1504 replies to this topic

[Usurper]

Oh, yes, there are. I just haven't been able to buy any because I'm always broke. I did find one but used it up.

[Leokosta]

Hi, Beleg ... This bug with Finch has always pissed me. I tried edit the file you said (SUFINCHP.DLG) with Near Infinity, but it says it cant open that file. Can you direct me to some place where I can learn to do this right, if its not too much trouble ?

Tx

[Lurker of the north]

Voting's still on?
...if so: B

[Usurper]

She has dialogue for rejoining or being sent to some inn... Don't know why it doesn't work though I have an idea which I will investigate

EDIT : Well that was easy... you can fix it in 30 sec if you know your way around NI. In SufinchP.dlg state trigger 1, remove the timer check. Either WeiDU or the game itself can't parse the timer ID probably because it is too long.

I have NI, but I haven't messed with dialogs before. The only thing I see dealing with timers is this block:

Global("SUFinchJoined","LOCALS",0)
TimerExpired(0)
See(Player1)

Am I supposed to just delete "TimerExpired(0)"?


Here are the final voting results:

What should we do with Firebead Elvenhair?

A. Party ....................

B. Refuge .................

Also, I will change Firebead to human. Looks like we get to take him on a spin for now.

I'll start playing the new update. It should be finished sometime within the next 24 hours.

Edited by Usurper, 12 August 2012 - 05:29 AM.

[Beleg33]

Am I supposed to just delete "TimerExpired(0)"?

Yes, pretty much. As for the cause I'm still unsure, my current belief is that this action or trigger doesn't work in dialogues. I've asked on BG:EE forums for experienced modders to see and possibly give a definitive answer.

Also the dialogue options to send her to inns is added by the SCS component "Better NPC management". I had no idea it touched mod-added npcs

[Usurper]

Yes, pretty much. As for the cause I'm still unsure, my current belief is that this action or trigger doesn't work in dialogues. I've asked on BG:EE forums for experienced modders to see and possibly give a definitive answer.

Ok, great, I'll do that next time someone dies. Which, judging by this next update, will be soon.

[Usurper]

20 Hammer, 1370

"So Improved Invisibility is good to begin a fight with, but Shadow Door is better to escape?" Imoen asks Firebead Elvenhair, absolutely absorbed. Firebead nods enthusiastically and goes into a long, involved, yet thoroughly entertaining explanation of how he managed to trap an entire tribe of kobolds in extradimensional space with a clever use of both in the Spine of the World mountains one time. As Imoen listens to him, she seems to realize new implications about magic that she has never before.

Gameplay note: I didn't show it last time, but Imoen leveled up from scribing all those scrolls. So lets take a look at her level up first thing.







At 10,000 xp in her new class she is already 25% of the way to regaining her lost abilities! And she can cast two level 2 spells now, so I assign her to cast Knock twice. She is supposed to be taking care of locks anyway.

We talk long into the night, with Firebead telling us story after story of places far away, cities I've never seen. He's been to Amn, down south, but also Icewind Dale up north. He's even been far away to Saradush and southeast to Soubar. There are always little anecdotes that he keeps remembering, and he holds us spellbound with them. We might have talked straight on 'til morning, but I idly ask him if he's ever been to the Underdark, and it ruins the mood. His face shadows over. He says he's been, but he would rather not talk about it. He says he lost a good friend down there, a good mage of some renown. He looks old then, so old and so pressed down with old cares. Imoen pointedly says she's sleepy, yawns, and passes the yawn on to us all. We decide to retire for the night. Firebead won't let us leave, though. He insists on us staying with him in his house. That is no problem at all. We all sleep well and wake the next morning, refreshed.



In the morning Firebead asks us what we're doing. We tell him about Ulcaster and how we're trying to bring rest to the old mage's ghost there. His eyebrows shoot up, and he says that he's always planned to go out there to see what can be done, but just never quite got around to it. He insists on coming with us, and won't even listen to any objections. Not that I would object. Sitting there talking to him about far-off places and the esoteric minutiae of magic last night, I had never missed Gorion more. I hear no objections from the rest of the party, either. Yeslick seems especically impressed by the stories.

