Greetings!

First of all: Hey there, I am new. And happy to have joined the BWL rather than limiting myself to just reading

...

Ok, now what was my thread about? Ah, right.
I was just thinking about starting a new game, as I finished my M/C. Fun . This time I am going to try a F/M/C and as Improved Anvil v4+ requires a new game anyway I could try it as well. Difficult battles and stuff.
Now the problem I have is to decide which things to uninstall from my mod-list, mostly concerning battles, as follows:

Saerileth: Now, do I have to uninstallt it to have no problems or do I have to not have her in my group at all? Though it might be a doubtable question why I should keep a NPC mod if I can't use the NPC . I rather like her though...

Tactics: Is there anything I can keep? Like "The Ritual" or the F/I in the docks? Or may one of the contents cause problems?

Ascension: Now I *can* leave Demogorgon and the core component (the final battle, that is) untouched but have to uninstall the tougher bhaalspawn, correct?

Kiara and Zaya: First of all it includes some battles in the mod (at least one which needs to be fought and one encounter which can be installed seperately) and more important there is a component for a harder Suldanessalar, consisting of tougher monsters (like mariliths and such instead of... whatever lurked around before). There is a tougher Irenicus at the tree of life component as well. Problems?

Ease of Use: Nothing about compatibility but rather about the readme: "- Wear Magical Armor AND Magic Rings (Recommended)" I always considered this some sort of cheat, or at least cheesy. Care to tell me why it's recommended?

Planar Sphere mod: Well, it's some expanded mage stronghold. IA seems to add some content to this stronghold as well... may there be problems? I guess if so it would be the best way to do the "normal" PS stuff first and do the PS mod content afterwards, correct? Are the new quests (or whatever) avaiable before the regular routine (the disciples, the fanatics... is there anything else?) is finished?

I guess the rest won't cause anything vicious... uh.. I hope
Now... on to the next questions. Talking about partyplay... I have no clue whom I should take with me, so I hope there are some tipps regarding this topic. I thought about:

F/M/C
Keldorn
Valygar
Cernd
Jan (*sigh*)
In ToB: Irenicus

As I wished for some extra muscle I decided to take Keldorn as he's useful everytime . Even more so with the new holy avenger. Or so I hope. Valygar ist one guy I just have to try with TLR installed. Hoping for some interesting banters with Jon. Cernd because I want to take him once... and intend to use the auramaster kit. Jan because Imoen is annoying. As is Nalia. Not because they are so whiny or weak or anything ^^ ... I just love to use traps from time to time or to dispel illusions via a thief. Jan seems to be the only option apart from a multiyplayer character. The problem with this party is that I have no full time mage. Jan is a half time mage and I am a "triple cripple" mage. So until ToB there will be no real mage in the party. Same with cleric btw, but I guess the F/M/C can do it anyway with some help from Cernd. I hope (yep, hoping for many things)
Next problem: no romance =/. Though the Valygar romance might do the trick. Gonna try it anyway when he's in the party, right?
Yet another "next problem" ^^: Weapon profiencies. How the heck should I distribute those? Any tipps? My guess for Keldorn would be to go the two handed weapon way, thus quarterstaffs, halberds, two handed swords and spears. As there are many good swords and halberds etc. around the choice about what to use as the main weapon may be tough, Carsomyr get's boring after a while...
Valygar would be the stealthy guy with katanas to backstab. Well... and then? Long swords? Daggers? Gaaah... *sob* so many choices, so few profiency points.
The F/M/C would go for the blunt weapons of course. So flails and hammers, I guess. Any other ideas? Maybe quarterstaffs because of the SoM? Two weapon style, shield, or two handed weapons (read: quarterstaffs *sigh*)? Somewhat hard to make a choice. For every fighter character... especially when there are sooo many nice upgrades to be done
Oh, and what about the usual Carsomyr +6 upgrade made by Cespenar? The eye of tyr seems to be something reserved for the old Carsomyr.

Some brief comments:

If Sikret recommends a mod, then a new IA player should probably follow his recommendations. IA is tough. Mods that makes things easier simply means less reloading for new players (like me).

If a mod is not listed in the installation notes for IA as conflicting AND you know it doesn't alter a specific area that IA alters, then many times it will work fine. Sometimes, it will work any way as long as you follow the very important instruction of installing IA last. If you have a specific favorite mod, you could ask Sikret if he knows about any compatibility issues in regards to that mod.

