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Unearthed Arcana presents Scales of Balance: a post-hac tweak pack


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On tap for the big v3.0 release, I've just about completed my wizard kit tweaks described here:

http://gibberlings3.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=27228&p=235334

 

I'm also nearly done coding my new multiclass cleric/mage kit, the Spellweaver, who can directly manipulate the Weave using cleric spell slots to cast wizard spells, and wizard spell slots to cast cleric spells.

 

Then I'll code up my fighter/thief variant of the Wizard Slayer, and a new Pit Fighter fighter kit, and at least a couple of the MR options. (Dealing with all the user-accessible +MR items is a huge undertaking, those things are everywhere... stupid cheesy Bioware grumble grumble)

 

And that will be 3.0! Yay!

Edited by subtledoctor
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Well, that mod hasn't seen any action in 11 years, so I'm not too worried. And there's actually another Spellweaver kit, I believe, in the Wild Mage Addition mods, which *has* seen some interest and updating in the last year of two (over on the baldursgate.com forums - not by the nod author but by interested fans).

 

It's not the end of the world. And this is a multiclass kit so it won't appear as s double in the selection screens, even for someone like you who throws every crazy kit mod into his game.

 

The idea here is that this spellcaster has can violate Mystra's hard edicts about how nagic must be planned and memorized - it's the thematic opposite of my 'Monitor of Mystra' kit which is meant to police use of the Weave. This kit is similar to a Sorcerer that way, except where a Sorcerer has that ability without trying or even necessarily wanting to, this kit actually goes out and *learns* how to break the rules.

 

I was going to make it for elves and half-elves, make it something to do with their eladrin blood, call it a "Fey Wizard" or "Fey Caster" or something. But I don't quite like the sound of those.

 

It's not released yet, so feel free to throw out some ideas. (Anyone, seriously, I'm all ears.) Brainstorming and constructive criticism are more helpful than just plain criticism. ;)

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How about "Weave Caster" or something to that effect... I just request that you won't use the word "Weave Conduit" named kit -cause I would like to reserve that for me. :D:p Yep, it's also a Cleric / Mage kit which I haven't released yet... I think. Well, I might have slipped it into one thing... anyways.

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How about "Spellbender?" Or maybe Spellwarper?

 

I kinda don't hate Spellbender.

 

"The goddess Mystra rules the fabled Weave of Faerun, the ethereal conduit that allows mortals to shape magical energies into spells and effects. In order to avoid disasters like that which befell Anauroch, Mystra ensures that the use of those energies is strictly controlled: spellcasters must formulate the Weave into specific, known spells, and must memorize the patterns of those spells in order to successfully release them.

 

But, as with any rigid system, the are gaps and shortcuts that may be used to circumvent Mystra's rules. Sorcerers are born with the ability to focus the Weave directly, though only into a limited number of effects. Wild mages shape spells without discipline, achieving powerful results at the risk of disastrous side-effects.

 

Unlike those classes, Spellbenders make a science of mapping the ways to bypass Mystra's restrictions. Practicing as generalist clerics and studying arcane magery, they study ways to manipulate the intersection of those two areas of magic. They may sacrifice a memorized wizard spell to instead create one of numerous divine effects; and they may sacrifice a memorized cleric spell to create an arcane effect. Some energy is lost in the translation - the improvisational effects must be spells of lower level than the one sacrificed. (It is unknown what happens to the lost energy - some believe this practice has contributed to the recent rise of wild magic and sorcerers. Spellbenders must be wary, as they are apt to be persecuted by Mystra's Monitors.)

 

While Spellbenders are not as powerful one-to-one as a Sorcerer or Wild Mage or Monitor, the studious application of their knowledge gives them precise control over the Weave that is unmatched by any other spellcaster."

Edited by subtledoctor
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I could not install most of the KITTED NPCS (SoB v2.9.3)

NOT INSTALLED DUE TO ERRORS NPCs: Make Imoen a Spellfilcher

NOT INSTALLED DUE TO ERRORS NPCs: Make Minsc a Barbarian Ranger

NOT INSTALLED DUE TO ERRORS NPCs: Choose a kit for Khalid: -> Make Khalid a Harrier

SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED      NPCs: Choose a kit for Kivan: -> Make Kivan a Stalker

NOT INSTALLED DUE TO ERRORS NPCs: Choose a kit for Coran: -> Make Coran a Sniper

NOT INSTALLED DUE TO ERRORS NPCs: Choose a kit for Branwen: -> NPCs: Make Branwen a Battleguard of Tempus (DR)

NOT INSTALLED DUE TO ERRORS NPCs: Make Safana a Swashbuckler

SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED      NPCs: Make Ajantis an Inquisitor

SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED      NPCs: Make Montaron an Assassin

SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED      NPCs: Choose a kit for Faldorn: -> NPCs: Make Faldorn an Avenger

NOT INSTALLED DUE TO ERRORS NPCs: Make Eldoth a Jongleur

NOT INSTALLED DUE TO ERRORS NPCs: Make Garrick a Gallant

NOT INSTALLED DUE TO ERRORS NPCs: Choose a kit for Viconia: -> Make Viconia a Darkcloak of Shar (SoB)

