Ashes of Embers for Baldur's Gate 2 Version 27 A Pocket Plane Mod http://www.pocketplane.net CONTENTS -------- I. Summary of Features II. Installation III. Compatibility IV. Description of kits and spell restrictions V. New Item Locations VI. Version History VII. Credits VIII. Links IX. Copyright Notice I. Summary of Features ---------------------- Ashes of Embers is a collection of features originally intended as components of the Embers of Empires mod. Due to time constraints EoE has been put on hold, but the completed features have been released as a stand-alone package for BGII. It includes: - Sensible weapons for all classes It doesn't make much sense that a cleric can't use a sword in combat, and a mage with 17 strength couldn't wield a two-handed sword. With this component installed, they can. Strength and Dexterity requirements have been modified for all weapons. Spears can now be thrown. All classes can get the appropriate weapon proficiencies for any weapons they can use. - Unique weapons Two added weapons; Katars and Bolas, using the dagger and sling proficiencies. They can be found in Ribald's store (The Adventurer's Mart) See section 5 for more info on katars and bolas. - 7 added kits This includes six of the nine cleric kits for the deities of EoE, and a fighter kit called the Pit Fighter. NOTE: Armour restrictions for the clerics have not yet been implemented. (It's doubtful that they ever will be) ADDITIONAL NOTE: Each kit is a separate component. - Added Armour Scale Mail, Banded Mail, and Field Plate have all been added. You will find a merchant who sells them in Waukeen's Promenade, near the Ore Merchant. Additional, more powerful varieties can be found throughout the game. See section 5 for more info on the new armour. - Two tweaked spells Ironskin and Stoneskin have been nerfed to have a duration of 4 rounds. - Wizard Slayer enhancement Wizard Slayers will now have an 8% base MR, with a +4% Magic Resistance bonus per level. A level 3 Wizard Slayer would have 16% MR, for example. This is capped at level 17, at 72%. - Anomen wielding swords and crossbows If you install the universal weapons components, you can also install this component which will give Anomen long sword, crossbow, and spear proficiencies, as well as appropriate items in his inventory. - Viconia wielding appropriate weapons As with the Anomen component, this will give Viconia different weapon proficiencies when she joins your party. They are: Crossbow, Flail, Single-weapon Style, Scimitar, and Short Sword. - Keldorn wielding appropriate weapons With this component installed, Keldorn will now have the spear weapon proficiency, instead of crossbows. He will also come equipped with a suitable number of spears instead of the usual crossbow and bolts. II. Installation ---------------- You should obtain and install the latest TOB patch from www.interplay.com or www.bioware.com BEFORE installing Ashes of Embers, unless you already have other mods in place. 1. Download the file AshesofEmbersv19.exe to your BG2 folder, and double-click it. If you downloaded it to another directory, go to step 2. Otherwise, go to step 3. 2. The installer will ask you where you BG2 folder is. Type it in. 3. Click install. 4. Now there should be a folder called Ashes of Embers in your BG2 folder, and two files: Setup-AshesofEmbers.tp2, and Setup-AshesofEmbers.exe. Double-click Setup-AshesofEmbers.exe. 5. For each component you wish to install, answer [Y]es. 6. Files will be copied and the game will generally be made ready for AoE. This process may take a minute or two on a slower system. 7. Enjoy! If anything goes wrong with the process, or you later wish to uninstall Ashes of Embers, run the Setup-AoE.exe program once more and select the [U]ninstall option. III. Compatibility ------------------ Ashes of Embers should be compatible with pretty much any mod under the sun, with the exception of the kits. If you have a mod installed in which there are nine kits for any one class installed, you will be able to ADD more, but you will be unable to SELECT them during character creation. TDD/CUSTOM KIT WARNING: Hard-coded limitations of the Infinity Engine restrict the game to 9 kits per class. The Darkest Day fills ALL available kit slots--do not add AoE's kits to a TDD game! If you have added kits through other