The FMC cleric will be very tough towards the end of the game, presuming you have removed the XP caps and added the HLA expansions. On the other hand, I feel that the game becomes much easier (but still very challenging), once you have gained XP and GP/equipment. The take home message here is that a character that is tough in the early game is very desirable. Two of the most valuable characters on my team are the ranger 7-cleric and the sorcerer. I heartily recommend that you at least take these 2 characters in addition to whatever else you want to take. If you don't want to use Shadow Keeper, then the protagonist can be ranger 7-cleric, allowing the ranger extra quests. There are several sorcerer NPCs available, such as Tashia and Kelsey. I also advise you take someone with a very good THAC0.

Well, the problem is that I don't really know which area is modified by IA and which isn't. Thus there may be problems if I have some components installed which alter some area IA alters as well. As there isn't any information regarding K&Z, or rather these special components (for example) my idea was to ask before there are any problems

The XP cap is removed and such
It's natural that the game gets easier each time you gain a specific thing, may it be the very item that will boost your power a whole lot (can you say "Robe of Vecna"?) or when you finally gain HLAs.
The fact is, that those characters you mentioned can be "strong" indeed but, aside from having tried them already (including Kelsey and Tashia), the basic party stays the same: Fighter (me, Keldorn, Valygar), Cleric (me, Cernd), Mage (me, Jan, later on Jon), Thief (Jan). So I could use a sorcerer, but who should be traded for him/her? Keldorn and Valygar are two guys I wish to use. And they are the fighters. Jan is the much needed thief. And nowadays I *really* dislike parties with more than one character created by the player. Missing the banter and stuff . Cernd is yet another bioware NPC which I haven't really tried. So in this case it's me being curious about him. Especially with the auramaster kit. More than five aren't a good idea in SoA as I would abandon one (like the sorcerer) in ToB anyway to get Jon. Oh, and he is (by the way) another reason for this party. I'm anxious to see his banters with these.
While the party seems somewhat fixed I'm of course open for tipps, regarding the difficulty of IA. Mostly about the question whether it will be *very* hard with it. By the way: Yet another example for an NPC I could take with me would be Solaufein. But as he is avaible only very late (after the Underdark is finished mostly) this seems to be a bad choice, though a F/M would help, I guess.

That's in some of the readmes for the mod in this forum. I think it is the tactical readme, where you will see all the things that Sikret has improved.

I use Shadow Keeper to give me the classes I want with the banter I want. I don't consider it cheating as I have played with the stock NPCs, created characters without any banter, and these SK derivatives many times. But to each his own.

I gave you my recommendations concerning classes to have along, but you should certainly play whatever you desire.

It's good, you'll be the first who will check Longer Road and Improved Anvil for compatibility Both mods modify Watcher's Keep, so here may be problems.


Unfortunately, traps suck in IA. Just as backstab. Swashbuckler and sorcerer are much better then mage/thief, but it'll be completely different party

First of all welcome to the BWL forums Arkain

About compatibility (Sikret can correct me of course):




First of all it is incompatible with Kiara and Zaiya mod IIRC, since the latter makes W.Keep unreachable in SoA.
Also there is an incompatibility issue with IA (look at the readme of IA).




I.Ilyich, Ritual, I.Bodhi, Kuroisan, Red-Badge encounter, Improved MaeVar, Lich in the Docks, Fighter/Illusionist in the Docks, Random encounters, smarter Beholders/Mind Flayers/Vampires, Improved N.Forest should be compatible with IA.

That said though I wouldn't recommend the installation of other tactical mods,except from Ascension, with IA (and I am a fan of mods like Tactics etc.).

The reason is that they will make your game much easier with the XP you will gain and with some weapons/items/gold these mods introduce.
(Especially the Random encounters component of Tactics).

Improved Anvil adds more content than any other tactical mod so you will have a "full" game from that point of view.




Yes, Demogorgon and the core component of Ascension are compatible.




IA has it's own improved Irenicus at the Tree of Life. Some enemies of Suldanesselar are also improved.
I wouldn't install this mod.




Sikret recommends this component only because enemies of IA use Magical Armor and Rings. Personally I don't use it.




It is compatible if you finish first the improved Mage Stronghold of IA and then start the Planar Sphere mod.
Again here IMO the mod will make your game much easier since you gain some insane amounts of XP/items/scrolls.

Also remember that IA must be the last in the installation order except (from the readme):

TS (Tortured Souls) and NEJ2 (Never Ending Journey) are the only mods which should be installed AFTER Improved Anvil. Their compatibility with Improved Anvil is NOT tested in practice, but they are probably compatible. The fact that they must be installed after Improved Anvil actually increases the risk of incompatibility. You may try them together on your own risk.








