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

[Anomander Rake]

Gorn

Back to Brynnlaw. Good mod. Always had a bug in the ending on my playthroughs. Pretty cool ending if you were Evil
Eilistraee's Call is good too. Actually it surprised me the first time I played it. Now that it clashes conceptually with the recent Soulafein mod by Jastey (only in German for now)
Spellswords is good too.

I can't make a thoughtful review because I played these mods 4-5 years ago.. The only one I don't recommend is tower of deception.

 

[Kliwer]

Anyone's got first-hand SCS + Spell Revisions impressions to share?

What about the BWS 'recommended' quest mods - Back to Brynnlaw, Eilistraee's Call, Spellswords etc.?

SCS + SR work well together. In previous version of SCS there were some incompatibilities (however I have never noticed them; theoretically AI could not recognize how the spell actually works and use it in an improper situation – e.g. try to cancel Globe of Invulnerability by a Breach spell). Current version of SCS repaired the detection of SR rules, however I have not tested it.

In general SR gives more options to the player. A lot of previously useless spells take its place in our strategy – they are useful or, at last, fun. Some powerful spells (like Greater Malison or “insect” line of druid’s spells) are nerfed, sometimes too much (it’s similar to the Pillars of Eternity way of balancing – but to a lesser extend). In general – I recommend installing SCS +SR.


Those questmods You mentioned are all very good. My list of good quest mods:


BG1:

-The Stone of Askavar (items are a bit too good, but fights are hard, locations are pretty and story is passable)

-The Grey Clan: Episode 1 – Story is weak by itemization good. And some fights are extremely cool and very, very hard (but in reasonable way).

-Mini Quests and Encounters – small but perfect mod, with NPC interactions.

-Lure of Sirines Call – mod expands one location on the seashore.


BG2:

-Dungeon Crawl – good mod, however with strange sense of humor.

-Tower of Deception – very classic, p&p-style mod.

-all mods by Kuylok (Back to Brynnlaw, The Sellswords, Reunion, Assassinations) – very well-crafted mods, however with bit of “girlish” feel.

-all mods by Lava Del’Vortel (Tales of the Deep Gardens, The White Queen, Innershade, I Shall Never Forgot, Southern Edge, Elistraee’s Song) – good itemizations, good fights, EXELENT writing (very poetic and melancholy), beautiful locations.

-Sovereign (Er’vonyrah) – long-term mod (final section in the last chapter of ToB), it has some “planescape” atmosphere.

 

[oldmanpaco]

There is some mod which expands the Xan/Harpers quest so that you can screw the harpers and help Xan. That was pretty well made, but it was just small addition, which is probably why.

Wasn't this a Xan companion mod? Like he comes back to life immediately after he is assassinated somehow and wants to join your party. Its been years.

Also I would like to say that SR (much like IR) blows.

 

[Jarpie]

There is some mod which expands the Xan/Harpers quest so that you can screw the harpers and help Xan. That was pretty well made, but it was just small addition, which is probably why.

Wasn't this a Xan companion mod? Like he comes back to life immediately after he is assassinated somehow and wants to join your party. Its been years.

Also I would like to say that SR (much like IR) blows.

No, afaik it's different mod, in the end of the quest Xan walks away with Montaron who's been turned into a bird.

 

[boobio]

Anyone's got first-hand SCS + Spell Revisions impressions to share?

What about the BWS 'recommended' quest mods - Back to Brynnlaw, Eilistraee's Call, Spellswords etc.?

SCS + SR work well together. In previous version of SCS there were some incompatibilities (however I have never noticed them; theoretically AI could not recognize how the spell actually works and use it in an improper situation – e.g. try to cancel Globe of Invulnerability by a Breach spell). Current version of SCS repaired the detection of SR rules, however I have not tested it.

In general SR gives more options to the player. A lot of previously useless spells take its place in our strategy – they are useful or, at last, fun. Some powerful spells (like Greater Malison or “insect” line of druid’s spells) are nerfed, sometimes too much (it’s similar to the Pillars of Eternity way of balancing – but to a lesser extend). In general – I recommend installing SCS +SR.


