Pen and Paper style Dual-Classing

[Ishad Nha]

At the moment you are bound by the requirement that you can only dual class if the resulting two classes form a valid multiclass combination. This is a deviation from the pen and paper rules.

One way around this is to alter some bytes so the game is conned into believing the result will be valid. For example, Paladin become Cleric is perfectly normal in pen and paper rules. Alter some byte(s) so the game perceives a Paladin as a Fighter or Ranger, then dual class. After the dual class, alter the relevant byte(s) back to their original values. One possibility is 0x0273 1 (byte) Class (CLASS.IDS). The offset is from the Cre file, the actual offset in a save file will be different.

Item usage may or may not be affected here, you may not be able to use Paladin items. I will need to research this.

[SyntaxError]

I thought GemRB was already capable of this. IIRC lynx made a sorc/monk mod (dont remember if it affects dual classing tho) for GemRB. if i'm correct one could use that mod to figure out how to make other combinations.

[Ishad Nha]

This is for games like BG2 where the dual-classing rules are mercifully unique. In BG2 you can't get around the rules above, regardless of whether you play the original game or the GemRB version of it.

I am preparing a custom version of Dualclas.2DA which will enable many more dual class combinations.

I was able to dual class an Undead Hunter Paladin into a Cleric, it seemed to work quite well.

 

That mod I will have to search for.

[lynx]

You need to add the base multiclass combo or various things will break in more or less subtle manners.

[Ishad Nha]

For the second class there are potential problem areas:

5 BARD

6 PALADIN

19 SORCERER

20 MONK

You might be able to give a Bard kit to a Rogue or a Paladin kit to a Fighter but the true classes are tricky to arrange.

It might be simpler to avoid dual-classing altogether.

Make his/her first class purely notional.

Create the PC as a member of the second class.

Reset the XP to 0.

Figure out what his level would be if he had instead been created as a member of the first class, add one to this number to get the reactivation level.

Simply add the abilities of the notional original class to the PC when he reaches the reactivation level.

[Avenger]

I thought GemRB was already capable of this. IIRC lynx made a sorc/monk mod (dont remember if it affects dual classing tho) for GemRB. if i'm correct one could use that mod to figure out how to make other combinations.

Yes, it is moddable, but it is not trivial for someone with less than master degrees of IESDP

Lynx's mod is a good template and should be checked before someone tries something similar.

[Ishad Nha]

You could alter Gem to allow the pen and paper dual classing rules. But those save games would not be playable with the original game. One solution here is to have Gem able to play two sets of save game files, BG2 and Gem custom. The header of one of the files could identify Gem custom save games as such. Or you could have a configuration file in each save game folder that would tell you what features were enabled in the Gem custom save game.

 

I will have to check the list of Lynx's mods... Any idea what the Sorceror/Monk mod was called?

Paladin to Cleric seems to work okay. Now something ambitious like Bard to Mage.

[Ishad Nha]

Bard to Mage did nothing that I could see.

One approach is to use AddSpecialAbility("")), this will get around the abilities all being obliterated by the change from Bard to Thief.

This could enable the adding of spells from Cleric kits when the kits themselves seem impossible to add.

[lynx]

http://www.gemrb.org/wiki/doku.php?id=mods:sorcerer_monk

i included comments on what to do to also make them dualclassable.

 

http://www.gemrb.org/wiki/doku.php?id=developers:mods

[Ishad Nha]

This mods adds a new multiclass choice, sorcerer/monk. Currently dualclassing is not possible (see notes below).

Mage race and item restrictions, monk avatar, combined starting gear in tob, no detecting traps (custom actionbar)."

This is ambitious and interesting, also well beyond my beginning-level knowledge of modding.

 

I was able to manually add the Priest of Helm spells to Anomen via a script.

Another approach is to replace the contents of ClAbPr01.2DA (Trueclass Priest abilities table) with that of ClAbPr03.2DA (Helm Priest abilities table). It works on newly-joining PCs. This seems to cause a crash if you load pre-existing save games that contain a PC with the relevant kit. The table assumes that he started as a Cleric of Helm, when he actually did not. It can't find the abilities for the previous levels. Can you manually add the abilities then alter the ClAbOr01.2DA? Yes, it seems to work in practice. Hence the abilities should be automatically added when available.

Typically I only have one of each kit in my party so this won't cause me any problems.

[lynx]

the mod is just a bunch of 2da edits/additions. All the gory bits are just for adding new strings to the game.

[Ishad Nha]

I tried adding class ability tables to Mages, using files with names like: CLABMA01.2DA, CLABMA02.2DA, CLABMA03.2DA, CLABMA04.2DA, CLABMA05.2DA, CLABMA06.2DA, CLABMA07.2DA, CLABMA08.2DA, CLABMA09.2DA...

(Nothing happened as far as I can tell, I took tables for Priests of Helm and Lathander and renamed them.)

One workaround is to convert the ClAb@@##.2DA data into a form that can written into a script. This can be quickly done with Word, Excel and a text editor. I will try adding Monk abilities to a Sorceror.

[lynx]

why would you need extra files? You can add as many rows as you like to the existing table.

[Ishad Nha]

None of the CLABMA##.2DA files actually existed on my computer. The "existing table" means Kitlist.2DA?

As for the script, CLAB@@## files seem to be only part of the picture, they only convey some of the abilities. The true class Bard has an empty file.

[lynx]

The bard has an empty one, since she gets no special abilities on levelups. Song progression is handled separately in bg2.

 

clabma01.2da is what all normal mages would use, further values are for specialists (kits like with other classes). So you need only one. Gemrb currently doesn't read it, but I'll go fix that.