subtledoctor

In my recent mod I added lines to, for instance, BELT.DLG. If certain tasks were completed and certain global variables were set, then the player's dialogue with him should advance my plot. But I have had several instances where this did not work: for instance, EndlessBG1 adds dialogue states to Belt with no state triggers, or with state triggers that would be satisfied as well as mine. So if, for instance, I completed a quest to fetch water from a well, I need Belt to respond to that immediately. But if EndlessBG1 is installed, he never gets to my dialogue, he just repeats the EndlessBG1 state over and over. So far I have handled this entirely by way of state triggers: when I fetch the water, I SetGlobal("D5GotThatWater","GLOBAL",1) Then I do this to Belt's dialogue: <<<<<<<< d5/water+.d ADD_STATE_TRIGGER BELT 0 ~!Global("D5GotThatWater","GLOBAL",1)~ APPEND BELT IF ~Global("D5GotThatWater","GLOBAL",1)~ BEGIN d5beltwater_0 SAY ~Thank you for this cool, fresh water! You have saved Baldur's Gate, again!~ IF ~~ REPLY ~You might be overstating things, but sure, no problem.~ DO ~SetGlobal("D5GotThatWater","GLOBAL",2)~ EXIT END >>>>>>>> COPY ~d5/water+.d~ ~weidu_external/%MOD_FOLDER%/compile/water+.d~ ACTION_IF (MOD_IS_INSTALLED ~c#endlessbg1.tp2~ ~0~) BEGIN OUTER_SET belt_ebg1_0 = STATE_WHICH_SAYS 0 IN ~c#endlessbg1/translations/%s/dialogues.tra~ FROM ~BELT~ APPEND_OUTER ~weidu_external/%MOD_FOLDER%/compile/water+.d~ ~~~~~ ADD_STATE_TRIGGER BELT %belt_ebg1_0% ~!Global("D5GotThatWater","GLOBAL",1)~ ~~~~~ END // end EBG1 #0 COMPILE ~weidu_external/%MOD_FOLDER%/compile/water+.d~ That works... but maybe it is overly complicated and too fragile? I just learned about WEIGHT, and it seems like it would simplify things. My state trigger is unique and only used for this purpose, so it seems like I could give my APPEND'ed state a high-priority weight to 'skip the line,' so to speak, and it would not be a compatibility problem because it is tied to my variable. Something like: <<<<<<<< d5/water+.d APPEND BELT IF WEIGHT #1 ~Global("D5GotThatWater","GLOBAL",1)~ BEGIN d5beltwater_0 SAY ~Thank you for this cool, fresh water! You have saved Baldur's Gate, again!~ IF ~~ REPLY ~You might be overstating things, but sure, no problem.~ DO ~SetGlobal("D5GotThatWater","GLOBAL",2)~ EXIT END >>>>>>>> COPY ~d5/water+.d~ ~weidu_external/%MOD_FOLDER%/compile/water+.d~ COMPILE ~weidu_external/%MOD_FOLDER%/compile/water+.d~ That seems WAY simpler, and probably more bulletproof. My question is, is there a convention as to how I can make sure this skips the line? Would it make sense to use "WEIGHT #1?" "WEIGHT #0?" "WEIGHT -999?" Does it matter? Am I overthinking it?

