@Ulkesh: I haven't finished yet, but I'm working on some simple ways to implement new HLAs. The Demonic Avatar is now an equippable token, modeled after the ever-convenient SCS shapeshifting tokens. You can switch to and from demonic form at will, though I did increase the casting speed penalty to +2. There is also an HLA to briefly empower the demonic form, giving it better combat abilities and granting berserker-style immunities for a short time.
Here are some of the other HLA's I've been making. There is no spell to summon a patron (creating the new scripts would be time-consuming), but there are now two paths. Good-aligned characters can get special immunities and bonuses for resisting temptation, and can charm extraplanar critters. Evil-aligned characters grant combat bonuses to summoned demons, and can create extra tokens to let other party members transform into demonic form. Neutral-aligned characters can choose either.
---Aura of Protection from Evil---
Upon choosing this ability, the Demon Summoner's allies are Protected from Evil as long as they are within 15 feet.
---Demonic Rage---
Upon activating this ability, a shapeshifted mage may adopt the frenzied mindset of a raging demon, empowering their attacks and shielding their mind and body. The effects are powerful but gradually fade over time:
- For 2 rounds, the caster gets +50% resistance to physical damage.
- For 3 rounds, the caster becomes immune to charm, confusion, fear, feeblemind, hold, imprisonment, level drain, maze, stun, and sleep.
- For 4 rounds, the caster's attacks per round are set to 5.
- For 5 rounds, the caster gets +50% fire resistance, +25% cold resistance, +25% electricity resistance, and +15% magic resistance.
- For 6 rounds, the caster gets a +2 bonus to THAC0 and damage.
If the caster is in natural form when they activate this ability, Demonic Rage has no effect beyond granting +2 to hit and damage. If they are in demonic form or are shapeshifted into another large creature, Demonic Rage will apply its full effects.
---Demonic Fealty---
With this ability, the caster establishes a new pact with each demon they summon, forming genuine bonds and loyalties to their demonic allies. Good-aligned spellcasters would refuse such a bond on principle, but evil- and neutral-aligned characters may find it prudent.
Upon choosing this ability, all allied demons gain +1 attack per round and +2 to hit and damage so long as they remain within 15 feet of the caster. The caster's aura does not affect non-demon characters that are shapeshifted into a demonic form.
The aura is permanent and requires no activation; allied demons are affected automatically. This ability is mutually exclusive with Purity of Heart.
---Purity of Heart---
Dealing with demons is dangerous business, and an unwise or unlucky mage can lose their life, their soul, and their identity, all in pursuit of power. Casters with an element of good in their hearts and a measure of humility, however, can resist these temptations and emerge stronger for it.
Upon choosing this ability, the Demon Summoner becomes permanently immune to fear, charm, confusion, poison, and disease. The caster also gets a +25% bonus to acid, fire, cold, and electricity damage, as well as a +1 bonus to all saving throws.
This ability is mutually exclusive with Demonic Fealty.
---Corruption---
Ambitious Demon Summoners may opt to sacrifice not just their life force, but even their identity and purpose, in the pursuit of power. Such mages gain a new understanding of extraplanar pacts, allowing them to become a demonic patron in their own right. The Demon Summoner may bestow a boon on their own comrades as a reward for their service.
Upon choosing this ability, the caster permanently creates a token akin to a Demonic Avatar token, with two distinctions. First, any character, regardless of class, may use the token to adopt a demonic form at will. Second, the token requires a sacrifice from the user: while in demonic form, their maximum Hit Points are reduced by 15 points.
This ability may be chosen any number of times, and a new token will be created each time, though a character may only equip one token at a time.
Prerequisite: Demonic Fealty
---Conversion---
Demon Summoners who resist the temptations of their craft gain a greater understanding of how demonic pacts function, learning to understand demons and devils as if they were the mage's own kind.
This ability allows the Demon Summoner to permanently charm any extraplanar being once per day, bypassing immunities to conventional charms. Demons and devils are affected automatically, while other extraplanar creatures may attempt a save vs. spell at -8 to resist the effect.
Creatures that are affected by this spell include demons, devils, imps, mephits, elementals, celestials such as devas and planetars, djinn, feyrs, and salamanders, as well as plane-shifting creatures such as rakshasas, mind flayers, and githyanki.
Just out of curiosity... Is it possible to create not a single class but a multiclass, with experience divide like in the vanilla version, with access to HLA for each of the classes (also like in vanilla version), with their bonuses derived from high intelligence, charisma, etc.? The mix I'm thinking of is Sorc(classic version)/Druid/Psionicist Monk/Archer Paladin? Or, if Sorc were an issue, then Mage(generalist)/Druid/Thief/Psionicist Monk/Archer Paladin?
With as few disadvantages as possible - after the current campaign, I plan to try another run on the highest difficulty level, with mods that add cosmically difficult enemies, such as Neverwinter in BG with mages harder than Irenicus, or the Planar Sphere Mod with its magical elementals that kill off weaker team members in one shot, and with demilishes, fallen planetars, Vecna and other similiar monsters.
@Gniady: As in, four different classes, monk and druid and paladin and sorcerer? Without some elaborate coding or extra utility mods (maybe EEex?), there are some limits to what mods can do. I would have to create an entirely new kit to partially emulate the ones you describe, and balancing it without lots of disadvantages would not be possible.
Monks and sorcerers are very hard-coded. It's not possible to give monks a spellbook or thieving skills, and sorcerers only get the one spellbook. It's possible to give extra unarmed attacks to non-monks, but they will only ever deal 1d2 base damage; only monks can get stronger, enchanted fists.
