subtledoctor

Well, I’m playing BG2EE v2.5 so I cannot use recent versions. Good to know that’s been fixed though, it means I can just implement a simple local fix for myself.

I know I haven't posted much here, but I just finished SoD. Spent some time with Drake the Rake(/cleric) and he is indeed wildly awesome, sniping with crossbows and all the good crossbow ammo in SoD, and dual-wielding longsword+dagger, and also a functional single-class cleric. Also, Drake has great SoD content! There is an extra random encounter, and you meet some members of the Amnish Order of the Noble Heart, and they can join the coalition and act as an extra optional squad for use in the various Coalition Camp battles! Artemius_I did an excellent job with this one. Anyway, I dropped for Glint after a bit. Glint is much more reasonably powered, and his spells with the Faiths & Powers sphere system are less battle-oriented. I had Jaheira and Khalid along for a bit, then took Voghiln toward the end. My party at the end of SoD was: Charname (fighter/druid) Sirene (paladin) Voghiln (fighter/mage) Glint (cleric/thief) Walahnan (mage) Neera (mage) A bit crazy, in this run I was like "Hm, I've never taken Brandock the whole way through before, I'll include him!" and "I've never taken Neera the whole way through before, I'll include her!" and "I've never played with Walahnan before, I'll include him!" Lol, way too many mages. SoD itself is... eh, the story is crazy. Like, the whole thing could be taken care of if Charname just doesn't go into the castle! That's bonkers. And by the time you get there, you already know what Hephernaan is up to. The story needs you to get into that room, but your whole motivation the whole time is to not go there! Also, the mechanism for opening the portal is weak. I have mentioned something like this elsewhere in relation to Sarevok and Amelysan: the mere spilling of blood should not do anything special. Look at Irenicus for an excellent example of how to use artifact-level magic: it takes weeks of experiments, a giant soul-stealing machine, lots of innocent victims as, effectively, reagents, several long rituals, and a separate artifact (the Tree of Life) that itself already has the power of a god. The idea that Sarevok/Hephernaan/Amelysan could just snap their fingers and suddenly your blood is a useful magical item? That's weak writing. Also, Charname's status as a Bhaalspawn is poorly handled. It is not really known, but Caelar knows it perfectly well, and she shouts about it so everyone she talks to knows it. But the crossing at Boareskyr Bridge is supposed to be some kind of revelation. And then later, back in Baldur's Gate, it becomes public knowledge - as if it was not already? And, finally, the idea that the Hooded Man can cast a simple divination spell and determine that Caelar is or isn't a Bhaalspawn is weak. If you could find it out via a simple divination, then why don't some powerful people find all the Bhaalspawn before they become powerful, just round them up and Imprison them or something? I think the whole main plot would be rewritten with a surprisingly small number of changes. Caelar's goal and motivation could be made much stronger with just a few modified dialogues. And the mechanism for opening the portal could be made more sensible. I need to think about the details, but it is definitely something I plan to address in a mod. Meanwhile, the EET transition from SoD to BG2 is fantastic. You meet up with I/J/K/M/D, and the ambush scene happens, and then the BG2 intro movie, and then boom, you are in the dungeon and Imoen/Jaheira/Minsc are right there. It feels like a very fast continuation of your adventure - the transition from the ambush to Chateau Irenicus feels a bit like going from the Cloakwood Forest to the first level of the Cloakwood Mine. Which is perfect, because that is how it should feel. You just fight through some baddies, find some gear, keep adventuring... not yet aware that this transition is actually quite different. The only fly in that ointment is that, just like last time I played EET, I started out in Irenicus' Dungeon with a huge amount of fatigue. The game scripts a time-jump of like 10 or 20 days, and somehow it keeps Charname awake the whole time. Does this happen to anyone else? I can code up a hotfix for it easily enough, but maybe it is something peculiar about my install? Is it because I am using an older version of EET?

That has been addressed in the recent builds. Well, as far as weapons anyway. All clerics can use all shields and there are only a few kits that are restricted from using plate armor. (Basically just the nerdy deities like Oghma/Deneir/Azuth/etc.)

Oh, you're using an old version of the mod. TBH I'm not sure I can speak to what is happening there. Changing 2da table values will only fix available proficiencies, not usability. Usability should not be affected for such classes at any rate. Best I can say is you are better off using the latest versions of the mod, which are the 'SD' branch (v0.86 - you look like you are using v0.85 or 0.84). Meantime, I have updated the SD branch to v0.86.9, which fixes the spontaneous casting issue mentioned by @Magevro and also adds a French translation.

Those .2da files will be in your override folder. Can view them with a text editor, or find them more easily with Near Infinity. EDIT - can you also specify which components of F&P you have installed?

Possibly an off-by-one error? Can you find the Champion of Eilistraee in weapprof.2da, and see what kits are to the left and right of it? And/or, look up the kits above and below it in kitlist.2da. (Which should probably be the same.)

It depends on the sphere system. But in most, it is in the sphere of Earth. Any kits with that sphere will get it - druids, plus various cleric kits. So access is actually a bit more liberal gan in vanilla. Only thing is, it might be renamed “Stoneskin” because “Iron Skins” is not very druid-y. But it’s the same spell. I’m pretty sure paladins are not subject to the mod’s custom weapon restrictions. That’s only for clerics So something else is going on.

Small update to reassure folks I haven't forgotten this. Part 8 is proving to be a bit tricky. It needs to get you from the palace, to the jail, and then out to the secret sewer exit. Basically through a long series of dialogues and cut scenes. A lot of little things need to be arranged, and my free time has been quite limited in the last few weeks. But I think I at least have the framework laid out. Now I just need to write up the various little cut scene scripts and the dialogue entries. (The dialogue will be substantially shorter than the stuff in Part 7.) So basically I just need to do a bunch of writing and a bunch of scripting. It will get done eventually.

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 you to a modified version of the SoD ambush scene. That bit at least 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 9 will jump back to the first path, where you actually play through SoD. This will insert the Mirror Shard cut scenes from Part 8 into the very end of SoD, and tie 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.