I am currently looking into making a further component, which would basically strip out the existing Charname-kills-Skie cut scene, and replace it with one that would dovetail into my "Mirror Shard plot." But it is slow going. It is more work than part 8, because Entar Silvershield's murder happened off-screen. Skie's murder is depicted in a series of very elaborate cut scenes and moustache-twirling villain exposition. To fully adapt it would need: From the dialogue w/ Sgt. Dazzo, replace BDCUT60.bcs and have it send Charname to a new, custom area that would be a dream-sequence-version of the Silvershield estate Replace or rewrite BDCUT60X.bcs and BDCUT60Y.bcs to reenact the Charname-vs.-Skie fight in this new area. I am kind of thinking, instead of having Skie turn into a monster and giving control to the player, maybe keep it in cut-scene mode and have Charname* turn into the Golden Slayer, and brutally cut down Skie. After all, this is not actually Charname, but merely a clone of you. (This is either a dream, or something Charname experiences through some kind of psychic connection, or else a cut scene the player sees but Charname does not. It doesn't really matter.) Then replace or rewrite BDCOT60A.bcs, sending Charname to wake up back in Dragonspear Castle Rewrite the cut scene where Charname wakes up and Bence approaches; rewrite Bence's dialogue Replace or rewrite BDCUT61.bcs having Charname travel directly to the palace and interact with the dukes Then this could trigger everything that is already in Part 8, and it would play out the exact same way, eventually sending you to the ambush and BG2. I am finding this stuff kind of tedious. Writing cut scenes and connecting them via dialogues feels kind of like a digital version of stop-motion animation. It is painstaking. I suppose I could simply remove the Skie cut scenes, let it happen off-screen like the earlier attack on Entar. That would be a bit of a shame, but WAY easier. Just change the post-Dazzo resting cut scene straight to Bence's wake-up, Bence's dialogue, replace BDCUT61.bcs, and write the palace dialogue. After all, why would the player have any inkling of what Charname's clone is doing hundreds of miles away? Maybe worth doing, and fill in the Skie cut scenes later in an update...? Also, it occurs to me that it would be cool to add a cut scene to the Coldhearth scrying pool. Something where you could see Charname's clone, but without any context as to what you are looking at. It would be confusing, and not answer any questions (misdirection: "what am I looking at? Is this the future?"), but it would generally support my little clone plot. Worth looking into!

Just quoting this into the right thread.

Dammit, the forum ate my response. The gist was, I don't think it's necessary to remove Caelar Argent. Instead I would attempt to create that classic unicorn (which SoD itself kind of tried to create but I think did not succeed): the Lawful Good villain. Up to the events of BG1, I don't think we can assume anyone really knows or cares about Alaundo's Bhaalspawn prophecy. It is known only by a few cranks and sages, many of them squirreled away in Candlekeep. Even if you know about it, it's not (subjectively) clear how accurate Alaundo really is. And even if you believe the prophecy, there is no indication of when it might ever happen. Sarevok is the first indication that this is a real thing that presents real danger. He is the spark that ignites the flame of belief and fear. Caelar is rich, educated, powerful, and righteous. She takes this seriously, and overreacts. It is a prophecy - fated to be! You can't hope to overcome it by being reactive and trying to save the day, as Charname does with Sarevok. D&D-style adventuring simply won't cut it. To steer the course of fate away from a prophecy like this, you need to go big. So Caelar decides, the solution is to take control of the Sword Coast herself, instituting a regime that is just, and lawful, and absolute. And with absolute power she can stamp out chaos completely. Which obviously doesn't go over well with those currently in power in Baldur's gate and Waterdeep! So, the Coalition moves against Caelar's Crusade. There is a fear that she might try to enlist the ba'atezu in Avernus to help her, as quite literally the lesser of two evils. (This is actually a reasonable fear, given the lord of Avernus is Zariel, a former solar who decided to ally herself with the ba'atezu to fight against the tanar'ri. Caelar herself is the descendant of a solar; why wouldn't Zariel aid Caelar's mission?) This also solves the biggest plot problem in SoD: once the Coalition takes Dragonspear Castle, all they need to to is tell Charname "don't go to the basement!" Problem solved, the portal never opens. Here, there is a fear that Caelar will open the portal and so Charname has a compelling reason to follow her and stop her. Probably the whole thing about a drop of a Bhaalspawn's blood opening the portal needs to be changed. I think the conceit will be, Caelar will be told by Hephernaan that the portal can remain closed, but will trap Bhaalspawn. So part of Caelar's plan and reason for being based at Dragonspear is to use the portal to lure Bhaalspawn and trap them in Avernus, away from the Sword Coast, while in fact keeping the portal shut. Of course, she has been lied to, and Hephernaan in fact wants to get Caelar and a Bhaalspawn there, using both of their blood along with his own - celestial, fiendish, and divine - to empower an artifact that can open the portal. Hephernaan then runs to give the artifact to Belhifet, and Caelar and Charname must pursue it together in order to re-seal the portal. Something like that, anyway. The amount of changes necessary to rewrite it this way is surprisingly small. The conversation at the broken bridge The innkeeper's dialogue at the Coast Way Crossing The parley The confrontation with Hephernaan The cut scene in the Dragonspear basement The scene with Belhifet That's...basically it. Don't get me wrong, there are other problems as well. The idea that the Hero of Baldur's Gate can surreptitiously infiltrate fortified Crusader encampments on three separate occasions is just... insane. Four times, kind of, maybe, depending on how the Coast Way Crossing plays out! Totally insane. Might be worth adding something like a magic item that changes your appearance for those scenes. Or, honestly, just cut them altogether. And the Bhaal temple, while a great dungeon, is a very unfocused encounter. Who are the bad guys are there? Bhaalites? An illithid? What narrative purpose is served by this? Why are there named enemies who I cannot actually meet before they have died to my AoE attacks? Arguably that should be stripped out. Maybe save it for an extra ToB encounter, or an added encounter in BG2. Take a map from IWD or IWD2 or PST, and tack it onto the bugbear cavern. And what the hell is going on with Kanaglym? I just played through that, and it's like, the necromancer was going to perform a ritual that would turn the Coalition and Crusader armies into a massive legion of undead... you can even throw this fact in Hephernaan's face at the parley scene... but what if you don't stop the necromancer?? It's completely optional; what if you skip it? Do the armies actually start turning into undead? That would be super cool... but I highly doubt it happens. Which cheapens the whole encounter. Frankly the entire mission into the Dragonspear basement probably just shouldn't happen. It's pretty crazy that you are in the castle, right at the portal, and then you leave and it's like "we're besieging them, we can't get in!" Like dude, we just were in. Anyway. I'm tired of ranting. I can only fix one thing at a time.

