Exotic Item Pack

[Salk]

UPDATE: I must apologize. I noticed that it's not this component that introduces katanas, ninja-tos and wakizashi in Candlekeep (and most likely in other stores too) but that it is a "feature" of Baldur's Gate Trilogy itself.

 

Being a BGT player, I did welcome the idea of making the player find some items that before were BG2 only in the BG1 portion of the game.

 

But I believe things need to be tweaked. I have just started the game and already could I find Katanas, Ninja-tos and Wakizashis everywhere. While the Wakizashi is a more common kind of sword, regular Katanas and Ninja-tos should be pretty rare.

 

Not to mention the Quivers of Plenty. All these objects you are introducing should come as *rare*. I can buy Katanas in Candlekeep!

 

My advice: go through the items you have decided to introduce, making a review of them and rebalancing things so that this component will be much more seamlessly integrated in Baldur's Gate 1.

 

Let the katans be available only at one-two stores like Beregost and Ulgoth's Beard (example) and reduce drastically the amount of other, magical objects.

 

Thanks!

[Kulyok]

I don't think Tweaks are about balancing. After all, "disable all locks and traps", or "disable XP cap" or "true grand mastery" affects the proverbial game balance much stronger.

 

It's about convenience: I want my character to wield a katana, and I want to buy it at Candlekeep. Voila! I install Tweaks, and here we go.

[Chev]

Salk,

 

If you have been trained as a kid to use a katana, why shouldn't you be able to buy one at candlekeep? I am not sure about the Realms, but in Japan katana is much more common than the wakizashi.

[Salk]

Kulyok,

 

of course some of the Tweak's components are plain cheats. But some are not. Exotic Item Pack addresses the lack of certain kind of weapons in the BG1 portion of the game.

 

For how I see it, there is not a valid reason why such weapons should not exist but there would be reasons for making them rarer.

 

This is even more true for magical weapons of that kind. And since the Read Me mentions that such items have been introduced with an eye for balance in the game then I thought it was good to express my opinion about it.

 

Chev,

 

I believe that there is a context that needs to be considered. Candlekeep is a rather isolated place and chances that exotic goods are on sale there should be zero.

 

The description of the Katana and Ninja-to hints to how uncommon such weapons are.

 

The actual social context of Japan or any other country for that matters, is rather irrilevant as the only consistency we should seek is the one with the Realms.

 

I might have grown up in the Realms using a katana. Not in Candlekeep though. And not in the social context charname has grown up.

[Chev]

You are right Salk, but could you really grow up in Candlekeep training to be a Druid, ninja, Priest of Malar, samurai or some other kit that you can start with with a Mega Mod.

[Salk]

You have a point in that, Chev. Another logical failure is: how can I be proficient in Katana if no katanas are for sale?

 

But nontheless, I believe this component needs some tweaking. After all, the only consistency I feel I need is towards the original context of Baldur's Gate and not to anything that other Megamods might add.

[BigRob]

While I do agree that katanas should be enormously rare in the Realms, no one is going to waste a point of proficiency in one if there are none to be had except in areas that need a few levels under your belt to access. If one can run straight for it from Candlekeep, that would be fair enough, but operating without weapons you're proficient with would cripple a low level character.

[Salk]

Updated first post.

[Ascension64]

UPDATE: I must apologize. I noticed that it's not this component that introduces katanas, ninja-tos and wakizashi in Candlekeep (and most likely in other stores too) but that it is a "feature" of Baldur's Gate Trilogy itself.

What do you mean? Does BGT-WeiDU deliberately place katanas, etc. in Candlekeep store, when they shouldn't be there?

[Salk]

Hi Ascension64!

 

Yes, I have installed BGT without the "Exotic Items Pack" and in Candlekeep I could buy Katanas, Ninjatos and Wakizashis.

 

Now don't tell me that I am wrong iabout this too and it's not BGT doing it because then I really have no idea how those weapons happened to appear in the store of Candlekeep.

[CamDawg]

Yes, BGT has introduced scads of the Eastern weapons to the stores and throughout the game; this was done by Bardez waaaaaaay back in the day and has been (AFAIK) kept by the current team. I had argued with Bardez that the weapons (save scimitars) were inappropriate, but it was ultimately Bardez's choice.

 

Exotic Items is different from just about every other component as I had originally written it to be a supplemental Tutu component before it found its way into the Tweak Pack. As such I'm generally pretty picky about what to add, where to add it, etc. There's a really good thread over on PPG regarding it and other mods that do similar changes but I'm too lazy to look it up and link it. My response was, essentially, that I feel these weapons are exceedingly rare on the Sword Coast, and only two viable weapons of each type (katanas, wakizashis, and ninja-tos) were added. Scimitars, OTOH, are available everywhere you can get short swords.

[Salk]

Well then, CamDawg, being that the case, I hope that Ascension64 might want to consider removing those exotic items altogether and eventually create a BGT Tweak component "Add exotic weapons to every store" or something similar.

[Ascension64]

Alright, its gone.

[Salk]

 

(you realize that with all these improvements you are bringing with version 1.05, I end up being forced to wait for the next release... )

[Ascension64]

(yes, yes I do. But don't say that I forced anyone)