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BG 2: Wizard Stronghold Apprentice Quest question


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#1 -AotrsCommander-

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Posted 08 June 2009 - 09:21 AM

Does anyone know what global variables govern the apprentices item-making in the Wizard Stronghold quest? I'd like to actually complete that quest properly. For once.

Unfortunatly, I just discovered (no thanks to my Prima walkthrough which didn't bother to mention it) that telling them to make the Ring of Protection always results in one of them always dying (I was under the impression from my prima walkthrough it was a random chance). I'd to find out what the global variables are and see if I can salvage myself with Shadowkeeper (heck I've been oppoing in and out of 'Kepper several times already - sometimes to fix actual bugs...) 'Cos if not I'll be quite peeved since I've done several quests since I told them what to start on.

I did consider about putting this in the mod section, but decided against it.

#2 Jarno Mikkola

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Posted 08 June 2009 - 10:21 AM

There is a chance that your apprentices will fail the creation of your magic item, no matter which you choose. If you choose the Ring of Protection, Larz will die during the process... this isn't random.

Link.

Does anyone know what global variables govern the apprentices item-making in the Wizard Stronghold quest? I'd like to actually complete that quest properly. For once.

It's the Global("Apprenti","GLOBAL",x) where the x is the number that it was set, something between 0 and 31. This is in the normal game, and some mods do alter this, so...
If you wish the items, :lol: , you can Console them with as items... list.

Edited by Jarno Mikkola, 08 June 2009 - 10:29 AM.

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#3 -AotrsCommander-

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Posted 08 June 2009 - 01:44 PM

There is a chance that your apprentices will fail the creation of your magic item, no matter which you choose. If you choose the Ring of Protection, Larz will die during the process... this isn't random.



Heh. I think that's the faq that told me it wasn't random. My prima walkthrough, which I stupidly followed to this point, didn't bother to tell me that and just said it was random and that more powerful the item, the higher chance of someone dying. Either they were lazy, running out of space or just plain didn't know...

It's the Global("Apprenti","GLOBAL",x) where the x is the number that it was set, something between 0 and 31. This is in the normal game, and some mods do alter this, so...
If you wish the items, :lol: , you can Console them with as items... list.


More bothered about the XP and seeing the quest completion, actually.

I actually tried fiddling with the appernti setting before posting (not being totally incompetant!) I set it from it's current (3) to 0 and all this seemed to do was make no chance except the game then lost the dialogue from the survivors.

Is the setting for the item itself contained within those variables (i.e. by fiddling with the global variable, change the item they were supposed to be making, i.e. Ring of Protection to [CHARNAME] dagger), or is that something I can't get at through Shadowkeeper at all? (Is there any way to get at that at all?)

Mean time I suppose I might as well try fiddling with the variable again and seeing if that make any difference, ow that I have an actual range...

#4 Jarno Mikkola

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Posted 08 June 2009 - 02:15 PM

Is the setting for the item itself contained within those variables (i.e. by fiddling with the global variable, change the item they were supposed to be making, i.e. Ring of Protection to [CHARNAME] dagger), or is that something I can't get at through Shadowkeeper at all? (Is there any way to get at that at all?)

Well, you have to change the number before the character is killed, and the number should be related to the item that's currently being made, so if you put it to zero, no item is currently in making, and if a character is dead, it also removes possibilities, so you need to get a save that you haven't gotten anyone killed yet, and set the Global to 1 or 4 (don't know which) so you'll get the Wand of Apprenti, with ShadowKeeper or the Console... Next, you should try the "Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting", and then the Ring or nothing... depending what you like.

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#5 Cal Jones

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Posted 08 June 2009 - 02:23 PM

The last "quest" will result with at least one dying - and perhaps all die, depending on what item you choose. The best option is for you to pick nothing (well it's not like BGII is short of nice items is it?) so that they can all graduate. That's the best case scenario.

#6 -AotrsCommander-

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Posted 08 June 2009 - 03:17 PM

Is the setting for the item itself contained within those variables (i.e. by fiddling with the global variable, change the item they were supposed to be making, i.e. Ring of Protection to [CHARNAME] dagger), or is that something I can't get at through Shadowkeeper at all? (Is there any way to get at that at all?)

