Random Character Generator for BG/IWD (EE)
thurrain_pineshield
Member Posts: 4
link: https://bgautochar.com/
Hey guys,
*I posted this to r/baldursgate earlier but forgot to post here*
So I made this application a while ago after reading several posts discussing which characters people should make and attempt to play through the game with next. So I decided to attempt to make a random character generator that would generate the necessary .chr file so you could import and play with the character.
You can create a random character for either BG:EE, BG2:EE, or IWD:EE. This will probably not work with the standard version of BG or IWD as they use a different file format, but I no longer have copies of the original games to test this with so I don't know for sure. I believe the generated .chr file should work with a standard copy of BG2, but again I haven't been able to test it. (If this generates enough interest, I can definitely look into making that a possibility!). Also, I feel I should mention these do not work with mobile versions of BG/IWD.
I attempted to make the character generated in no way OP. It will take the first set of ability scores rolled that are greater than 75 and meet all the necessary minimum stats for that race/class combination. When the ability scores are generated there is an algorithm that attempts to rearrange them in a way that would be most beneficial based on the character's class (this gets especially tricky for classes like specialist mages who have really high minimum stats for different things), but it doesn't do any min/maxing of stats and it's probably not perfect. Thief skills should be distributed in increments of 5, randomly. It will also randomly pick spells with no thought given to usefulness of those spells. It should also generate weapon proficiency for your respective class. For fighter based classes, there is a higher chance that you'll get two "pips" in the same proficiency but it's not guaranteed. Also, the portraits used in the web app are taken directly from the game, however if you don't like the portrait used you can always change it once in game. Also for the characters voice, it should be set to the default voice, so you may want to change that as well once you're in game. All that being said here's the "how-to"...
Generate a character for either BG or IWD until you've found a character you want and give them a name. If you're making an IWD character, be especially sure to give them a name before downloading, as the most recent version of IWD:EE doesn't let you easily rename an imported character. Once you're satisfied, click download. This will download a .chr file for the requested character. Make sure you rename the file and remove any special characters, like the appended (1)'s and (2)'s etc from subsequent downloads...Also make sure the filename is no longer than 8 characters. If you don't follow these steps your game will probably crash. Once that's done, move the file to the respective game's directory character folder. If the folder isn't there, create it. Example: My Documents / Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition / characters
And that should do it! You should be able to see your new character when you click import in game.
Feedback is definitely appreciated. Let me know if you find anybugs features or anything you might think would improve the application!
Hey guys,
*I posted this to r/baldursgate earlier but forgot to post here*
So I made this application a while ago after reading several posts discussing which characters people should make and attempt to play through the game with next. So I decided to attempt to make a random character generator that would generate the necessary .chr file so you could import and play with the character.
You can create a random character for either BG:EE, BG2:EE, or IWD:EE. This will probably not work with the standard version of BG or IWD as they use a different file format, but I no longer have copies of the original games to test this with so I don't know for sure. I believe the generated .chr file should work with a standard copy of BG2, but again I haven't been able to test it. (If this generates enough interest, I can definitely look into making that a possibility!). Also, I feel I should mention these do not work with mobile versions of BG/IWD.
I attempted to make the character generated in no way OP. It will take the first set of ability scores rolled that are greater than 75 and meet all the necessary minimum stats for that race/class combination. When the ability scores are generated there is an algorithm that attempts to rearrange them in a way that would be most beneficial based on the character's class (this gets especially tricky for classes like specialist mages who have really high minimum stats for different things), but it doesn't do any min/maxing of stats and it's probably not perfect. Thief skills should be distributed in increments of 5, randomly. It will also randomly pick spells with no thought given to usefulness of those spells. It should also generate weapon proficiency for your respective class. For fighter based classes, there is a higher chance that you'll get two "pips" in the same proficiency but it's not guaranteed. Also, the portraits used in the web app are taken directly from the game, however if you don't like the portrait used you can always change it once in game. Also for the characters voice, it should be set to the default voice, so you may want to change that as well once you're in game. All that being said here's the "how-to"...
Generate a character for either BG or IWD until you've found a character you want and give them a name. If you're making an IWD character, be especially sure to give them a name before downloading, as the most recent version of IWD:EE doesn't let you easily rename an imported character. Once you're satisfied, click download. This will download a .chr file for the requested character. Make sure you rename the file and remove any special characters, like the appended (1)'s and (2)'s etc from subsequent downloads...Also make sure the filename is no longer than 8 characters. If you don't follow these steps your game will probably crash. Once that's done, move the file to the respective game's directory character folder. If the folder isn't there, create it. Example: My Documents / Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition / characters
And that should do it! You should be able to see your new character when you click import in game.
Feedback is definitely appreciated. Let me know if you find any
11
Comments
Obviously it's not the end of the world because if re-rolling, easy to workaround, but thought you'd like to know that it is possible to receive a total roll less than 75
Which is not the way that the in-game roller works. The algorithm there:
1. Roll 3d6 for a stat. Using a standard pseudo-random number generator, of course.
1a. If that stat is strength and the character is not a halfling, roll d100 for exceptional strength.
2. Is this stat greater than or equal to the racial minimum? If not, repeat from step 1.
3. Apply racial modifiers to the stat. (The minimums are written as if the modifiers weren't applied yet)
4. Is this stat greater than or equal to the class minimum? If not, repeat from step 1.
5. Apply class modifiers to the stat. (In the default rules, only the druid's Avenger kit has any modifiers)
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for each of the six stats.
7. Is the total of all the stats at least 75? If not, repeat steps 1-6.
8. You now have a valid set of stats. Allow the player to move numbers around, and apply the exceptional strength if the base strength is 18. Or hit the reroll button if it isn't to their liking.