A few minor issues

[Guest Guest]

Hmm...what's MixMod (didn't see it in the Install Order Guide) and what is OBC? Optional B... Content?

It's a tweak mod that should be available on the Wizard's mirrors - should be in section 12 of the Tutu mod list in my signature (is also BG2 compatible).

 

Duh! Only saw the Disable Movies part and ignored it.

If it included the Kobold Commandos fix I'd definetely use it.

[Guest PetrusOctavianus]

Regarding the "cheating little gits", I have Shadowkeeper has 7 different versions, 5 original, 2 Custom (From ScS, I assume) and one Overridden.

 

How do I know which one(s) the game uses?

 

Also, I noticed that the two Fire Arrows that they drop are assigned to the Quick Slot, while they carry a quiver of 20 Fire Arrows. I assume this quiver is a special, undroppable one with unlimited Fire Arrows.

 

Would just deleting those two items from the KC's inventory and replace with one Quiver of two Fire Arrows and one Quiver of 20 or 40 Arrows do the trick?

Would they first shoot the Fire Arrows and then use the regular arrows?

 

Different rules for PCs and NPCs and general cheating is one of my pet peeves and I'm a sucker for realism (or rather consistency, when dealing with Fantasy), so I'd really like to fix the Kobold Commandoes.

 

And I guess I am the one person who thinks that the fix *should* be done in ScS, since it already tweaks the Fire Arrows.

[Miloch]

Duh! Only saw the Disable Movies part and ignored it.

It's "Disable Startup Movies" (i.e. advertisements), not "Disable Movies."

Regarding the "cheating little gits", I have Shadowkeeper has 7 different versions, 5 original, 2 Custom (From ScS, I assume) and one Overridden.

I believe Tutu only uses _kobcomm.cre. The other ones are BG2 CREs that don't get used in Tutu. Not sure about SCS, but anything DavidW uses should have a DW prefix.

Also, I noticed that the two Fire Arrows that they drop are assigned to the Quick Slot, while they carry a quiver of 20 Fire Arrows. I assume this quiver is a special, undroppable one with unlimited Fire Arrows.

 

Would just deleting those two items from the KC's inventory and replace with one Quiver of two Fire Arrows and one Quiver of 20 or 40 Arrows do the trick?

Would they first shoot the Fire Arrows and then use the regular arrows?

I suppose that's probably the most "real" way of doing it, but I'm not sure which "normal arrows" you're referring to since _kobcomm only has the two different fire arrows. You could also "fix" _arowkc.itm by making it more like the regular arrow of fire, but it wouldn't be droppable (unless you changed that) and wouldn't stack with the other arrows.

Different rules for PCs and NPCs and general cheating is one of my pet peeves and I'm a sucker for realism (or rather consistency, when dealing with Fantasy), so I'd really like to fix the Kobold Commandoes.

 

And I guess I am the one person who thinks that the fix *should* be done in ScS, since it already tweaks the Fire Arrows.

I tend to agree, and think it'd be more realistic to give kobold commandos non-cheated fire arrows and a proficiency bonus with short bows to preserve realism and balance. I guess DavidW's position is that he is open to nerfing things used primarily by the party but not enemies.

 

One thing that might be in SCS's realm (or another AI mod) is to change the kobold scripts so that they go after gnomes first as they're supposed to (racial enemies) instead of mages (same old, same old). I believe gnomes are also supposed to get a +1 THAC0 bonus against them (which would be equivalent of giving them a -1 penalty vs. gnomes). But I suppose DavidW would also consider this a "kobold nerf" .

[Salk]

One thing that might be in SCS's realm (or another AI mod) is to change the kobold scripts so that they go after gnomes first as they're supposed to (racial enemies) instead of mages (same old, same old). I believe gnomes are also supposed to get a +1 THAC0 bonus against them (which would be equivalent of giving them a -1 penalty vs. gnomes). But I suppose DavidW would also consider this a "kobold nerf" .

 

I would instead keep it in the highest esteem for two reasons: (1) P&P behaviour adds to depth (at least for people with a certain background) and (2) it'd provide refreshing variations in the targetting system.

[Guest PetrusOctavianus]

Update on the Kobold Commandos:

 

I edited the _kobcomm.cre and the two DW_*.cre Kobold Commando files, by deleting the Quick Slot arrows, reducing the number of Fire Arrows (DavidW's version that does D3 Fire Damage) in Quiver 1 to two and giving them 40 normal arrows in Quiver two, as well as Proficiency in Short Bows.

It seems to work perfectly. They fire two Fire Arrows doing normal damage and then switch to normal arrows. Giving them only two Fire Arrows also gives a greate incentive to kill them ASAP to get the arrows.