As for a mage/druid/thief/paladin, you could probably emulate it partially with EEKeeper. If you created a fighter/cleric/druid/mage/thief using this mod, you could then tweak it to be a little closer to what you want:
-You can remove the cleric spells that kit gives you, or simply not use them.
-If you go to the effects tab, you can change the XP penalty from 25% to 15% or 20%, which would roughly imitate a four-class combo rather than a three- or give-class combo.
-Give it Use Any Item and you can use all the correct items, though this will also enable you to use non-druid items like longswords.
You can also install the druid multiclasses from this mod, create a regular sorcerer, and then use EEKeeper to give your sorcerer druid spells (that component adds mage versions of them). EEKeeper can also give you Archer bonuses, Called Shot, and whatever psionics you want.
You might also look into some of subtledoctor's class mods, I believe on Gibberlings3. His mods are very sophisticated and can do a few things most mods can't when it comes to class combinations. The downside is that his mods are also hyper-balanced, so making an overpowered kit would be difficult.
These options might not behave exactly the way you want, but the engine can support part of it, and EEKeeper can help give you a more customized character.
@semiticgoddess Hmm.. So four different classes nope and there is a problem with combining a monk with sorc, and a thief.. What about three different classes, e.g. Druidic Sorcerer/Archer Paladin/Psionicist Fighter? I really love your work xD
@Gniady: I might have said it a bit weird. To be clear, the only character that can get monk fists are single-classed monks, which cannot have any spellbook. Likewise, the only character that can get a sorcerer spellbook is a single-classed sorcerer. Both of these classes cannot have stealth or thieving skills. Likewise, only bards and shamans can dance/sing (it's the same button).
The key is the toolbar. Normal WeiDU stuff cannot change the toolbar, and the toolbar is hardcoded to vanilla classes. You can't recombine them.
The reason I was able to create illegal druid multi-classes is because I can port druid spells to the cleric or mage spellbooks. The druid/mage, for example, is just a cleric/mage with different spells, the turn undead button disabled (you can disable buttons that exist, but can't add others), and Beastmaster-style item restrictions. It's a close approximation, but the engine still sees it as a cleric/mage, and gives it that toolbar.
In a word, many things can be approximated or imitated, but the toolbar must be legal in vanilla.
Aaaach.. So sorcerer and monk cannot be in any multiclass options.. Paladins and rangers can't be part of it either? It must be something from the vanilla option - mage/cleric/fighter and mage/fighter/thief? Some variants of those, like for example Mage(generalist)/Psionicist Fighter/Archer Thief?
Sorry for bombarding you with questions, I'm an idiot when it comes to modding and what's possible and what's not
@Gniady: Yeah, fighter/mage/thieves are the base class for the Fighter/Druid/Cleric/Mage/Thief kit. All of the spells are tossed into the mage spellbook.
Paladins and rangers are also kinda wonky. They get spellbooks, but they don't get any slots until level 8, and tweaking the tables to give them earlier spells will apply to all paladins or rangers; not just a given kit.
No worries about the questions, friend. This game is very old and very wonky, and it very much was not designed to undergo modding this extensive. To this day, veterans like me are still learning new things about the game engine. It took 20 years before anyone knew mage specializations affected saving throws! We spent so much time puzzling over why saves vs. death seemed to behave differently from saves vs. spell.
Thankee. I tested the Seducer-only version of the kit many months ago and was annoyed at how many times I had to click/push buttons to ensure the unit joined me out of combat. Since this is noncombat and, thus, normally not a challenge for most people, that's why I requested there simply be no save if used out of combat.
My intent was that the recruitment ability simply work with no save, kinda like how talking to a recruitable NPC with no recruitment quest just lets you add them to your team.
The last option I can think of regarding multiclass is 3 different classes (Mage/Fighter/Thief), all of your own creations:
1. Fighter/Cleric/Druid/Mage/Thief - if I understand correctly, this kit is marked as a mage class? It has added spells and some options from other classes, but it learns spells from the mage book normally, has intelligence bonuses, and the game recognizes it as a mage? So, if we remove the experience reduction and the inability to use metal items, it could be treated as a mage in this multiclass?
I only don't know how HLA works here - I'm an moron and haven't installed this class in my current build And I don't want to destroy it now.. This kit has normal mage HLA + some other as innate abilities, or it's something else?
2. Psionicist Fighter as a fighter in this multiclass.
3. And Archer Thief as a thief.
Would the game allow for such a multiclass set? I know it would be a little OP, especially if we throw out some of the disadvantages, but in this case that's exactly what it's about..
@Ulkesh: I haven't finished yet, but I'm working on some simple ways to implement new HLAs. The Demonic Avatar is now an equippable token, modeled after the ever-convenient SCS shapeshifting tokens. You can switch to and from demonic form at will, though I did increase the casting speed penalty to +2. There is also an HLA to briefly empower the demonic form, giving it better combat abilities and granting berserker-style immunities for a short time.
Here are some of the other HLA's I've been making. There is no spell to summon a patron (creating the new scripts would be time-consuming), but there are now two paths. Good-aligned characters can get special immunities and bonuses for resisting temptation, and can charm extraplanar critters. Evil-aligned characters grant combat bonuses to summoned demons, and can create extra tokens to let other party members transform into demonic form. Neutral-aligned characters can choose either.
---Aura of Protection from Evil---
Upon choosing this ability, the Demon Summoner's allies are Protected from Evil as long as they are within 15 feet.
---Demonic Rage---
Upon activating this ability, a shapeshifted mage may adopt the frenzied mindset of a raging demon, empowering their attacks and shielding their mind and body. The effects are powerful but gradually fade over time:
- For 2 rounds, the caster gets +50% resistance to physical damage.
