Well I tried BOM item pack, in my newest game, and here are my thoughts:

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*Taluntain is cool! Sure he is pink, but cool nevertheless!

*Some items are horribly unbalanced IMHO, that dagger which gives a hefty MR, increases Backstab modifier by 3, whoa that is one bad nasty dagger for an Assasin! Others seem good though.

*Well, here are some bugs: I casted a completely harmless Friends on myself near Taluntain, and somehow this really pissed him off, he turned into a dragon and started killing us! Why? Is he soo mean that he does not allow parlor tricks to pay less GP, or is it a bug?

*Taluntain in his dragon form attacks with human fists, doing 3-4 damage per hit. :p But ofcourse he improved hastes himself and hits often but still... I guess this is a bug.

*That gloves of extra-ordinary Arcane Skills, why can not my Druidic Sorcerer wear them? DSs are counted as Sorcerers for what items they can use. He can use Robe of Vecna, wands, scrolls, then why not those spiffy gloves? Or can they be used only by mages? Isn't it odd that an item sold in Sorcerer's Place, by a sorcerer, can not be used by Sorcerers, or is it a bug? Well, I hope Immy can use them at least.

*Icicles, wow cool throwing daggers that do cold damage, I love cold damage, but there is a bug: They are returning! I threw lots of them here and there but there are still 10 daggers! Wow, I loved this bug! It is my favorite weapon! Plus it gives 4 attacks/round! WhY?

*Can Taluntain in his dragon form ever be beaten? He casts his spells fast, continously, and I guess he force-casts them and repeats a pattern, with TSs, his breath weapon, SI:Necromancy and Heals, is he impossible to kill? I really want to challenge him in the future, when party is much stronger! (No offense intended to dear Taluntain, I just love challenges! :p )

*Is there really something called a pink dragon? And are they that powerful? Or is it a kind of joke?

'I am a PINK dragon, you imbecile!' Now that was hillarious, though I could not laugh when Taluntain toasted Jaheira and Viccy blackly afterwards. They were un-ressurectable! :wail: Powerword: Load!

Anyway, it is a very good item mod I must say, and big thanks to everybody who worked hard for it. Well it felt wonderful to see the names of Magpie, Felinoid, and others, and even Taluntain in my own BG2! Shame that I was lazy and out of time and thus could not contribute with items, :cry: but it is a great mod nevertheless!

Hehe, glad you've enjoyed it. Yes, I know some items still holds bugs, and others need re-balancing, but hey, that's what we have the alpha and beta phases for! To discover the bugs while we're still working on it. Just too bad that we've gotten way to few bug reports in.

Yup, he only does 3-4 dmg. per hit. However, I've had lvl 25 fighters getting torn to pieces when he time stops and attack, so I'm not sure whether I'm going to change that (especially considering his heavy nuking, what should he do then? Attack with 25-100 dmg. per hit? :p ).

*That gloves of extra-ordinary Arcane Skills, why can not my Druidic Sorcerer wear them? DSs are counted as Sorcerers for what items they can use. He can use Robe of Vecna, wands, scrolls, then why not those spiffy gloves? Or can they be used only by mages? Isn't it odd that an item sold in Sorcerer's Place, by a sorcerer, can not be used by Sorcerers, or is it a bug? Well, I hope Immy can use them at least.It may be a bug, depending on how your Druidic sorcerer is trated. I will look into this.

*Icicles, wow cool throwing daggers that do cold damage, I love cold damage, but there is a bug: They are returning! I threw lots of them here and there but there are still 10 daggers! Wow, I loved this bug! It is my favorite weapon! Plus it gives 4 attacks/round! WhY?This is a bug and will be dealt with, thank you :) .

*Can Taluntain in his dragon form ever be beaten? He casts his spells fast, continously, and I guess he force-casts them and repeats a pattern, with TSs, his breath weapon, SI:Necromancy and Heals, is he impossible to kill? I really want to challenge him in the future, when party is much stronger! (No offense intended to dear Taluntain, I just love challenges! [Razz] )How long did you fight him (sorry mag's, if ye' ever reads this, but I really need some light sheded on this)? How many times did he throw the heal?

He is quite possible to kill, but you need a very powerful party. I tried to make him as challenging as they go, and you may discover some time just why Taluntain is so powerful. I've fiddled some with making a minor "guide", not as much a "how do I kill Tal guide", but rather a list of his strengths and weaknesses, so that you can get some hints as to how you should prepare yourself.

Is there really something called a pink dragon? And are they that powerful? Or is it a kind of joke?The pink dragon phenomena is something spawned of a thread here not that long ago. We had much fun, and I thought I just as well continue the fun :p

It all started with this (http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/18/808.html#000000) thread. And ended up with this (http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/8/839.html#000000) (though I didn't use that as reference when creating Tal).

