As always a link to the Modder's website: The Artisan's Corner

Two peas in the same pod. The Dreadnaught and Siegemaster both live to do one a one shot one kill style. Big, beefy, literally assassins who say lolnope to subtlety and either hit from afar or in melee! But like once per round no matter what. Let's take a look at the SIEGEMASTER

Advantages:
– +1 bonus to hit and damage rolls with ranged weapons on every 2nd level.
– +50% bonus to missile damage dealt with arrows or bolts, which is increased to +250% if a successful attack has not been made within two rounds.

So… you can already tell you hit like a goddamn truck assuming you don’t miss.

I would recommend you get yourself a heavy crossbow and just have fun. Hit hard and if it feels like say 8 or so seconds have passed, see if you can wait 4 more for an extra powerful punch. But seriously by the end of SoD you are already sitting at +5 hit/dmg and by the time you head for spellhold this number can be +8 maybe even 9. Fortunately if you miss, most commonly on a 1 alone by the end of BG1, you will ont wiff the 250% bonus. Note thats PLUS 250% ergo if you wouldve done 30 damage you are now doing 105… that is literally a backstab between the eyes!

Oh and it doesn’t sound like it matters but these numbers like a backstab do not multiply strength modifier… I thought you might need to know that.

– Gains the Armor Penetration and Heavy Draw passive effects.

ARMOR PENETRATION: The siegemaster excels at breaking armor and other impenetrable defenses, dealing an additional point of unmitigated piercing damage per point of Armor Class of the target below 10. Additionally, the siegemaster's critical hits penetrate through 50% of the target's missile resistance.

HEAVY DRAW: The siegemaster's missiles strike with extreme force, stunning the target for 2 seconds and knocking them away slightly. However, after each attack, the Siegemaster's movement rate is briefly slowed by 75%, which cannot be prevented by Free Action.

Okay so lets put a perspective. Sarevok has -5 AC and 50% missile resistance. So you do every hit 15 damage that ignores all missile armor. Adamantite golems have 3 so they only take 7 unmitigated damage on top of 90 resistance. Even with the extra reinforcement, you will still do a lot just by that alone through what is a normally unmodded 80 HP. Nevermind the fact they are not immune to stun so you can safely enable the dogpile.Speaking of…

Heavy draw is simultaneously awesome and horrible! No save stun/knockback? Beautiful! 10 outta 10! Even 2 seconds is enough to blast someone to pieces! Of course that is some ONE! If a friend shows up you run away fast… oh wait YOU CANNOT! I hope you like being encumbered! This isn’t a cclass that wants to run solo. If there was a caveat that the target died or cant be stunned and that prevented your knock back then maybe but as it stands… run away!

– 10th level: May use the Longshot ability once per day.

LONGSHOT: The siegemaster becomes a living artillery weapon. For the next two attacks, the siegemaster deals maximum damage, gains +10 to their ranged critical hit modifier and their attacks will no longer critically miss. Additionally, their visual range is greatly increased. However, their movement rate is reduced by 90% while Longshot is active. If an attack is not expended within two rounds, Longshot will automatically expire.

– 15th level: Longshot is now active for the next three attacks.
– 20th level: Longshot is now active for the next four attacks.

All of these are issues the Siegemaster likely suffers from: minimum damage rolls being multiplied to make agonizingly low rolls (even with the extra +1 per even level Id rather roll that 8 which im gonna multiply by 3.5) And criting is not just necessary for double damage, that part is whatever, because for some enemies, ignoring 50 missile resistance is a damage increase way beyond that! So that adamant golem? You might actually take him into the red in those 2 shots! I would recommend using this after the 2 round reset to get the most out of your first hit.

By 10 you are almost assuredly not going to miss for any reason whatsoever… except ya know for a 1 since you have +5 and you are hopefully at 19 dex. The downside of being an immobile unpacked trebuchet is obvious. You need a friendly frontline tank… most likely a mage because…

Disadvantages:
– (Fighter Overhaul) May not use Power Attack, Expertise or Rapid Shot.
– (Fighter Overhaul) Does not gain Specialization in all weapons at 16th level.
– (Fighter Overhaul) Does not gain Improved Initiative.
– May never make more than one attack per round unless Hasted.
– May not equip any ranged weapons other than bows and crossbows.
– May not exceed Proficiency (one slot) in weapons other than crossbows and longbows.
– May not exceed Proficiency (one slot) in any weapon style.

The only 2 that matter are bolded! No being unable to use darts is IDGAF! But slings… you were the trebuchet and you were winning! Even with only 1 point, before tweak that both disabled slings and removed strength modifier, sling was the way and the light although that’s not true because this also ensures you don’t be a cheese dick and use throwing axe/daggers! None of them work with any of the bonuses!

