@Eathanu We aren't at the stage of adding in non-magical kits yet. But the Crusader is pretty much a Paladin with Cleric weapon restrictions. The Pugilist is a Fighter that specializes in unarmed combat over weapons. The Magic casting Monk is a largely a human restricted kit. So for demihumans I think the closest to a unarmed warrior would be the Pugilist.
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I'm only doing icons and descriptions for spells up to level 5 since that's where the BG1:EE level cap is at. When all of that is done we'll add level 6, 7, etc... spells. Best to spread out of the workload a bit.
Since I'm taking the information from the Wizard's Spell Compendium, they have a small group of spells that fit into a category of Universal magic. Universal is pretty much the same as Generalist.
They are Read Magic, Identify, Knock, Dispel Magic, Remove Curse & Teleport. So even though a spell like Knock is Alteration, any mage can use it. This isn't a bit issue, since it can be turned on or off, but I think it must be useful to have these open to all mages.
I'm halfway through typing up the Arcane (level 1-5) spell strings, so when they are done I'll do the icons. and then start on the Priest spells.
Ok just finished the 300 description strings. And now ready to convert the .bam files, however there is one question left...
With "Enchanted Weapon" you can only summon a mace, axe, long sword or short sword. However in p&p any weapon is possible to be created, even magical ammo. The problem is that introducing all the weapon and ammo types would make scrolling through annoying. So I'm thinking of splitting the spell into four versions, each based on a type of weapon damage; slashing, piercing, crushing and missile.
Enchanted Weapon: Slashing
- Bastard Sword - Long Sword - Short Sword - Axe - Two-Handed Sword - Katana - Scimitar - Ninjato
Technically Throwing Axe and Throwing Dagger should be in the Missile category, but by placing them in piercing it evens each group, otherwise "Enchanted Weapon: Piercing" would have only 4 choices. Any feedback on the categories? Otherwise I'm going to get their .bams ready.
Also there is a spell called Tenser's Master of Arms that raises a weapon proficiency point up by one. So there is a similar problem. There's a max of 12 icons before getting to scrolling problems. Instead of splitting this spell up into four different components, I'm thinking of merging some of the weapon proficiencies together.
- Swords (Bastard, Long, Short, Two-Handed, Katana & Scimitar) - Quarterstaff - Spear - Halberd - Mace/Morning Star/Flail (BG1 groups Maces and Morning Stars while, BG2 groups Morning Stars and Flails) - Dagger - Club - Axe - Sling - Dart - Crossbow/Bow (Figure since you can't equip both, it doesn't matter which) - Hammer
This gets under the 12 slot limit.
Also the Polymorph Self spell sends a group of options directly to your innate skill menu. I think they should be selected upon casting the spell. Here are the options currently in the game.
- Wolf - Black Bear - Brown Bear - Mustard Jelly - Spider - Ogre - Flind
I think the Spider one should be removed, because there is a drow shapeshifting spell planned for the mod. There's not really any guidelines for what forms should be part of the Polymorph Self spell. Also Polymorph Other only have the option to turn creatures in squirrels, I think there should be other options like chickens. So I'm really looking for suggestions here
Once these subspells are sorted, then I can get their icon designs done and then make the .bams.
The enchanted weapon deal sounds really nice, I say hit the button.
As for shapeshift, please let me be a snake. After that, all I need is an Halruaan skyship and I'll be all set. And being a bat might be nice as well... at night, at any rate.
Also there is a spell called Tenser's Master of Arms that raises a weapon proficiency point up by one. So there is a similar problem. There's a max of 12 icons before getting to scrolling problems. Instead of splitting this spell up into four different components, I'm thinking of merging some of the weapon proficiencies together.
- Swords (Bastard, Long, Short, Two-Handed, Katana & Scimitar) - Quarterstaff - Spear - Halberd - Mace/Morning Star/Flail (BG1 groups Maces and Morning Stars while, BG2 groups Morning Stars and Flails) - Dagger - Club - Axe - Sling - Dart - Crossbow/Bow (Figure since you can't equip both, it doesn't matter which) - Hammer
I would think maces would be better grouped with clubs and hammers and swords perhaps split into straight (long, short, bastard, great) and curved (scimitar, katana, wakizashi and ninja-to). I would also consider merging spears and halberds because really, polearms are pretty interchangeable in use if not function.
And I had forgotten how frustratingly limiting AD&D classes and kits are, especially regarding what races can be what. Oh well, maybe pugilist will be good enough.
With Polymorph Other, the horse and cow animations can't be used so these 14 are the only possible ones. We need to cull 2 out of the 14 for them to fit into the menu.
With Polymorph Self, it needs to be slightly different to a Druid's shapeshifting ability. So I think the Druid shapeshifting ability and the drow Spider Shape spell should have access to multiple types of their specialized creature. While the Polymorph Self is limited to creatures of that spell's level, so it wouldn't scale with the level of the caster.
I think we should avoid putting any creature of the lower planes into Polymorph Self, because there is an evil Polymorph spell called Fiendform that morphs the caster into a random demon like a Tanar'ri.
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Also another question about spells with dual functions. Should they be split into two subspells selected via subicons or should they be cast depending on the target. Here are the spells I'm talking about
Flame Arrow - Inflicts fire damage - Grants character fire arrow ammo
Melf's Minute Meteors - Discharges 5 meteors per round for 3 rounds - Discharges 1 meteor per round for 15 rounds
Flamesterd's Firestrike - Inflicts fire damage - Sets a fire damaging trap
Ice Storm - Inflicts a zone of ice damage - Reduces speed and accuracy by 50%
Fire Stones - Grants ally stones to throw - Launches stones in one go as a missile
Blastbones - Launches a direct attack against undead - Creates an undead monster that is rigged to explode
Flame Arrow, Maladweomer, Elude Blow, Remove Curse and Fire Stones can all be sorted by applying a .EFF file that detects if the target is an ally or enemy. But the others are difficult.
