Tresset's Choice Tweaks
Tweaks and Fixes for BG that I make for myself, but share with everyone!
Since I started playing the Enhanced Editions of BG, I have always had a few odds and ends in my override folder that I made myself. Most of these are pretty simple and their functions range from bug hotfixes I make while waiting for an official fix from the devs to minor tweaks that make the game much more enjoyable to me. I have now decided to share my tweaks with everyone just in case someone would be interested in them. Most of these tweaks will be in the format of simple override files but a few will be done using Weidu (Weidu and I don't get along very well so I usually try to avoid it). This thread will likely change occasionally and have new tweaks added to it every once in a while, because I often get new ideas and modify my old works as well. Feel free to ask any questions you may have and make sure to let me know if you have found an issue with my tweaks so that I can fix it. I also take requests, so if you have something you want tweaked or fixed then let me know by leaving a comment below and I will see what I can do.
BG1:EE/SoD Tweaks
Infinite Use Algernon's Cloak
In the original BG1, Algernon's Cloak had infinite uses. The devs decided to nerf it to one use/day for some reason. Not sure why... The Nymph Cloak still has a practically bottomless supply of charges (100 max) so why they didn't nerf that one too is beyond me. I simply restored the cloak to its infinite usability. This was the first tweak I ever applied to my EE game. I also added a projectile to the cloak so that I could fix my arch nemesis bug.
Avenger Druid Form Fixes
With the advent of SoD some of the avenger's shapeshift forms got a little screwed up. This package contains two hotfixes and a minor tweak. I will explain what I did with each form:
- Spider form (plyspid.itm): With SoD installed the spiders move much slower than they do without it installed. This change affected the avenger form as well. The devs may or may not fix this issue eventually, but in the mean time I added a movement speed modifier effect to counteract the decreased speed of the spider form. This will also fix the spider form of the wizard spell Polymorph Self. Wild spiders will still move slower. Do not install this one unless you have SoD installed or the spider form will move faster than normal!
- Baby Wyvern form (plywyvrn.itm): Not sure if this was broken by SoD or just 2.0 in general, but the wyvern's poison was broken by the one of the recent updates so that it would not affect creatures level 5 or lower at all. This is clearly unintentional, and was also once an issue in BG2:EE. The devs fixed the BG2:EE issue with the wyvern poison in a previous update (1.3 IIRC) so I have no idea how it got broken again. This will fix the poison so that it will affect creatures of all levels again. I do not think this will be needed if you do not have SoD installed, but I am not sure.
- Fire Salamander (plysala.itm): This one is more of a tweak than a fix. The salamander form normally has a haste effect that will increase movement speed without providing any extra attacks. IMHO this type of haste effect is very sloppy and should not be used by anything, especially not anything the player controls. I simply made the haste effect a normal haste, which increases movement speed and adds 1 extra APR. This gives the salamander a total of 2 APR (which makes it more viable anyway when compared to the other 2 forms).
Actual Werewolf Claws, Not Modified Bear Paws BG1:EE
This is for the Shapeshifter Druid Kit. It gives both the Werewolf and the Greater Werewolf better natural weapons. In the original BG2 the Werewolf, Greater Werewolf, and Brown Bear forms all had the exact same weapon. I seriously doubt that this was truly meant to be, but the devs are rather insistent on leaving things as they were back then in this case. I, however, found an unused item file in BG2 (and in BG2:EE) that I am 90% sure was meant to be used by the Greater Werewolf and that is what I use for my version of this form. I felt I needed to make a new weapon for the ordinary Werewolf, however. Anyway, the ordinary Werewolf's weapon does 1d8 slashing damage and strikes as a +2 weapon. The Greater Werewolf's Weapon does 2d8 Slashing damage and strikes as a +3 weapon. This fix was designed for BG1:EE and will likely cause string issues in BG2:EE.
Kahrk's New Katana
This will give Kahrk, the self proclaimed "Mightiest of Ogre Magi", a Katana +2 to wield instead of his ordinary one. If you can kill him he will drop it so that you can use it. I mainly decided on doing this to make the Katana proficiency a more viable choice in BG1:EE, and I figured that Kahrk was nasty enough to be a worthy guard of such a valuable item.