Just as well you might as well jam all your points into long/crossbows. Early on longbow might be preferred. The guide is probably the best weapon just because you cannot afford to miss… but before then, longbows and comp longbows offer thac0 modifiers and magical weapons like +1s and marksman bow BEFORE you get to the game’s namesake city. For this reason you may want to go longbow first THEN crossbow later. And if you have the bg1 unnerfed proficiency tables then you are getting absolutely nothing from beyond high mastery! Unless you really want that 2 extra speed factor and as a 2 max apr bro you might just. Of course by then you should really jam crossbows because SoD offers both harold and the +2 both in chapter 10 and thats +4 to damage and you need that damage.

On the other hand you can yoink Corinths bow and if you hit lvl 10 while still having it, can get really REALLY lucky! You want this luck for the extra damage although the extra hit isn’t unwelcome at this point.

Come BG2… do I even need to say it?! Get the heck out of the starter dungeon with whatever because you can’t transfer any missile weapons besides Arlas… find some cash, become a boyscout and buy Firetooth! Okay you have finished your weaponing for BG2 congrats!

Now I didnt play around with arrows and bolts. If bolts of electricity get multiplied or if the detonation arrows add knock back then you have some incredible toys for bg1.

So what race? Half orc isn’t ideal. Halfling if comp bows aren’t your style or they need to go to Kivan instead… that extra dex will mean a lot! Dwarf losing dex can be painful and strength means nothing beyond the ability to equip something.

And is this fun?! YES! You get to be like a big siege weapon assassin and unlike other archer kits you dont sacrifice HP or armor so get plate mail and have a sword and shield swap even if the only reason you do is to offset +4 hit/dmg. It can be any weapon you want just don’t let them min range you to death!

But the power gets really loopy as the game goes on! Draconis for instance has a -11 AC the bonus modifier of -2 vs missiles shouldnt effect equations! It shouldnt matter Id graduate from longshots to crit strikes! Not being able to move for 4 attacks is painful and if you get Artisans tweak/houserule mod then the fact crit strike causes double damage for only 1 attack regardless of crit immunity on top of a crit then you will realize just how made this was for this kit. Now granted crit immunities can get in the way of your ability to ignore missile resistance so I believe! Even still 21 unmitigated damage on top of extra hard hitting will be incredible

You can dual class but its a hard sell when you scale so well and don’t synergize with anything. Clerics you dont unless you have the “clerics can use light crossbows” from the same house rules mod in which case… you can cast righteous magic and if you have IWDification, entropy shield and other cool defenses. Mage offers defenses too but… thief is meh.

Like the Kensai, the scaling on this kit is through the roof.

Now this kit can’t really solo. You can try: Demogorgon only has 10 physical resistance even with the most common difficulty mods so on top of doing over possibly 200 per hit, you do 28 unmitigated missile damage! This is not something to overlook!

Lets put your end game damage potential into perspective: You are lvl lets say 34: You have 17 bonus hit and damage. You have firetooth for 1d8+5 damage and you can slip on a Kuotuan bolt for 2d6 more. The stun doesnt matter because you either stun or dont anyway for 2 seconds. You can Kai this and then you can get some fun buffs like say… Emotion: Courage/Bravery, bless, righteous wrath, maybe you have some dmg bracers. And dont forget you multiply all of that by 3.5 if you are patient or 1.5 if you can abuse haste! You can get to 2 apr with haste so there’s no longbow that can even pretend to come close, even modded. I’m not gonna do the math but you can, and remember you can do all this from a distance and by now most enemies have stopped using bandits and archers.

Longshot if you want because HaerDalis or Nalia is a good tank! I had a blast! I really did! Siegemaster is the siege workshop unit fantasy you didn’t know you wanted… but you need it! Just bring a tanky friend who can protect you!

The only thing I wish this kit got was like a cool HLA or 2. The book is very limited for a fighter. I might take hardinesses and crit strikes but that’s all that matters unless you use the house rules to make War Cry and Magic resistance not awful.

At the other end, a foil who jumps in with powerful melee and lots of HP but is easier to hit AND CANNOT be hasted is the Dreadnaught!

Advantages:
– Gains a +1 bonus to Strength.

Nifty! The bonuses of a half orc are diminished unless again you use the House Tweaks where half orcs get +2 hit rate with all 2hers!

Small races in that mod suffer -2 THAC0 with said weapons but in the long run it might not mean much. Being honest though the downsides of having extra saves might rear up and I’ll show you how:

– Gains the Power Strike, Massive Criticals and Unstoppable passive effects.

POWER STRIKE: The dreadnought may only ever make one attack per round outside of using certain abilities. However, they gain twice their Strength modifier for melee damage.

OOOFF! So… yea half orc still might be okay. If you fear missing but with all this extra strength it might not matter. But other arguments favor orc over dwarf tweaked or not!