Those questmods You mentioned are all very good. My list of good quest mods:


BG1:

-The Stone of Askavar (items are a bit too good, but fights are hard, locations are pretty and story is passable)

-The Grey Clan: Episode 1 – Story is weak by itemization good. And some fights are extremely cool and very, very hard (but in reasonable way).

-Mini Quests and Encounters – small but perfect mod, with NPC interactions.

-Lure of Sirines Call – mod expands one location on the seashore.


BG2:

-Dungeon Crawl – good mod, however with strange sense of humor.

-Tower of Deception – very classic, p&p-style mod.

-all mods by Kuylok (Back to Brynnlaw, The Sellswords, Reunion, Assassinations) – very well-crafted mods, however with bit of “girlish” feel.

-all mods by Lava Del’Vortel (Tales of the Deep Gardens, The White Queen, Innershade, I Shall Never Forgot, Southern Edge, Elistraee’s Song) – good itemizations, good fights, EXELENT writing (very poetic and melancholy), beautiful locations.

-Sovereign (Er’vonyrah) – long-term mod (final section in the last chapter of ToB), it has some “planescape” atmosphere.

Please cover mods for BG1 and 2 in a future video Matt.

 

[Jarpie]

Has anyone tried Keep Yoshimo mod? I wonder how well it sits in the rest of the game, as most (all?) NPC mods made by fans are utter shit.

 

[zool]

Also I would like to say that SR (much like IR) blows.

Care to elaborate on that? I've always been hesitant to install SR and IR and would appreciate some quality positive/negative critics.

 

[Piotrovitz]

There is some mod which expands the Xan/Harpers quest so that you can screw the harpers and help Xan. That was pretty well made, but it was just small addition, which is probably why.

Wasn't this a Xan companion mod? Like he comes back to life immediately after he is assassinated somehow and wants to join your party. Its been years.

Also I would like to say that SR (much like IR) blows.

No, afaik it's different mod, in the end of the quest Xan walks away with Montaron who's been turned into a bird.

Nope, there was a huge mod way back - Darkest Day - where Xzar double crosses Harpers and can join the party right after you finish the Monty quest.
Mod itself was so and so, as it added lot of OPd items as far as I remember.

 

[Jarpie]

There is some mod which expands the Xan/Harpers quest so that you can screw the harpers and help Xan. That was pretty well made, but it was just small addition, which is probably why.

Wasn't this a Xan companion mod? Like he comes back to life immediately after he is assassinated somehow and wants to join your party. Its been years.

Also I would like to say that SR (much like IR) blows.

No, afaik it's different mod, in the end of the quest Xan walks away with Montaron who's been turned into a bird.

Nope, there was a huge mod way back - Darkest Day - where Xzar double crosses Harpers and can join the party right after you finish the Monty quest.
Mod itself was so and so, as it added lot of OPd items as far as I remember.

The Xzar stuff I mentioned is in the questpack by SimDing0, in pocketplane.net.

http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=128&Itemid=100

 

[Gorn]

Also I would like to say that SR (much like IR) blows.

Care to elaborate on that? I've always been hesitant to install SR and IR and would appreciate some quality positive/negative critics.

Waiting for P:K patches I've gone BG->SoD->SoA (up to Ch.3 atm, dragons are down, kangaxx and his liches left for Ch.6) with full SCS + IR + SR + randomizer stack, and it's been a very positive experience so far.

Some gamechangers:

1) Spell Immunity is gone. Gone are the days where you prebuffed SI:Abj (and SI Div) making most mages irrelevant with your prebuff fiesta. SI has been replaced by Dispelling Screen, a lvl5 party-wide buff that protects against ONE enemy dispel - you must now watch the combat log very closely and re-buff as soon as enemy uses dispel (and some high-level enemies like demons have unlimited dispels) o. Spell Shield (lv5) adds an extra layer vs. dispel but it won't let you relax vs. liches, demons and dragons who will strip your protections in seconds if you're not careful. Fighter/mage dual still the best class and mages still rule but it's not autopilot mode anymore, thankfully.