Durlag's Infinite Skeleton Trap
This will make the false stairway trap which summons skeleton warriors when tripped reset after it has been triggered, allowing you to grind on skeleton warriors. This trap always used to reset itself in the original and even in earlier versions of the Enhanced Edition, but the devs have since decided to remove this feature.
Longer lasting Priest Kit Specials BG1:EE
I originally made this because I got sick of Priests of Lothander getting the short end of the stick with their special ability. Both Talos and Helm give their priests a special ability that lasts for 1 turn until the priest reaches either level 11 or 12 at which point the duration would increase by 1 round/level (Helm) or 2 rounds/2 levels (Talos). Boon of Lothander would only last strictly 1 round/level, unlike the other two it would not last at least a turn from, levels 1-10, so I increased its duration so that it was the same as Helm's Seeking sword, i.e. 1 turn + 1 round/level after level 10. @JuliusBorisov suggested that I increase the duration of Tyr's Divine Favor as well, so I increased it from 2 rounds to 5 rounds. I am not convinced that this is necessary since IMO this ability is much more potent than the others, especially at higher levels, but I aim to please. I may decide to further tweak the duration of Divine Favor later, but I don't think it should last more than 1 turn. I should note that the descriptions of these spells will show the wrong duration if you install this one (not that Seeking Sword or Storm Shield ever had correct durations listed to begin with). This tweak was designed for BG1:EE and will likely cause String Issues if used in BG2:EE
Fixed Lightning Bolt
The projectile used by the Lightning Bolt spell and wand lacks a certain flag in the current version of BG1:EE that makes the lightning bolts bounce off of the first target they hit instead of pass through them. This is easiest seen in Gorion's cutscene where he casts a lightning bolt at one of the ogres and it bounces right back at him. I have added the flag back to the projectile so that it will pass through its targets like it should do. BG2:EE's lightning bolt functions correctly so that game does not need this fix. The unfortunate thing I have noticed is that the lightning bolt will only ever bounce off of walls once before vanishing in the current version of both games. I suspect that this behavior is hard coded and it would be up to the devs to fix it.
Staggered Probabilities Fix BG1:EE
This is a fix to a bug that has bothered me for a long time (since the original BG2 actually). This bug strikes specific spells and items when either "Round End" or "Spell Cast" autopauses are turned on. When it strikes, the specific spells and items do very strange things, such as duplicate some effects many times or skip some effects altogether. A few examples of this behavior include:
- Multiple elementals getting summoned by spells that should only ever summon one and similar issues with certain other summoning spells.
- Erratic behavior of the Bigby Hands, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, Contagion, and others.
- Inconsistent effects (ex. successful saves reported, but the spell takes effect anyway) of Algernon's Cloak, Nymph Cloak, The Captive Audience, and the level 1 priest spell Command.
NRD Contingencies and Sequencers BG1:EE
Originally the contingency and sequencer spells could be cast using Nahal's Reckless Dweomer. These spells could could not result in a wild surge when cast this way because they posessed the "ignore wild surge" flag that prevented it. The only problem with this was that the very next spell cast after the contingency/sequencer would have a 100% chance of having a wild surge. The devs decided that this should not happen so they eddited the "ignore wild surge" flag to also prevent casting spells that have it with Nahal's Reckless Dweomer. I, however, did not mind this behavior so I decided to re-enable the casting of these spells with Nahal's Reckless Dweomer. The only way I could do this while still preventing the spells from surging (which would no doubt cause massive issues) was to switch the flag from "ignore wild surge" to "ignore wild/dead magic". This makes the spells, more or less, the same as they were before the devs' interference; the only difference being that the spells are now castable (with or without NRD) in dead magic zones (which is unfortunate). So you are on the honor system not to use them in dead magic areas! This tweak was designed for BG1:EE and may cause string issues if used in BG2:EE.
