[MOD] Corrected spell descriptions
Alonso
Member Posts: 806
Version 0.4
This mod corrects and improves the descriptions of most spells and special abilities in Baldur's Gate 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Games supported: The only game supported at the moment is Baldur's Gate 2 EE. In the future I intend to make this mod compatible with BGEE and SoD.
Installation:
Compatibility: This mod should be installed before any mod that changes spell descriptions. The only mods that I know that change spell descriptions are Spell Revisions and Sword Coast Stratagems, so you should install it before those. I haven't tested it with Spell Revisions, so if you install both mods, you do so at your own risk (and if you do, please tell me how it works).
Acknowledgements: Big thanks go to @jastey, @Gwendolyne and @Mike1072 for their help and encouragement, and to @kjeron for his very valuable feedback.
Since this is my first mod it might have some issues. Still, I don't expect anything major because technically it's very simple. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
This mod corrects and improves the descriptions of most spells and special abilities in Baldur's Gate 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Some spell and ability descriptions in the original game are incorrect or inaccurate. Some are incomplete. Some are unnecessarily wordy or repetitive. This mod attempts to fix these shortcomings.
GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS
The original descriptions are inconsistent about saying whether a spell is dispellable and whether it bypasses magic resistance. Sometimes they say it, sometimes they don’t. For the sake of consistency, I’ve followed these two rules:
IMPROVEMENTS OF SPECIFIC DESCRIPTIONS
Corrections
The original descriptions of Non-detection, Protection from Fire (both the cleric and the wizard version), Protection from Cold, End Slayer Change, Immunity: Abjuration, Time stop Slow poison, Luck, Haste, Slow, Dispel Magic and Remove Magic are completely incorrect, so I’ve written a new description for them. For other spells I’ve made specific corrections:
For these spells I’ve added the information listed:
In the descriptions of these spells I’ve removed the information listed because it is incorrect:
NAME CHANGES
VERSION HISTORY
0.4
First public release.
GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS
- Added the stat “Party friendly” to some offensive spells. It can have the values Yes or No.
- Removed duplicated titles: The original spell descriptions include the name of the spell in the description. The Enhanced Editions also display the name of the spells and abilities in other parts of the screen. This duplication seems unnecessary, so I’ve removed the names of spells and abilities from the descriptions.
- Visual range: Casters cannot cast spells at points beyond their visual range. Since the visual range of every creature is 30, all the ranges higher than 30 are incorrect. To fix this, I’ve replaced all ranges equal or greater than 30 with “Visual range”.
- Saving throw: Added the kind of saving throw used (breath, death, etc.) and the bonuses or penalties applied, if any.
- Added stats at the beginning of some abilities.
- Many stats corrected.
- Grammar corrections.
- Other minor improvements.
- Removed expressions like “also note that” and words like “effectively”, “completely”, or “automatically”.
- Replaced expressions like “When this spell is cast, it does x” with “This spell does x”.
- Moved information about the duration, area or saving throws to the stats summary, except when it’s too complex (like spells that have a saving throw for one effect but not for other), and removed duplicated information.
- Removed the line “Saving Throw: None” from spells that cannot possibly have a saving throw, like helpful spells, summoning spells, etc.
- Removed the line “Area of Effect: Special” for summoning spells and other spells for which it’s not helpful.
- Several other improvements.
The original descriptions are inconsistent about saying whether a spell is dispellable and whether it bypasses magic resistance. Sometimes they say it, sometimes they don’t. For the sake of consistency, I’ve followed these two rules:
- Magic resistance: If a spell bypasses magic resistance, the description says so. If the description says nothing, it means that the spell doesn’t bypass magic resistance.
- Dispelling: If a spell is not dispellable, its description says so. If the description says nothing, it means that it is dispellable. I’ve made two exceptions, though:
- When dispelling is the only way of getting rid of the effects of a spell, like in the case of Polymorph Other, the description says so.