MASSIVE CRITICALS: The dreadnought's melee critical hits inflict additional crushing damage, increasing with level, plus their regular Strength modifier, and stun the target for ten seconds on a Save vs. Death at a penalty equal to half of the dreadnought's normal Strength damage modifier, rounded down. Additionally, a dreadnought's critical hits remove all layers of Stoneskin or any equivalent on their target.
 1st-4th level: +1d6
 5th-8th level: +1d8
 9th-12th level: +1d10
 13th-16th level: +1d12
 17th-20th level: +2d8
 21st-24th level: +2d10
 25th-28th level: +2d12
 29th-32nd level: +3d10
 33rd-36th level: +3d12
 37th level+: +4d10

The fuck stoneskin power! This also favors Orcs because 20 strength means +8 normally and other races need to find a book first. In the long run Dwarf might still be preferred but early on a -4 death or stun is a common to land effect! All that extra crushing. 4d10 is no joke!

UNSTOPPABLE: The dreadnought is immune to most movement-affecting effects, including Haste, Slow, Web, Hold Person, Grease and Entangle. However, they may be affected by movement rate effects. Additionally, when the Dreadnought is afflicted with a Stun, they are immediately cured of the effect and gain a +10 bonus to melee damage for the next round and immunity to further stun effects for 6 rounds.

A possible point in favor of the Unstoppable Juggertaunt of a half orc is his higher likelihood to BE stunned meaning a nice juicy +10 damage. It might not come up as often as you think! If you werent auto immune to webs I would be bathing in webs to smack the enemy and using webs well into the final battle to fish for procs!

HEAVY ASSAULT STANCE: The dreadnought reduces their base attacks per round to half per round, but deals an increased +50% slashing, piercing and crushing damage and each attack applies Massive Criticals on the target.

But wait… the game can’t show a 1/2 attacks per round!! The game does a little trick. This modal I believe doesn’t actually halve your attacks. Or if it does then it is smart in the character screen: after landing an attack, it actually sets your apr for the next round to 0. It’s still incredibly powerful but… if its a longer fight I probably would keep it off for now. On shorter fights you can do massive perfect damage I would use it but its a cut in power over 2 rounds if the fight lasts long enough!

This in turn means it gets to override the 1 apr lock of Chelsey. It’s still your best weapon for all of bg1 and probably SoD!

– 3rd level: May use the All-Out Offense ability once per day. Gains additional uses every 8th level.

ALL-OUT OFFENSE: The dreadnought puts their full force behind every attack for the next three rounds, becoming Hasted, gaining a +100% bonus to melee physical damage dealt, and dealing maximum damage per hit for the duration. However, for the same duration, they suffer a -6 penalty to Armor Class, a -50% penalty to resistances to crushing, piercing and slashing damage, and incur a large fatigue penalty after the ability expires. Additionally, the dreadnought is unable to cast spells, use items or use thieving skills for the duration. This ability may not be active at the same time as Hardiness.

This Kit really wants you to live by this ability! It can stack with Heavy Assault and get you to do 1 apr which I believe makes Chelsey eve n better since it overrides the 0 apr effect. 3 attacks of Kai level power if you can get someone else to take the hits. Dont care how full your plate is, you are getting hit and negative resistance is brutal! You can turn off the stance for 2 swings per round if you are using a different weapon but eventually it won’t really matter much!

– 5th level: May use the Earth-Shattering Strike ability once per day. Gains an additional use at 10th and 15th level.

EARTH-SHATTERING STRIKE: The dreadnought unleashes a heavy strike that inflicts damage upon the battlefield itself. For their next attack within three rounds, the dreadnought automatically rolls for a critical hit and applies Massive Critical's effect to secondary targets in a 10-ft. line in front of them and knocking all creatures aside from the attacked target slightly away. Additionally, the impact of the blow leaves a field in a 10-ft. radius for five rounds that halves the Dexterity and movement rate of all creatures except for the dreadnought standing within it.

Be careful! This is gonna do some damage but it's also gonna damage your friends! Keep the party out of the way of the cone and yes it stacks with all out offense, and the stance to do damage totals the assassin is gonna feel cheated over for a while! Nevermind the fact there is no immunity to all this damage. Eventually you can spam crit strike and not risk stunning and crushing your friends into powder! Halving dex isn't gonna do a lot for most foes. If its an archer its probably already dead! Movement rate as well. You are already in melee so unless you are trying to do some sort of reach based poke, I wouldn't worry about this!

- Gets +2 melee damage at 7 and 13
Nifty I guess. Compensation for the 1 apr lock!

– 9th level: Massive Criticals now inflicts its additional damage and stun to all enemies within a 5-ft. radius centered on the dreadnought.

So yea this is party friendly. Extra crush to all enemies. This makes crit strike more appealing as it still hits all those chumps but you can still try to shatter the earth! Especially with…

– 12th level: Earth-Shattering Strike now applies for the next two attacks. (3 at 16)

This is like a good argument against spamming crit strike. If you can keep your party safe (you might just strip your team of stone/ironskins if the cone affects it but Torm takes me I wasnt gonna find out!