Gameplay note: Yeslick leveled up too. Ha! I just now saw that.







Only one additional level 3 spell, which is another Cure Serious Wounds, but you can't have too many of them!

After that, we get Firebead equipped with what weapons we have to spare. He says he prefers daggers, so I give him my boomerang dagger. I plan to be throwing Minute Meteors all the time anyway, so this is probably better. He prefers his own Traveler's Robe, but does pick up the Teddy Bear of Protection. Also, despite the fact that a lot of good characters don't seem to like the Ring of Dwarven Bone, Firebead takes a more neutral stance in life and doesn't have a problem with it. It raises his strength a bit. It is honestly not that much to give, but he seems content. He says the Weave will be sufficient for him.

I think I love this guy.

Then we set off, 4 mages and 2 fighters, ready to face the Ulcaster School again!



It is an 8 hour trip.



When we arrive, it is night, so we sleep until the next day. Then we head back down into the Ulcaster School tunnels. I let Yeslick lead this time.



In the room where we fought the skeleton warriors and wolfweres, Yeslick finds a passage we had not seen before, off to the right.



We inch our way around the corner. But Yeslick isn't worried.

'Tis just like the tunnels of my old clan.

The next room we find is a bit of a dead end.



We press on. We find a few more empty halls. After our first experience with the place, we find the emptiness quite disconcerting.



But we needn't have worried. A few corners later Yeslick shouts out enemy sighted, and the battle is on with a wolfwere.



I rush into the room behind the melee guys and go to the corner to help them out. But the corner is trapped!



I am seriously burned, but nobody else seems to be hurt. At least only I suffered from my own stupidity. The wolfwere goes down in a few more seconds.



I look around the room and declare it yet another dead end. But Yeslick says something is off with the stone. He scuffles around for a bit and then points out a staircase I would never have found alone.



Gameplay note: Thanks to Tzarnal for this. I never knew this existed, and the stairs trigger area is incredibly small and offset from the wall. It was hard to find even after he told me where it was.[i]

The stairs open up to a huge, empty tiled area, and ghouls begin to rush out of the darkness. Yeslick kills one before I can even react.



Then a shade of some sort of mage begins to yell at me and I don't know what is more insane, the incoming undead or conversing while it happens.



I may leave if you answer my questions first. Why are you still here haunting this place?

Why? Why you ask? We were needlessly attacked by cowards who thought of us as a threat and sought to steal our knowledge. For this we remain and our dead enemies we cursed them to serve us as protectors of our knowledge. Ironic isn't it? What they came to steal, they now end up protecting as will you. You will never leave here, destroy them!

Uh oh. And she is a cutie too. I feel sad that I didn't memorize Fireball today - this wide-open space with a lot of enemies would be perfect for it. Instead, all of us mages just throw the quickest offensive magic we can at the shade before SHE fireballs US.



She counters with Stoneskin. But Firebead must have anticipated this, because he comes later to the party with Remove Magic.



Imoen still prefers shooting arrows, and her magic augments that.



Edwin casts another magic missile barrage, but Arias seems immune. Perhaps she has Shield up.



Sure enough, a Minor Globe of Invulnerability springs up around the mage, just as I finish my spell of Corporeal Instability. Will it penetrate?





Damnit!

The four of us mages are taken up by the problem of defeating one arch mage, while Yeslick and Kagain are facing hordes of the undead all alone.



I sure hope they can hold out.

Firebead Elvenhair finishes casting his answer to arch mages, and lets loose.



We all hold our breath.



Weaveshear! Firebead Elvenhair moves up close to Arias, and she hits him with something. Perhaps fire arrows?



Then Firebead casts Shadow Door.



Godsdamnit!!

The only thing I can do is reach for divine intervention. I grasp the holy book of Rhialto and pray for something, anything. I close my eyes and wishwishwish.



FINALLY! EVERYBODY ATTACK!

Arias hits Imoen with magic missiles even before anybody can react to my shout.