means, be sure you do not exceed the 9 kit per class limit. IV. Description of Kits ----------------------- PRIEST OF ORON: God of Justice, Law, and the Dead The priests of Oron are the inquisitors of this world. They seek out those who oppose their laws, and destroy them. This means those who break the law, those who use it unjustly, and those who dabble with undeath are at odds with them. Their unwavering faith and iron will when pursuing their goal has made them the most powerful church in the world, with the others either cooperating as best they can, avoiding the followers of Oron entirely, or opposing them in secret. Oron also goes by the names; The Keeper, The Iron Judge, and sometimes Voidbane. Alignment: Lawful Spells: - Hold Undead (level 2) - Sunray (level 6) - Oron's Judgement (Flame Strike level 4) - Purge Undead Spell: Purge Undead By means of this spell a priest of Oron can send bolts of holy light at any target, doing 1-3 damage per level of the priest. This damage is capped at 3d3, but at levels 5 and 8 the priest gets an extra bolt. At level 12, only one bolt is launched, but it affects all undead within it's area of effect. Other Advantages: - +1 THAC0 every 5 levels - +1 HP per level Weapons: - Hammer - Mace - Morning Star - Flail - Axe - Can become specialized in any of the available proficiencies (2 stars). Armour: - All Disadvantages: - No healing spells PRIEST OF LAHAN-RIYASHAL: Goddess of Harvest, Love, and Good Fortune The followers of Lahan-Riyashal are very diverse and numerous. This is because of the various aspects their goddess reflects, whether it be luck, love, beauty, nature, or any one of the myriad of possibilities. The village priest who aids with the harvest, a travelling healer who mends broken bones and cures the sick, or a druid who protects nature are all priests of Riyashal. They are known for being steadfast defenders of their beliefs and values, and will defend these to the death if the need arises. This desire to protect often means they are less effective when attacking in combat, but they are formidable opponents nonetheless. Alignment: Non-evil, not LN Spells: - Dire Charm (level 3) - Luck (Innate: 1 per day/5 levels, starting at level 2) - Create Food and Water Enhanced (level 3) - Lahan's Blessing (Double Strength Luck: level 3 spell) Advantages: - (+2) HP per level Weapons: - Club - Mace - Hammer - Sling - Flail - Short Sword - Dagger - No special weapon techniques Armour: - Non-metal armour (leather, studded, hide) Disadvantages: - 25% Slower THAC0 progression than normal clerics - (+1) initial AC Penalty PRIEST OF THIERON: God of Dreams, Travellers, and Art The Priests of Thieron are not one of the most powerful churches in Azmanorr, because they tend to be introspective and quiet, and rarely stay in one place for long. It is quite common for a priest to spend weeks or even months on the road, either travelling to distant lands, contemplating life, or just enjoying the countryside. When the need is great, they will not hesitate to defend their friends, to the point of death, if need be. Alignment: Non-lawful Spells: - Sleep (level 2) - Greater Sleep (level 5, similar to Emotion: Hopelessness) - Free Action once per day (innate) - Haste (level 5) - Focus (level 3: Reduces casting times of the target by -1 for 6 rounds at level 5, -2 at level 9, and -3 at level 12) Weapons: - Staff - Short Bow - Long Bow - Dagger - Long Sword - Single-weapon proficiency only Armour: - Chain mail maximum Disadvantages: - (-2) to Save vs. Petrification/Polymorph PRIEST OF CATHOUN: God of Trade, Peace, and Diplomacy The Priests of Cathoun are well respected throughout the world for their impartial, yet fair decisions. When people have a disagreement to be settled, they often go to a Cathounite to help them come to a decision, because their rulings are known for being fair and just. They promote trade by sending delegations to various nations and acting as middle men for the negotiations. Although rarely seen in combat, their orders focus instead on healing and other such ways of aiding others. Of course, mortals are not as perfect as the gods and there are occurences when a truly selfish person gains a position of power under Cathoun. They use and abuse the trust their position inspires for their own selfish gains. Wealth and comfort are