Not bad though a better Mage would make your life easier.
Still doable though (I had only Jan and HaerDalis as mages).

Go for Hammers and Flails for your F/M/C, Katanas and Longswords for Valygar,
2-handed swords/halberds and Longswords for Keldorn.

Generally I prefer dual wielding and I.Haste.
Long Swords and Halberds are very good choices in IA. Also try to give to all your characters PPoints at least to one blunt weapon (immunities of some enemies).




Ehm, Detect Illusions has been tweaked to get blocked from SI: Divination, so Keldorn's TS is still the best choice (read carefully the Readme with the Fixes and Tweaks).
Also traps are not so effective anymore. But not Timetraps (take many of those).

Rule of thumb is, as long as a mod doesn't interfere with something IA already modifies, it will be fine (provided it's weidu format).

Imo though, for your first game, i'd follow the recommendations in the readme. I played IA 3 with tactics components, and other mods, and the problem is they usually introduce items or xp that will throw off the difficulty curve.

You get those boots in the ritual, for example, that make you immune to dispel magic (permanent I:A). The thing is, with permanent immunity:abjuration and immunity: divination, a mage is practically invincible.

So to answer your question, tactics components like the ritual, fighter/illusionist in the docks and the lich in the docks will be compatible, because they are built from scratch and wouldn't interfere with IA components. So use your common sense and you'll be fine, although it can be trial and error in some cases (installing IA and imp beholders from tactics causes slow-down when fighting beholders).

Re: proficiencies and fighters

I would recommend having ALL your fighter-type characters pick up specialization in a blunt weapon i.e. Valygar and Keldorn as well as your FMC.

A character with access to True Grand Mastery would be really useful because as rbeverjr says a character with a really good THAC0 is important (and that extra attack is invaluable). Keldorn and Valygar will struggle more than you might expect because many enemies have awesome AC.

As Sikret mentioned in one of these threads a beserker is really useful (with, say, grand mastery in longswords). But I know this suggestion does not go with your party ideas.

Heh yes, the famous Boots of Cheese .
And of course that acidic Katana and the Bloodbane spear are weapons that could easily "break" the game.

I'll have to agree on the acid katana. That's the most twisted item that I've ever come across with the Soul Reaver +6 as a clear 2nd position. (But I must admit it enabled my survival early in IA 3; I no longer use it even in IA - can't in IA 4 anyway.) The boots certainly will help, but then again you can suck up the remove magic by sending in a protected mage or a character that is inherently a tank - right? And once you are very high level, I'd hope that the buffs have a good chance of staying anyway. Concerning that spear, I've actually done Red Badge once, but never used the spear. I don't know if I left it on the ground, sold it, or just stuck it in my bag and forgot about it. Does that poison work through stoneskin? If not, I'd say it's nice but probably not going to change the battle's outcome. Once I can damage the target, it will die - maybe 30 minutes later in the case of some of those golems.

As for me, I will obey my own advice. If I find an item -any item even an IA upgrade item- that makes my game too easy, I'll have to lose it!

Welcome to BWL, Arkain!



I recommend not to install it with IA.


Some of the components of Tactics are compatible with Improved Anvil, but honestly, I recommend not to install any of its components (especially because this is your first run of IA, it is better if you do not install any other tactical mod with it.)


Correct.


Don't install it.



So far, my recommendation is the same that thetruth wrote to you, but the latest news is that a player reported to me a few days ago that IA and Planar Sphere mod are completely incompatible regardless of the order of doing the quests. If you want to test them together (on your own risk) try them and inform me of the result, but if you want a 100% guaranteed bugfree game, do not install planar sphere mod with IA.

Good luck!

The Preserving Boots don't grant only immunity to dispelling effects (Dispel/Remove magic), but also to Spell/Magical/Physical protections removal spells.
Add immunity to Divination spells, Detect Illusions and Immunity to backstab and you can understand that a character (especially Mage types) can become invincible even for the harder enemies of IA .




IIRC it did some points of poison dmg/hit without save, +1 ApR and on top of that it's a thrown weapon.
Almost no enemy of Tactics/Ascension were immune to it (at least the stunlocking effect of the poison).

Oh well, my fears of being the first "tester" of this compatibility became reality . Though my guess it that there won't be problems. The only things TLR adds are some NPCs and items. In fact you talk to the one who gives you the quest, pick up one item from the ground, go for another one (and meet another NPC who will spawn in a special area), fight a bit and get the last one. That's about it. Shouldn't be a great deal. I hope



Too bad. I love backstab. And traps, though not for nuking, but in a tactical way. Like backstabbing the caster of a waiting group and luring them one by one to the spots where I laid down the traps. Oh and some more backstab after hiding again of course




Thanks!