But my best friend and closest confidant ever narrows her eyes, keeps her concentration, sights down the arrow, and lets it loose straight and true. The shade dies.



Several things happen at once. Yeslick retreats from the front line to heal Firebead Elvenhair, which collapses our left front line. Imoen tries to keep things under control by casting Burning Hands at the undead horde. She's pretty effective. And I run behind the bad guys to plant my own solution to this problem.



I breathe a sigh of relief when Yeslick heals Firebead. I will not yet be responsible for getting an old man killed.



And when the Wild Horde comes to my call, I breathe another sigh of relief. Things are looking up!



I tell all the other mages to get as far away from the bunnies as possible. I also tell Yeslick and Kagain to retreat in front of us, but Kagain can't hear. He's in his berserker frenzy.



Then, just to make things a little more crazy, I cast Teleport Field into the undead-bunny crowd.



Nothing happens for a moment, but then the bunnies start going off. I have unleashed hell.



When the smoke clears, there is not an undead to be seen anywhere.



It is hard to tell one charred pile from another. And do spirits even leave charred piles? But anyways, there is a magical dagger on the floor. A Dagger of Disease.



There is nothing else worth looting. We decide to explore the great hall we find ourselves in, but Firebead tells us to wait. He says there might be traps, fireball or lightning bolt traps. This is a mage school, after all, he says. He volunteers to go first. We oblige him after we realize he will make himself immune to magic.



He goes, finds an alcove, and collects two magical weapons, all without setting off any traps. We rush to see what he has found.



The first battle axe is Frostreaver.



The second is a Throwing Axe +3.



Kagain drools over both of those axes, but he can't let go of the Axe +2 Enrager that he has now. It is cursed, I realize. We will have to separate it from him tomorrow. Yeslick will see to it.

Edited by Usurper, 13 August 2012 - 08:01 PM.

[Usurper]

Firebead strides off again, unconcerned with magical or physical traps that he may find. He only calls us in to help when he finds the burning dead.



We all rush it and take it out before it can do much. And when we check out its corpse we are shocked and thankful that we did. The undead archer was carrying Arrows of Detonation!



Imoen takes them, but gingerly. Firebead continues his scouting ahead. He sees another Burning Dead and we rush it as well. It falls to Yeslick.



Imoen relieves the corpse of its arrows. We also find 300 gold in another alcove.

Could we not have hired some poor fools to do this for us? This is no place for a man of my stature.

I guess Edwin vastly overestimates the amount of cash I have access to. I don't try to correct him on that, just tell him to be quiet.

The rooms that the Burning Dead are standing in front of look like lecture halls. They are always empty of anything.



Firebead's shield runs out, so we all advance together. We find another Burning Dead, rush it also, and take it out.



In the next alcove we find 50 gold and a studded leather armor +1. We put it with the rest of the useless loot.

At the opposite end of the vast hallway from where we came in, we see another mage backed up by two skeleton warriors. I rush him to try to get a hit in, but he Stoneskins himself before I get a chance to. We're going to have to do this the hard way.



Hard for them, I mean. Imoen lets loose with Arrows of Detonation.



Then I notice that one of the undead warriors isn't. Rather, it is a Death Knight. Um.... how bad is that?



Not bad enough to be immune to Arrows of Detonation! That's good enough for me.



Edwin lets loose with Grease, and I am almost ready to berate him for it. But then the Death Knight falls down and loses consciousness and I hold my tongue.



Then Anton Lavar pops his spell protections, and Imoen seems to only be hurting the Death Knight with her Arrows of Detonation. She switches to Arrows of Dispelling, and curses herself for not using them before.

The magic missiles from Anton hit Kagain, and Yeslick is forced to heal him.



Firebead casts Chaos, but it has no effect.



There are more magic missiles flying out at Kagain the next round. He winces again. Yeslick moves in to heal again too.



I have my chaos shield, so I reach out through Nahal's Reckless Dweomer to try to overcome Anton's shield by magical strength. I try to cast Cone of Cold through it. Surely it can't stop such a powerful spell. But the Death Knight hits me hard as I move in to cast, and I lose my spell.