2) Bad spells got buffed so you won't always end up using 4-5 good ones per level and ignoring the rest - picking spells as a Sorc is now a huge pain now that there's so much choice. Abi-Dalzim got nerfed (still a good lvl8), Ice Storm is very good (who even used it before?), Prismatic Spray is very good, Skeleton Warriors aren't the automatic summons choice unless you specifically want their undead resistances/immunities, demon gating is worth using, most summons have niche uses (e.g. efreeti can't be banished, used them to help vs. Fiirkrag). Haste and improv invis nerfed. Druids get a more distinctive flavor with regen instead of instant heals, etc. True Sight and similar spells only let the caster target invis enemy with spells - you need Oracle (who ever used oracle before?) to actually dispel invis for everyone, but some bosses have SI Div (which is now unique to them).

3) Item Randomizer + IR makes choosing weapon profs pips into a very hard decision. E.g. you can't count on getting Tuigan bow right after the Chateau, and you may get some very strong longbows (and crossbows) early. Some 'flavor' drops are still guaranteed. Shield and two-handers are now good and have their uses, duals are still the best probably but not a '. It's not a 'muh balinse' or w/e, Daystar still rocks the undead, Carsomyr is still Carsomyr but a LOT more things are viable now that weren't before + some flavorful additions (e.g. a sword that steals enemy spells).

In general there's a lot more C&C now wrt how you play which is great.

You could nitpick a few things here and there (my main gripes relate to SCS in BG1, in fact) but out of all BG2/SCS replays using SR/IR/randomizer for the first time now just added a lot of enjoyment and novelty. Definitely recommended.

 

[zool]

Also I would like to say that SR (much like IR) blows.

Care to elaborate on that? I've always been hesitant to install SR and IR and would appreciate some quality positive/negative critics.

Waiting for P:K patches I've gone BG->SoD->SoA (up to Ch.3 atm, dragons are down, kangaxx and his liches left for Ch.6) with full SCS + IR + SR + randomizer stack, and it's been a very positive experience so far.

Some gamechangers:

1) Spell Immunity is gone. Gone are the days where you prebuffed SI:Abj (and SI Div) making most mages irrelevant with your prebuff fiesta. SI has been replaced by Dispelling Screen, a lvl5 party-wide buff that protects against ONE enemy dispel - you must now watch the combat log very closely and re-buff as soon as enemy uses dispel (and some high-level enemies like demons have unlimited dispels) o. Spell Shield (lv5) adds an extra layer vs. dispel but it won't let you relax vs. liches, demons and dragons who will strip your protections in seconds if you're not careful. Fighter/mage dual still the best class and mages still rule but it's not autopilot mode anymore, thankfully.

2) Bad spells got buffed so you won't always end up using 4-5 good ones per level and ignoring the rest - picking spells as a Sorc is now a huge pain now that there's so much choice. Abi-Dalzim got nerfed (still a good lvl8), Ice Storm is very good (who even used it before?), Prismatic Spray is very good, Skeleton Warriors aren't the automatic summons choice unless you specifically want their undead resistances/immunities, demon gating is worth using, most summons have niche uses (e.g. efreeti can't be banished, used them to help vs. Fiirkrag). Haste and improv invis nerfed. Druids get a more distinctive flavor with regen instead of instant heals, etc. True Sight and similar spells only let the caster target invis enemy with spells - you need Oracle (who ever used oracle before?) to actually dispel invis for everyone, but some bosses have SI Div (which is now unique to them).

3) Item Randomizer + IR makes choosing weapon profs pips into a very hard decision. E.g. you can't count on getting Tuigan bow right after the Chateau, and you may get some very strong longbows (and crossbows) early. Some 'flavor' drops are still guaranteed. Shield and two-handers are now good and have their uses. It's not a 'muh balinse' or w/e, Daystar still rocks the undead, Carsomyr is still Carsomyr but a LOT more things are viable now that weren't before.

