Did you know that if your reputation gets low enough that Amn sends forces after you in SoA, the Cowled Wizards don't come after you for casting spells anymore? Until today, I didn't.
My evil party will have to content themselves with slaughtering the army and their cowled enforcer support, rather than also killing groups of enforcers on their own. Oh well. At least selling their gear - five sets of full plate each time - pays very well. And unlike BG1, fighting the law doesn't further lower your reputation.
Did you know that if your reputation gets low enough that Amn sends forces after you in SoA, the Cowled Wizards don't come after you for casting spells anymore? Until today, I didn't.
My evil party will have to content themselves with slaughtering the army and their cowled enforcer support, rather than also killing groups of enforcers on their own. Oh well. At least selling their gear - five sets of full plate each time - pays very well. And unlike BG1, fighting the law doesn't further lower your reputation.
Did you know that the bug that allowed you to change a Blackguard to a Lawful Good Blackguard using the Helm of Opposite Alignment and the Girdle of Gender has been eliminated in EE?
Mae'Var is a mage thief and he's scripted to cast alot of powerful spells, but since he's been given a shadow armor to wear he can't do anything but stab.
Simply remove the armor in EEKeeper and that fixes it
Mae'Var is a mage thief and he's scripted to cast alot of powerful spells, but since he's been given a shadow armor to wear he can't do anything but stab.
Simply remove the armor in EEKeeper and that fixes it
Not sure if that's SCS doing but he always casts spells in my game.
This one's a bit obscure, as it won't come up unless you deliberately abuse things to make an NPC the protagonist. But it's funny enough, and it had me laughing when I first saw it.
You know how, when you're importing from a BGEE save to start BG2EE, you see the protagonist's name attached to the save? That reads a string field in the save file, which can be whatever you enter. But for NPCs recruited in-game, that field is blank. They read the creature name instead, which is an integer string reference. And the file referenced is different between the two games ...
You can guess where this is going. See the new alternate names for the Beamdog NPCs:
- The alliterative arcanist I would like to see your services.
- The fearsome blackguard I said nothing to you, Viconia! What brings this on?!
- The quirky mage Sometimes I feel as if the gods are testing me, little one... but overall, yes, they watch over me most kindly.
- The earnest monk ...my thanks, me <PRO_LADYLORD>... ye're a kind one...
Huh. I don't know what that gender-based token in the last one would do when read in the character creation process.
The original BG1 NPCs have their names come through cleanly; strings were copied from original BG1 to original BG2, and only the later-added material gets scrambled this way.
I also don't have SoD to check what that game's NPCs would come out as.
And of course, here's the screenshot evidence that got me looking:
In Neera's ToB quest, you visit Dennaton's arena in Thay, the site of Black Pits 2. Dennaton has hype lines for nearly all of the standard NPCs, which he shouts out during the arrival fight. They're easy to miss in the confusion, or by ending the fight early - but here they are. In alphabetical order, which isn't the same as the priority order they get called in:
Aerie: A broken avariel who fights with both FAITH and FIREBALLS! This is a FALCON, not a DOVE!
Anomen: A HANDSOME man of MARTIAL MIGHT and GODLY MAGIC! Combatants, guard YOURSELVES; husbands, guard your WIVES!
Cernd: Rarely has Thay seen a mightier DRUID OF THE WILDS! Is he MAN, or is he BEAST?! He SMELLS like BOTH!
Dorn: That HALF-ORC sneers, and the arena SHUDDERS! You dare not look; you dare not look away! There stands a BLACKGUARD before us!
Haer'Dalis: A planeswalking BARD roams the Prime! Are his BLADES as quick as his BOASTS?!
Hexxat: I hope you brought your WOODEN STAKES! It will take a bloodbath to satisfy the VAMPIRE VIXEN that fights before us!
Imoen: A lovely mage, her movements SWIFT and SPRY! Quivering with ARCANE MIGHT and quick as a fox, will her blades cut her enemies down to size?
