My new "Made in Heaven" mods

[Angel]

First test run.  Let's see how this goes...

[Endarire]

Was it a resounding success?

[Endarire]

@Angel
How fares your quest pack?

[sarkocreme]

@Angel

I just finished a run through BGEE and SoD and wanted to drop some comments. Overall, I really liked the mod. There's not enough equipment variety in BG1->BG2 and this mod really helps that. I don't know if you're concerned with feedback, but there are a few items I found overpowered:

Bag of Tricks: Feels like a hybrid of Animal Summoning I/II, which requires a level 7/9 cleric so 3 uses is really strong, especially for when you get it

Battlecloak of Vycaena: 4AC and 1ST makes this not only the best cloak in BG1, but arguably the best cloak in the whole trilogy (though AC matters less later on, there's also only so many great cloaks). Even at 2AC and 1ST, it's useful through SoD since it frees up a more valuable ring slot.

Ring of the Lich: Like Vycaena, 3AC and 3ST is similarly very strong for BG1. 3AC/2ST or 2AC/3ST seems more appropriate to BG1, while still feeling quite exciting to find.

Dwarven Plate +2: Even with 1 less AC bonus, its still unmatched until end of SoD. Though it wasn't that big of a deal compared to the other 3.

[Lightbringer]

WOW! I'm really glad I found this thing, it's exactly the kind of mod I go for. I'm currently in a megamod-EET-SCS run, so this will have to wait until my next go around.

I've loved SCS's changes to things. I removed the level caps so the extra megamod xp helps me to handle the increased difficulty.  It sounds like MiH fills in a gap by adding additional/more interesting creatures all over the place.  Like Arthas, I feel vanilla BG1 is a little boring on the monster/item front, and use mods like this to up the curve a bit.

Looking forward to see where you take it with the new versions.

[Lightbringer]

You've said you wanted ideas. I would love to see something done with the gnoll stronghold in BG1. I always thought it should be a much greater undertaking than it currently is. I remember that Dark Horizons does some really cool things with it, but the rest of the mod was not to my taste.

Maybe tougher gnolls, or more of other kinds of creatures, toughen up the denizens of the caves, etc?  I'm usually around level 5 by the time I'm there, and I can often just berserk Minsc and let him solo the place.

Edited May 19, 2020 by Lightbringer

[Endarire]

@Angel
Quest ideas!

-Siegeing a city.  ToB has you escaping a city under siege.

-A dragon egg hatchery.  Dragons come from somewhere, right?

-Saving a city from a volcanic eruption:  People panicking, lava everywhere, and people wondering if this is the end of the world.  Mass looting.  Various religious interpretations.  Blame pointing.  Etc.

-Aiding or stopping a madman from taking revenge on a forest that ate his pet or familiar.

[Angel]

On 5/18/2020 at 9:43 AM, sarkocreme said:

@Angel

I just finished a run through BGEE and SoD and wanted to drop some comments. Overall, I really liked the mod. There's not enough equipment variety in BG1->BG2 and this mod really helps that. I don't know if you're concerned with feedback, but there are a few items I found overpowered:

Bag of Tricks: Feels like a hybrid of Animal Summoning I/II, which requires a level 7/9 cleric so 3 uses is really strong, especially for when you get it

Battlecloak of Vycaena: 4AC and 1ST makes this not only the best cloak in BG1, but arguably the best cloak in the whole trilogy (though AC matters less later on, there's also only so many great cloaks). Even at 2AC and 1ST, it's useful through SoD since it frees up a more valuable ring slot.

Ring of the Lich: Like Vycaena, 3AC and 3ST is similarly very strong for BG1. 3AC/2ST or 2AC/3ST seems more appropriate to BG1, while still feeling quite exciting to find.

Dwarven Plate +2: Even with 1 less AC bonus, its still unmatched until end of SoD. Though it wasn't that big of a deal compared to the other 3.

These are all valid concerns and SoD did feel a bit too easy the last time I went through it, partially because of these I would wager.  I'm constantly searching for the right balance between worthless and overpowered to keep things interesting so I do welcome feedback like this.

