RE: Improved Ilynich Mod's Shadow Thieves

[Assassin]

Will you get all of the equipment when they die?

[SixOfSpades]

Originally posted by Dundee Slaytern: (first rest remains free)

Does that literally mean "first rest," or rather "No SThief ambushes within the first X hours?" And can they ambush you on the 1st level?

I can't help but notice that neither list of equipment includes any armor. If you want to keep it a surprise, fair enough, but is your method legal?


Second point: If we're going to do things like customizing the Assassin->Mage's spellslots, implying they had at least 8 hours of warning before the attack, I think we should do the same for people like Jaheira as well. I mean, come on, Call Lightning? And I'm glad Weimer threw in the "free Rest" at Hour 0 for Sorcerers, but I wonder if there's a way to "auto-select" spells for Priests and Mages, so they could get the Rest benefit, too. For PC Mages, the game could just randomly pick from the spells they selected during Character Creation, but the Priest spells should be given some sort of pecking order, so you don't wind up with all your Level 2 slots filled with Detect Evil.

[Dundee Slaytern]

Originally posted by Assassin: Will you get all of the equipment when they die?

What do I look like? A cheating Modder? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I jest, and yeah you get all of the equipment when they die.

[Dundee Slaytern]

Originally posted by SixOfSpades: Does that literally mean "first rest," or rather "No SThief ambushes within the first X hours?" And can they ambush you on the 1st level?

The latter actually. 1 hour real time under Easy-Core Difficulty, half an hour real time under Hard-Insane Difficulty. Oh and,

00FFFF">Not everything has been done yet. I wish to settle the SThieves first before replacing the ground Goblins with Duergars instead.

I can't help but notice that neither list of equipment includes any armor. If you want to keep it a surprise, fair enough, but is your method legal?

The whole point of this exercise is to make things legitimate. [img]tongue.gif[/img] If you really have to know, the Assassin->Mage has no armour, and the Assassin has Leather Armour.

Second point: If we're going to do things like customizing the Assassin->Mage's spellslots, implying they had at least 8 hours of warning before the attack, I think we should do the same for people like Jaheira as well. I mean, come on, Call Lightning? And I'm glad Weimer threw in the "free Rest" at Hour 0 for Sorcerers, but I wonder if there's a way to "auto-select" spells for Priests and Mages, so they could get the Rest benefit, too. For PC Mages, the game could just randomly pick from the spells they selected during Character Creation, but the Priest spells should be given some sort of pecking order, so you don't wind up with all your Level 2 slots filled with Detect Evil.

? You do get to select your spells at the start of the game when you play as a Cleric or Druid. Jaheira is not really my concern now. I do not wish to get side-tracked as it is.

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On a side note, is everyone so wary that they are not willing to download the tweaks and actually try it out first? Crikey, have some trust in me. [img]tongue.gif[/img] In fact... feel free to Ctrl+Q any of the SThieves to see that they are totally legitimate.

[ 02-25-2004, 06:17 PM: Message edited by: Dundee Slaytern ]

[Daniel_M]

I have done Dundee, its a nice fresh challenge to the old Shadow Thieves in Irenicus' Dungeon I'm waiting for it to be complete.

[SixOfSpades]

Originally posted by Dundee Slaytern: The latter actually. 1 hour real time under Easy-Core Difficulty, half an hour real time under Hard-Insane Difficulty.

Ah, so you're penalizing the Pause-button micromanagers? No wonder you put so much effort into custom AI scripts. [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

You do get to select your spells at the start of the game when you play as a Cleric or Druid.

Looks like I should play a Priest, then, huh? Hey, wait a minute. Fenris Melkior was a Cleric/Mage, and he didn't get to choose his memorized spells!

On a side note, is everyone so wary that they are not willing to download the tweaks and actually try it out first? Crikey, have some trust in me.

I would, if it weren't for the fact that I've got four parties in ToB, and I want to beat Ascension with all of them and reinstall the whole game before I start anything else.


Oh, and about spelling: His name (and the name of the mod) is Ilyich, not Ilynich. I've also noticed you tend to slip an extra C into the name of the ToB NPC. Version error, perhaps? Just being a hardcase. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Dundee Slaytern]

Originally posted by SixOfSpades: Ah, so you're penalizing the Pause-button micromanagers? No wonder you put so much effort into custom AI scripts. [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

Actually... no. [img]tongue.gif[/img] The timer was set by Weimer, not me. I have changed it though. Now no matter how long you take to rest for the first time in Jon Irenicus' dungeon, no Duergars or Shadow Thieves will spawn before your second rest. Their spawning is now totally dependant on you resting more than once.

Easy-Core Difficulty: 50% chance of spawning after each rest after the first rest.

Hard-Insane Difficulty: 100% chance of spawning after each rest after the first rest. No doubling of units.

Looks like I should play a Priest, then, huh? Hey, wait a minute. Fenris Melkior was a Cleric/Mage, and he didn't get to choose his memorized spells!

Looks like I need to play Clerics more too, at least in BG2. [img]tongue.gif[/img] I could pick in IWD, I could pick in BG1, but heck no, I cannot pick in BG2. Weird.

I would, if it weren't for the fact that I've got four parties in ToB, and I want to beat Ascension with all of them and reinstall the whole game before I start anything else.

Oh for crying out loud, it's the starting dungeon, not some Godforsaken spot in Chapter 6. [img]tongue.gif[/img] How long will it take to roll a new character and play for maybe about an hour? I cannot improve anything more if I do not get feedback on what I have missed out.

Oh, and about spelling: His name (and the name of the mod) is Ilyich, not Ilynich. I've also noticed you tend to slip an extra C into the name of the ToB NPC. Version error, perhaps? Just being a hardcase. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Must be the suppressed British within me. [img]tongue.gif[/img] Always seeing missing letters in words. Colour!