In general there's a lot more C&C now wrt how you play which is great.

You could nitpick a few things here and there (my main gripes relate to SCS in BG1, in fact) but out of all BG2/SCS replays using SR/IR/randomizer for the first time now just added a lot of enjoyment and novelty. Definitely recommended.

Thanks that was very informative (and encouraging). I see you've played through SoD and I may have time for a first SoD playthrough soon - are there any recommended patches/mods in addition to SCS, IR and SR?

 

[Gorn]

Also I would like to say that SR (much like IR) blows.

Care to elaborate on that? I've always been hesitant to install SR and IR and would appreciate some quality positive/negative critics.

Waiting for P:K patches I've gone BG->SoD->SoA (up to Ch.3 atm, dragons are down, kangaxx and his liches left for Ch.6) with full SCS + IR + SR + randomizer stack, and it's been a very positive experience so far.

Some gamechangers:

1) Spell Immunity is gone. Gone are the days where you prebuffed SI:Abj (and SI Div) making most mages irrelevant with your prebuff fiesta. SI has been replaced by Dispelling Screen, a lvl5 party-wide buff that protects against ONE enemy dispel - you must now watch the combat log very closely and re-buff as soon as enemy uses dispel (and some high-level enemies like demons have unlimited dispels) o. Spell Shield (lv5) adds an extra layer vs. dispel but it won't let you relax vs. liches, demons and dragons who will strip your protections in seconds if you're not careful. Fighter/mage dual still the best class and mages still rule but it's not autopilot mode anymore, thankfully.

2) Bad spells got buffed so you won't always end up using 4-5 good ones per level and ignoring the rest - picking spells as a Sorc is now a huge pain now that there's so much choice. Abi-Dalzim got nerfed (still a good lvl8), Ice Storm is very good (who even used it before?), Prismatic Spray is very good, Skeleton Warriors aren't the automatic summons choice unless you specifically want their undead resistances/immunities, demon gating is worth using, most summons have niche uses (e.g. efreeti can't be banished, used them to help vs. Fiirkrag). Haste and improv invis nerfed. Druids get a more distinctive flavor with regen instead of instant heals, etc. True Sight and similar spells only let the caster target invis enemy with spells - you need Oracle (who ever used oracle before?) to actually dispel invis for everyone, but some bosses have SI Div (which is now unique to them).

3) Item Randomizer + IR makes choosing weapon profs pips into a very hard decision. E.g. you can't count on getting Tuigan bow right after the Chateau, and you may get some very strong longbows (and crossbows) early. Some 'flavor' drops are still guaranteed. Shield and two-handers are now good and have their uses. It's not a 'muh balinse' or w/e, Daystar still rocks the undead, Carsomyr is still Carsomyr but a LOT more things are viable now that weren't before.

In general there's a lot more C&C now wrt how you play which is great.

You could nitpick a few things here and there (my main gripes relate to SCS in BG1, in fact) but out of all BG2/SCS replays using SR/IR/randomizer for the first time now just added a lot of enjoyment and novelty. Definitely recommended.

Thanks that was very informative (and encouraging). I see you've played through SoD and I may have time for a first SoD playthrough soon - are there any recommended patches/mods in addition to SCS, IR and SR?

No problem! SoD is mostly unaffected by SCS/IR. Basic SCS AI improvements apply, though, especially for the final fight, one of the best boss fights in the whole saga IMO. SoD items can be 'imba' (you get a one-handed sword with un-nerfed Carsomyr Dispel, for instance) and item design is generally worse than what you'll see in SoA with IR but it doesn't matter too much since you'll lose everything before SoA anyway.

Be wary not to use EET (sharing world map makes no sense whatsoever) or importing anything bar Golden Pantaloons from SoD -> BG2. Starting at SoD level cap is fine, though, a few extra early levels won't make a difference for an SCS run.

