OlvynTweaksVersion 1.1
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Here is a new tweak mod for your enjoyment! There are 22 components so far; install whichever ones you want!
Components:
Make quest experience divided among party members
Baldur's Gate 2's major quests tend to give a fixed amount of experience to each party member on completion, rather than giving a lump sum that is divided among party members. The problem with this is that a solo character will get no more experience for completing a quest than the individual characters in a party of six, even though the whole fun of soloing is about getting more experience than normal. This component makes it so that any time each party member would be given a fixed amount of quest experience, the game instead gives six times as much experience to be divided among party members.
Remove the limit of two proficiency points in a weapon at character creation
The whole point of fighters is that they can gain more proficiency points in a weapon than any other class (excluding special cases like Archers). Yet for some reason the IE games prevent a fighter from taking more than two points in a weapon at level 1, even though this means that a level 1 fighter will be no more skilled at using weapons than a level 1 ranger, paladin or barbarian. For the sake of giving fighters more of an identity, this component lets fighters take more than two proficiency points in a weapon at level 1. This component does not give fighters more proficiency points, so if they go for High Mastery at level 1 you can forget about giving them any other proficiencies.
Allow Shamans to move while dancing
I thought that the Shamanic Dance would be more interesting to use if the Shaman could move around. This component lifts the movement restriction of the Shamanic Dance, allowing the Shaman to move around at full speed while dancing.
Make it so that clerics and/or monks require only 160000 experience to get to level 9
In Baldur's Gate 1 (minus Siege of Dragonspear), Clerics can only reach level 8 because the level 9 experience requirement is over the experience cap. This means that they cannot ever cast 5th level spells in Baldur's Gate 1, even though Druids and Mages certainly can (with Sorcerers and Shamans it's okay that they can't cast 5th level spells in Baldur's Gate 1 because they have other major advantages). Spells like Flame Strike and Champion's Strength are impossible to cast in Baldur's Gate 1, even though you do encounter scrolls for these spells. Another issue with this is the fact that a single-classed Cleric does not have much of an advantage over a multi-classed Cleric in the long run, since both can obtain 4th level spells and no higher. By comparison, single-classed Mages and Druids can get 5th level spells, which multi-classed Mages and Druids can only get 4th level spells.
Monks also can only reach level 8, since they use the same XP table as Clerics. This means that they are locked out of the awesome fist upgrade they get at level 9 (which turns their fists into magical weapons for the first time in the game).
This component makes it so that Clerics and/or Monks (your choice) only require 160000 experience to reach level 9, putting it below the Baldur's Gate 1 XP cap. Otherwise, this component does not change their experience requirements: in order to get to level 10 as a Cleric or Monk, you will still need 450000 experience.
Give Monks a cooler Deflect Missiles ability
The current Deflect Missiles ability of Monks (which gives +1 AC vs. missiles every couple of levels) is boring and kind of pointless. Not only do you not know when your monk has deflected a missile (even if the missile doesn't hit the monk, for all you know they might have dodged it anyway even if they didn't have Deflect Missiles), it is at its weakest at the point in the game when there are the largest number of ranged enemies. Think about it: there are barely any enemies who use missile weapons in Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn or Throne of Bhaal, or Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter or Trials of the Luremaster. It is only early on in Baldur's Gate 1 and Icewind Dale that lots of enemies use missile weapons. At that point, Deflect Missiles only increases your monk's AC very slightly.
This component gives Monks a better and more interesting Deflect Missiles ability, based on the 3rd Edition version. With this component installed, Monks will automatically deflect the first missile that would hit them each round. If the missile is deflected, all the missile damage it would do is prevented, but any other damage still goes through (an Arrow of Fire still burns the monk's hand, an Arrow of Piercing still rips through the monk's hand for piercing damage, etc.).
