Istfemer

I'm asking these questions here as I couldn't find the answers I wanted in SCS documentation on my own. 1. Is it possible for SCS AI to detect the exact arcane/divine spell being cast by a PC/creature in that round and do something with this information before that particular spell is finished? 2. Alternatively, can SCS AI detect the school of the arcane/divine spell being cast, try to guess the spell's identity based on that information and react appropriately? 3. What about several spells of different schools being cast simultaneously or nearly so by a group of actors? Basically, I want enemy casters and smart/wise (or otherwise attuned to/experienced with magic) non-casters to anticipate a particular spell or a range of spells in that round when they see/hear/sense telepathically a spell being cast in their vicinity. Why? Because I (almost always) can see a school-specific casting animation and can hear a school-specific casting sound effect play out before me. This restricts the range of threats I need to watch out for in that round. When I see the white casting animation (Divination), I can be certain the spell being cast is not Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting and I don't need to order my party to scatter ASAP as a precaution. I'm aware that many/some spells in vanilla, SCS and Spell Revisions have more than 1 school assigned to them, but as far as I know each individual spell has only 1 school-specific casting animation & casting sound assigned to it. Enemies (casters, at least) could possibly take advantage of this knowledge and a full party of PC casters (6 chars in vanilla & 10 chars with GemRB) would have a somewhat harder time drowning them in a swirling sea of spells. Maybe SCS scripts already perform something like this and I just don't know it... -----

I have a few questions/suggestions: Do I understand correctly that the player will meet Yoshimo for the first time only in Brynnlaw and not earlier? Why so late? Yes, I can imagine why a famous bounty hunter (FEARED BY ALL) would be hanging in Brynnlaw (e.g: he took a contract & he's currently busy shadowing a target). However, with Yoshimo available so late the player will miss out on much of Yoshimo's thieving expertise & most of his interactions. Not sure I'd like that. I'd like an ability to have both Imoen & Yoshimo in my party during chapters 2 & 3. Have you considered adding content for Yoshimo as well? So, Yoshi won't greet the party inside Chateau Irenicus anymore? Doesn't he have some nice dialogue in there? (Of course letting Yoshimo appear where he appears in vanilla was a somewhat strange decision in my eyes -- Yoshimo comes off as a bit too suspicious. A more sensible choice would've been to put him just outside Chateau Irenicus & let him engage the player's party in dialogue either just before or right after the encounter with Irenicus.) What will happen to Imoen if CHARNAME doesn't want to let her into the party and take her to Brynnlaw? I reckon she either persuades CHARNAME to let her journey with the party anyway or she ends up kidnapped by other means. Rescue Irenicus? That sounds like a mighty odd adventure to me! I mean, I'm intrigued!

Ambitious! Mods that attempt this kind of major plot rearrangement are tough to handle for modders; tough to write for & around. I wish jastey luck. --- Can't comment on SoD stuff much as I haven't bought & played EEs yet, but from what I've read it doesn't make sense to me that Imoen skips all the action of SoD. Why wouldn't she help CHARNAME in the finale at least? In BG2:SoA her absence is better justified but even there it feels somewhat forced (no alternatives there). And I happen to really like Imoen as a Sorceress in my party. That class fits her really well (especially when taking in account her heritage & her fairly high Charisma score). Much better than a generalist mage in my opinion. So when Thief-to-Sorcerer duals become a possibility (via GemRB or otherwise) that's what I'll be changing her into. I justify this by alluding to the established fact that it doesn't take a long time to train as a Sorcerer. I think a short but special magic ritual would be enough to awaken the latent powers. That's how I'm personally going to explain her short absence in SoD when I'll be playing with this mod.

Yes, yes. You are right. That's an oversight on my part. Will edit the table. --- Done. *The only other change I'd make is edit the strmodex.2da and make 01-00 percentiles contribute to the open doors/bend bars/lift gates attribute + adjust their impact on character's weight allowance. Str open doors/bend bars/lift gates carry weight 18 35 195 EX 18/01-50 36-40 196-245 EX 18/51-99 41-45 246-294 EX 18/00 47 295 19 50 300 Something to this effect: TO_HIT DAMAGE BEND_BARS_LIFT_GATES WEIGHT_ALLOWANCE 0 0 0 0 (35) 0 (195) 1-10 0 0 1 (36) 1-10 (196-205) 11-20 0 0 2 (37) 11-20 (206-215) 21-30 0 0 3 (38) 21-30 (216-225) 31-40 0 0 4 (39) 31-40 (226-235) 41-50 0 0 5 (40) 41-50 (236-245) 51-60 0 1 6 (41) 51-60 (246-255) 61-70 0 1 7 (42) 61-70 (256-265) 71-80 0 1 8 (43) 71-80 (266-275) 81-90 0 1 9 (44) 81-90 (276-285) 91-99 0 1 10 (45) 91-99 (286-294) 100 0 1 12 (47) 100 (295) Obviously, this isn't proper .2da syntax. The table is more readable in this form than another IMO.