- For 3 rounds, the caster becomes immune to charm, confusion, fear, feeblemind, hold, imprisonment, level drain, maze, stun, and sleep.
- For 4 rounds, the caster's attacks per round are set to 5.
- For 5 rounds, the caster gets +50% fire resistance, +25% cold resistance, +25% electricity resistance, and +15% magic resistance.
- For 6 rounds, the caster gets a +2 bonus to THAC0 and damage.
If the caster is in natural form when they activate this ability, Demonic Rage has no effect beyond granting +2 to hit and damage. If they are in demonic form or are shapeshifted into another large creature, Demonic Rage will apply its full effects.
---Demonic Fealty---
With this ability, the caster establishes a new pact with each demon they summon, forming genuine bonds and loyalties to their demonic allies. Good-aligned spellcasters would refuse such a bond on principle, but evil- and neutral-aligned characters may find it prudent.
Upon choosing this ability, all allied demons gain +1 attack per round and +2 to hit and damage so long as they remain within 15 feet of the caster. The caster's aura does not affect non-demon characters that are shapeshifted into a demonic form.
The aura is permanent and requires no activation; allied demons are affected automatically. This ability is mutually exclusive with Purity of Heart.
---Purity of Heart---
Dealing with demons is dangerous business, and an unwise or unlucky mage can lose their life, their soul, and their identity, all in pursuit of power. Casters with an element of good in their hearts and a measure of humility, however, can resist these temptations and emerge stronger for it.
Upon choosing this ability, the Demon Summoner becomes permanently immune to fear, charm, confusion, poison, and disease. The caster also gets a +25% bonus to acid, fire, cold, and electricity damage, as well as a +1 bonus to all saving throws.
This ability is mutually exclusive with Demonic Fealty.
---Corruption---
Ambitious Demon Summoners may opt to sacrifice not just their life force, but even their identity and purpose, in the pursuit of power. Such mages gain a new understanding of extraplanar pacts, allowing them to become a demonic patron in their own right. The Demon Summoner may bestow a boon on their own comrades as a reward for their service.
Upon choosing this ability, the caster permanently creates a token akin to a Demonic Avatar token, with two distinctions. First, any character, regardless of class, may use the token to adopt a demonic form at will. Second, the token requires a sacrifice from the user: while in demonic form, their maximum Hit Points are reduced by 15 points.
This ability may be chosen any number of times, and a new token will be created each time, though a character may only equip one token at a time.
Prerequisite: Demonic Fealty
---Conversion---
Demon Summoners who resist the temptations of their craft gain a greater understanding of how demonic pacts function, learning to understand demons and devils as if they were the mage's own kind.
This ability allows the Demon Summoner to permanently charm any extraplanar being once per day, bypassing immunities to conventional charms. Demons and devils are affected automatically, while other extraplanar creatures may attempt a save vs. spell at -8 to resist the effect.
Creatures that are affected by this spell include demons, devils, imps, mephits, elementals, celestials such as devas and planetars, djinn, feyrs, and salamanders, as well as plane-shifting creatures such as rakshasas, mind flayers, and githyanki.
@Ulkesh: I'm looking at subtledoctor's (the mod creator's) files and honestly I don't know how to copy them over. Subtledoctor's code organization is very advanced, and he organizes his files differently (he uses both TPA and TP2 files; I only ever used TP2). Mine is largely spaghetti code. I actually can't even tell what files and what lines of code I'd need to copy from Refinements, even if I got his permission to use them. I'm sorry; I don't think I can do that one.
@Gniady: I think I have a simple workaround that can get you the character you want. Rather than trying to code a new version of a kit, I just threw together the class abilities tables for Psionicists, Archers, and the Fighter/Druid/Cleric/Mage/Thief. Attached is a .zip file with a folder in it and 2 files in it, USCD0X.spl and CLABUSCX.2da. They're both altered versions of files from the mod, which I tweaked today.
Here's what you can do:
1. Install the Fighter/Druid/Cleric/Mage/Thief kit.
2. Unzip the folder and copy and paste "USCD0X.spl" and "CLABUSCX.2da" into your override folder in your BG1/BG2 directory.
3. Create a new character as a Fighter/Druid/Cleric/Mage/Thief.
The character's class will still be named as just an FDCMT on your Record screen, but it should gain the abilities of Psionicists and Archers as it gains levels; it should have access to both cleric and druid spells in the mage book; and it should have triple the spell slots of a generalist mage, to make room for the priest spells. I also removed the XP penalty for convenience's save. I think this should give you a character with the abilities you're looking for.
I just uploaded a new version with some fixes and revisions. It also includes a new thief kit, the Nightmare, who has low skills and backstabs and can't set traps, but gets special fear spells that can bypass immunity to fear at higher levels.
SG, for the Seducer, may we at least get an install option that makes Recruit Follower and Seduction succeed automatically if used out of combat if the target isn't immune? In my tests, it wasn't fun to spam the ability waiting for them to fail a save, possibly reloading if they weren't affected. Usually, there's no risk and no challenge, and balancing an ability through tedium is a bad idea.
I see this as Matt 9:9. "9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him." Boom! Very quick!
@Endarire: The most recent release should include that fix; Seduction and Recruit Follower should no longer allow a saving throw. If it still fails on a saving throw, let me know.
I tested the newest Seducer kit from the kit pack today and something seemed off. I made a new Elf Thief (Seducer) in Candlekeep on EET. I tried using Seduce and Recruit Follower on the nearest Tutor and I'm unsure if it worked. They didn't work on Phlydia. (I didn't see any status messages saying, "UNIT NAME was recruited as a follower by SEDUCER CHARACTER NAME," nor "UNIT NAME was seduced into the party as a party member by SEDUCER NAME.") I assumed that by clicking Recruit Follower or Seduce then choosing them they would join me as a follower or party member respectively. I didn't notice any dialog saying they made their saves or spell resistance interfered.
