how would i mod SoA so that one could backstab with a 2-handed sword (after watching minsk make a rather grandiose thrust at someone, i realized that this would be possible in real life)...and how would i modify the assasin class so that the backstab multiplier kept going up with levels, but they are unable to use any theiving skills besides set trap and hide in shadows?

moreover the assasin should look something along the lines of

can only hide in shadows and set traps
cannot use armor heavier than studded leather
backstab multiplier improves with level (continuous)
may not become proficient with any blunt or two-handed weapons
may not become proficient in any weapon style other than one handed
may not use shields
may attain normal profeciency in any ranged weapon other than bows
may attain normal profeciency in any weapon (barring the ones limited above)
may attain grand mastery in daggar

just wondering how i would make these changes.

Imagine two sword-wielding warriors fighting. And third warrior comes behind one of them, piercing his spine with a halberd. Shouldn't that be backstab. too? Shouldn't every attack that cannot be avoided nor turned away cause much more damage than anticipated one?

Anyway, who do you want to backstab with 2H sword, thief or everybody? If former, try modifying CLASWEAP.2DA (with Infinity Explorer, Near Infinity, etc.) and make thieves able to wield those weapons.

As for changing backstab, this is only a guess, try modifying BACKSTAB.2DA. Add Assassin under thief and add a new multiplier for each level.

what folder would these be under? can't find them in override or data...is it invis?

It's been a while, but most of that *should* be pretty easy. It's just a matter of knowing which files do what. Generally they're in the override folder, but you may have to extract them using bifextract (?) - as I said, it's been a while. All the relevant files are just text tables.

All of the weapon profs/usage limits can be done REALLY easily - as can the backstab multipliers. The armour usage is OK anyway (that's the default for theives). Use any item is going to screw with any limits you place on item usage - from memory I think some items have limits on themselves (usable by) whilst some classes have limits (cannot use) and it's not particularly easy to do.

The theiving skills bit is more of a problem - you're either a thief or not, os it's all or nothing (these are harcoded by character class, not kit). Set traps could be assigned as a special skill for anyone (I once gave my assassin the Kensai's kai!), but to be honest I don't think the other skills are against the concept - how does he break into a house? Does he avoid the traps left there? What about non-lethal missions? Assassins don't *just* kill.

Sorry about the vagueness - most of what you want can be accomplished in a matter of minutes (I've done very similar in the distant past), but some is impossible.

override, but only if you've installed something that creates it. The files themselves are in a larger file (data?) and if not there, you'll need to extract them. If teambg is still around you could try there - they used to have excellent tutorials and collections of tools for this sort of thing.

About two years ago, making your own kits was all the rage and it's one of the great things about BG2.

The backstab doesn't come from CLASWEAP.2DA - Whether a weapon can backstab is determined by a flag set in the item file. if it is flagged as "useable by thief", then you can backstab with it (melee weapon, naturally). To make every weapon in the game baskstabbable, you would have to edit every one of the to be "useable by thief"

Even then it might not work, for all i know.

Monks have "Hide in shadows" and "move silently", no backstab, very little weapons, and no armor.

Rangers also have hide in shadows...

so, where can i get these utilities for the mac? <font color="black">(this reminds me of all the modding i did on my Unreal Tournament, and Myth: The Fallen Lords...myth was fun, i had to do it all with hex edit. HEX EDIT! i had to look at the hexidecimal and find the codes for mons, etc., extract by hand, modify...IMHO a pain in the rear)</font>

And a certain type of Ranger has a backstab... Maybe the answer is to make *your* assassin kit a ranger kit, rather than a thief kit. Same deal applies, but he'll always be a ranger (and get a cabin in the woods for his trouble). It will also make a lot of the item usage screwy and the XPs required to level up will be massively increased.

To bump up the backstab multiplier, the easiest way would be to download Near Infinity here:

http://www.idi.ntnu.no/~joh/ni/

To install it you will need Java Runtime Environment here:

http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.1/download.html

Download the JRE option, not the SDK option.

Boot up Near Infinity

There will be an explandable tree of different files types on the left hand side of the screen.

I believe the very first file type is .2DA

Click on the tiny button for .2DA

The list will expand.

Scroll down until you find BACKSTAB.2DA

Click on it.

You'll see what looks like a text file - it basically is.

It might look something like this...

2DAV1.0
1 1 2 3 4 5 6 and so on
Thief x1 x2 x2 x2 x3 x3 and so on

The top row is the level, the bottom row is the multiplier.

Right click on the BACKSTAB.2DA file, you will see an option for export.

Export it to your override folder.

Go into the override - open the .2DA with a text editor - adjust the multipliers as you see fit, and then save it.

That should do it.

As for making two-handed swords usable for backstabbing - I believe Bardan is correct. You can make individual items "flagged" for backstabbing - Near Infinity or IEEP should work for this.

hate to be a mench here...but can i find anything along those lines for the macintosh?