KOTS Challenge!

Discussion in 'General Modification' started by anatoliy, May 24, 2021.

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  1. anatoliy

    anatoliy Established Member

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    Hi

    While waiting on my wife 2.5D isometric design of the Cormyr adventure I decided to try and port KoTC to ToEE engine.

    kots_challange1.jpg

    As you may know, Knights of The Chalice has very difficult first battle at the entrance of home castle. So I decided to repeat that in ToEE.

    Here is working version of this encounter: Release ZMOD KOTS v0_1

    I strongly recommend using Point Buy 32 for this epic first level battle. And I challenge you guys to win it with 4 PC!

    @Shiningted, @Sitra Achara, @_doug_ , @FDR4PREZ, @Sagenlicht, @dolio and anyone interested!

    And btw, when I use Maximized Window with 1152x648 Grease will not hit under targeted cursor. Setting back from Maximized window to Normal will do the trick.

    Update 1:
    Encounter holds 4 Orcs, Orc Cleric, Orc Wizard, Orc Leader and 5 Gnolls. All stats are random(8-14) plus racial bonuses, except for the Leader which has Elite Array. You can use Inspect context menu option to see stats of a NPC.
    8 Guards will help you. But you and your allies are surprised at the beginning.
    All HP is random dice rolled, not average.
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2021
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  2. dolio

    dolio Established Member Supporter

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    Oh, nice!

    I really enjoyed Knights of the Chalice. As I recall, it really had much more interesting/challenging encounters than what you tend to get in ToEE. Should be fun to see them with amped-up graphics and the lack of a strict grid.
     
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  3. Pygmy

    Pygmy Established Member Supporter

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    In pen and paper ToEE the outer walls of the Moathouse had arrow-slits that made everything much more exciting
     
  4. Endarire

    Endarire Ronald Rynnwrathi

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    @anatoliy
    Knights of the Chalice seems like a wonderful game to port to T+!
     
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  5. FDR4PREZ

    FDR4PREZ Established Member

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    A nice battle, thanks.

    Can you change the AI for the wizard and the cleric so they don't run up immediately after they cast their spell(s)?

    Maybe give them a ranged weapon instead of a melee weapon, so they have no reason to run to the front line of the battle.
     
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  6. Sitra Achara

    Sitra Achara Senior Member

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    Your wife is helping out with modding? Very nice!:D

    Are you using the dev build or official release?
     
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  7. anatoliy

    anatoliy Established Member

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    Well she is trying)) As am I. There are obstacles in isometric design. Most important - 45 grad vs ToEE isometry. I will post about this in other topic.

    Both releases has problems, just checked. I will post video later, with exact nature of the problem. It seems that sector data plays role.
     
  8. anatoliy

    anatoliy Established Member

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    Few things to take into consideration.

    Orc Cleric has only two spells: Bless and Bane. Bless is initial spell. But Bane will be called only on round 3. This is due to the fact, that Bane best works near epicenter of a battle, it has range.

    Orc Wizard also has two spells: Mage Armor and Grease. Notably, in KOTC OC has Entangle (homebrew) and Darkness. I even thought replace Wizard with Druid, will see. And yes, Grease will take place in 3rd round as well, on low ac target.

    Both Orc Wizard and Cleric have their stats random (8 - 14) and primary minimum 12 (Wiz - Int, Clr - Wiz). Essentially they would have similar attack, HP, AC and damage as ordinary Orc. So granting them would change nothing. They will not add anything to the table after first two spells.

    You can play with spell list as well, let me know if you are interested, I will describe in detail how to change AI in ZMOD games.

    Your notion inspired me too. I'm thinking of granting Orc Wizard 3 Acid Splash. I laso can play with Darkness, which will look like mist (do not know how to make it right) and orcs will have Darkvision.

    Although I do not know why, it is quite difficult as it is now))
     
  9. Shiningted

    Shiningted I want my goat back Administrator

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    Awesome challenge Anatoliy!

    Have to say I did it first time, 4 boring PCs and 32 point buy. The guards ran into the fray and did the bulk of the fighting while my PCs were unable to get a look-in until the end. Lots of crits on both sides, when my fighter was finally able to get in there he was immediately flattened with a 12-point thump but revived later. Grease was cast sorta next to my cleric (who just 5' stepped away) rather than under the feet of the party.

    EDIT: Btw, if you want to have the Wizard be a continual threat, just give him a few shots of Daze. Cast on nearest target (probably a guard or fighter or barbarian, so low Will) will have an impact. It also lets you add a bit of strategy in countering with missile fire.
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2021
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  10. anatoliy

    anatoliy Established Member

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    WOW!

    From like 15 replays I only managed to win once. And the trick was in dice rolls for sure :)

    Can you describe your party maybe?
    1. Go to https://github.com/anatoliy-savchak/toee.zmod.kots/tree/main/zmod_kots_core/scr/tpModifiers, save inspect.py as "Temple of Elemental Evil\modules\zmod_kots_core\scr\tpModifiers\inspect.py (make dirs if needed).
    2. Go to the Keep (initial map - Shop Map does not have inspect yet)
    3. Click on Context Menu / Skills / Inspect and pick a PC
    4. Press Close on the dialog, file My Documents \ Inspect.txt will be created. If not then look into %userprofile% folder.
     
  11. Shiningted

    Shiningted I want my goat back Administrator

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    Ugh! Too much work!

