Items re-allocation

[yarpen]

I like this thought train a lot!

[leania]

I hope you to add basic Elven Chain on BG1 part.

 

I really like to play Bards but they are so weak at BG1 because they can't use Arcane spells when they put on their armor.

 

It is obvious penalty of Bards as compared with Fighter/Mage (F/M even can wear both robes and elven chains, can memorize more spells, and have more Thac0). Bard's features, such as Battle Song, are not enough to fill their weak point in early combat though they can steal something for team and can identify what the items are.

 

I know that there are many bardic enemies in BG part(Honestly, I'm confused whether they are Bard or F/M...), so it is reasonable allocation.

[Kulyok]

Just in case you might want it: there's already one elven chain added by BG1 NPC, if you have Kivan in party: at the other side of Wyrm's crossing(the way to the city of Baldur's Gate), chapter 5. (Since it's a fairly powerful item, it's only available late in the game).

[leania]

Just in case you might want it: there's already one elven chain added by BG1 NPC, if you have Kivan in party: at the other side of Wyrm's crossing(the way to the city of Baldur's Gate), chapter 5. (Since it's a fairly powerful item, it's only available late in the game).

 

Thanks for the information. But could you explain how to get the chain in more detail?

 

Should I have Kivan in my party and finish his quest (which is killing Tazok) to get elven chain as something like award?

[Kulyok]

It's very easy: after Cloakwood, when you are going to the city of Baldur's Gate for the first time, make sure you have Kivan with you when you walk through the bridge. Then on the other side of the bridge(after dialogue with Scar) you will see an elven woman wearing elven chain (surprise!), surrounded by wolves. Talk to her with Kivan in party. You'll find out that she is Tazok's evil mercenary, and a fight will probably happen. Afterwards, the chain is yours.

 

I don't think finishing Kivan's quest(Tazok) is mandatory, but it's what I usually do, yes.

[Daulmakan]

Song and Silence comes with a store that provides two sets of armor for bards.

[Demivrgvs]

I hope you to add basic Elven Chain on BG1 part.

I was just looking at Ardanis' code this evening and I can confirm he didn't touched BG1 for now. I think he wanted to play it agian himself before messing with BG1 stores and item allocations. If you (I mean any player, not just you) can convince him to work on BG1 and have good suggestions about it you're welcome.

 

That being said, an Elven Chain Mail in the late part of BG1 is really fine imo. Even if BG1 NPC mod is a must have imo, we may or may not rely on it as soon as we start working on BG1 items re-allocation, but I'm glad it can offer you a solution in meanwhile (and a good/balanced one).

 

I really like to play Bards but they are so weak at BG1 because they can't use Arcane spells when they put on their armor.

 

It is obvious penalty of Bards as compared with Fighter/Mage (F/M even can wear both robes and elven chains, can memorize more spells, and have more Thac0). Bard's features, such as Battle Song, are not enough to fill their weak point in early combat though they can steal something for team and can identify what the items are.

I do though about doing something about it within KR, like allowing bards to cast without problems in light armor, but I'm not sure (and there probably are many other ways to make bards more appealing). We'll see.

[leania]

It's very easy: after Cloakwood, when you are going to the city of Baldur's Gate for the first time, make sure you have Kivan with you when you walk through the bridge. Then on the other side of the bridge(after dialogue with Scar) you will see an elven woman wearing elven chain (surprise!), surrounded by wolves. Talk to her with Kivan in party. You'll find out that she is Tazok's evil mercenary, and a fight will probably happen. Afterwards, the chain is yours.

 

I don't think finishing Kivan's quest(Tazok) is mandatory, but it's what I usually do, yes.

 

Did you install some other mods which add more quest for Kivan?

 

I did what you said, I met Scar as usual, and looked around, but there was no evlven woman in Bridge to Baldur's Gate location.

[leania]

Song and Silence comes with a store that provides two sets of armor for bards.

 

Ya, that's why I installed the mod.

 

But I couldn't find the new merchant in Nashkel Carnival, so I searched the forum.