Time Stop Sound Fix BG1:EE
Since the very beginning of the original BG2 this bug has existed. The sound of the Time Stop spell wearing off has always happened at the wrong time due to a peculiarity in the Timestop opcode that must have confused one of the original devs. Odd that the Beamdog devs still haven't fixed this legacy bug, especially considering how easy it is to do so. This fix will make the sound play at the correct time: just as the effects of the spell wear off. This fix was designed for BG1:EE and will likely cause string issues if used in BG2:EE
Korlasz has Bag of Holding
This will move the Bag of Holding from the Quartermaster's store to the chest in Korlasz's personal room inside her tomb. I did this because I want to be a pack rat with my party members' inventories, especially with the ones that don't come back. Makes it much easier to prepare for things. This may be my only SoD tweak for a while since I, uh, haven't finished my first playthrough yet...
Self Stacking Writhing Fog BG1:EE
For whatever reason, when the devs made the shaman class, they decided to give the unique level 2 spell of that class, Writhing Fog, a harsh limitation. This limitation is that multiple castings of the spell can not stack their effects with each other; i.e. if you throw two Writhing Fogs at the enemy then they will only be affected by one of them. This is the only persistent AoE spell in the game that has this limitation, to my knowledge. I believe that this is a bit too limiting compared to some of the other level 2 spells in the game. Web, for instance, is incredibly devastating for a level 2 spell and, with careful tactics and maybe some ranged attacks or free action, will kill far more than Writhing fog could dream to, and, by the way, it stacks with itself. This tweak will allow multiple Writhing Fogs to stack with each other, meaning there is finally a level 2 'druid' spell worth casting. This tweak was made for BG1:EE and will likely cause string issues if used in BG2:EE.
Fe Ag Hammer
That means "Iron Silver Hammer" for those of you who don't know chemistry (yes, I am a nerd). Anyway, This tweak was requested by @JuliusBorisov. He wanted me to add a weapon for solo clerics that could beat down Greater Wolfwere and Loup Garou since they had absolutely nothing in that category. It took me a while, but I eventually decided to go with a very special weapon that was perfectly usable by any cleric: Spiritual Hammer! While I was at it I fixed a minor cosmetic issue with the +1 version of the hammer by adding an on hit sound effect that the +2 and +3 version had.
BG2:EE Tweaks
Staggered Probabilities Fix BG2:EE
This is a fix to a bug that has bothered me for a long time (since the original BG2 actually). This bug strikes specific spells and items when either "Round End" or "Spell Cast" autopauses are turned on. When it strikes, the specific spells and items do very strange things, such as duplicate some effects many times or skip some effects altogether. A few examples of this behavior include:
- Multiple elementals getting summoned by spells that should only ever summon one and similar issues with certain other summoning spells.
- Erratic behavior of the Bigby Hands, Otiluke's Resilient Sphere, Contagion, and others.
- Inconsistent effects (ex. successful saves reported, but the spell takes effect anyway) of Algernon's Cloak, Nymph Cloak, The Captive Audience, and the level 1 priest spell Command.
- Rasaad's Cloak of Atonement not functioning (except to drain your constitution).
NRD Contingencies and Sequencers BG2:EE
Originally the contingency and sequencer spells could be cast using Nahal's Reckless Dweomer. These spells could could not result in a wild surge when cast this way because they posessed the "ignore wild surge" flag that prevented it. The only problem with this was that the very next spell cast after the contingency/sequencer would have a 100% chance of having a wild surge. The devs decided that this should not happen so they eddited the "ignore wild surge" flag to also prevent casting spells that have it with Nahal's Reckless Dweomer. I, however, did not mind this behavior so I decided to re-enable the casting of these spells with Nahal's Reckless Dweomer. The only way I could do this while still preventing the spells from surging (which would no doubt cause massive issues) was to switch the flag from "ignore wild surge" to "ignore wild/dead magic". This makes the spells, more or less, the same as they were before the devs' interference; the only difference being that the spells are now castable (with or without NRD) in dead magic zones (which is unfortunate). So you are on the honor system not to use them in dead magic areas! This tweak was designed for BG2:EE and may cause string issues if used in BG1:EE.