    Human Fighter: 18 / 14 / 14 / 8/ 12/ 8, lamellar armour, large shield, default battleaxe, power attack, cleave, cmbat reflexes
    Elven Rogue: 12 / 20 / 12 / 10 / 12 / 8, Chain shirt, default light crossbow and shortsword, point blank shot
    Human Wizard: 10 / 16 / 10 / 18 / 10 / 8, default crossbow, default staff (not used), Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot, Daze, Acid Splash, Ray of Frost, Mage Armour (forgot to cast), Sleep
    Human Cleric: 14 / 10 / 10 / 8 / 18 / 14, chain, large shield and default light mace, power attack, cleave, Sun and Healing domains, Guidance x2, Read Magic (not used!), Magic Weapon (not used), Bless, CLW for Domain spell

    The guards were cut down pretty quickly but a few lucky misses, but then a lot of misses attacking too. And lots of crits both ways as I said.
     
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  12. dolio

    dolio Established Member Supporter

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    Well, I ran through it. I technically won, but two of my guys died in the process. I think think I could have won cleaner, but there was an early critical hit on my fighter that did 23 damage, which was enough to kill him outright.

    Half-orc fighter with a guarisame (he only got a couple attacks in, though).
    Dwarf cleric
    Gnome illusionist
    Halfling beguiler

    I think the beguiler was the reason I was still able to win. 3 sleeps and 5 dazes at level 1 is crazy if you dump it all in one battle.

    Edit: Oh, by the way, I think you've mistakenly given Wizards "Knowledge (Dungeoneering)" as a class skill instead of "Knowledge (Arcana)".
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2021
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  13. Endarire

    Endarire Ronald Rynnwrathi

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    Wizards should have all Knowledge skills as class.
     
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  14. anatoliy

    anatoliy Established Member

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    Nice!

    Perhaps you could retry with clean results?

    Overall KOTC had this battle for several reasons. First as a warning - heavy combat ahead, so plan accordingly. Second - equip your party from the start.

    In this module - Knights of the Sword, I also plan to use this incentive and ability to equip better.

    The most straightforward would be a dude who plays dices and bet 50 gp. Winning more than some sum (3k for example) would give players an achievement.

    Another means would be to rob this joint, especially the barracks. Stealing would be also interesting.
     
  15. anatoliy

    anatoliy Established Member

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    My PC builds.

    In nutshell:
    • Tank, Half-orc fighter X. Initially with Bastard sword and heavy shield, but eventually upgrade to Greataxe.
    • Agile fighter, human fighter X. Initially Longsword and Heavy shield, but eventually Guisarme plus Improved Trip. Could also go two handed weapon, especially from level 12 or so, when Holy property could be added to both weapons.
    • Magic Cleric, human female cleric of Boccob (Magic, Trickery). She will rarely fight. Having ability to use arcane devices (wands and scrolls) she will be second Wizard. Mostly doing Haste, protections and healing. Sometimes Fireball as well.
    • Mage, human female wizard X. Damage dealer and crafter. Shoot from Wand of Scorching Ray in most times.
    Code:
    Curt
    Male fighter 1
    G Medium humanoid (human, orc)
    Init +1; Senses: Listen +1, Spot +1 
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17
    hp 13 (1 HD)
    Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +1
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
    Melee: Bastard Sword +5 (1d10+3)
    Base Atk +1
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    Abilities: Str 19, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 7, Wis 12, Cha 6
    Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Bastard Sword), Power Attack
    Skills: Tumble -3(+2)
    Possessions: Gold Plate Boots, Gold Breastplate, Large Steel Shield
    
    Code:
    Don
    Male fighter 1
    G Medium humanoid (human)
    Init +2; Senses: Listen +0, Spot +2 
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16
    hp 12 (1 HD)
    Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +0
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
    Melee: Longsword +4 (1d8+3)
    Base Atk +1
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    Abilities: Str 17, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 8
    Feats: Cleave, Power Attack, Combat Expertise
    Skills: Balance -5(+2), Spot +2(+2), Tumble -5(+2)
    Possessions: Splint Mail, Large Steel Shield, Gilded Plate Boots
    
    Code:
    Claire
    Female cleric 1 of Boccob (Magic, Trickery)
    G Medium humanoid (human)
    Init +2; Senses: Listen +3, Spot +3 
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14
    hp 10 (1 HD)
    Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +5
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
    Ranged: Light Crossbow +2 (1d8)
    Base Atk +0
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 12
    Feats: Spell Focus (Conjuration), Augment Summoning
    Skills: Bluff +3(+2), Concentration +6(+4), Diplomacy +5(+4), Sense Motive +4(+1)
    , Spellcraft +5(+4)
    Possessions: Chain Shirt, Gilded Plate Boots, Quarrel of Bolts
    
    Code:
    Tiffany
    Female wizard 1
    G Medium humanoid (human)
    Init +2; Senses: Listen +1, Spot +3 
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14
    hp 6 (1 HD)
    Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +3
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
    Ranged: Light Crossbow +2 (1d8)
    Base Atk +0
    ---------------------------------------------------------
    Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 17, Wis 12, Cha 9
    Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
    Skills: Appraise +5(+2), Concentration +6(+4), Search +5(+2), Spellcraft +7(+4)
    , Spot +3(+2), Tumble +4(+2)
    Possessions: Monk Boots, Monk's Outfit, Quarrel of Bolts
    
     
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