Ice Storm could probably have it's effects merged together. Melf's Meteors has to either have one function of attack only or be split into subspells. Flamesterd's Flamestrike and Blastbones are difficult because the game finds it hard to distinguish between area or creature targets. Unless anyone knows of a way to fix this, we'll have to either make them subspells or just pick one effect.
Also the spells....
- Protection from Evil/Protection from Good - Tenser's Flaming Blade: Frost/Tenser's Flaming Blade: Fire - Otto's Drums of Despair/Otto's Rousing Anthem
... are reversible but again might be a bit frustrating because selecting them from a tiny subspell menu could be annoying. So maybe we split them into separate scrolls?
Or we can do what the rules of Fire Shield and Lightning Shield says, which is that when learning them from a scroll two forms are added to the spellbook. From there you must memorize which one you want to use. So basically when learning from a scoll, both reversible forms of the spell are added to the spellbook and from there you can keep both or remove the one you don't want.
Nearly done all the spell icons. I think we could leave the polymorph icons until we get around to doing the druid shapeshifting abilities since they'll have the same or similar icons.
The only spell left that I'm having difficulty with is "Create Enchanted Tattoo". This is a Red Wizard exclusive spell that has 12 subspells each representing a different tattoo that gives the caster a different bonus. I can use roman numerals for the 12 subspells but I was thinking of using the Red Wizard's crest as the icon. The problem being that the one found on google images is a pretty underwhelming design. Just a bunch of orbs floating round a electrocuted star. So I'm wondering if anyone knows of a better Red Wizard symbol?
I've split the reversible spells up except for Fire Shield, Lightning Shield and Tenser's Flaming Blade of which will gives the caster two memorized spells instead of one. The other reversible spells will rely on their targets for their specific effect.
There's two spells I'm slightly unsure about. One is the drow spell called Wonderform that transforms the drow into a Wingless Wonder, but since there is no infinity engine animation for that... maybe it will turn the drow into a Drider with the creature animation from IWD2? The second is Resist Turning, it grants immunity from a Cleric's turn undead ability. This I think has absolutely no use in game since I don't think any enemies use the Turn Undead ability, but it's incredibly easy to implement and might have some purpose down the track.
I probably won't get the .bams done until 5 or so days from now. But I'll get the icon designs posted to get feedback on.
Hey there, quick question I didnt see while looking through here. It seems there is a max of 24 visable spells per level when selecting which ones to memorize despite there sometimes being more than 24 known. For instance zone of sweet air is not visable in a Mystra cleric as there are 24 spells that come before it and thus you cannot memorize it or cast it. Is there a way to fix this or is it hardcoded into the game? I tried with and without the archaic gui.
@xiviriel this is a known problem, in the future it is possible that some similar spells, or spells which are the opposite of each other (e.g. cure/cause wounds) will be grouped under one spell, and you will choose at the point of casting. This should remove the chances of having too many spells per level.
@Mordeus@Requiem probably shouldn't ask so early but when do You plan releasing full version of this mod (with full version I mean all kits/spells that You've planned)? I'm waiting for my next play-through for this mod among few others (oddly I never liked playing beta versions - no offense) and wanted to know if I'll have to wait a month, few months or longer for it :P But, no pressure boys:)
Can't stand a vanilla run anymore - it bores me I'm afraid:( I've just seen all this before so many times (except Dorn, Neera and Rashaad naturally, but I'm disappointed with them a bit) that it's no longer enough to me.
So, without Faiths of Faerun (I bet You'll change the name of it :P), Archaic GUI (yeah I'm waiting for complete work of @Archaic genius mind), Dark Side of Sword Coast (I have unusually high hopes for enhanced version of this one) and BG1 NPC Project (@Kaeloree c'mon :P) I'm not playing anymore. Period.
Yes, there are many cool mods here on this forum already, but these few above are a must have for me to enjoy BGEE again. And a new patch naturally (oh I really hope it's coming on May).
Bottom line I support this mod a lot and can't wait for final release (well, not beta at least).
@cahir We've just started work on all the arcane spells for BG1 (level 1-5) so thats going to be the next big release. Then we'll go back and update the divine spells after. Then after that will add in individual kits. Then after that we'll work on BG2 spells. As for a timeframe, I'm not quite sure when the level 1-5 arcane spells will be done.
Ok, here's the arcane level 1 to 5 icons designed. In 5 days time I'll be posting them with their scroll and interface backgrounds plus some shadowing effects to get them approved before I then convert them into .bams.
The colours may seem a little saturated but they'll adjust themselves in the game.
I've started to get shadow and glow effects onto the icons. But the colouring system is a little tricky.
In this demo graphic, I've converted the enchantment icons in their three types and I've gone with the traditional red (offensive), blue (defensive) and white (other). The problem is that the red colour outnumbers everything by far. So I'm thinking of using this system:
Attack - Red Defense - Deep Blue Positive Status - Cyan Disabling Status - Pink Polymorph/Summon - Purple Other/Creation - Light Yellow
So Red and Pink are offensive, one for mainly damaging for red, and mainly disabling for pink. While the defensive ones will be blue for physical/saving throw defense and cyan for positive status effects.
Then purple, the middle ground colour would be for summoning/polymorph/shapeshift spells. And for other spells that don't fit in with the above system with use a pale gold. White should be avoided because it ends up looking greyish.