What about combining Recruit Follower and Seduce into a single ability? EE allows creatures to be treated like party members sometimes and followers other times. NPC Generator has the newest version of Argent77's code. (Afaaq uses an older version of this code, but I include Afaaq so you can see this character style in action, able to be added as a party member or a follower.) This thread has more info on how to add additional party member functionality to units.
I ask about combining these abilities because party members can have spells that need preparing or inventory that needs handling. Maybe you weren't intending to be so thorough about this, but Seducer is effectively an army conscripter/commander.
@Endarire: To double check, are you using Seduction and Recruit Follower on creatures that are already charmed with Domination or the Charm ability, or are you using it on neutral creatures? It's supposed to fail entirely unless the subject is already charmed; a neutral creature needs to get at least one saving throw before it can become a party member.
The Tutors should be recruitable, but Phlydia is level 6, so you wouldn't be able to recruit her unless you were level 12; the abilities only work on creatures half your level or less.
Looking at the NPC Generator code, I don't really understand any of it. I think the mod relies on character files to introduce new NPCs, and I don't know how that code could be ported such that NPC Generator could create NPCs from creature files in-game. My mod just temporarily gives a creature a script to either become a familiar or join the party; I'm not sure if the two mods can interact that way. That mod's creator might know if it's possible.
I just now uploaded a partial fix: it should be possible to use Recruit Follower and Seduction to change roles in-game. I've removed the immunities that each spell gave to each other. You should be able to turn a recruited follower into a party member with Seduction now, though you might have to manually boot them from the party before using Recruit Follower to turn them into a familiar again.
Let me know if you run into problems. It's been many years since I first made the Seducer, and I think the reason I made Seduction and Recruit Follower mutually exclusive was to prevent a bug of some sort from triggering when a party member tried to become a familiar or vice versa.
Seducer would benefit from more explicit feedback text:
-You must be at least Seducer level X to seduce this creature/recruit this follower.
-You cannot ever seduce/recruit X due to circumstances outside your immediate control.
To clarify, my request for Seduce/Recruit was to avoid needing them to be Charmed/Dominated first. EE/EET mods already add about 200 recruitable characters to the game, Mercenaries of the Sword Coast adds many more, and anyone determined enough to ensure they recruit/seduce the right units will save, try, and reload as often as prudent to ensure this works. Requiring Charm/Domination when these abilities have saves just makes the process take longer without adding challenge or risk in most cases: Balancing by boredom is bad design.
@Endarire: It would take too much time to make custom messages for each level of the Seducer for feedback, but I can remove the requirement to be charmed. I originally put it in because some creatures have excellent saving throws and I felt that automatically granting the player permanent control of any neutral creature was too easy to abuse (Rayic Gethras in particular has extremely good saving throws, and is hard to charm to begin with). But if it makes things easier, sure.
I can add it to the next version of the mod, but for now, attached is a hotfix: if you extract this .zip file and copy and paste its contents into your override folder, the two spells should automatically work on any non-hostile target. Their names and descriptions won't be accurate, but they should work fine. If you want to fix the name and description for this hotfix, just copy and paste them into your ExpandedClasses/spl folder and reinstall the mod, and it will assign them the correct strings.
I think I know how to give a sign that a creature is innately immune to Seduction and Recruit Follower; there's an opcode that includes a string when a spell innately fails. I can include that in the next release. So you know, the creatures that are immune are:
-All constructs (critters with a race of keg, golem, statue, or sword)
-Any creature with a minimum HP effect, like trolls or anyone with the standard "MINHP1.itm" ring for bosses like Lavok that are supposed to open dialog before dying.
Just an FYI - the lvl 1 sparks spell added to Plasma Wizard kit doesn't do anything. it fires, there's feedback in teh combat log but no damage. Only have this mod installed:
Some more comments on the Demon Summoner Kit. I initially casted Fiendish Binding: Babassu and got my green friend. I then casted Fiendish Binding: Herzou. The ability fired and a new creature was summoned but it had no sprite and the original Bound Babassu wasn't dispelled.
I'll mess around some more, but i think this is going to be my class for my next play through
Requiring Charm/Domination when these abilities have saves just makes the process take longer without adding challenge or risk in most cases: Balancing by boredom is bad design.
I will go as further as to say that I do not agree with this: you are turning this kit into cheat mode. You should add a risk: that of them turning hostile.
@Ulkesh
If they turn hostile, we reload or simply don't use the ability. There are too many viable options that don't require babysitting. We can already use a console command to add these creatures to our party as party members.
I understand your point about reducing the requirements if you're going for a speedrun or other, similar challenge, where time or/and number of save slots are of the essence.
However, if you disagree with this design, then play differently. Let's enjoy each enjoy the game our way. Not every mod needs to make the game harder, and sometimes I prefer pushing things to silly extremes for my enjoyment.
In short, if this latest update is considered a cheat, then let's cheat - if we choose - and enjoy it!
@semiticgoddess
For the level Recruit/Seduce level requirement, you should be able to display level variables in output strings. If you know that you need 12 Seducer levels to affect a 6HD creature, then you should be able to display that. I know BG2 Radar exists and could tell us a lot, but it's better not to need external tools like this.
Another thing to check: If a creature is immune to time stop, should it be immune to Recruit/Seduce? These creatures are normally very late game, high-powered beings who may not already be covered by the above criteria.
@Ulkesh
If they turn hostile, we reload or simply don't use the ability. There are too many viable options that don't require babysitting. We can already use a console command to add these creatures to our party as party members.
