Disclaimer: I'm completely new at this; please be gentle :)
Hello everyone! I am curious about finding out what goes into making a rebalancing mod for an existing kit (Skald in my case.) I have done minor modifications to kits and spells with NearInfinity before - so I have a faint idea about the 2DA files involved. However, this time I would like to turn my ideas into a proper WeiDU mod so that other people could possibly give it a try as well.
I have read the kit creation tutorial at Gibberlings3 and while it looks daunting, I am sort of starting to wrap my head around it. However, I am still confused as to how this all applies when customizing existing kits, the ADD_KIT command is for creating new kits after all. And even if that was not an issue, I would still have a lot of unresolved questions, such as how to modify/create special abilities.
I suppose I should be specific rather than general, so here is the idea I am trying to implement:
Skald Rebalancing (builds on Rogue Rebalancing)
***
I have always thought BG2 did a horrible job with this fantastic-sounding kit, essentially relegating him to a support role. Rogue Rebalancing remedied this issue somewhat, though the class was still too passive for my liking. In redesigning the kit, I drew on my experiences with Dark Age of Camelot, an mmorpg in which Skalds were fearsome nordic warriors, able to fight using two-handed Viking weaponry and sing their battlesongs at the same time. I also kept some of the Rogue Rebalancing components such as the song and the HLAs. Here's what I came up with:
[spoiler]
Skald
This Nordic bard is also a warrior of great strength, skill and virtue. PRO_HISHER songs are inspiring sagas of battle and valor, and the skald devotes PRO_HISHER life to those pursuits. In battle, the Skald fights alongside PRO_HISHER warrior brethren, and has the ability to greatly augment PRO_HISHER comrades' battle prowess by chanting PRO_HISHER resonant ballads and epic poetry. Unlike with bards of other schools, arcane magic takes a secondary role in the Skald's training and PRO_HISHER spellcasting abilities are modest in comparison.
Advantages:
- Uses the Fighter's THAC0 progression table when wielding melee weapons.
- May become specialized (allocate two proficiency slots) in Two-handed Swords, Bastard Swords, Axes and War Hammers as well as Two-handed weapon and Single weapon fighting styles.
- Gains Skald's Song at first level. This ability further improves at 9th and 18th level.
- Gains Battlesinging as a passive ability at 8th level. This ability further improves at the 16th level.
Skald's Song: (Rogue Rebalancing)
By chanting a war song, a Skald can inspire allies as they go forward into combat. Chanting can elevate spirits, remove concerns about danger, keep men's minds focused on combat and fill friendly forces with a sense of being larger than life. The effects of the song further improve as the Skald gains more levels:
1st: gives allies +2 to hit, +2 to damage, -2 to AC and immunity to Fear.
9th: gives allies +3 to hit, +3 to damage, -3 to AC, immunity to Fear and Confusion.
18th: gives allies +4 to hit, +4 to damage, -4 to AC, immunity to Fear, Stun and Confusion.
Battlesinging:
Through rigorous martial training and breathwork practice, the Skald eventually learns the ability to weave PRO_HISHER ballads in the thick of battle. This ability is further perfected at higher experience levels:
8th: grants the Skald the ability to engage in combat while singing his song. While doing so, the Skald incurs a 3-point penalty to his movement rate, armor class and speed factor.
16th: penalties are reduced to 1-point each.
Disadvantages:
- Casts spells at one-half of PRO_HISHER Character level.
- Can only learn spells up to the Sixth spell level.
- Incurs a 2-point penalty to spellcasting speed
- Pick Pockets ability one-quarter normal.
HLA's would remain the same as with Rogue Rebalancing. In addition, I would like to open the kit for Dwarves and Half-Orcs to select.
[/spoiler]
Coming up with ideas is easy, but when it comes to implementing them, I find myself sucking my thumb. I suppose my questions boil down to the following:
How do I modify existing kits with WeiDU?
What should I use to extract the needed spell files? Can I just use NearInfinity or is there a catch?
How do I extract the existing componenets from the Rogue Rebalancing mod?
How do I implement the Battlesinging ability?
How do I implement the spellcasting nerf (spells cats at one half of his character level)?
Also, I would welcome any general advice on kit-modding and spell-creating as well as any links to possible tutorials I might have missed.
Now, I realize my post is quite a mouthful. I know I am looking up to quite a challenge and would be very grateful for any piece of advice you can throw my way. Many cheers in advance!
