subtledoctor

Part 7: Choose a Side Okay! When last we left off, Sarevok was killed, but the game did not end. You have to return to the Ducal Palace to let them know that Sarevok is defeated at long last. The dukes specifically instructed you to find Sarevok, not to fight him. And they specifically instructed you to preserve his body if he dies, so that they can get the palace necromancers working on interrogating him. But we know from the wonderful 1998 CGI movie that Sarevok's body disintegrated, and the energy flowed to some great hall deep in the earth, or in another plane of existence, or whatever, hinting at all the other Bhaalspawn out there. (The prophecy says "a score" but this movie makes it seem like hundreds!) Telling people bad news is always unpleasant, so if you want to run away to a deserted island across the sea, or something, this is a perfectly good time. I should note, some things come up in each stage of this that require slight revisions to earlier stages. In this case, I went back to the Dukes and they were not acknowledging that Sarevok was dead, because a dialogue trigger needed to be updated. But I am not going to go back and update the old posts here, because these end up being a bit different from the mod's actual code. All the fixes go into the Github project though. At any rate, here again, first we prep a journal entry for the end of the campaign: This is a modified version of the text scrawl from SoD when you finish Korlasz' dungeon. With a few small adjustments it fits very well here. Then we adjust the cut scene script that handles the transition from the BG1 campaign to the SoD campaign. This is taken whole from EndlessBG1, for maximum compatibility. Then we will set up our own cut scene for the end of BG1 that will glide into the base game's campaign-change cut scene. This will handle Imoen's status at the point of transition. This is adapted from a script in EndlessBG1, but is slightly different. It is okay that they differ, because if both are installed, the dialogue will point to mine: Then three script additions: the first two just add some compatibility for optional EndlessBG1 components; the third makes sure Entar is in the palace with Belt and Liia when you return from Sarevok. Then, all the dialogue additions. A long (and rather wordy, might need to be trimmed a bit) interchange between Charname, Belt, Liia, and Entar. With a potential interjection by Skie, perpetually embarrassed by her boomer dad. And finally, because the campaign transition script sends you to the beginning of Korlasz' dungeon - which we want to retain, in case player begin a brand new campaign in SoD - we will add a block to the Korlasz Dungeon area script that will check if you have already completed it and that Sarevok is dead, and if so, shunt you forward to the palace kidnapping scene. Also slightly change the text crawl pop-up screen, to match our end-of-Sarevok journal entry. And that's it for Part 7! So far, we added a new artifact, and an unsolved mystery at High Hedge, and added a bunch of content and general breathing room in chapter 7 of the BG1 campaign. Where the original game literally teleports you to the final fight with no explanation, now we have several new NPCs, and a whole dungeon to fight through, and a bunch of dialogue that addresses the isues and gives a narrative framework for the transition to SoD. The added dialogue here in Part 7 actually gives you a chance to tell the dukes "listen, I feel I should let you know, I am your father a Bhaalspawn." And the different dukes have different reactions to that, and to your actions in general. There are no overt consequences to that admission, but at least now the player has agency to role-play it as they see fit. And it creates the opportunity to change things later, in SoD, to be responsive to this choice. The transition to SoD happens right from Belt's dialogue, you say "I want to rest up and then march out with the army" and it gives the closure of the journal entry and text screen about the end of the fight against Sarevok, and then fades in to the early morning attack in which Imoen gets poisoned. So this is now fully playable if you choose the path that goes to SoD! On the other hand, you can tell the dukes "the Crusade is not my concern, go handle it without me, I need to investigate Entar's report that there is a murderer in the city with my face." Right now this alternative choice just has a placeholder action. In Part 8 we will add a cut scene with Captain Gregson running into the palace, and then have everyone go to the Flaming Fist jail cells. This avenue will tie into the Mirror Shard/Netherese Bracers mystery and send the game toward a transition directly to BG2. Part 9 will follow that with another area pulled forward from SoD, sending you into the ambush scene. That part will be easier than Part 4, because we won't care about what comes afterward. The main difficulty there will be handling the alternate possibilities of actually going into BG2 (if you are playing EET and the SoA campaign is present), or just ending the game with a cinematic and final save (if you are playing BGEE/SoD and need an exported final save to import into BG2EE). Part 10 will jump back to the first path, inserting the Mirror Shard cut scenes from Part 8 into the end of SoD, and tying it all into SoD's Skie plot. And after that we'll address compatibility with EndlessBG1. And then, release!