In part. But not with a concrete plan in place for what to do with those repurposed resources. We’re still in the very early brainstorming phase. Maybe it will never happen! I have at least tried create circumstances so that it can happen… but no guarantees. This stuff is hard, and a ToB mod would be a TON of work. By contrast, SoD is fairly small, and my plan to rewrite it doesn’t actually require many changes (maybe about the same amount of work as I’ve already done here). In a perfect world we could have both! Play EET through the end of BG1, and then either 1) skip SoD, and eventually get a modified version of ToB; or 2) play an improved version of SoD, and then eventually play the vanilla version of ToB. That would be cool! But would require a lot of effort.

Worst-case scenario, you could copy/paste all the .D files into a single document (EDIT - could even write a little Weidu mod to concatenate their contents!), then traify it, then copy/paste the result back into the separate files. Or, just leave them in one big .D file! You can compile a hundred different dialogues from a single .D file. I just did this in a mod, maybe you can learn from it. First, I set up the translation files in my .tp2. Then, I write out my dialogue in the .tra file. I include notes about who is saying which line. Finally, I build of the states and transitions of the .D file with reference to my .tra entries. (Literally just have the .tra file open on the screen while created the .D file.)

Don't install the SR(R) Dispel Magic on IWDEE/EET+IWD. It breaks IWD trolls.

