BG2 Tweak Pack Rule Changes

These components make alterations to rules, game mechanics, and other aspects of the underlying game.

P&P Spell Progression Tables - DEPRECATED
This component has been deprecated. If you wish to use P&P spell tables, use the Alter Mage Spell Progression Table, Alter Bard Spell Progression Table, Alter Cleric Spell Progression Table, and Alter Druid Spell and Level Progression Tables components instead.

Two-Handed Bastard Swords
It always seemed odd that the general description of bastard swords implied they could be wielded with two hands. This tweak adds an ability to all bastard swords that will create a two-handed version of the sword in your inventory. The one-handed version will be removed. The new sword will have the animation of a two-handed sword but, in all other respects, will be the same as the one-handed version. You can switch back to the one-handed version at any time. The ability is found behind the backpack icon, once the sword is equipped. This component will not affect items introduced by mods.

Note: Instances may occur when a bastard sword appears to have a selling price of 1 gp. Resting will fix this.

Two-Handed Katanas
Requires Exotic Items component on Tutu installs
This tweak adds an ability to all katanas that will create a two-handed version of the sword in your inventory. The one-handed version will be removed. The new sword will have the animation of a two-handed sword but, in all other respects, will be the same as the one-handed version. You can switch back to the one-handed version at any time. The ability is found behind the backpack icon, once the sword is equipped. Monks cannot wield two-handed katanas. This component will not affect items introduced by mods.

Note: Instances may occur when a katana appears to have a selling price of 1 gp. Resting will fix this.

Universal Clubs
From the description of a basic club in BG2: 'Anyone can find a good stout piece of wood and swing it'--so why can't mages use clubs? This tweak allows mages to wield clubs as well as gain a proficiency point in clubs. This component will affect all items in the game, including items introduced by mods.

Description Updates for Universal Clubs Component
Requires Universal Clubs
This component will update the descriptions of clubs altered by the Universal Clubs component to reflect that they're usable by mages. This will only affect clubs available in the original SoA and ToB games. This component will not install if Ashes of Embers is installed, as AoE already adjusts club descriptions to reflect that they are universal.

Warning: Unlike the items themselves, there is no really good way to interactively alter item descriptions. If another mod has altered one of the items, the descriptions added by this component may not be accurate as they are based on an unmodded game. This will not affect gameplay or the ability of the items, as the descriptions are purely cosmetic.

Weapon Styles for All
This allows all classes, not just warriors, to gain the maximum number of points in the various weapon styles. Some restrictions remain:

• Mages are not allowed Sword and Shield Style (they can't use shields anyway).
• Kensais are not allowed Sword and Shield Style (they can't use shields anyway).
• Monks are only allowed Single Weapon Style.

Note: This component affects weapon styles, weapon proficiencies remain unaffected.

Druids Use Cleric Level and Spell Progression - DEPRECATED
This component has been deprecated. If you wish for druids to use cleric spell and level progressions, use the Alter Druid Spell and Level Progression Tables instead.

Delay High Level Abilities
Non-Tutu, Requires Throne of Bhaal
High Level Abilities start at level 21 for all classes.

Change Experience Point Cap
In Baldur's Gate II, characters have a maximum experience point cap of 2,950,000 with Shadows of Amn or 8,000,000 with Throne of Bhaal. In Tutu (Baldur's Gate), these caps are 89,000 in the standard game and 161,000 with the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion. This component will allow you to alter the experience point cap in one of three ways:

• Remove completely (characters can advance without restriction up to level 50)
• Cap at level 20
• Cap at level 30

For a challenge, combine the level 20 cap with Delay High Level Abilities to never get access to UAI and Improved Alacrity.

Allow Stealth and Thieving Abilities in Heavy Armor per P&P
In BG2, thieves and rangers are prevented from using stealth and thieving skills while in heavy armor. This component implements the P&P method of allowing these abilities in heavier armor, but at a penalty to the character. There is always a small chance of success or failure regardless of the adjustments below. Any armor above leather will impose penalties on these skills. This component will affect some mod items; if you find armor not affected by these tweaks, please report it at the Tweak Packs forums. The adjustment of the item descriptions to reflect these changes has now been incorporated directly into this component and is done on-the-fly, so it should also catch mod-added items and reduce conflicts. (Note that descriptions are only adjusted if there are translations available.) From the Complete Book of Thieves, by armor type:

Descriptions Updates for Stealth and Thieving Abilities in Heavy Armor Component - DEPRECATED
This component has been deprecated, as it is now included directly in the Allow Stealth and Thieving Abilities in Heavy Armor per P&P component.

