Caedwyr

A few questions on compatibility and if anyone has experience with these mods or the tweaks needed to get them to work with EET? Iron Modder mini-mods Item Pack v1.8. Epic Thieving v3.5. More Style for Mages v1.56. Oversight v16. Parting of Ways v1. Tower of Deception v4.0.1.

I have prodded the powers that be to see if there's an easy solution to this problem.

These two mods together are quite impressive and makes me actually consider playing through the IWD games. Kudos!

Imoen can wait! This is good to hear, and it sounds like you have a similar approach and taste regarding content you like, so that's helpful! Any other questmods you might recommend that I haven't included on my list? There will be another post in this thread later on regarding kitpacks and system tweaks, but I'm trying to break things up so I get some good feedback on likes/dislikes and opinions on quality before diving into all the nitty gritty details. I've been reading all the various mega-mod installs from yourself, Cahir, and a few others and I'll be sure to ask mroe questions there as I get further in my process.

Thanks for the clarification. I appear to have misread the earlier post. I'll also make sure to review my download links and grab the PPG mods off the PPG GitHub site when available. I'm leaning towards considering NTotSC as I've run across a few reviews that make it sound balanced and what I'm looking for in a quest mod. Opinions of others are still welcome of course.

Next up, for comments are the quest mods. Same criteria apply, relatively unbuggy for a good play experience and should mesh well with existing game. Extra comments/questions are listed for each entry. BG:EE Mods before EET BG1 Unfinished Business v16.3. I believe certain quests are not needed with the EE versions and I'll need to do a deeper dive an figure out which ones. I saw that Cahir's mega mod list install order had some information on which ones to prune. Mods installed after EET Adalon's Blood v14. Alternatives v13.4. Ascalon's Questpack v2.05. Ascension v2.0.10. Assassinations v16. Athkatlan Grounds - Ooze's Lounge v2.5. Athkatlan Grounds - Southern Edge v3.01. Back to Brynnlaw v8. Baldur's Gate Mini Quests & Encounters v21. Colours of Infinity - Innershade v10.2. Colours of Infinity - I Shall Never Forget v5.7. Colours of Infinity - Tales of the Deep Gardens v12.4. Colours of Infinity - The White Queen v6.6. Dungeon Crawl v12. Eilistraee's Song v6.6. Every Mod and a Dog v8. Fading Promises v8. Fonick. G3 Anniversary Mod v11. Hidden Adventures Beta4. Lucy the Wyvern v5.0. Questpack v3.4. Reunion v6. Shards of Ice v7. Test Your Mettle! v1.2. The Lure of the Sirine's Call v15. The Minotaur and Lilacor v2.0. The Sellswords v8. Turnabout v1.3. Unfinished Business v27. Mods that have issues that I am hoping to resolve Almateria's Restoration Project v8.4. Reportedly has issues with a component of BG1 NPC. Watch for patches. Fishing for Trouble v3.2.x. Which version should I be using? @AL|EN suggests version 3.2.1 above, but I see a version 3.2.2 released by them as well as the later versions (up to 3.2.5) released by Roxxanne. Homeward Bound v8. Is this EET compatible? Jan's Extended Quest v1.5.0. Is this EET compatible? NPC Strongholds v8. There was an enhanced edition patch link pinned in the forum, but the link is now broken. Try to track this down and confirm EET compatibility. Oversight v16. Is this EET compatible for English language options? It appears to be, but confirmation/testing required. There's also a bunch of tweaks in here as well as the quest content. Tower of Deception v 4.01. Does anything special need to be done for compatibility? Also, what is the quality like. Is it Shadows over Soubar or something more akin to what you'd see qualitywise and intergrationwise for the basegame? Trials of the Luremaster for Baldur's Gate v2.0. How well does this integrate with the game? Is it like a Watcher's Keep/Dulag's Tower or is it more like the old TeamBG megamod additions that are of varying quality and limited integration? Wheels of Prophecy v8.2. Look for patched version. Also, with respect to Dark Side of the Sword Coast and North Side of the Sword Coast, my recollection from ages ago is that they didn't fit well with the base game, but I can't quite recall the reason (overpowered content, forcecast scripting everywhere, and stuff that felt extremely modded addon content compared to other mods that integrated well with the base game?). I know I used to shy away from the TeamBG content due to their more amateur addon feel, but if these have been brought up to the standard of the basegame and the integration is fairly seamless, I'm happy to give them a shot. Also, are there any other good quest mods I am missing that you would recommend? I'm interested in anything both large and small which helps flesh out the world and give more options.