I don't think you need to nerf those 20-25 scores any further. Your progression is fine as it is. IMO all this table needs is a few small touches here and there. (e.g. maluses for lower scores, fixed open doors/bend bars/lift gates values & readjusted weight allowance) Perhaps something like this would do it? Str thac0 dmg open doors/bend bars/lift gates carry weight 1 -5 -5 1 5 2 -4 -4 2 10 3 -3 -4 3 15 4 -3 -3 4 20 5 -2 -3 5 25 6 -2 -2 6 30 7 -1 -2 7 40 8 -1 -1 8 50 9 0 -1 9 60 10 0 0 11 70 -> Scimitar, Axe, Mace 11 0 0 13 80 -> Bastard Sword & Morning Star 12 0 0 16 95 -> Plate Mail & Medium Shield, Heavy Xbow 13 0 0 19 110 -> Halberd, Flail 14 0 1 22 125 -> Two-handed Sword 15 1 1 25 140 -> Full Plate & Large Shields 16 1 2 28 155 17 2 2 31 175 18 2 3 35 195 EX 18/01-50 2 3 40* 220* -> Exceptional strength 1 (Warriors only) EX 18/51-00 2 4 45* 260* -> Exceptional strength 2 (Warriors only) 19 3 4 50 300 20 3 6 60 400 21 4 6 70 500 22 4 8 80 700 23 5 8 90 900 24 5 10 95 1200 25 6 10 99 1500

Salk, Understood. I just wish Demi's "gestation periods" were shorter.

So... when does the Open Beta phase begin? Or will it be skipped?

Btw, a question to Demivrgvs: Are Monks Warriors or Priests within KR, thematically speaking? They don't get bonus HP from 17+ CON, so I'd say they are Priests. Extended Edition(s) wiki also lists them as Priests but is not very consistent in this, IIRC.

Are Monks allowed to wear robes? Monks & robes have a very strong connection, you know.

But really, I'd prefer the BMU having a proper description, i.e. statistics, possibly flavoured (it would be nice to get AT LEAST SOME HINT IN GAME OF WHAT IT DOES mechanics-wise) + usability notes. Ditto for other end-ToB secret items. Do touch it, Demi! Wheeeee.......!!.......

You seem awfully protective of the BMU.

RE Big Metal Unit: Eastern egg or not, please make it consistent at least! Why on Toril a Monk can wear the BMU but Barbarian, Kensai and Wizard Slayer all can not?!

Are Monks supposed to be able to use Big Metal Unit? In the latest IR v3.1 Monks can wear it --- is this the intended behaviour? 'Cause my monk does look cool in it & all, you know. Plate mail AC modifiers and permanent Protection from Magic are a nice modest boon too! Too bad IR v3.1 armors don't grant physical resistance bonuses/boni. Can someone check whether the Big Metal Unit is usable by Monks in the latest IR v4 closed beta?

Ah.. good to know it isn't that difficult. RE Inventory window & no room: The added scrollbars will solve these and other window problems, right?

Great news indeed! Can this number possibly be user-extended to 12 in some not-too-distant future? (2x original party size) And what exactly needs to be done for this? In my opinion, 12 party members is probably the max practical (that is, actually manageable) number one can play with. I'd very much like to test whether this is so. Good work once again, GemRB team!

Don't forget about those nasty Brain golems from Underdark. Those are fleshy. Something should be done about them too. I'd vote against allowing them to be turned to Stone golems though. On a related note, druid spell Earthquake should probably be a little more dangerous to Lesser Clay, Clay and Sand golems. #wipe command while clean? Wiping off your already clean face with your hands or hands-equivalent doesn't kill you. In any direct sense anyway.