I still haven't quite worked out what exactly that would look like. Whereas, in my head I have an 85% fully fleshed-out idea to rewrite SoD. It is a complete concept that I could start working on today, while anything about ToB is still very much in the concept stage. So I feel like I should get the SoD thing done first... maybe? I have never done any of the Beamdog companion quests. Except for Rasaad's SoA quest, which I basically played as a 5-man party because I hate monks and hate Rasaad. That one was quite aggravating - the way it is written assumes you played Rasaad's BG1 quest and know who Alorgoth etc. are... I had met Rasaad for the first time in SoA and the quest had no facility to acknowledge that and contrive to give me some exposition. One of the few times I will agree with Beamdog's critics about "bad writing" - that was indeed quite bad writing. My current game is in SoA and I am planning to do Neera's quest. (I suppose I could do Hexxat's too, will need a thief.) But... since I made this install, I have finished this mod, and the Crucible and Call of the Lost Goddess are released or soon to be released. I feel the need to reinstall! OTOH I still have at least two components I want to add to this mod, and then there is the bigger SoD rewrite. And I need to tune up BP-in-BG, and maybe the IWD stuff too... so maybe I keep playing this game, and keeping making more mods, so even more will be available to install when I finally do a reinstall. (EDIT - and, not gonna lie, there is a little tiny part of the back of my brain that's like, "I wonder if we could recreate Fallout 1 in the BGEE engine?")

Introducing Reflections of Destiny! This is a departure for me: instead of kits, spell tweaks, and rule tweaks, this is all story, dialogues, and cut-scenes. The scope of it, currently, involves expanding the last chapter of the BG1 campaign and make the role-playing at that stage in the game deeper and more narratively satisfying. The Readme is here. You can download the latest release of the mod here. So far this mod has two components: #100: The Mirror Shard This small component adds a new magic item in Durlag's Tower and in Irenicus' Dungeon in the BG2 campaign. This item is quite powerful: it allows you to cast Simulacrum on anyone - anyone - and create a friendly, 60%-strength clone of them for 10 rounds. Go ahead, make your own Sarevok for the final battle! The item can only be activated a few times, however, so use it wisely. #200: The Clone Saga (With apologies for the title, Spider Man fans ) This component is much more involved. First, it adds a plot to the end of the BG1 campaign that implicitly (only implicitly) involves the Mirror Shard from component 100 and Melicamp's Netherese bracers. You will get more satisfaction out of this plot if you also install The Calling quest mod and the Brandock NPC mod. Next, you are given a lot more breathing room in the last chapter of BG1. Instead of teleporting you to the Undercity Maze after you interrupt Sarevok's coronation, now the Grand Dukes will ask you to investigate where he may have gone. While you search for Sarevok, you can finish up other quests. This should work well with the excellent Black Hearts mod, which also gives you things to do in the last chapter of BG1. Next, this mod brings Korlasz' Crypt forward from the Siege of Dragonspear campaign into the BG1 campaign. Instead of being a "Sarevok clean-up quest" as Beamdog set it up, this great dungeon now becomes an integral part of your search for Sarevok. Next, once you find Sarevok and fight him, the BG1 campaign will no longer abruptly end. Instead you will report your success to the Grand Dukes - and they may not be as happy about your actions as you might think! This is where the game will finally move on to the Siege of Dragonspear campaign. However, this also presents you with an option to skip Siege of Dragonspear, and stay in Baldur's Gate when the Coalition army marches north to meet Caelar Argent. This choice will proceed to the resolution of the Mirror Shard plot (again, only implicitly) and send you to the beginning of the Shadows of Amn campaign. The goal here is to make your capture by Irenicus and escape from his lair feel like it is still occurring in the BG1 campaign. It should add immediacy to the transition to BG2. Through all this, there are many more dialogues in the end of BG1 which flesh out what is happening in the city, how you are perceived, and your relationship to the city's rulers. You will have an explicit choice to disclose your heritage to them, or to keep it concealed. This doesn't have any mechanical consequences (yet!) but provides a better sense of agency and more in-depth player interactions in a part of the game that, in its initial release, was shockingly sparse. Currently I have tested this mod going to Siege of Dragonspear, and skipping SoD; with party members (including Imoen), and with no party members; with EndlessBG1 installed (except for the three incompatible components) and without EndlessBG1; with The Calling installed and without the Calling. Everything seems to work, but I have not accounted for any number of innumerable edge cases and mod interactions. Also, I have been doing this in a fairly extremely small amount of free time, and got a bit burnt out writing dialogues at some point. So some of the dialogue may be a bit...light? One or two spots may be a bit cringe-y (you'll know it when you see it). Nothing was revised or edited as good writing should be in an ideal world. So I am calling this an open beta. Anyone willing to play it, post your experiences here. Most problems can probably be fixed by simply setting some variables, so if you run into trouble let me know here and I can very likely help you. Compatibility recommendations: I have not tested this with the Transitions mod, and it is almost certainly very incompatible. I would not install both together. Do not install this with the "Imoen and Duke Jannath" component or the "Move Korlasz' Dungeon to BG1" component of EndlessBG1 - those two components cover the same ground as this mod, in ways that are probably not compatible. The "Flaming Fist in the Temple after the Sarevok Fight" is not incompatible, but it will kind of contradict some of the dialogue in this mod. However, DO feel free to install the other components of EndlessBG1! It's a great mod and adds even more interactions and dialogues at the end of BG1, and all components apart from the three mentioned above should work well with this mod. DO feel free install the Black Hearts mod, I cannot recommend it enough. In addition to generally a bunch of good content and fights, it specifically adds a bunch of stuff to the last chapter of BG1, which ties into the main plot, and which benefits from that chapter being expanded by this mod. With these two mods, chapter 7 of BG1 should really be packed with content. Finally, I DO recommend installing The Calling and Brandock... and have Brandock in your party when you meet Melicamp the chicken. I won't spoil any more, it is minor stuff but the content of those two mods dovetails nicely with the Mirror Shard plot that is insinuated by this mod. You won't miss anything for not having them; but all three mods should kind of support each other, story-wise. If you install The Calling, I recommend you complete that quest before going to Candlekeep to confront Rieltar. The option to skip SoD and go straight to BG2 is almost certainly NOT compatible with multiplayer games. Probably. Maybe? The clone plot depends heavily on Charname being Charname, and being left alone in the party for a bit, just like the end of Siege of Dragonspear. I have not had time to look at how SoD/EET handle the transition to BG2 in multiplayer games. If/when I figure it out, i will update the mod to account for it. Cheers y'all.