I have a few questions regarding your install order. You have both Rogue Rebalancing and Refinements Thief and Bard HLAs. Wouldn't you just want to choose one option or the other? If Faiths and Powers borrows HLA adjustments from Refinements, wouldn't you want to install Refinements before Faiths and Powers so those changes are inherited? The same would apply to Tome and Blood I see you have Monastic Orders in your install order. Have you had any issue with it, bugwise? I see that there's an issue with using it in an EET install, but I'm wondering if you have run it in an EET game. Thanks

This is good news. The install order is going to be tricky between all the various tweaks, kits, and class mods but it sounds like I can get everything working.

Regarding Ajantis for BG1, there's this post from jastey regarding a bug fix that will go into the next version.

So, I've been doing some digging and I am really leaning towards including Faiths & Powers, Might & Guile, and Tome & Blood mods to revamp and flesh out the classes and kits available. One thing holding me back is the issue of HLAs that are addressed in Rogue Rebalancing and Refinements. Do your mods offer replacement HLAs or are they meant to be used in conjunction with Refinements/Rogue Rebalancing? aTweaks doesn't touch PnP Celestials, it has everything else, but I think because I'd completed PnP Celestials before it came out, aVENGER left that part out. SCS might do something with them, but I think it is mostly on the script side of things. Geomantic Sorcerer should probably be EET compatible. It's overpowered in its versatility, and starts to break the game in ToB, but I still found it fun enough and not something that just eliminated all challenge at any point in the game.

Also if there are any decent Male/Male romances available for BG2 that go all the way through to the end of ToB, I'd appreciate a heads up. I'd like to offer a fairly broad range of content for people to discover.