Anton throws a Stinking Cloud at Kagain. It is time to retreat.



We have miscellaneous undead coming in from two sides. We have a powerful mage throwing out magic missiles faster than should be possible. We are low on spells and Kagain is almost dead. We need refuge.



As the skeleton warrior raises his sword to strike Kagain down, I squeeze the Rod of Refuge. We are whisked away in the nick of time.



I feel like it is somehow cheap for me to do this, as if my experience down in the depths of the Ulcaster School would become too easy. Then I remember the three volleys of magic missiles that Kagain only survived because of constant healing from Yeslick and I don't feel so cheap no more.

I call a conference between the mages. We need to coordinate our spells for anti-mage warfare. We talk for about an hour, receiving insights from Firebead. Then we rest and prepare for tomorrow.

Gameplay note: I know this is a smaller update than normal, but I think if I produce smaller updates I can update more frequently too. So I'll stop here this time and give you something to read.

Edited by Usurper, 13 August 2012 - 08:05 PM.

[Usurper]

23 Hammer, 1370

Firebead goes off on another tangent, but an extremely valuable tangent. We are talking about mage-on-mage battle tactics. He tells us that if we ever learn how to cast Protect Image, Contingency, and Restoration, we can quadruple our effectiveness in battle. He says that we should create a Contingency containing 3 Project Image spells, and have it automatically trigger if we become helpless in battle. Then, in battle, we should cast Project Image again. The spell counts as rendering us helpless. When it does so, the Contingency fires, and suddenly four images of us appear that are controlled by our minds, can act independently, and function at 60% effectiveness. The first thing we should direct these images of us to do is to cast Restoration on each other, all at once. This will bring them up to perfect copies. Then, through our four images, we rain down destruction upon our enemies with wild abandon. And, if our images should be destroyed, we can simply enter the battle ourselves as normal.

I am buzzing from the excitement of imagining four golden goddesses striding across a battlefield raining fire and death upon all in my name, with my visage. I might have been too excited, because when I come back from my daydream the room is silent and everyone is looking at me. I clear my throat, nod, and say that it is a good idea, something to keep in mind. Then I suggest we prepare for today.



We all begin to cast protective spells. Yeslick gives everyone Aid. Imoen gives herself Physical Agility. Edwin goes with Mirror Image. I give myself some chaos daggers to penetrate mage shields. And Firebead does the old Stoneskin/Minor Globe of Invulnerability combo that everyone seems to love. It is conservative yet effective.

Also, Yeslick manages to remove the curse from Kagain, and he takes up Frostreaver. He seems quite happy with it.

When we are all ready, I trigger the Rod of Refuge again. We return to battle.



But there is no one to greet us. Where have they all gone? We advance towards the last known enemy position, and find the skeleton warrior shortly.



I join the dwarves in melee. The skeleton warrior hits me once and Yeslick once. We both hurt.



When Yeslick gets hit a second time, he retreats to heal. I retreat to stay alive.



Kagain finally drops the pesky undead.



While Yeslick heals us up from the fight, Firebead decides to check out the center of the room, which we have not yet seen. He finds another skeleton warrior.



The battle drags on, and Kagain gets hit. But of course Yeslick has his back.



And, when he finally takes him down, Kagain grunts in realization.









Gameplay note: Wow, 14 hit points on level up! Kagain's 20 con is really showing strong right now.

I check the bodies of the skeleton warriors. One of them was wielding a +3 two-handed sword, although it is nothing special otherwise. They both have some gems as well.

Then Firebead says that he should take care of what comes next on his own. He says that the rest of us are too weak to stand up to a wizard of Anton's caliber. He says that with the right combination of spells and luck, he will be able to take the specter out on his own. He commands us to stay clear until and unless the cloud effects dissipate. Then he strides off to face Anton alone. We do not argue.

Firebead starts off strong, with Chaos. Anton replies with Stinking Cloud.



Anton saves against the magical onslaught, but he does not save against Firebead's dagger flying through the air a second later. It catches him in the shoulder. HA!