I've never played a quest mod that fit well with the original games, sadly. Grey Clan, Tower of Deception, Colors of Infinity mods (OK maps, unbearable emo walls of text, broken items), all ended up failing on some fundamental level. Haven't advanced far enough to see Kulyok's Sellswords in this playthrough, so who knows. Best 'quest mod' for BG1/2 is unironically SoD itself. Ditto joinable NPCs. SoD's Neera is suprisingly decent and probably my favorite beside the vanilla doods, shame her SoA variant is such a disgrace.

For mod setup in general I'd recommend downloading 'EE Mod Setup Tool', choosing 'recommended' settings, unchecking all NPC mods except banter packs, all big mods, all quest mods except ones you still feel like trying (I know I always end up picking some new ones just for the slim chance they won't end up terrible ), tweaking aTweak and TweakAnthology settings to fit your style, that's it, really good stuff like Rogue Rebalancing and Ascension is already there. If you played SCS before then you know what options to pick there, if not might wanna tick everything except those that reposition items (e.g. Robe of Vecna to ToB) since the horribly OP items aren't so OP anymore with IR.

 

[oldmanpaco]

Also I would like to say that SR (much like IR) blows.

Care to elaborate on that? I've always been hesitant to install SR and IR and would appreciate some quality positive/negative critics.

Its been a while so I don't remember exactly what I didn't like about SR but I do remember what blows about IR. It basically takes items like Gauntlets of Ogre Strength and changes them into disposable +1 str gloves. The original GoOS are a character altering piece of equipment that allows you to design your PC a certain way or makes Viconia an acceptable off tank. But +1 gloves? Who cares. Basically the equipment highs are lower and the lows are higher. Some people like that sort of thing but it's not for me.

As for SR like I said its been a loooooong time since I used it and maybe I just didn't like getting out of my comfort zone with BG2 spells. One thing I don't like is modders changing PnP spells to better balance the game which is what I think they did. Anyway if I had to pick one I would use SR before IR.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

SCS + EET with all the advanced challenge options enabled (the ones that are balanced and working properly, per the installer). Only way to play. Add other mods to sprinkle in content or companions if you wish.

 

[Gorn]

Also I would like to say that SR (much like IR) blows.

Care to elaborate on that? I've always been hesitant to install SR and IR and would appreciate some quality positive/negative critics.

Its been a while so I don't remember exactly what I didn't like about SR but I do remember what blows about IR. It basically takes items like Gauntlets of Ogre Strength and changes them into disposable +1 str gloves. The original GoOS are a character altering piece of equipment that allows you to design your PC a certain way or makes Viconia an acceptable off tank. But +1 gloves? Who cares. Basically the equipment highs are lower and the lows are higher. Some people like that sort of thing but it's not for me.

As for SR like I said its been a loooooong time since I used it and maybe I just didn't like getting out of my comfort zone with BG2 spells. One thing I don't like is modders changing PnP spells to better balance the game which is what I think they did. Anyway if I had to pick one I would use SR before IR.

Ogre Gloves (+2 STR) are by far the best gloves for a front-line melee in BG1/SoD you can find. +stat boost items are so rare they become among the most valuable, even +CHA exist and aren't trash because prices are through the roof and gold is scarce in SoA (sadly not in BG1 but that's fine, if merchants had better stuff game'd be broken). You can still make Viconia rock on the front lines *but* you need to give her the gloves and the belt (and the hammer, when you can make it). Mind you potions of Foo Strength (that set strength to a set value) are still in game and very plentiful, so using those liberally is another option.

That said, SCS/insane is a massacre on the front lines and Viconia's low CON hurts her far more than low STR. Not to mention her 1apr and lack of fighter HLAs... I usually Keeper her into a Fighter/Cleric multi, that way she's still weaker than Anomen but at least somewhat capable outside of spells.

I see where you're coming from though and I hate PoE / DOS itemization style myself. Luckly IR actually adds flavor to many items, e.g. there are spelldrinking swords that let you steal spells, vampiric items that aren't garbage, many new useful potions that can change fights around etc.

SCS + EET with all the advanced challenge options enabled (the ones that are balanced and working properly, per the installer). Only way to play. Add other mods to sprinkle in content or companions if you wish.