If you are on the 2.5 patch, I have a modified version of EET v12 that has some (not all) of the v13 improvements and bugfixes. in it.

Well, it’s odd: the idea has taken a lot of twists and turns. The genesis of it came from speaking with @morpheus562 and others about, of all things, making a story mod for the Throne of Bhaal expansion campaign. That’s actually how I came up with the “Reflections of Destiny” name. I was playing SoD at the time, and while various mods (mostly yours) improve it a lot, it is still deeply flawed. But some of the army stuff and large battles are amazing. Meanwhile ToB is supposed to be about these warlords with big armies, but has almost no large-scale combat. So we discussed cannibalizing the SoD areas and content for use in ToB. To achieve that requires changing the end of BG1, skipping SoD. But some parts of SoD don’t need to be cannibalized for ToB: Korlasz’ Dungeon is completely different from the rest of SoD, in both content and location; and the ambush scene at the end would also be inappropriate for ToB, and obviously fits very well for the transition to BG2. So I figured I could bring those two scenarios forward to BG1 and leave the rest of SoD to be used elsewhere. Then I played Durlag's Tower and the Brandock mod, and had the idea for a clone of Charname, to tie that BG1 content to the stuff in Irenicus’ lair under Athkatla. All that was still a bit pie-in-the-sky, but I now have enough experience that it seems feasible. So why not try, and talk about the process of turning a pie-in-the-sky idea into a finished product. Maybe this would make other ideas - for a ToB mod, for instance - seem less sketchy. (If anyone wants to actually collaborate on reusing the SoD content elsewhere, maybe that could even be done in this very mod!) So, tl;dr: it covers some of the sane ground as EndlessBG1 from a technical standpoint, but I think has a distinctly different vision.