Give Rangers the Tracking ability (from Throne of Bhaal) starting at level 1
The Tracking ability from Throne of Bhaal is kind of cool, albeit not that useful. But in Throne of Bhaal, Rangers can't get the ability until they reach level 18 and start getting HLAs. Since when can't a ranger track people until they reach level 18? That's something they should be able to do from the beginning (and in Icewind Dale, they CAN do it from the beginning). This component should be used in the Baldur's Gate games only. It adds the Throne of Bhaal version of Tracking (no Icewind Dale-style area text is displayed) to rangers and all ranger kits automatically as an innate, at-will ability starting at level 1.
Power Up Ranger Charm Animal
The Charm Animal ability of rangers is lame. Not only are there very few animals strong enough to be worth charming, even in the case of those animals that ARE worth charming, you're better off using the Ring of Animal Friendship, which does mostly the same thing as Ranger Charm Animal except it can be used many, many times and can be used by any class. A class-specific ability is pointless if it is overshadowed by an ability that any class can use. This component makes it so that the saving throw on Ranger Charm Animal becomes harder to resist the higher level the ranger is, with a -1 penalty on the save per ranger level, to a minimum of -10 for a level 10 ranger.
Increase Wizard Slayer Magic Resistance
Wizard Slayers gain Magic Resistance way too slowly. At max level in Baldur's Gate 1, Wizard Slayers have 8% Magic Resistance, which is less than a third of the Magic Resistance a character could get by wearing the Cloak of Balduran (which Wizard Slayers can't use). That's just pathetic. This component makes it so that Wizard Slayers gain 5% Magic Resistance per level rather than 1%.
Make Assassin backstab multiplier increase faster
Assassins are supposed to be better at backstabbing people than regular thieves are. But in Baldur's Gate 1 they aren't, because their backstab multiplier does not increase beyond that of a regular thief until higher levels. This component makes it so that assassin's backstab multiplier increases every 3 levels after level 1 (at levels 4, 7, 10, 13, and 16), rather than every 4 levels after level 1 as for regular thieves and assassins in the base game. This allows them to reach a x5 backstab multiplier in Baldur's Gate 1, while regular thieves only reach x4.
Allow cursed scrolls to be used on enemies
Cursed scrolls are kind of pointless. They serve no purpose other than being beginner's traps designed to screw with those players who don't know to identify magic items before using them. If you have identified them as cursed, there's no reason to do anything more with them (in most playthroughs, anyway). This component makes it so that cursed scrolls curse the target of the scroll, rather than the user of the scroll. This way, you can use a cursed scroll to curse an enemy!
Make creatures take up less space
Many creatures take up a lot of space, which means that they often get stuck in narrow passageways and are unable to go through; you've likely encountered plenty of situations where an enemy was too big to be able to go through a door. This component makes it so that most creatures take up less space than they did previously, making them less likely to get stuck in narrow passageways.
Notes: The space that a creature takes up is not the same thing as its selection circle size. This component does not makes creature's selection circles smaller. Also, this component messes with what creatures are considered "large creatures," so some creatures such as ogres that are normally considered "large creatures" (meaning, for example, that they are immune to Entangle and Web in Icewind Dale) are not large creatures anymore, though some even bigger creatures still are. This component does not make dragons take up less space, since they generally fight in wide open areas where they're not going to get stuck.
Make enemies change their attack targets more quickly
Many enemies have a tendency to keep chasing a single target recklessly, even if there are now better targets more nearby (this is especially common in Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition). This component patches all scripts so that any action that would make a creature attack another creature continuously or for a long time instead makes them attack the creature for a short time. This component does not drastically overhaul creatures' AI, nor does it change which scripts creatures have, so it can be installed on top of other AI mods.
No Party Required area transitions
This component eliminates the "You must gather your party before venturing forth" conditions for all area transitions, with the exception of edge-of-the-map transitions common in Baldur's Gate 1 and 2. This allows you to send a single party member into an area that previously required your entire party.
Make it possible to enter the Nashkel Mines through the back cave entrance
I figured it might be cool to add a little more nonlinearity to the Nashkel Mines quest in Baldur's Gate 1. This component allows you to enter the Nashkel Mines using the cave through which you normally exit the mines. Doing this does not really break the plot aside from allowing you to enter the mines without permission from Emerson (which you could already do in the pre-EE game by teleporting past the guards with Dimension Door).