This is the way you decide to play. In my case, I will just bear the consequences of it, and if the npc turned hostile I wouldn't reload.
@southfla79: Did you install the mod recently? I remember running into the Sparks bug during testing and I thought I had fixed it in one of the new releases: Sparks is supposed to be assigned a projectile, but I accidentally overwrote that code in an earlier version of the mod. If Sparks isn't functioning in the current release, then I have a different problem to solve.
The Hezrou's missing animation is an oversight; the mod wasn't copying over the right BAM files. I can add that to the next release, but attached are the right BAM files. If you unzip and extract them into your override folder manually, the Hezrou should show up properly, as a reddish scrag troll.
@Endarire: I do think WeiDU has the ability to display strings in that manner, but I personally don't know the code or how to find it. My only way of doing so would be to manually edit files in NI, and it's pretty hard on my hands over time. I've been trying to ration computer time and how many clicks I do in a day.
I believe the only creatures immune to Time Stop are Abazigal, Melissan, and Demogorgon. Abazigal and Melissan are already immune to Seduction since they have MINHP1 items, and all three should be impossible to charm due to the level requirement: the highest level possible without mods is level 50, so only level 25 targets and lower can be seduced, and I think all three are level 30 or higher, with immunity to level drain to boot.
I'm not sure what to do with Seduction and Recruit Follower. I haven't played the kit myself in many years, and when I did, I exploited the hell out of both, seducing a wraith and then using level drain to charm creatures that were otherwise too high-level, like Morentherene from SoD. It was game-breaking and fun and silly, and I kind of just tolerated the 2 saving throws back then, saving my time for the higher-priority monsters and letting the weaker critters stay neutral.
The Seducer has always had the potential to be game-breaking if the player invests the time and energy into manipulating critters. Micromanagement is the difference between a modestly-good kit and arguably the most powerful kit in the game.
I think I might be able to structure the code such that an optional component can make Seduction/Recruit Follower require zero saves instead of one, just as a convenience option for folks who want to experiment with the ability without needing to spend as much time.
@southfla79: Did you install the mod recently? I remember running into the Sparks bug during testing and I thought I had fixed it in one of the new releases: Sparks is supposed to be assigned a projectile, but I accidentally overwrote that code in an earlier version of the mod. If Sparks isn't functioning in the current release, then I have a different problem to solve.
The Hezrou's missing animation is an oversight; the mod wasn't copying over the right BAM files. I can add that to the next release, but attached are the right BAM files. If you unzip and extract them into your override folder manually, the Hezrou should show up properly, as a reddish scrag troll.
Yup! I installed with the v2 with druid revisions & updates zip.
Those files fixed it and now it has a sprite! thanks!
Another issue - I summoned the bound Hezrou to test the new files then I summoned the bound Nabassu. Summoning the new bound demon didn't dismiss the Hezrou.
One thing I forgot to ask - if my bound demon dies in combat, is it intended you can't summon a new one until you rest?
Update:
I hit post too soon....the demons don't seem to have any AI scripts setup. Was messing around in the ToB opening fight and my Hezrou just stood there while he got beat on by a bunch of summoned wolves. Same with the bound Red Abishai. it gets attacked and it just stands there.
Edit2 - the HLA that's supposed to give you a token for othe rparty members isn't granting any tokens. took it 6 times on a demon sorc and twice on a mage version and nothing.
Seducer is basically a Pokemaster. You get to play with everything if you're properly prepared for it.
When you mentioned the max level 25 bit at character level 50, you've already won the game or are so close that picking up some level 25ish pets to help is just fun and not likely to change the balance much compared to a well-built, well-prepared team with summon planetar and various optimized summons.
Thinking about it, I would like an install option to determine the maximum level/HD creature Seducer can affect (minimum 1): 1/2 of level (current/default), 3/4, equal to level, or no limit, remembering that you still need to find these creatures and possibly Charm/Dominate them first.
@southfla79: The caster should need to rest to resummon a bound demon, unless the caster has already rested--the familiar is permanent, so you can rest immediately after summoning one and then have a spare casting of the spell on hand.
The Corruption HLA was bugged; I accidentally coded it as a permanent set of bonuses like Extraplanar Pact instead of adding the inventory item. I can fix that in the next update, and I'll fix the item description for that as well.
I think I know why the bound demons aren't acting on their own. Apparently my JoinParty script needs to erase itself, or else the familiar will only take action when ordered.
But I have absolutely no idea why Fiendish Binding sometimes doesn't banish the previous demon. My normal explanations for this behavior don't seem to hold here, and my testing gave random results, though Nabassus and Hezrous did seem more likely to persist than others (or maybe I just tested them more often). At the moment, I think all I know how to do is change the description to say that the Demon Summoner has a chance of controlling 2 demons at once. But I'm not sure why it happens or how to prevent it.
Attached is a hotfix with 3 files. Extract them into your override folder and demons you bind in the future should fight and cast spells on their own during combat. Also, any Corruption HLAs you take in the future should give you the shapeshift token properly. You can add the Corruption token to your inventory via EEKeeper or the console with the code USDSH6A (not to be confused with USDSH6, which is the mage-only version), though the token won't mention the max HP penalty until I upload the next update.
Tried out the new files and all seems well now on the demons defending themselves (didn't try all of them) and now got the Corruption tokens!
And to the death thing - I may not have been clear. Was fighting in the pocket plane and my summoned pit fiend died. I tried summoning another demon and while the ability fired, nothing new was summoned. Is that intended behavior?
