Daxtreme

This component of mine only changes items dropped by Cowled Wizards (including Zallanora), but with precise, non-destructive editing, nothing else.

The issue is with another mod for sure. Here is the entire code pertaining to Zallanora in that optional component:

	COPY_EXISTING ~mage18z.cre~ ~override~															// Zallanora (Cowled Wizard Last Wave) Mage 30/30 | 1
		LPF SANITIZE_CRE RET ok = ok END
		PATCH_IF ok BEGIN
			ADD_CRE_ITEM ~amul22~ #0 #0 #0 ~none~ ~amulet~											// Amulet of Poison Immunity
			ADD_CRE_ITEM ~RNDSCR05~ #1 #0 #0 ~none~ ~inv~ 											// Random level 9 scroll
			ADD_CRE_ITEM ~brac07~ #0 #0 #0 ~none~ ~gloves~											// Bracers of 18 dex | itemrev +2 dex 
																									// rring already occupied
			ADD_CRE_ITEM ~boot12~ #0 #0 #0 ~undroppable~ ~boots~									// Boots immune to backstab, undroppable
		END
	BUT_ONLY

She is definitely not supposed to appear in the first encounter with the Cowled Wizards when they just warn you. That has never happened to me. Sounds like a mod compatibility issue. Did you install EET correctly?

Do you have  "Unofficial Item Pack" installed by any chance?

Gonna have to be more detailed than that. Which first encounter, which last encounter, what happened in these 2 encounters (there are more than 2 possible encounters with her)

Well it's still a lot better than literally having nothing but a nonmagical quarterstaff, but noted

I don't want them to be overflowing with loot either

I will consider adding it in next update thanks for the comment!

edit: that optional component doesn't require EET. Here are the requirements:

    REQUIRE_PREDICATE FILE_EXISTS_IN_GAME ~mage18z.cre~ @50 //Required file missing -- install Baldur's Gate 2 EE
    REQUIRE_PREDICATE FILE_EXISTS_IN_GAME ~blun31.itm~ @50 //Required file missing -- install Baldur's Gate 2 EE

Unless I got something wrong, BG2 should work. Are you on the original BG2? or Enhanced Edition BG2?

Further proof (Trying to install my mod on an unmodded BG2EE install works as designed: main component is skipped because EET is uninstalled, optional component works:

On 10/20/2023 at 6:55 AM, 4udr4n said:

On 10/20/2023 at 3:37 AM, jastey said:

Cowled Menace is quite late after the NPC mods, is that the recommended install order?

Readme says after npc mods. It is a bit vague and I do worry about a large quest mod so late, but have not had time to look into this yet. @Daxtreme any thoughts?

Sorry for the massive delay, for some reason I didn't receive this notification in my email. I was in Europe on a trip, recently came back.

Honestly my mod is very compatibility-friendly. I don't think there's any issue putting it where it is right now. Of course it HAS to be installed after EET. And avoid mods that destructively alter cowled wizards files (most mod don't destructively alter files anyway), and Twisted Rune. Apart from that... very safe. Putting it alongside with post-EET quest mods works just fine.

Thanks for the info, I've tinkered a bit and I can't find a way to make it end indeed.

Seems like I'll have to remove this component for now

3 hours ago, Lurker said:

#3010 // Use pre-EE Spell Deflection Globe (EE only) -> Only for Spell Trap: 1.0.1

The visual effect doesn't end with the spell trap's duration. This applies to SPWI902.SPL and STAF11.SPL.

Can be semi-fixed in an existing installation by removing "Play visual effect (215)" (hint: resource: DX#STRAP.VVC) from the above SPLs and affected characters in saved games with Near Infinity. This restores the default behavior without the need to uninstall the mod component.

For mod component 3020, this applies to spwi902.spl, spwi318.spl, spwi618.spl, staf11.spl, and  spin710.spl (taken directly from the TP2).

EDIT: Although I'd prefer a properly working solution, because I don't like the default behavior, where multiple spells with different gameplay effects share the same visual effect. This of course also applies to other spells and items, in general.

Really? Perhaps that's a new bug introduced with a Beamdog patch because I tested this a long time ago when I made the component. Does it stay active every single time?

In the meantime I'm trying to think how many different triggers exist in ToB that block you out of leaving the Pocket Plane. I know there's the "you must complete a challenge before leaving", but are there others?

1 hour ago, Granger77 said:

Hi Daxtreme,

Yes, I teleported out using the console just fine!