usually what these types seek. Alignments: Non-chaotic Spells: - Friends (level 1) - Charm Person (level 2) - Dire Charm (level 3) - Double Strength Bless (level 3) - Double Strength Chant (level 4) Weapons: - Halberd - Staff - Spear - Mace - Club - Cross Bow - No Weapon Style Armour: - All Disadvantages: - (-1) HP per level - (+1) AC Penalty PRIEST OF YATHAR: God of Slaves, the Sea, and Rebellion The priests of Yathar are rarely welcomed in any stable area, for they bring with them the chaos and anarchy of Yathar. Sailors are fearful of him, and always offer a prayer to him before setting sail on any voyage. This is possibly one of the largest churches to exist, but the most splintered. There are factions that emphasize rebellion against any and all authority, those that are benevolent and try to overthrow ironfisted and unjust rulers, while others inflitrate the slave trade to attempt to bring it crashing down. There are also those who focus their attention on the sea, by either trying to invoke or dispel storms, bless sea voyages, and other similar actions. Yathar is also known for testing his followers during times of duress. It is a Yatharite maxim not to take anyone for granted, nor to rely on anything completely. On occasion a spell cast by a priest of Yathar will fail completely, which is Yathar's way of teaching his followers to be adaptable, and to use their wits when their magic fails them. Alignment: Any Chaotic Spells: - Chaos (level 5) - Confusion (level 4) - Purify Water - Dowsing - Free Action (level 3) - Hold Monster (level 5) - Chaotic Commands (Innate gained at level Other Advantages: - Gains +1% physical damage resistance per level. Weapons: - Spear - Scimitar - Club - Dagger - Darts Armour: - Chain Mail Maximum Disadvantages: - No Summoning Spells - No Charm/Domination Spells - Suffers a +2% Miscast Magic for every 3 levels, to a max of 8% PRIEST OF UULIX: God of Undeath, Nightmares, and The Void The Master of Undeath and his followers are everything that the followers of the Moon are, but with less subtlety, and more savagery. Orgies of blood and death mark their path, human sacrifice and random murder taint the lands they inhabit. The followers of all other gods except possibly the Moon kill these foul creatures--for they are not considered human--on sight, and when a cult of Uulix is suspected to have entered an area the inhabitants generally flee or band together to destroy them. When they seek to hide, they generally claim to be followers of any of the other gods. Tales of vampirism among the members is a rumour many folk believe, and the promise of eternal beauty and youth tempt many into joining the dark religion. Alignment: Any Evil Spells: - Larloch's Minor Drain (level 2) - Vampiric Touch (level 4) - Plague of Uulix (Innate: 1 per day, +1 every 4 levels) Spell: Plague of Uulix The caster must move within touch range of any targetted humanoid for this spell to work. When it is cast, the target must make a save vs. death with a -2 penalty or else the caster spends two rounds drinking their blood, with both people are immobilised for this duration. The results of the spell are dramatic. The caster gains a cumulative +1, +2, or +3 charisma bonus, for a duration of 24 hours minus one hour per level of the caster (23 hours at level 1, 10 hours at level 14). This spell also grants +1-4 HP to the caster for every level they have attained, which lasts 2 turns. It also does 1d8 damage per level of the caster to the target, with no chance for magic resistance. Weapons: - Flail - Dagger - Halberd - Crossbow - Dart Armour: - All Disadvantages: - (-1) Charisma per level to a minimum of 3 (see the spell Plague of Uulix for details) PIT FIGHTER: Whether by choice or by slavery, the Pit Fighter learned the art of combat in the death pits of any large city in the world. The Pit Fighter is a flashy combatant, not the least bit troubled to fight fair, but suffers somewhat from being a show-off, not going for the kill when the opportunity for humiliation is first available. Weapon Proficiencies: - All melee weapons up to grand-mastery. - All weapon styles, up the max attainable. - The pit fighter may allocate points in the sling proficiency, but can only use bolas. Advantages: - Starts with one proficiency point in all melee weapons. - +1 to movement rate/5 