Comments
Here are some of the other HLA's I've been making. There is no spell to summon a patron (creating the new scripts would be time-consuming), but there are now two paths. Good-aligned characters can get special immunities and bonuses for resisting temptation, and can charm extraplanar critters. Evil-aligned characters grant combat bonuses to summoned demons, and can create extra tokens to let other party members transform into demonic form. Neutral-aligned characters can choose either.
Upon choosing this ability, the Demon Summoner's allies are Protected from Evil as long as they are within 15 feet.
---Demonic Rage---
Upon activating this ability, a shapeshifted mage may adopt the frenzied mindset of a raging demon, empowering their attacks and shielding their mind and body. The effects are powerful but gradually fade over time:
- For 2 rounds, the caster gets +50% resistance to physical damage.
- For 3 rounds, the caster becomes immune to charm, confusion, fear, feeblemind, hold, imprisonment, level drain, maze, stun, and sleep.
- For 4 rounds, the caster's attacks per round are set to 5.
- For 5 rounds, the caster gets +50% fire resistance, +25% cold resistance, +25% electricity resistance, and +15% magic resistance.
- For 6 rounds, the caster gets a +2 bonus to THAC0 and damage.
If the caster is in natural form when they activate this ability, Demonic Rage has no effect beyond granting +2 to hit and damage. If they are in demonic form or are shapeshifted into another large creature, Demonic Rage will apply its full effects.
---Demonic Fealty---
With this ability, the caster establishes a new pact with each demon they summon, forming genuine bonds and loyalties to their demonic allies. Good-aligned spellcasters would refuse such a bond on principle, but evil- and neutral-aligned characters may find it prudent.
Upon choosing this ability, all allied demons gain +1 attack per round and +2 to hit and damage so long as they remain within 15 feet of the caster. The caster's aura does not affect non-demon characters that are shapeshifted into a demonic form.
The aura is permanent and requires no activation; allied demons are affected automatically. This ability is mutually exclusive with Purity of Heart.
---Purity of Heart---
Dealing with demons is dangerous business, and an unwise or unlucky mage can lose their life, their soul, and their identity, all in pursuit of power. Casters with an element of good in their hearts and a measure of humility, however, can resist these temptations and emerge stronger for it.
Upon choosing this ability, the Demon Summoner becomes permanently immune to fear, charm, confusion, poison, and disease. The caster also gets a +25% bonus to acid, fire, cold, and electricity damage, as well as a +1 bonus to all saving throws.
This ability is mutually exclusive with Demonic Fealty.
---Corruption---
Ambitious Demon Summoners may opt to sacrifice not just their life force, but even their identity and purpose, in the pursuit of power. Such mages gain a new understanding of extraplanar pacts, allowing them to become a demonic patron in their own right. The Demon Summoner may bestow a boon on their own comrades as a reward for their service.
Upon choosing this ability, the caster permanently creates a token akin to a Demonic Avatar token, with two distinctions. First, any character, regardless of class, may use the token to adopt a demonic form at will. Second, the token requires a sacrifice from the user: while in demonic form, their maximum Hit Points are reduced by 15 points.
This ability may be chosen any number of times, and a new token will be created each time, though a character may only equip one token at a time.
Prerequisite: Demonic Fealty
---Conversion---
Demon Summoners who resist the temptations of their craft gain a greater understanding of how demonic pacts function, learning to understand demons and devils as if they were the mage's own kind.
This ability allows the Demon Summoner to permanently charm any extraplanar being once per day, bypassing immunities to conventional charms. Demons and devils are affected automatically, while other extraplanar creatures may attempt a save vs. spell at -8 to resist the effect.
Creatures that are affected by this spell include demons, devils, imps, mephits, elementals, celestials such as devas and planetars, djinn, feyrs, and salamanders, as well as plane-shifting creatures such as rakshasas, mind flayers, and githyanki.
Prerequisite: Purity of Heart
With as few disadvantages as possible - after the current campaign, I plan to try another run on the highest difficulty level, with mods that add cosmically difficult enemies, such as Neverwinter in BG with mages harder than Irenicus, or the Planar Sphere Mod with its magical elementals that kill off weaker team members in one shot, and with demilishes, fallen planetars, Vecna and other similiar monsters.
Monks and sorcerers are very hard-coded. It's not possible to give monks a spellbook or thieving skills, and sorcerers only get the one spellbook. It's possible to give extra unarmed attacks to non-monks, but they will only ever deal 1d2 base damage; only monks can get stronger, enchanted fists.
As for a mage/druid/thief/paladin, you could probably emulate it partially with EEKeeper. If you created a fighter/cleric/druid/mage/thief using this mod, you could then tweak it to be a little closer to what you want:
-You can remove the cleric spells that kit gives you, or simply not use them.
-If you go to the effects tab, you can change the XP penalty from 25% to 15% or 20%, which would roughly imitate a four-class combo rather than a three- or give-class combo.
-Give it Use Any Item and you can use all the correct items, though this will also enable you to use non-druid items like longswords.
You can also install the druid multiclasses from this mod, create a regular sorcerer, and then use EEKeeper to give your sorcerer druid spells (that component adds mage versions of them). EEKeeper can also give you Archer bonuses, Called Shot, and whatever psionics you want.
You might also look into some of subtledoctor's class mods, I believe on Gibberlings3. His mods are very sophisticated and can do a few things most mods can't when it comes to class combinations. The downside is that his mods are also hyper-balanced, so making an overpowered kit would be difficult.
These options might not behave exactly the way you want, but the engine can support part of it, and EEKeeper can help give you a more customized character.
The key is the toolbar. Normal WeiDU stuff cannot change the toolbar, and the toolbar is hardcoded to vanilla classes. You can't recombine them.