I think that covers everything without going overboard. Other suggestions are welcome.
@Mordeus Man, the hours you must be putting into this... Personally, I think the white/grey icons in the demo are looking very good and don't think you need to avoid them. Apart from that I'm all for your proposed new colour markings.
Just to keep people informed, while @mordeus has been working on the spell icons I have started the seemingly endless task of making the new spells. So far the abjuration school is almost done, and it's looking pretty good.
The main issue I think will be testing; it's extremely time consuming to test every single spell in multiple scenarios, so we will be relying on those who download our mod to report any bugs.
As a seperate point, we would both also like to extend a big thanks to those who have downloaded, played, enjoyed and commented on the mod and any of it's components, it's knowing that peoples experiences are being enhanced that drives us to continue.
With "Enchanted Weapon" you can only summon a mace, axe, long sword or short sword. However in p&p any weapon is possible to be created, even magical ammo. The problem is that introducing all the weapon and ammo types would make scrolling through annoying. So I'm thinking of splitting the spell into four versions, each based on a type of weapon damage; slashing, piercing, crushing and missile.
My only issue with this is virsatility. this would be neat if you also had a genric "enchanted weapon" spell also, but as of right now i only need one spell slot for EW and then choose a blunt or slashing weapon, in your proposal I would need to use up two slots to prepare for an unknown situation.
As a seperate point, we would both also like to extend a big thanks to those who have downloaded, played, enjoyed and commented on the mod and any of it's components, it's knowing that peoples experiences are being enhanced that drives us to continue.
Very much looking forward to the next version. Waiting patiently!
Looks fantastic. I'd advise against using additional background colors. The current system (REd/White/Blue) is very intuitive, I fear that mixing two kind of colors (Front color / back color) will make identifying spells at a glance very hard when someone first starts using your mod.
@Aranthys I had to ditch the glow effect anyways, it only worked if the main icon was white.
The problem with the current red, white, blue system is that red outnumbers everything by 5 to 1. So it starts to become a tad redundant. It's also a bit of a headache to classify some spells as the three colours since there are overlaps. I tried to implement it but there were so many inconsistencies emerging that it's going to be something I'll look to after I've done the first style.
So for now I'm just going with the 8 school colours because it doesn't require much thought on my part. And the nonmagical icons will just be silver. I've tried to redesign the icons with symbols that do most of the communication.
@Grammarsalad Even if monks were modded to use two handed weapons, such as quarterstaffs, there are no animations for it in the game so it wouldn't be possible to display it on screen. The monk would just look unarmed.
I know. However, it would be a step in the right direction.
I believe it is possible--i recall there is a mods like this somewhere--I think there is an opcode for it--for an equipped item to change ones avatar (to fighter say). whether that includes 2h weapon animations per se idk, but I'd like to give it a try.
EDIT: While I have your attention, it would be nice if there was a stickied thread at the top of this forum listing bgee externalizations. I see enough and I might buy the game
@Grammarsalad That's pretty much how it works. We've applied the Use Any Item ability on all kits, but then we've restricted access to certain items through multiple .spl files. It's a useability system that does things in reverse.
One way to do a monk kit that uses weapons is to change the kit's animation to that of a fighter or cleric. It's not perfect but it's one way of getting around the animation limits.
@Snakesonaskyship@Cahir nothing major at the moment, we're slowly getting through the spells. It's tedious work but we'll get there.
There's one thing I can get together though, and that is a list of kits I've gathered from 2ed. Got my hand on some Dragon magazines, so with that and the main supplements I'm putting together an official list of nearly every official 2ed kits. So if the spells are taking a little longer, then we could put together some kits in between. Some are rather easy to make.
Here are some very brief descriptions of the viable 1ed/2ed kits gained from official supplements and Dragon magazine. Some kits I've combined, such as the Feral from Dragon magazine with the Feralan from the Ranger Supplement because they are very similar.
I had a table format to show the racial categories, but it didn't work out all too well. So that could be discussed later. But the idea is that if you like any of the kits, we could throw it together in the break between making spells.
The general idea is to get kits that are unique and fulfill a certain niche. Some of the kits I've selected can be categorized into specific categories. For example there's around 8 Oriental Adventures kits, and there's a ranged specialized for each race. I'll be typing up the full kit descriptions sometime in the future.
Fighter Kits
- Archer (Human): Bow specialist. - Archer (Elf): Bow specialist, switches between two firing modes (aim or rapid fire), - Archer (Halfling): Bow specialist, has access to Trick Shot ability. - Artificer (Gnome): Firearm specialist, has invention abilities. - Battlerager (Dwarf): Enters a berserker's rage immediately upon seeing the enemy. - Berserker: Same as BG2. - Bladesinger: Elven fencing specialist. - Duelist: Fencing specialist. - Giant Killer: Bonus against giants. - Guardian (Halfling): Halfling equivalent to a Paladin without the Divine magic. - Kensai: Same as BG2. - Orcslayer (Dwarf): Stronger Berserker but with very severe penalties. - Sharpshooter (Dwarf): Crossbow specialist. - Slinger (Halfling): Sling specialist, has access to the Trick Shot ability. - Spellarcher (Half-Elf): Enchants arrows with a Touch ranged spell. - Stalker (Gnome): Similar to the ranger kit. - Wizard Slayer: Similar to BG2 but with extra bonuses.
Ranger Kits
- Beastmaster: Same as BG2. - Falconer: Gains a falcon familiar. - Feralan: Ranger that can activate a rage representative of an animal. - Limbant (Human): Ranger imbued with the physical attributes of a plant. - Justifier (Human): Cross between a Ranger and Paladin. - Seeker: Gains the ability to wield magic items like a Druid. - Stalker (Human): Same as BG2.
