Baldur's Gate The Baldur's Gate Series Thread

[Xeon]

I checked BG2 Tweak's Read me to see if there is an option for summons to trigger traps but couldn't find any. I did find Ding0's Tweak Pack googling but it says it only works for BG2 and using Tutu for BG1. No option for BGEE or BGT. I think I saw a post that says Tutu is a little outdated now or something so I kinda don't want to use it.

I am not sure about crashes, In my last playthrough I had 6 bottomless bags by the end and most of them had over a 100 items I think of (potions, scrolls, gems, ammo and misc). Don't think I experienced any crashes, I did experience a slowdown tho during fights against Dragon of Temple Ruins and Carrion Crawlers in Baldur's Gate sewers. Carrions were in BG1EE 1.3 and Dragons in Original BG2.

I probably only want a better AI mod from the SCS mods, I kinda don't want more mobs or mobs that takes forever to deal with, ToB already have more trash mobs than necessary. I want them just a little smarter but without too much work if that makes sense. Best example is probably Liches or any undead, I used Protection Against Undead and became completely none existent[?] to them and even if I hit them they just stand there doing absolutely nothing, I like cheating so don't get me wrong but that's just silly.

Protection Against Undead did come pretty handy against the Lich in the Watcher's Tower's third floor I think with the Lum Machine, that guy kept using Imprisonment that I couldn't do anything against so it was a pretty fast game over.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Ding0's is the one I was talking about and it works with BGT, no probs. No idea if it works for BGEE but who wants to play that abomination?

Huh, good news about the bags then. It's been common knowledge for ages that bottomless bags cause CTD's since the scripting system cannot handle them after a certain point. Nothing you can do about the occasional slowdown, old engine.

SCS doesn't really add mobs, it beefs spellcasters and certain monsters (vampires, mind flayers, beholders, dragons) but most importantly, it gives the AI the ability to "recognize" your gear and buffs and switch targets and/or try to dispell them, instead of just A) doing nothing or B) wasting time/spells on invulnerable characters. It doesn't cheat (so Sirines in BG1, for example, cannot do anything about a berserking barbarian since he is immune to charm) and it's extremely configurable.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Protection Against Undead did come pretty handy against the Lich in the Watcher's Tower's third floor I think with the Lum Machine, that guy kept using Imprisonment that I couldn't do anything against so it was a pretty fast game over.

Imprisonment is an abjuration spell. Spell Immunity: Abjuration and it does nothing.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Ok powergamer fuckers, which is the most powerful class mix or single class for a party?

• Kensai / Mage (Dual at 9)
• Fighter/Mage (multi, Half Elf or Elf)
• Fighter/Illusionist (multi, Gnome)
• Berserker / Mage (Dual at 9)
• Sorcerer
• --Something else I didn't list--

The Kensage is pretty classic but I see lots of random forums advocating for the Berserker Mage. The fighter / illusionist is quite interesting but I'm not sure if I like losing Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting...

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Any fighter mage must be dualed at lvl13 or later, when we talk about *most powerful*. Berserker has the advantage of rage immunities and he can use helmets where Kensai can only equip Ioun stones. Kensai has better thac0 (irrelevant in the long run for a pure fighter but since your thac0 gains stop when you dual because you never advance your fighter class further, it can make a difference for fighter/mages in toB against a few mobs with good AC) and max damage during Kai ability. I guess Berserker is easier to level because you can use armor, whereas a Kensai always needs resources to manage his AC (amulett of shielding, defense potions etc) As soon as they become mages it doesn't matter much I guess.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Any fighter mage must be dualed at lvl13 or later, when we talk about *most powerful*.

Then a Fighter/Mage multi class is superior for a party since dualing at 13 means you'll pretty much have to wait until TOB to regain your fighter skills.

 

[Seari]

Certainly doesn't stack up with the mage duals, but I really like the idea behind Kensai9/Thief. Playing through BGT with it now. The plan is that once I get UAI, I can get a lot of awesome items that a kensai can't use:

• Foebane mainhand + Scarlet ninja-to in offhand, for massive on hit healing
• Equip full plate and use backstab with assassinate HLA+invisibility rings(Ring of Gaxx) when necessary
• Vhailor's Helm for simulacrum
• Gauntlets of Extraordinary Specialization
• Belt of Inertial Barrier

Sounds really fun and powerful on paper. The only downside is that kensais suck in bg1. They're ok once they are dualled in bg2.