Jaheira: The DRUIDESS calls on NATURE'S POWERS! Will Silvanus heed her call, or will she join the FALLEN?!
Jan: Beware the GNOME and his CUNNING ILLUSIONS! What MYSTERY and KNOWLEDGE are locked within his BULBOUS NOSE?
Keldorn: A HOLY WARRIOR strides the arena floor! What STRANGE DUTY brings him here, and will he LIVE TO TELL THE TALE?!
Korgan: A MURDEROUS DWARF is a welcome sight in any arena! Take COURAGE, my friends, and welcome the CARNAGE!
Mazzy: Look at the halfling lady-at-arms go! She carries herself like a PALADIN and fights just as FIERCELY!
Minsc: I know a foul berserker of hated Rashemen when I see one! That man is NO EXCEPTION! But what strange sequence of events would see such a monster fight with a HAMSTER at his side? We may never know the answer to that question.
Nalia: Another ARCHMAGE in the arena! Her bearing is NOBLE; let's see if her MAGICAL PEDIGREE is equally strong!
Neera: Behold the fearsome HALF-ELF! Do not be deceived by her pink hair; surely this is an ARCHMAGE that fights before us!
Rasaad: Could it be?! A monk with fists as DEADLY as a POISON LOTUS? I see VENGEANCE in his eyes and BALDNESS upon his HEAD!
Sarevok: Seldom have I seen a WARRIOR as GRIM as this! His eyes FLASH like one who has GAZED INTO THE ABYSS!
Valygar: A stern and silent WARRIOR OF THE WOODS! Watch his blade, my friends! It will strike fast!
Viconia: The lovely DROW undoubtedly draws on DARKER POWERS! Do not stare OVERLONG lest she turn her eyes toward YOU!
Wilson: A VICIOUS and potentially FLEA-RIDDEN BEAR stalks the arena, ladies and gentlemen! Shall we fill the air with the SCENT of SALMON and UNLEASH THE BEAST?
And finally, if he gets through all of your companions ...
Player 1: Wait a moment—do my eyes DECEIVE ME? Could it BE? You know the TALES. You've heard the RUMORS. They were the short-lived HERO of Baldur's Gate, the VICTORS of the Dragonspear Crusade, and the SAVIORS of Suldanessellar! It's GORION'S WARD!
So, then, who doesn't have a hype line among standard BG2EE NPCs? Fake Hexxat (Clara) because she's dead. Yoshimo, because he's dead. And Edwin, because he refuses to be in the same party asNeera.
There's been a lot written on ranger/clerics, and the availability of druid-only spells for them. Always pre-EE, dependent on a hidden option in the EE.
But what about the flip side? What does a ranger/cleric's spellcasting look like when that's a very low cleric level and a very high ranger level?
I tested it. Specifically, a cleric 2 -> ranger 17 dual class. And I got some surprising results.
First, spell slots. Cleric 2 gets you 2 level 1 slots plus wisdom bonus (+2 for 18 Wis in this case). Ranger 17 gets you 3/3/3 slots with no wisdom bonus. The combination was good for 4/3/3 slots. So ... apply wisdom bonuses to the cleric slots, then take whichever's better at each spell level.
Second, spell availability. There's no requirement on cleric level for cleric-only spells to be available. If you can cast spells of that level at all, you can cast them. My character could memorize Draw Upon Holy Might and Holy Smite. No need to set a hidden option for this.
Third, caster level. When I actually cast that DUHM, I got +1 to stats. Caster level is your cleric level, even if the ranger level is much higher.
Kind of a rough tradeoff there. An early dual from cleric can gain you access to all the cleric-only spells on your ranger, but at the cost of restricting your weapons and dropping your caster level to almost nothing.
The generic "Thayan Wizard" in Neera's BGEE quest ("Ekandor? Where did you go? We can't let her escape!") has a full set of Bhaalspawn innates. He doesn't use them, but ...