Paladin Kits
- Blackguard: Same as BG2. - Cavalier: Generates an aura of fear immunity. - Ghosthunter: Similar to BG2's Undead Hunter. - Inquisitor: Same as BG2. - Medician: Generates an aura of healing. - Paramander: Has access to arcane spells. - Samurai: Has access to Shout and Greater Shout. - Sentinel: Defensive paladin that has heighten detection abilities. - Votary/Divinate: Has damage bonus versus oppositional religions. - Wyrmslayer: Designed to defeat dragons.
Monk Kits
- Battle Dancer: Has access to magical dances. - Holy Monk: Has access to divine magic. - Sohei: Militant monk. - Sumotori: Near immunity to blunt weaponry.
Cleric Kits
- Crusader: Halfway between a cleric and a paladin. - Flamespeaker: Barbarian cleric that can shapeshift into flame. - Medicine Man: Cures disease via touch and makes medicines. - Mystic: Creates magic candles and potions. - Runecaster: Uses rune magic to augment physical attributes. - Shaman: Conjures up spirits. - Vindicator: Similar to a Battlerager. - Witch Doctor: Half-Orc version of the Medicine Man.
Druid Kits
- Avenger: Same as BG2. - Beastfriend: Similar to Beastmaster. - Hivemaster: Has control over hive mind beings. - Pacifist: Restricted from hand to hand combat. - Shapeshifter: Similar to BG2. - Totemic Druid: Same as BG2.
Sorcerer Kits
- Alchemist: Creates specific potions for combat. - Elven Dualist: Specializes in oppositional schools of magic. - Incantatrix: Meta-mage that specializes in negating mages. - Scribe: Cannot cast spells traditionally, but can scribe and use any spell. - Sha'ir: Summons genies that give the caster various spellcasting abilities. - Witch: Creates harmful potions and hexes. - Wu Jen: Draws on magic from the 5 oriental elements.
Thief Kits
- Acrobat: Nimble and agile fighter specializing in the quarterstaff. - Assassin: Same as BG2. - Bounty Hunter: Same as BG2. - Manhunter: Specializes in hunting down humanoids. Each attack has a chance to stun. - Ninja: Has access to ninja magic. - Scout: Ranger/Thief mix. - Shadow (Half-Orc): Has a chance to assassinate by just attacking. - Shadow Walker: Thief with the ability to use shadow magic. - Swashbuckler: Same as BG2. - Tumbler (Gnome): Specializes in dodging melee attacks. - Urchin (Halfling): Specializes in pickpocketing.
Bard Kits
- Blade: Same as BG2 with extra features. - Charlatan: Specializes in deceiving and charming humanoids. - Dirgist: Necromantic based Bard with a song that has a Turn Undead effect. - Chanter (Dwarf): Specializes in chants that augment the party. - Gallant: Bard/Paladin mix. - Geisha: Has access to oriental theater magic. - Jester: Same as BG2 with extra bonuses. - Jongleur: Specializes in darts, throwing daggers & quarterstaves. - Meistersinger: Bard/Ranger mix with the ability to charm animals with song. - Minstrel (Elf): Casts magic through song. - Professor (Gnome): Instead of singing the professor lectures the party and the enemy. - Riddlemaster: Bard with a high intellect that protects against mental effects. - Skald: Same as BG2. - Thespian: Martial arts Bard specialist. - Whistler (Halfling): Summons winds that disguise and aid the party in fleeing.
Special Kits
- Savant: Cleric or Mage kit that acts as a "Gorion" type role. - Undead Slayer (Elf): Fighter, Thief or Cleric kit that gains undead slaying abilities, for example the ability to turn water into holy water.
If memory serves, both the Bladesinger and the Elven Minstrel are multiclass kits (for Fighter/Mage and Thief/Mage respectively) and, at least for the Bladesinger, much of its flavour (and some of its abilities) are meant to press on that harmonious combination of these two classes. So does this mean you will never implement multiclass kits?
As for the Minstrel - I never quite understood what the qualities granted by this class were, as far as I could see the book granted no abilities at all. The way I saw it the minstrel was like a demi-paladin, that is they were meant to grant to a race that could not pick the original class, a multiclass equivalent, and then grant that multiclass combination some (or all) of the qualities of the original single class. What abilities would a bard-minstrel receive? Or will the ability of the elf to pick the bard class be the "unique" element about this kit?
@callimachus It looked to me that the Elven Minstrel was the first incarnation of the Spellsinger class, since the Minstrel's described role was that of a "spellsinger" in the Bard's Handbook. The Spellsinger is described in Wizard and Rogues of the Realms, and I think was also elaborated upon in a Elven or Harper supplement (I can't remember which right now). So I was thinking of using some aspects of the Spellsinger for the Elven Minstrel, since using using the name Spellsinger would be a little too similar to the Bladesinger title.
Or I could do this.... The Elven Minstrel seems to hint that it works like the "Song Mage" where they specialise in magic with pure vocal components. So instead of casting magic traditionally through the spellbook, they'd cast it through their Bard's Song. So we could make it that the Elven Minstrel has their spellbook blocked out but upon reaching a certain level they'd gain a spell accessed automatically through the spell button. However this spell would only be used to change the effects of the Bard's Song and not be an active spell in itself. So if you select the sleep spell, it would turn the Bard's Song into a song that turns enemies to sleep, if you select the blind spell it would turn the Bard's Song into a song that blinds enemies, etc... The trick would be that you have to alternate between the songs, as you can only have one active at one time. We could add a limitation where everytime you sing, the spells are drained one charge, just if we have to balance things.