 

[Rpgsaurus Rex]

Ok powergamer fuckers, which is the most powerful class mix or single class for a party?

• Kensai / Mage (Dual at 9)
• Fighter/Mage (multi, Half Elf or Elf)
• Fighter/Illusionist (multi, Gnome)
• Berserker / Mage (Dual at 9)
• Sorcerer
• --Something else I didn't list--

The Kensage is pretty classic but I see lots of random forums advocating for the Berserker Mage. The fighter / illusionist is quite interesting but I'm not sure if I like losing Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting...

I think that a Berserker dual eclipses Kensai eventually - you can upgrade dragon armor in ToB to get an AC that even ToB mobs will rarely penetrate. Rage stays relevant throughout and it's the only thing that grants you immunity to imprisonment. Sorc is a time-bomb that's worse than a mage until he gets to spam spells like Projected Image and Wish.

 

[Delterius]

Levelling a Kensai through BG1 isn't so bad. Just treat him as a Thief that can deal serious damage on melee and you should be fine. But, yes, one should consider dualling towards Mage and Cleric through Berserker. In fact, there's a lot of people who think that Berserker/Cleric is one of strongest duals.

Sometimes I prefer just multiclassing though, makes the whole journey more interesting.

 

[Seari]

Eh, that is whatever, since you have spell immunity. Slayer form is also immune.

 

[Rpgsaurus Rex]

Multiclasses fare better than duals if you plan to go as far ToB, imo - provided you have other guys leveling their mage slots to make up for your late access to higher spell levels. The fighter epic feats are too good to ignore and you only need so many slots until you get infinite spells through Wish. SCS nerfs mage epic feats heavily IIRC.

 

[SwiftCrack]

I never really understood the perks of fighter/illusionist gnome over kensage and zerkmage.

Accuracy scribing scrolls (lol reload) and 1 bonus spell versus massive damage increase?

I guess gnomes get that saving throw bonus but yeah...

 

[Seari]

Multiclasses fare better than duals if you plan to go as far ToB, imo - provided you have other guys leveling their mage slots to make up for your late access to higher spell levels. The fighter epic feats are too good to ignore and you only need so many slots until you get infinite spells through Wish. SCS nerfs mage epic feats heavily IIRC.

I don't agree with this. You can get 10 apr without greater whirlwind.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Any fighter mage must be dualed at lvl13 or later, when we talk about *most powerful*.

Then a Fighter/Mage multi class is superior for a party since dualing at 13 means you'll pretty much have to wait until TOB to regain your fighter skills.

No, this goes quite fast. You just have to dismiss the party when you reach Athkatla. Except Yoshimo. Go on a stealing spree with him (buy some thieving potions first) and get all the stuff you will soon need when you dual, scroll case, all available scrolls etc, staff of rhynn, robe of vecna, fully charged wands of fire, clowdkill, monster summoning etc.
Then dismiss him too and do a few quests like the copper coronet, d'arnise keep etc. Soon you will hit lvl13. Dual and then read all scrolls. this should get you up to like lvl 7 or 8 as a mage. Pick up Cernd and do the druid grove. Easily doable with a druid + mage. Do a few more things in Athkala like Planar prison and the like and you will soon get lvl 14 and reactivate your warrior abilities. Only then pick up your party again.

 

[Rpgsaurus Rex]

Multiclasses fare better than duals if you plan to go as far ToB, imo - provided you have other guys leveling their mage slots to make up for your late access to higher spell levels. The fighter epic feats are too good to ignore and you only need so many slots until you get infinite spells through Wish. SCS nerfs mage epic feats heavily IIRC.

I don't agree with this. You can get 10 apr without greater whirlwind.

I ran out of useful mage feats with SCS pretty fast. You can only use Alacrity once or twice a day, I think? Ignoring the benefits of rage, mid-way into ToB I wished I made my Berserker/Mage dual a Fighter/Mage multi instead to stack some phys damage on top of the usual stuff. Not that it mattered too much, but still.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Eh, that is whatever, since you have spell immunity. Slayer form is also immune.

That's the thing: between a cleric with Chaotic Commands and Spell Immunity: Abjuration, Berserk doesn't strike me as something strictly superior: it's mostly the Gauntlets of Extraordinary Specialization.