levels. - May use a "Dirty Trick" 1/day/4 levels: Target opponent must make a save vs. Breath or suffer the effects of Blindness for 4 rounds. Save vs. Breath has a penalty: -1 per 4 levels. Ex. an 8th level Pit Fighter would cause a total of -2 to the enemy's save. Disadvantages: - Can not become become proficient with ranged weapons. - Can not use armor heavier than chainmail. - -2 Damage with every attack. V. New Item Locations --------------------- Ashes of Embers adds several new types of items to the game; katars (punch daggers), bolas, scale mail, banded mail, and field plate armour. All of these come on non-magical, +1, and +2 variants, and each has a unique version that has specific and powerful magical enchantments. ***SPOILER WARNING*** If you don't want to hear any spoilers, skip to section 6 of the readme. The low-level variants of the katars and bolas can be found in the Adventurer's Mart store. To purchase the new types of armour, visit Fwippy the Dwarf in the south-west portion of Waukeen's promenade, just past the Ore Merchant. Finding the unique items will be a bit trickier. The GONDISH KATAR +4 is among Ribald's special stock, when the party escapes from the Underdark and returns to Athkatla. The SEA-ELVEN SCALE MAIL +2 is to be found in the Slaver Compound, worn by one of the mages guarding it. You can get the DWARVEN FIELD PLATE from the added merchant in Waukeen's Promenade. ETERNAL AGE, the magical banded armour +2, is found in the armour merchant's stock in Imnesvale. The BOLA OF WEB is in the possession of one of the guards of Faldorn's abode, in the Druid Grove. Here are their descriptions: Eternal Age Banded Armour +2 At a casual glance, this armour seems only to have been made of a strangely dull metal, but a second look reveals that it is in fact crafted of stone itself. It has leather straps and backing, which appear well worn, but the bands across the chest and shoulders are in fact made of what appears to be granite. This bizarre construction comes with an equally strange tale of how it was discovered. It was found recently by a group of explorers searching for lost treasures of the ancients when they stumbled upon this item quite by accident. It was not hidden in the depths of some dungeon or found in the possession of a terrible beast, but buried in the mud of a cave floor. It was only unearthed when the group of explorers were digging a pit for their camp fire. They decided to continue digging and found numerous other curios, including some oddly crafted bowls, spoons, crude furniture, and tools; all of which were made of stone. There are indications that they found something else, too, but efforts to get the group to divulge what this was proved to be quite fruitless as the treasure hunters refused to make any mention of it, merely giving each other furtive glances. Further queries were halted when the group disappeared without a trace, their only legacy the suit of armour you see before you. The still unknown origins of the armour have confounded more than one scholar. STATISTICS: Armor Class: 2 Strength: Set to 19 when equipped Special: Can cast a stoneskin-like ability once per day (gives two skins for 300 seconds) Weight: 10 Requires: 8 Strength Not Usable By: Druid Mage Thief Dwarven Field Plate This finely crafted suit of armour was made by a dwarven hermit living in the mountains north of Zhentil Keep. Many scholars think it to be magical, but others disagree, saying that its unique abilities stem entirely from the material used--cold iron--and the dwarf's skill at the forge. Attempts at divining the difference with magic have been resisted, due to the armour's latent resistance to arcane energy. No matter which is true--and attempts at prying the secret from the dwarf have proven futile, as he is both a loner and has never had an apprentice--it is undeniable that this field plate is flawless. In addition to providing greater protection than a comparable suit of armour, it can even shield the wearer from the negative effects of magic. STATISTICS: Magic Resistance: +25% when equipped Armor Class: 1 Weight: 30 Requires: 13 Strength Not Usable By: Bard Druid Mage Thief Sea-elven Scale +2 This suit of scale mail has been crafted by sea-elves, and with the same elven precision their land-dwelling cousins display, they have constructed