 

I noticed that many users have had same problem like me.

 

I coudn't find a solution though I tried hard.

 

Do you know how to solve this problem?

[Daulmakan]

Uh, no. I never had any trouble finding him.

 

Look for him at this coordinates: [2800.2600]

 

If he's not there, try spawning him with the console:

CLUAConsole:CreateCreature("A!Raoul")

 

If neither of those work, you either didn't install that component or something botched it during installation.

 

EDIT Are you playing BGT? Apparently he'll spawn in the Bridge district if you have that...

[SixOfSpades]

IMO, Bards are so weak that they're practically unplayable without Elven Chain: Any combination of F,M, and/or T is superior is practically every way. In BG1, they can't wear jack for armor if they want to function as a Bard, and the only decent set of Bracers are all the way at the very end of Chapter 4. Meanwhile, Nimbul (the bounty hunter who ambushes the party on their return to Nashkel) is a Mage/Thief with an AC hacked low enough to tear you up 7 ways from Sunday.

 

Suggestion: Legalize Nimbul's AC, and give him a suit of Elven Chain. You also might want to lower his levels a bit, to make his Magic Missiles not quite so spectacularly lethal, but that's a balance issue, not an item issue.

[Demivrgvs]

IMO, Bards are so weak that they're practically unplayable without Elven Chain: Any combination of F,M, and/or T is superior is practically every way. In BG1, they can't wear jack for armor if they want to function as a Bard, and the only decent set of Bracers are all the way at the very end of Chapter 4. Meanwhile, Nimbul (the bounty hunter who ambushes the party on their return to Nashkel) is a Mage/Thief with an AC hacked low enough to tear you up 7 ways from Sunday.

 

Suggestion: Legalize Nimbul's AC, and give him a suit of Elven Chain. You also might want to lower his levels a bit, to make his Magic Missiles not quite so spectacularly lethal, but that's a balance issue, not an item issue.

Well, I agree that bards (except the Blade kit which has a great potential) are clearly inferior to any combination of mage (pure, F-M, F-T), but I'm not sure that putting an elven chain in the mix would change that. It surely reduces the gap with true mages but F-M can wear such armor too.

 

Long story short, using items to re-balance classes and kits is a sub-optimal solution. I do that sometimes within IR but the only real solution imo is the other way around, fixing the class.

 

That being said, if Nimbul ends up being a really good candidate to have such armor (e.g. I'm very sympathetic to legalizing unnaturally good AC) fine with me.

[phordicus]

then there's always the idea that all kits and classes don't have to be exactly equal in power at all levels. just sayin'.

[DrAzTiK]

I don't know if you move Yaga Shura Shield of the order but maybe it could better suit for Gromnir. (considering Yaga Shura have 99% resistance to physical damage)

 

Finished ascension just now

[Demivrgvs]

Shields

Just a few thoughts.

 

BG1: we have 1 unique buckler (Kiel's +2), and two unique large shields (Falling Stars and Dwarven Shield), bit neither a small shield nor a medium one. Should we do something about it?

- the unique small shield could be either Harmony of the new druid oriented one.

- the medium one is more difficult instead, because the only one we could have within both games is the Shield of Balduran, but it's too powerful for BG1 imo. Perhaps it's fine to just add one small shield as small and medium shields are relatively the same.

 

BG2:

- all small shields are found within mid-early SoA, but I think they are fine where they are.

- I don't know where to place the "new" Shield of Balduran (which is using Sentinel's filename). We placed the Mirror Shield (aka vanilla's Shield of Balduran) where vanilla's Sentinel was, and it's fine, but two medium shields there is too much. A +2 medium shield with 10% magic resistance may be fine before underdark, but it has to be hard to obtain imo. If all other items of Balduran's set (sword, cloak and armor) are still in one place (Deirdre?) I think I'd be fine with it as long as all of them come at a high price.

- I fear Dwarven Large Shield is treated as a non unique shield within BG2 despite it being clearly unique, we should fix this.

- Shield of the order need indeed a good place or wielder.