It adds some content (mostly dialogue) to stretch out the end of BG1; It brings some existing SoD content forward into BG1 for the same purpose; and It offers a dialogue option to skip SoD and go right to BG2, with added story content to make that work with BG2’s description of leaving Baldur’s Gate “under circumstances much darker than anyone would have believed" and leave hints of Irenicus' involvement earlier than the vanilla game would suggest. Consequently, the transitions from the BG1 campaign to SoD and to BG2 need to be modified to make sure those 3 things work. I’m working on a Readme now with a proper description, and I will post it in the Miscellaneous Mods forum.

Part 8: Man in the Mirror Okay! This bit was suuuper fiddly. In Part 7 we handled the modified transition from the end of BG1 into SoD; here we handle the alternative path, if you choose by dialogue to skip SoD and stay in Baldur's Gate, in which case a series of unfortunate events cut scenes will take you to the very last scenes of SoD, and thence directly into BG2. This is primarily a mod for EET, and the goal is to really integrate this transition into the game. In the old days, playing BG1 and then BG2, there was this wide gulf between the two games. What was happening in between? How much time passed? But here, I want it to be really seamless. Playing through this transition should feel like you are just playing more of BG1: some events happen out of your control, and you are falsely arrested, and you end up gathering your friends in a dungeon and fighting your way out. That is basically exactly what happens in Candlekeep - Imoen even refers back to that, saying "we'll get out and clear our names, just like we did in Candlekeep!" Just as the mod brings part of SoD forward into BG1, it should feel like it brings Chateau Irenicus forward into BG1 - thereby adding narrative 'oomph' to the moment you emerge in Waukeen's Promenade in Athkatla and realize everything has changed, and there is no way back home. I also tested compatibility with EndlessBG1 here, which added to the fiddly-ness. I made changes to earlier Parts for compatibility, but it is not easy to amend the posts in this thread, so I will let those stand for now. The updated code is in the Github repository. I will outline what is happening here with the plot, but I'll put it in spoiler tags in case any readers want to play the mod and find out in-game: So: first thing, we need to copy in a bunch of stuff: The .ARE files are copies of BD0104, BD0105, and BD6000 which are the Flaming Fist headquarters and sewers/cave from the end of SoD. I made clones with a few adjustments (a guard in a different place here, a different container there) so that the original SoD areas will work perfectly if you play through SoD. After reporting Sarevok's death, if you tell the dukes you want to stay in the city and skip SoD, a cut scene will bring you to my modified areas; but after passing through the sewers and underground lake, you will go to the actual SoD exterior area and do the normal transition from SoD to BG2. I made different versions of the areas for BGEE/SoD and for EET, only because a few info points had strings that are not super easy to modify on the fly. D50104.baf, D50105.baf, and D56000.baf are just slightly modified versions of the area scripts for the original 'BD' versions of those ares. The only additions are a cut scene in D50104, which I will outline a bit later, and some handling for Imoen in D50105 and D56000. D5CUT64.baf is a slightly modified version of BDCUT64.bcs, and D5TELBGT.baf is a modified version of K#TELBGT.bcs, which is a helper creature and associated script created by k4thos for EET's transition from SoD to the BG2 campaign. Next we will modify the Ducal Palace are script, again (I think that has happened about five different times in the course of this), to trigger two cut scenes: one where Captain Gregson enters, and one where everyone leaves and goes to the FF HQ: That gets Gregson, the dukes, and Charname to the Flaming Fist jail; notably, all other party members are left behind in the palace. Once in the jail a series of cut scenes need to be string together, connected by dialogues: everyone walks to the relevant cell, then discusses the matter, then Liia casts a divination spell, then there is the Timestop, then more dialogue and another divination, and then finally everyone walks away, leaving you alone: You can see I commented out CLCUT4.baf - the Timestop sequence cannot work as a cut scene, so instead I added it to the D50104 