It's so crazy, because the last time I played, I was literally in the Pocket Plane right after completing the quest. This morning, I had read about the issue that Nehreis had and fired up my game to see if the same thing had happened to me and lo and behold, it had. It was a quick fix, though!

I really enjoyed the mod! Its surprise elements, scale, and characters were awesome; definitely has become a staple of my runs. Thank you!

That's very kind of you, thank you very much! Not a lot of people take the time to leave feedback so much appreciated. I'm leaving for Poland today so I won't be able to fix it soon (no computer for a while), but at least you made it out okay. Anyone who mods extensively knows how to use the console so that's nice but still, I'd like for this not to be a problem in future playthroughs.

The mod does exactly what I set out to do: deepen the lore behind Cowled Wizards and the Twisted Rune. It isn't very long, doesn't have a lot of content, but I think it's just in the right places, and sprinkled throughout BG1, BG2, and ToB.

3 hours ago, Nehreis said:

Honestly, not really challenging. The surprise effect worked well, but non-magic-users were quickly dispatched, and as I remember, Zallanera was not casting anything too problematic. She seemed to me far weaker than Layene for example (for information, I use SCS on hardcore, with casting before battle for mages on tactical and use of HLA for mages on insane). It's fair to say I didn't feel from the gameplay that she was supposed to be very powerful.

Ah that's fair. I'm not sure exactly how SCS affects Zallanora so perhaps she doesn't get the best scripts. It's been a while since I tested SCS, and I never tested it on hardcore.

well this is indeed a problem, thank you guys for the report, hope you made it out safely Granger77 (you can always just console Teleport out)

3 hours ago, Nehreis said:

Very nice mod, thank you! I just found the very ending was a little anticlimactic, having the player be mostly a spectator.

I encountered one bug : at the end, I went to the pocket plane by talking with Zallanera, and then was stuck there : when I tried to leave, I just came back in it, as if the pocket plane itself was the location from which I accessed it (I am in the part of ToB in which I don't have options to chose when I leave the pocket plane). I had to use the console to reach Toril again.

Hey, thanks for trying out the mod! Hmm that's right, I forgot that there is a moment in ToB when you can't actually leave the pocket plane.

I'll see what I can do to fix that. Thanks for the report

edit: by the way, how did you like the ambush in ToB? Did you think it was challenging enough?

Glad it's working, just to be sure you put The Cowled Menace  after Unofficial Item Pack right?

Hmm, if you try to uninstall just my mod I'm fairly sure that Weidu will start uninstalling everything that goes after it, so we're thinking... mostly everything, including SCS and EET_End, so you're in for a painful uninstall (then equally as painful reinstall)

What we could do is that you upload the "mage18z.cre" file currently in your override folder. I could fix/append/add the correct scripts and upload it back and you overwrite it. Now that's a terrible way of patching things as it might interfere with weidu uninstall later, but it's the only way to fix this without uninstalling and reinstalling anything. You could even keep your current install "mage18z.cre" somewhere, and if you wanna uninstall stuff later, switch the files beforehand (make backups)

Btw if you reorder my quest mod before items mods,

Quote

UNOFFICIAL ITEM PACK/SETUP-UNOFFICIAL ITEM PACK.TP2

Has a conflict with my mod COWLED MENACE unfortunately.

Most likely it has compatibility issues with other mods as well. Maker of the mod uses destructive editing in some places (replacing files altogether) instead of patching which is the only form of coding allowed on Gibberlings (another reason to get mods from here )

Right now it works but if Unofficial Item Pack gets shifted to after Cowled Menace, it will just break the quest, you won't be able to complete it. Like I've been saying on these forums, you should never install this mod. Not sure why so many people install it. PSA #7: Stop installing Unofficial Item Pack!

Indeed, this seems like a SCS problem or another one of your mods and not related to my mod.

Good luck!

Instead can you upload your modded HLLAYEN.cre ? We'll see the final output for it, what it looks like, and whether it's actually a problem

I do minor scripts patching so not sure why it would throw an error. Plus, I take into account SCS when patching (maybe the code changed)

Also, I tested the mod with SCS and there was no error.