WARNING: Wall of Text incoming!! Good, but does your FtS use a custom slow effect which may not be cancelled by Haste or Improved (Mass) Haste and would temporarily override those instead? Is the slow effect harsh enough, like setting Base Movement Rate to 1 and Base ApR to 0.5? (though perhaps a less harsh slow effect should be applied on a successful save) I also thought about FtS slow effect being not-blockable by Free Action, but this kinda clashes with the latter's description. Nevertheless, it is a possibility. I see Flesh to Stone's Uber-Slow effect as a counterpart to 'stiffening' in the NetHack game. In NetHack, a player afflicted by 'stiffening' petrification loses all intrinsic speed & gets 2 game turns to do something about this condition before turning into a statue. Of course the other type of petrification in NetHack is the instantly lethal one. But we've had that one already and don't want it again. I certainly don't. So conceptually, on a successful save Flesh to Stone kind of would turn you to stone but not completely and only for 3 or maybe even 2 rounds. A Petrification-Lite, if you will. A further suggestion: how about it giving a big penalty to dexterity? Like -4 to DEX. More: the 'stiffening' petrification probably shouldn't be giving slow-related direct +2 penalty to AC. A penalty to DEX is enough here. I imagine the 'stiffening' petrification providing its victim with a bonus AC --- kind of like a weak Barkskin. Hold Person is blocked by Minor Globe of Invulnerability and its high-level variants. You must've been thinking about Hold Monster, right? Greater GoI will still block it. Anyway, it's versatility that counts here, as subtledoctor has already pointed out. Besides, you may consider tweaking the Green Scroll of Stone to Flesh so that it can remove Stoneskin too! And maybe also affect stone golems. Warriors, Rogues and Priests would all benefit from it --- particularly important if they are going solo. Stoneskin is one spell SCS enemies use very frequently. David W even might be persuaded to give some mid/high-level non-wizard enemies this scroll and script them to use it offensively on non-petrified party members protected by Stoneskin. Then it might be necessary to raise the scroll's cost and change its range to Touch if it doesn't have that range already. Maybe also lower its spell level? I forgot what casting time it had. One other thing about SCS. With SCS component 'Potions for NPCs' enemies tend to get plenty of powerful potions --- certainly more than they ever get green protection scrolls. Stone to Flesh --- How about IR Potion of Stone Form? Grants 5 layers of stoneskin for 5 turns Usable By: All "I hope your warriors will like it!" says Demi. Something tells me my enemies will like it even more, regardless of their class! David W sure should help them acquire a few. And this Stoneskin will be undispellable. Breach will work against it and not much else. And Transmuters don't get Breach. Actually, they don't get Dispel / Remove Magic either. Currently very few SCS mages use FtS (and StF?). The new combined spell and/or scroll-based StF may provide them with an extra counter to player's potion-based Stoneskin. Sometimes melee/ranged is a better solution to a given tactical problem. Disintegrate is great, but there still may be some protections left on enemy or party member (like Pro Magic Energy & Death Ward) which will block it and there's also, of course, IR Potion of Magic Shielding. Grants +50% resistance to all forms of magical damage, and guarantees drinker will always be successful when rolling saving throws. The effects last for 1 turn, and cannot be dispelled. I imagine StF-as-a-debuff would be more effective against fighter/mages and other mage&druid multies rather than against full-blown mages or druids.

Hmm. It seems in IR there are already enough items that grant a bonus to Detect Traps. Okay, how about a +1 Dexterity bonus? Jansen Techno-Gloves will get Set Traps: +20% bonus. Gloves of the Rogue will get Dex: +1 bonus instead of Set Traps: +15% bonus. add: Same thing, plenty of items grant dexterity bonuses. Hmm... Anyway, I'm convinced that Jansen Techno-Gloves need either a bonus to Set Traps or some unique ability. Though a bonus to Set Traps will make them even more like Gloves of the Rogue.

Jansen Techno-Gloves Equipped Abilities: Lockpicking: +20% bonus Pick Pockets: +20% bonus Usable By: Jan Jansen Notes: unchanged, though I don't like them to be identical to the Gloves of the Rogue. ----- IMO Jansen Techno-Gloves desperately need another ability, preferably a unique one. The item's other name, 'Jansen-Brand Techno-Thieving Gadgetizer Gloves', suggests this should be something tied to "Tecnho" and/or "Gadgetizer". A bonus to Set Traps instantly comes to mind, but it is not unique --- Gloves of the Rogue have it. Demi, I suggest you remove a bonus to Set Traps from Gloves of the Rogue and give it to Jansen Techno-Gloves. The former would get a bonus to Detect Traps instead. I think these changes are good enough: Jansen Techno-Gloves will get Set Traps: +20% bonus. Gloves of the Rogue will get Detect Traps: +15% bonus. I hope it won't clash too much with the new lore you assigned to Gloves of the Rogue. By the way, maybe Detect Traps: +25% bonus from Jansen Spectroscopes should be lowered to 20%? ----- Gloves of the Rogue Equipped Abilities: Lockpicking: +15% bonus Pick Pockets: +15% bonus Set Traps: +15% bonus Precise Strike: +5% chance to score critical hits Notes: "replace" Gloves of Pickpocketing. They now use a completely new lore to better justify its abilities.

The general idea for Flesh to Stone is to make it work more like Aec'Letec's Death Gaze. (which is also a special ability of all aTweaks' Nabassus) Silverstar suggested something like this more than 2 years ago. Stone to Flesh definitely should remove Stoneskin (no save) on any target not immune to petrification/polymorph, whether hostile, neutral or friendly. There aren't many creatures immune to one but not both, are there?