There is no way to change this flag in-game, short of using EEex. A mod would have to remove dual-class flags at install time.

Almost done with Part 7. This is probably the trickiest bit, as it involves cut scenes that can direct the game to different campaigns. Just having a bit of difficulty with the transition to SoD: when I trigger the cut scene with the MoveToCampaign() action, it plops me down in Korkasz’ dungeon. But of course we have already finished that. I want to skip to the palace kidnapping attempt. But I don’t necessarily want to change CAMPAIGN.2da, because if players start a brand new SoD game, I want it to start in Korlasz’ dungeon as usual. I want my changes to only take effect when playing through the end of BG1. This is a bit complicated. I begin to understand why EndlessBG1 adds a whole new campaign when moving Korlasz’ dungeon forward into the BG1 game (just not as far forward as I am bringing it). But I don’t fully understand how EndlessBG1 uses that new campaign. Is it only for the section that includes Korlasz’ dungeon? So the ‘SoD’ campaign begins with the kidnapping? Or does ‘SoD’ work as normal, and the new campaign just shunts you ahead of the SoD prologue? I need to understand that mod better. As I see it now, there are three options: 1. Just remove Korlasz’ dungeon from SoD altogether, so the SoD campaign will begin with the kidnapping scene even when starting a new campaign. (How much does this matter? How many people skip BG1 and play SoD by itself? I imagine the number is close to zero… 2. Learn what EndlessBG1 does with its added ‘campaign’ and try to do the same thing. 3. Let the MoveToCampaign action put you in Korlasz’ dungeon, but before it even fades in from black, have that area script jump you forward to the kidnapping scene. #3 sounds like the easiest way; #2 sounds like the hardest, but maybe best for compatibility…? Maybe. EDIT - I have a working version of #3. Probably will go with that.

Intersects with two of my unwritten rules of modding BG: 1. don’t install DSotSC 2. don’t install anything that messes with drow items

As I have been thinking about it: it makes sense, IF Sarevok specifically ordered Angelo to target the Thieves’ Guild, because he specifically wanted access to that staircase that leads to the Undercity. It is almost the only explanation that makes sense, because it is not otherwise an important plot point (players will miss it entirely if they don’t happen upon Rededge and Silence), and there is no obvious reason why the entrance to the Undercity should be there in the first place. But even if that explanation makes sense… Bioware did not express anything like that in the game itself. We are left with the weird situation where the staircase is unusable for most of the game, located in the Guild for no stated reason, and Angelo happened to be cruel to the thieves for no stated reason, and Belt knows exactly where the Thieves’ Guild is and blithely teleports you there with no advance warning, even if Charname is a paladin or something…! It’s all a bit crazy. It should be at least a bit more sensible/satisfying with this mod. Not perfectly satisfying - “I heard a rumor there might be a warded entrance in the Thieves’ Guild; take this wardstone in case the rumor is true” - and lo and behold, the rumor is true. With more time and energy, I might try to set up a more open-ended investigation… like, maybe make it so Alatos has the only wardstone, and you need to find him. But at the moment I am just trying improve the situation with a few quick dialogues, and that too-convenient rumor serves our purpose well enough. At least for now.

I think it’s fine. What I have set up in step 5 leaves some thieves in the Guild, but not as many, and the ones named in those dialogues (Alatos, Narlen, Rededge, etc.) are no longer there. Just Denkod, Lily, and a skeleton crew of nameless thieves. It fits the narrative while allowing the Thieves’ Guild location to remain, you know, the Thieves’ Guild. I have to get this thing done, at least a playable beta. It is taking up time I should be putting toward other projects. I am writing up the dialogue in step 7, and I have looked at how EndlessBG1 handles the transition to SoD. I should be able to use the same technique, and make it compatible, without much trouble. I will even support optional EndlessBG1 components like the hero tribute cut scene - though, that will be a bit more nuanced with this mod.

I’ve been playing (base) SR on IWDEE for years, it is pretty much fine AFAIK. Haven’t done it in a while. (The 2.5 update broke modding on iOS, so I have been playing IWD inside BG2EE.) But I think it is unlikely any recent changes would have busted it.