NOT INSTALLED DUE TO ERRORS NPCs: Make Valygar a Mage Hunter

SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED      NPCs: Make Haer'Dalis a Skald

NOT INSTALLED DUE TO ERRORS NPCs: Make Mazzy a Hearthguard of Arvoreen

NOT INSTALLED DUE TO ERRORS NPCs: Make Aerie a Fastpaws of Baervan Wildwanderer

I got the error message:

ERROR: [MINSC.cre] -> [override] Patching Failed (COPY) (Invalid_argument("Char.chr"))

This is because of the wrong code at kit creation:

WRITE_SHORT 0x244 0
WRITE_BYTE 0x246 ~%d5_FILCH%~ // changes kit
WRITE_BYTE 0x247 0x40

As the bigg pointed out all these instances should be replaced by:

WRITE_SHORT 0x244 0
WRITE_SHORT 0x246 0x4000 + ~%d5_FILCH%~ // changes kit
// WRITE_BYTE 0x247 0x40

Similar with all the other kits.
Once there were some posts about this, but unfortunately they disappeared from the internet.

http://forums.gibberlings3.net/index.php?showtopic=21964%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0
and cmorgan's post: http://forums.gibberlings3.net/index.php?showtopic=21964&p=183270

Maybe they can be recovered again?


There is an incorrect statement in the README-SoB.html:

If you install lots of kit mods, keep in mind that the kit selection screen can only show 10 kits per class - that's the main class plus nine kits. If you install a lot of kits, the Scales of Balance kits will not be selectable. This doesn't matter for clerics, since you can use items in-game to adopt those kits. But, for example, if you install all of the bard kits from Song & Silence, then you won't be able to see all of SoB's bard kits. The vanilla game has 4 kits in each class, so you can install six kits without worries. Plan ahead, or use the 'Mod Kit Remover' to clear space in the Character Generation screens.

 


With TobEx installed you can install up to 1280 kits. TobEx adds a scroll bar to the kit selection panel so you can select them easily.

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With TobEx installed you can install up to 1280 kits. TobEx adds a scroll bar to the kit selection panel so you can select them easily.

Yeah... but that's only true in the original BGII:ToB... the Enhanced Edition (at least up to v1.3)games still lack the kit scroll bar.
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Interesting - I've tested all of the NPCs a hundred times on all four games and they always go in without a problem. Did you find the bug in a mega-mod install? Some other mod must have triggered it... anyway, it's good to know, and it looks like an easy fix (my favorite kind!) so I'll get this fixed in the upcoming v3.0.

 

With TobEx installed you can install up to 1280 kits. TobEx adds a scroll bar to the kit selection panel so you can select them easily.

I originally made these kits for the EE games, since various kitpacks like DR and S&S were not updated yet. The EEs are still constrained in this way, and EE players are generally newer and less sophisticated about stuff like this, so the warning is basically for them.

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Here's a question: if I'm going to tackle Magic Resistance, what about other kinds of (lower case) resistance to magic?

 

Specifically I'm thinking about Rakshasa. Lore has them being bloodthirsty, man-eating savages from Hindu myths. They are shapechangers and powerful magicians. No discussion of them in general mythology contains any reference to special defenses. 2E gives them immunity to all magic below 8th level, but I can't see where that came from. And in later editions (3E, D20, Pathfinder etc.) that immunity seems to have disappeared.

 

So, should I also remove Rakshasas' magic immunity and replace it with something else? (Automatic saves or something like that.)

 

The same question would apply to liches, but their immunity seems more reasonable, since they are supremely powerful magical beings. But the idea that Rakshasa have *stronger* magical immunity than liches seems kind of ridiculous.

 

Thoughts?

Edited by subtledoctor
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2E gives them immunity to all magic below 8th level, but I can't see where that came from.

 

It came from 1e, where they had the same immunity. I don't know their real world mythology enough to say why 1e had it.

 

2e screwed up a lot of things like this (ogre magi are in a similar circumstance). Rakshasas weren't just a show-up-and-fight-now-here's-all-their-stats enemy. They were masters of illusion, spending sometimes years to gain control of whatever it is they wanted: political influence, economic strength, oneupmanship on a rival rakshasa, etc). If you were fighting one in combat, it was only at the end of intense investigation.

 

So for how you could change a defining characteristic in a completely out-of-character circumstance, I have no idea. I would run with the "masters of illusion" aspect. Give them permanent True Seeing, or a ridiculously high MR if outright immunity isn't to your taste.

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Doing that will utterly screw up their AI.

Really? I didn't know they had much in the way of AI. Pre-buff so they can't be interrupted, immediately cast 3x Cloudkill in a small space, don't follow PC out of the small space... eh, this is probably my least favorite encounter in the whole game when SCS is installed. One of those times where, rather than eliminating cheese, SCS pretty much requires it. Not fun.

 

Allowing a more direct approach might improve things...

Edited by subtledoctor
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Doing that will utterly screw up their AI.

Really? I didn't know they had much in the way of AI.

Not for vanilla ofc, but SCS builds specific scripts for enemies with immuniy to spell level (example - they're fairly confident about Fireballs & Skull Traps). Removing the immunity will make them commit Fireball-seppuku. :ph34r:

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