The reason I was able to create illegal druid multi-classes is because I can port druid spells to the cleric or mage spellbooks. The druid/mage, for example, is just a cleric/mage with different spells, the turn undead button disabled (you can disable buttons that exist, but can't add others), and Beastmaster-style item restrictions. It's a close approximation, but the engine still sees it as a cleric/mage, and gives it that toolbar.
In a word, many things can be approximated or imitated, but the toolbar must be legal in vanilla.
Sorry for bombarding you with questions, I'm an idiot when it comes to modding and what's possible and what's not
Paladins and rangers are also kinda wonky. They get spellbooks, but they don't get any slots until level 8, and tweaking the tables to give them earlier spells will apply to all paladins or rangers; not just a given kit.
No worries about the questions, friend. This game is very old and very wonky, and it very much was not designed to undergo modding this extensive. To this day, veterans like me are still learning new things about the game engine. It took 20 years before anyone knew mage specializations affected saving throws! We spent so much time puzzling over why saves vs. death seemed to behave differently from saves vs. spell.
My intent was that the recruitment ability simply work with no save, kinda like how talking to a recruitable NPC with no recruitment quest just lets you add them to your team.
1. Fighter/Cleric/Druid/Mage/Thief - if I understand correctly, this kit is marked as a mage class? It has added spells and some options from other classes, but it learns spells from the mage book normally, has intelligence bonuses, and the game recognizes it as a mage? So, if we remove the experience reduction and the inability to use metal items, it could be treated as a mage in this multiclass?
I only don't know how HLA works here - I'm an moron and haven't installed this class in my current build
2. Psionicist Fighter as a fighter in this multiclass.
3. And Archer Thief as a thief.
Would the game allow for such a multiclass set? I know it would be a little OP, especially if we throw out some of the disadvantages, but in this case that's exactly what it's about..
The spell is Divine Intervention. Although such a summoning puts the evil demon summoner ahead of good
@Gniady: I think I have a simple workaround that can get you the character you want. Rather than trying to code a new version of a kit, I just threw together the class abilities tables for Psionicists, Archers, and the Fighter/Druid/Cleric/Mage/Thief. Attached is a .zip file with a folder in it and 2 files in it, USCD0X.spl and CLABUSCX.2da. They're both altered versions of files from the mod, which I tweaked today.
Here's what you can do:
1. Install the Fighter/Druid/Cleric/Mage/Thief kit.
2. Unzip the folder and copy and paste "USCD0X.spl" and "CLABUSCX.2da" into your override folder in your BG1/BG2 directory.
3. Create a new character as a Fighter/Druid/Cleric/Mage/Thief.
The character's class will still be named as just an FDCMT on your Record screen, but it should gain the abilities of Psionicists and Archers as it gains levels; it should have access to both cleric and druid spells in the mage book; and it should have triple the spell slots of a generalist mage, to make room for the priest spells. I also removed the XP penalty for convenience's save. I think this should give you a character with the abilities you're looking for.
I see this as Matt 9:9. "9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him." Boom! Very quick!
Thankee!
What about combining Recruit Follower and Seduce into a single ability? EE allows creatures to be treated like party members sometimes and followers other times. NPC Generator has the newest version of Argent77's code. (Afaaq uses an older version of this code, but I include Afaaq so you can see this character style in action, able to be added as a party member or a follower.) This thread has more info on how to add additional party member functionality to units.
I ask about combining these abilities because party members can have spells that need preparing or inventory that needs handling. Maybe you weren't intending to be so thorough about this, but Seducer is effectively an army conscripter/commander.
Thankee!
The Tutors should be recruitable, but Phlydia is level 6, so you wouldn't be able to recruit her unless you were level 12; the abilities only work on creatures half your level or less.
Looking at the NPC Generator code, I don't really understand any of it. I think the mod relies on character files to introduce new NPCs, and I don't know how that code could be ported such that NPC Generator could create NPCs from creature files in-game. My mod just temporarily gives a creature a script to either become a familiar or join the party; I'm not sure if the two mods can interact that way. That mod's creator might know if it's possible.
I just now uploaded a partial fix: it should be possible to use Recruit Follower and Seduction to change roles in-game. I've removed the immunities that each spell gave to each other. You should be able to turn a recruited follower into a party member with Seduction now, though you might have to manually boot them from the party before using Recruit Follower to turn them into a familiar again.
Let me know if you run into problems. It's been many years since I first made the Seducer, and I think the reason I made Seduction and Recruit Follower mutually exclusive was to prevent a bug of some sort from triggering when a party member tried to become a familiar or vice versa.
-You must be at least Seducer level X to seduce this creature/recruit this follower.
-You cannot ever seduce/recruit X due to circumstances outside your immediate control.
To clarify, my request for Seduce/Recruit was to avoid needing them to be Charmed/Dominated first. EE/EET mods already add about 200 recruitable characters to the game, Mercenaries of the Sword Coast adds many more, and anyone determined enough to ensure they recruit/seduce the right units will save, try, and reload as often as prudent to ensure this works. Requiring Charm/Domination when these abilities have saves just makes the process take longer without adding challenge or risk in most cases: Balancing by boredom is bad design.
Thankee!
I can add it to the next version of the mod, but for now, attached is a hotfix: if you extract this .zip file and copy and paste its contents into your override folder, the two spells should automatically work on any non-hostile target. Their names and descriptions won't be accurate, but they should work fine. If you want to fix the name and description for this hotfix, just copy and paste them into your ExpandedClasses/spl folder and reinstall the mod, and it will assign them the correct strings.
I think I know how to give a sign that a creature is innately immune to Seduction and Recruit Follower; there's an opcode that includes a string when a spell innately fails. I can include that in the next release. So you know, the creatures that are immune are:
-All constructs (critters with a race of keg, golem, statue, or sword)
-Any creature with a minimum HP effect, like trolls or anyone with the standard "MINHP1.itm" ring for bosses like Lavok that are supposed to open dialog before dying.