New headcanon: That guy is one of the many low-powered Bhaalspawn out there. Most likely, the first one you'll ever kill.
Addendum: Two other creatures, both in EE content, have sets of Bhaalspawn innates in BGEE. Adoy in Neera's quest, and the thief Dark Moon Initiates in Rasaad's quest.
That if you kill Baeloth in Baldur's Gate, as you would expect, you don't get him in SoD, but also what you might not expect, you can't get M'Khiin either. M'Khiin is there, but because Baeloth is not there, the dialogue to recruit M'Khiin isn't there either.
A lot of people have heard about the easter egg if you name your protagonist Drizzt (or Drizzt Do'Urden, and you're an elf with a bad reputation) in BG2. But, did you know that Siege of Dragonspear has a name-based easter egg as well?
If you name your protagonist "Phillip Daigle", then that character will be cursed with a permanent -1 penalty to saving throws. This isn't instant, but it happens before you finish the first floor of the starting dungeon.
The things you learn poking around in the game data...
A lot of people have heard about the easter egg if you name your protagonist Drizzt (or Drizzt Do'Urden, and you're an elf with a bad reputation) in BG2. But, did you know that Siege of Dragonspear has a name-based easter egg as well?
If you name your protagonist "Phillip Daigle", then that character will be cursed with a permanent -1 penalty to saving throws. This isn't instant, but it happens before you finish the first floor of the starting dungeon.
The things you learn poking around in the game data...
Did you know that Ravel Puzzlewell, the night hag from Planescape: Torment, did not only have incarnations of herself living in Sigil (Ei-Vene, Marta and Mebbeth) but also in Icewind Dale?
According to this archived post from Chris Avellone, the Seer of the Gloomfrost Mountains (IWD:HoW) and the elderly lady with cats in Targos (IWD2) were also incarnations of Ravel. Although they didn't know about it, so there aren't hints about it in their dialogs.
Something I just noticed after 10+ years of playing Baldur's Gate: If you give Rill (Level 2 of the Cloakwood Mines) money to bribe the guards, the miners make their escape and you will meet no miners on Level 3 and when you return to Level 1. If you don't give him money, you will meet miners on Level 3 and again on Level 1. A neat little touch.
Something I just noticed after 10+ years of playing Baldur's Gate: If you give Rill (Level 2 of the Cloakwood Mines) money to bribe the guards, the miners make their escape and you will meet no miners on Level 3 and when you return to Level 1. If you don't give him money, you will meet miners on Level 3 and again on Level 1. A neat little touch.
It is indeed. Since I always gave the money, I never noticed. Presumably they all die in the flood with reputation consequences.
If you flood the place, that is. Remember, just leaving without flooding the mines is an option, too. My speedrun fought Drasus and friends for the boots of speed, killed Dave for the plot progression, and just ran past everything else in and out under invisibility.
My evil run with Dorn at the helm flooded the mines with the slaves inside, which costs you two points of reputation from the same slave at the exit who rewards you two points of rep if you freed the slaves and then flooded the mines.
Did you know that if you give the lock of Kirinhale's Hair to Riggilo and return for the experience, that if you surround her with bodies [The party plus skeletons] you can kill her before she teleports away. The party does have to be fairly strong to do this. You can then kill Riggilo.
Did you know that if you give the lock of Kirinhale's Hair to Riggilo and return for the experience, that if you surround her with bodies [The party plus skeletons] you can kill her before she teleports away. The party does have to be fairly strong to do this. You can then kill Riggilo.
He's not the nicest of characters. This is illustrated by the fact that you lose no reputation in killing him. What is more he is a liar. He says that he cannot go outside, yet if you go outside when he attacks you, he follows you there!
Mod. In the standard game, there's no option to talk her out of a fight.
Sil's dialogue has a bunch of orphaned states, but here's what's actually accessible in the normal game.