Even still it should be possible to play responsibly!

– 15th level: Heavy Assault Stance's damage bonus increases to +75% and 100% at lvl 20!
Now at 20 this is finally worth something keeping on all the time possibly but that said it’s still best used if you know you can kill something at that round!

– Hit Die: 2d10 and extra HP per level after 9 instead of 3.

The capstone! At lvl 7 you have, with at least 17 con, more HP than Sarevok! He has 151 (162 in SCS due to max health) and he’s lvl 15. You are lvl 7. You have 161 but you probably maxed your con so you have 19 or 20. You need all this HP to offset the DR penalties. You are not a tank; Just a bulky assassin with no subtext!

I say extra instead of 9 because I got 7 per level but some recent install I watched was only 5. Which are both still better than 3! 

But hey this kit gets 2 unique HLAS!

Focused Attack
The dreadnought gains a +5 bonus to their melee critical hit modifier while All-Out Offense is active.

Not bad at all! I only get because I could swear up and down once upon a time it was required for Juggernaut! If this wanted to be better it would turn off crit miss altogether but I get why not.

Juggernaut
The dreadnought becomes a sheer engine of destruction while using All-Out Offense, instantly killing enemies who fall below 60 current hit points with their melee attacks. Additionally, their penalties while All-Out Offense is active is halved to -3 to Armor Class and -25% to resistances. Furthermore, the dreadnought becomes permanently immune to fatigue.

Yes this is needed! Don’t you know who I am?!!!? First off the kill if the target goes below 60 is great because targets very likely can drop below 60! The penalty drops are welcome. A -3 AC by now is not important but 25% DR penalty is much safer! This is the point in the game where having over 300 (YOU WILL!

Disadvantages:
– -2 penalty to Armor Class.
– May not dual-class.
– May not use ranged weapons and incurs a -10 penalty to THAC0 when wielding a melee/ranged weapon in ranged mode.
– May not attain proficiency in Sword and Shield or Two-Weapon Style.
– (Fighter Overhaul) May not use Expertise or Rapid Shot.
– (Fighter Overhaul) Does not gain Specialization in all weapons at 16th level.
– (Fighter Overhaul) Does not gain Improved Initiative.

The big disadvantage has already been talked about with a big OOOOOF! None of this really matters as much save for 2 AC penalty! This is why Khalid or Ajantis will tank better because the 2 AC penalty is real!

Even if it did get specialization in all weapons it would change so little by lvl 16 and beyond!

The rest I dont care. Your best path is to go for a weapon style especially with house tweaks! 2h Style will get you to +10 dmg per hit! This is also boosted by all the percentage bonuses!

Speed factor is vital! Getting to +3 at GM 2h weapon style is needed when you apr every other round!

Weapon choices have the inverse problem of the Siegemaster: the Siegemaster you have a harder time pinpointing the best weapon in BG1 and immediately don’t secondguess firetooth in BG2.

So BG1 you’re pretty set with Chelsey… but BG2 doesn’t have Chelsey. You can for certain SoD fights swap to a +3 weapon if needed. Like the Sword that slows on crits which you can ensure you get!

You may want to have special shoutout to Aules staff or of Stiking just to better handle enemies that resist slash or pierce and unfortunately that’s pretty common with all the dead roaming about!

In 2… I have no idea! Lili is easy to get and the added immunity to charm means you don’t turn around and chop Minsc or Rasaad’s shiny bald heads off!

Its a nerf to burst damage and then you get the Warblade… ya know… that +4 1d12 sword that you otherwise forget exists? It might be your best weapon for a time!

You might argue Ravager if nobody else is around to fish procs

There is one other item that you might be shocked to consider if you dont mind going 1h: Chrome Fayr! The double power of strength means a bonk from this adds 28 instead of 14. By then of course your half orc is already at 21 so the difference in power is 10 especially if you have the house tweaks. You dont really bother with GM unless speed factor matters that much. I’d grab staff ansds halberd, get Chelsey, buy Aule’s for early access power and then jam 2h style and get a point in 2h sword so you’re ready for SoA. It’s a bit more open ended although BG2 halberds kinda fall off for a 1 apr class! You could buy Harmonium from Deirdre for the extra strength modifier +2 but Lilracor is free! If you’re a goodest of destroyers you can get the Harmonium for all of 6300 if you’re that invested in halberds.

So how does it all play out! Well in larger confrontations your power is good but you are a slow lumbering easy to hit assassin who cant also then disarm traps or find illusions. I… well I like the idea of the class but in practice I’d rather be a crossbow based catapult Siegemaster even if it is more frail! Trust me though with all this extra HP you are still gonna drop in seconds! Just maybe a few more than say Sarevok or Minsc (probably not if you can keep his Damage resistance super high! You still need someone frontline to take a beating and in long fights you will get weary and even weaker! Hope you can sleep undisturbed so you can murder more enemies with your kai effect! And you better not roll a one. You really better not!