Allow Arcane Spellcasting in Armor
This component will allow mages with access to armor the ability to wear it and cast arcane magic, though at a miscast penalty. It will not allow mages to wear armor they normally can not, but it will broaden the selection for multi and dual-class mages. The penalty will not affect divine magic. This component will affect some mod items; if you find armor not affected by these tweaks, please report it at the Tweak Packs forums. The adjustment of the item descriptions to reflect these changes has now been incorporated directly into this component and is done on-the-fly, so it should also catch mod-added items and reduce conflicts. (Note that descriptions are only adjusted if there are translations available.) The full tables of penalties are below (penalties from armor and shields are cumulative):

Descriptions Updates for Allow Arcane Spellcasting in Armor Component - DEPRECATED
This component has been deprecated, as it is now included directly in the Allow Arcane Spellcasting in Armor component.

Expanded Dual-Class Options
This component will allow Barbarians and Wild Mages to dual-class to other classes. Barbarians will have the same dual-class options (cleric, druid, mage, and thief) with the same requirement (15 strength) as fighters. Wild Mages will have the same dual-class options (cleric, fighter, and thief) with the same requirement (15 intelligence) as regular mages.

Wear Multiple Protection Items
This component allows players to wear more than one "X of Protection" item at a time. Players have their choice of two different implementations (from Ease of Use and G3/Tutu Tweaks respectively):

• No restrictions. Players can wear as many items together as they wish.
• P&P Style: In Pen and Paper AD&D, characters are allowed to wear magical armor with Rings/Cloaks/Amulets of Protection, but only the armor class bonus from one item would apply. This component gives every ring/cloak/amulet of protection the ability to be worn with or without its Armor Class bonus. With the AC bonus, the items retain their usual restrictions from being worn with other protection items or magic armor. Without their AC bonus, they can be worn together. This allows players to gain the benefits of the saving throw bonuses from the items of protection. To toggle between the versions that offer armor class bonuses and those without, use the item's special ability--the new item will be created in your inventory.

Alter Weapon Proficiency System
This component provides three different options to allow you to change how the weapon proficiency system works.

The first option, Rebalanced Weapon Proficiencies, attempts to rebalance the groupings of weapons proficiencies. There are three main changes:

• Wakizashis move from Wakizashi/Scimitar/Ninja-to to Katana proficiency
• Ninja-tos move from Wakizashi/Scimitar/Ninja-to to Short Sword proficiency
• Morningstars move from Flail/Morningstar to Mace proficiency

Wakizashis are very similar to katanas in usage, and ninja-tos are straight, short blades. Morningstars, while there are several variations in definition, are essentially spiked maces in the game, and have been moved out of the flail category and grouped with maces. The proficiencies themselves get renamed to reflect these changes. Weapon descriptions also get updated (English only).

The second and third options are variants of using the old BG-style system of proficiencies. In BG, the weapons proficiencies were not as specialized (i.e. Large Swords covered bastard swords, two-handed swords, and long swords) and there were fewer categories. While mainly aimed at Tutu and BGT players to allow them to have a game experience closer to BG, these two options will work on a BG2 game. The two options only vary in allowing the weapon style proficiencies (i.e. Two-Handed Weapon Style, Single Weapon Style, etc.) to be included or not at the player's discretion. If you import your characters to another game without this component you will need to use Shadowkeeper to change their proficiencies to the standard BG2 set.

Cast Spells from Scrolls (and Other Items) at Character Level
Scrolls and a few other items allow your party to cast spells from the item. When cast in this fashion, the spell is cast as if the character using the item is at 10th level in terms of determining damages, durations, etc. This tweak will allow you to cast spells from items at your character's level, instead of the fixed value of 10. In the Baldur's Gate portion of the game, this will be a nerf of scrolls, whereas it will be more akin to a cheat in the Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal portions of the game.