Since people are offering up their NPC suggestions, I'll give you my full list and not just the ones I had questions about. I would appreciate any comments on compatibility, etc. from the criteria I previously listed. Mods before EET BG1 NPC Project Music v6. I'm confused about this one, as the BG1NPC Project is listed as being recommended to install after EET, but this one is before in the compatibility list. Coran's BG Extended Friendship Talks v4. Finch NPC v4.0 Beta. Garrick, Tales of a Troubadour v1.26. Indira NPC v12.0 Beta 3. Sirene NPC v2.8. Valerie NPC v1.1. Verr'Sza NPC v5.3. Aura NPC v3.0. Is this EET compatible? Anything special required for install order. Drake NPC v1.8. Mods after EET Adrian NPC v5.0. Afaaq, the Djinni Companion v2.8. Angelo NPC v8. I am on the fence about this one, as I've read that the character isn't really consistent with the portrayal in BG1 and I'd like to avoid a Weimer Solaufein situation. Auren Aseph NPC v10. BG1 NPC Project v24.6. If I want to install the BG1 NPC Project music pack, do I need to install this before EET? Baldur's Gate Romantic Encounters v4.1. BG2 Romantic Encounters v14. Branwen NPC v5. Brandock the Mage NPC Beta5. Keep until Planar Sphere, but don't let into the party in SoA unless more content has magically appeared by the time I do the playthrough. Cernd Friendship v1.3. Chatty Imoen v1.3. Colours of Infinity - Foundling v4.4. Coran for BG2 v7. Corthala Romantique v3. Crossmod Banter Pack for BG2 v19. Dace NPC v5. Dorn Romance v3.2. Evandra NPC v1. Appears to be sparse on crossmod banter. Get opinions. Gavin BG1 NPC v13. Gavin BG2 NPC v22. Glam's NPC Pack v3.1. Grey the Dog v4. Install after other NPC stuff according to readme. Haer'Dalis Friendship v1.2. IEP Extended Banters v5.6. Imoen Friendship v3.5. Isra NPC v3.1. Isra NPC for BG2 v3.1. Keldorn Romance v6. Kelsey NPC v6. Kivan NPC v16. Korgan Friendship v1.5. Korgan's Redemption v10. Longer Road v1.6.7. Mazzy Friendship v3.5. Minsc Friendship v1.2. Murneth v12. Is this a joke NPC, or one that fits into the game, albeit a bit unusual? Neera Banter v0.9.1. How well does this fit with the next mod on the list? Neera Expansion v1.1. How well does this fit with the previous mod on the list? NPC Flirt Packs v1.07. Pai'Na NPC v1.7. Petsy NPC v3.1. I know Lava has some warnings about their earlier mods being of lower quality, but I saw that this one had an update and redo more recently, so I'd appreciate any comments on the quality and fit of this one. Sarevok Friendship v2.6. Sarevok Romance v1.4. Is this one well written? I think I recall a joke Sarevok romance, but this seems to be a more serious take. Sirene NPC for BG2 v1.9. Skie, the cost of one girl's soul v3.2. Solaufein's Rescue v1.6. Play intro quest, rest is in German until translated. The Beaurin Legacy v3.6. Tiax NPC for BG2 v6. Valygar Friendship v1.3. Viconia Friendship v4.5. Xan for BG1 Friendship Path v8. Xan for BG2 v18. Yeslick NPC v4.0. Yoshimo Friendship v4.5. Yoshimo Romance v5.2. And the list of NPC/Banter stuff that I'm waiting for feedback or bug fixes to include in the master list. Ajantis BG1 v14. Watch for bug fixes. Sir Ajantis for BG2 v20. Only include if BG1 mod is included. All things Mazzy v1.049. Waiting for feedback as to quality, integration with Mazzy friendship and base game content. Ascalon's Bregar v9.0. Wait for updated version with English translation. Brage's Redemption v2. Watch for completion of BG2 content and translation. Colours of Infinity - Yvette Romance v4.1. May have a bug preventing a proper install. Get feedback/watch for fix. Ninde NPC v3.0. Try to track down voiced version. Merge basic battlecry voice pack if can't find fully voiced version. Sarah NPC v5. Look for EET compatibility patch on forums/update. Sarah NPC Music Addon. Include if using Sarah NPC Tyris Flare NPC v8. Include if a decent fit into the game among base NPCs. Varshoon NPC v5.1. Checking EET compatibility. Verr'Sza BG2 NPC v0.3. Find out if this is complete enough and bug free to include, otherwise only include BG1 version. Wilson Chronicles v1.7. See EET fix listed above. Yoshimo's Remorse v2.0. Check for EET compatibility. Once everyone has had a chance to provide feedback on this category of mods, I'll move on to things like questpacks, etc. I may have a few on my list.

I'm about a month out from my playthrough with my friends (we'll get a copy during the Steam or GOG's summer sale), so I'll be interested in hearing your thought as to how well the new content fits with the Mazzy from SoA. @Jastey that's a big help. Thanks for the input, I've made the appropriate notes and added a bunch of these to my "keep" pile. Regarding Corathala Romantique, I'm thinking I might be conflating Weimer's Solaufein with Valygar for some reason. I'm also glad to hear that Brandock is fairly complete for BG1. Depending on when I get around to doing the install, I may just let people know that he's an NPC intended for the Planar Sphere content, but doesn't have a lot of other content beyond that.