It doesn't work on Kobold Commandos already on the current area map, though. I guess their old stats are stored in the save game file.

[Miloch]

It doesn't work on Kobold Commandos already on the current area map, though. I guess their old stats are stored in the save game file.

Yes. I will WeiDUise something like this, though I'm thinking they should have more than just two fire arrows, since they technically have 22 normally. Probably something in between - maybe half a dozen or so.

[DavidW]

It doesn't work on Kobold Commandos already on the current area map, though. I guess their old stats are stored in the save game file.

Yes. I will WeiDUise something like this, though I'm thinking they should have more than just two fire arrows, since they technically have 22 normally. Probably something in between - maybe half a dozen or so.

I predict this will lead to the party having an awful lot of fire arrows. (There's a reason the developers did it via the undroppable arrows, after all!)

[Miloch]

I predict this will lead to the party having an awful lot of fire arrows. (There's a reason the developers did it via the undroppable arrows, after all!)

Ok, well maybe 2 is fine then. If someone's concerned about not getting enough, they can always install igi's Projectile Retrieval mod.

 

How much of a proficiency bonus did you give them, Petrus? I was thinking of just giving them 5 stars (why not - they are "commandos" after all).

[Guest PetrusOctavianus]

I predict this will lead to the party having an awful lot of fire arrows. (There's a reason the developers did it via the undroppable arrows, after all!)

Ok, well maybe 2 is fine then. If someone's concerned about not getting enough, they can always install igi's Projectile Retrieval mod.

 

How much of a proficiency bonus did you give them, Petrus? I was thinking of just giving them 5 stars (why not - they are "commandos" after all).

 

I gave them 1 star. Being commandos may give them +5, but being Kobolds they get a -4 penalty. ;-)

And while I'm at it I may as well give the Chieftains 2 start in Short Bows.

 

I always do the Nashkel mines ASAP, as it's the natural thing to do from a RP POV, so I'm not a big fan of overpowered Kobolds, especially since the Commandos and Chieftains give so little XP.

I think I'll make some other adjustments to the Kobolds as well. Kobold Shamans (filthy little yappers that is somewhere between Hyenas and Humans) having 18 INT!?!

Of course, hadn't I checked them out in Shadowkeeper I'd probably never notice the difference between 9 and 18 INt Shamans, but now that I know I *must* change them or I'll not be able to sleep tonight...

[DavidW]

I always do the Nashkel mines ASAP, as it's the natural thing to do from a RP POV, so I'm not a big fan of overpowered Kobolds, especially since the Commandos and Chieftains give so little XP.

 

As a point of interest, I think this is at the route of various disagreements about whether SCS "improved kobolds" are overpowered. I pretty much invariably go and rescue Dynaheir - and clear out the southwest corner of the map in the process - before entering the mines, so I'm usually L2-L3 before doing so. Improved kobolds is a lot more manageable at that level than at L1; I'm not surprised that people who start with the mines find it hard work. I don't think there's much I can do about it, though: you can't suit everyone.

[Ilyich]

Personally, I found the Dark-Side upgrade tough with a full party all at level 3. My 2 solo games I didn't install it, but will when the new version of this and Item Revisions are released. Although, to be honest, I find solo games easier, due to the relative lack of micromanagement.

[DavidW]

Personally, I found the Dark-Side upgrade tough with a full party all at level 3.

 

Don't get me wrong, it's meant to be tough at that level too!

[Miloch]

I gave them 1 star. Being commandos may give them +5, but being Kobolds they get a -4 penalty. ;-)

And while I'm at it I may as well give the Chieftains 2 start in Short Bows.

Well, as level 1 "warriors" they should get 4 stars to spend, so now I'm thinking 3 in short bow and 1 in short sword. Not sure what the chieftains are - must be an SCS addition (though I also seem to recall them from DSotSC) but if 3 hitdice or higher, they'll get another star. By PnP rules, chieftains are only 1+1 HD (not much of an improvement).

 

Kobolds should also get a -1 to hit in "bright sunlight" if we're playing by the rules...

[DavidW]

Not sure what the chieftains are - must be an SCS addition (though I also seem to recall them from DSotSC)

 

They are indeed from DSotSC. The "Improved Kobolds" component of SCS is adapted from DSotSC.

[Bursk]

When creating a new character in vanilla BG1, am I right in thinking that you couldn't put more than 2* in a weapon prof during chargen? Do the same rules apply to monsters? If so, Miloch's kobolds would have to go 2* short bow and 2* short sword, right? That is, if you want to play by BG1 rules.