Most likely that another mod is causing problem here, but I will investigate

New version released: v.1.0.1

I guess that's it for your playthrough. Thanks for everything you've done, much appreciated. Loved it! I religiously read everything

Better luck next time as they say

4 hours ago, Oloriniel said:

Thanks for both the suggestion, to salvage the rest of your mod's content, and the scrutiny re: the code, so I can avoid this and (probably other) issues in future installs.  I'm already plotting what to add and remove for my next run.  I've been thinking about a ranger/druid, a sorcerer/monk, or a barbarian/shaman.  But with the release of the Gorgon's Eye and its rogue focus, perhaps I'll go with a svirfneblin cleric/thief....

Let us know when you're in Throne of Bhaal and you've created the wardstone so you can properly finish Cowled Menace

On 10/17/2022 at 5:18 AM, Oloriniel said:

She didn't drop a wardstone.

I ran a changelog on Mage18Z.CRE:
00000: /* created or unbiffed */ ~COWLEDMENACE\SETUP-COWLEDMENACE.TP2~ 0 1000 // Main Component0.2.1
00001:  ~COWLEDMENACE\SETUP-COWLEDMENACE.TP2~ 0 2100 // Appropriate Items for High-Level Spellcasters0.2.1
00002:  ~MIH_EQ\SETUP-MIH_EQ.TP2~ 0 0 // Revised Corporal Undeadv5.1
00003:  ~UNOFFICIAL ITEM PACK\SETUP-UNOFFICIAL ITEM PACK.TP2~ 1 4 // New Items
00004:  ~TOMEANDBLOOD\TOMEANDBLOOD.TP2~ 0 16 // Improved Identify spell (usable by Arcanist/Multi Sorcerers)0.9.33
00005:  ~EET_TWEAKS\EET_TWEAKS.TP2~ 0 2051 // XP for killing creaturesDecrease to 75%1.12
00006:  ~STRATAGEMS\SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ 0 3505 // Wider selection of random scrolls34.3
00007:  ~STRATAGEMS\SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ 0 5900 // Initialise AI components (required for all tactical and AI components)34.3
00008:  ~STRATAGEMS\SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ 0 6030 // Smarter Mages34.3
00009:  ~STRATAGEMS\SETUP-STRATAGEMS.TP2~ 0 6100 // Potions for NPCs34.3
00010:  ~TNT\TNT.TP2~ 0 59 // Fair fightsAlso remove undroppable items granting unfair advantages from all enemies | POWER USER component, consult readmev8.19
00011:  ~METWEAKS\METWEAKS.TP2~ 0 3210 // Make Infravision actually do somethingBoth 1 and 2
00012:  ~MIH_TWEAKS\SETUP-MIH_TWEAKS.TP2~ 0 6 // Give Monsters Bonus HPv2
00013:  ~ZGTWEAKS\ZGTWEAKS.TP2~ 0 12 // Add random arcane spell scrolls to arcane casters up until their highest memorized level1.4
00014:  ~ZGTWEAKS\ZGTWEAKS.TP2~ 0 22 // Add random arcane spell scrolls to divine casters up until their highest memorized level1.4
00015:  ~ZGTWEAKS\ZGTWEAKS.TP2~ 0 10000 // Bag of Spilling (move bugged supposed-to-be-available items to a bag in the creature's inventory)1.4
00016:  ~SKILLS-AND-ABILITIES\SKILLS-AND-ABILITIES.TP2~ 0 312 // Overhaul Proficiency System - Add New Proficiencies and Weapon StylesAccelerated Proficiency Progressionv0.8.1-alpha
00017:  ~KLATU\SETUP-KLATU.TP2~ 0 1050 // Appropriate XP Rewards for Cowled Enforcers1.7

Maybe this will help. The TNT component stands out as something that might remove a min 1 hp item?

00003:  ~UNOFFICIAL ITEM PACK\SETUP-UNOFFICIAL ITEM PACK.TP2~ 1 4 // New Items

I inspected the code for this mod, the author overwrites the entire mage18z.cre file in override with their own mage18z.cre file (destructive editing). I advised many people against using that mod. I would still advise not to ever use that mod. It's 100% incompatible with my mod due to shitty coding practice.

If by any chance you have a different version of the mod installed, or skipped the component, then not sure, any of those mods could be overwriting the whole file instead of editing it in a "best coding practice" manner and be responsible for this. I know that KLATU is 100% fine. Stratagems too, I tested the mod with SCS. The known tweak mods are probably ok.