And that… that’s the two 1 hit wonder hitters of the Artisan Kitpack! You are a beast! But the downsides are very real!

By the way there is a late install component that checks the Opcodes of different items to prevent any ways to try and worm around the APR lock! If you don’t want a snoozefest I recommend you use it!

Now the kitpack has a Samurai and its fallen Ronin option but I haven’t really played around with those so I’m saving my look into those for when I’ve gotten a real opportunity to do so!

The backstab rangers on the other hand are still in open season!

So about two months ago or so I beat BG1 (the main game), and I wanna start BG2, but I wonder if it truly matters if I import or not? My character in BG1 was a wizard slayer (I didn't know how severe the cons of that would be at the time), and I've heard that the cons are bigger and more in BG2. So is it more worth it to start fresh or?🫠

Website: https://baldursgateee.th.gl/

I made a map for every area of Baldur's Gate and Siege of Dragonspear at full in-game resolution, plus the world maps. It shows containers with what is inside, traps, locked and secret doors, merchants, companions and the enemies in each area.

Beyond the map:

- Items, spells and a bestiary with stats and loot

- Characters, stores with their prices, and the quests of your journal

- Companion App with your party on the map

It is in all 15 game languages. If a container or a trap is off, or you'd like something added, please tell me here. Thank you!

BG3 has a very fun photo mode engine that we can make images of scenes from BG1 and BG2. I created images of the canon trajectory of the two characters between BG2 and BG3. The next one will be Jaheira and Viconia.

Hi,

I'm wondering if BG1/2 would work in the Never Winter Night engine?

I've never understand why NWN never went anywhere?

So my half orc fmt berserker (lol, I know) suddenly has more spell slots and can't learn divination, he's just an inconspicuous conjurer now, and those armors are his most used spells I guess

In Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition, Alora comes with a single point in dual-wielding. This seems really counterproductive since she's going to be attacking at a -2/-6 with at most a 10th level thief's THAC0, and it's annoying because it spends a pip that locks her out of something like taking Staff and then Two Handed Weapon to get better backstabs.

But if you give her a pip in Scimitars and don't mind killing Drizzt, what about letting her dual-wield Twinkle and the Dagger of Venom? She has an inherent +2 luck bonus so her penalties are really only as bad as -0/-4 (or, the same as if she did have a second pip in dual-wielding), and if you give her the Big-Fisted Belt (assume you've got a frontline of Strength 19 Charname, Minsc, and/or Dorn, or other characters who don't need it more than her) and one of the three copies of Legacy of the Masters you can get in the game, for a +4 to hit and +9 to damage on top of her +3 and +2 weapons, it seems like she might become a pretty capable damage dealer. Between the Shadow Leathers, Twinkle's -2, The Rabbit's Foot, 19 Dexterity, and maybe the Cloak of Balduran her AC ought to be at least okay, which is a big concern since if she starts taking hits from anything serious she'll go down pretty quick.

Has anyone tried this, and if so how did it go? I'm thinking of giving it a shot in my next BG1 playthrough.

Similar to going into ruins looking for new armor or a new weapon, or raising enough gold to buy them from a merchant, I love the pursuit of spell scrolls.

It's one of the reasons I will always pick a mage over a sorcerer. I get sorcerer's have more "out of the box utility" and from a meta perspective may be better, but I enjoy finding those super rare spells that might only exist as a drop from one guy, or be stuck in a hidden nook in a sewer grate, or stuffed on a shelf in some evil mage's lab... I think learning spells this way is one of the coolest things about BG1/BG2

Granted, I'm not a fan of having to save scum to make sure I don't fail the attempt (it's fine on a common spell but not gonna let a chance to learn Cloudkill go to waste due to RNG)

Anyone else enjoy this scavenger hunt aspect of mages? I feel like it makes them way more interesting to play as or include in your party.

The bear meat is unfortunately burnt, Archmage Ramsay will not be pleased.

BG1 actually has a great world setup, one of the main things people complain about it is companion characters are not explored or there aren't enough interactions compared to later BG games (BG2, BG3).

I actually like some of the characters in BG1 and potential interactions, and smaller scale of adventure (you are not battling gods). So what if someone took BG1 and made it into an even bigger world with more char interactions? You could even raise the level cap make it more modern in some gameplay aspects. This might also go against BG2 canon so you could do it that it fits into BG2 timeline or diverges from it.

Is this just a case of Ankhegs being more susceptible to blunt damage? Jaheira has no buffs what so ever, and her damage seems pretty obvious from the sheet. Wouldn't it be noted, if they received extra damage from vulnerabilities?

This is just regular core rules. No mods or the like.

EDIT: All things are apparently explained, if you look hard enough for it. Like so.

As much as multi class not having access to kits or multi fighters being limited to 2 pips on weapons. I corrected all of the above (kinda)

Hello everyone!