area script, using the SetCutSceneLite() script action: Very similar, but slightly different. The D5TELBGT creature runs an override script that moves all party inventory items into a container to be imported to BG2 as appropriate, and removes everyone from the party, leaving you alone. Now we have the dialogues. Here again, I put everyone's added lines into a single .D file, so that the EXTERN references can all find each other. Here even more than earlier, most of the dialogue is expository in nature, with the NPCs talking among themselves and the player clicking through but not having much part in it. We use a copy of Imoen to guide you through my custom areas, but you meet the vanilla BDIMOEN.cre once you get out of the sewers; the final ALTER_TRANS commands there are some slight modifications to BDImoen's dialogue lines to exclude reference to Castle Dragonspear. Also note, in that quoted code I have not yet COMPILE'd the .D file! That is because some adjustments need to be made if EndlessBG1 is installed: EndlessBG1's main component adds a dialogue line to Liia that can interrupt our Timestop cut scene. This code finds that dialogue line using STATE_WHICH_SAYS, and then adds a conditional trigger to it such that it will stay out of the way of this mod's content. I have a habit: rather than just writing .BAF scripts and applying COMPILE commands, I copy the uncompiled .BAF file to a working directory in /weidu_external. This way 1) I can find and read the script without having to decompile it or open it in NI; and 2) I can APPEND_OUTER various things to the script as needed, with ACTION_IF conditions in Weidu. Then I compile the .D file. As I said, I have added a couple instance of similar treatment to earlier parts of the mod - I think Part 5 and Part 7? And I am happy to say that, at least as of my testing last night, this is compatible with most of EndlessBG1! Finally, a couple odds and ends. Some of the dialogue in the ambush scene needs to be rewritten to exclude mention of Skie or Dragonspear; and something about this transition to the BG2 campaign might preempt k4thos' script to un-fatigue Charname in Chateau Irenicus, so I will add an extra bit of scripted insurance there: And that's it! In the Github repo, I have combined parts 2 through 8 into a single component, and the mod is fully playable and compatible with most of the components of EndlessBG1. I tested with EndlessBG1 components: #0 main component #1 more flavor hero of baldur's gate #2 short public hero tribute #3 sarevok's unique items #4 sarevok's sword #6 duke eltan is in the palace #8/9 elminster makes an appearance #10 first refugees in baldur's gate #11 ophyllis is in the palace #12 denkod comments on sarevok's death #13 skip the maze after sarevok's death #15 fenster is in the palace #16 corwin is in the palace Note, however, that some EndlessBG1 content will be preempted by this mod. For example, some of EndlessBG1's dialogue has the dukes really fawning over you as the big hero; with this mod, they are more ambivalent about you and don't fully trust you. So in EndlessBG1 Belt says something like “let us celebrate the hero of Baldur’s Gate!” and then has the tribute cut scene; with EndlessBG1 + this mod, Belt says “I don’t know if you are really a hero, but the people need a hero so you can play the part” and then it kicks out to the EndlessBG1 tribute scene. The dialogue is a bit different but the mod content is retained and integrated. I do not recommend, and have not tested, EBG1 #5 "Imoen and Duke Jannath," since this mod take great pains to bring Imoen into the palace and install her there with Liia Jannath. There is no need for another mod to do something similar. You can probably install #7 "Flaming Fist after Sarevok Fight" but it will not make much sense because a plot point in this mod is that the dukes do not have access to the Undercity Temple and do not really know what happened in that fight. And it makes no sense to install #14 "Korlasz' Dungeon in BG1" since this mod does the same thing. Honestly, I think I am going to write up a Readme and release this as an open beta. There is one more thing I would like to do: alter the end of SoD so that it uses this Part 8 transition to BG2 instead of the way it works in vanilla SoD. And I have a small idea to modify the scene with the feyr at the top of Bridgefort. But for now, limiting the scope to what happens at the end of the BG1 campaign, this is basically feature-complete. So why not let people kick the tires. Thanks for following along! Cheers.

