Baldur's Gate & Baldur's Gate II Mod Thread

[Rake]

I'm currently playing a solo insane BG2 game with a Wizard Slayer. While it's generally one of the classes people give the most shit to, I've found that it's actually fairly solid. The key is that the miscast magic ability actually doesn't require you to actually damage the target. That means that it works even through stoneskin and mirror image, which means you can completely disable a mage in 10 hits without even doing any damage to him. You can get 10 attacks in a round by using GWW or improved haste/dual wielding, so it's certainly possible to completely disable a mage in just one round. I imagine the fight with Irenicus will end up being a gigantic cakewalk, since he'll just try to cast a bunch of spell and fail at it. It works for spell-like abilities, too, so it's not just great against casters.

Obviously, the negatives are fairly bad. No belts, gauntlets, or rings, but you can still wear helmets (as in Vhailor's helm when soloing if cheese is the name of the game) and boots (boots of speed). Right now I'm debating whether I should dual my guy to thief around level 13-15, which would be fairly cheesy due to getting UAI and thus not having the item restriction anymore, or just sticking with the class as is (past level 20, the class starts getting some ridiculous magic resistance, which will more than make up for not having Ring of Gaxx, Kaligun's amulet, etc). I suspect dual classing will be more powerful, due to cheesy thief traps, backstabbing, and using Carsomyr if I really need MR, but sticking as a single class would let me get hardiness/GWW, as well as permanent 100% MR (with the Human Flesh armor). Of course, playing a solo single class fighter is also kinda boring since the tactic in most fights is just "hit guy until dead." Decisions, decisions...

Wizard Slayer is great. Give him a throwing axe and you are set. It turns Irenicus in Hell with SCS2 to a cakewalk. Most Liches are the same.

 

[Waterd]

I find that with RTWP, you can basically hit and run every melee unit in the game, also just reduce the number of opponents by luring opponents and divide them. Many traps are deadly if they hit at the wrong level, i have instant died by a trap in BG1. Also thiefs sometimes do not detect traps, sometimes he got down. Extremly slow gameplay compared to say knights of the chalice. In BG everytime you enter a dungeon you need to explore all the area with the stealth thief and find traps, I find that makes everthiign extremly slowly and boring, also all the backtracking, everytime a guy goes down to revive it, its very annoying when a guy dies, and you have to take all his equipkment, go back revive, etc.

 

[octavius]

I find that with RTWP, you can basically hit and run every melee unit in the game, also just reduce the number of opponents by luring opponents and divide them.

You don't have to do this, you know? In fact, luring out opponents one by one should only be possible in unpatched vanilla BG1.
You can actually play it just like a turn based game and stand your ground. Or send in one heavily armoured "tank" while the rest of the party use missile weapons. You can even use backstabbing the most dangerous enemy as an opening move to combat.
Lots of different options is one of the strengths of the IE games and what ultimately make them superior to the Gold Box games IMO.

Many traps are deadly if they hit at the wrong level, i have instant died by a trap in BG1. Also thiefs sometimes do not detect traps, sometimes he got down.

How unfair and inconsiderate to make adventuring actually dangerous.

Extremly slow gameplay compared to say knights of the chalice. In BG everytime you enter a dungeon you need to explore all the area with the stealth thief and find traps, I find that makes everthiign extremly slowly and boring, also all the backtracking, everytime a guy goes down to revive it, its very annoying when a guy dies, and you have to take all his equipkment, go back revive, etc.

Then make sure he doesn't get killed, by exploring the area and chose your battles. But since you don't have the patience for that obviosuly the IE games are not for you.

 

[Waterd]

I'm playing very patched version, and I can pull that off all the time. also "you do not have to do this". Why wouldn't i do the strongest move? So I do not have to do moves that are successfull? So when someone aproaches my archer, i should stand there, instead of running. he someone is hitting my knight, he should stand there, when he could run and recieve less damage? Here is the real only option that makes sense actually, get an army of wizard and clerics and prebuff and bombard every fight, then rest. But I had to houserule the game so the game isn't impossible to lose, except for traps of course.