Most likely it's the unofficial item pack though. Like I said, I inspected the code. It's probably what simultaneously broke the last encounter of the cowled wizards because her dialog file has been overwritten, and prevented her from dropping the wardstone too since it's no longer in her inventory due to overwriting. If you want to add it to your inventory, it's called "Zallanora's Wardstone". You can search for it either in NearInfinity or EEKeeper, then add it in your inventory through console.

I will edit my compatibility section on my mod to specify never to install my mod with Unofficial Item Pack

6 hours ago, Oloriniel said:

Yes, my first encounter with Zallanora was my final encounter with Cowled Enforcers, after casting spells in Athkatla without a license.

After this, I destroyed the Twisted Rune enclave in Athkatla.  After doing so, Laeral teleported in, and we had a second discussion.  I'm pretty sure "Zallanora" came up in the first discussion - in Baldur's Gate - because that's how I knew the name to enquire about her at the Government building.  But she came up again this time.

Zallanora had previously been in the Graveyard District - given away by her buffs - and I hadn't chosen to confront her yet.  But I did so now.

Both Zallanora's dropped an item that enables one to cast Time Stop once per day.  Not sure they both work; when I had both in my inventory, 1 had a little "1" by it to indicate 1 charge, the other did not.  So I'm guessing it doesn't matter how many copies you have in your inventory, it's effectively unique and you can use 1 of them, once per day.

As for "CtB", that's "Check the Bodies," a very old megamod.

Other stuff that tweaks the Cowled Wizards includes the Expanded Planar Sphere.

Yeah there definitely is a bug introduced by another mod.

First of all, you're not supposed to be able to actually kill her at the point you did, she's supposed to Time Stop and teleport away (like vanilla install Zallanora, except with dialogue and stuff). Even using the console KILL command dealing 9999 damage every 0.1 seconds I can't kill her, so that means another mod's script removed whatever was preventing her from dying (MinHP1 ring). You can kill her sometimes at that point, but it depends where you are in the story, and you weren't there yet.

You're also not supposed to be able to kill her in the Graveyard district, let alone see her in advance because of buffs (I blame SCS for that one)

I'm tempted to remove her from the Graveyard district entirely if SCS does that. It's meant as a hint for later.

You should normally have her wardstone in your inventory since you killed her, you can go finish the quest in the crypts below the Graveyard district (the Undead crypts side-area within Bodhi's Lair, not the Lair itself)

A shame because you'll be missing Throne of Bhaal content (easily the mod's hardest fight), but there's no way around that now as you've killed her already. Basically, she's supposed to come back with a vengeance during Throne of Bhaal.

Thanks for trying it out with so many mods haha. Will have to look into it but at this point it seems likely I may never find what caused this.

On 10/14/2022 at 8:12 AM, Oloriniel said:

No luck with that console command, alas:

C:Eval(MoveGlobalObject("C#Brandock",Player1))
[string "C:Eval(MoveGlobalObject(C#Brandock",Player1)..."]:1:attempt to call global 'MoveGlobalObject' (a nil value)

 

And not "The Cowled Menace."  I think that's only in play in giving the Cowled Wizards who harass me for casting arcane spells without a license some loot.

In vanilla content, Zallanora's one of the Cowled Wizards in that final assault (which I've just done).  But after facing them I visited the graveyard, where there's another Zallanora buffing and awaiting me (I think the Cowled Menace triggers this if you ask about her at the Government building).  That's the one from The Cowled Menace, I'm pretty sure.  Of course, it's entirely probable that a wizard as powerful as she is has set up clones and contingencies to survive death, and would want revenge!

As to finding the Cowled Wizards Apartments?  That's CtB.  Playing a female mage, after you complete the Planar Sphere stronghold quests,  CW at the govt' building wants you to find an unlicensed mage ("An Unsanctioned Use of Magical Energy."  After you do it, the mage who gave you the quest can be found at the Den of Seven Vales.  There he gives you some fetch quests--at the aforementioned apartments, which I can't find.  Or, alternatively, you can sleep with them, which yields the infamous uncurable STD.

So if I got this right, you killed Zallanora in the last wave of the Cowled Wizards right? Was that your first encounter with her?

I think something may have gone wrong here. What exactly is "CtB"? I wasn't aware that another mod was playing with Cowled Wizards stuff.

Have you cleared the Guarded Compound in the Temple district while you were doing the Eye Cult questline?

Also,

On 9/26/2022 at 8:32 PM, Oloriniel said:

The next time the Cowled Wizards come after me for casting within the city limits will be the last time.

Oh boy, curious to see how it goes! Do you have SCS installed?