I've managed to come up with my first pass of mods I would like to install. In order to avoid throwing a massive wall of text at people reading this thread, I'm going to break my questions into smaller batches. My goal is to have a set of mods that integrate well with the existing games tone and quality, are relatively bug free, and manage to keep the amount of jank down to a manageable level. I'm doing an EET install, so keep that in mind regarding any bugs or compatibility issues you may know of. I also prefer to have a decent amount of interactions with base npcs and other mod npcs. First up, the NPC mods I'm on the fence about including: All things Mazzy v1.049. I see that there's a required bug fix with the EET compatibility, but assuming it gets made or I make the needed changes, how well does this mod integrate with the base game Mazzy and the Mazzy Friendship mods? Aura NPC. Is this EET compatible? Anything special required for install order Brandock the Mage vbeta5. I saw this in @jastey signature and it looked decently complete, but if anyone has feedback or warnings to give me regarding this mod it is appreciated. The beta tag makes me cautious, but the pedigree makes me include it on my list. Colours of Infinity - Yvette v4.1. This NPC shows up on a number of people's list of NPCs they enjoyed. I did see some reports of a bug preventing proper installation. Colours of Infinity - Foundling v4.4. Another NPC that looks interesting, but could be a Chloe situation if written poorly. I don't have a lot of experience playing Lava's mods as they mostly came out after I stopped playing in the mid 2000s. I saw some EET compatibility issues that may not have been cleared up as well. Corthala Romantique v3. How well does this fit with the existing character and the Valygar Friendship mod? I recall there being a romance mod for an existing BG2 NPC that essentially rewrote the character and I can't recall if it was this one or another mod. Ninde NPC v3.0. There is supposedly a version of this mod that is fully voiced. Does anyone know where to find it? Also, opinions on the NPC given my criteria above would be appreciated. Sarah NPC v5. I've seen comments regarding its EET compability. Does anyone have experience getting this one to work in an EET install? Solaufein's Rescue v1.6. I'm waiting for the completion of the english translation, but I was also wondering how true it is to his BG2 character. The Weimer Solaufein romance ends up being pretty much a different character only loosely related to the one in the game and I was hoping for something that is better integrated. Tyris Flare NPC v8. I'm interested in opinions on how well this NPC fits in the game. The premise makes me think it is a bit more of a personal taste for the fit, but I'm curious as to what the broader consensus migh tbe. Varshoon NPC v5.1. Is this compatible with EET? How well written/does it fit with the game? Verr'Sza BG1 and BG2 NPCs. A question on how well this NPC fits in the base games, the degree of polish/lack of bugginess, and if the BG2 one is complete enough to be a satisfying inclusion in a game or if I should wait until it is more complete to add to the game? Wilson Chronicles v1.7. Is this EET compatible? Does it fit the base game in feel? Xan for BG1 friendship path. Is this compatible with BG1 NPC, both technically and in feel? Yoshimo's Remorse v2.0. Is this compatible with EET? As you can see, I have a mod or two on my list, since this it the group of NPCs I had questions about and not the longer list of NPCs I am planning on including that I don't have questions about.

Thanks. This expands the possible cast of npc options.

My mod list is much longer now and I'm working on sorting out which components need to be installed, order, etc. One question separate from those, is how EET handles NPC that exist in BG1 but do not exist in BG2 (I guess this applies to SoD as well). If you have an NPC from BG1 are they just carried through to BG2 and are silent the whole way, or does the player have to "get the gang back together again" and some NPCs will not make the transition? I'm curious as to how this is handled because if it means silent NPCs, then I'll need to do a lot of pruning of the list to only include NPCs that have content for both BG1 and BG2.

This is all helpful information for me, so thanks for the responses.

For BG1, I found Aura by AionZ (https://artisans-corner.com/aura-npc/). Lava's White NPC also doesn't appear on the list. I haven't done a lot of digging so far for BG2, but I figure I'll run into a few (Redemption, Geomantic Sorcerer, PnP Celestials, . As I dig, I may find more. I have already filtered out a bunch that aren't on the list due to reported bugginess/incompleteness/quality. It's a judgment call in the end that I'll have to make, but I'm mostly interested in why people recommend EET over separate installs. What is the reason that makes adding another layer of complexity and possible failure point to a set of mod installs something that is worth doing? Understand that back in the day BGT was somewhat popular, but frequently resulted in more buggy gameplay experiences than a properly curated list of mods and careful install order based on reading their documentation. I'm all for EET if it is going to improve the experience overall, but I really want to avoid bugginess if at all possible since I'm showing this off to others and it isn't just me fooling around with my custom mod installs.

It is sounding like I may want to just go with separate installs and modlists for BG1 and BG2 and skip EET if I want to be able to install the maximum variety of mods (mostly NPC mods that aren't on the EET compatibility list). What would people say is the major advantage to an EET game over separate BG1 and BG2 installs? The intention is to provide a gameplay experience for my friends that offers a good variety of well-integrated content into the base game. I don't need to have everything, just for the sake of having everything. @4udr4n From my last go around with BG modding, I am aware that install order is important, but it's a good reminder. Thanks!

So, if I understand correctly, I need to install the non-EET mods for BG1:EE prior to installing EET. BG2:EE mods that don't support EET may or may not work, so long as I install them after EET, but before EET_End. Generally, if I stay away from mods that interact with the chapter numbering, I should be relatively safe. Does that sound correct?