So the Elven Minstrel would eventually have 12 songs available to them but the tradeoff would the loss of traditional spellcasting. The Dwarven Chanter and Halfling Whistler aren't allowed to use magic either, so I might have to do a similar take on their kits. Dragon magazine has a dwarf kit that is full of "chants", so that could be combined with the Dwarven Chanter and the Halfling Whistler might have to have a randomized Bard's Song where it alters the weather as a side-effect (you might summon a lightning storm, a fog to conceal your movements, etc...). Luckily the Gnome Professor has the same limitations as the Illusionist.
I'm cautious about making kit with the proper disadvantages. Some of the existing kits in the game will have to be edited to give them disadvantages. Don't want to make the True Classes redundant.
As for the Bladesinger, multi-class kits aren't possible right now so the closest thing is to emulate that (you can only ever kit on half of a multi-class, and the kit title or description is hardcoded). For example it could use the mage button interface as a base but have some fighter attributes. So it would specialise in only one chosen weapon and have some magic to augment its' fighting. I'm not exactly sure on where to go with this but there's enough information to make something out of the Bladesinger.
The idea is to use the official source material as closely as possible, but some creative license will have to be taken where things aren't possible. Aside from introducing official kits, the other idea is to contribute new ways to playing classes. So we're going to largely avoid making kits that just have superficial changes.
The Spellsinger has amazing flavour, but it isn't a very practical class in combat, and that is doubly true in a game like BG which is not P&P. Waiting multiple rounds in order to cast a single spell is begging to be killed. I'm not sure I understand your second suggestion for the minstrel - they would be ordinary bards, except with only 12 spells at maximum level, which will replace both their casting and their original music abilities? Presumably they would have been able to cast those spells before, so what's the up side?
Comments
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I'm only doing icons and descriptions for spells up to level 5 since that's where the BG1:EE level cap is at. When all of that is done we'll add level 6, 7, etc... spells. Best to spread out of the workload a bit.
Since I'm taking the information from the Wizard's Spell Compendium, they have a small group of spells that fit into a category of Universal magic. Universal is pretty much the same as Generalist.
They are Read Magic, Identify, Knock, Dispel Magic, Remove Curse & Teleport. So even though a spell like Knock is Alteration, any mage can use it. This isn't a bit issue, since it can be turned on or off, but I think it must be useful to have these open to all mages.
I'm halfway through typing up the Arcane (level 1-5) spell strings, so when they are done I'll do the icons. and then start on the Priest spells.
With "Enchanted Weapon" you can only summon a mace, axe, long sword or short sword. However in p&p any weapon is possible to be created, even magical ammo. The problem is that introducing all the weapon and ammo types would make scrolling through annoying. So I'm thinking of splitting the spell into four versions, each based on a type of weapon damage; slashing, piercing, crushing and missile.
Enchanted Weapon: Slashing
- Bastard Sword
- Long Sword
- Short Sword
- Axe
- Two-Handed Sword
- Katana
- Scimitar
- Ninjato
Enchanted Weapon: Piercing
- Wakizashi
- Dagger
- Spear
- Halberd
- Throwing Axe
- Throwing Dagger
Enchanted Weapon: Crushing
- War Hammer
- Club
- Flail
- Morning Star
- Mace
- Quarterstaff
Enchanted Weapon: Missile
- Crossbow
- Longbow
- Shortbow
- Dart
- Sling
- Arrow
- Bolt
- Bullet
Technically Throwing Axe and Throwing Dagger should be in the Missile category, but by placing them in piercing it evens each group, otherwise "Enchanted Weapon: Piercing" would have only 4 choices. Any feedback on the categories? Otherwise I'm going to get their .bams ready.
Also there is a spell called Tenser's Master of Arms that raises a weapon proficiency point up by one. So there is a similar problem. There's a max of 12 icons before getting to scrolling problems. Instead of splitting this spell up into four different components, I'm thinking of merging some of the weapon proficiencies together.
- Swords (Bastard, Long, Short, Two-Handed, Katana & Scimitar)
- Quarterstaff
- Spear
- Halberd
- Mace/Morning Star/Flail (BG1 groups Maces and Morning Stars while, BG2 groups Morning Stars and Flails)
- Dagger
- Club
- Axe
- Sling
- Dart
- Crossbow/Bow (Figure since you can't equip both, it doesn't matter which)
- Hammer
This gets under the 12 slot limit.
Also the Polymorph Self spell sends a group of options directly to your innate skill menu. I think they should be selected upon casting the spell. Here are the options currently in the game.
- Wolf
- Black Bear
- Brown Bear
- Mustard Jelly
- Spider
- Ogre
- Flind
I think the Spider one should be removed, because there is a drow shapeshifting spell planned for the mod. There's not really any guidelines for what forms should be part of the Polymorph Self spell. Also Polymorph Other only have the option to turn creatures in squirrels, I think there should be other options like chickens. So I'm really looking for suggestions here
Once these subspells are sorted, then I can get their icon designs done and then make the .bams.
As for shapeshift, please let me be a snake. After that, all I need is an Halruaan skyship and I'll be all set. And being a bat might be nice as well... at night, at any rate.
And I had forgotten how frustratingly limiting AD&D classes and kits are, especially regarding what races can be what. Oh well, maybe pugilist will be good enough.
Polymorph Other:
- Bat
- Butterfly
- Cat
- Chicken
- Deer
- Dog
- Ferret
- Flying Bird
- Groundhog
- Moose
- Pheasant
- Rabbit
- Rat
- Squirrel
Polymorph Self:
- Bear
- Carrion Crawler
- Ettercap
- Gibberling
- Gnoll
- Goblin
- Hobgoblin
- Jelly
- Kobold
- Large Cat
- Ogre
- Orc
- Snake
- Spider
- Troll
- Wolf
- Wyvern
- Xvart
With Polymorph Other, the horse and cow animations can't be used so these 14 are the only possible ones. We need to cull 2 out of the 14 for them to fit into the menu.