*Well, here are some bugs: I casted a completely harmless Friends on myself near Taluntain, and somehow this really pissed him off, he turned into a dragon and started killing us! Why? Is he soo mean that he does not allow parlor tricks to pay less GP, or is it a bug?I did this so some exploits could be removed. SO tricks as magic resistance couldn't be thrown without Tal getting angry on you, and you can't lay more than one trap (Three spike traps or so would kill him). Traps are also the reason why he heals almost instantly when the fight begins (again, a spike trap will most likely get him to injured). In the beta I've thought about making him only trigger on certain spells.

Anyway, it is a very good item mod I must say, and big thanks to everybody who worked hard for it. Well it felt wonderful to see the names of Magpie, Felinoid, and others, and even Taluntain in my own BG2! Shame that I was lazy and out of time and thus could not contribute with items, [crying] but it is a great mod nevertheless!I speak for all of us when saying that we're very happy you've enjoyed it, and hope others will enjoy it just as much as we did making it, and you did playing it :)

You can still persuade either me or Malovae into making you an item of Silverstar, if you can convince us of the that our mod just isn't whole without it ;) .

Did you like the item descriptions? :grin: :bigeyes:

Oh, and I can rig you up an item, if you like; I learnt to use DLTCEP to try & help oli & Malovae, but only managed to learn it quick enough to make a handful of items for the last release. I can build pretty much anything (within reason) that you'd like, just PM me the details.

@Well, this makes sense Olim, Taluntain thought I was planning to attack him by casting a Friends, and he attacked first! Poor me! :p

Well my fight with Tal was rather short, he started with a Mislead, TS, healed himself, put SI:Necromancy in the TS, casted Improved Haste, released Horrid Wiltings, attacked us, (I CTRL+Red injured just to see his tactics), summoned Efreeti and Fire Elemental, imprisoned my Fighter/Thief, Breathed fire to kill Jaheira and Viconia, then TSed again, healed himself, (even he was not injured), put on SI:Necromancy and repeated his pattern. I was watching totally in awe. :eek:

Did you work in the mods like Tactics/Improved Battles/Ascenison? Your Tal dragon is VERY strong (even with human fists and all 18 stats, except wis, he has 17 wis, WHY?) (Yes I ctrl+Qed him once to take a look at his stuff) and smart, even stronger than that Ritual Yellow Dragon whose name I can never ever spell correctly. Irakoud'Neg or what?

@The Magpie, why yes I LOVED item descriptions, they have cool stories, like Bhaalspawn Abdel, fast Felinoid etc. I really enjoyed them, though they are realy expensive so I need to collect lots of GP, or succumb to thievery (steal&sell to the thieves&steal&ditto) to enjoy them more. :angel:

Can you still make an item for me? Really? Oh well it would make me sooo happy! But problem is, what kind of item should I create? Definitely a spiffy item must it be! A caster and/or holy weapon with some spiffy bonuses for example, maybe connected with Selune, moon, or Silverstars etc. etc. :D If I find a good idea may I PM it to you The Magpie? Can you do it?

When will the new version of it be ready, can someone give me an exact date?

When will the new version of it be ready, can someone give me an exact date?Sadly, no. We're still waiting for the German translation work to be done; unfortunately, everything's packaged so as you pick language upon installation, so we can't upload the new version until it's done. Particularly a nuisance, as the English version (by yours truly ;) ) was done weeks ago. I'm getting as impatient as everyone else is, I think! Maybe if this persists oli might have to think about repackaging the mod so that the various language editions are available separately. It would also help avoid these kinds of problems in the future, but I don't knoe how feasible it is. I can do items, but I'm still a WeiDU virgin.
Did you work in the mods like Tactics/Improved Battles/Ascenison?No; I'm not sure about Malovae, but this is oli's & my first involvement in a mod of any kind. Oli did all the script coding for Tal, I did some play-testing (under strictest secrecy!), but I've mostly been involved in item testing since the early versions, and haven't had much time to test newer Tals. As for his god-like stats, I think that oli may just have copied them from Elminster or Irenicus (actually, Jon was just copied from Elminster...). The type of scripting used was heavily "inspired" by Tactics-type mods, which oli plays but I don't. Hence why I haven't been able to do much against the new Tal; I am entirely unaccustomed to that extreme level of difficulty! Tal is still beatable, but you'll need plenty of HLAs for this version. Early versions I tested (mainly for the purposes of his dialog triggers, really) oli seems to have felt were too easy, and he's cranked the difficulty up several notches! He's an utter bastard with that firebreath, mainly because he seems to auto-target spellcasters with it. Imprisonment is another nasty new trick. You might want to splash out on the "Bane of the Demilich" ring, which oli put in the pack to helpthose foolhardy enough to try and take on Tal.
If I find a good idea may I PM it to you The Magpie? Can you do it?Yup, as long as your item idea doesn't require me to do anything impossible in the game engine! Also, if it's too overpowered or too similar to another item (and we have made several previously unadvertised additions for the new version!) then I may have to tweak it a bit, but we don't ditch much unless it's horrifically unbalanced. Just PM me as soon as you have an idea; consider it your reward for giving us some very useful feedback! :)

^REALLY? OK I will come up with an idea in a few days! I am soo excited now! If only my school could leave me a litttle more time to think! :wail: (PS:I will become a doctor! :shake: )

Hmmm. Actually he should only heal twice (well, basically he *can* heal more times as he will heal if he can't see any of the characters (why you should rely on trying to spread your chars as much as possible), in the beginning (to avoid trap, etc. exploits) and when he reaches 35% og his HP (he will only do this the first time he reaches that number, mind you). So I really must know an almost step-by-step report of his healing behavior in order to see if he behaves as he should.

