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[mod] Xikâsz's Grove of Chaos

LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
edited December 2023 in IWD:EE Mods
jiv06jaz6c9f.jpg

Xikâsz's Grove of Chaos

Xikâsz's Grove of Chaos is a new mod that adds a new quest to IWD:EE as well as provides players with a new possible companion, Xikâsz - an elven fighter/wildmage/thief of neutral alignment.

In the mod, you will get a chance to investigate a new area near Kuldahar. An old grove near which a shady character has been spotted. Is he a friend? Or a foe? It is up to you to go there and find out. But be careful, as you may need to face some new beasts during your investigation.

To start a quest you need to talk to an agitated woman in Kuldahar. However, your main character must gather at least 10.000 experience points for the quest to start.

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Some of the new areas were crafted by @Acifer - thank you!
Special thanks to @jmaeq, @argent77, @kjeron, SoulForged for their help!

Crossmod Banters will be available through IWD Crossmod Banter Pack once ready.
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Comments

  • Nibor_ScotNibor_Scot Member Posts: 32
    Hello, it's wonderful to read your works for Icewind Dale-Mods...my question at you: Is it possible for German translations for all the mods for Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate 1 and 2? Thanks and sorry for my English
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    If I get any translations, I update the mods to include them. Many of my mods are available in German, but Icewind Dale mods aren't as often translated as those for BG2(EE).

    Sorry, but I don't remember which of my mods are already translated, you'd need to check if the mod has "German" directory in the "translations" / "tra" / "languages" directory.

    Cheers!
  • StummvonBordwehrStummvonBordwehr Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 1,385
    congrats, and thanks - y’et again
  • Nibor_ScotNibor_Scot Member Posts: 32
    I like only Quest-Mods and i found some from BGEE and BG2EE with German translations and no one from IWDEE...thanks for your informations...Since 1999 i play from BG, BG2, IWD, IWD2, PST, NWN til NWN2 and then i thougt the Stories ends...but through Beamdog and the fantastic works of modders like you i believe that they never ends...sorry for my comment here in this thread...Great Work :D
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    Thank you!
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    The mod character is now included in the IWD Crossmod Banter Pack. Enjoy!
  • TrouveurTrouveur Member Posts: 631
    I'm preparing a IWD install with all your mods, Artisan's NPC and Cassia. Just waiting for the next SCS version with IWD bug fixes and ToF beta 3. 😊
    Thank you for transforming IWD in a more BG style. So many quests and NPC to try 😀.
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    Remember that ToF is beta, I have no idea how they are going to interact :) Other than that... you're welcome and have fun! :)
  • ThrasymachusThrasymachus Member Posts: 903
    Since I'm halfway through IWDEE, and I didn't want to start over, I added this mod to my current game (using the "patch saved games" option). There didn't seem to be any problem with doing this, and am glad that I added it.

    The mod locations are beautiful! It's worth getting for the visuals alone. The encounters are interesting. I'm glad that there are two separate adventure areas in the mod. "The King in Green" was a lot of fun.

    Xikâsz looks like he'd be a fun addition to a party. Since I already had a full party, though, I didn't add him. But now I have a reason to play IWDEE again in the future! (I had been thinking that this would be my final game...)

    One minor issue:
    During the final encounter with Xikâsz, I defeated him and a dialogue followed. I agreed to let him ago. However, the combat continued after the dialogue -- perhaps because he had summoned some creatures who were still hostile -- and he died. Perhaps there's no way to avoid this kind of thing happening sometimes, but I thought I'd mention it.

    Thanks again for all your excellent mods! I would've stopped playing IWDEE years ago without them. The new locations and companions make it an entirely new -- and far superior -- game.
    B)
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    edited January 19
    I'm unsure if the issue is "fixable" (in not cheat-like way) + well, I will just consider this another sort of challenge for the players, to prevent him from dying. I would advise to kill the minions first, but... I guess that's for the next run.