Make it possible to enter the catacombs beneath Candlekeep early
This component adds an entrance to the dungeon which you normally go through in Chapter 6 to escape Candlekeep. The entrance is outside in Candlekeep, at the same spot where the party normally exits from the dungeon; it's hidden behind some trees. This allows you to go through the dungeon, access the secret library, and raid the tombs as early as Chapter 2.
Note: This component makes it so that all plot-relevant creatures (e.g. doppelgangers, Prat, Diarmid) are removed from the areas if you enter before Tethtoril teleports you to the secret library in Chapter 6. Once that plot event has happened, the plot-relevant creatures will appear where they normally would, even if you've already been to the dungeon.
Make it so the Jacil and Wiven encounters aren't replaced by other questsNormally in BG1, you can permanently miss the fight with Jacil if you start the Mendas quest before going to the Merchant's League Counting House. This means you don't get Jacil's Spear +2. This component makes it so that if you fight Ulf in the Counting House during the Mendas quest and Jacil hasn't been killed, Jacil and his blink dogs will appear and join the fight,
The component also moves the Wiven encounter (which could be permanently missed if you did Rasaad's quest first). Wiven is now located in an alley somewhere in Baldur's Gate.
Make Infravision actually do something
Currently, Infravision is basically useless. It is supposed to allow a creature to see in the dark, but creatures without infravision can see in the dark fine for some reason. All infravision does is make creatures glow red. This component lets you give a penalty to creatures without infravision when they are outside at night or in a dungeon. You can either choose to have this penalty be -4 THAC0, reduced visual range, or both. This component affects all creatures in the game. Many creatures such as kobolds that previously didn't have infravision now do. Although most monsters in the game end up with infravision with this component, there is still a common kind of enemy that doesn't have infravision: humans. Party members with infravision will have an advantage over enemy humans in the dark, but that advantage could go the other way depending on the situation and the party composition.
Note: The reduced visual range from this component might break enemies' AI, particularly if enemies don't have some sort of call for help AI. Use it at your own risk. The THAC0 penalty component should work fine, though.
Increase the speed of all creatures in the game (including party members)This component makes everyone in the game - both enemies and party members - move faster. You can choose whether everyone's speed is doubled, tripled, quadrupled, or set to the maximum.
Add a different kind of chunked death animationWith this component installed, if a slain creature would be chunked, its corpse is sent flying into the air instead.
Modify Sneak Attack and Crippling StrikeIf you have 3E Sneak Attack enabled, after you sneak attack an enemy, there is a delay of several rounds before that enemy can be sneak attacked again. This component lets you change that delay. You may either remove it or reduce it to one round.
Modify Fighting StylesThis component improves the four fighting styles, and allows characters to take up to five points in each style (only if the character could normally take 2 points in the style, or 3 points for Two-Weapon Style).
Here are the new fighting style bonuses:
SINGLE-WEAPON: This fighting style is for characters who do not wish to use a shield but want some bonus when using a one-handed melee weapon.Proficient (1 slot): The wielder gets a +1 bonus to THAC0, a -1 bonus to Speed Factor, and the ability to score critical hits on a roll of 19 or 20 when using a one-handed weapon.
Specialized (2 slots): The wielder gets a +2 bonus to THAC0, a -2 bonus to Speed Factor, and the ability to score critical hits on a roll of 18 to 20 when using a one-handed weapon.
Master (3 slots): The wielder gets a +3 bonus to THAC0, a -3 bonus to Speed Factor, and the ability to score critical hits on a roll of 17 to 20 when using a one-handed weapon.
High Master (4 slots): The wielder gets a +4 bonus to THAC0, a -4 bonus to Speed Factor, and the ability to score critical hits on a roll of 16 to 20 when using a one-handed weapon.
Grand Master (5 slots): The wielder gets a +5 bonus to THAC0, a -5 bonus to Speed Factor, and the ability to score critical hits on a roll of 15 to 20 when using a one-handed weapon.SWORD AND SHIELD: Anyone can pick up a shield and get its basic protection bonuses, but by spending slots on this fighting style, an adventurer can maximize the benefits received.