With Polymorph Self, it needs to be slightly different to a Druid's shapeshifting ability. So I think the Druid shapeshifting ability and the drow Spider Shape spell should have access to multiple types of their specialized creature. While the Polymorph Self is limited to creatures of that spell's level, so it wouldn't scale with the level of the caster.
I think we should avoid putting any creature of the lower planes into Polymorph Self, because there is an evil Polymorph spell called Fiendform that morphs the caster into a random demon like a Tanar'ri.
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Also another question about spells with dual functions. Should they be split into two subspells selected via subicons or should they be cast depending on the target. Here are the spells I'm talking about
Flame Arrow
- Inflicts fire damage
- Grants character fire arrow ammo
Melf's Minute Meteors
- Discharges 5 meteors per round for 3 rounds
- Discharges 1 meteor per round for 15 rounds
Flamesterd's Firestrike
- Inflicts fire damage
- Sets a fire damaging trap
Ice Storm
- Inflicts a zone of ice damage
- Reduces speed and accuracy by 50%
Maladweomer
- Increases spell potential
- Decreases spell potential
Elude Blow
- Increases melee accuracy
- Decreases melee accuracy
Remove Curse
- Removes a curse
- Bestows a curse
Fire Stones
- Grants ally stones to throw
- Launches stones in one go as a missile
Blastbones
- Launches a direct attack against undead
- Creates an undead monster that is rigged to explode
Flame Arrow, Maladweomer, Elude Blow, Remove Curse and Fire Stones can all be sorted by applying a .EFF file that detects if the target is an ally or enemy. But the others are difficult.
Ice Storm could probably have it's effects merged together. Melf's Meteors has to either have one function of attack only or be split into subspells. Flamesterd's Flamestrike and Blastbones are difficult because the game finds it hard to distinguish between area or creature targets. Unless anyone knows of a way to fix this, we'll have to either make them subspells or just pick one effect.
Also the spells....
- Protection from Evil/Protection from Good
- Tenser's Flaming Blade: Frost/Tenser's Flaming Blade: Fire
- Otto's Drums of Despair/Otto's Rousing Anthem
... are reversible but again might be a bit frustrating because selecting them from a tiny subspell menu could be annoying. So maybe we split them into separate scrolls?
Or we can do what the rules of Fire Shield and Lightning Shield says, which is that when learning them from a scroll two forms are added to the spellbook. From there you must memorize which one you want to use. So basically when learning from a scoll, both reversible forms of the spell are added to the spellbook and from there you can keep both or remove the one you don't want.
The only spell left that I'm having difficulty with is "Create Enchanted Tattoo". This is a Red Wizard exclusive spell that has 12 subspells each representing a different tattoo that gives the caster a different bonus. I can use roman numerals for the 12 subspells but I was thinking of using the Red Wizard's crest as the icon. The problem being that the one found on google images is a pretty underwhelming design. Just a bunch of orbs floating round a electrocuted star. So I'm wondering if anyone knows of a better Red Wizard symbol?
I've split the reversible spells up except for Fire Shield, Lightning Shield and Tenser's Flaming Blade of which will gives the caster two memorized spells instead of one. The other reversible spells will rely on their targets for their specific effect.
There's two spells I'm slightly unsure about. One is the drow spell called Wonderform that transforms the drow into a Wingless Wonder, but since there is no infinity engine animation for that... maybe it will turn the drow into a Drider with the creature animation from IWD2? The second is Resist Turning, it grants immunity from a Cleric's turn undead ability. This I think has absolutely no use in game since I don't think any enemies use the Turn Undead ability, but it's incredibly easy to implement and might have some purpose down the track.
I probably won't get the .bams done until 5 or so days from now. But I'll get the icon designs posted to get feedback on.
It seems there is a max of 24 visable spells per level when selecting which ones to memorize despite there sometimes being more than 24 known. For instance zone of sweet air is not visable in a Mystra cleric as there are 24 spells that come before it and thus you cannot memorize it or cast it.
Is there a way to fix this or is it hardcoded into the game? I tried with and without the archaic gui.
Can't stand a vanilla run anymore - it bores me I'm afraid:(
I've just seen all this before so many times (except Dorn, Neera and Rashaad naturally, but I'm disappointed with them a bit) that it's no longer enough to me.
So, without Faiths of Faerun (I bet You'll change the name of it :P), Archaic GUI (yeah I'm waiting for complete work of @Archaic genius mind), Dark Side of Sword Coast (I have unusually high hopes for enhanced version of this one) and BG1 NPC Project (@Kaeloree c'mon :P) I'm not playing anymore. Period.
Yes, there are many cool mods here on this forum already, but these few above are a must have for me to enjoy BGEE again. And a new patch naturally (oh I really hope it's coming on May).
Bottom line I support this mod a lot and can't wait for final release (well, not beta at least).
The colours may seem a little saturated but they'll adjust themselves in the game.
In this demo graphic, I've converted the enchantment icons in their three types and I've gone with the traditional red (offensive), blue (defensive) and white (other). The problem is that the red colour outnumbers everything by far. So I'm thinking of using this system:
Attack - Red
Defense - Deep Blue
Positive Status - Cyan
Disabling Status - Pink
Polymorph/Summon - Purple
Other/Creation - Light Yellow
So Red and Pink are offensive, one for mainly damaging for red, and mainly disabling for pink. While the defensive ones will be blue for physical/saving throw defense and cyan for positive status effects.