    I'm glad you're having fun! Cheers!
  • IseweinIsewein Member Posts: 570
    But stranger still is Lost Kuldahar... ;)

    Congrats! They just keep on coming, eh? With all these IWD NPCs, I'm in complete analysis paralysis whom to pick. Guess I'll just install all of them and go with the flow? (Who am I kidding, I'll have to prepare a flowchart mapping out their respective number of interjections and crossmod relative to each other to calculate the best combination :s ...)
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    I would say: pick the ones you like, it's cool when there are talks that flesh out a character, but if you do not feel the connection, why would you force yourself to keep him/her/them around :) After all, it's supposed to be a fun team you enjoy having around not a torture! And I bet you will like some of these characters more than others! :)

    Cheers!
  • alaisFcZalaisFcZ Member Posts: 37
    thank you lava for your contributions to give more "life" to IWD EE
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    Thanks!
  • HermeticsHermetics Member Posts: 25
    A nice contribution to the Icewind dale modbase. I haven't played with the character you made as I'm not a fan of triple class for this game or mage class in general over bard for obvious reasons, but he's definitely an interesting premade. I'm assuming there's some sort of content involving him and malavon since he mentioned him in his dialogue?

    That club you added is kinda bonkers with a 20% blunt damage bonus. Not in a bad way just it's a very solid addition especially for that stage in the game since most of the best gear comes in near the end of the game where the combat is mostly solved. Even for someone who uses regular maces or morningstars having it in the offhand buffing your damage is a big deal, my barbarian is definitely enjoying it.

  • paladin84paladin84 Member Posts: 65
    Hi, I am planning to translate this mod but have difficulties understanding how the new NPC name (Xikâsz) should be pronounced. Can you write down the transcription for it, please?
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    edited March 22
    Well, it's not like it's ever pronounced anywhere, but I think in my head I would say / zəkɑʃ / or / zəkɪʃ / (you can use this site to pronounce it for you, just paste what I wrote there: http://ipa-reader.xyz/ )... the letter â may be tricky here, I would say it's this mix of "ə", "ɑ" and "ɪ"... In theory, something between "ə" and "ɪ" would be most accurate, so while I like the sound of / zəkɑʃ /, I guess / zəkɪʃ / would be more fitting thus I would use that one - / zəkɪʃ /
  • paladin84paladin84 Member Posts: 65
    Thank you! Зекиш (in Russian) then.
  • Dalmir_The_DarkDalmir_The_Dark Member Posts: 64
    edited March 24
    Fighter/Wild Mage/Thief is a very interesting combination that I've never even considered. I might have to do another Heart of Fury run to test this mod. The extra XP from HOF is great for leveling multiclass characters.
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    Now I wonder which of my characters have the "ignore Heart of Fury" option ticked so it worked as it should :s I really need to check that one day and update some of those that lack it.

    Anyway, with all the new quests and all, completing them also gives you some XP boost :)
  • Dalmir_The_DarkDalmir_The_Dark Member Posts: 64
    What is "Ignore Heart of Fury?" Is that a flag to make it so they don't earn extra XP in HOF mode? It's been a while since I have had IWDEE installed and I've only ever done that one HOF run which was the one I was telling you about.
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    This is a flag each creature file has. When you use it, HoF / Nightmare won't affect the creature. Companions should use this, so they don't get stuff like extra HP.
  • paladin84paladin84 Member Posts: 65
    edited March 29
    In line @63 in setup.tra file there is a new spell (Turmoil Blade) with a description:
    "This wild magic spell creates a chaotic blade, a shortsword that isn't simply a +2 sword..."
    but in @96 ("This sword was created with the Turmoil Blade spell."), the sword have a desription as it is a long sword (but damage):
    "Damage: 1d6+2 (slashing)
    Speed Factor: 4
    Proficiency Type: Long Sword
    Type: One-handed
    Requires:
    6 Strength".

