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[MOD] -NPC_EE- ... Non-Player Characters Enhanced, for Everyone!

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I'd like to announce the first release of my new mod: Non-Player Characters, Enhanced for Everyone. That's right - NPC_EE!

HUGE update for version 2!

Here is the download link:
https://github.com/subtledoctor/NPC_EE/releases

And here is a link to the readme:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/86011511/readme-NPC_EE.html

This makes MAJOR changes. There are no more install options to change kits. Instead, there are options to change NPCs' class. There are many fewer components, because there are not as many class changes that work (for lore reasons, I'm not changing Jaheira from druid, or Quayle from cleric/mage, or Kagain from fighter, etc. Side benefit: less work for me! :tongue:

Then, in-game, the magic happens: I've devised a way to generate a script on the fly that will detect any mod kits you have added. Every single joinable NPC in the game will get an innate ability to add a kit, or to switch to a new kit, and they will have options for every kit that their class allows.

It's frakkin' awesome. You can turn Minsc into a fighter, and then in-game you can turn him into a Barbarian!

Also, as if that's not enough, I've also added options for multiclass characters to take a kit. They can only take a kit in one class, so here how it pans out:
- ranger/clerics: choose a ranger kit
- fighter/clerics: choose a cleric kit
- cleric/thieves: choose a cleric kit
- cleric/mages: choose a cleric kit
- fighter/druids: choose a druid kit
- fighter/thieves: choose a thief kit
- fighter/mages: choose a mage kit
- thief/mages: choose a mage kit

So you can turn Coran into a kensai/thief. You can turn Montaron into a berserker/thief. You can make Imoen into a mage/thief multiclass, and then in-game turn her into a swashbuckler/mage.

YES, you can do all of this and more with EEKeeper. But this is much cooler and easier to use.

I'll keep the old v1 main post in spoiler tags, for posterity:

What is this mod?

Well, this is a bone I'm throwing to BGEE players, since the wonderful, excellent, currently-unsupported "Level 1 NPCs" mod does not work on the new engine. I added some rekitted NPC components to the end of my Scales of Balance mod (SoB); but there were only a few options, and many of them relied on having installed earlier parts of SoB.

So, I expanded it such that every NPC that gets options to change will have their own full component with numerous subcomponents that give you different options. The most basic option for each NPC is to change nothing, except to drop them to 1st level so that you can control their development as they level up. (They will keep all their XP and spells, so you can level them up immediately. This option should mimic the "TOB-style NPCs" component of BG2Tweaks, on an NPC-by-NPC basis.)

The other options will change the NPCs in various ways. Some will add a kit to NPCs who were unkitted. Some will change a kitted NPC's kit. Some will actually change the NPC's class. Some will change the class and add a new kit, and some can even add kits to multiclass characters (e.g. Yeslick can be a kitted fighter/cleric; and Alora can become a kitted cleric/thief).

Okay, so what are the options?

Here's the list (class changes noted in parentheses):
Imoen: Swashbuckler, Adventurer (S&S), or Spellfilcher (mage/thief)
Jaheira: Totemic druid, or Elementalist
Khalid: ranger/cleric, Marksman, Justifier (DR), or Corsair
Minsc: Berserker, or Barbarian Ranger
Kivan: Archer, or Stalker
Coran: Sniper, or Swashbuckler
Branwen: Battleguard of Tempus (DR), or Gloryblood of Tempus (fighter/cleric)
Safana: Swashbuckler, or Bounty Hunter
Ajantis: Inquisitor, or Cavalier
Montaron: Assassin (single-class thief)
Yeslick: Alaghor of Clangeddin
Quayle: Hoodwinker of Baravar Cloakshadow (single-class cleric)
Faldorn: Avenger, or Purifier, or Lost Druid
Skie: Assassin, or Shadowdancer
Eldoth: Blade, or Jongleur
Garrick: Gallant, Chorister (S&S), or Meistersinger
Alora: Sniper, Swashbuckler, or Misadventurer of Brandobaris (cleric/thief)
Xan: fighter/mage, Bladesinger (fighter/mage), or Loremaster (bard)
Shar-Teel: Berserker
Tiax: Strifeleader of Cyric (DR)
Viconia: Nightcloak of Shar (DR), or Darkcloak of Shar, or cleric/thief
Yoshimo: Swashbuckler, or fighter/thief
Valygar: Mage Hunter, or fighter/thief
Nalia: Loremaster (bard), or Loresinger of Milil (bard), or Spellbender (cleric/mage)
Haer'Dalis: Jongleur, or Gallant, or Skald
Mazzy: Hearthguard of Arvoreen (fighter/cleric)
Aerie: Fastpaws of Baervan Wildwanderer (but still cleric/mage)
Keldorn: Paladin, or Cavalier
Cernd: Totemic druid, or Elementalist, or Purifier
Kits marked (DR) or (S&S) will only be available if you first install that kit from Divine Remix or Song & Silence, respectively.