Then purple, the middle ground colour would be for summoning/polymorph/shapeshift spells. And for other spells that don't fit in with the above system with use a pale gold. White should be avoided because it ends up looking greyish.
I think that covers everything without going overboard. Other suggestions are welcome.
As usual, impressed by the things you produce.
The main issue I think will be testing; it's extremely time consuming to test every single spell in multiple scenarios, so we will be relying on those who download our mod to report any bugs.
As a seperate point, we would both also like to extend a big thanks to those who have downloaded, played, enjoyed and commented on the mod and any of it's components, it's knowing that peoples experiences are being enhanced that drives us to continue.
I'd advise against using additional background colors.
The current system (REd/White/Blue) is very intuitive, I fear that mixing two kind of colors (Front color / back color) will make identifying spells at a glance very hard when someone first starts using your mod.
The problem with the current red, white, blue system is that red outnumbers everything by 5 to 1. So it starts to become a tad redundant. It's also a bit of a headache to classify some spells as the three colours since there are overlaps. I tried to implement it but there were so many inconsistencies emerging that it's going to be something I'll look to after I've done the first style.
So for now I'm just going with the 8 school colours because it doesn't require much thought on my part. And the nonmagical icons will just be silver. I've tried to redesign the icons with symbols that do most of the communication.
*blown away*
What about monks? Can they use two handed weapons? (ya never know!)
I know. However, it would be a step in the right direction.
I believe it is possible--i recall there is a mods like this somewhere--I think there is an opcode for it--for an equipped item to change ones avatar (to fighter say). whether that includes 2h weapon animations per se idk, but I'd like to give it a try.
EDIT: While I have your attention, it would be nice if there was a stickied thread at the top of this forum listing bgee externalizations. I see enough and I might buy the game
One way to do a monk kit that uses weapons is to change the kit's animation to that of a fighter or cleric. It's not perfect but it's one way of getting around the animation limits.
@Snakesonaskyship @Cahir nothing major at the moment, we're slowly getting through the spells. It's tedious work but we'll get there.
There's one thing I can get together though, and that is a list of kits I've gathered from 2ed. Got my hand on some Dragon magazines, so with that and the main supplements I'm putting together an official list of nearly every official 2ed kits. So if the spells are taking a little longer, then we could put together some kits in between. Some are rather easy to make.
I had a table format to show the racial categories, but it didn't work out all too well. So that could be discussed later. But the idea is that if you like any of the kits, we could throw it together in the break between making spells.
The general idea is to get kits that are unique and fulfill a certain niche. Some of the kits I've selected can be categorized into specific categories. For example there's around 8 Oriental Adventures kits, and there's a ranged specialized for each race. I'll be typing up the full kit descriptions sometime in the future.
Fighter Kits
- Archer (Human): Bow specialist.
- Archer (Elf): Bow specialist, switches between two firing modes (aim or rapid fire),
- Archer (Halfling): Bow specialist, has access to Trick Shot ability.
- Artificer (Gnome): Firearm specialist, has invention abilities.
- Battlerager (Dwarf): Enters a berserker's rage immediately upon seeing the enemy.
- Berserker: Same as BG2.
- Bladesinger: Elven fencing specialist.
- Duelist: Fencing specialist.
- Giant Killer: Bonus against giants.
- Guardian (Halfling): Halfling equivalent to a Paladin without the Divine magic.
- Kensai: Same as BG2.
- Orcslayer (Dwarf): Stronger Berserker but with very severe penalties.
- Sharpshooter (Dwarf): Crossbow specialist.
- Slinger (Halfling): Sling specialist, has access to the Trick Shot ability.
- Spellarcher (Half-Elf): Enchants arrows with a Touch ranged spell.
- Stalker (Gnome): Similar to the ranger kit.
- Wizard Slayer: Similar to BG2 but with extra bonuses.
Ranger Kits
- Beastmaster: Same as BG2.
- Falconer: Gains a falcon familiar.
- Feralan: Ranger that can activate a rage representative of an animal.
- Limbant (Human): Ranger imbued with the physical attributes of a plant.
- Justifier (Human): Cross between a Ranger and Paladin.
- Seeker: Gains the ability to wield magic items like a Druid.
- Stalker (Human): Same as BG2.
Paladin Kits
- Blackguard: Same as BG2.
- Cavalier: Generates an aura of fear immunity.
- Ghosthunter: Similar to BG2's Undead Hunter.
- Inquisitor: Same as BG2.
- Medician: Generates an aura of healing.
- Paramander: Has access to arcane spells.
- Samurai: Has access to Shout and Greater Shout.
- Sentinel: Defensive paladin that has heighten detection abilities.
- Votary/Divinate: Has damage bonus versus oppositional religions.
- Wyrmslayer: Designed to defeat dragons.
Monk Kits
- Battle Dancer: Has access to magical dances.
- Holy Monk: Has access to divine magic.
- Sohei: Militant monk.
- Sumotori: Near immunity to blunt weaponry.
Cleric Kits
- Crusader: Halfway between a cleric and a paladin.
- Flamespeaker: Barbarian cleric that can shapeshift into flame.
- Medicine Man: Cures disease via touch and makes medicines.
- Mystic: Creates magic candles and potions.
- Runecaster: Uses rune magic to augment physical attributes.
- Shaman: Conjures up spirits.
- Vindicator: Similar to a Battlerager.
- Witch Doctor: Half-Orc version of the Medicine Man.
Druid Kits
- Avenger: Same as BG2.
- Beastfriend: Similar to Beastmaster.
- Hivemaster: Has control over hive mind beings.
