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Mod Request - NPC Addition, I would pay for this

nptitimnptitim Member Posts: 111
I am not sure how easy is to mod BGEE at the moment but I have a mod request that I don't know how to do myself. I would be willing to pay someone for their time if they are able to set this up.

I have always wanted to have an animal companion NPC that levels up with the PC, so it starts at level 1 and is level 10 or whatever by end (and hopefully could move on to BG2EE and continue to scale). This companion in specific would be a hell hound. I don't care if the computer "thinks" it is a human or whatever, as long as it's looks and acts like a hell hound. No dialogue is necessary although some cool sound sets like snarling or howling or something would be extra cool but not mandatory.

I have lots of ideas as how to start it off at level 1 and then have it and its powers (breath weapon, etc) scale up but I will save those details for whomever wants to work on the project.

If you are interested and able to do a good job just let me know either here or email me at NPTITim@aol.com

Thanks for your time
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Comments

  • scriverscriver Member Posts: 2,072
    That would be kind of interesting. It could be part of a general pack of different animal companions so people would have some to choose from... Certainly something I would be willing to try my hand on making myself.

    It would probably require a spot in the party, though, I think that would be the easiest way to do it. I think treating it like a special summon would be the only other way and then I believe you would have to make a different version of it for every level.
  • PantalionPantalion Member Posts: 2,137
    Is it important for your purposes to have the NPC operate as an actual party member? The Find Familiar spell functions similarly to the notion of having an animal companion. Theoretically one could have a variant of it, an innate or item based "Summon Animal Companion" ability that scales with your level.

    Every few PC levels would have an improved version (new versions could occur at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 25, 30, & 40, that's 10 "levelled" Companion entries) and by using Summon Animal Companion you could then unsummon the old Animal Companion at the same time as resummoning the new, levelled variant complete with new abilities.

    The "Familiar" sort of counts as a party member, without being a party member, can't use equipment, has a few particular abilities inherent to its type, and has built in, largely one-way, interactions with the PC.
  • nptitimnptitim Member Posts: 111
    @scriver - yes I was envisioning the companion as one of the characters and I would be totally fine with it taking up a spot. I was actually hoping to be able to give it armor (I was thinking modified elfin chain mail made sense) but that wasn't crucial.
  • nptitimnptitim Member Posts: 111
    @Pantalion - The familiar spell is possible although I don't like the idea of "summoning" it nor do I want to have a headache to the PC if it dies. Also I don't believe Hell Hounds are an option for find familiars although I imagine with tweaking it could work.
  • RequiemRequiem Member Posts: 187
    edited January 2013
    I don't think this would be too hard to do technically, would need someone who can draw better than stick figures for the portrait and I'm not able to do the soundsets.

    Could have a start on this to upload before the end of the weekend provided there are no unforeseen obstacles, you can send me the ideas you have if you are still interested.
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    why not a figurine like the black spider figurine or Guenhwyvar of Drizzt
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    Let's get someone in here who could do animations. It would be neat, for example, to have a custom animation that would change its appearance based on the armor you put on it, and with a Hair/Skin color scheme for its fur.

    It would take a bit of work, but it might be worth it.
  • nptitimnptitim Member Posts: 111
    @Requiem - there is an official Hell Hound portrait/picture that came with some game, can't remember if it was NWN or BG but I could find it. I am not sure if hell hounds are in BG or just NWN

    This is what I was thinking about for the stats:
    Base stats:
    14 str
    17 dex
    14 con
    6 int
    11 wis
    11 cha

    I think it should get +1 to attribute every other level, stopping at level 30, although I can "cheat" that in if necessary.

    Hell hounds have a breath weapon. I think 1d2 per level is good. I don't think it is necessary to limit it to 3 times per day. The visual effect of Ag. Scorcher (2nd level mage spell) would work.

    It would be cool if the hell hound could wear armor (at least one kind), rings, amulets, bracers - whatever one could logically tie around a dog.

    It needs a bite that scales. If possible this is what I was thinking
    Level 1-5: 1d6 + str damage
    Level 6-10: 1d8 + str damage, counts as a + 1 weapon, 1.5 attacks per round
    level 11-15: 1d10+str damage, counts as a +2 weapon, 2 attacks per round
    Level 16-20: 1d12+str damage, counts as a +3 weapon, 2.5 attacks per round
    Level 21+: 3d6+str damage, counts as a +4 weapon, 3 attacks per round
    Bite damage should either be piercing or blunt (blunt is probably better for the game)

    It isn't crucial but hell hounds can see invisible creatures (base stat was 50% of the time) and are hard to surprise (find traps might be a cool bonus to throw in) and should be able to 'see' in the dark.

    It should be immune or highly resistant to fire.

    If you need a specific name as a NPC the hell hound's name in my game is Torat

    It sound increase hp by d8 per level. I wasn't sure what class to use for level progression? Fighter, mage, thief all looked pretty good. Not a paladin or druid. If possible it shouldn't peak HP at level 9 and then just get +3 or whatever, it is a monster so it should get 1d8 all the way up.

    If possible its movement speed should be faster than a person, I was thinking equal to a hasted person would be good.