I am going to reopen this question because this cut scene is now the only thing standing in the way of releasing a beta of my mod. Everything works, it's just... the cut scene doesn't look good. This is my cut scene at the moment: D5PAUSE.SPL is a single-target spell applying op165 "pause target;" D5PAUSX.SPL has an op321 canceling D5PAUSE. I just want to freeze the idle animations of the ~6 NPCs on screen while the cut scene runs. That doesn't sound like it should be that hard! But then, belatedly I guess, I notice this: Huh. I did not know that. So I suppose it prevents op165 from working. And presumably also the Hold, Stun, etc. opcodes. I just looked up SetCutSceneLite(), and... I guess it is not the same as running a cut scene. It is just a Boolean switch? I am trying to see how it would be used. Maybe, in the dialogue that normally calls the above cut scene, instead just set a variable? And then have the area script respond to that variable with a list of actions between SetCutSceneLite("true") and SetCutSceneLite("false")...? EDIT - yes, got it working just like that, run from the area script! Thank you!

But the Black Pits standalone campaign is still in the game, and I don’t want to change that. The MinHP sleep/wake works for me… sounds like you might have a mod interaction interfering with it, Hard for me to pin it down from here. Further, what if a character does die here? There are no avenues to Raise Dead. Now we get into the realm of, do we add temple services to an NPC? Who? Why? (Not to mention I don’t know how to do that.) And why would Baeloth give you the means to raise dead, when by the end of the adventure he wants you permanently dead? Of course that raises the question of why you have min1hp rings in the first place… but now we are acknowledging the weakness in Beamdog’s content - for which there is no immediate fix. However, as I say, I have picked up some skills in the meantime. I can probably prevent the min1hp rings if you enter the Pits from BG1, and provide say, three scrolls of Raise Dead in a store there. That will fix the goofy min1hp behavior, and give you some (limited) options to keep your BG1 companions alive. That’s a good idea. The current dialogue is really a jokey placeholder, it was not intended to be particularly good writing. It is simply designed to present the player with a binary choice (play this extra content, or have this extra NPC) which operates via dialogue. Give his initial complaint, I should probably rather have him use subterfuge: “I am a good drow, like that Drizzt guy! Bad drow are after me! Please help, oh mighty heros!” This way a good-aligned party might be suckered into the BP, while an evil-aligned party might bot care and would be more interested in recruiting him. I don’t want to change the cut scene where he talks about being “dangerously diminished” etc. If he was hired Sarevok’s crew, why is he diminished? Why would he turn on them and join you? There is a fundamental problem here: the only reason for him to be diminished in power is if he was already defeated by a party in the Black Pits. But at the time you are likely to see this cut scene, it is too early for you to have done so. So it is a case where your dialogue choice retroactively changes history: if you go to the Underdark, then Baeloth was if here all along on a recruiting mission and his “diminished” dialogue is unrelated or subterfuge (see above); if you recruit him, then he has been level drained after being killed in his own arena. It might make sense for someone else to kidnap you or trick you on Sarevok’s behalf: a duergar, perhaps, or maybe even Najim. It could be scripted to happen after clearing the Cloakwood Mines, perhaps; and Baeloth's own appearance could be delayed until after that. This would work with the game’s timeline a lot better… but it would reduce the amount of time you could have Baeloth in the party. Which some players would hate Could also separate the two events: receuit Baeloth early, or not; and then later, when you are an appropriate level, have a kidnapping scene with Najim. If Baeloth is in your party at the time, then it is a direct betrayal, and you must complete the BP with a 5-man team. If Baeloth is not in your party then it could be written as something arranged by the Iron Throne. In fact Rieltar makes a good threat about acting against you, and post-Candlekeep might be an optimal time to play this content. So it could be set up as a scripted travel encounter after leaving the Candlekeep exterior map… hmm…