Improved Anvil v3.0 released!

Remove all ads!

^Or too strong and easy to obtain.

 

@Marvin^42
I blocked that cheesy way of gaining easy experience points and added your name to the 'credits' section of the readme file.

@Lionheart
Thank you.

@Silverstar
Rest assured!

 

Sweetness! This will not be forgotten. Myabe I can tinker around and find more stuff worth looking at
Can't wait to actually start playing IA. I'm bored in Underdark in my game now :s

Edit: BTW, how did you stop that? This is an interesting topic I imagine making the fiend ignore Protection from Evil if attacked.

 

I think he rather changed the CRE file so the summoned fiend does not give out XP when killed?

Fiends are supposed to be weak against Pro From Evil anyway, it is AD&D rule, I do not think Sikret had a reason to change that yet...

 

Yes, I did it the way Silverstar said.

And yes, please do think about more other things which may need corrections.

Cheers

 

I don't know the mechanics of the game, but I see three possibilities for how the spell works:

1. The spell summons a generic fiend, and you've changed all BG2 fiends to give 0xp. (I have no idea if you ever encounter a fiend not summonened by a mage in combat)

2. The spell summons a specific monster, "Summoned Fiend", and you've given that monster 0xp. Any generic fiends waiting around the world still awards xp, but not fiends summoned by hostile mages.

3. The spell summons a specific monster, "Player Summonend Fiend", and you've given that monster 0xp. Any fiends summoned by hostile mages ("NPC-Summoned Fiend") and any generic fiends still give xp.

I don't know if there are any fiends waiting around for you, and I don't know if fiends summoned by hostile mages should give xp. Now that I consider it again, fiends summoned by you shouldn't give xp, since it's exploitable, but fiends summoned by enemies should, since you overcome them in combat, using wits etc (even though it's way too easy with a protection from evil 10'). How did you do this?

Edit: As mentioned, I haven't played IA yet, but I read the readme. I didn't see anything about copying spells to spell book. I always found it a bit cheap that a newly created level 7 or so mage can copy even the highest level scrolls, based only on the %chance. Shouldn't there be some kind of block there? Something like "the spells are too complicated for such a low-level mage to copy+paste"? Learning a spell 3-4 levels higher than the highest I can cast feels wrong. This would also slow down the cheesy-ness of dual-classing to mage and getting tons of xp by learning scrolls.

 

Nah, summoned allies by an enemy mage should not give XP when you kill them. Because, they are allready a part of, let's say, the extension of the mage's power, and you get the full XP when you kill the mage allready!

I think summoned Fiends and other, free-roaming fiends in the game uses different CRE files, (so the summoned one can have a timer) but I am not sure.

 

Of course, should've realised that.
Any comment on the spell scrolls? Should a level 1 mage be able to learn a level 9 spell?

 

Ding0's experience fixer does this one just fine.

 

No.2 is the answer.

Well, even in pnp AD&D you can copy scrolls higher than your casting level, though you receive some penalty to the percentage or chance of learning the spell correctly. In BG2, you can learn high level spells too. Otherwise, there would make little sense to be a wild mage. One of wild mage's main advantages is that he can cast spells directly from his spellbook.

When you are playing IA, extra scrolls are best be kept to be used during battles. It's much more beneficial for you than erasing the spell from your spellbook and copying it again. Furthermore, money is of utmost importance while playing IA. You cannot use any of the old cheesy methods of gaining easy money, remember?

Now, if you have, let's say, 3 scrolls of an 8th level spell (Say, Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting), there are three things you can do with these scrolls:

1- You copy one of them and sell the other two for the money which is badly needed.

2- You copy one of them and keep the other two to be used against the tough enemies during the improved battles. (This is the best choice, IMO)

3- You copy one of them, then you go for the cheesy line of erasing it and copying the other two scrolls of the same spell.

The third option is surely a cheap and cheesy one, but it's not necessarily the most beneficial one. Those two additional scrolls can save your skin during a battle if you do not consume them for 16000 xp.