Firebead follows the dagger up with a first-level spell, Chromatic Orb.



Gameplay note: Chromatic Orb is so random in its effect. At Firebead's level it can lower AC, or spell resistance, or blind or confuse. But Anton Valor is immune to the Aquamarine effect, which is magnetism, -4 to AC. He's probably still got a Minor Globe of Invulnerability up and there's just a glitch with the graphics.

The next spell comes from Anton Valor's fingers, and it is Fireball!



It is nothing to Firebead Elvenhair. He is immune. He begins casting his answer - Remove Magic.



Anton Valor is running out of spells if he is desperate enough to cast Magic Missile against an immune opponent. He's also lost his spell protections. His next spell is equally useless - Lightning Bolt.



Firebead answers with Hold Person.



And then follows it up with another Chromatic Orb.



We are watching the Stinking Cloud effect, waiting for the moment when we can help out with this. But as long as Firebead is completely and totally immune to everything that's being thrown at him, we see no real reason to help out yet. But then Firebead's spell protections disappear, and he becomes nauseated.





He retreats to the rest of the party, but Anton Valor throws Web at him, and the spell follows him back to the rest of us. Yeslick is webbed, although the rest of us escape the area. I think it is my turn to see what true magic can do, so I throw my first random spell at an incoming Anton.



But instead of affecting Anton, the Weave swirls around me and offers me complete immunity to one spell school. I quickly choose Evocation.



As I am casting my spell, a Chromatic Orb sails past me and hits Firebead Elvenhair.



Then the Weave finishes its work upon my body, and I am completely immune to Evocation magic.



This makes me completely immune to spells such as Stinking Cloud, Web, Magic Missile, and Chromatic Orb. This is not a coincidence. The Weave is on my side! I run right up into Anton Valor's face and begin to cast another spell.

But Anton Valor is not done with Firebead. He finishes his own spell, and sends another Lightning Bolt at the old mage. Without his spell protections, the old man falls this time.



Pawn discarded. I'll have to find another group if this keeps up.

I cast Polymorph Other at Anton Valor, hoping to turn him into a more manageable creature. It doesn't work though.



In rage I swing my Sword of Flame at him. I hit him once.



But I don't want him to go out this way. I want him to go out under the force of my magic.

[Usurper]

The bastard throws another Lightning Bolt, this time at me. I laugh. He cannot use the Weave against me!



I point, and the chaos blades that were floating around me all fly at Anton. He is hit with five shards of pure chaos, and looks Badly Injured.



I try to polymorph him again. He will become a squirrel for me!



Unfortunately he resists. It is infuriating. He hits me with yet another Lightning Bolt. It has no effect, of course.



Then I reach out and throw raw magic at Anton. I reach through Nahal's Reckless Dweomer to try to cast a Chromatic Orb at his face. And that is when I receive the greatest sign that the Weave has ever given me. I have received boons before, and banes, but never before have I received anything close to such a gift. The Weave flows through me and forms a perfect Chromatic Orb within my hand. And as I throw it, the Weave stays with me, and fills me, and restores every spell I have already cast!











Gameplay note: All my spells are refreshed. It is as if I haven't yet cast anything.

This is a Sign. This is a Portent. I am going up against one of the most potent magic users I've ever seen, one who killed a more senior mage than I not 20 seconds ago, and I have received a complete arcane torrent of energy straight from the Weave. I am the Chosen One of the Weave. I am its Avatar. I will obliterate all mine enemies, for they are also the enemies of Magic Itself!

I throw Random Spell II at Anton, and the Weave flows further around me, protecting me even more.



Then Anton heals himself somehow, and comes in with a blue-glowing dagger in hand. Is he out of spells? Has the Weave deserted him? I test things out with another Polymorph Other.



And then another!



I am temporarily frustrated by this unholy spell resistance, but I will not be deterred. I cast another Blade Shower at Anton.



Spell resistance can't protect the bastard from chaos shards! So I do it again.