Proficient (1 slot): The wielder gets a +1 bonus to AC against all weapons, and an additional +2 bonus to AC against missile weapons.
Specialized (2 slots): The wielder gets a +2 bonus to AC against all weapons, and an additional +4 bonus to AC against missile weapons.
Master (3 slots): The wielder gets a +3 bonus to AC against all weapons, and an additional +6 bonus to AC against missile weapons.
High Master (4 slots): The wielder gets a +4 bonus to AC against all weapons, and an additional +8 bonus to AC against missile weapons.
Grand Master (5 slots): The wielder gets a +5 bonus to AC against all weapons, and an additional +10 bonus to AC against missile weapons.
NOTE: Despite the name of this style, any one-handed melee weapon in combination with a shield will receive the aforementioned bonuses.TWO-HANDED: This fighting style allows the character to use a two-handed melee weapon and receive special bonuses.
Proficient (1 slot): The wielder gets a +2 bonus to damage rolls and a -1 bonus to Speed Factor.
Specialized (2 slots): The wielder gets a +3 bonus to damage rolls, a -2 bonus to Speed Factor, and the ability to score critical hits on a roll of 19 or 20 when using a two-handed weapon.
Master (3 slots): The wielder gets a +5 bonus to damage rolls, a -3 bonus to Speed Factor, and the ability to score critical hits on a roll of 19 or 20 when using a two-handed weapon.
High Master (4 slots): The wielder gets a +6 bonus to damage rolls, a -4 bonus to Speed Factor, and the ability to score critical hits on a roll of 18 to 20 when using a two-handed weapon.
High Master (5 slots): The wielder gets a +8 bonus to damage rolls, a -5 bonus to Speed Factor, and the ability to score critical hits on a roll of 18 to 20 when using a two-handed weapon.TWO-WEAPON: This fighting style allows the character to use two melee weapons at the same time with fewer penalties. A character wielding two weapons without a slot in this fighting style would incur a -4 penalty to attack rolls with the main weapon and a -8 penalty with the off-hand weapon.
Proficient (1 slot): The wielder's penalties are reduced to -2 with the main weapon and -6 with the off-hand weapon.
Specialized (2 slots): The wielder's penalties are reduced to 0 with the main weapon and -4 with the off-hand weapon.
Master (3 slots): The wielder's penalties are reduced to 0 with the main weapon and -2 with the off-hand weapon.
High Master (4 slots): The wielder gets no penalties from wielding two weapons.
Grand Master (5 slots): The wielder gets no penalties from wielding two weapons and gets a +1 bonus to AC while doing so.
Replace the "I'm on it like ugly on an orc" quote with "I'm on it"This component edits a quote I really hate from a BGEE soundset that I otherwise like.
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Portrait Artist - TamikaProud at DeviantArt
Her statistics are as follows:
Strength - 11
Dexterity - 19
Constitution - 12
Intelligence - 17
Wisdom - 12
Charisma - 16
As of now, the mod has only been tested for BGII:EE but should be able to work for the vanilla Baldur's Gate II and EET.
Please use this thread for any questions, thoughts, or bugs regarding the mod. Any feedback is welcome and greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much for your time and I hope you enjoy the mod. :)
EDIT: I decided to put a face to the NPC.
ANOTHER EDIT: I updated the link here to direct you guys to the new G3 download page, sorry about that! The Beaurin Legacy now includes ToB!
The Beaurin Legacy has a forum of its own and can be downloaded here at G3! However, I will continue to monitor the forums here, but I may not respond as quickly!
STR 10
DEX 13
CON 14
INT 18
WIS 20
CHA 15
Saradas features:
- Banters and dialogues with many of the original BioWare NPCs
- He expresses his thoughts regaring events and dialogues
- He has a custom ring
- 6 different epilogues
- 1 custom skill
- Dialogues with the protagonist
and...
- A small but enjoyable easter egg for all the Lord of The Rings lovers like me
I wait for your feedbacks ;)
DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/download/l5y34c214jcs04q/Saradas_Magic_2_v1_6.zip