Un-Nerfed THAC0 Table, Saving Throws, Grand-Mastery, and Arcane, Divine Spell Progression (Blucher, Weimer) - DEPRECATED
This component has been deprecated. The THAC0 table changes are available in the new Un-Nerfed THAC0 Table component. Arcane spell progression changes are available in the Un-Nerfed Sorcerer Spell Progression Table, Alter Mage Spell Progression Table, and Alter Bard Spell Progression Table components and divine spell progression changes are available in the Alter Cleric Spell Progression Table and Alter Druid Spell and Level Progression Tables components. The saving throw changes are actually fixes and already included in the BG2 Fixpack and Baldurdash; the grandmastery changes have always been available as a separate component, True Grandmastery.

Shopkeepers Have Limited Identification Ability
This component makes the identification abilities of stores more in line with the shopkeepers' abilities. There are three ways to implement this, and players are given a choice:

• Only mages and bards can identify items. Any non-mage, non-bard shopkeeper can not identify items at all. Mages and bards can identify any item.
• Identification based on lore. Any shopkeeper can identify items up to their personal lore value, regardless of class. The shopkeepers are given a slight lore boost over normal characters to reflect their occupational experience with magical items. Items with exceptionally high lore may not be able to be identified at all by shopkeepers.
• Hybrid. Mage and bard shopkeepers can identify anything, and other shopkeepers have lore scores based on their character.

Multi-Class Grandmastery (Weimer)
This is for players who believe that AD&D's dual-class and multi-class system is inherently broken and that there is no conceptual reason for multi-class characters to be denied grandmastery. Multi-class characters can now put more than two pips in things. In effect, any multi-class character that could put two stars in anything can now put five stars in that thing.

True Grandmastery (Schumacher, Weimer)
This is the standard Baldurdash / TeamBG "un-nerfed" grandmastery patch. In IWD, BG and AD&D guidelines, going from four to five proficiency points in a weapon reduces THAC0 by one, adds one to damage rolls, and gives an extra attack per round to 5/2. In BG2, it only adds one to damage. Rather takes the "Grand" out of "Grandmastery" I think. Install this patch to restore Grandmastery to what it was.

Change Magically Created Weapons to Zero Weight
Nearly all magically created items in BG2 have zero weight, though there are a few exceptions. This component will change Melf's Minute Meteors, Jan's Flasher Master Bruiser Mates, weapons created by Enchanted Weapon, Shillelagh, and a few others to have zero weight. This component will not affect items introduced by mods. If the BG2 Fixpack is installed, this component will be skipped as this fix is already included in the Fixpack Core Fixes.

Make +x/+y Weapons Consistent
The engine does not handle weapons such as the Bastard Sword +1/+3 vs. Shapeshifters, Hammer +1/+4 vs. Giantkin, and Daystar +2/+4 vs. Evil Creatures consistently. In all but a few cases, the weapon uses the higher of the two bonuses as its enchantment level, which determines what the weapon can hit--for example, spell protections such as Mantle or creatures such as Kangaxx. This component will make all weapons of this nature use the higher of the two bonuses as their enchantment; i.e. Daystar will be treated as a +4 weapon. If the BG2 Fixpack is installed, this component will be skipped as this fix is already included in the Fixpack Core Fixes.

Description Updates for Make +x/+y Weapons Consistent Component
Requires Make +x/+y Weapons Consistent
This component will update the descriptions of items altered by the Make +x/+y Weapons Consistent component to reflect their adjusted enchantment level.

Warning: Unlike the items themselves, there is no way to interactively alter item descriptions. If another mod has altered one of the items, the descriptions added by this component may not be accurate as they are based on an unmodded game. This will not affect gameplay or the ability of the items, as the descriptions are purely cosmetic. This component will detect Ashes of Embers and adjust descriptions accordingly.

Un-Nerfed THAC0 Table
A spin-off of the deprecated Un-Nerfed THAC0 Table, Saving Throws, Grand-Mastery, and Arcane, Divine Spell Progression component, this allows the player to select the un-nerfed THAC0 table individually. THAC0 can now progress until it reaches zero instead of no longer improving once you hit level 20.

Un-Nerfed Sorcerer Spell Progression Table
This is the same table from the deprecated Un-Nerfed THAC0 Table, Saving Throws, Grand-Mastery, and Arcane, Divine Spell Progression component, now available individually. A comparison of the spell progression tables is available.