I'll mess around some more, but i think this is going to be my class for my next play through
I will go as further as to say that I do not agree with this: you are turning this kit into cheat mode. You should add a risk: that of them turning hostile.
If they turn hostile, we reload or simply don't use the ability. There are too many viable options that don't require babysitting. We can already use a console command to add these creatures to our party as party members.
I understand your point about reducing the requirements if you're going for a speedrun or other, similar challenge, where time or/and number of save slots are of the essence.
However, if you disagree with this design, then play differently. Let's enjoy each enjoy the game our way. Not every mod needs to make the game harder, and sometimes I prefer pushing things to silly extremes for my enjoyment.
In short, if this latest update is considered a cheat, then let's cheat - if we choose - and enjoy it!
@semiticgoddess
For the level Recruit/Seduce level requirement, you should be able to display level variables in output strings. If you know that you need 12 Seducer levels to affect a 6HD creature, then you should be able to display that. I know BG2 Radar exists and could tell us a lot, but it's better not to need external tools like this.
Another thing to check: If a creature is immune to time stop, should it be immune to Recruit/Seduce? These creatures are normally very late game, high-powered beings who may not already be covered by the above criteria.
Thankee!
This is the way you decide to play. In my case, I will just bear the consequences of it, and if the npc turned hostile I wouldn't reload.
The Hezrou's missing animation is an oversight; the mod wasn't copying over the right BAM files. I can add that to the next release, but attached are the right BAM files. If you unzip and extract them into your override folder manually, the Hezrou should show up properly, as a reddish scrag troll.
@Endarire: I do think WeiDU has the ability to display strings in that manner, but I personally don't know the code or how to find it. My only way of doing so would be to manually edit files in NI, and it's pretty hard on my hands over time. I've been trying to ration computer time and how many clicks I do in a day.
I believe the only creatures immune to Time Stop are Abazigal, Melissan, and Demogorgon. Abazigal and Melissan are already immune to Seduction since they have MINHP1 items, and all three should be impossible to charm due to the level requirement: the highest level possible without mods is level 50, so only level 25 targets and lower can be seduced, and I think all three are level 30 or higher, with immunity to level drain to boot.
I'm not sure what to do with Seduction and Recruit Follower. I haven't played the kit myself in many years, and when I did, I exploited the hell out of both, seducing a wraith and then using level drain to charm creatures that were otherwise too high-level, like Morentherene from SoD. It was game-breaking and fun and silly, and I kind of just tolerated the 2 saving throws back then, saving my time for the higher-priority monsters and letting the weaker critters stay neutral.
The Seducer has always had the potential to be game-breaking if the player invests the time and energy into manipulating critters. Micromanagement is the difference between a modestly-good kit and arguably the most powerful kit in the game.
I think I might be able to structure the code such that an optional component can make Seduction/Recruit Follower require zero saves instead of one, just as a convenience option for folks who want to experiment with the ability without needing to spend as much time.
Yup! I installed with the v2 with druid revisions & updates zip.
Those files fixed it and now it has a sprite! thanks!
Another issue - I summoned the bound Hezrou to test the new files then I summoned the bound Nabassu. Summoning the new bound demon didn't dismiss the Hezrou.
One thing I forgot to ask - if my bound demon dies in combat, is it intended you can't summon a new one until you rest?
Update:
I hit post too soon....the demons don't seem to have any AI scripts setup. Was messing around in the ToB opening fight and my Hezrou just stood there while he got beat on by a bunch of summoned wolves. Same with the bound Red Abishai. it gets attacked and it just stands there.
Edit2 - the HLA that's supposed to give you a token for othe rparty members isn't granting any tokens. took it 6 times on a demon sorc and twice on a mage version and nothing.
When you mentioned the max level 25 bit at character level 50, you've already won the game or are so close that picking up some level 25ish pets to help is just fun and not likely to change the balance much compared to a well-built, well-prepared team with summon planetar and various optimized summons.
Thinking about it, I would like an install option to determine the maximum level/HD creature Seducer can affect (minimum 1): 1/2 of level (current/default), 3/4, equal to level, or no limit, remembering that you still need to find these creatures and possibly Charm/Dominate them first.
Thankee!
The Corruption HLA was bugged; I accidentally coded it as a permanent set of bonuses like Extraplanar Pact instead of adding the inventory item. I can fix that in the next update, and I'll fix the item description for that as well.
I think I know why the bound demons aren't acting on their own. Apparently my JoinParty script needs to erase itself, or else the familiar will only take action when ordered.
But I have absolutely no idea why Fiendish Binding sometimes doesn't banish the previous demon. My normal explanations for this behavior don't seem to hold here, and my testing gave random results, though Nabassus and Hezrous did seem more likely to persist than others (or maybe I just tested them more often). At the moment, I think all I know how to do is change the description to say that the Demon Summoner has a chance of controlling 2 demons at once. But I'm not sure why it happens or how to prevent it.
Attached is a hotfix with 3 files. Extract them into your override folder and demons you bind in the future should fight and cast spells on their own during combat. Also, any Corruption HLAs you take in the future should give you the shapeshift token properly. You can add the Corruption token to your inventory via EEKeeper or the console with the code USDSH6A (not to be confused with USDSH6, which is the mage-only version), though the token won't mention the max HP penalty until I upload the next update.
And to the death thing - I may not have been clear. Was fighting in the pocket plane and my summoned pit fiend died. I tried summoning another demon and while the ability fired, nothing new was summoned. Is that intended behavior?