- The first time you talk to her, she gets mad. "Dirty land folk, you shall suffer for your trespass." Then she goes hostile and shouts to make her two sirine friends hostile as well.
- The second time you talk to her, if you somehow reach that, she gets mad. "You have ignored our warnings so-far". Then she goes hostile and shouts to make her two sirine friends hostile as well.
- After that, she doesn't talk to you. Unless she's charmed, in which case she won't start a fight. "Pass and begone if that is all you wish."
She doesn't have a cloak, and she doesn't have any actions to give one away.
Mod. In the standard game, there's no option to talk her out of a fight.
Sil's dialogue has a bunch of orphaned states, but here's what's actually accessible in the normal game.
- The first time you talk to her, she gets mad. "Dirty land folk, you shall suffer for your trespass." Then she goes hostile and shouts to make her two sirine friends hostile as well.
- The second time you talk to her, if you somehow reach that, she gets mad. "You have ignored our warnings so-far". Then she goes hostile and shouts to make her two sirine friends hostile as well.
- After that, she doesn't talk to you. Unless she's charmed, in which case she won't start a fight. "Pass and begone if that is all you wish."
She doesn't have a cloak, and she doesn't have any actions to give one away.
The dialogue is the same as the mod, just later. [After she gives the cloak which is 50% cold resistance.]
There is more than one mod dealing with Sil. In another one you have to fight some pirates in order to get her goodwill. The mods are not compatible.
Have you ever wondered how someone was normally supposed to get into Candlekeep's secret library, had you not had Tethtoril teleport you there?
Well, on the first floor of Candlekeep, there is a secret door in one of the back rooms which seems like it probably would've lead to the secret library (it has an entrance point which references the secret library area). There's no way to detect or open it. Here's what it would theoretically look like had you been able to open it (picture taken in NearInfinity, not in-game):
Comments
My evil party will have to content themselves with slaughtering the army and their cowled enforcer support, rather than also killing groups of enforcers on their own. Oh well. At least selling their gear - five sets of full plate each time - pays very well. And unlike BG1, fighting the law doesn't further lower your reputation.
Certainly news to me.
https://www.reddit.com/r/baldursgate/comments/dr49gi/blackguard_wiedling_carsomyr/
A shame that. Of course you can still do it on a temporary basis by wearing the helm.
Sadly I never got to use the bug.
In my latest set-up the ability to change the alignment permanently works!!!
It would be interesting to see if a lawful good blackguard can recruit Ajantis. i.e. Is it evil characters that Ajantis doesn't like, or the class?
Simply remove the armor in EEKeeper and that fixes it
Not sure if that's SCS doing but he always casts spells in my game.
You know how, when you're importing from a BGEE save to start BG2EE, you see the protagonist's name attached to the save? That reads a string field in the save file, which can be whatever you enter. But for NPCs recruited in-game, that field is blank. They read the creature name instead, which is an integer string reference. And the file referenced is different between the two games ...
You can guess where this is going. See the new alternate names for the Beamdog NPCs:
- The alliterative arcanist I would like to see your services.
- The fearsome blackguard I said nothing to you, Viconia! What brings this on?!
- The quirky mage Sometimes I feel as if the gods are testing me, little one... but overall, yes, they watch over me most kindly.
- The earnest monk ...my thanks, me <PRO_LADYLORD>... ye're a kind one...
Huh. I don't know what that gender-based token in the last one would do when read in the character creation process.
The original BG1 NPCs have their names come through cleanly; strings were copied from original BG1 to original BG2, and only the later-added material gets scrambled this way.
I also don't have SoD to check what that game's NPCs would come out as.
And of course, here's the screenshot evidence that got me looking:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemures
Sure enough, the spellcheck on this forum underlines Lemure but not Lemures.
Aerie: A broken avariel who fights with both FAITH and FIREBALLS! This is a FALCON, not a DOVE!