    Alignment is usually lawful evil although true neutral or lawful neutral would work as well.

    Those were my ideas, I am not sure how feasible those things are to put into the build of something.

    I am attaching the portrait picture I mentioned earlier. Not married to it but it works fine

    If you (or anyone who works on this) need anything else let me know

  • RequiemRequiem Member Posts: 187
    edited January 2013
    @nptitim That all sounds feasible, I was thinking lawful neutral alignment since it is happy to follow you, do you want a back story (e.g. you grew up with it in candlekeep, you find it on the way to friendly) I had as a backstory you grew up with it, and it respects you because of your divine heritage (no spoilers, just hinted at).

    The only thing that might be troubling is the item restriction, but I will look into it and let you know

    Also when you say +1 to attribute every other level do you mean every attribute? Because at that rate I imagine it will become quite overpowered, I don't mind doing it, it may just be less fun to play.

    With the breath weapon, I was thinking either burning hands or aganazzars schorcher, will have a play around.

    I'm currently using the ranger class with a custom kit, will upload a couple of screenshots later of it in action.
  • nptitimnptitim Member Posts: 111
    I was thinking the PC (me) would have 1 point to give to an attribute every other level. Just 1 point otherwise you are right it would get super overpowered. Strength is the most natural but I was thinking it might be fun from a replay concept to be able to spread that point out over str, dex, con to see how it goes. IWD I believe did this for PC's but it was every 5 levels.

    I don't care a ton for a back story but I am open to whatever.

    I would want something where no matter what the reputation is of the character it is loyal anyway (ie I wouldn't want it leaving or complaining if I got too good or too evil). A reasonably high morale check would be good too if that is something to consider (ie I don't want it getting scared easily but that doesn't mean it has to be immune to fear).

    Thanks
  • RequiemRequiem Member Posts: 187
    No worries, adding attribute points every 3 levels is a d and d 3rd edition thing which isn't present in the BG:EE engine, I can simulate it in a couple of ways, either you have a dialog every so often where you choose which stat to improve, or you have each stat improve by a set amount at a set level, or you have a random stat improve at a set level, I will mess around with it and see how it goes.
  • nptitimnptitim Member Posts: 111
    Very cool, let me know things progress and what else you need from me.
  • DazzuDazzu Member Posts: 950
    I recall there being a wolf companion mod... Haiass or something like that
  • RequiemRequiem Member Posts: 187
    edited January 2013
    V0.34 - 12/1/2013

    Fixed an exploit where stat increases stacked cumulatively with spells and potions.
    May now only wear up to studded leather armour.
    Fixed some typos.
    Hopefully fixed a bug where weapons disappear.

    --------------------------------------Common Issues--------------------------

    Some people have reported that they have an install issue where weidu say it needs 26 things to append to 25STWEAP.2da but has only been given 23 things. This is due to an error I made with my kitpack mod which has since been fixed, but to solve this problem permanently just follow the steps below.

    1. Delete the 25stweap.2da file from your override folder.
    2. Reinstall the most recent versions of the BGEE Kitpack and Torat mods
    3. Enjoy your game

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    You can find Torat just behind the wall opposite to where you start in candlekeep (in the gardens). I have included the portraits in a seperate zip, there is information on the forum about how to get them working.

    http://www47.zippyshare.com/v/30809636/file.html - The actual NPC mod files v0.35

    http://www29.zippyshare.com/v/83949349/file.html - The portraits

    Give it a go and see what you think.
    Post edited by Requiem on
  • nptitimnptitim Member Posts: 111
    @Requiem - wow, you work fast. That is very cool. I have to work at the moment but I will mess around with this tonight. I am not sure I know exactly where to put the mod itself (I haven't modded BG in 15 years) but I will look around and see what I can figure out, the portraits shouldn't be a biggie. Thank you and I will let you know how it goes
  • RequiemRequiem Member Posts: 187
    @nptitim Well the mod is installed through weidu (as it uses a custom kit) so you just unzip the contents into your 00766 folder of your install then run setup-hellhound.exe, there is a topic on these forums "How to use custome portraits" that explains how to do the portraits.

    If you aren't set up for a weidu install then the topic here explains it pretty well.
  • nptitimnptitim Member Posts: 111
    @Requiem - I have made progress but I haven't been able to install it correctly, I think I am likely making some rookie mistakes. I had a few questions for you if you don't mind.

    When I open the command window to get Weidu to work, do I have to be in a certain folder? For example should the heading when I open up the command window just say's Baldur's Gate or do I need to be data/00766 section? I think I am in the later.

    Second question - now when I open up BG/Data/00766 I see the hellhound folder (I couldn't zip it directly to that so I opened it up and pasted it there). There were some additional files you sent not in the folder itself (hellhound.tp2) and the setup-hellhound application file. Do those 2 files need to go in the hell hound folder or can I put them in the general 00766 folder? At the moment I have those files in the general folder.

