override~ // charm animal (elminster version)
		   ~spin119.spl~  ~override~ // charm person (elminster version)
		   ~spin553.spl~  ~override~ // nalmissra innate charm
		   ~spin558.spl~  ~override~ // erinyes charm
-			  ~spin775.spl~  ~override~ // psionic mind blast
-			  ~spin802.spl~  ~override~ // mind cripple
+//			~spin775.spl~  ~override~ // psionic mind blast
+//			~spin802.spl~  ~override~ // mind cripple
		   ~spin883.spl~  ~override~ // vampire domination
-			  ~spin910.spl~  ~override~ // psionic domination
-			  ~spin937.spl~  ~override~ // mephit color spray
-			  ~spin940.spl~  ~override~ // mephit stinking cloud
+//			~spin910.spl~  ~override~ // psionic domination
+//			~spin937.spl~  ~override~ // mephit color spray
+//			~spin940.spl~  ~override~ // mephit stinking cloud
		   ~spin966.spl~  ~override~ // troll sleep
-			  ~spin975.spl~  ~override~ // mind flayer domination
+//			~spin975.spl~  ~override~ // mind flayer domination
		   ~spin980.spl~  ~override~ // beholder charm person
		   ~spin985.spl~  ~override~ // beholder domination
		   ~sppr102.spl~  ~override~ // command
		   ~sppr204.spl~  ~override~ // charm person or mammal
-			  ~sppr405.spl~  ~override~ // mental domination
+//			~sppr405.spl~  ~override~ // mental domination
		   ~sppr512.spl~  ~override~ // greater command
		   ~sppr982.spl~  ~override~ // dire charm (trap)
-			  ~spwi004.spl~  ~override~ // stinking cloud (trap)
+//			~spwi004.spl~  ~override~ // stinking cloud (trap)
		   ~spwi104.spl~  ~override~ // charm person
-			  ~spwi105.spl~  ~override~ // color spray
+//			~spwi105.spl~  ~override~ // color spray
		   ~spwi116.spl~  ~override~ // sleep
-			  ~spwi213.spl~  ~override~ // stinking cloud
+//			~spwi213.spl~  ~override~ // stinking cloud
		   ~spwi316.spl~  ~override~ // dire charm
-			  ~spwi411.spl~  ~override~ // emotion
+//			~spwi411.spl~  ~override~ // emotion
		   ~spwi506.spl~  ~override~ // domination
-			  ~spwi711.spl~  ~override~ // sphere of chaos
+//			~spwi711.spl~  ~override~ // sphere of chaos
		   ~spwi929.spl~  ~override~ // succubus charm male
		   ~spwi930.spl~  ~override~ // succubus charm female
		   ~spwi943.spl~  ~override~ // sirine dire charm

[phordicus]

I'd argue against Mental Domination and stick to more clearly defined offenders like Sphere of Chaos if Fixpack wants to retain its de rigeur status due in large part to its objectivity.