- Pacifist: Restricted from hand to hand combat.
- Shapeshifter: Similar to BG2.
- Totemic Druid: Same as BG2.
Sorcerer Kits
- Alchemist: Creates specific potions for combat.
- Elven Dualist: Specializes in oppositional schools of magic.
- Incantatrix: Meta-mage that specializes in negating mages.
- Scribe: Cannot cast spells traditionally, but can scribe and use any spell.
- Sha'ir: Summons genies that give the caster various spellcasting abilities.
- Witch: Creates harmful potions and hexes.
- Wu Jen: Draws on magic from the 5 oriental elements.
Thief Kits
- Acrobat: Nimble and agile fighter specializing in the quarterstaff.
- Assassin: Same as BG2.
- Bounty Hunter: Same as BG2.
- Manhunter: Specializes in hunting down humanoids. Each attack has a chance to stun.
- Ninja: Has access to ninja magic.
- Scout: Ranger/Thief mix.
- Shadow (Half-Orc): Has a chance to assassinate by just attacking.
- Shadow Walker: Thief with the ability to use shadow magic.
- Swashbuckler: Same as BG2.
- Tumbler (Gnome): Specializes in dodging melee attacks.
- Urchin (Halfling): Specializes in pickpocketing.
Bard Kits
- Blade: Same as BG2 with extra features.
- Charlatan: Specializes in deceiving and charming humanoids.
- Dirgist: Necromantic based Bard with a song that has a Turn Undead effect.
- Chanter (Dwarf): Specializes in chants that augment the party.
- Gallant: Bard/Paladin mix.
- Geisha: Has access to oriental theater magic.
- Jester: Same as BG2 with extra bonuses.
- Jongleur: Specializes in darts, throwing daggers & quarterstaves.
- Meistersinger: Bard/Ranger mix with the ability to charm animals with song.
- Minstrel (Elf): Casts magic through song.
- Professor (Gnome): Instead of singing the professor lectures the party and the enemy.
- Riddlemaster: Bard with a high intellect that protects against mental effects.
- Skald: Same as BG2.
- Thespian: Martial arts Bard specialist.
- Whistler (Halfling): Summons winds that disguise and aid the party in fleeing.
Special Kits
- Savant: Cleric or Mage kit that acts as a "Gorion" type role.
- Undead Slayer (Elf): Fighter, Thief or Cleric kit that gains undead slaying abilities, for example the ability to turn water into holy water.
Just two questions:
If memory serves, both the Bladesinger and the Elven Minstrel are multiclass kits (for Fighter/Mage and Thief/Mage respectively) and, at least for the Bladesinger, much of its flavour (and some of its abilities) are meant to press on that harmonious combination of these two classes. So does this mean you will never implement multiclass kits?
As for the Minstrel - I never quite understood what the qualities granted by this class were, as far as I could see the book granted no abilities at all. The way I saw it the minstrel was like a demi-paladin, that is they were meant to grant to a race that could not pick the original class, a multiclass equivalent, and then grant that multiclass combination some (or all) of the qualities of the original single class. What abilities would a bard-minstrel receive? Or will the ability of the elf to pick the bard class be the "unique" element about this kit?
Or I could do this.... The Elven Minstrel seems to hint that it works like the "Song Mage" where they specialise in magic with pure vocal components. So instead of casting magic traditionally through the spellbook, they'd cast it through their Bard's Song. So we could make it that the Elven Minstrel has their spellbook blocked out but upon reaching a certain level they'd gain a spell accessed automatically through the spell button. However this spell would only be used to change the effects of the Bard's Song and not be an active spell in itself. So if you select the sleep spell, it would turn the Bard's Song into a song that turns enemies to sleep, if you select the blind spell it would turn the Bard's Song into a song that blinds enemies, etc... The trick would be that you have to alternate between the songs, as you can only have one active at one time. We could add a limitation where everytime you sing, the spells are drained one charge, just if we have to balance things.
So the Elven Minstrel would eventually have 12 songs available to them but the tradeoff would the loss of traditional spellcasting. The Dwarven Chanter and Halfling Whistler aren't allowed to use magic either, so I might have to do a similar take on their kits. Dragon magazine has a dwarf kit that is full of "chants", so that could be combined with the Dwarven Chanter and the Halfling Whistler might have to have a randomized Bard's Song where it alters the weather as a side-effect (you might summon a lightning storm, a fog to conceal your movements, etc...). Luckily the Gnome Professor has the same limitations as the Illusionist.
I'm cautious about making kit with the proper disadvantages. Some of the existing kits in the game will have to be edited to give them disadvantages. Don't want to make the True Classes redundant.
As for the Bladesinger, multi-class kits aren't possible right now so the closest thing is to emulate that (you can only ever kit on half of a multi-class, and the kit title or description is hardcoded). For example it could use the mage button interface as a base but have some fighter attributes. So it would specialise in only one chosen weapon and have some magic to augment its' fighting. I'm not exactly sure on where to go with this but there's enough information to make something out of the Bladesinger.
The idea is to use the official source material as closely as possible, but some creative license will have to be taken where things aren't possible. Aside from introducing official kits, the other idea is to contribute new ways to playing classes. So we're going to largely avoid making kits that just have superficial changes.
The Spellsinger has amazing flavour, but it isn't a very practical class in combat, and that is doubly true in a game like BG which is not P&P. Waiting multiple rounds in order to cast a single spell is begging to be killed.
I'm not sure I understand your second suggestion for the minstrel - they would be ordinary bards, except with only 12 spells at maximum level, which will replace both their casting and their original music abilities? Presumably they would have been able to cast those spells before, so what's the up side?