The Longer Road - mod

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What *exactly* does this mod do? Looking at the site, it obviously adds Irenicus to ToB as a joinable NPC. But looking at the forums, there are threads called things like "I can't get Balthazar to join me - help!" and things like that. So it's telling me that it adds OTHER joinable NPC's or allows you to summon others geezers to the final end fight (like some other mods do). In which case it probably makes at least the end fight bloody hard.

It sounds a little bit like Ascension/Redemption in which case I'll leave it well alone because they just dip over into the side of 'impossible' for me.

I like the idea of having Irenicus in ToB (hell, if the developers gave us Sarevok as a joinable NPC, then I think I can stretch the mind to Irenicus as well!), with all the dialogues and what have you that would come with that. But I don't want the game to be changed too much beyond that.

Anybody played this and know what the crack is and what it actually does/changes?

 

It's an Ascension add-on, so since Ascension lets Balthazar join you, anyone who installs Longer Road will also have this option available.

I found when playing it that the dialogue paths were sufficiently unclear that you basically had to open up the source text and find the correct path yourself to have any chance of actually getting Irenicus to join you. (In an average scenario, you are presented with four options all of which look very similar--there are no evident "good" and "bad" responses. Three will ruin your chances of getting Irenicus.)
If you can make it past this, the mod doesn't introduce ludicrous battles in the same way as Ascension, but I consider the author's implementation of Irenicus as an NPC to be overpowered.

If you're looking for old friends to join you at the Throne of Bhaal, I'd recommend Turnabout. You won't get an Irenicus NPC, but a reunion with Gorion can be motivating.

 

I played it a while back, so my memory may be a bit hazy on a couple of points, but I remember this much:

Longer Road requires you to have installed Ascension but not Redemption.

Before Illasera, you get visited by the Elven Queen. A dialogue ensues and if your stats are good enough (High Wisdom and Intelligence sprigs to mind), then you can select a dialogue option that results in her giving you Jon's mask.

Upon reaching your Pocket Plane and all that jazz, you get a cryptic explanation of a god cheating a bitty and so in return, you are able to summon Irenicus as a joinable NPC (makes a bit more sense in-game, rather than through me explaining).

You then go on as normal, except with Jon bantering and interjecting in conversations as appropriate. He has a quest in Watcher's Keep that must be completed if you wish to redeem him, though you can go through the quest even if you don't. I can no longer recall what goes on around the end-battle.

I don't remember it changing extra stuff, like Balthazar (though I'm sure he would have some things to say about Irenicus travelling with you- Volo certainly does). I imagine that the thread you used as an example was more Ascension related, though i could be wrong.

You may wish to give it a go, even if you aren't too keen on Ascension, as some of the dialogues really are very good and Jon's casting ability is sure to reduce the challenge of the Ascension fights.

Hope my rambling was of some help to you.

EDIT: Sim beat me to it, with a couple of good points. The mod works best if you don't set out convinced that you must get a certain ending as the dialogue can be a bit tricky at times. I feel it is best to go for whichever option seems most in-character and see how things turn out.

 

Thanks for the reply SimDing. I'll check Turnabout out.

I installed LR out of curiosity and it seems to be a bit bugged up as well. Right at the start of ToB, Ellesime walks up to you and I'm guessing that she's meant to open a dialogue. I just get a blank 'dialogue screen' and can't do anything. I hope I can uninstall it without needing to re-install the game.

Edit - Thanks for that info Decados. It's probably messing up because I've not got Ascension on. I didn't realize I needed that as well. I think I'll give it a miss then.

 

The mod site specifically says:
"BGII with the Throne of Bhaal expansion is required. Ascension is not required, but I definitely suggest having it installed."

 

How do you actually uninstall this? When I run the SETUP.exe file for Longer Road and choose Uninstall, it seems to uninstall OK. But then when I start a new ToB game, Ellesime still appears and starts rambling on about Irenicus' mask...

 

thread revival. I have an extremely high int (am playing a mage/thief mc) but my wisdom is pretty low. is there a minimum wis or char requirement to get the right dialogue options? because i used these 2 as my "dump stats" and have maybe an 8 or 9 in both.

 

Yep, Wisdom. Now answered in slightly more detail in your new thread.

 

right, my last save was in hell so i had to sk in a wisdom potion. so now i've got his mask and a book on elven lore but when i try and "summon" companions to me in the pocket plane, his option doesn't come up. how do i get him to even appear? been a while since i've played tob so it's unclear now but so far i've just done the first challenge that gives me the pocket plane ability

---------- Added 17 hours, 5 minutes and 2 seconds later... ----------

umm okay, i just wanted to ask if my game has hit a glitch? i've rested several times and still nobody shows up. also, i can't even leave the pocket plane because it says that i still have "unfinished business".

 

Yeah, you've run into a glitch. I just fired up ToB to check that my memories of how to get him were accurate. After doing the first challenge, I rested and then a mage turned up pretty much immediately. If you still aren't triggering his arrival, then it seems likely that he isn't going to turn up. Do you have a save before the challenge?

 

yeah, but i did it again and same thing... okay, i have a save right before the final hell battle in soa. i guess i'll have to try it out from there or something?

 

okay, i loaded a game from the final battle in soa, brought it all the way back to the pocket plane and still the same thing. i finish the challenge, rest repeatedly and no mage shows. yet neither can i leave the pocketplane. forget it, i guess i'm going to uninstall it and go back and play from my final save again