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Mustard Jelly Polymorph does not confer magic immunity (Cloak of Sewers)

FD3SAFD3SA Member Posts: 17
in Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
Hey gang,

I've returned to BG2 after a decade with this wonderful EE release, and am at the beholder lair. I picked up the cloak of sewers and polymorphed into a Mustard Jelly, but the Gauth's rays cut right through. I don't see a single instance of "Magic Resistance" in the combat log.

For comparison, I gave Viconia a potion of Magic Protection and since her Magic Resistance goes over 100%, she doesn't even get touched by them.

Did the Mustard Jelly polymorph get nerfed? Or is it the Cloak of Sewers? Will try a Polymorph Self spell soon as I can to make sure.

I'm running the BG2 Tweak pack with a few minor cosmetic mods (no rulechanges), other than that it's all stock. Not sure of the game version but got it off GOG soon as it was available on that site.

Comments

  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    I noticed this myself when I went to fight a lich with it. That prompted a reload pretty quick.
  • AHFAHF Member Posts: 1,376
    That fact basically makes the Cloak of Sewers a +1 to AC cloak that I can stack with a ring or amulet of protection or magic armor. I had the same experience as @Jerrakul and never bothered with the polymorphing ability again.
  • FD3SAFD3SA Member Posts: 17
    edited January 2015
    I really don't think the cloak warrants a second, nerfed version of the Mustard Jelly morph. It's ham-fisted and doesn't quite make sense. Is it a different species of Jelly? Is it a weaker polymorph? Why is this so? What is the lore behind the cloak that causes it to produce a weaker polymorph?

    Besides, I really don't find the mustard jelly morph to be game-crushingly overpowered. With the new EE monster AI, I found the full morph to be almost useless as the Gauths/Beholders immediately attack non-jelly party members who deal damage to them on sight instead of continuing to focus on the jelly. This was a great addition, and balances the form perfectly. And Liches tend to target whomever they fancy at the time, often switching targets frequently. So unless you send in one jelly to deplete the lich of his spells, it won't be of much use. Furthermore, this can also be done with Viconia and a Magic Protection potion without the hassle of polymorphing...

    All in all, I think if it is to be left as is, there should be an item description change. It could also just grant the full polymorph with reduced duration, or just the full polymorph with full duration. Any of these options is better than the current one, as new (and returning!) players may be confused by two versions of the same Mustard Jelly morph (which is in no way alluded to in the item description).
  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    I can see the argument that it's too powerful, given how easily you can deplete a mage's spells by sending in just one polymorphed character, but it seems to me that the cloak is no more powerful in that regard than Polymorph Self, and no easier to access. I don't really see why one mustard jelly form would be nerfed and not the other.
  • SymphonyofSwordsSymphonyofSwords Member Posts: 40
    Jarrakul said:

    I can see the argument that it's too powerful, given how easily you can deplete a mage's spells by sending in just one polymorphed character, but it seems to me that the cloak is no more powerful in that regard than Polymorph Self, and no easier to access. I don't really see why one mustard jelly form would be nerfed and not the other.

    You jelly? :smiley:
  • VindsvalVindsval Member Posts: 15
    I remember it was giving 100% magic resistance in vanilla. This changed with baldurdash or the later fixpacks. I think it's just a legacy oversight
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    Vindsval said:

    I remember it was giving 100% magic resistance in vanilla. This changed with baldurdash or the later fixpacks. I think it's just a legacy oversight

    You are misremembering. It has always only set it to 10%.
  • MoczoMoczo Member Posts: 236
    Actually, looking over here:

    https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/40236/12065-cloak-of-the-sewers-mustard-jelly-form-should-use-same-stats-polymorph-self

    The issue seems to be that the Cloak of the Sewers doesn't actually turn you into a Mustard Jelly, it turns you into an OCHRE Jelly, which is considerably weaker. So yeah, this does appear to be a bug (albeit one that may have been in Vanilla too? I confess, never used the cloak much until I tried just now and was promptly slaughtered).
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