Can I change things around later?

Yes. This mod should be installed dead last, after all other mods. After BG2Tweaks. After SCS. Even after Generalized Biffing, if you're playing the non-EE engine and using GB. The whole idea of this is that, after you play a game with Kivan as an Archer, you can easily uninstall that component and reinstall him as a Stalker. If this is the last mod you install, then you can do that many times without disturbing anything else.

I've already changed up some NPCs with your Scales of Balance components (or the NPCKits mod, or some other method). Do I have to uninstall those changes before using this mod?

No - whichever one goes in last should control. You should be able to install/uninstall/reinstall this one on top of anything else you've already done. (I have not tested doing this, but it overwrites the various ckass/kit/HP/etc. fields, so I don't see how they would conflict.)

Great. But, don't take this the wrong way, there aren't many options.

Yeah, I know. I'm releasing this as a beta right now under the theory that some options are better than no options. Right now the mod includes options for various vanilla kits (e.g. "make Montaron an Assassin"), for various SoB kits (e.g. "make Khalid a Corsair"), and for @zupsky's very nice Lost Druid kit ("make Faldorn a Lost Druid"). If you choose one of those options, it will install that kit into the game, but only for that NPC - not for the player. If you want those kits to be available for your PC, then you'll have to actually install those mods. (So, you do *not* have to install anything from Scales of Balance to make these options work. Yay!)

Additionally, there will be a few more options if you install kits from the Divine Remix and Song & Silence mods. I'm going to reach out to the keepers of those mods, and maybe one or two others, to see if I can borrow their code to install those kits independently, like the SoB and Lost Druid kits are now. We'll see.

Okay, I installed DR and S&S and there are still only like 3-4 options for most NPCs.

Yeah, well, again: some options are better than none! If you have suggestions for more options for any NPCs, let me know in this thread.

Further, anyone has my complete and utter blessing to delve into this .tp2 file and add to it. Want to add an option for Shar-Teel to be a Wizard Slayer? Well, copy the component that turns her into a Berserker, edit the kit line (0x246) to point to Wizard Slayer instead of Berserker (look in kit.ids) and copy/adapt one of the ADD_CRE_EFFECT lines to give her the 1st-level Wizard Slayer abilities. Done. Send me the code (or just do a pull request on Github) and I'll add it to the mod. I don't have time to add too much, but I designed the mod to support up to 17 options for each NPC. So there is definitely room to grow.

Are you a modder, who makes kits? Want to include them here like @zupsky's? Fantastic! Add your kit installation code as a .tpa file, put it and the kit's clab file and any supporting .spl/.itm/etc. files into a folder in "/npc_ee/kits/" and then add a component to whichever NPCs you think are appropriate (take a look at the code giving Faldorn the Lost Druid kit; it checks to see whether the kit mod is already installed, and if it is not, INCLUDEs the .tpa). Send me the code or do a pull-request, and bam! More options!

What about proficiencies? If you make Coran a single-class thief he can't use his 3 pips in long bow!

Yeah, I've taken care of that. Coran as a single-class thief will get an illegal two pips in short bow. He will also have a short bow equipped when you meet him, instead of a long bow. Turn Khalid into a ranger/cleric and his sharp equipment will be replaced with blunt equipment. Et cetera.

Again: I have no time for anything but the most limited testing. I've installed this, and CLUA'd the NPCs into existence, and it seems to be working fine. Let me know in this thread if you see any bugs.


Cheers!

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