I'm ok with danger that with good play you can avoid, i have no problem with "hard things' I have problem to "oops you die unless you know what's comming beforehand". if there is a trap, and the thief doesn't detect, how im supposed to not get hit by it?. It gets to King quest level of stupid random deaths.
If you say "make sure that doesn't get killed so you don't lose" makes perfect sense, if you say "Make sure he doesn't get killed so you do not have to do boring parts of BG. Seems a terrible claim, Getting killed is not a problem, except for the fact that is a chore to revive someone. So even when it would be optimal play to let someone die, you say "don't so its not a chore" that is a terrible claim to make on a game.

But i guess i got your opinion somehow you think those aren't flaws. You can consider our discussion finished, thanks for the reply and your time.

 

[Lorica]

I'm ok with danger that with good play you can avoid, i have no problem with "hard things' I have problem to "oops you die unless you know what's comming beforehand". if there is a trap, and the thief doesn't detect, how im supposed to not get hit by it?. It gets to King quest level of stupid random deaths..

This is kind of a head scratcher. Build your thief right and pump detect traps. It doesn't need to be very high to detect most any trap in the game.

Or use a spell. Detect Traps or even Summon a monster to scout for you.

Or get a heavily armoured and magically protected character to always walk first and be prepared to heal him.

Or use NPCs you don't give a shit about à la X-COM.

You have options for "good play." If you consistently fail, then you aren't properly executing the approach you're using or you're trying to do a dungeon that's too high level for your guys. Octavius' point about no insta-kills means that generally only characters who are too low-level for an area or who are badly wounded will be taken out by these traps... So don't make the pointman the guy holding his guts in with a dirty towel. BG is not that hard on you when it comes to traps. ToSC has one dungeon and there are two 'boss' arenas in the OC that can really fuck you over with traps, but otherwise...

Fuck, I don't even like these games much. But you must be trolling.

 

[octavius]

I'm playing very patched version, and I can pull that off all the time.

Activating monsters one at a time should not be possible in a fully patched version from what I've read, as the monsters are supposed to use a Call for Help script. When I played vanilla BG1 I soon made it a habit to always activate the whole group of enemies before killing them.

If you think running from enemies while shooting, and resting after each battle is fun, there's nothing wrong in doing that. It's not my idea of fun, though. And once you know the game better, you'll see that it's hardly needed either. In fact, you'll need to install some mods and/or make some self imposed rules to make the game challenging.

Even though some consider Baldur's Gate modern popamole, at heart it's much closer to the old school DOS games, in that it doesn't hand hold you, and being unprepared will have consequences.

 

[Aeschylus]

I'm playing very patched version, and I can pull that off all the time.

Activating monsters one at a time should not be possible in a fully patched version from what I've read, as the monsters are supposed to use a Call for Help script. When I played vanilla BG1 I soon made it a habit to always activate the whole group of enemies before killing them.

You have to have SCS installed in BG1 for mobs to use call for help scripts. You can't do the luring one-by-one trick in BG2 for the most part. You can cheese a couple of fights by luring melee opponents through exits while mages stay behind though.

 

[octavius]

I'm playing very patched version, and I can pull that off all the time.

Activating monsters one at a time should not be possible in a fully patched version from what I've read, as the monsters are supposed to use a Call for Help script. When I played vanilla BG1 I soon made it a habit to always activate the whole group of enemies before killing them.

You have to have SCS installed in BG1 for mobs to use call for help scripts. You can't do the luring one-by-one trick in BG2 for the most part.

TuTu also prevents the luring one-by-one trick, so I guess the it's hard coded (not scripted) into the BG2 engine.