[Dundee Slaytern]

Consider this version 1.0 of the Improved Ilyich Tweaks. I am a WeiDU klutz, so everything is in a WinZip. Simply extract all the files to your override folder.

Strictly speaking though, you do not need to install Improved Ilyich at all, but it would be warped if the spawning parties were more powerful than Ilyich and company... However, if you want some extra challenge without the prospect of facing a Fallen Deva, then this might be the tweak for you as well. In fact... even an ToB installation is not needed. I have taken great pains to make sure it is as compatible as possible.

Now for a detailed explanation on the tweaks.

1) Your first rest will always be free. Imoen will always be able to talk to you freely without being rudely interrupted by anybody.

2) On Easy-Core Difficulty, there is a 50% chance that an enemy party will spawn each time you rest, starting from the second rest. On Hard-Insane Difficulty, it will be a 100% chance.

3) This is what you may encounter on the first level,

- Level 7 Duergar Berserker + 2 Level 7 Duergar Fighters
- Level 7 Duergar Berserker + 1 Level 7 Duergar Cleric + 2 Goblin Elites

~~ The Berserker is equipped with a Chainmail, Helm, Warhammer and Medium Shield. He is personally my favourite. Do not be deceived by his simplistic design. He packs quite the punch.

17 STR, 15 DEX, 18 CON, 10 INT, 10 WIS, 10 CHA
Saves VS Death/Wands/Poly/Breath/Spell: 5/7/11/12/8

Grandmastery in Warhammers, Proficient in Sword & Shield Style

~~ The Fighter is equipped with a Chainmail, Helm, Light Crossbow, 5 Bolts of Lightning, 25 Bolts and a Dagger. He used to have a Heavy Crossbow, but it was causing too much deaths. [img]tongue.gif[/img] I highly suggest that you try to engage him in melee. Do not let him shoot you freely, he will make you pay for it.

15 STR, 17 DEX, 18 CON, 10 INT, 10 WIS, 10 CHA
Saves VS Death/Wands/Poly/Breath/Spell: 5/7/11/12/8

Specialisation in Crossbows, Daggers and Single Weapon Style

It used to be 5* in Crossbows + 1* in Daggers, but it was causing party member deaths and screaming Imoens so much, that all that was missing was a gruff Austrain accent saying, "Hasta la vista, baby."

~~ The Cleric is equipped with a Chainmail, Helm, Mace, Sling and 60 Bullets. The spells he has includes Sanctuary x2, Bless, Doom, Chant, Hold Person x3, Silence 15' Radius, Invisibility Purge, Miscast Magic Remove Paralysis and Cloak of Fear.

12 STR, 15 DEX, 16 CON, 10 INT, 17 WIS, 10 CHA
Saves VS Death/Wands/Poly/Breath/Spell: 3/7/10/13/8

Proficient in Mace, Sling and Sword & Shield Style

~~ The Goblin Elite is equipped with an Axe and Small Shield.

15 STR, 15 DEX, 15 CON, 15 INT, 10 WIS, 10 CHA
Saves VS Death/Wands/Poly/Breath/Spell: 10/12/11/12/13

4) This what you can expect on the second level,

- Level 6->7 Assassin->Mage + 2 Level 8 Assassins
- Level 6->7 Assassin->Mage + 1 Level 8 Assassins + 1 Level 7 Mage

For details on the Assassin->Mage and Assassin, refer to the first page of this thread, near the bottom. Yeah, I am feeling lazy. Oops, did I say that out loud? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

~~ The Mage is a female Human. I got inspiration for these parties from the actual ones that you encounter on the second level. The A->Mage + A x2 is obviously from the party near the exit. The one with the Mage, references from the party that fought the Vampire.

The spells she has memorised includes, Magic Missile x4, Invisibility, Ray of Enfeeblement, Hold Person, Monster Summoning I and Fire Shield (Blue).

She gets a free Armor and Stoneskin when she spawns, and sacrifices one level 2 spell slot on an Invisibility, since she cannot Stealth naturally.

5) On the second level, there is a chance that Duergars will spawn alongside the Shadow Thieves. This is a good thing. Really. Witness it for yourself, just be careful of any crossfire. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

6) Under controlled tests, the Duergars creamed the Shadow Thieves every single time. Oh sure, one or two Duergars might die, but they always win. So comments about the Shadow Thieves being more powerful than the Duergars will be taken with a pinch of salt. Bear in mind that the Duergars won without healing potions, in fact, without any potions at all. You do not want me to give them potions.

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Things I have been unable to change.

1) Rewriting the default spawnzones so that Duergars/Shadow Thieves spawn instead of Goblins. If you have Improved Ilyich installed, you will still encounter 4 sets of Shadow Thieves on the first level.

This is where I ask experienced Modders to teach me how to rewrite the codes for the .are files as shown in the .tp2 file in WeiDU. Please?

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Bonus file

1) Since I had the time, I changed Jaheira's starting file. The next time you start a game, her spell list will contain the following instead, Bless, Armor of Faith, Doom, Cure Light Wounds x2, Barkskin, Charm Person or Mammal, Slow Poison, Invisibility Purge, Miscast Magic and Call Woodland Beings. I have also corrected her HP.

Note that this only applies to games started in SoA. Imported Chars and Chars from BGT or BGTutu might receive different Jaheiras.

[Dundee Slaytern]

ADD] I forgot to mention something. The Goblin Elite is a level 7 Fighter. However, he uses d6 instead of d10 for his HP rolls.

[shamrock_uk]

Sounds fantastic, am downloading now. What exactly was wrong with Jaheira's HP?