- Summoned creatures cannot be dispelled, but I feel it’s not necessary to say so in the description of each summoning spell.
IMPROVEMENTS OF SPECIFIC DESCRIPTIONS
Corrections
The original descriptions of Non-detection, Protection from Fire (both the cleric and the wizard version), Protection from Cold, End Slayer Change, Immunity: Abjuration, Time stop Slow poison, Luck, Haste, Slow, Dispel Magic and Remove Magic are completely incorrect, so I’ve written a new description for them. For other spells I’ve made specific corrections:
- Bigby's Clenched Fist / Crushing Hand / Earthquake: The same saving throw roll is used for all the rounds that accept a saving throw.
- Blur: Clarified, the original uses a confusing explanation that essentially means that the spell provides an AC bonus.
- Burning Hands: It doesn’t have an area of effect, it only affects one creature.
- Call Lightning: It triggers every round, not every turn. Each target after the first must be within ~30-ft. radius of the previous. It can’t last more than 4 rounds. It must have a valid target within range for every bolt, or the spell will end. It cannot target the same creature twice in a row.
- Chant: The original description is ambiguous, inaccurate and incomplete. Since the effects of this spell are very complex, the improved description is still somehow inaccurate, but it’s meant to be a significant improvement over the original.
- Chaotic Commands: The original description is ambiguous and incomplete. The improved description attempts to be clear and comprehensive.
- Charm/Dire/Domination/Mental/Control spells: When the caster is the player most creatures turn hostile if the player attacks them. However, enemies can attack charmed players without breaking the incantation.
Regular Charm does not cause player controlled creatures to attack the party, they just turn hostile (red). More powerful spells, like Dire Charm, do turn them hostile, though. - Contingency: The original description says it cannot be an offensive spell because the target must be the caster. This is incorrect: Even using the caster as the target many offensive spells can be used, like Greater Malison or summoning spells.
- Delayed Blast Fireball and Glyph of Warding: Added the radius of the proximity trigger, corrected the radius of the explosion.
- Dolorous Decay: Listed the duration of the damage (56 seconds) rather than the total damage because Haste and Slow can alter the total damage dealt by the spell, as with all poison and disease effects.
- Detect Invisibility: It reveals invisible creatures to everybody, not just the wizard.
- Enchanted Weapon: Clarified how it works for ranged weapons, which is ambiguous in the original description.
- Farsight: Added missing stats. Like Chant, this spell is quite difficult to describe. My current description is meant to be an improvement over the original but it still requires a thorough revision.
- Feeblemind: The save penalty is actually -2. Clarified its effects.
- Globe of Invulnerability: The area of effect is just the caster. Can be brought down by Secret Word, which is a fourth level spell. Remove Magic and Dispel Magic (third level) penetrate the globe but don't remove it.
- Minor Globe of Invulnerability: The area of effect is just the caster. Can be brought down by Spell Thrust, which is a third level spell. Remove Magic and Dispel Magic (third level) penetrate the globe but don't remove it.
- Heal: Corrected the list of maladies it cures.
- Implosion: The duration is 1 round, not 2.
- Improved Invisibility: Once they've revealed themselves, creatures can be targeted with attacks and items, but not with spells.
- Insect Plague: Corrected the targeting description. It affects all enemy creatures in the area of effect immediately after casting (it is much stronger than what the original description conveys).
- Invisibility Purge: Ignores Magic Resistance. Does not remove Sanctuary.
- Iron Skins and Stoneskin: Corrected the protections they offer.
- (Minor) Spell Deflection, (Minor) Spell Turning, and Shield of the Archons: They absorb all the spells directed at the caster, not just the offensive ones.
- Mislead: The wizard is not affected by Improved Invisibility, the invisibility he gets is not dispellable and can only be removed by killing his clone.
- Remove curse: It removes all curses, not just some.