Anomen: A HANDSOME man of MARTIAL MIGHT and GODLY MAGIC! Combatants, guard YOURSELVES; husbands, guard your WIVES!
Cernd: Rarely has Thay seen a mightier DRUID OF THE WILDS! Is he MAN, or is he BEAST?! He SMELLS like BOTH!
Dorn: That HALF-ORC sneers, and the arena SHUDDERS! You dare not look; you dare not look away! There stands a BLACKGUARD before us!
Haer'Dalis: A planeswalking BARD roams the Prime! Are his BLADES as quick as his BOASTS?!
Hexxat: I hope you brought your WOODEN STAKES! It will take a bloodbath to satisfy the VAMPIRE VIXEN that fights before us!
Imoen: A lovely mage, her movements SWIFT and SPRY! Quivering with ARCANE MIGHT and quick as a fox, will her blades cut her enemies down to size?
Jaheira: The DRUIDESS calls on NATURE'S POWERS! Will Silvanus heed her call, or will she join the FALLEN?!
Jan: Beware the GNOME and his CUNNING ILLUSIONS! What MYSTERY and KNOWLEDGE are locked within his BULBOUS NOSE?
Keldorn: A HOLY WARRIOR strides the arena floor! What STRANGE DUTY brings him here, and will he LIVE TO TELL THE TALE?!
Korgan: A MURDEROUS DWARF is a welcome sight in any arena! Take COURAGE, my friends, and welcome the CARNAGE!
Mazzy: Look at the halfling lady-at-arms go! She carries herself like a PALADIN and fights just as FIERCELY!
Minsc: I know a foul berserker of hated Rashemen when I see one! That man is NO EXCEPTION! But what strange sequence of events would see such a monster fight with a HAMSTER at his side? We may never know the answer to that question.
Nalia: Another ARCHMAGE in the arena! Her bearing is NOBLE; let's see if her MAGICAL PEDIGREE is equally strong!
Neera: Behold the fearsome HALF-ELF! Do not be deceived by her pink hair; surely this is an ARCHMAGE that fights before us!
Rasaad: Could it be?! A monk with fists as DEADLY as a POISON LOTUS? I see VENGEANCE in his eyes and BALDNESS upon his HEAD!
Sarevok: Seldom have I seen a WARRIOR as GRIM as this! His eyes FLASH like one who has GAZED INTO THE ABYSS!
Valygar: A stern and silent WARRIOR OF THE WOODS! Watch his blade, my friends! It will strike fast!
Viconia: The lovely DROW undoubtedly draws on DARKER POWERS! Do not stare OVERLONG lest she turn her eyes toward YOU!
Wilson: A VICIOUS and potentially FLEA-RIDDEN BEAR stalks the arena, ladies and gentlemen! Shall we fill the air with the SCENT of SALMON and UNLEASH THE BEAST?
And finally, if he gets through all of your companions ...
Player 1: Wait a moment—do my eyes DECEIVE ME? Could it BE? You know the TALES. You've heard the RUMORS. They were the short-lived HERO of Baldur's Gate, the VICTORS of the Dragonspear Crusade, and the SAVIORS of Suldanessellar! It's GORION'S WARD!
So, then, who doesn't have a hype line among standard BG2EE NPCs? Fake Hexxat (Clara) because she's dead. Yoshimo, because he's dead. And Edwin, because he refuses to be in the same party asNeera.
But what about the flip side? What does a ranger/cleric's spellcasting look like when that's a very low cleric level and a very high ranger level?
I tested it. Specifically, a cleric 2 -> ranger 17 dual class. And I got some surprising results.
First, spell slots. Cleric 2 gets you 2 level 1 slots plus wisdom bonus (+2 for 18 Wis in this case). Ranger 17 gets you 3/3/3 slots with no wisdom bonus. The combination was good for 4/3/3 slots. So ... apply wisdom bonuses to the cleric slots, then take whichever's better at each spell level.