    Is it intentional or not?
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    It's a mistake and it will be changed to a shortsword in the next version.
  • Dalmir_The_DarkDalmir_The_Dark Member Posts: 64
    HOF testing has begun. I reinstalled IWDEE and added everything from The New Light collection including Xikâsz's Grove of Chaos. Let's see how this goes. I'm currently going it solo but plan on picking up Xikâsz once I make it to his grove. I'm really looking forward to checking out this new content. Hopefully it won't take long to get there. I'm still grinding it out in Easthaven because I'm too greedy for all of the XP to ask for help from any of the NPCs yet. :)
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    Have fun! :) if there are some joinable companions that suffer from HoF additional info, I will update them when I have a moment :)
  • Dalmir_The_DarkDalmir_The_Dark Member Posts: 64
    I think I will only be rolling with a two man crew. Just me and Xikâsz so I won't be testing any of the other companions. At least not this run. But I do have all of them installed for future playthroughs, including Tipps who I never got a chance to use last time because it required the additional geomancer mod (which I did install this time). I'll keep an eye out for any bugs and any typos in the dialogue but this playthrough will be just me and the fighter/wild mage/thief this time around.
  • Dalmir_The_DarkDalmir_The_Dark Member Posts: 64
    OMG! I finally made it to Xikâsz's Grove of Chaos and, man, let me tell you this area is no joke on HOF mode. I decided to take a bit of a detour before coming straight here and went to Heart of Winter to level up a bit. I'm really glad I did but it's not helping very much.
    Those Vampire Gnolls are real A-Holes!!!

    I love it! It's really forcing me to use my brain and be creative. I haven't even been able to recruit Xikâsz yet but I am determined.
  • paladin84paladin84 Member Posts: 65
    I keep translating the mod and I have one more question: Xikâsz in his speech (while telling his story) uses words like "Domains of Dread", "Dark Lords", "Dark Powers" and also mentions how Ravenloft is organized, calling it "set of cages". I though that all these specific terms as well as knowledge how Ravenloft is organized are unknown for people inside Ravenloft (and very likely for people outside of Ravenloft as well). They might probably know about "Powerful Rulers who can change the earth of their countries by their will", but not about "Dark Powers". Am I wrong?
  • LavaDelVortelLavaDelVortel Member Posts: 2,859
    I believe you cannot on one hand offer a story in which you refer lore introduced with Ravenloft, and on the other hand offer nothing and leave literally anything for player to guess, because that would cause a barrier for those that know nothing about Ravenloft and the Domains of Dread. Furthermore...
    ...later in the mod you are told in one of the friendship talks, that Xikâsz met the Vistani and spent much time with one of them and they exchanged many tales. Vistani know more than others and it's also referred to here:

    "The Vistani were renowned travelers of the mists, which did not hinder them in the least. It is believed that the Vistani got this ability from the Dark Powers."
    https://ravenloft.fandom.com/wiki/Vistani#cite_note-CoS-p26-1

    While I do not agree with how Vistani are referred to and I do not agree to portraying them as "agents of Dark Powers", because... well, that's kinda harmful to describe a whole group of people / ethnicity through some dark connection, I do think that if anyone may know more about Ravenloft, it may be them, thanks to their travels, observations and tales.

    Different sources also keep it unclear -- on one hand we can read there isn't much information about them, on the other hand we can read "The Dark Powers also seem capable of non-evil manipulations. Although their machinations are often directly responsible for the misery of many of Ravenloft's inhabitants, they also appear to play a role as dispenser of justice. Some tales of innocents, who have escaped Ravenloft for happier environs, are attributed to the Dark Powers, who have judged a being worthy of reward and release from their misty domain. "

    So if there are tales, it's not like Dark Powers are always "unknown", even if sometimes they may be referred to differently. But then again, I believe Vistani may know more and it's unclear if Dark Powers call themselves Dark Powers, because perhaps it's exactly how they are referred to by those who know about something greater playing with the Domains.

    These two details combined made me decide to write it that way. I want everyone to enjoy the mod, not only those that know some bits about the settings and that's also why Xikâsz's friend was introduced, as someone who has access to at least some more information about it, even if at times it may feel a tiny bit meta. It feels better, than providing almost no background information about the world the character comes from apart from "it's dark, scary, and there are vampires there."
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