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A little preview: the Taunt spell

chimericchimeric Member Posts: 1,163
edited September 2016 in BG:EE Mods
Taunt spell for BGEE
(Re-uploaded)

Version 1
Thanks to: The Imp, Mike1072, Ardanis, Roxanne, subtledoctor and everyone else who helped me learn the ropes

This small mod is a demonstration of some of the design principles I argued for on the Beamdog forums. The Taunt spell is a small but official AD&D 1st Edition enchantment spell from a 1983 issue of the Dragon Magazine. It is by no means a game-changer, and its effect is similar to a spell from Torment. It even uses the same BAM file. But mine is an area effect spell, albeit tiny, and the environment of Baldur's Gate is different enough to matter. Used smartly, it is a short but real step towards more flexible and intelligent tactics that my other spells will do more to promote.

Taunt will make enemies chase the caster, ignoring the rest of the world, for three rounds. The spell is finished, tested and ready to be copied to a spellbook. Try casting it a few times - as a man, as a woman, a midget man, a midget woman.

Bonus! Charm Person:

I included a new, different version of Charm Person in the package - the first of my revamped charms. It is not complete, but you can play around with it, cast it on different enemies and see what happens. It will not overwrite your Charm Person. For convenience this demo spell works automatically, without a saving throw. Press Ctrl + Space to bring up the console and type: C:CreateItem("charmp_#"), then press Enter. Read the description in the scroll.

Installation: Unpack the archive to the main game directory and run setup-Taunt.exe. The installer adds lines to your Specific.ids (636 and 637), Missile.ids (636 and 637) and Projectl.ids (635 and 636), so make sure you do not have any other custom entries in those files at those positions. If there are no files with these names in the override folder, it means that you do not. A clash is very unlikely even if you have many other spells and effects installed.

Play: Find Qeebie in the Inner Grounds of Candlekeep. Start a new game or type C:MoveToArea("AR2600") in the console, then use Ctrl + J to teleport inside the walls. The dialogue works better for a new character who is short on cash after buying equipment, as Qeebie will demand 100 gold for the two scrolls he is offering. The dusty scroll will give you Taunt, the other one is useless. You can buy only one for 50 gold, but it's luck of the draw. If you would rather get the Taunt scroll directly, type C:CreateItem("taunsc_#") in the console.

Sorcerers: The demo shows how I intend to handle giving select new spells to sorcerers - in an ad hoc way, through quests, special encounters and situations, in this case from an item. Get both scrolls or just the dusty scroll from Qeebie, then have a sorcerer examine it. You will also see the price sorcerers will have to pay for new power.

Charm inside dialogue: I have suggested that instead of replacing a creature's conversation entirely Charm should give special dialogue options. Charm Qeebie with either the new or the old Charm Person and see what you can tell him now.

Undermine expectations: The steep cost of the scrolls is intentional - it is a test of how eager a wizard or a sorcerer is for new power. Taunt scrolls will be available for copying later in the game, but the dusty scroll is the only opportunity for a sorcerer. Generally magic should be neither easy nor straightforward in acquiring. It should not be something to shop for. Unscrupulous characters might find it easier to stab Qeebie or steal from him.

Spells by monsters: I hope to make most of my spells usable by monsters against the party, not just give them to adventurers as another tool. To see what Taunt does to the group, type C:CreateCreature("-hostile") - no underscore or hash. Try it a couple of times for a complete experience.

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Post edited by chimeric on
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Comments

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  • chimericchimeric Member Posts: 1,163
    I just found out the spell was missing a BAM file. Sorry, and if you have downloaded the file, please do it again at the new link. The casting will be a good deal more entertaining now.
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