Though some significant portion of them are already included in Implementation during Sylmar Battlefield.
General Gameplay / Compatibility
- the Silmarillion will be accessible through the TUTORIAL section of BG2 so as not to prevent players from playing standard BG2
- most of the mod is written using a combination of CHAINs to initiate conversation
- because all of the characters do not exist in unmodded BG2, conflicts are not expected to be significant.
- while Balances and Tweaks will be applied to Classes and Races, these will be Optional Components, so that players can choose if they wish to be affected by it if they should play BG2 concurrently with Silmarillion.
- HLA limiting will NOT be optional. Players will only be able to select a Maximum of 4 of each HLA.
CRE and BAF Generation
- most of the files, such as the BAF files and waypoint navigation files, as well as the CRE stats and monsters and so on, are actually generated via TP2 code. This keeps the number of files to be downloaded low.
- typically in the final version one may expect about as many as 300 to 500 CREs generated from perhaps 2 or 4 CREs, so that the difficulty actually scales up according to the player's level. this will be done through a patching format.
Abilities and Normal CREs
- in general, there will be 3 Tiers of allies/enemies
Tier 1 : Levels 8 10 12
Tier 2 : Levels 14 16 18 20
Tier 3 : Levels 23 26 29 32 35 38
- Tier 2 opponents will use Kit Abilities. Depending on the Class of the CRE, it will be randomly assigned One kit from a choice of two, and will only use One ability from the assigned Kit only
eg. for Fighters, it will be Berserker (Berserk) or Kensai (Kai) ; for Ranger either Archer (Called Shot) or some other ability (maybe multishot?)
- Tier 3 opponents will use HLA Abilities. (see below)
- Most HLA and Kit abilities will not be "use on seeing enemy", there'll be a limited chance they will use it each time
- Thieves and Rangers will move about stealthed in their own squads. All will have a random chance of using Invisibility under certain conditions. Ranger AI will involve drinking invisibility potions, moving away, and then firing again from a distance.
- Other squad based monsters also include Werewolves and Balrogs. These special Squads will move in smaller numbers, but every one of their number operates in a similar Fashion. There will be special markings to indicate clearly to the player which one is the Squad Commander. These will also have access to HLA and Kit Abilities at respective tiers
Squad Mechanics
- a Squad is a group of individuals that move as a group and respond as a group. They are always led by a commander ; as long as this commander is alive, everyone in the squad has a certain Regeneration Rate, and if a member of the squad is killed, after some time a new one will spawn near the commander
- The Squad moves by following an invisible marker. Whenever combat occurs the Marker stops moving. Outside of Combat, whenever the commander loses sight of the Marker, the Marker will be "jumped" to the Commander. Outside of Combat, whenever the Squad Member loses sight of the Marker, the Squad member will be "jumped" to the Marker
- whenever a Commander is reduced to under 50% Life, surviving Squad members will have a tendency to attack the attacker of the Squad Commander. Those already engaged in melee with another will not move to do so.
- each marker has map specific script on how to navigate in a way that is continuous.
Commander CREs
- Of the normal CREs, there are also things to look out for. Apart from being a fighter, any given squad commander can also be a Cleric, a Mage or for the case of some Elves, BOTH.
- Orcish Clerics will never be able heal in any way, they can only Buff and use damaging Cleric abilities. Note that non-Orcish races such as Humans, will be able to use Healing abilities.
- Commander CREs will use spells and abilities based on their level as if they are a player CRE. They will not need to memorise nor will they run out of spells ; they use a timer-base to recast Spells. Spells CAN be interrupted.
- Apart from Fighter/Thief HLAs, high level multi-classed CREs will also have access to HLAs. the usage is the same ; one use per 5 levels from a collection of abilities. There are no kit abilities for multi-classed commanders apart from what they receive as Fighters / Thieves.
eg. for a Mage, HLAs will be Dragons Breath, Comet, Summon Dark Planetar/Planetar (depending on alignment if caster is good or evil)
Spells
- All prices independant of Reputation, approx x2 or x3 that of in BG2
- Scrolls for spells can be obtained from the merchants within the Halls of the Dead, up to level 6 Spells
- level 6-9 spells may be dropped as loot by Enemy Commander types
( weapons and gear can be looked under Gemming Rules - +3 Weapons and +2 Armor are the highest a Player can go )
Equipment & Gemstones - http://www.shsforums...showtopic=33040
Special Equipment
- Unique +2 Weapons are dropped by completing Special Objectives (typically very hard to complete). These weapons are items such as Ringil, the Blacksword, Glamdring, Feanor's Sword, etc etc. They can be upgraded to +3 by combining them with TWO other weapons of the same type(ie Scimitar to Scimitar, Sword to Sword) and power level (ie +2), and doing so gains them special properties as well. each +2 item can only be dropped once during an entire game. Every weapon should have a +2 type.
- due to the size of maps and events occurring, the party will also be given 2 "Orbs", Palantiri made by Feanor, that can each be used once per map to summon a permanent and invulnerable "Wizard's Eye". These can travel the map to see what is going on at different places. effectively they simulate the player "gazing" into a crystal ball.
