FixTesteR

Nice signature quote.

Yes you're right. IR doesn't change it. So it remains a mundane with some lore flavour.

Hi @subtledoctor. As far as I remember, I got this SSoBS from Slythe in BG1. So since then, it's been very useful to me because I have a F/T. I kept it throughout SoD. Thanks for mentioning that the Whistling Sword is also something more than just +2. In my playthrough it's just that mundane version and I was wondering why the name. I'll google what the modified version does. IR/R should fix that, though, so I don't know what's troubling my installation, and I'm also not an expert to figure it out. My version is also outdated (2.5) so maybe on a new install, things will fall into place as they are supposed to.

Yes. I've tried it a few times. I'll test it again when I'm done with this playthrough (game version is 2.5) and do a fresh trilogy modded install with updated versions. Thanks for the headsup that it's IR. Maybe I'll have to install IRR next time to fix it

Hi. What I'm about to report doesn't come from SRR, so I'm sorry for off-topic but I've no idea what the culprit is. Upon entering the upper floor of the Thieves' Guild in Athkatla, the Short Sword of Backstabbing +3 (+1 bonus to backstabbing) turns to a mundane Short Sword +3. The only way to prevent this is to drop the sword and go up to Renal without it, picking it up on the way back. This might be because Renal is supposed to give you a sword like that as a quest reward. Upon googling, it seems my SS of Backstabbing is modified because the original sword apparently gives no other bonuses than +3. Hmmm. Maybe all that should be chalked up to a heavily modded game?

It's so nice to see how dedicated Bartimaeus is I just feel happy.

@Bartimaeus that might be the answer to my question, I guess ...

But setting it so that it blocks one wave of DM would make it too strong? Or would it destroy the nature, the intended behavior, of the (M)GoI? As is, with BG2 rules, do you see any viable use for (M)GoI?

Does that mean an enemy needs two DMs to dispell your protections, one for the globe, and the other one to have a full hit?

It's been said a couple of times that DM passes through MGoI. Vanilla description of MGoI: This spell creates a faintly shimmering magical sphere around the caster that prevents any 1st-, 2nd-, or 3rd-level spell effects from penetrating (i.e., the area of effect of any such spells does not include the area of the Minor Globe of Invulnerability). This includes innate abilities and effects from devices. However, any type of spell can be cast out of the magical sphere, and these pass from the caster of the globe to their subject without affecting the globe. Spells of 4th level or higher are not affected by the globe. It seems DM gets blocked and doesn't dispell a thing. SR adds one sentence in the end of description of MGoI: .... Fourth and higher level spells are not affected by the globe. The globe can be brought down by a successful dispel magic. So DM can bring down a MGoI. Pretty much the same with GoI. Does the SR version of DM bring down a MGoI and gets consumed in the process, or does it go further and have a chance to dispel something else underneath? SRR says that it doesn't dispell it but goes right through. It seems, if I'm reading it correctly, that Vanilla MGoI is the strongest, SR is in the middle, and SRR is the weakest. I should test the behaviour, of course, but maybe of one you can answer off the cuff.

Has anyone observed SCS mages use any OTHER dispelling spells besides DM/RM much? I actually can't remember, as it was always a constant income of DM/RM. If there were any other, they were too rare for me to remember. Maybe Breach. Maybe we should just stack up on Dispelling Screens and spam that. I'm using SR, and will try SRR on the next run.

Isn't it true that GoI can be brought down by a successful dispel magic? But you think of changing this behavior so that it bypasses in and doesn't dispell it?

Maybe books on forgotten realms already have great descriptions of monsters. Or some monster manuals. So it can be a matter of almost c/p. Then, one would only need to add a few technical data in-between the text, mentioning some spell names and levels. Iirc, two or three tomes do exist in Vanilla, a work of Elminster, but they only mention a few specific monsters, nothing groundbreaking. I wonder how I'll fare against liches. It's time for Durlag now. See you then.

Well, the reason why I'm asking some of these questions is that I'm running a no-reload saga playthrough, and liches are very positive candidates to end my whole run. That's why it's vital for me to know the logic of the game. If liches are immune to many spell levels, I can't see why their protections would also be immune. When a lich casts Stoneskin, it casts the same level 4 spell as my mage does. It has the same vulnerability to be removed by Breach, and the lich's personal immunity shouldn't block it. It's the protection that's being targeted by Breach, not lich's immune body. Then again, say you have Magic Resistance on your party member, and he gets targeted with some dispell. It's possible MR blocks it, even though your protections are vulnerable to that dispell. Sometimes the game just doesn't give you enough information about enemies. Wouldn't it be cool if there was a mod that introduced books of knowledge about creatures in Faerun all around city libraries alongside Sword Coast? Now that would be another layer of immersion. And a whole lotta extra work.

I wonder. Liches are immune to ... spells of level 1-9 or something. Right. Whatever. But their protections shouldn't be. If they cast PfMW, that protection shouldn't be irremovable by, say, Breach. Right? It's the liches personally that are immune, and cannot be hit by spells. That's my understanding of it.

I hear you, but since SCS does it? You're kind of forced to do it. Though in BG1 where I am now, I am capable of handling lots of fights without pre-buffing. I'll see what happens in SoD and BG2. I guess one could argue some encounters are clearly on the horizon, and for those, you should pre-buff. Say more? We're talking with SCS on, right?

