Introducing divine spellcast failure

[Shaitan]

To my memory, there was in AD&D (sorry, can't find my books anymore) a rule that bestows a divine spellcast failure on anyone below 13 wisdom.

 

Could that be implemented (it really should, it's even mentioned in the Baldur's Gate manual) into Baldur's Gate?

 

Cheers

[Jarno Mikkola]

To my memory, there was in AD&D (sorry, can't find my books anymore) a rule that bestows a divine spellcast failure on anyone below 13 wisdom.

 

Could that be implemented (it really should, it's even mentioned in the Baldur's Gate manual) into Baldur's Gate?

 

Cheers

It could, but whose going to install the component and intentionally use characters that have less Wisdom ?

THE BG2 ruleset is not a AD&D rule variant(a turn based game). It's what's called "Real time strategy game" with AD&D d20 randomization with a ruleset fitted into the engine.

 

You can't for example scout ahead with an invisible mage, and wait for the rogue to get good enough rolls with hide and movement rolls for them to backstab an opponent. Yes, you can scout with the invisible rogue in BG2, but that won't guarantee that they get to backstab anyone.

[Shaitan]

I get your point, but to me at chance of failure casting magic would be logic. This could be a nice way to implement it.

[lynx]

There's already a stat for that (innates too), so no need to hypothetise. Use 0x3C MiscastMagicModifier with a param2 of 1 and the percentage as param1.

[Shaitan]

Nice lynx, now for convincing Demi, that it had to be i SR

[lynx]

I think he already used it somewhere, but perhaps it was KR or IR.

[Demivrgvs]

Nice lynx, now for convincing Demi, that it had to be i SR

I think he already used it somewhere, but perhaps it was KR or IR.

Yeah, it's probably used more than once within Revisions, but I think Shaitan was asking for something specific that cannot be done without scripts. Making low WIS values cause spell failure as per PnP would require to to edit the main BG bcs file (the one that should never be touched unless really necessary imo), and even then the script would have to continuously re-check the stat to determine the eventual % spell failure (e.g. temporary stat changes). Maybe it's just me, but I fear only ToBEx could address this in a flawless way.

[lynx]

You'd need to touch baldur.bcs only if you lazily want the change to be global.

[Jarno Mikkola]

You'd need to touch baldur.bcs only if you lazily want the change to be global.

If it's an actual rule, it needs to be global.

Unless I am badly mistaken, you can't even make a case where you wouldn't want the rule to be global ? (well, yes, there can be an area which would have a special rule, like the dead magic zones etc. but that's besides the point)

[lynx]

Well yes, but you could modify individual scripts instead. It has its downsides, but it's a viable approach.

[Jarno Mikkola]

Well yes, but you could modify individual scripts instead. It has its downsides, but it's a viable approach.

So which script are you going to set it into ?

I then make a spell that "drains" peoples wisdom, to make them fail at their divine casting and it doesn't work on ~33% of the times, which ruins the whole concept ... ps, there's likely not going to be a script that has even 33% coverage, so getting it to work the 67% is way over positive thinking, even with 100+ scripts.

 

And so that it won't be forgotten, the easiest way to do this is to use the opcode #60.

[lynx]

Huh? You just set it in enough scripts and you have full coverage. Use general ones (wtasight?) to save time if you want, but you also have to take care of potential repeated applications (multiplying the effect).

[Jarno Mikkola]

H... but you also have to take care of potential repeated applications (multiplying the effect).

That's easy, you just use this when you apply the effect in the creatures own script. But should the creature have it on it's script, is another matter entirely.

 

IF

Global("divinespellfail",local,0)

...possibility of lot of checks

THEN

RESPONSE #100

SetGlobal("divinespellfail",local,1)

...the applied effects

END

 

And if there's more than one value and out come in the checks, then the first check just is made to be: GlobalLT("divinespellfail",local,1) and the variables tell which effect is used.

[lynx]

you need to be smarter than that, since you have to reset the counter somewhere too and then make sure it doesn't cause a rerun in the same tick.