- you will be given four "Valar's Pardon", that can be bestowed on Characters that should otherwise be dead, to bring them out of their timeline to aid you. You can sell extra ones back for gold, but they will not be repurchaseable.
Races, Classes, Ranks
Here are some ranks to distinguish Commanders and Troops from each other
4 Races - Elven, Human, Dwarf, Orc
3 Monster types - Trolls, Werewolves, Balrogs
(and other specials, but those are scenario based)
Fighter Squads
- most squads are Fighter Squads, and their Troops are all called Warriors
- their commanders come in 4 ranks for each faction, each with a respective number of troops in their squad
- Elven factions (including Humans on Elf side) Sergeant (4), Lieutenant (5), Captain (6), General ( 8 )
- Orc factions (including Humans on Orc side) Raider (4), Chieftain (5), Champion (6), Warlord ( 8 )
- Dwarf faction (regardless of which side they are on) Longbeard (4), Forgelord (5), Thane (6), War Thane ( 8 )
- all Fighters use Whirlwind HLA. If they exceed level 30, they have a high chance of using Greater Whirlwind instead
Spellcasting Commanders
- as mentioned earlier, Commanders of Fighter Squads can also be Mages, Clerics or even both (exclusively for Elves)
- their Animation will change ; for Cleric they will change to a Cleric animation, for Mages and Mage-Clerics they will change to a Mage animation
- their names will change according to their 4 Ranks as shown above
- note that Orcish Clerics canNOT heal. but they have more potential to use Destructive Spells.
- the upper 2 Cleric Ranks are different based on Faction
- Mages - Adept (4) / Mage (5) / Battle Mage (6) / War Mage ( 8 )
- Clerics - Acolyte (4) / Cleric (5) / Paladin or Blackguard (6) / Cavalier or Doomherald ( 8 )
- Mage/Clerics (only for elves) - Mage-Cleric (4) / Channeller (5) / Prelate (6) / Archprelate ( 8 )
- Casters will use their respective Class HLAs when casting
Thief Squads
- Thieves exist for all Races, and they roam unseen across the map.
- They do not use Warrior Kit abilities but use Passive Abilities, either a +1 bonus to Backstab, or Crippling Poison (a 20% chance to Slow)
- Thieves come in squads of 4 or 6, with the Hitpoints of a respective Lieutenant/Chieftain and General/Warlord. Their ranks as follows
- Elves - Silencer (4) / Quietus (6)
- Orcs - Stalker (4) / Assassin (6)
- Dwarves use Elven ranks, regardless of which faction they belong to
- Humans use the rank of their faction
- Thieves use Assassination HLA
Ranger Squads
- Rangers exist only for Elves and Humans, there are no Dwarven or Orcish Rangers. Like Thieves, they roam unseen across the map
- Rangers use their own Kit abilities, Called Shot and Crippling Shot (which Slows the Target)
- unlike BG2 Rangers, Rangers will move away from opponents that are approaching closer to them, and will use Invisibility in combat to move away from foes
- like Thieves, they roam in squads of 4 or 6. Their ranks are as follows
- Elves / Humans (on Elf faction) - Marksman (4) / Trueshot (6)
- Humans (on Orc faction) - Crackshot (4) / Dead-Eye (6)
- Rangers use the same Whirlwind as Warriors, and have a chance to use Greater Whirlwind at levels past 30.
Special Character Templates
- Special Characters will use templates as their CRE itself, if it is not a named Character (like Feanor or Fingolfin)
- they all have improved Stats (all stats fixed at 18 for T1, 20 for T2, and 22 for T3) and Improved Regeneration (they are treated as Commanders)
- for Elven factions, they are named Elven Lords & Human Lords
- for Orc factions, they are named Orc Darklords & Human Darklords
- For Dwarves, they are named Thane Lords
- there is *NO* chance of randomly spawning these Special Characters
Monster Squads
- monsters like Trolls, Werewolves and Balrogs also come in Squads of different sizes
- all monsters may use Warrior Kit Abilities and HLAs
- they each have 2 Ranks, with the same proportion of hitpoints in general, as compared to a Lieutenant/Chieftain or a General/Warlord
- Trolls have 50% more Hitpoints, Improved Regeneration, 20% resistance to all Physical damage, +2 Str, +2 Con, and -4 Dex.
- they come in Squads of 4 and 6. their Ranks are
- Battle Troll (4) / War Troll (6)
- Werewolves have 25% more Hitpoints, Extreme Regeneration, +1 Attack/round, +3 AC Bonus, +2 Str and +1 Dex.