No, this goes quite fast. You just have to dismiss the party when you reach Athkatla. Except Yoshimo. Go on a stealing spree with him (buy some thieving potions first) and get all the stuff you will soon need when you dual, scroll case, all available scrolls etc, staff of rhynn, robe of vecna, fully charged wands of fire, clowdkill, monster summoning etc.
Then dismiss him too and do a few quests like the copper coronet, d'arnise keep etc. Soon you will hit lvl13. Dual and then read all scrolls. this should get you up to like lvl 7 or 8 as a mage. Pick up Cernd and do the druid grove. Easily doable with a druid + mage. Do a few more things in Athkala like Planar prison and the like and you will soon get lvl 14 and reactivate your warrior abilities. Only then pick up your party again.

That seems like a lot of work just for the benefits of dual 13 as opposed to instantly doing the dual 9. Would I be soloing all of these areas (copper coronet, d'arnise keep, etc) ?

 

[Seari]

This is why I disabled scroll xp - to prevent myself from abusing it like this.

Multiclasses fare better than duals if you plan to go as far ToB, imo - provided you have other guys leveling their mage slots to make up for your late access to higher spell levels. The fighter epic feats are too good to ignore and you only need so many slots until you get infinite spells through Wish. SCS nerfs mage epic feats heavily IIRC.

SCS doesn't nerf mage HLA as far as I know. You must be thinking about spell revisions.

edit: oh you mean making HLA into one-time special abilities.

 

[Rpgsaurus Rex]

This is why I disabled scroll xp - to prevent myself from abusing it like this.

Multiclasses fare better than duals if you plan to go as far ToB, imo - provided you have other guys leveling their mage slots to make up for your late access to higher spell levels. The fighter epic feats are too good to ignore and you only need so many slots until you get infinite spells through Wish. SCS nerfs mage epic feats heavily IIRC.

SCS doesn't nerf mage HLA as far as I know. You must be thinking about spell revisions.

Aren't spell revisions included in the SCS package? Or was it BGTweaks? Those were the only two I installed.

Edit: found it on SCS page:

"Treat mages' and priests' High-Level Abilities as innate abilities rather than memorisable spells (BG2, BG2EE, BGT)"

http://www.gibberlings3.net/scs/

 

[Seari]

I don't think so.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

That seems like a lot of work just for the benefits of dual 13 as opposed to instantly doing the dual 9. Would I be soloing all of these areas (copper coronet, d'arnise keep, etc) ?

Perhaps, but the benefits are pretty good. Iirc lvl12 gives another attack per round and 13 another half attack, that's 3 attacks per round more under improved haste. Plus the better THAC0.
You have to solo quite a bit though. If you stole all scrolls from the scroll merchants you can pickup all the NPC mages (one after the other) and have them learn the spells and you will get half the XP for it. The endfight in D'Arnise keep is very hard though if you're soloing with SCS2. Many areas aren't that hard though for a fighter who recognizes the significance of potions. Of course failing a save against a lowly hold person will mean the end, which makes a berserker a safer bet than a kensai I guess.

 

[DragoFireheart]

That seems like a lot of work just for the benefits of dual 13 as opposed to instantly doing the dual 9. Would I be soloing all of these areas (copper coronet, d'arnise keep, etc) ?

Perhaps, but the benefits are pretty good. Iirc lvl12 gives another attack per round and 13 another half attack, that's 3 attacks per round more under improved haste. Plus the better THAC0.
You have to solo quite a bit though. If you stole all scrolls from the scroll merchants you can pickup all the NPC mages (one after the other) and have them learn the spells and you will get half the XP for it. The endfight in D'Arnise keep is very hard though if you're soloing with SCS2. Many areas aren't that hard though for a fighter who recognizes the significance of potions. Of course failing a save against a lowly hold person will mean the end, which makes a berserker a safer bet than a kensai I guess.

Which is why I thought about doing the level 9 dual with a full party and sacrificing a small amount of power for significantly more experience.

Note that I have True Grand Mastery mod installed. Weapon of choice + Belm gives me 5 attacks.

EDIT: Miss Edwin too much. Might use a mod to just have him ignore the reputation.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Yup, having Edwin feels pretty good. Will slaughter innocents to keep him.

 

[Seari]

Does anyone know if Assassin's poison ability scales per level? I think I read somewhere that it does, but i'm not sure.

 

[Delterius]

EDIT: Miss Edwin too much. Might use a mod to just have him ignore the reputation.

BG2 Tweaks does that, I think.

 

[octavius]

Miss Edwin

Not many dare call him that.