 

[Waterd]

I use windu and I can do that, maybe you do not understand, yes the others will come, but you can outrun every opponent i saw here so far, thanks to pathfinding you can isolate every opponent. And no, it's not my idea of fun, here is my idea of fun, trying my best in a game, and see if that is enough to complete the game. You say this game doesn't hold hand, but you have save/load , you can rest infinite times. The only reason i have troubles is because i play ironman mode and y try to beat the game in 60 ingame days. For example in my second run i lost because i pushed my luck a little too much with my unrested group and was ambushed by lots of bandits. I'm ok with that loss, that is a fair loss.
Losing because not detecting a trap that your thief (where i spend ALL my points in detect trap) doesn't detect it, and it instant kills your main from full health even if he didn't trigger it. that seems king quest kind of stupidity.

If you consistently fail, then you aren't properly executing the approach you're using or you're trying to do a dungeon that's too high level for your guys

I do not consistently fail, I did 3 runs total, the third ended because I triggered an undetected lighting trap that bounced from the ball into my main, and instantly killed my main. That is not a fun way to end a run. And is not challenging, there was nothing I could have done, except know the trap was there. I do not remember ever losing in a game like that
My first run ended in a very stupid way too, my 4 characters level 1 entered a town that was completly in the linearity of the plot (beleregost i think), and outside a tavern a guy offer me to escort a girl, after all said and done the girl attack my group INSTANT killing one guy of my group, and she proceeded to magic missile my main very easy. I do not get how 4 level 1 characters, without expecting it, can beat this girl, that is definitly on the path of the expected linear plot structure of the game since basically everyone is telling you yo through there to naskel mines, and it's outside the center tavern not an obscure corner of the map.

Anyway, I also do not see the fun of having into dungeons to take your thief, get into shadows and explore every corner to try to find every trap (slowly because i learned that if you do it as fast as possible you trigger the trap BEFORE detecting it). One of the most terrible mechanics i ever saw.

Again, this is my view, at this point I already got that you people have fun with the game as is and whatnot, i just though that maybe there were mods that helped with all this, and i was interested, it seems those just doesn't exist.

 

[boobio]

Is there any kind of resting or food mod for either game?

I swear I saw one mentioned a couple of years ago on some forum but can't find anything on the internets now.

 

[Madmate]

Is there any kind of resting or food mod for either game?

I swear I saw one mentioned a couple of years ago on some forum but can't find anything on the internets now.

There is Living Mod V0.6 that can be downloaded from here: http://trow.cc/forum/index.php?automodule=downloads&req=download&code=confirm_download&id=42
English translation and readme can be found in latest Textpack: http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/979-big-world-textpack-english/

 

[Xeon]

Is there a mod or a console command to trigger quests faster? Fighter Stronghold's quest trigger every 7 days I think, Can I make it trigger faster aside from mindlessly spamming sleep?

 

[Aeschylus]

Is there a mod or a console command to trigger quests faster? Fighter Stronghold's quest trigger every 7 days I think, Can I make it trigger faster aside from mindlessly spamming sleep?

You can, via editing globals in shadowkeeper or the console, but it's honestly much easier to just rest for a week.

 

[Xeon]

Thank you, Is there a time limit? I searched and there doesn't seem to be one but I want to make sure. So far I have been trying to limit my sleep to when I really need it.

Just beat the Shadow Dragon, I died so many times it was pretty ridiculous, Probably my fault for not having a mage I guess (PC, Jahira, Veconia, Yojimbo) and (Mazzy, Minsc) temporary.

 

[Edward_R_Murrow]

Installed the majority of the components of Sword Coast Stratagems 2 and played around with it. Chateau Irenicus became a wee bit more difficult, especially with the single rest restriction and the replacement of goblins with Duergar.

Spoiler

This was a bit of a wake up call. Now pressing the AWESUM BUTTAN comes with a bit of a price; the fact that he cast Slow as well made for a lot of extra damage soaked up by my (at the present) magically deficient party makeup.

Mephits seem to make much better use of their abilities and use them more frequently, perhaps a function of the mod, or perhaps because my memory has faded. Running in here to try and go melee would often result in a lot of blinded/stunned party members getting shredded by air blasts and fire scorchers...better to use some sacrificial summons.