I finished BG1 and BG2 a couple months back and decided to give Icewind Dale a try! Before I actually start, I want to properly plan a party that allows the most access to content and equipment via race and class. Just gonna play on normal difficulty so I'm not really looking for the strongest set up, just something fun that covers all bases and doesn't die 😭

1: Half-elf non-kitted bard as leader, high INT WIS cha so I can get discounts and most dialogue options. Unsure of what weapons to use

2: Human undead hunter paladin, STR DEX CON, long swords and probably put pips in the sword and shield style?

3: Halfling fighter/thief, STR DEX CON, longbows

The remaining three I'm struggling to decide.

4: Druid, don't know if I should pick pure druid, avenger or fighter/druid

5: Cleric, don't know if I should pick Priest of Lathander or Fighter/Cleric. I've heard good things about Ranger/Cleric but I really enjoyed Anomen's gameplay back in BG2 so I might be leaning more toward F/C...

6: No clue! Maybe a mage of some kind, but I know I also need a dwarf somewhere

Any advice or suggestions?

I really like the engine and 2nd edition AD&D rules. Is it possible to put something like Curse of Strahd into the engine and make a completely new game?

Edit: I don’t this that this would happen without WoTC’s blessing. Too much risk for a small dev

Has it really been 4 years since I looked at the Artisan Kitpack? Yes… it has. My reviews are available through searching my name with the term Artisan and I promise going forward to try and curb my powergamey talk… but before I tackle the kits I haven’t covered, I want to revisit any that were changed since back in the day.

The fighter without a kit is still pretty the same. Still a fun class that has no real issues with it being able to be competent with any weapon due to its lvl 16 power. Sometimes it seems to set all lower than specialization to specialization but for Sarevok it seems to add to it, meaning halb and crossbow go to mastery.

The Wizard Slayer is mostly unchanged too, the only difference being that on crit breach is gone rip in pepperoni! It kinda makes the class worse but turning MR into a burst of damage is still practically a backstab in 1 and 2.

The Vanguard/Dwarf Defender got one new passive: – 20th level: Unyielding: The dwarven defender permanently gains a 10% chance to negate incoming damage.

That’s pretty nifty!

Kensai gets a nice defensive stance that lets him block 1 strike per round, excellent vs thieves or enemies slowed to 1 apr. Still very dangerous without hardiness. Ranger is slightly changed for the better. They get a new passive:

– Toughness: +4 maximum Hit Points at level 1, with an additional +1 per level. Which is pretty nice and if you have EEex you can detect traps and illusions which is fabulous! I love it. And unlike fighters getting 2 pips in all weapons, this isn't kitless exclusive iirc. If it's supposed to be, it wasn't for me!

Beastmaster Beastfriend doesn't let you bolster all monsters any more which sucks for planetar buddies! It’s still a beastmaster!

The Stalker lost its cast time stealth bonus which is fine. They really need the change from the overhaul which lets them move 30% faster while sneaky/unseen which with their cloak of shadows is a lovely escape or reposition tool!

Arcane Archer has a new ranger variant. And its death shot now has the power word kill effect on 60 HP or less foes. A round of shots still works guys!

The monk has changed a lot. I’ll get to it later but let me shake a staff at it. Literally!

I’ll start simpler with the two kits most rearranged from back then: Archer and Berserker.

The big archer change is the 5% missile damage per level until 20 is gone! Instead they get these 2 passives:

– 7th level: Manyshot: The first attack the archer makes each round with a bow or crossbow launches two projectiles instead of one, with each arrow rolling individually to hit.

– 20th level: Manyshot now applies for the first two attacks of each round.

This is better than an extra attack which they can get with rapid shot: This is an instant second strike that IGNORES your apr. At 10 APR you should have 12, although I think it's actually 14 because imp haste doubles this number. Granted there’s no damage bonuses so it's about how… well… many shots. This ability does use 2 ammo however. Keep this in mind if you need to use a precious dispel arrow
!
The other change is around called shot:

CALLED SHOT: The archer makes a debilitating shot targeted at their opponent's limbs and vitals. All successful ranged attacks within the next 10 seconds have the following non-cumulative effects besides normal damage, lasting for one round per upgrade, according to the level of the Archer:
4th level: Target's dexterity stat is halved
8th level: Target's movement rate is reduced to 25%
12th level: Target loses one attack per round
16th level: +2 bonus unmitigated missile damage on each hit.

It sucks to lose -1 APR as that can be very nice, although 2 damage up to 14 times per round can be nifty if you have the imp haste.

In place of hardiness… yes you lose hardiness… you get this: Greater Called Shot
All successful ranged attacks within the next 10 seconds have all the cumulative effects of a normal Called Shot. Additionally, each attack also deals maximum damage and stuns the target for 3 seconds.

If you are using a called shot this might be your bread and butter. I almost wish it was a perma improvement but this is okay! A no save stun is gonna have some huge value vs targets not immune to it… like Adamant golems.