Time Stop Sound Fix BG2:EE
Since the very beginning of the original BG2 this bug has existed. The sound of the Time Stop spell wearing off has always happened at the wrong time due to a peculiarity in the Timestop opcode that must have confused one of the original devs. Odd that the Beamdog devs still haven't fixed this legacy bug, especially considering how easy it is to do so. This fix will make the sound play at the correct time: just as the effects of the spell wear off. This fix was designed for BG2:EE and will likely cause string issues if used in BG1:EE
Increased Rate of Banter
Party banters are actually somewhat rare considering how many of them there are. Sometimes you can play through a whole game of SoA without even hearing all of the ones for your specific party. The problem is even worse in ToB, where it is near impossible to hear them all by the end unless you spend great deals of time just standing around fidgeting. This mod will increase the rate at which banters happen. With it, you will likely hear most or all of the SoA ones by around mid way through the campaign. In ToB you will likely hear most or all of them by around the last third of the campaign.
Cloaks of More Stars
This improves both the Cloak of the Stars and the Cowl of the Stars. Despite the usefulness of a +5 dart I never really wound up using the Cloak of the Stars because 6 was not enough darts for me. I have simply changed the Cloak of the Stars so that the darts do not vanish after a day; allowing them to be stockpiled. The Cowl of the Stars on the other hand was intended to create a number of Melf's Minute Meteors equal to the level of the wearer, but unfortunately, due to an engine peculiarity, it would only look for mage/sorcerer levels and anyone else who wore the cowl only got 5 meteors, regardless of their level. I decided to abandon the level dependency thing and make the cowl simply create 12 meteors every time.
Chaos Shields Stack with Hayes
This will change the two Chaos Shield spells and the Robe of Goodman Hayes so that their wild surge bonuses stack with each other. It also makes the robe usable by wild mages of any alignment. Though simple, this tweak seriously ups the power of wild mages by significantly reducing the risk of their surges and increasing the chance of success of their spells.
Self Stacking Writhing Fog BG2:EE
For whatever reason, when the devs made the shaman class, they decided to give the unique level 2 spell of that class, Writhing Fog, a harsh limitation. This limitation is that multiple castings of the spell can not stack their effects with each other; i.e. if you throw two Writhing Fogs at the enemy then they will only be affected by one of them. This is the only persistent AoE spell in the game that has this limitation, to my knowledge. I believe that this is a bit too limiting compared to some of the other level 2 spells in the game. Web, for instance, is incredibly devastating for a level 2 spell and, with careful tactics and maybe some ranged attacks or free action, will kill far more than Writhing fog could dream to, and, by the way, it stacks with itself. This tweak will allow multiple Writhing Fogs to stack with each other, meaning there is finally a level 2 'druid' spell worth casting. This tweak was made for BG2:EE and will likely cause string issues if used in BG1:EE.
Actual Werewolf Claws, Not Modified Bear Paws BG2:EE
This is for the Shapeshifter Druid Kit. It gives both the Werewolf and the Greater Werewolf better natural weapons. In the original BG2 the Werewolf, Greater Werewolf, and Brown Bear forms all had the exact same weapon. I seriously doubt that this was truly meant to be, but the devs are rather insistent on leaving things as they were back then in this case. I, however, found an unused item file in BG2 (and in BG2:EE) that I am 90% sure was meant to be used by the Greater Werewolf and that is what I use for my version of this form. I felt I needed to make a new weapon for the ordinary Werewolf, however. Anyway, the ordinary Werewolf's weapon does 1d8 slashing damage and strikes as a +2 weapon. The Greater Werewolf's Weapon does 2d8 Slashing damage and strikes as a +3 weapon. This fix was designed for BG2:EE and will likely cause string issues in BG1:EE.