Another conundrum: I want to get across in dialogue that the dukes are grappling in real-time with the contents of Sarevok's diary. Alaundo's prophecy did not specify a time when it would occur, only "when Bhaal's bastard children come of age." This has not been on anyone's front burner; but the realization that Sarevok is a Bhaalspawn means that this prophesied era is suddenly upon them. There are a score of such children, or several score - they could be anywhere! (Dun dun dun!) The prophesy says their conflict will unfold in the Sword Coast, so the dukes of Baldur's Gate should be extremely concerned about their city. The threat of Sarevok, in other words, goes well beyond the man himself and his schemes - the dukes are now realizing that the greater threat by far is what Sarevok's existence portends. This is great moment for Charname to pipe up and volunteer "hey, so just to show I am being fully honest with you guys, I got this letter from my foster-father, who found me as a baby in a temple of Bhaal at the same time Sarevok was born..." But how would the dukes respond to that? How would that change how they see you - especially given that the ultimate result has to be the same, with you accompanying their army in a place of pride, marching out to challenge the Crusade? At the same time, Charname might very well want to keep that a secret! If it was me I surely would not tell anyone. But SoD seems to operate on the assumption that everyone knows about you. I really dislike that. This one dialogue between Charname, Belt, Liia, and Entar is where that has to play out. And whether you disclose it or not, you still have to end up with a choice between marching against the Crusade, or investigating Entar's report that his killer had your face. Basically, the scene has to get railroaded to identical optional outcomes... but man, that is a BIG choice to incorporate while still getting to the same place(s) in the end. Thinking about it now, it is kind of shocking that the games never wrestled with this. You never have an option to disclose it, or keep it secret, or face any consequences either way. I suppose that wasn't very noticeable when the first game ended in a cut scene in the final battle, and the second game opened with you kidnapped in a dungeon by someone who knows all about you. But now, if we are to actually deal with the fallout from Sarevok's scheme, on-screen... this becomes rather important.

I also add an op318 effect blocking them from being applied at level 0, to make sure they are only applied once at level 1. But, as these are stat-based bonuses which are presumably dynamic and responsive to score changes in-game, I assume the bug has more to do with repeating effects via 272/232.

Part 6: It's Not the End of the World This one came together extremely quickly, largely because it was already done in EndlessBG1. I just borrowed two bits of code to 1) prevent the game from ending when Sarevok dies, and 2) play the original BG1 game-end video when the combat ends: The only other thing I wanted to add for this fight is to disable the exit from the temple of Bhaal when you enter, and reenable it after you defeat Sarevok: The idea is, the dukes quite sensibly told you not to engage Sarevok in combat without any backup. They wanted him alive, or at the very least they wanted his body. But Sarevok laid a trap and locked you in the temple with him. He has set up the arena beforehand such that he can absorb your divine essence and double the strength of his own. So you are forced to fight him, and when he dies his body disappears in a cloud of golden particles. Now you will go back to the dukes to report your success... but you went fairly directly against their orders (even if through no fault of your own), and you don't have the body. So you are a hero... but they are not going to be very happy with you. That tension will set the stage for the final dialogues and cut scenes as the game moves to the next chapter.

