A cool mod(Spoilers)..

[uss]

Here's the mod. The Chosen of Cyric encounter was especially nice.

But if you want this mod, I'd have to warn ye. The Shadow Thieves Improvements component is to be taken at your own peril! I did EVERY quest possible before doing missions for the vampires, and you just can't believe how powerful the thieves still were! With my lvl 15-20 party, it took about 10 tries to clear the thieves from the gates of the Shadow Thieves' compound!

Anyone else tried this mod?

[Cerek the Barbaric]

I've downloaded it on both PC's. My main PC is back in the shop due to a recurring "crash and reboot" problem. The Mod installed fine on it.

On my second PC, the Thief kit & HLA component would NOT install. Neither would the Bard kit & HLA. I have a thread on the forum regarding this problem AND I've sent a copy of the aPack.Debug file to the author of the Mod as per the instructions in the Debug file.

I haven't played any thieves since installing the Mod, but I do have an assassin on my other PC that is up around 12th level now. I don't know if this Mod inserts itself into current games or if I have to start a brand new game before it activates.

Does anybody else know?

[uss]

As I recall, I downloaded this Modification during a game, which I could play on after installing it.

I'm not sure, however.

[SixOfSpades]

Originally posted by uss: Anyone else tried this mod?

I have, and have subsequently condemned it with extreme prejudice. All manner of abuses abound: Enemies equipped with illegal/undroppable items, enemies that always know exactly where your PC is (even if he's Invisible, inside a building, clear on the other side of the map area), enemies that start off with a form of Invisibility that cannot be dispelled either by True Sight or by a Thief's Detect Illusions ability, enemies with illegal or otherwise powergamed stats, and lots of other things to just generally get on the player's nerves (You know that area in Aran's Guildhall where you see the Trainees sparring with each other? You remember those balconies on the walls that are impossible to get to? Wouldn't that be a GREAT place to put some guys loaded up with tons of Arrows of Detonation?). Aran Linvail himself will insta-chunk any character with every hit.

To compensate, the player must lower himself to unbelievable standards--I'm talking about incredibly cheesy stuff like "Block the doorway with Invisible party members, and Cloudkill them until they die," or "Have your best Fighter use Potion-Swap in order to cast Mislead." My *cough* favorite *cough* part of the whole accursed thing is Aran Linvail's level:

• Once you enter, you can't leave until every f'ing enemy is dead.
• There are 5 major battles there, each of which is roughly on a par with the last set of Bandits in the "Random City Encounters" of the Tactics mod. Each of these 5 battles will require you to use all your best spells in order to survive.
• Oh, and you can't Rest.

Do the math: This piece of garbage is impossible to beat without either cheating (such as CLUAing yourself out to Rest), abusing some abysmally cheesy game exploits, or having a ToB-level Wizard casting Wish every five minutes.

Shadow Thief Improvements is the worst mod component I have ever played. Worse than the Red Badge encounter. Worse than the Improved Small Teeth Pass. The README makes it sound about as difficult as clearing the Windspear Hills in one pass with a Chapter 3 party. Don't be fooled. Its approximate level of difficulty is closer to trying to do the Windspear Hills, Improved Mae'Var, the Unseeing Eye, Kangaxx, Improved Mind Flayers, and Lich in the Docks all in the same day. With a Chapter 3 party.

Stay the F*** away from Shadow Thief Improvements if you think there's a chance you might possibly be inclined to work for Bodhi ever again.

[SpongeBobTheDestoyer]

A while back you informed me about the Shadow Thief Improvements Six, and I never even bothered installing it. Kudos to the Six.

The rest of it I like though, especially the Chosen of Cyric encounter. There are a ton of ways your dialogue can effect that situation and Charisma is even taken into play, wow.

[uss]

WOW! That bad, is it?

I understand what you're saying, Six. I too was quite frustrated at the mod. When I managed to, with superhuman effort, get past *all* those thieves, all those golems before Linvail's room, the highpoint of all my frustration began. I even had the greatly overpowered Valen in my party(level drain rules). Hell, as much as I can say about the final battle with Linvail, I might not have managed even with a lvl 40 party there!

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by SixOfSpades: quote: Originally posted by uss: Anyone else tried this mod?

I have, and have subsequently condemned it with extreme prejudice. All manner of abuses abound: Enemies equipped with illegal/undroppable items, enemies that always know exactly where your PC is (even if he's Invisible, inside a building, clear on the other side of the map area), enemies that start off with a form of Invisibility that cannot be dispelled either by True Sight or by a Thief's Detect Illusions ability, enemies with illegal or otherwise powergamed stats, and lots of other things to just generally get on the player's nerves (You know that area in Aran's Guildhall where you see the Trainees sparring with each other? You remember those balconies on the walls that are impossible to get to? Wouldn't that be a GREAT place to put some guys loaded up with tons of Arrows of Detonation?). Aran Linvail himself will insta-chunk any character with every hit.

To compensate, the player must lower himself to unbelievable standards--I'm talking about incredibly cheesy stuff like "Block the doorway with Invisible party members, and Cloudkill them until they die," or "Have your best Fighter use Potion-Swap in order to cast Mislead." My *cough* favorite *cough* part of the whole accursed thing is Aran Linvail's level:

• Once you enter, you can't leave until every f'ing enemy is dead.
• There are 5 major battles there, each of which is roughly on a par with the last set of Bandits in the "Random City Encounters" of the Tactics mod. Each of these 5 battles will require you to use all your best spells in order to survive.
• Oh, and you can't Rest.

Do the math: This piece of garbage is impossible to beat without either cheating (such as CLUAing yourself out to Rest), abusing some abysmally cheesy game exploits, or having a ToB-level Wizard casting Wish every five minutes.

Shadow Thief Improvements is the worst mod component I have ever played. Worse than the Red Badge encounter. Worse than the Improved Small Teeth Pass. The README makes it sound about as difficult as clearing the Windspear Hills in one pass with a Chapter 3 party. Don't be fooled. Its approximate level of difficulty is closer to trying to do the Windspear Hills, Improved Mae'Var, the Unseeing Eye, Kangaxx, Improved Mind Flayers, and Lich in the Docks all in the same day. With a Chapter 3 party.

Stay the F*** away from Shadow Thief Improvements if you think there's a chance you might possibly be inclined to work for Bodhi ever again. [/QUOTE]So do you recommend this Mod or not, Six? [img]graemlins/biglaugh.gif[/img]

Seriously though, I appreciate the advice. I'm having all manners of trouble with my game and this is one of the mods I've installed. Guess it will also be the first one I UN-install in trying to fix my game.