- they come in Squads of 3 and 5. their Ranks are
- Greater Werewolf (3) / Dire Werewolf (5)
- Balrogs have a base AC of -6, Improved Regeneration, +2 Attacks / round, +3 Str, +2 Dex, 100% Resistance against Fire and Magic Fire, 40% Resistance to everything else, including physical Attacks
- all Balrogs fire flaming darts in combat ; they also pack a strong melee claw
- all Balrogs (including Squad members) also use a variety of spells - Fireball, Sunfire, Paralyze, Demon Fear, Demonic Fireshield, Flaming Whip (custom spell, similar to Aganazzar's Scorcher, but doing more damage and reduces target's movement rating to 0, although target can still attack)
- they come in squads of 2 and 4, their Ranks are
- Fiendish Balrog (2) / Infernal Balrog (4)
Regeneration Rates of Allies/Enemies
Tier 1 :
Normal Regen - 1 hp/2sec, Commander - 1 hp/sec
Improved Regen - 1 hp/sec, Commander - 2 hp/sec
Extreme Regen - 2 hp/sec, Commander - 3 hp/sec
Tier 2 :
Normal Regen - 1 hp/sec, Commander - 2 hp/sec
Improved Regen - 2 hp/sec, Commander - 3 hp/sec
Extreme Regen - 3 hp/sec, Commander - 4 hp/sec
Tier 3 :
Normal Regen - 2 hp/sec, Commander - 3 hp/sec
Improved Regen - 3 hp/sec, Commander - 4 hp/sec
Extreme Regen - 4 hp/sec, Commander - 6 hp/sec
Difficulty Settings
- After some discussion, we realised that the Difficulty Ratings by BG2 alone were not enough to alter the difficulty of the scenario. For example, while Hard caused Enemies to do 50% extra damage to the party, Insane caused them to do 100% extra damage to the party, this did not translate into any additional damage or bonus when Enemies fought your Allies. So for that, we will be implementing the following -
- Difficulty Settings are based on the Difficulty Setting of your Bar when you enter the Scenario. It will not be changeable during the course of the Scenario, even if you adjust the Bar in the map it will not alter the setting for that map. You will need to restart the Scenario to change the Setting.
- EASY - Opponents receive -2 to all Saving Throws, Thac0, AC, Damage, and have -15% Life ; Allies receive +2 to all Saving Throws, Thac0, AC, Damage, and have +15% Life.
- NORMAL - Allies receive +2 to all Saving Throws, Thac0, AC, Damage, and have +15% Life.
- CORE - no changes
- HARD - Allies receive -2 to all Saving Throws, Thac0, AC, Damage, and have -15% Life.
- INSANE - Opponents receive +2 to all Saving Throws, Thac0, AC, Damage, and have +15% Life ; Allies receive -2 to all Saving Throws, Thac0, AC, Damage, and have -15% Life.
- Hopefully, this will make the game Easier for Players who are less interested in the fighting and more interested in the story
- Note that this should be implemented in the upcoming Sylmar Battlefield Update
Morale Factors
- Since Silmarillion was largely a war-based scenario, both sides will have Morale Counters, which will affect the prowess of EVERY SINGLE unit belonging to that faction on the field
- Morale Counters are just two Global variables, which are affected by events going on during the Battle.
- Whenever they fall outside of a certain range, the Morale of the faction changes, and a notification will be given to the PC as well.
- Currently, a single Morale Bonus is +1 to all Saving Throws, Thac0, AC.
- Morale can range from +3 to -3 for each faction.
- To account for the Player's influence, every 1.5 minutes or so, Elves' Morale will trend towards -1 if they are higher than -1 and Orcs Morale will trend towards +1 if they are lower.
- However, this "default" value may differ from Map to Map, and may even CHANGE during the course of the Map. I'm not sure if I will let Difficulty also affect this "default" Morale Setting
- Certain Special Creatures may be affected differently by Morale
- Trolls and Werewolves are immune to all Morale, positive or negative
- Balrogs and Dragons will only have Morale bonuses, but no negative Morale drawbacks
- On top of that, when the Morale Difference between two factions is large, additional bonuses are granted to the Winning Side on top of bonuses to Saving Throw, Thac0, AC
- when there is a +3 Difference, the Winning side gains +2 Damage and +3 Movement Factor
- When there is a +5 Difference, the Winning side gains +1 Attack, +3 Damage, and +6 Movement Factor.
- Yes, that is a whopping difference
and this means managing Morale will be important for most of the Battles. If Morale becomes an extreme difference, it becomes a fight to quickly restore Morale / drop the enemy's Morale, or the losing side will be rapidly wiped out, even if they have a large army size to begin with. - So what affects Morale?
- Generally, the Arrival of Reinforcements will boost friendly morale and (may) drop enemy morale ; the Death of a friendly Commander will drop friendly morale and boost enemy morale. The amount is affected by the Rank of the Commander
- Special Squads like Trolls, Werewolves and Balrogs will also have a somewhat more increased effect on Morale
- The Arrival and Defeat/Death of Special Characters, like Elven Lords, Darklords, Dragons will also affect the Morale, to a much greater extent
- Special Events occurring during the maps may also affect Morale, from small extents, to altering the Default Morale Values, to even have huge Morale impacts.
- In Silmarillion itself, your Party members may have advice to give depending on the Morale Situation on the field, and even suggestions to give as to how to handle the situation
Hope hearing about Morale makes it more interesting
Edit : updated Difficulty Settings and Morale Factors
Edited by Zyraen, 04 June 2008 - 10:28 PM.