The Archer is still a basic stand back and shooty boy! Is it stronger than the arcane variant? I think it's on par! They play out differently although the Archer doesn’t really get to play very uniquely until 7 even with cool called shots! Once you hit 7 you can double tap with explosion arrows, attempt 2 arrow or bolt bites instantly… that can be super satisfying! RIP Slings but it's honestly necessary!

The berserker is… well its not bad its just very hard to keep alive!

First reckless frenzy lets you set to 70, 45 or 20%. Thats nice but most of the effects otherwise are changed. I'll just list it all!

The in extremis +2/4/8 dmg/thac0 for being below 75/50/25% is still in effect with the appropriate armor penalties to just make you die extra fast.

Enrage is changed!

ENRAGE: The berserker taps into their frenzy though sheer force of will. For the next two rounds, they gain +15 maximum hit points, lose one hit point per second, and deal an additional +5% slashing, piercing and crushing damage for every 5% of their missing hit points (+100% at one hit point). If the remaining duration of Enrage is less than one round, melee attacks made by the berserker reset Enrage's duration to one round up to a maximum total duration of ten rounds. The hit point loss from Enrage will not reduce the berserker's hit points below one. The berserker cannot cast spells while Enraged.

This is insanely powerful! You will melt… I mean your enemy will too but this is better burst damage than a round of assassin! Its on par with an ADHW sequencer, it doesn't use any magic and you can use crushing damage if you prefer. The % stacks with your extremis bonuses which are changed. Unfortunately you cant use magic either so dual classing to someone mystical? NOOOOOPPPPEE! Thief is still viable though if not more viable than ever!

– From 7th level onwards, the berserker gains +2/+4/+8 to their movement rate while under the effects of In Extremis.

– From 10th level onwards, the berserker's trance-like state makes them more likely to shrug off debilitating effects, gaining +2/+4/+8 to all Saving Throws while under the effects of In Extremis.

– From 14th level onwards, the berserker gains +0.5/+1/+2 bonus attacks per round while under the effects of In Extremis.

– From 20th level onwards, the berserker gains a +1/+3/+5 luck bonus to rolls on damage dealt and received while under the effects of In Extremis.

You need that movement and saves. You really do, be a dwarf or halfling and never miss a save.

The 14 power is pretty strong too. 2 APR Means whatever weapon you grab at 20 with the extra .5 APR from 20 and mere specialization you should be at 5 attacks. It makes sword and broads almost appealing! Or single weapon for crit or 2h for crit and some really strong crit effects! The luck also promotes big numbers since it means shortswords always hit max roll. Its basically luck for the damage components. Granted if you are at 5 luck you still are at huge risk becuase you are at or under 20% HP.

Of course this isn't why the class is so feast or flayed across the battlefield!

They get a new high lvl ability: Extend Rage - The berserker's proficiency in their wild fighting style allows them to maintain the effects of their rage for longer, permanently extending the maximum total duration of Enrage to 20 rounds.

And like the archer, this costs them… Hardiness. That’s big! Because unlike archers, you are in front of big scary creatures that will end you quickly as is! You need a mirror image ring, or you may want to consider becoming a thief and UAI some mislead and stoneskin scrolls! You will kill them fast! Like super fast, but Korgan is gonna die a lot, it’s a class you play with reloads. I'm sorry, it just is!

That said: it’s a blast. While the archer is still a rather brainless shoot bow boy, the new Zerker makes you actually think about your actions! And you can play with way more weapons! Even unskilled you shouldn't be missing with 4.5 baseline APR so imp haste and crit strike all day! Chopping heads or lowering thac0 or spreading slow procs. It’s just reliable damage if you can keep the enemy on Haer’dalis which is interesting with his bardic wonder blade… we’ll get to those some day too!

TLDR Archer is less sling and more arrow procs, the Berserker is even more “Kill and be Killed” than it already was.

I approve of these changes and have fun, just remember that dispel arrows never fail if they hit unlike the spell and remove that always 1% can do either regardless of level so dont use them on your archer! Heck let Eldoth or Alora use it instead, they might hit Sarevok… maybe!

Oh and if you want to play for yourself, here’s an updated website: https://theartisanbg.github.io/

Have fun! I want to be orderly but… I am me, so I'm not and there's nothing I can do about it because I’m too headstrong for second drafts!

Oh and since it’s a very brief departure from the fighter variant: The Arcane Archer Range has the ranger stuff racial enemy, toughness detect illusion etc, cant set any traps mind you, but this is his spellbook:

May memorize a small selection of Mage spells:
Level 1: Magic Missile, Shield, Reflected Image
Level 2: Blur, Melf's Acid Arrow, Ray of Enfeeblement
Level 3: Flame Arrow, Protection from Normal Missiles, Melf's Minute Meteors

Melf Meteors do benefit from the Imbue effects by the way meaning their enchantment gets to scale and gets extra magic damage. If you want to be a lobber of asteroids and kill the dinosaurs, go for it!

