Removing Skills & Feats

Odo

Hello!

I've just begun work on a PW project, and would like to eliminate pickpocket entirely. I should also add that I know next to nothing about scripting, but I am very interested in learning at least the basics!

My question is: What is the easiest way to go about just completely removing the pickpocket skill from my module? I've tried editing the skills.2da, and just wiping out the pickpocket line altogether. Would that work? I also then wasn't sure how to convert that into a .hak file to import into the module.

Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Odo

Ok, so I've figured out on my own how to do the above things, and the pickpocket skill is now hidden.

My next problem, that I'm seeming to have no luck with, is removing the pickpocket command from the radial menu, so the skill can't be used at all. Is such a thing even possible?

ForSerious

I agree completely about getting rid of pickpocket for player versus player. I like the idea of being able to pickpocket from NPCs and monsters for a little extra loot though.

Dealing with pickpocket is on my todo list, but I have not started on it.
I believe most of what you need to script will be in the OnAcquireItem module event script.
Since you mention knowing nothing about scripting, @TarotRedhand has a great starter guide.

After getting the basics down, the pseudo code for blocking pick-pocketing would be:
Check if item GetStolenFlag() is true.
Check if GetModuleItemAcquiredFrom() is a PC.
If both of those checks come back true, return the item to the player and optionally inform the taker that it's not allowed.

You can also just ask me to script it for you, and I'll totally do it because I enjoy scripting—and was planing on doing it eventually anyway.

BUT, I'm also hoping that someone else, who knows more about it, will comment.

TarotRedhand

While my guides are for absolute beginners they are really for those who want to know why they do things. For a more general list of tutorials you could do worse than look at this thread over on the vault -

The Starting Point - module building tutorials for beginners - and where to find them

It is full of links to various tutorials. For learning to script I would recommend these from those mentioned-

1. The offline lexicon - In addition to the function definitions the lexicon contains a number of scripting tutorials.
2. The Guide to Building Volume I – The Aurora Toolset Manual - In addition to being an essential guide to the toolset it shows you where you can avoid scripting by using the toolset's built-in script wizard.
3. Just The FAQs, ma’am (Scripting FAQs) - These contain script solutions to the (roughly 100 or so) common scripting problems.
4. My TR’s Basics tutorials - As I say above. But they are also useful to have as reference material.
5. LS-TK Script Generator (Lilac Soul’s Script Generator, updated for NWN 1.69). If someone tells you they've never used this to generate scripts for them, they are probably a liar. I certainly used it while learning NwScript.

Hope that helps.

TR

TarotRedhand

@Odo said - My next problem, that I'm seeming to have no luck with, is removing the pickpocket command from the radial menu, so the skill can't be used at all. Is such a thing even possible?

I don't know if that's hard-coded or not. If not it will probably involve editing one or more 2da files. Unless someone on here gives you a good answer, give the vault forums a try.

TR

Odo

Thanks to both of you for the links and the advice! I've been browsing for some good beginner scripting tutorials, so all of these should keep me busy for some time.

@ForSerious If you truly wouldn't mind creating the pickpocket script you have in mind, I would really appreciate that. So far, my fixes to the skill haven't really produced the results I'm happy with, and I also feel like editing 2da files isn't the best way to go about this.

ForSerious

What I have in mind is not ultra elegant either. My idea is coming from the premise that the skill can't be removed.

Kamiryn

Pickpocket already requires training so to disable pickpocket you would have to make sure that no-one has ranks and can't take ranks in pickpocket:
In skills.2da put a 0 in column AllClassesCanUse and also put a 0 in column ClassSkill for the various thief classes (rogue, assassin, ...).
That would not make the icon go away but you should get a message like 'Can't use that skill' whenever you click the icon. Also you could overwrite the pickpocket icon with a blank one.

ForSerious

Kamiryn wrote: »

Also you could overwrite the pickpocket icon with a blank one.

I just realized we forgot to mention that unless you want to do what @Kamiryn mentioned here, you don't need a hakpack for this. Putting modified 2da files in the override folder of your game server machine will put those changes in effect for all players that join the server. As long as you don't allow local characters, no one would be able to get ranks in pick pocket, so they would never be able to use it.

So, you probably wouldn't need any scripting. My attempt so far has blocked items being pick pocketed, but not gold. I forgot to set up a test for stacked items. Either way, my script is mainly so that players can still pick pocket NPCs and monsters. Not quite what you're asking for.

Baireswolf

And if you deny using the skill through 2da/overridea you could add a New skill and work around through a player tool and script checking against that New skill.

ForSerious

Thanks for the suggestion, but I advise against it because, even though more skills were added with Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark, more skill points per level were not added. (Okay maybe I'm still a little bitter about that after all these years.)

Odo

@Kamiryn, thanks for the suggestion and explanation of what to do and where. I think this will likely be the best way to go for me, as it seems like a very easy and quick fix!

@ForSerious, thank you as well for letting me know about the override folder option. While I would like to eventually put a script in place that would allow PC's to pickpocket NPC's, for the time being, just removing the whole thing will work best. The dang skill is just too broken for a MP setting, and causes too much drama for my liking.