Hello everyone! I am curious about finding out what goes into making a rebalancing mod for an existing kit (Skald in my case.) I have done minor modifications to kits and spells with NearInfinity before - so I have a faint idea about the 2DA files involved. However, this time I would like to turn my ideas into a proper WeiDU mod so that other people could possibly give it a try as well.
I have read the kit creation tutorial at Gibberlings3 and while it looks daunting, I am sort of starting to wrap my head around it. However, I am still confused as to how this all applies when customizing existing kits, the ADD_KIT command is for creating new kits after all. And even if that was not an issue, I would still have a lot of unresolved questions, such as how to modify/create special abilities.
I suppose I should be specific rather than general, so here is the idea I am trying to implement:
Skald Rebalancing (builds on Rogue Rebalancing)
***
I have always thought BG2 did a horrible job with this fantastic-sounding kit, essentially relegating him to a support role. Rogue Rebalancing remedied this issue somewhat, though the class was still too passive for my liking. In redesigning the kit, I drew on my experiences with Dark Age of Camelot, an mmorpg in which Skalds were fearsome nordic warriors, able to fight using two-handed Viking weaponry and sing their battlesongs at the same time. I also kept some of the Rogue Rebalancing components such as the song and the HLAs. Here's what I came up with:
[spoiler]
Skald
This Nordic bard is also a warrior of great strength, skill and virtue. PRO_HISHER songs are inspiring sagas of battle and valor, and the skald devotes PRO_HISHER life to those pursuits. In battle, the Skald fights alongside PRO_HISHER warrior brethren, and has the ability to greatly augment PRO_HISHER comrades' battle prowess by chanting PRO_HISHER resonant ballads and epic poetry. Unlike with bards of other schools, arcane magic takes a secondary role in the Skald's training and PRO_HISHER spellcasting abilities are modest in comparison.
Advantages:
- Uses the Fighter's THAC0 progression table when wielding melee weapons.
- May become specialized (allocate two proficiency slots) in Two-handed Swords, Bastard Swords, Axes and War Hammers as well as Two-handed weapon and Single weapon fighting styles.
- Gains Skald's Song at first level. This ability further improves at 9th and 18th level.
- Gains Battlesinging as a passive ability at 8th level. This ability further improves at the 16th level.
Skald's Song: (Rogue Rebalancing)
By chanting a war song, a Skald can inspire allies as they go forward into combat. Chanting can elevate spirits, remove concerns about danger, keep men's minds focused on combat and fill friendly forces with a sense of being larger than life. The effects of the song further improve as the Skald gains more levels:
1st: gives allies +2 to hit, +2 to damage, -2 to AC and immunity to Fear.
9th: gives allies +3 to hit, +3 to damage, -3 to AC, immunity to Fear and Confusion.
18th: gives allies +4 to hit, +4 to damage, -4 to AC, immunity to Fear, Stun and Confusion.
Battlesinging:
Through rigorous martial training and breathwork practice, the Skald eventually learns the ability to weave PRO_HISHER ballads in the thick of battle. This ability is further perfected at higher experience levels:
8th: grants the Skald the ability to engage in combat while singing his song. While doing so, the Skald incurs a 3-point penalty to his movement rate, armor class and speed factor.
16th: penalties are reduced to 1-point each.
Disadvantages:
- Casts spells at one-half of PRO_HISHER Character level.
- Can only learn spells up to the Sixth spell level.
- Incurs a 2-point penalty to spellcasting speed
- Pick Pockets ability one-quarter normal.
HLA's would remain the same as with Rogue Rebalancing. In addition, I would like to open the kit for Dwarves and Half-Orcs to select.
[/spoiler]
Coming up with ideas is easy, but when it comes to implementing them, I find myself sucking my thumb. I suppose my questions boil down to the following:
How do I modify existing kits with WeiDU?
What should I use to extract the needed spell files? Can I just use NearInfinity or is there a catch?
How do I extract the existing componenets from the Rogue Rebalancing mod?
How do I implement the Battlesinging ability?
How do I implement the spellcasting nerf (spells cats at one half of his character level)?
Also, I would welcome any general advice on kit-modding and spell-creating as well as any links to possible tutorials I might have missed.
Now, I realize my post is quite a mouthful. I know I am looking up to quite a challenge and would be very grateful for any piece of advice you can throw my way. Many cheers in advance!