- Simulacrum: This spell is bugged. Until the bug is fixed, the description describes the behavior of the bug. Apart from that the corrected description adds a breakdown of the stats and capabilities of the clone.
For these spells I’ve added the information listed:
- Blade Barrier and Globe of Blades: Area of effect.
- Blindness: It reduces the visual range of the victim.
- Breach: It bypasses protections against spells, like Spell Deflection or Spell Turning. It dispels but doesn't bypass Spell Shield.
- Called Shot: The THAC0 penalty lasts 20 seconds, the Saving Throw penalty 15 seconds, and the Strength penalty 10 seconds.
- Chain Lightning: Area of Effect: 16-ft. around the target.
- Clairvoyance: It only works outdoors.
- Cure Light/Medium/Serious/Critical Wounds: They remove intoxication.
- Death spell: It doesn’t affect devas or planetars.
- Emotion: Hopelessness: For gameplay purposes the creatures affected by this spell are unconscious.
- Entangle: If there are no plants in the area of effect the spell creates them.
- False Dawn: Deals fire damage. It ignores the target's Magic Resistance.
- Hardiness: Does not stack with Defensive Stance.
- Holy power: The maximum hit points are increased by 1 per level.
- Lower Resistance: Bypasses all protection spells except Spell Shield.
- Magical Stone: The stone ignores most spells that protect against weapons.
- Minsc’s Berserk: The maximum hit points are increased by 1 per level. You lose control of him and he can attack your party. +2 to hit and damage while uncontrollable.
- Offensive spin: Its effects are cumulative with the effects of Oil of Speed.
- Polymorph self: Spellcasting is disabled while polymorphed, but spell sequencers and contingencies can still be activated. Attributes which had been magically modified before the polymorphing (by a Strength spell, for instance), are passed to the new form.
- Project image: The clone doesn't receive any of the temporary effects that the caster might have at the time of casting, like buffs from spells or potions.
- Righteous Magic: The maximum hit points are increased by 1 per level.
- (Minor) Spell Deflection, Spell Turning, Spell Trap, and Shield of the Archons: They don’t protect against Lower Resistance.
- Spell Immunity: Added a description of Spell Immunity: Abjuration, which works quite differently than the other versions of this spell.
- Contingendy, Chain Contingency, Minor Sequencer, Spell Sequencer, Spell trigger: The wizard can only choose among spells he has memorized and hasn't used yet, and the spells chosen are consumed in the process.
- Spellstrike: It removes Shield of the Archons.
- Tenser’s Transformation: The caster loses his ability to cast spells.
In the descriptions of these spells I’ve removed the information listed because it is incorrect:
- Animal Summoning III: Only animals within visual range of the caster at the time the spell is cast will come.
- Cure Light/Medium/Serious/Critical Wounds: This healing cannot affect creatures without corporeal bodies, nor can it cure wounds of creatures not living or of extraplanar origin.
- Doom: The target receives a -2 penalty to all <PRO_HISHER> rolls, including THAC0 and Saving Throws. Actually, it only receives penalties to his THAC0 and Saving Throws.
- Find traps: Due to the nature of the spell, the caster must stop to concentrate 1 per round which will effectively interrupt any action. This however will not affect spellcasting.
- Fireball: The part about the flashing streak.
- Glyph of warding: Prevents unauthorized or hostile creatures from passing, entering, or opening. It can be used to guard a small bridge, to ward an entry, or as a trap on a chest or box.
- Immunity: x: Grants the wizard protection from one spell school of his choice. After the spell is cast, the wizard must choose the school he wishes to be protected from.
- Monster summoning I, II and III: These monster(s) appear within spell range and attack the caster's opponents. Actually, they do whatever the caster tells them to do, which might or might not be attacking opponents.
NAME CHANGES
- Charm Person or Mammal: Changed to Charm Person or Animal.
- Neutralize Poison: Name changed to Neutralize Poison, Blindness and Deafness to reflect the actual effects of the spell.
