Start to Finish (mod for EE)

[temnix]

Version 2. Updated for smoother movement and against spell conflicts.

1. Summary
2. Compatibility
3. Weighed motion
4. Sedentary inertia
5. Running for it
6. Bloodlust
7. Money for WWF

1. Summary

This mod brings four mechanics. First, creatures are given an imitation of body weight to take off more gradually after stopping. Second, nearly all creatures begin to become distracted and bored after they have spent 3 rounds or more on the spot, their attack speed and casting time slowing and visual range falling off. The party can take advantage of this to sneak up on or around enemies mired in intertia, but what's good for the goose is good for idle PC. All of the penalties go away after the creature or character moves, attacks, begins to cast a spell, uses an ability, an item or acts in any other way or takes damage. Third, stationary creatures with nothing better to do can spend a round prepping for a jog, which will improve their speed for a while when they take off, or they can accelerate further towards a run or a sprint. Fourth, some enemies will rush the party at greater speed than normal upon encounter, closing in faster and leaving less time to shoot them down.

There is no need to start a new game. The party will be patched the first time the game is loaded after installation, and so will new creatures in areas never visited before. Companions who have been in the party already and left it will be updated if they join again. Have another party member take a few steps, and they will learn. The same goes for PC who have died and no longer receive the abilities afterwards - let somebody else move to fix them.

2. Compatibility

Only the Enhanced Editions. Advanced effects don't exist in the "classic" game. From now on I make everything for EE, whether or not the mods work in "classic." I'm tired of looking over my shoulder and wondering which parts will fail in old setups. People who are unhappy with Beamdog's changes to the games (in which category I include myself) should go about making a rollback mod that will undo the most objectionable ones while keeping the new technology. Personally I encourage anybody who would focus on rolling back all the hand-holding Beamdog put in, like scimitars +2 lying on the ground, more than anything else. Now onwards to the module.

3. Weighed motion

In life bodies with mass do not start from the spot instantly, they need a moment or two to accelerate. This now applies to all creatures except incorporeals and illusions - after they have walked and stopped for a second or two, they will rear up again in what I hope is a subtle and more realistic manner. It's too bad that deceleration as bodies come to a halt can't be implemented. Good Dexterity eases the take-off.

4. Sedentary inertia

3 rounds after stopping most creatures begin to lose concentration and tension. Their THAC0 drops, attack speed for the next attack slackens, casting time for the next spell they would cast drags out, the saving throw vs. breath weapon dwindles, visual range shortens. The rate of this happening depends on the creature's Wisdom and Constitution.

Here the main character is singled out to illustrate this mechanic. Some rounds or turns have passed after he parked it, and he is deeply mired in inertia. He is vulnerable, and his range of sight is much shorter than for the rest of the party. (Because maximum visual range is used in a group, together they would be helping each other see in the fog of war anyway. Thus it makes sense to post at least two characters as sentries, if they are left outside of the main body.) My Beldammon can shake this off by acting or moving. The red line shows the limit to sight reduction.

Now, if this mechanic were applied to monsters and NPC as they appear on maps, standing on the spot most of them, it would simply weaken them and turn them into patsies. By the time the party arrived, they would all be severely disabled and ready pin cushions for PC archers. For this reason the rule only begins to apply after non-party creatures have moved, attacked and so forth. You can send a thief ahead to startle a waiting group or a dangerous wizard, get them to react, then break off the pursuit with stealth, the shadowdancer vanishing, a potion of invisibility or in another way. Then you can bide your time to pounce or, if you wait long enough, sneak through the blind zone completely. The penalties lift a second after an action or motion.

Undead, golems and other constructs, mindless monsters like slimes and insects always stay vigilant.

On the plus side, this doing-nothing little by little relieves fatigue and shortens downtime.

5. Running for it

All creatures and characters with at least 6 points of Intelligence, including some summoned minions (6 points is the brains level of ogres and ghouls, some spiders are also intelligent), receive the Jog ability as soon as they stop walking.

Click on the button to build up a little speed. For the next 3 rounds you will go somewhat faster, very much dependent on Constitution and Dexterity. If instead of taking off you immediately click on the new ability that now appears, Run, you will spend another round preparing to go even faster, but only for two rounds; if you again refrain but click on the third button that comes up, Sprint, you will enjoy a great burst of speed, lasting just one round. These faster modes use Strength and Dexterity. No race is quite alike, as athletes know, there is randomness involved. At any rate, these dashes can be used to whoosh past enemies or aggro them, when characters have depleted their spells, arrows and otherwise would have to take a back seat to the action. PC could also foot-race to decide who gets loot and such. Moving from the spot or acting uses the current bonus, and you have to stop again and begin from Jog when you want to build speed another time.

Any kind of running preparation keeps inertia from settling in. At the end of a run or sprint some fatigue will accrue, however.

6. Bloodlust

When the party encounters enemies, some may close in much faster than usual. This is a short burst of speed to cross the distance. Creatures are capable of rushing this way once every turn, so normally it will only happen once before the group is slain, but may happen again if the party returns after a long leave. There is no rushing under the spell of intertia, however.

7. Money for WWF

Modding that goes beyond coloring maps isn't easy. If you think this module deserves a few dollars into the panda's skull, DONATE to the World Wide Fund for Nature. They employ over 5000 staff and have over 3000 support and conservation programs around the globe.

Download

Edited March 4, 2020 by temnix

[Lauriel]

This sounds amazing!  Do you think it would work with EET?  Should, right?

 

Edited January 23, 2020 by Lauriel

[temnix]

Should. The differences between regular EE and EET, as far as I know, are in area codes and text string references, none of that here. I slightly updated the file as an afterthought to be more robust. Also Jog now uses a combination of Dexterity and Constitution. Run and Sprint use Dex + Str. Some characters should have better results only jogging, others with faster modes.

[Lauriel]

Ok, I'll redownload.   Thank!

[temnix]

I added a small forth mechanic. It's in the description now. The old parts work as before.

Edited January 24, 2020 by temnix

[temnix]

This is an update mostly to take care of conflicts with spells that set movement speed to zero or decrease it a lot: Entangle, Grease, Slow and a few others. Since with this mod creatures already begin to move slower after standing in place for a while, under a spell like that their speed dips below zero, which means it goes all the way around and they start teleporting about in tangles and saucepans of grease under their feet. While it is not possible to prevent this side effect for all spells and effects that may change movement, I fixed all of those I could find. Also Sprint should not become available to slowed characters. Finally, I worked on the take-off slowness to make it more smooth and natural.