Did you work in the mods like Tactics/Improved Battles/Ascenison?Do you mean if I helped creating those? No, that I did not. This mod is the very first I've ever made :heh: .


Did you work in the mods like Tactics/Improved Battles/Ascenison? Your Tal dragon is VERY strong (even with human fists and all 18 stats, except wis, he has 17 wis, WHY?) (Yes I ctrl+Qed him once to take a look at his stuff) and smart, even stronger than that Ritual Yellow Dragon whose name I can never ever spell correctly. Irakoud'Neg or what?Hehe, actually I just gave him 17 wis so he didn't have 18 in all stats :p Most of those stats doeasn't mind that much anyways, as everything he does is based on global variables, and most saves, etc. are pre-set despite of his lvl (stats will on give a little boost).

I really aimed for him to be one of the hardest fights you'll encounter in a modded game, and definately THE hardest in unmodded BG2.

Can you still make an item for me? Really? Oh well it would make me sooo happy! But problem is, what kind of item should I create? Definitely a spiffy item must it be! A caster and/or holy weapon with some spiffy bonuses for example, maybe connected with Selune, moon, or Silverstars etc. etc. [Big Grin] If I find a good idea may I PM it to you The Magpie? Can you do it?Even though this answer was aimed at Mag's, I'll reply it. Send away! You of all people deserves to be mentioned in this mod ;)

But don't be quick about it! Torment him as much as possible (you see, Mag's fingers are simply just iching to get to work on a new item :p ).

OK thanks you are all too kind, jsut give me a few days to think for the item OK?

Hmm I remember Tal healed twice, then I had to reload, maybe he heals more, if I was at home I would test it for you but I am away, far away. :wail:

Glad you like it. University is poo and has piled the work on. I dont have tine to play games anymore. :(

Sadly, no. We're still waiting for the German translation work to be done; unfortunately, everything's packaged so as you pick language upon installation, so we can't upload the new version until it's done. Particularly a nuisance, as the English version (by yours truly [Wink] ) was done weeks ago. I'm getting as impatient as everyone else is, I think! Maybe if this persists oli might have to think about repackaging the mod so that the various language editions are available separately. It would also help avoid these kinds of problems in the future, but I don't knoe how feasible it is. I can do items, but I'm still a WeiDU virgin.Actually, I already have re.done the entire setup of the mod to make translation the easiest thing ever.

To tell the truth all German translations are done. I just discovered some bugs (and Sil just gave me more) that needs to be corrected before it goes out.

You might want to splash out on the "Bane of the Demilich" ring, which oli put in the pack to helpthose foolhardy enough to try and take on Tal.Actually, I made "Bane of the Demilich" one night when I really just sat there to fix some minor things, and do some testing. My poor Monk got imprisoned constantly. As he was my protagonist I thought that you simply just had to have something available to you in those situations.

Heh I have Friendly Imprisonment component from a mod, it turns imprisonment into a maze spell that lasts forever. This means it is not considered death, the (N)PC will not leave the party, and it will prevent romance bugs. Furthermore, once the PC is imprisoned, he is not dead, game continues so that an NPC can save the PC by Freedom spell. Ofocurse, if all NPCs are dead or imprisoned as well, game ends.

Anyway, I may yet find more bugs but I could not buy and test all the items so....

They are so expensive! :eek:

Heh I have Friendly Imprisonment component from a mod, it turns imprisonment into a maze spell that lasts forever. This means it is not considered death, the (N)PC will not leave the party, and it will prevent romance bugs. Furthermore, once the PC is imprisoned, he is not dead, game continues so that an NPC can save the PC by Freedom spell. Ofocurse, if all NPCs are dead or imprisoned as well, game ends.Okay, that may actually be an idea (to make a maze spell equivalent to imprisonment in power, but one that will not render the character "dead").

Actually, none of your characters will be permanently imprisoned by Tal. See, as Bion leaves the area when Tal goes hostile, he cannot port you back; so I had to make an invisible creature who can not only port everyone back to either Amkethran (new ToB location) or Waukeens Promenade, but also throws a freedom to release your imrpisoned commrades... I've had him imprison every one but my PC wearing BoDL ( :hahaerr: ), and I would just die if I were to continue from thereon with one character, having to rely on all those NPC's I didn't want, instead of the five I did want to use :p .

My, you are smart, I CTRL+Yed Tal and someone 'invisible' really teleported us back.