I'm going to really enjoy going through both of the thieves guild buildings now that NPC thieves are smart about using potions/spells and targeting their backstabs (i.e. not using them on people buffed with Stoneskin).

I'm interested in playing further...I just need a little fix for a certain persistent screenshot problem wherein I take the screenshot, but some or all of the sprites don't show up. Happens with Fraps and MWSnap and I'd rather not have to rely on a combo of an external program plus batch-conversion of bitmaps from the in-game function.

Just saying

 

[GarfunkeL]

but you can outrun every opponent i saw here so far, thanks to pathfinding you can isolate every opponent.

Is your whole party using boots of speed or something? That's not possible with EVERY opponent. Especially if you install SCS as then the mobs actually use the Call for Help scripts. It turns Bandit Camp from ridiculously easy skirmish into a fun fight of massive proportions.

but you have save/load

Name an RPG that doesn't allow you to save/load. Or do you mean that BG is shit because it doesn't have inbuilt Ironman mode?

you can rest infinite times.

In the wilderness there are wandering monsters and with the "Hard times on Sword Coast"-mod, the inns actually charge you a reasonable price.

Losing because not detecting a trap that your thief (where i spend ALL my points in detect trap) doesn't detect it, and it instant kills your main from full health even if he didn't trigger it. that seems king quest kind of stupidity.

Stop lying. There's not a single trap in BG1 that would be impossible to find. You need 100 in Find Traps to reliably find every trap in the game and that's it. Disclaimer: not sure about all the traps in Durlag's Tower. Your problem is most likely that you don't allow the script to run - it doesn't run constantly, which is why you need to pause your thief for 5-10 seconds, then move forward, rinse & repeat.

And is not challenging, there was nothing I could have done, except know the trap was there.

So you didn't search for traps? Your PC wasn't wearing Boots of Grounding? You keep your entire party bunched up in a nice group-target formation for lightning bolts and fireballs in a dungeon? Yet you claim to be a good player in search for challenge. Lololol, you cheese and exploit and whine, grow a pair.

I do not remember ever losing in a game like that

Obviously you've never played Gold Box games then. Or Might&Magics. Or any proper old-school RPG.

My first run ended in a very stupid way too, my 4 characters level 1 entered a town that was completly in the linearity of the plot (beleregost i think), and outside a tavern a guy offer me to escort a girl, after all said and done the girl attack my group INSTANT killing one guy of my group, and she proceeded to magic missile my main very easy. I do not get how 4 level 1 characters, without expecting it, can beat this girl, that is definitly on the path of the expected linear plot structure of the game since basically everyone is telling you yo through there to naskel mines, and it's outside the center tavern not an obscure corner of the map.

Uh, you can decline the quest when Garrick offers it to you. You can then decline again when the evil witch asks you about it. You can then agree with her and kill the three guys - which is quite simple. Turning down an evil witch is not usually a good idea, hence why is dangerous. If you have two or more missile weapon users, you should be able to interrupt her casting easily enough.

Furthermore, no-one tells you to do every sidequest everywhere - the game tells you to get to Nashkel Mines. You're just crying because you took on a sidequest and got killed, SOLELY because of your ridiculous personal rule. Seriously, who Ironmans a game they have never played before?

Again, this is my view, at this point I already got that you people have fun with the game as is and whatnot, i just though that maybe there were mods that helped with all this, and i was interested, it seems those just doesn't exist.

Sorry mate, there's no mod that would cure being a stupid whiny cunt. You should definitely try Dragon Age: Origins, though. It's definitely suited for you - no insta-kill traps, no party-killing encounters, plenty of hand holding and so on. Have fun!

 

[Aeschylus]

Thank you, Is there a time limit? I searched and there doesn't seem to be one but I want to make sure. So far I have been trying to limit my sleep to when I really need it.

There is no time limit to the main quest, if that's what you're asking. There is no penalty for resting as much as you care to.