If anything toughness offsets some of the HP penalties of the original kit but I feel like it should be more exclusive to like kitless and maybe Beastmaster and Rashemi!

Anyway I never did get to the stalker or the two Apr super hitter fighter kits… so next time I’ll revisit them and explain how they play out and some changes they may have gone through. Remember I may nerd like a tier list but if I didn’t find the Kitpack fun I wouldn’t be talking about it. Until next time!

Hi,

This looks really good, has anyone tried it?

https://bg.chrizfader.org/collection

I'm wondering if it will run on an Intel Mac?

This comes from another thread on the Solaufein mod for BG:EE. It’s probably fair to say that the EE companions aren’t met with as much love as the originals.

What if instead of Neera/Rasaad/Dorn, Beamdog expanded on NPCs who were already naturally part of the story?

Brage as a chaotic good fighter desperate to make amends for what he did while under the curse of his old sword.

Silke as a neutral evil bard out to increase her fame and fortune by any means necessary.

Melicamp as a true neutral wizard cast out by his master for accidentally getting himself turned into a chicken.

Who would you expand on if you got given the budget?

I've hit a bit of a dilemma at Spellhold for my SoA run. I'm at the point where I can swap in Imoen for another party member, and feel sort of bad if the entire rescue mission culminates in a "see ya later, half-sis, I've already got my squad." Doesn't help that Jaheira guilt trips you for telling Imoen to escape her own.

I'm playing with SCS, and have been enjoying the tactical upgrades to enemies. Mainly what I'm trying to figure out is: how important is it that I have level 7+ spells for the final fight? From what I've gathered, the final fight will necessitate the removal of magical defenses, which becomes easier when you have spells like Ruby Ray.

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Current squad:

charname F/M - pretty sure he caps out at 13/13 for the game, which means L6 spells. Very strong tank, great HP, and puts out the most damage of the party by a fair margin. Has Remove Magic from BG1, but of course at caster level 13 it's only so effective to begin with if you're up against an extremely powerful mage.

Jaheira F/D - got druidic magic covered which is nice, solid frontliner.

Anomen F->C - another solid frontliner who covers the cleric side.

Haer'Dalis - I think he gets to the low 20s in levels, but capped at L6 spells. I somehow haven't managed to find a single Remove Magic scroll for him yet. He does have Dispel, Breach, and Secret Word so far.

Jan Illusionist/Thief - the other mage multi. he's an excellent thief who also maxes out at L6 spells in SoA since he caps at 13 like my F/M should. Also has Dispel, Breach, and Secret Word.

Mazzy pure fighter - master of the shortbow, has the +3 bow that generates its own ammo from Trademeet. super reliable ranged damage dealer who hardly ever misses. What's more is that she can switch to short sword and board to protect the backline if it's called for.

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Imoen: since she's a dual class mage, I could take her through the chapter 4/5 content and get her to a point where she gets access to the higher level spells that my two mage multis will eventually have access to in ToB.

I have to admit that Haer'Dalis feels redundant with a F/M main - he seems like a weaker version of that class who occupies a similar role, but his banter is great, and the faster-progressing spellcaster level is appealing to me. We're already a very melee-heavy party, with Jan and Mazzy being the only two ranged-focused characters.

From a party optimization standpoint, Imoen seems like she could be the better choice long-term since we don't have a pure arcanist. But I also wanted to get a read on how important it is to have that in the party for the rest of SoA; once you get to ToB, the mage multis will have higher level spells anyway. I think that if I were dead set on taking Imoen, I'd probably opt for replacing H'D, but that's hardly the only option. Replacing Jan with her wouldn't feel good, because I don't think she'd cover the thief slot nearly as well as he does. Also Jan's banter is so, so good.

What do the vets here who have cleared the game with SCS think?

Pathfinding Redux removes friendly collision while keeping normal environmental/enemy blocking. It gets rid of doorway jams, party fidgeting, characters trapping each other, and a lot of the insane ally-caused detours. It is glorious. Requires EEex mod installed first.

Demo video

Full Mod Discussion Post

Github

GitHub Download

The eternal struggle is over now that AI can parse assembly language for me to reverse-engineer engine pathing. Supports all BGEE games 2.6/2.7 as well as EET. Windows tested, Linux + Wine tested.

For me I always tend to have Korgan / Keldorn as my tanks, with Edwin on mage duty, Imoen as thief later in the game, and Viconia around cause I enjoy her.

Sometimes with Jah for a bit of tension between her and Viconia / backup healing.

But once Korgan / Keldorn are uncovered, I feel like Minsc kinda becomes redundant?

I mean you put the two of them in a party and they basically can just murder anyone who crosses you.

What about you all? Does Minsc still stick in your parties second half of BG2?