Is EET_END a mod in the EET package?

I am working on building an EET install and I wanted to make sure I understood how EET compatibility works. From what I understand, a mod needs to be modified slightly in order for EET to work. If it isn't setup this way, then the mod needs to be installed prior to EET installation. I understand how this works based on the explanation given for BG1:EE mods, but would it work the same way for BG2:EE mods (install those mods in the BG2 folder prior to installing EET)?

Thank you for all the suggestions. It is sounding like EET might be the way to go. Is there any good guide as to where to find mods these days? I am seeing a bunch of suggestions for a variety of sites I am not familiar with, and I would like to be thorough in my search.

So, after giving the Baldur's Gate games a rest for over a decade, I have decided to give the series another playthrough. I've gotten a couple of friends who have never played any of these games before willing to do a "book club" playthrough, where we play a map/chapter/questline each week and then discuss afterwards. I am seeking out advice from the community on what would be the recommended approach. First of all, which version to play? The Original Saga and BG2 Complete available at GOG.com have the advantage of being cheap. The Enhanced Editions seem to have some engine updates and out-of-the-box fixes to things like game resolution that make them attractive, but I'm not sure about the other changes they offer and they are more than double the price of the GOG versions. Second. Patches, tweaks, and mod installation approach. My thought is to provide install instructions for the base game, and then clone my directory/files in a .zip file to allow the other players to get an exact copy of all the patches, tweak, and mods. This should let the other players just unzip the file over their BG install directory and not have to worry about things. Third. What mods to play? The plan is to play through the entire saga from start to end (BG + TotSC, BG2 + ToB). We'll be starting with BG1 of course, and my plan was to import the BG1 characters into BG2 at the start. Back when I last looked at the modding community there were things like the BGT, but the implementation of the cross-game transitions felt awkward at the time. I've done a bit of reading in preparation for the game organization, but I'd prefer to hear from the community as to what people like and dislike as well as why. Is TuTu still a thing? Should it be used if I'm not using BGT or the enhanced edition? Inquiring minds (mine) want to know! Regarding other smaller mods, I'm looking for mods in the different categories (borrowed from Sword Coast Strategies Readme) Fixpacks GUI mods Mods which add new quests and similar game content Mods which add new joinable characters Mods which change the spell or item systems Mods which add new kits or class abilities Mods which tweak aspects of gameplay My criteria for what to use, is material that fits well with the original games as far as quality goes. I am quite happy to install 3 dozen NPC mods, since part of the point of the "book club" approach is everyone having divergent experiences to discuss. I'd like the NPC mods to be at least at the fan-fic level of the original characters. Edit: I've replaced the original list with a much longer list and discussion on what I'm not including as follows: I have my preliminary install order now. I've culled a number of mods I'd like to include (like Wheels of Prophecy, , The Calling, Wilson Chronicles, Fishing For Trouble, and the Warlock Mod) due to buginess, but I'll be watching their update status. Others are due to their seamlessness of integration or being partially complete (Brandock, Brage's Redemption, Ascalon's Bregar, jastey's Solaufein, Hephernaan BG2). I also have a number of either/or mods identified and I'll be trying at least one of the options, if not both to see which I prefer and feel is the better experience for someone doing their first time playthrough (The valygar romance vs corathala romantique, imoen romance vs imoen friendship). The final category is mods which I might want to use, provided I make some edits (and which are not on the list). The Tower of Deception is the main one I am thinking of, but the Stone of Asknovar, Tales of Anegh, NPC Strongholds, Finch, Longer Road, and a few smaller ones are also potentially on the list depending on how deep I plan on diving in resurrecting my basic modding skills. The playthrough is going to happen this fall, which leaves me several months to do some trial runs and iron out issues as well as test a few things for immersion/tone compatibility. Edit 2 - July 19 2020, updated my list which has been culled, expanded, and optimized for compatibility issues both conceptual and mechanical. This isn't the final version, but is a lot further along than the old version. Copied the attached file to my override after all the installs in order to make all the kits work properly and integrate cleanishly. Note that without this step, Refinements and the other mods are a bit of a mess. HLAs.zip