Therefore, I think that it's better to leave the choice to the player to decide what to do with his/her extra scrolls. There is no need to worry about the cheesiness of the third option in this case, because this sort of cheesiness is not actually beneficial for the player.

@Silverstar
Yes, summoned fiends' CRE files are different from those of generic fiends.

 

Well, IIRC, scrolls are casted at level 10? So an ADHW scroll does 10d8 damage? With a save vs spell (in all likelihood, when you face improved enemies!) for 5d8. If the enemy also has Cloak of Cheese, cut the 5d8 dmg in half too. Not very efficient and there you waste a precious ADHW scroll!

Ofcourse, if you use scrolls via Project Image.... NO NO NO this is cheesy and evil and it actually degrades the fun of the game! Can you do something about it Sikret? I do not want to be tempted to use a Time Stop scroll via my PI and all...

I will add another option for spare scrolls: Save the scroll for other mages to learn, instead! Valuable scrolls such as ADHW are hard to come by! And you can not have too many mages in your party, and AFAIK, at least two good mages are needed to survive IA easily. There is much debuffing/killing/disabling to be done!

 

Yes, scrolls are cast at level 10, but ADHW spell inflicts a minimum of 16d8 magic damage (8d8 if the enemy saves vs. spell) even if cast at any casting level below 17, regardless.

It was just an example. I wanted to say that keeping the scrolls to use them or even selling them is better than erasing the spells and re-writing them in the spellbook repeatedly (replace the example with "Protection from Magical Weapons" or "Death Spell" or "Spell Immunity" scrolls if they are better examples to convey my point). But yes, if a second mage is in the party and has not the spell in the spellbook, it would be a different matter.

I will think about the PI issue.

 

Yes, I know what you mean. Extra scrolls of PfMW and Spell Immunities are real life savers when you are in deep trouble!

 

BG2 Tweaks has a component that lets you cast from scrolls at your character level rather than at level 10.

 

^Ah, yes you are right, I know it. I haven't installed that component though. Didn't want to make my game easier.

 

Keep in mind I'm playing unmodded, only Bioware patch installed.
I'm fighting drows in the Underdark, and I killed a summoned Nishruu, which awarded me 1000 xp. I know it's not much, but it's against the "summons are a part of a mage's power", which I agree with. Have you done anything about this in IA?
I just noticed their summoned skeletons give xp too, if only 150.

Edit: I want to report that I HATE Mind Flayers. Damn things stun and kill Minsc and Jaheira at once, they resist my spells, only working tactic is Improved Power Word: Reload. I dread the improved Mind Flayers :s

 

One of the two things can be done about Nishruu: Either changing its script to ensure that once you attack your own summoned Nishruu, it will turn to enemy and will attack you OR omitting the XP value you gain for killing it. Tell me your opinion: Which one is better and why?

 

@Marvin^42

You hate mind flayers, then you should see improved mind flayers:they use all of their PnP psionic powers, without restrcition:funny things like disintegrate, drain life, heal, ballistic attacks to knock back you, big bad explosions, psionic drains (which causes the afflicted victim to commit suicide) etc. plus they now see through invisibility and can dimension door at will to the enemy! Real fun!

Back to topic...

Nishruus summoned by a mage should not give out XP, like all other summons; but I am not sure if there are seperate CRE files for summoned and wild Nishruus. Wait a minute, were there wild Nishruus in the game? (a trap used to summon one in Guarded Compound IIRC)

 

Actually, I'd like to see both. 0 xp due to it being part of the hostile casters power and killing the caster gives xp already. Well, the turn hostile part depends on the rulebooks. How strong is the summoners control over the monsters? Can he control them even as he attacks it? If so, it should not turn hostile, but still give 0xp. Unless someone with more of a clue says "you should be able to summon monsters, attack them (and they turn hostile) for xp".

 

The trap in Guarded Compound casts the same Summon Nishruu spell as if cast by an enemy. Hence, it is the same cre file. In fact, there is no separate Nishruu cre file in the game.

I will think about the Nishruu case a bit more and will tweak/fix it.

PS: Improved Anvil doesn't improve Mind Flayers in general (though the illithid hideout in sewers is improved).