    I ran the setup application and got this error:

    "can not set column wise because there are 23 lines in 2TSDWEAP.2DA but I was only given 26 things to append"

    Any help you can provide would be great. Thanks
  • RequiemRequiem Member Posts: 187
    @nptitim that is an error on my part, if you are getting that message it is because i have done the .tp2 file incorrectly, i will sort it now and upload a new version.
  • RequiemRequiem Member Posts: 187
    edited January 2013
    @nptitim new version uploaded, this one should work, basically you want the folder hellhound inside the 00766 folder, and the setup-hellhound.exe and hellhound.tp2 inside the 00766 folder, but not inside the hellhound folder, sounds like you had it right before and it was my mistake.
  • nptitimnptitim Member Posts: 111
    @requiem - is there a new file I should use or should I just delete the old one and download it again from the same place? Should I remove all old files? There wasn't a link with your last post. Thanks for all the help so far
  • RequiemRequiem Member Posts: 187
    @nptitim sorry mate, didnt make it very clear, am a bit tired so i apologise:

    http://www10.zippyshare.com/v/5944362/file.html - this is the one you want (torat v0.33.zip)

    Delete all of the old files you downloaded, then put the new files in the same place the way you did with the old, hopefully this time when you choose install it should work straight away, but let me know if it doesn't
  • nptitimnptitim Member Posts: 111
    @Requiem

    It worked! That is so awesome. I just did a super fast test (he joined me, followed me around), I will create my guy and start a new playthrough soon, if anything comes up I will let you know.

    2 Quick questions:
    If I wanted to make him available in the black pits is that a giant pain in the ass or is that something I can do myself (can I just spawn him with some code like other monsters?)

    The paper doll looks good as is. If at some point I wanted to change that is that just a one file swap or is that also a big pain in the butt? I know there are hell hounds in BG2 so the doll already exists for one but I don't think it is available yet for use in BGEE so I was just thinking down the road.

    But this is super exciting, I have been hoping to do this for a long time. I said I would pay you for your efforts and that was sincere, what can I do to say thanks?

    I appreciate it,
    Tim
  • RequiemRequiem Member Posts: 187
    @nptitim I don't want anything in return, just enjoy it, I like modding and was getting bored on my Christmas hols so it filled in some time, its great to know someone will use and enjoy it, and obviously if you want to alter the mod feel free to change any of the files.

    I will look into the paperdoll, not certain what the deal is with that but a change should be possible.

    If you want him in the black pits his creature code is hellhoun (no d on the end) although I can't guarantee he will work properly as it has had literally zero testing with black pits and bg2.

    Let me know if you find any bugs, I think I've got the worst ones but I'm sure there are some I haven't found.

    Enjoy
  • SagothSagoth Member Posts: 17
    edited January 2013
    @Requiem :O This.. is... amazing!!! I always wanted creature npc in my party!! Hellhound, biography... no words really. Pure Awesomeness!!

    Thank You for creating my new favorite follower npc in BG series and Mr Nptitim for asking for it :) I hope i can count on him to be in bg2EE too \o/

    Any chance to upgrade it further with some side quest or additional banters with npcs? And can you expand it to BG2 along with some side quest and banters? *.*


    Bhaalspawn clearing the way to the throne with loyal hellhound by his side. perfect.
  • SagothSagoth Member Posts: 17
    edited January 2013
    I edited Torat's portrait, I'll upload it here if someone wants to use it.

    Image by Azany ( azany.deviantart.com )

    download link: http://www.mediafire.com/?7babs10vp63o7e7
  • SagothSagoth Member Posts: 17
    edited January 2013
    Forgot to upload a preview, sorry.
    Post edited by Sagoth on
  • RequiemRequiem Member Posts: 187
    @Sagoth its possible that I may improve this in the future to make it a more fully fledged npc but for now I am mainly focusing on my kit pack, if I get some free time I may flesh it out a bit, its likely I will make it compatible with bg2 when that comes out too.

    Nice portrait btw, will have a better look when I get home and don't have to look on my phone.
  • nptitimnptitim Member Posts: 111
    @Sargoth I am glad that someone else is getting to use this awesome mod. I also edited his portrait pic, my other pics were higher resolution and the current one just didn't look right with them. I was happy to find this one, check it out
  • nptitimnptitim Member Posts: 111
    @Requiem - thanks again for making this mod. I did notice one thing that doesn't seem to be working correctly. His bite damage doesn't appear to be working, the computer thinks he is just punching with his fist. I am not sure if it started this way but at least after a level up it is like that, so he just does 1d2 damage which makes him kind of underpowered.

    If you are able to look at that it would be great. I was also hoping his strength damage would be added to his bite once his strength was high enough. The breath weapon seems to be working well.

    Thanks - Tim
  • RequiemRequiem Member Posts: 187
    @nptitim strength damage will be added when it is high enough, I am certain of that. With regards to the other bug you mentioned, when you downloaded the mod was it v0.33? I did encounter that bug in the past when his attack was created as a magical weapon, but it should now actually replace the fist attack with his claw attack.

    If you are using v0.33 then I can't seem to reproduce this, I have tried levelling him through each weapon change a few times and it seems to be working fine for me, if you can let me know anything else I can look into it further, i.e. is this in the black pits. Sorry it's not working properly for you.
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