- Protection from Evil, 10' Radius: The radius in the name is wrong, corrected to Protection from Evil, 15' Radius.
- Protection from Good, 10' Radius: The radius in the name is wrong, corrected to Protection from Good, 15' Radius.
- Slow Poison: It actually neutralizes poison. Name changed to Neutralize Poison.
- Mazzy’s Strength: Apart from modifying Mazzy’s strength it also improves her THAC0, so I’ve renamed it to Heroism, which I feel is more descriptive.
VERSION HISTORY
0.4
- Changed the name of the mod from Improved spell descriptions to Corrected spell descriptions, which I think reflects better the contents of the mod.
- Added information to: Hardiness, Spellstrike and Offensive Spin, (Minor) Spell Deflection, Spell Turning, Spell Trap, Shield of the Archons, Lower Resistance, False Dawn, Polymorph Self, Project Image, and Simulacrum.
- Corrected descriptions: Globe of Invulnerability, Minor Globe of Invulnerability, Chain Contingency, Chant, Contingency, Dimension Door, Luck, Heal, Feeblemind, Invisibility Purge, Stoneskin, Iron skins, Protection from Fire, Haste, Slow, Dispel Magic, and Remove Magic.
- Changed names: Slow Poison to Neutralize Poison, Mazzy’s Strength to Heroism.
- Removed most gender specific tags (like PRO_HESHE) because they don’t work correctly.
- Corrected some mistakes in this readme.
- Other minor improvements.
First public release.
Games supported: The only game supported at the moment is Baldur's Gate 2 EE. In the future I intend to make this mod compatible with BGEE and SoD.
Installation:
- Download the attached file and unzip it into the main folder of your game installation.
- Run setup-ImprovedSpellDescriptions.exe and follow the instructions provided.
Compatibility: This mod should be installed before any mod that changes spell descriptions. The only mods that I know that change spell descriptions are Spell Revisions and Sword Coast Stratagems, so you should install it before those. I haven't tested it with Spell Revisions, so if you install both mods, you do so at your own risk (and if you do, please tell me how it works).
Acknowledgements: Big thanks go to @jastey, @Gwendolyne and @Mike1072 for their help and encouragement, and to @kjeron for his very valuable feedback.
Since this is my first mod it might have some issues. Still, I don't expect anything major because technically it's very simple. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Post edited by Alonso on
11
Comments
Just a note: I would suggest to use another format for your readme, like pdf or something.
I've converted the readme to pdf.
Oh, this is great! I was going to do something like this eventually, but now I don't have to. So, cheers!
I'm wondering if you would consider adding a component that renames spells to something more descriptive. So, for example, as you rightly point out, "detect" invisibility actually reveals invisible creatures. As such, it might be better to rename the spell to "Reveal Invisibility" or something like that.
If not, that's cool. I'll get around to it myself
Edit: looking closer, I see you do change a few spell names, so this request is to add to that component. I'll try to get back to you with more specific requests. I have a list somewhere...
Bring it on!
XX% chance of (effect) - currently many of these are XX+1% chance, but this is a known issue to be fixed, so I wouldn't worry about correcting it for now.
Aura of Flaming Death / Fire Shields: 6-ft. radius (it's controlled by the casting range of the subspells "-D.SPL")
Berserk:
+2 to hit and damage while uncontrollable (inherent to the uncontrolled Berserk State)
Losing/Regaining control only requires that the creature can/cannot detect any hostile creatures within visual range. This excludes invisible creatures as well as sleeping/unconscious creatures (I don't know exactly why it ignores sleeping/unconscious creatures, but this behavior is/was not unique to berserk)
Bigby's Clenched Fist / Crushing Hand / Earthquake:
All saving throws occur upon initial application, they do not occur in subsequent rounds.
Burning Hands:
Aside from IWDEE, Burning Hands is a instant-hit, single-target spell, not AoE. I would remove the reference to affecting "Any creature in the area of the flames."