Second, spell availability. There's no requirement on cleric level for cleric-only spells to be available. If you can cast spells of that level at all, you can cast them. My character could memorize Draw Upon Holy Might and Holy Smite. No need to set a hidden option for this.
Third, caster level. When I actually cast that DUHM, I got +1 to stats. Caster level is your cleric level, even if the ranger level is much higher.
Kind of a rough tradeoff there. An early dual from cleric can gain you access to all the cleric-only spells on your ranger, but at the cost of restricting your weapons and dropping your caster level to almost nothing.
The generic "Thayan Wizard" in Neera's BGEE quest ("Ekandor? Where did you go? We can't let her escape!") has a full set of Bhaalspawn innates. He doesn't use them, but ...
New headcanon: That guy is one of the many low-powered Bhaalspawn out there. Most likely, the first one you'll ever kill.
Addendum: Two other creatures, both in EE content, have sets of Bhaalspawn innates in BGEE. Adoy in Neera's quest, and the thief Dark Moon Initiates in Rasaad's quest.
And did you know Garrick was a fan of Joyce Kilmer? This is the first line from the poem "Trees".
Biff the Understudy definitely needed.
If you name your protagonist "Phillip Daigle", then that character will be cursed with a permanent -1 penalty to saving throws. This isn't instant, but it happens before you finish the first floor of the starting dungeon.
The things you learn poking around in the game data...
True. https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/53882/legacy-of-bhaal-iron-man-daigle-run
According to this archived post from Chris Avellone, the Seer of the Gloomfrost Mountains (IWD:HoW) and the elderly lady with cats in Targos (IWD2) were also incarnations of Ravel. Although they didn't know about it, so there aren't hints about it in their dialogs.
It is indeed. Since I always gave the money, I never noticed. Presumably they all die in the flood with reputation consequences.
My evil run with Dorn at the helm flooded the mines with the slaves inside, which costs you two points of reputation from the same slave at the exit who rewards you two points of rep if you freed the slaves and then flooded the mines.
Poor Riggilo.
He's not the nicest of characters. This is illustrated by the fact that you lose no reputation in killing him. What is more he is a liar. He says that he cannot go outside, yet if you go outside when he attacks you, he follows you there!
This time I just killed her using web/fireballs.
She doesn't have the cloak as part of the loot.
IMO a slight error there.
If you follow the peaceful option and then continue to talk to her she will attack. That is clearly the power-gaming option.
Sil's dialogue has a bunch of orphaned states, but here's what's actually accessible in the normal game.
- The first time you talk to her, she gets mad. "Dirty land folk, you shall suffer for your trespass." Then she goes hostile and shouts to make her two sirine friends hostile as well.
- The second time you talk to her, if you somehow reach that, she gets mad. "You have ignored our warnings so-far". Then she goes hostile and shouts to make her two sirine friends hostile as well.
- After that, she doesn't talk to you. Unless she's charmed, in which case she won't start a fight. "Pass and begone if that is all you wish."
She doesn't have a cloak, and she doesn't have any actions to give one away.
The dialogue is the same as the mod, just later. [After she gives the cloak which is 50% cold resistance.]
There is more than one mod dealing with Sil. In another one you have to fight some pirates in order to get her goodwill. The mods are not compatible.
Player: "Malavon?! I thought a group of adventurers killed you in Lower Dorn's Deep!"
Malavon: "They did not kill me; they killed my clone."
Player: "But I heard they killed both you AND your clone."
Malavon: "Actually, they killed my clone plus the simulacrum of my clone."
Well, on the first floor of Candlekeep, there is a secret door in one of the back rooms which seems like it probably would've lead to the secret library (it has an entrance point which references the secret library area). There's no way to detect or open it. Here's what it would theoretically look like had you been able to open it (picture taken in NearInfinity, not in-game):