I tried EET and gave up by SoA, just reinstalled and created new game in SoA. Gamebreaking bugs that I had to fix through console, a shared worldmap that makes no sense (e.g. lets you go back to use overpowered SoD items that make no sense within BG2 SCS balancing frame), a journal that gets even more cluttered as games get piled on top of each other, longer save/load times etc.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

EET worked great for me. I made it all the way to BG2 and enjoyed it, no bugs. I was thinking of going back to the werewolf area of BG1 when I was in BG2, I liked having that option and also heading back to the wizard in the tower to upgrade weapons. It was an enjoyable experience for me.

 

[agris]

After much struggling and gnashing of teeth, I've finally got the core BG1 UI panels working on top of Lefreut's BG1:EE UI mod. It's nowhere near done, but the combat log can be resized dynamically without any ugly tiling or distortion of the old BG1 stone interface, and it works in dialogue as well which was a pain in the ass to figure out for the 2.5 patch line.

Next up, the abilities bar and then the icons for the vertical UI bars.

Grunker I figured you would get a kick out of this.

images

The lack of left bar isn't a bug, just my preference. You can hit "Y" to bring it back up.

 

[Puukko]

I installed BG1 + widescreen + easytutu + SCS + NPC project. I only just created my character and the game seems to be working fine save for one issue - the UI is tiny. I'm running the game at 1440p but I have rather bad eyesight and like to keep my UI large. Would it be worth checking out the EE's for this purpose? I really would rather not drop the resolution if possible.

Spoiler

 

[Melcar]

I installed BG1 + widescreen + easytutu + SCS + NPC project. I only just created my character and the game seems to be working fine save for one issue - the UI is tiny. I'm running the game at 1440p but I have rather bad eyesight and like to keep my UI large. Would it be worth checking out the EE's for this purpose? I really would rather not drop the resolution if possible.

Spoiler

BGEE runs better but looks worse, even if you zoom out all the way. BD uses some shit scaler/filter that makes everything look either overly grainy or smugged out (depending on the graphical option toggled). The bigger UI almost makes BGEE worth it. "Almost". Either augment your eyes or hunt down the bigger font mod for BGII (which looks like shit by the way).
I used to also play the original BG in 1440p (yes, it looks awesome), but I was always plagued with weird UI bugs that caused the graphics to either get corrupted or flash rapidly.

 

[Puukko]

I suppose I'll manage, I'm playing KOTOR with a similarly tiny UI at the moment anyway.

 

[agris]

[...] the game seems to be working fine save for one issue - the UI is tiny. I'm running the game at 1440p but I have rather bad eyesight and like to keep my UI large. Would it be worth checking out the EE's for this purpose? I really would rather not drop the resolution if possible.

This is akin to hitting your thumb with a hammer, saying you dislike the pain in your thumb, and would like a solution that doesn't require you to stop hamming your thumb.

You're playing in 2560x1440? (1440p is kinda meaningless..) Set the game's resolution to 1280 x 720 and all your problems are solved, the game will look better because the art was never designed to be viewed at such a high resolution, and you benefit from perfect integer scaling between the 1280 resolution and your native.

Beamdog doesn't make this better, they actually make it worse by not letting us set our resolution.

 

[hell bovine]

Sword Coast Stratagmes is getting an update that adds IWD spells to the game. Since gibberlings is currently down, you can get the beta test version (some bugs present) here:
https://github.com/Gibberlings3/SwordCoastStratagems/releases
or just wait for the final version.

 

[Puukko]

Is it considered downtime or regular operation if the site spends more time down than operational?

 

[Melcar]

Sword Coast Stratagmes is getting an update that adds IWD spells to the game. Since gibberlings is currently down, you can get the beta test version (some bugs present) here:
https://github.com/Gibberlings3/SwordCoastStratagems/releases
or just wait for the final version.

I want one that upgrades IWDEE enemy scripts to use the new EE added abilities. Is there a mod like that yet?

 

[Grunker]

BG shouldn't be run in greater resolution than 1366x768 IMO