Oh well... I had that issue already. They aren't really incompatible. I've played with Saeri and K&Z in the same party (dual romance as well. Heh. ^^). There's only one thing you should keep in mind: you have to CLUAConsole yourself to WK when Saeris quest needs to be done. That's all. Thinking about WK: Saerileth adds an encounter to it's first level.
The readme was the reason for my question by the way . As I would like to know whether it's totally incompatible or just incompatible if I have her with me in ToB... or whatever.




Mhm... I always found the improved Maevar or Bodhi (for example) to be somewhat enjoyable. I'm sharing your oppinion about the random encounters by the way.




Oh well... the demon prince was insane anyway ^^




Ah... well... maybe. I'll ask the dice




Hmm... I enjoy this mod mostly because it makes the mage stronghold more a place of learning with all those apprenti around. Plus the few encounters (and quests) have their own way of humor. I agree on the items etc. though. Especially the spells added by this mod shouldn't be used if one wants to have a challenge at all.




Mhm... we will see . Should be fun nevertheless. I too prefer I.Haste and dual wielding, but had lots of fun with a F/M wielding quarterstaffs and two handed swords as well. It's somehow a matter of one's own taste. Or something like that.




As you mention this... Nalia becomes quite attractive again. I almost forgot about Keldorn's TS ability (d'oh! -.-) and the tweaked Detect Illusions ability (more d'oh!). As I would have to remove the SI: Divination anyway I could just use Keldorn's TS and be done with it. As picking pockets is even more unattractive with IA and traps lose their potential (except for Timetraps, of course... which I really love by the way ) Nalia or Imoen might do the thief job as well. So, there you go Jan . I guess.
And there's a romance for both, which seems to be a better option then the no longer existant Valygar romance (save for Tortured Souls of course. But it may cause problems..).

Oh and concerning "über items" like the acid katana or these boots from the ritual quest... I never use these anyway. Too cheesy. Though I have to admit that I once had a F/M/T dual wield CF and the katana simultaneously


[edit] Reading what Sikret just wrote (now I AM typing too slow ) I guess that's it with most of my mod questions. I will inform you if there are any problems concerning IA and PSM or TLR. Might give you mod review as well . We will see.
One remaining question though: Do you mean to not install K&Z at all, or to not install the tougher X components? [/edit]

Bummer dude, I thought these items may give me an edge. I was going to let the fighter 7-mage use the spear. She wouldn't hit that often anyway. I was going to give the boots to the ranger 7-cleric, who will be mainly a caster in my party. However, if these items are that good, I may just have to leave them on the ground.

mmm. No, maybe I'll sell them instead. There's never enough money. Or if I decide I'm having an easy time of it once I get that far, perhaps I should leave them on the ground. Decisions, decisions....

I am quite sure that the powerful enemies of IA are not in danger from that spear. Unfortunately for us Sikret knows very well how to protect his creations

Those enemies should be immune to stun and poison but you could always test it.

*digs sthe thread's grave up* *coughs*

Um... well. Now I've finally finished the new stuff which was added to the mage stronghold... well, almost. There are two things which remain a mystery for me:

1. Where is this "magical container" Marvella told me about? o.O I'm pretty sure to have checked every container in the whole sphere (including big-heart-eating-golem's room ) and there isn't one which has some new treasure or anything else in it. I've indeed let a week pass, if that's the matter.

2. Isn't there some encounter supposed to happen in the docks after I finished "Does Marvella always say the truth?"? Actually nothing happens - I'm free to visit Cromwell.

1. I believe it is in the room where you fought Lavok

2. You have to forge memory of the apprenti to trigger the encounter

1. Mhm... nothing there iirc. I'll check again later.

2. GNAAA! I need the thrice cursed Robe of Vecna for it - I *guess* it's hidden somewhere in WK, as I already did likely everything in SoA, except this new passage in the underdark thing. I'm not going to WK before ToB though. So that's about it, no encounter -.-. Maybe there is some way to simply trigger it by spawning some creature or change some variables via console? Else I might clua memory of the apprenti in and leave it on the ground afterwards. Well, or skip the encounter *sigh*

[edit] Well, I just tried to use the console. It worked. But I'm wondering if this would cause any problems? Normally one shouldn't cheat in IA but I guess I've got no other chance in ToB, eh? Especially if there is something to gain through this fight (read: getting to Cromwell). [/edit]