Alter Mage Spell Progression Table
This component offers two variants for mage spell progression. The first option is the same table from the deprecated Un-Nerfed THAC0 Table, Saving Throws, Grand-Mastery, and Arcane, Divine Spell Progression component and the second is the progression table from P&P, previously available in the P&P Spell Progression Tables component. A comparison of the spell progression tables is available.

Alter Bard Spell Progression Table
This component offers two variants for bard spell progression. The first option is the same table from the deprecated Un-Nerfed THAC0 Table, Saving Throws, Grand-Mastery, and Arcane, Divine Spell Progression component and the second is the progression table from P&P, previously available in the P&P Spell Progression Tables component. A comparison of the spell progression tables is available.

Alter Cleric Spell Progression Table
This component offers two variants for cleric spell progression. The first option is the same table from the deprecated Un-Nerfed THAC0 Table, Saving Throws, Grand-Mastery, and Arcane, Divine Spell Progression component and the second is the progression table from P&P, previously available in the P&P Spell Progression Tables component. A comparison of the spell progression tables is available.

Alter Druid Spell and Level Progression Tables
This component is actually the combination and streamlining of three different components: P&P Spell Progression Tables;, Un-Nerfed THAC0 Table, Saving Throws, Grand-Mastery, and Arcane, Divine Spell Progression; and Druids Use Cleric Level and Spell Progression. These are now combined and made more granular so that the player can select exactly which level and spell progression tables they wish to use. A comparison of the spell progression tables is available.

Triple-Class HLA Tables
Non-Tutu, Requires Throne of Bhaal
Requires Change Experience Point Cap - Remove completely
This component will max out the HLA tables for fighter-mage-thieves and fighter-mage-clerics. Throne of Bhaal originally used the fighter-thief table for fighter-mage-thieves and the fighter-cleric table for fighter-mage-clerics. Both the BG2 Fixpack and Baldurdash alter this so that the triple-classes have unique tables and add the three Extra 6/7/8 Level Spell HLAs from the mage tables. This component adds even more mage HLAs to the tables, at the expense of other HLAs from the other two classes. Fighter-mage-clerics lose access to Deathblow, Greater Deathblow, and War Cry and gain access to Improved Alacrity, Dragon's Breath, Summon (Dark) Planetar, and Comet. Fighter-mage-thieves lose access to Deathblow, Greater Deathblow, War Cry, Alchemy, and Scribe Scrolls and gain access to Energy Blades, Improved Alacrity, Dragon's Breath, Summon (Dark) Planetar, and Comet. Since triple-classes require 9 million XP to reach a level where they can use 9th level mage spells, this component requires removal of the experience point cap. This component will overwrite the HLA tables for the two triple-classes.

Add Save Penalties for Spells Cast by High-Level Casters (BETA)
By request, this component will adjust spells to have save penalties when cast by high-level casters. For every five levels over the minimum level required to learn a spell, a -1 to saves will be imposed.

For example, Hold Person is a second level cleric spell, and can be learned when a character hits level three. When the character hits level eight, the spell now has a -1 penalty to the victim's saving throw. At level 13 it's -2; at 18 it's -3, etc. all the way out to -9 at level 48. The penalties are extended out to level 50 in case players are playing an XP cap-free game or with one of the various level-50 rule sets.

The penalties will work against you for spells from enemies, but I expect this component will, in general, probably make the game a lot easier. You'll have the choice to add these penalties to divine spells, arcane spells, or both.

NOTE: This component has been flagged as beta. There have been sporadic reports of crashes with this component installed, but I have not yet been able to replicate and solve these issues. If you should encounter issues with this component, please file a bug report at the mod's forum--I really, really want to get this nailed down and fixed.

Trap Cap Removal (Ardanis/GeN1e)
Courtesy of Ardanis/GeN1e, this component will allow you to bypass the hardcoded limit of seven active traps.

Remove Delay for Magical Traps (Ardanis/GeN1e)
Also from Ardanis/GeN1e, this component will remove the triggering delay for skull trap, glyph of warding, and delayed blast fireball. This should make them more effective during fights.

Remove Summoning Cap for Celestials (Ardanis/GeN1e)
Non-Tutu, Requires Throne of Bhaal
Courtesy of Ardanis/GeN1e, this component will allow you to bypass the hardcoded limit of one active celestial (planetar or deva).