Please option or cheat for friendly fire

paintballnsk

I know I'll get a bunch of "just use strategy" replies, but I really think the game would be more fun if I didn't have to worry about my mages always shooting my team in the back. A mod or option or even a cheat to turn off mage's friendly fire for attack spells would be absolutely fantastic.

If anyone knows of a mod or a way to do this, please let me know. I'd really appreciate it.

Heindrich

Not that I'd be 100% opposed to an option existing for this, I'd like to point out that:

1) There is a surprising amount of very useful party friendly AoE spells in the game, including Horror, Chaos, Confusion, Holy Smite (assuming non-evil party members) and Horrid Wilting, among others. I discovered this in my multiplayer game and found that I could not harm my companions with a lot of my arsenal when we tried some PvP.

2) Making all spells party friendly would make certain spells/items completely pointless. For example all the items that offer Free Movement that allow you to use the Web+Free Movement combo. Incidentally I am not sure the game engine allows the distinction between "friendly Web" and "hostile Web". Same goes for things like Cloudkill and other poison gas spells.

3) The argument exists that magic is already "OP" in the BG games, especially BG2. Though I don't personally care about balance much, removing friendly fire would only contribute to making mages "too powerful".

Hence the game might be "more fun" for you personally if friendly fire was disabled, but I'd argue that you'd be in the minority. For most players, learning the intricacies of the magic system is part of the rewarding experience, and as a whole, the game is enhanced by the depth of the magic system and the numerous tactics, combos and tricks you can conceive to overcome challenges the game throws at you. Put it this way, it would get boring real quick if you can just fireball all your enemies to oblivion on every encounter.

elminster

Heindrich said:

Incidentally I am not sure the game engine allows the distinction between "friendly Web" and "hostile Web". Same goes for things like Cloudkill and other poison gas spells.

Ohh that is actually quite easy to do. You just use a program like Near Infinity to change the target of the spells effects to "Everyone but party." However, changing every relevant spell would be a pain.

Tresset

@elminster Uhh... If I am not mistaken, that would be a VERY bad idea. In fact I am pretty sure that would just make the spells hit EVERYONE in the area except the party members. If you set an AoE spell, such as Fireball, to that setting, then casting it would cause a fireball to explode upon everyone in the area who is not in the party.

What is being asked for here is hard coded and would take a bit of doing to implement. It is not likely to happen.

elminster

Tresset said:

@elminster Uhh... If I am not mistaken, that would be a VERY bad idea. In fact I am pretty sure that would just make the spells hit EVERYONE in the area except the party members. If you set an AoE spell, such as Fireball, to that setting, then casting it would cause a fireball to explode upon everyone in the area who is not in the party.

What is being asked for here is hard coded and would take a bit of doing to implement. It is not likely to happen.

You are right it would make everyone in the area get hit (so scratch that idea).

Instead what you can do is go into the PRO file it uses and change one of its area flags to "not affecting allies"

The downside of this approach would be that if that PRO files gets used by other spells (and it most certainly would be) that would change those spells. So you'd probably want to use your own PRO files for the spells you are changing. Also it would make the spell not work on neutral targets as well.

Dee

If it can be done with Chain Lightning it can certainly be done with Web. Coding an option like this would certainly alter gameplay. Enemies would benefit from the change as well.

hispls

Just console cheat in enough protection from or ++ resistance items to constantly keep your party buffed against whatever it is you're trying to throw around.

dunbar

Even though this is a 'fantasy' game set in a 'magical' world, that world itself is based in, and on, our 'reality', so surely some 'real' rules must apply.
Whilst I can fully accept a spell that transforms a human into an animal (in the context of the game and the genre), to be able to chuck a grenade into a crowded room safe in the knowledge that it will only hurt people I don't like goes so far beyond suspension of disbelief that it makes the tackiest of action movies look sensible.
In other words, a magically cast fireball is still a very real fireball however it was created and should have very real effects.

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ZanathKariashi

I dunno.....in PnP, the ability to not friendly fire is a HLA ability (or more specifically, a high level non-combat proficiency, Spell Shaping) that requires a int check (at -5) per spell cast to successfully shape the spell to avoid allies.

Though if they want to add such an ability as a HLA, I'm fine with it. Less work for me to do later when I get to modding the HLA to proper states.