Call Lightning: Called Shot:
The THAC0 penalty lasts 20 seconds, the Saving Throw penalty 15 seconds, and the Strength penalty 10 seconds. (These are durations on the target).
Chain Lightning: Area of Effect: 16-ft. radius at target point.
Charm Person or Mammal -> Charm Person or Animal
Contagion: Was this an exception mentioning non-dispellable?
Cure X Wounds: Aside from IWDEE, these spells fully affect most/all incorporeal, extraplanar, and undead creatures. Technically, they also affect the dead, at least partially (it still removes intoxication).
Delayed Blast Fireball: Proximity Trigger is 9.375-ft radius, explosion radius is 12.5-ft.
Dolorous Decay: List the duration to specify seconds (56), not damage (50). Haste/Slow can alter the total damage dealt by the spell, as with all poison/disease effects. It takes this into account for the first 2 rounds that it applies slow, but other sources of Haste/Slow can still affect the total, or if the creature is immune to slow but not poison).
Charm/Dire/Domination/Mental/Control/etc...:
Most creatures have scripts such that taking hostile actions against them while they are under any of these effects (and sometimes without the hostile action) will turn them hostile again, regardless of whether hostile action should break the effect.
Enemies can attack charmed players all they want without breaking charms.
Regular Charm does not cause normally-player controlled creatures to attack the party, they just turn hostile(red). Dire Charm and above do turn them hostile.
Doom: Those two (thac0 and saving throws) are the ONLY rolls it affects.
Emotion: Hopelessness:
Sleeping -> Unconscious (they cannot wake up when hit)
Do any of the penalties in the original description apply?
Do these spells remove intoxication?
I don't think I've ever seen enemies attacking charmed players. Do they actually do it (in vanilla games)? For if they don't, I can just skip it in the description.
Yes. Cure X Wounds, Slow Poison, Heal, Mass Cure, and Exaltation all remove Intoxication. Neutralize Poison does not, oddly.
Physical attacks, no, but hit with AoE (fireball), yes, which is sufficient to end the effect on enemies.
Continued:
There is no "stop to concentrate each round", it's just fluff. (It could easily be implemented though, until v2.5 the contingency spells intentionally did just that, only once instead of every round)
Globe of Invulnerability:
Can also be brought down by Secret Word (L4), but not Spell Thrust (L3).
Minor Globe of Invulnerability:
Can be brought down by Spell Thrust(L3).
Glyph of Warding (same as Delayed Blast Fireball: 9.375' proximity, 12.5' explosion)
Haste/Slow:
I don't think an exact description of what these do to your attack cycle would improve the clarity of their description, so I'll only suggest rewording this part:
"This spell negates the effects of a Slow/Haste spell." ->
"Haste and Slow effects will suppress (but not remove) each other while applied to a creature in equal quantities, including Slow's affect on spell-casting. While a creature has more active sources of one than the other, it will take precedence."
Spell Immunity: Abjuration (typo) "Glyph or Warding" -> "Glyph of Warding"
Improved Invisibility: Once they've revealed themselves, they can be targeted with attacks and items, but not spells, until the duration expires or the invisibility is fully removed.
Iron Skins / Stoneskin:
Does not protect against Magic Missiles. Does protect against the poisoned status (but not direct poison damage), regardless of source, while any skins remain, without expending skins.
This is because WIZARD_SECRET_WORD is actually a level 5 spell (the power attribute of its effects is set to 5, whereas it should be 4). A bug, right?
I just read this thread where you and others discuss the effects of Haste. It might be worth to add the info in that thread to the description, but some things I don't understand, so I'm asking in that thread.
Staff of the Ram +6: it's extra +1d4 piercing damage is reduced by the target's luck, not increased by your luck.
Flame Arrow Spell: Both the Piercing and Fire damage is reduced by the target's luck. Ditto Lance of Disruption's Crushing damage in IWDEE.