Just dropping by to say I appreciate all the talk you're having about Dispel Magic. In ToB, 95% of dispells that the enemies cast were Dispel Magic spells. It is just that overpowered. After one or two landed, I started wondering whether it was worth to pre-buff at all.

Makes sense what you're saying but ... are there in-game examples where you could use charm to your benefit? It seems it's more of a role-play, right? Maybe BG City Chapter 7? Or do you have viable situations where a NPC is approaching you and you'd like to avert them? Just wondering. So the bottom line is, you don't really like how Vanilla Dispel Magic works? Well, one thing I found annoying near the end of ToB was that the strong mobs always use Dispel Magic as opposed to other dispells, and it seemed that, being of a higher level than my party, have a very high chance of dispelling my whole party with one swoop. I guess Dispelling Screen helped avert the first cast, but after that, one Dispel Magic could remove all types of protections on several members that I cast before battle. Anyway, it just seemed that Dispel Magic trumps all other dispells. Hopefully you can relate at least a bit to what I'm saying here. Also, while other dispells tell me what they dispel, Dispel Magic is just very broad all around the board. I mean, what doesn't it dispel?

Does this include Protection from Normal Weapons? I hope it doesn't because I'd still like the game to be viable to be played with a party heavy on Fighters that can't dispell protections. I'm asking this because a while ago there was a discussion about whether +0 weapons should be included. If your answer is "yes, they are included", is there an easy way to revert this on my part? I'm not a modder. What do you mean by modularity? Does it work as in vanilla now? Spell Revisions makes DM work the same as RM, and removes RM altogether. Do you add it back in SRR? Over? Does it overwrite WoF in the files, so that in every place one would previously find scrolls of WoF, there is now Chaos? Thank you. PS: Not sure of the extent to which you modified Charm (I checked the link), but my version right now says that Charm has a ST of +2 while Dire Charm has +0. Both of these seem kinda useless, seing that ST vs spells are usually the lowest among enemies. I am willing to be schooled on this subject, though, if I'm really seeing it wrong.

So it needs to be decided what definition we are to go with: the one that says if you become stupid, horrified, or spooked, you are actually helpless, or the one that limits helplessness to immobility. My take would be to look at it broadly, and ask how the gameplay is affected in each case, and how either way renders other spells more/less useful. Should a caster have Remove Fear always on, or can he do away with such protections since contingency will bail him out in the (un)likely event anyway?

Lianos, you beat me to it literally by 4 minutes. I just did exactly that. I googled what the Potion of MF looked like, and then searched for the same bottle which turned out to be the Potion of Restoration. Thank you in any event. Good eve to you and yours, my friend. I'm off to Ramazith's Tower.

Does IRR include potions revision? I'm asking because I cannot finish a side quest that involves bringing a Potion of Mind Focusing to Quoningar, a quest reinstated by Unfinished business, simply because all such potions are non-existant in my game.

Hey. I also have a question about Find Familiar. Why is it that only a protagonist can cast it? In case he's soloing? Shouldn't everyone in the party be able to cast it? Also, my protagonist bard was unable to cast it successfully, even though he had access to arcane spells. He cast it but nothing happened. Maybe bards, being jacks of all trades, should be able to wear robes. But this is another topic :)

Yeah. I hope you get more feedback. My take is a linear 1 HP per level capped at 20, so that it is somewhat viable during combat when higher levels are reached. I find it good that at level 1, it only heals 1 hp, or 5 hp in total. Adding bonuses for L1 makes it overpowered in my opinion, as it doesn't cost any money. Once you're level 2, you get 2 hp already, which is a nice boost early on, and it keeps going to ~20. Your option of having less Berries which heal more might be better still. Or they don't cap at 20 but later. Anyway, keep up the good work, and please take my opinion into consideration, too.

That would be 3x10 = 30 HP healed at level 15. Right now, it's 5x7 = 35 HP healed at level 18. Seems pretty similar. Maybe the buff of Berries staying for more than 8 hours could be implemented, so that a Druid may cast Berries a few times, then the party rests while memorizing other spells, and when they are ready for a fight, they have Berries and other spells. But it's true that a Berry that heals for 10 HP is better than a Berry that heals for 7 HP. I personally wouldn't mind if Berries healed more than that at higher levels, since Druids could use a little buffing. If you have a Druid, then you make minor potions obsolete. So what. Other classes don't have that luxury. And bigger health potions are still better, especially in the heat of the battle where it really matters. Minor one heals 10 HP, extra one heals 30 ... I wouldn't mind a Berry being scaled to something between these two numbers. When you're level 20, 10 HP healing potions are obsolete. If a Berry heals so little, it means by that time the spell is obsolete. A 20 HP might do it still. Perhaps Berries should heal 1 HP per level of the Druid, capped at 20. Or at 25. You think I am going way overboard? My focus with this is: are they viable during a battle. Because outside the battle, when you're level 20, you have other means to heal up: regen items, con 20, Druid Regen spells. So to have Druid Berries be used outside the battle makes them compete with Druid Regen spells. Which is pointless. Only have Regen then. So after thinking, I'll have to recant the words of my previous post. I still think Berries are underpowered the way they are right now Any (constructive) criticism is welcome. If you've got arguments that shred my idea, bring them up and show me my folly Have a wonderful start of the week! Thank you. I'll write it down and use it when I next do a full install of the game. I have a feeling I'll never want to play without it again. For now, I'm only interested in this one component of your Scales of Balance tweaks. Maybe some other will catch my attention during installation.