BOOYA baby! The Avatar of the Weave has struck you down with great vengeance and furious anger! Suck it! I laugh and turn towards my companions to drink in their adoration and praise. But they are busy. They are fighting a Death Knight?! I was focused so closely on my magical duel with Anton Valor that I didn't even notice that the Death Knight was in play. Huh.



Well, I know what can help here. I throw another shower of blades at the Death Knight.



And since that's not enough, I go in to strike him with my sword.



Eugh. The Avatar of Magic needs food badly! I mean healing. Yeslick moves to heal me and casts his spell. But nothing happens!



The Minor Spell Turning is still active, and it deflects Yeslick's healing spell! Crap! I quickly down an antidote to counteract the poison and move to the back near Imoen and Edwin. But I can't stay still. I lower my Staff of Fire and shoot it at the Death Knight.



Success! I am not only the Avatar of the Weave, I'm not so bad in a melee either.

I loot the bodies of the Death Knight and of Anton Valor. The Death Knight has a magical bastard sword on him, the Viper.



And Anton has a magical dagger, The Shocker.



He also has five scrolls of Lightning Bolt and five of Magic Missile. Too bad he never got to use them. Neither Imoen nor Edwin know Lightning Bolt yet, so I give them a copy each, and put the rest into my spellbook.

Then we go to the body of Firebead and respectfully prepare him for transport. I shouldn't have brought such an old man into combat. He should stay where he is content, in a secure magical location. It is much better to have Finch with us. At least she knows the risks.

[AmyAE]

I thought Firebead would be kind of boring in the party, but I like the character you're giving him.

[Usurper]

Thanks . We are a long way from being able to do the stuff I've brought up in his voice, but he seems a good vector for introducing some advanced magical practices.

[Beleg33]

Do you know which mod adds this area and encounters? I've never seen it before...

[William Imm]

Do you know which mod adds this area and encounters? I've never seen it before...

Dark Side of the Sword Coast - natch.

[Beleg33]

Whaaaaaaat? How are you supposed to know about it?

[Usurper]

Whaaaaaaat? How are you supposed to know about it?

I really don't know. I have missed this before. It is also my first time to see this particular bit of content. There is nothing to indicate that the extra content is there except a hard-to-find stairs area in the part of the Ulcaster School map that I screenshotted. But the stairs location doesn't match up with normal stair locations that are large and touch the end of the map and extend even into the black part - it is just a few pixels. Even when the poster Tzarnal told me where it was, I had to pixel-hunt to search for it, and was half-convinced that I hadn't installed this particular mod before I found the right pixels to use. So it seems to be a very well-hidden hidden room.

[Tzarnal]

Whaaaaaaat? How are you supposed to know about it?

I really don't know. I have missed this before. It is also my first time to see this particular bit of content. There is nothing to indicate that the extra content is there except a hard-to-find stairs area in the part of the Ulcaster School map that I screenshotted. But the stairs location doesn't match up with normal stair locations that are large and touch the end of the map and extend even into the black part - it is just a few pixels. Even when the poster Tzarnal told me where it was, I had to pixel-hunt to search for it, and was half-convinced that I hadn't installed this particular mod before I found the right pixels to use. So it seems to be a very well-hidden hidden room.

I also have no clue how to know about this place, I just found it when clearing that room on my way to the ulcaster wolf encounter and noticed my cursor turning into the stairs icon for a second as I moused over it. Even then it took me quite a bit of scanning to find the actual place again.

[Beleg33]

I'm thinking this is not DSotSC but Dark Horizons. I'm clearing the place and one of the containers in the next area after what Usurper just did contains 3 items from DH. Probably supposed to learn about it after clearing the Beregost secret hideout (which I haven't done yet so can't confirm)

[Usurper]

Is there a way to know for sure which mod this area comes from?

[Tzarnal]

Is there a way to know for sure which mod this area comes from?

Its Dark Horizons for sure, I actually accidentally found this little page when I was trying to confirm Tristan and Isolde are DH content. Go Here:

Expanded Ulcaster Ruins
This adds two more dungeon levels to the Ulcaster ruins. This is for a high level party considering that there are five ghost mages who protect this. The rewards will reflect this.