I didn't imagine the Bag of Tricks to be a big issue since it summons only one creature at a time, while Animal Summoning gets you several.  But I suppose I could make it 1/day for BG1 and 3/day for BG2, maybe with some semi-hidden upgrade track similar to the Horn of Valhalla.

Mm, I probably could make the Ring of the Lich and the Battlecloak BG2-only and replace them with similar but weaker items in BG1.  Maybe +1/+3 and +3/+1?  +2/+1 would be weaker than what BG1 already gives you (the Spirit's Cloak from Candlekeep is +2/+2), and I did want some nice reward for going all the way through Durlag's (it replaces the Cloak of the Shield in the last room before the Demon Knight).  These two are the first items I ever made so they have a bit of nostalgic value for me, but I shouldn't let that get in the way of game balance.

Also, thanks for testing my dwarven plate, I hadn't actually gotten to it myself yet.  I was wondering if I should perhaps make it a +1, would its special ability still make it worth it?

Edited May 20, 2020 by Angel

[Angel]

On 5/19/2020 at 3:38 AM, Lightbringer said:

You've said you wanted ideas. I would love to see something done with the gnoll stronghold in BG1. I always thought it should be a much greater undertaking than it currently is. I remember that Dark Horizons does some really cool things with it, but the rest of the mod was not to my taste.

Maybe tougher gnolls, or more of other kinds of creatures, toughen up the denizens of the caves, etc?  I'm usually around level 5 by the time I'm there, and I can often just berserk Minsc and let him solo the place.

Yeah, the Gnoll Stronghold is indeed one of the places I have on my radar.  I don't want to make it too insane as it likely is one of the first places a player visits and it is rather far away from any town.  Also, it seems that The Calling has plans for that place as well.  (Perhaps @CamDawg could say something about this?)  But adding a bit more spice to the place might be fun.  I'm usually around 2-4 when I go there, since I want to get Minsc and Dynaheir as soon as possible.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Angel

[Angel]

On 5/19/2020 at 8:22 AM, Endarire said:

@Angel
Quest ideas!

-Siegeing a city.  ToB has you escaping a city under siege.

-A dragon egg hatchery.  Dragons come from somewhere, right?

-Saving a city from a volcanic eruption:  People panicking, lava everywhere, and people wondering if this is the end of the world.  Mass looting.  Various religious interpretations.  Blame pointing.  Etc.

-Aiding or stopping a madman from taking revenge on a forest that ate his pet or familiar.

I totally wish I could do this, but I'm afraid I am no @Lava

But who knows, I have surprised myself before.  My most ambitious plan currently is to add a small fishing village to the north of Athkatla with a few quests.  If I can pull that off, maybe I'll feel ready for something bigger.

[Guest Feature]

Hello,

Pls release an item upgrade mod that matches the one available for bg2

[Angel]

20 minutes ago, Guest Feature said:

Hello,

Pls release an item upgrade mod that matches the one available for bg2

You may want to check out the Thalantyr item upgrade mod:

https://github.com/CrevsDaak/thalan/releases

I currently have no plans for an item upgrade mod of my own, but who knows. ^^

[Lava]

I once made something for the Gnoll Stronghold already (new interior areas), but as a part of Mysteries of the Sword Cost mod. The mod is now in a hibernation state as the main author seems to be busy with other stuff... but maybe one day...

[Angel]

Version #4 of the Item Pack and version #2 of the Spell Pack now available.

The biggest change is that almost everything is rewritten in SFO, the same library that is used for SCS and Wheels.  I do wonder how much this will break...  There are, of course, also new items, spells and tweaks to play around with. ^^

Edited May 21, 2020 by Angel

[sarkocreme]

On 5/20/2020 at 6:23 AM, Angel said:

Also, thanks for testing my dwarven plate, I hadn't actually gotten to it myself yet.  I was wondering if I should perhaps make it a +1, would its special ability still make it worth it?

It's still worth it - something I'd still make sure to grab during BG1 runs.