it of such fine materials that it will not impede a mage or rogue's unique abilities. It has an eelskin backing with scales of some unknown deep-sea creature sewn on. Whether through magic, or merely the materials it was made with, the armour glistens even when dry, and its flamboyant colours have not been dulled from its long stay above water. STATISTICS: Armor Class: 4 Weight: 8 Requires: 9 Strength Not Usable By: Druid Gondish Katar +4 Cleverly designed by the priests of Gond, God of Invention, this object folds into several different shapes, to be used as a punch dagger, a lock pick, a probe, and a number of other useful tools. When properly used it is deadly in combat. The easily accessible levers and gears shoot out and twist various blades almost as if they were extensions of the hand. Although excellent as a combat weapon, those same mechanisms used to shred the flesh of an enemy can also be used for the delicate procedures of opening locks and disarming traps. The magical forces woven into this weapon also make it an extremely powerful item even without taking into account its other benefits. Only those with deft fingers and a fair amount of wit may use this weapon, as it takes a keen mind and skilled hand to operate without injuring oneself. STATISTICS: Damage: 1d7+4 Enchanted: +4 THAC0: +4 Bonus Special: +2 to Armor Class +25% Open Locks +25% Set Traps +10% Detect Traps +10% Hide in Shadows/Move Silently Damage Type: Piercing Weight: 1 Speed Factor: 0 Proficiency Type: Dagger Type: 1-handed Requires: - 4 Strength - 14 Dexterity - 11 Intelligence Unusable by: Beastmaster Bola of Web This bola has been crafted in strands from a phase spider's silk. Powerful magicks have combined so that not only will it fling clinging strands of web over the target and all those nearby, but the innate teleportation abilities of the Phase Spider will return the bola to the wielder's hand. The magic will work three times, and after this it will need to be left for several hours to recharge. STATISTICS: Enchantment: +2 THAC0: +2 Bonus Damage: 1D3 +2 Damage type: blunt Special: - Casts Web, centered on the target Weight: 2 Speed Factor: 6 Proficiency Type: Sling Type: 1-handed Requires: - 12 Strength - 10 Dexterity Range: 30 Unusable By: Beastmaster Cavalier Kensai VI. Version History ------------------- B1 - Initial Beta Release B2 - Fixed Kit installation script - Added TRA reference for Pit Fighter ability "Dirty Trick" B3 - Adding all cleric spells via script was eliminated - Added spell restrictions to all cleric kits - Priests of Lathuz can now be any alignment (in the description and reality) - Clerics will now have their "Kit0X","LOCALS" variable set - Random strings in kit ability spells set to -1 - Copying and WRITE_BYTEing Bolt.bam has been fixed - StrRefs for item/spell restrictions with clerics have been fixed/added B4 - Added Fwippy's store for the additional armour - Changed kit names to lower-case B5 - After a long... er, hiatus, I've returned to work on AoE - Added the cleric kit spell restriction list to their spellbooks. B6 - Spell restriction lists no longer crash the game when memorized - J#KitXX LOCALS are now set successfully (again!) - Released the Mod to the general public B7 - Carsomyr (of all things!) had weird usability flags - Changed light crossbows and short bows to have STR req of 9 - Added kit descriptions to the readme (this file) - Added spell restrictions to the readme (this file) B8 - Typo fixed for two-handed sword/long bow usability - Cleric kits now get Cleric HLAs B9 - Fixed ALL the weapons in the .tp2 (little-endian and big-endian confuz0rz me) V10 - First version to be considered non-beta - French and Spanish translations added (thanks Thot and Clan DLAN) - Items restricted from monks only are now fixed - Graphical effects in J#Th05.spl now have no save as intended - All classes can get appropriate weapon proficiencies (wizards and crossbows, etc.) - Paladin weapons are fixed. Finally. I hope. - Monks weapons are fixed. V11 - .nsi bug corrected - All fixes from V10 should actually, y'know, work now =) V12 - Clerics have base-class item restrictions (thanks QA) - German translation added (thanks Beyshaliban) V13 - Separated the SoA and ToB items into separate components - Removed the multi-class kit components for the time being V14 - The french translation had an error (my fault) that caused it to be uninstallable. This has been fixed. V15 - Added Katars and Bolas to the Adventurers Mart (japheth rocks) - Fixed Bolas and Katars, and tested them thoroughly - Katar animations were missing! Stole some from PST - Made an entirely new system for restricting cleric spells - Added Anomen with Swords components for SoA and ToB - Added BG1Tutu universal weapons component - Swashbucklers can get 2 weapons proficiencies (thanks Grim) - Cleric kits have significantly fewer restricted spells - Fixed a bug where the SoA Universal Items component wouldn't install if you didn't have ToB V16 - Typo that would prevent the BG1Tutu universal items component from working has been fixed V17 - German translation should now work - Flail of Ages typo fixed - Added some "hidden" items to universal weapons component (Joluv and Deirdre's stores, as well as the Rod of Terror, and Blackrazor) - WeapProf.2da is handled better, so as to be compatible with aVENGER's rogue rebalancing mod. - Thieves can now use all two-handed weapons - Monk proficiencies have been sorted out - Quivers can now be held by all classes (ToB only) - Probably some other things I forgot V18 - Miscellaneous fixes V19 - Weapon proficiencies for fighter/clerics /druids has been fixed - Weapon proficiencies for the BG1Tutu universal weapons component fixed - Added some unique and actually useful items of the five new flavours introduced by AoE; Katars, Bolas, Banded/Scale/Field Plate armour - Added support for numerous weapons that were missed (enchanted weapon for instance) - Thanks to Nim and the bigg for their bug reports (as well as others I've probably missed. My memory is terrible.) V20 - Priest of Oron now gets proper THAC0 progression and attack bonus - Everard's Morning Star +2 is copied properly - Cleric kits can dual-class - Non-magical armour no longer changes colour when re-equipped V21 - Keldorn's weapon proficiency components for SoA/ToB now completed - Katars and Bolas are actually separated from Sensible Weapons - New modder-friendly placeholder file is installed by Sensible Weapons for SoA: "J#SWSoA.txt" V22 - Documentation update - Placeholder file is now > 0 bytes - "Universal Weapons" component is now called "Sensible Weapons" - Sensible Weapons for Mods bow bug fixed (BioWare did it! I swear!) - Wizard Slayer is capped at 72% Magic Resistance (Level 17) - Lowest level variants of Keldorn, Viconia, and Anomen now get appropriate weapons for their proficiencies - WHILE loops, hurrah! STR_CMP galore! AoE is now leet! V23 - Copying 0-byte weapon files should no longer fail with version 170+ of WeiDU - Removed weird thing from War Hammer description V24 - Spanish translation added for strings added since version 19 V25 - French translation added - Auto-installer should work with Win98 V26 - Katars and Bolas are no longer missing their graphics - Fixed Kuo-toan bolts so they don't mung up installations? - Monk proficiencies aren't out of order V27 - New Anomen proficiency code from CamDawg "to resolve a conflict with BG2 Fixpack." VII. Credits ------------ DEVELOPER: Jesse Meyers (Ghreyfain) TRANSLATORS: Thot (French) Clan DLAN (Spanish) Beyshaliban (German) ADDITIONAL THANKS GO TO THOSE WHO HELPED WITH EMBERS OF EMPIRE: Corvis Xaos Bob Wynne Cuvieronius Wesley Weimer Jason Compton Sorschana Vulgar Zildrah (Detectable Spells) Kensai Ryu (Detectable Spells) Kevin Dorner (Baldurdash) Gebhard Blucher Finamenon Meldethar CamDawg VIII. Links ------------ http://www.weidu.org: Home of WeiDU http://www.pocketplane.net: Home of Ashes of Embers and other fine projects! http://www.dragonlancetc.com: Home of the DLTCEP editing tool (Plus some sort of mod or something) http://www.idi.ntnu.no/~joh/ni: Home of Near Infinity http://infexp.sourceforge.net: Home of Infinity Explorer http://www.fwstudios.net: Home of many independent BG2 mod projects IX. Copyright Notice -------------------- Ashes of Embers is Copyright © 2002-2005 Jesse Meyers. Ashes of Embers is not developed, supported, or endorsed by BioWare or Interplay/Black Isle. REDISTRIBUTION NOTE: Ashes of Embers was created to be freely enjoyed by all Baldur's Gate 2 players. However, Ashes of Embers may not be sold, published, compiled or redistributed in any form without the consent of its author.