(If a weapons base damage could be non-physical, it would presumably be increased by the attackers luck, not reduced by the target's luck.)
Detect Invisibility: Range: 125-ft (negligible difference at this point)
Dimension Door: Range: 400 (Visual Range)
False Dawn:
Damage type is fire.
Ignores the target's Magic Resistance.
Probably not worth mentioning, but False Dawn won't affect the caster (should they happen to be undead)
Feeblemind:
Duration: 500 days (not actually permanent for ... reasons)
Save penalty is -2.
The character cannot be given commands nor their inventory be accessed, and all their AI scripts are disabled. The one thing it can do is suffer from morale Failure (even attacking if it's Morale Failure:Berserk), which might be an oversight, don't know, as the creature still does not act under other forms of panic, confusion, or berserk.
Globe of Invulnerability:
The 5-ft radius is misleading - it only affects the caster.
Insect Plague:
It's entire targeting text is fluff. It affects all enemy creatures within the 16-ft radius at the time of casting, damaging and disabling them for the entire 6 rounds. (It is much stronger than it's description would imply)
Invisibility Purge:
Ignores Magic Resistance.
Does not remove Sanctuary.
Ironskins/Stoneskin (continued):
Does protect against physical-damage spells (Flame Arrow, Lance of Disruption). Like weapon attacks, only blocks the physical (Crushing, Slashing, Piercing, Missile, or non-Lethal) damage.
Kai: This stacks with the Luck modifier to weapon damage, so heavy fatigue can negate it's effect (it only applies a +20 bonus).
Magical Stone (vs PfMW, Mantle, Absolute Immunity):
They are only magical +1 in determining what they CAN hit, but not what they CANNOT hit. Spells that block magical or +1 weapons will not block the stone. This is true of similar spells (Flame Arrow, Melf's Acid Arrow, etc...) that just fire the projectile itself, rather than creating a weapon to attack with (Melf's Minute Meteors, Sol's Searing Orb, etc...)
Mass Raise Dead:
There is a 1-second delay between resurrection and healing (necessary for it to work), if you'd like to note such.
For the sake of simplicity I've kept the duration as permanent, I cannot imagine a situation in which it's useful to know that it's actually 500 days. I've also skipped the part about the inventory, which I think is implicit from the fact that the character becomes unresponsive.
What is that +20 bonus?
I can't understand this. Can you maybe give some examples of cases in which it can hit and cases in which it can't?
Apart from that, I've realized that the description of Insect Plague only mentions a saving throw vs. the fear effect, but says nothing about saving throws vs. the main effect. Is there a saving throw for the main effect?
The spells that block "Normal/Magical/+X Weapons" cannot block spells to begin with. Protection from Magic Weapons, Mantle, Improved Mantle, Absolute Immunity, and Protection from Normal Weapons will all do nothing to block it.
Protection from Normal Missiles is the only exception, as it uses a different mechanism, it can block spells, but doesn't block Magical Stone. So it considers Magical Stone a "Magical +1" and ignores it, but none of the other spells consider it a "Magical +1" and block it.
Physical Mirror still considers it a "Missile Weapon" and reflects it though.
This is contrast to spells like Melf's Minute Meteor's, which creates an actual weapon the caster can attack with.
Protection from Magic Weapons will block Melf's Minute Meteor's. (The Mantles will not because the meteors are considered to have a +6 enchantment)
No, the save is for fear only, damage is guaranteed.
Jan's save vs. Paralysis / Poison / Death is 9, which suggests that both saving throws have been successful. Still, he's held two rounds in a row, which doesn't seem to fit the description.
Apart from that, he gets no damage. I guess that must be because he's protected by Stoneskin.
Multiple saves was from auto-pause.
Pausing the game at the same moment a spell is applied is and has always been broken - it can cause a single spell to use multiple save, magic resistance, and probability rolls, breaking the mechanics of effect application. At it's worst, it can cause every single effect in a spell to use a separate roll.