Heh. I’m working on a mod that will make this much more interesting…

Part 5: The Boy Who Lived With Korlasz' dungeon cleared and having found a letter from Sarevok to Korlasz mentioning his intent to regroup in a place called 'The Undercity,' the player should report back to Dukes Belt and Liia. There will be a scene in the Ducal Palace with a lot of exposition to click through (veering toward PS:T levels of reading here, need to keep it brief). Duke Liia will direct you to the next step to finding Sarevok, and Duke Entar (a.k.a. The Boy Who Lived) will appear and make some wild accusations against you, and then, if Imoen is not in the party, she will appear in the palace and begin her friendship with Duke Liia. We are just getting the various pieces in position for the end of this campaign and the beginning of the next one. Then the player will go to the Thieves' Guild, and speak to Denkod, and then descend to the maze. The Denkod dialogue is a bit wacky, but honestly I don't think a bit of levity is out of order at this juncture. Most of Part 5 has been writing, writing, writing. I got a bit tired of it by the end. Maybe that comes through, maybe not. In any event this is a beta so the first draft is going in and I am pressing forward. Everything is subject to later revision. The first order of business is dealing with Journal entries, which I have never done before. I think I got it right...? I also added similar lines back to the top of Step 3 and Step 4 in my local version. That should allow AddJournalEntry() script actions to lump all my journal entries into a proper quest log. Next, I add some checks to BALDUR.BCS to constantly check whether Imoen is in the party, and if so, what chapter it is. This should therefore set a variable value to the last chapter Imoen was in the party. I have four different lines of explanatory dialogue from Imoen, depending on her status: Only in the party in chapter 1 or not at all Last in the party in chapter 2, 3, or 4 In the party during chapter 5, 6, or 7 Dead Next, I will add some trigger in the Ducal Palace area script to set up the three cut scenes that will occur here, and script those cut scenes themselves: The first has Duke Entar enter and get in a conversation with Liia; the second has Entar leave in a huff; and the third has Imoen (the SoD BDIMOEN version) enter the area if she is not already in the party. Then I will add a bunch of dialogue to Belt and Liia. (I'm still duplicating the same dialogue for both of them, sue me... anyway here again, the player will never know because the dialogue only triggers once.) And also some lines for Entar and Imoen, and a couple short interjections from Skie in case she is in the party when Entar accuses you of murder. That all goes into a single .D file, because various lines from one person EXTERN out to added lines for another person, and the variables that represent the new line numbers need to be resolved at the same time, in a single COMPILE command. Next I will modify the area script for the Thieves' Guild. I understand the issues mentioned about Angelo having come down hard on the thieves, but I don't want the Guild to be completely empty, so I will edit the script so that only named thieves get removed in chapter 7. Now, a handful of nameless "Rogue" thieves will still be present in the guild, and Denkod will appear and speak to Charname when you enter. And the stairs down to the maze will be enabled by my new global variables instead of the original ones. Finally, for now at least, I will remove Voleta Stiletto from the entrance to the maze. The original dialogue - that Sarevok passed by moments earlier and ran her through - make no sense anymore. I will think it over... maybe it would be best to leave her there, injured at the entrance to the maze, but change her dialogue to talk about being injured by the undead in the maze. It only wouldn't make much sense because the maze should not be accessible to anyone without the Dukes' rune. Need to think about it a bit. And, that's it for Part 5! Basically, as I said, just a lot of exposition and moving pieces into place for the endgame. Imoen is in the palace, and we are on the way to confronting Sarevok. In fact this right here could be a fully-functioning mod. We have stretched out the end of BG1 and added some content and improved the narrative. Just point the start of SoD to the palace assassination scene instead of Korlasz’ dungeon, and job done! But, Entar has claimed that someone looking just like Charname brutally murdered him. We want to come back and address this mystery after dealing with Sarevok. So, we will do a bit more: Make sure the game doesn't end when Sarevok dies Write some closeout dialogues with the dukes, and arrange for the new transition to SoD Set up the cut scene for the optional transition directly to SoA, and connect it to the SoD abduction scene Possibly, modify the very end of SoD itself Work on compatibility with EndlessBG1

That’s fine. That doesn’t mean the guild has to be completely nonexistent. Rededge, Lily, Denkod, and Voleta are still around. Everything doesn’t have to be explicit - sometimes leaving things vague is more compelling. A line or two about not wanting to make a volatile situation worse should be sufficient.

Cool, that would be helpful. I see in the area script that most of the occupants of the guild are set to disappear in chapter 7. But neither Black Lily nor Denkod has anything to say about it, and in my recent playthrough I did not meet anyone who gave more information about it. It is a nice enough plot point, but if the game does not actually present it to players, then what is the use of it? I don't really like the idea that the guild has been completely eliminated. (And after all Denkod, Black Lily, and Voleta Stiletto are still there.) So I might reintroduce some nameless thieves to the area, just to have bodies there. I am going to write out a small conversation with Denkod, and if the player gets needlessly murderous and attacks him, I want others around to help him. I've got the post-Korlasz palace dialogue all written up and tested. (...Pending any necessary adjustments for addressing the current stat of the Thieves' Guild. Which, if it really comes to that, could also be addressed by simply moving the maze entrance as discussed earlier.) Meantime, it occurs to me that this is probably the appropriate time to re-introduce Imoen, if she is not already in the party. It is going to be complicated - need to go back to earlier chapters and add global variable to mark the last time she was in the party, and add appropriate dialogue now. And a further complication: what if Imoen was never in the party, and shows up at the palace now, and Liia says she wants to keep Imoen in protective custody until the threat of Sarevok has passed... should the player be able to recruit Imoen, ust for the last fight? Or should we say, if she is not in your party going at this point, then it is too late. I'll tinker with it. But it means this step will take a while longer.

I just checked, and it is fine. Just a brain fart on my part. You can go ahead and make a release.