Or you can make things simpler for yourself and forgo damage-dealing altogether. Make FtS / StF a purely debilitating spell vs. 4 kinds of golems. FtS & StF: Flesh Golem <---> Stone Golem On a successful save: Uber-Slowed for 1 or 2 rounds. On a failed save: Polymorphed into its opposite type and Stunned for 2 or 3 rounds. FtS: Brain Golem and Tyrant Golem On a successful save: Uber-Slowed for 1 or 2 rounds. On a failed save: Stunned for 2 or 3 rounds. Things left to agree upon are: what HP/stat/abilty/script/xp-rewarded-per-kill changes should happen to a golem after its transformation into the opposite type.

Could you please post some images? I can't find the icons of the spells you named anywhere on the web. Alternate secondary effects vs. golems: FtS & StF: Flesh Golem <---> Stone Golem --- No moderate damage on a failed save. Keep small damage on both failed and successful saves. 3d3 maybe? Instead, on a failed save new (polymorphed) versions of these golems will be Stunned for 1 or 2 rounds. FtS: Brain Golem and Tyrant Golem --- No moderate damage on a failed save. Keep small damage on both failed and successful saves. 3d3 maybe? Instead, on a failed save these rare golems will be Uber-Slowed for 1 or 2 rounds. I also recommend reducing FtS / StF range from Long to Short within SR. Range is way too long right now. (at least it was so in SR 3.1) And another thing. This discussion probably should be moved to a new topic.

What I had in mind for FtS / StF is a single parent spell with 2 sub-spells (like the new SR Fireshield). The only problem with it would be finding a fitting name and a fitting in-game icon. For FtS, this: make it set target's Movement Rate to 1/8th of its natural (base) one (NOT the current one with various bonuses/maluses - those are temporarily forfeit, 8 is the default Movement Rate for humanoids IIRC) or to 1 (whichever is higher) for 3 rounds without save. Also make it set APR to 1 (1/2 is not possible it seems) without save. Basically, make it a short-duration single-target Uber-Slow. And make this 3-round Uber-Slow not counterable by any in-game version of Haste and Free Action spells/abilities. Make it counterable only by a cleric spell Greater Restoration, wizard spell Stone to Flesh, wizard spell Freedom or Scroll of Freedom and IR Scroll of Protection from Alterations. (all five will also prevent the possible subsequent petrification as a bonus) IR Potion of Freedom should NOT cure this Uber-Slow. After 3 rounds pass, save vs. petrify/polymorph at -2 or at -4. If a save is failed target becomes permanently petrified (or perma held/stunned as current implementation makes it happen) On successful save vs. petrify/polymorph the target will recover from Uber-Slow and will be fatigued for 5 rounds afterwards. (-2 to THAC0, AC and damage IIRC) Multiple uses of Flesh to Stone on the same target before save vs. petrify/polymorph is made or failed shouldn't be cumulative. Hmmm.. overpowered much? Or not? I'm very much against Break Enchantment curing petrification. It just doesn't fit conceptually IMO. I'll probably be okay with Ruby Ray of Reversal curing polymorphed and petrified conditions. That would also make it a sixth cure for FtS's Uber-Slow. For StF, an audacious suggestion: make Stone to Flesh remove Stoneskin (all layers!) on target. Allow a save vs petrify/polymorph at -2 or at -4. Or maybe don't. As this is a 6th level spell it will bypass even the SR Greater Globe of Invulnerability! In other respects StF will function as it does now - as a cure for petrification. And another possible feature for Flesh to Stone / Stone to Flesh: ----- If the target of FtS is a Flesh Golem, the spell will bypass golem's Magic Resistance. If a Flesh Golem fails a save vs. petrify/polymorph (plain save, at -2, or at -4), it will take a moderate amount of damage and then will be turned into a Stone Golem. If a Flesh Golem saves, it will take a lesser amount of damage. If the target of StF is a Stone Golem, the spell will bypass golem's Magic Resistance. If a Stone Golem fails a save vs. petrify/polymorph (plain save, at -2, or at -4), it will take a moderate amount of damage and then will be turned into a Flesh Golem. If a Stone Golem saves, it will take a lesser amount of damage. Basically, Flesh Golem <---> Stone Golem Brain Golem and Tyrant Golem won't be transformed into Stone Golems by Flesh to Stone, but instead, in addition to taking moderate damage these golems will be stunned for a brief period of time on a failed save. Magic Resistance is bypassed, naturally. Scroll of Protection from Alterations when used on all these golems will prevent damage/stun/transformation. Lesser Clay, Clay, Sand, Juggernaut, Iron, Adamantite, Bone, Ice and Magic Golems all shouldn't be affected by this spell, of course. What do you think of this whole latter feature? Does it sound silly or not?

Oh dear. You learn something new every day. If so, I agree that Improved Slow in its "mass" form would be utterly broken.

I must've been away for too long a time. Since when haste/slow spells influence casting speed? Or are 'improved' versions the only ones that do this?