Longer Lasting Priest Kit Specials BG2:EE
I originally made this because I got sick of Priests of Lothander getting the short end of the stick with their special ability. Both Talos and Helm give their priests a special ability that lasts for 1 turn until the priest reaches either level 11 or 12 at which point the duration would increase by 1 round/level (Helm) or 2 rounds/2 levels (Talos). Boon of Lothander would only last strictly 1 round/level, unlike the other two it would not last at least a turn from, levels 1-10, so I increased its duration so that it was the same as Helm's Seeking sword, i.e. 1 turn + 1 round/level after level 10. @JuliusBorisov suggested that I increase the duration of Tyr's Divine Favor as well, so I increased it from 2 rounds to 5 rounds. I am not convinced that this is necessary since IMO this ability is much more potent than the others, especially at higher levels, but I aim to please. I may decide to further tweak the duration of Divine Favor later, but I don't think it should last more than 1 turn. I should note that the descriptions of these spells will show the wrong duration if you install this one (not that Seeking Sword or Storm Shield ever had correct durations listed to begin with). This tweak was designed for BG2:EE and will likely cause String Issues if used in BG1:EE
Drow Illusion Fix
Description here.
Avenger Druid Salamander Haste Fix
Description here.
Deathbringer Assault Fix
Description here.
Hexxat Regeneration Script Fix
Description here.
Prevent Melissan From Turning Undead Party Members
Description here.
General Tweaks (Works in both games)
Original BG1 Casting Sound Effects
Taken directly from the data files, this will make games use casting sound effects from vBG1. IMHO these sounds are much more awesome. The only issue I have noticed is some minor crackling sounds in a few of the male priest chants. There is nothing that can be done about that though, and it is not... too bad I don't think. I must admit that, while I could have easily compiled this tweak myself, the idea and work for this was actually that of @Akuro.
Instant Trap Spells
This makes trap spells such as Skull Traps, Glyphs, and Symbols explode the instant something comes near them. I know I already uploaded this one in another thread somewhere, but I think I may keep most of my mods in this thread from now on. Anyway, This is a painfully easy fix considering how ridiculous the length of time is that some of these things take to explode. It is really a wonder that the devs have not implemented their own fix to this issue, especially considering how often I have seen people complain about it.
Shadow Armor for Rangers
This simply makes the Shadow Armor usable by rangers. Why not? They get stealth too! I mainly did this for the Stalker kit, but decided to let all rangers use it.
Non-Idiotic Phase Spider Spawns
This improves the AI of Phase spiders summoned by the Spider Spawn spell. Normally summoned phase spiders use the same AI scripts as hostile ones. The hostile ones are scripted to occasionally teleport to random party members when they see an enemy to keep you off guard. Since the summoned ones use the same script they also can do this; in fact they often seem to spend more time teleporting back and forth between your party members than they spend actually attacking your enemies. This is idiotic, so I gave them a new script to make them stop doing this. They will still teleport, but they will only teleport towards enemies now. Wild phase spiders are unchanged.
Fixed Grease Sound for Less Sonic Damage Done to Player
Much like the official web sound effect change that the devs made in response to complaints of the offensive sound that spell made, this will change grease to use a less offensive sound as well. Come to think of it, I believe the exact same sound effect was to blame in both cases... In any case, I believe this is truly a fix and not a tweak because of the nomenclature used by some of the relevant files. The of the 3 files associated with grease, eff_m31a.wav, eff_m31b.wav, and eff_m31c.wav, only two were actually in use by the spell. The third, eff_m31c.wav was replaced by the somewhat loud and offensive cre_m01.wav file for some reason. Thanks to @Alonso for setting me on the quest to solve this problem!
Party Friendly Comet Fix
The high level ability mage spell Comet is bugged in the current versions of the game in that it will hit party members as well as enemies. This will simply fix the spell so it only hurts enemies while we wait for an official fix. I also fixed a minor issue with the sound of the spell playing at the wrong time.
Limited Wish Rabbit Horde Fix
In the current version of the games one of the effects of the limited wish spell is bugged in that it will only summon 5 rabbits instead of a whole horde of them. While we wait for an official fix, this fixes the issue so that the spell will once again summon a whole ton of rabbits.
Bigger Bard Songs
Description here.
Indoor Lightning
Description here.