 

[Delterius]

My first run ended in a very stupid way too, my 4 characters level 1 entered a town that was completly in the linearity of the plot (beleregost i think), and outside a tavern a guy offer me to escort a girl, after all said and done the girl attack my group INSTANT killing one guy of my group

Baldur's Gate is the least linear game in the entire trilogy, its part of its charm and very much what causes a few people to like it over the other two games - despite the lesser production values even. If you take your time and explore the regions you pass through, there's no way you're still level 1 by the time you meet Silke. Even then, you don't really need to fight her so early. The whole point of an open world RPG is that progression, main quest and otherwise, is entirely up to the player's leisure and his parties' ability and skills - for one, Silke is considerably easier if your main's a well-built Fighter, as long as everyone else manage to hit her illusions and he deals the final blow.

But I do agree that trap detection in the IE engine is a bit unwieldy. Its the one AoE ability that I'd like to see a radius about (the others, I think, are enriched by the lack of a spell radius, but that's another story). Only solution is paranoia, save-scumming and counting up to ten (to make sure a full round has passed). You'll eventually get the hang of it.

 

[Xeon]

Aeschylus, Thank you

 

[octavius]

Turning down an evil witch is not usually a good idea, hence why is dangerous. If you have two or more missile weapon users, you should be able to interrupt her casting easily enough.

With SCS Silke is one of the relatively hardest encounters in the whole game, since the party is usually low level when first meeting her and Garrick, and she's got Stoneskin (and Mirror Image?). It's hard to kill her quickly enough to avoid losing half your party.
I don't recall her being very dangerous without SCS, though.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Without SCS she usually fails to cast anything, as she's killed in seconds thanks to being low-level wizard. SCS bumps her up few levels and depending on your settings, allows her to insta-cast mirror image. She doesn't have stoneskin, if memory serves, though it's been a while. I actually found the first mage assassin at Friendly Arm In to be more of an challenge, because even in the best case you have 4 party members at lvl 1 when you encounter him and he usually opens up with Horror.

The worst one in SCS/BG1 (before TotSC) is probably the group of mercenaries under Candlekeep. There's nearly no room to move around and they hit damn hard. I've only passed it by spamming summons and AoE-spells blindly around corners and it's still a headache.

 

[hoverdog]

So, guys, BiG World installation again.

Are there any usable non-eyegouging mods out there, besides the obvious 1pp, tweakpacks, randomizer, item revisions, divine remix, and SCS?

Also, which spawns to choose?

 

[octavius]

So, guys, BiG World installation again.

Are there any usable non-eyegouging mods out there, besides the obvious 1pp, tweakpacks, randomizer, item revisions, divine remix, and SCS?

BG1 NPC Project
Unfinished Business
Hard Times
Rogue Rebalancing

 

[Grunker]

hoverdog:

I usually make two installs; one for my BG1 playthrough and then a fresh one when I get to BG2. To keep the list manageable.

This is my current configuration:

1) ToBEx
2) BWP Fixpack
3) BG2 Fixpack
4) BGT
5) 1PP v4.1
6) 1PPv3 Avatar Fixes
7) BG1NPC
8) BG1NPC Music
9) The Lure of the Sirine's Call
10) Baldur's Gate Mini Quests and Encounters
11) BG1 Unfinished Business
12) Rogue Rebalancing
13) Level 1 NPC
14) SCS
15) BGT Tweak
16) BG2 Tweak
17) aTweaks
18) BGT Music
19) Item Randomiser
20) LadeJarl's Tutu GUI
21) Widescreen mod

 

[Xeon]

BG1NPC is good? Fucking Monteron cost me 4 repetitions provoking the drunkard and his friend at the inn in Beregost also some of the dialogue between Imeon and the PC is kinda kinda teenage oriented[?]. My last nitpick about it is I think it adds the soundset of Imeon from BG2 to the Imeon of BG1 or something.

Thanks for the list Grunker