Well, you have to change the number before the character is killed, and the number should be related to the item that's currently being made, so if you put it to zero, no item is currently in making, and if a character is dead, it also removes possibilities, so you need to get a save that you haven't gotten anyone killed yet, and set the Global to 1 or 4 (don't know which) so you'll get the Wand of Apprenti, with ShadowKeeper or the Console... Next, you should try the "Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting", and then the Ring or nothing... depending what you like.


I tried setting it to 1 (and a few other numbers), but it never seemed to make any difference. My most recent save is outside the sphere (which I haven't been back into since I started them crafting.) I go into the sphere, the apprentice explodes, and if the global variable is anything but 3, the remaining apprentices dialogue appears to break, i.e. it comes up and says there's dialouge missing. (If I just leave it alone it all works as normal except I'm short one apprentice...) I'm guessing there must be more to it than just that one global or I'm missing something cretinously obvious somewhere.

#7 phordicus

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Posted 09 June 2009 - 12:12 AM

i changed this, too, a while back. the specifics escape me right now but it wasn't too difficult.

NI will let you alter the dialog file (it's one of the apprentice's) that sets these variables. then you can comment out or remove the "if x => y then kill so-and-so" parts of the scripts.

once youve done that, reset the entire quest's variables, set the dead apprentice's sprite to not dead, cluaconsole the dead apprentice back, then cluaconsole in the CW and start fresh.

Edited by phordicus, 09 June 2009 - 12:13 AM.

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#8 -AotrsCommander-

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Posted 09 June 2009 - 12:50 AM

i changed this, too, a while back. the specifics escape me right now but it wasn't too difficult.

NI will let you alter the dialog file (it's one of the apprentice's) that sets these variables. then you can comment out or remove the "if x => y then kill so-and-so" parts of the scripts.

once youve done that, reset the entire quest's variables, set the dead apprentice's sprite to not dead, cluaconsole the dead apprentice back, then cluaconsole in the CW and start fresh.


Ah, right, I get most of that with the exception of what NI and CW are. The former I assume is some other modding program. Cluaconsoling I think I can manage, though you've lost me on what CW is (I'm probably just being dense this morning though...)

#9 -AotrsCommander-

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Posted 14 June 2009 - 06:34 AM

i changed this, too, a while back. the specifics escape me right now but it wasn't too difficult.

NI will let you alter the dialog file (it's one of the apprentice's) that sets these variables. then you can comment out or remove the "if x => y then kill so-and-so" parts of the scripts.

once youve done that, reset the entire quest's variables, set the dead apprentice's sprite to not dead, cluaconsole the dead apprentice back, then cluaconsole in the CW and start fresh.


Okay, I managed to get hold of NearInfinity.

However, I can't find the dialogue files in question. They are not obviously named either after the appentices (i.e Lars, Nara or Morul) nor something like Appentice (or any derivative); nor is it obvious which Sprite is Dead variable is the right one (XApprentice clearly isn't it). One guesses, then, those relevant files are called something not so obvious? What might that be? I'd really rather not go through every single dialogue file in the entire of BG2/ToB if I can avoid it (hell, it nearly be quicker to re-do the hours from an earlier save!)

Also, I follow all of the instuctions above (not being able to find the right files to modify nothwithstanding) except the last bit i.e. "cluaconsole in the CW". What, if a complete noob may is is the (a?) CW?

#10 -AotrsCommander-

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Posted 15 June 2009 - 04:17 AM

Solved it. I had one last look with NearInfinity at my (post bog-up) save file and by chance noticed the Sprite-is-dead for MGAPPR01. Having a quick check in the DLG files, I then located the right files (MGAPPR01 to 03). A skim through them located me the global variable KILLLARZ. So, all I needed to do in the end was go to the save I wisely made before entering the planar sphere and Larz exploded. I then set KILLLARZ to 0 and APPRENTI to 2 (a toss up between 2 which is apparently success and 5 which is apparently fail). And it worked. I got the dagger and they didn't die.

So, I was on the right track the first time, setting the Apprenti global variable. What I'd missed was the KILLLARZ variable, so, obviously, with Larz dead, the dialogue files were thrown out of whack.

(It also means I can go back and know what to do if I manage to screw it up again. Though I shouldn't do now.)

So, thanks folks, and to phordicus in particular, who at least got me in the right direction engimatic anacronims notwithstanding.

(I apologise for triple-posting, but I can't edit my prior posts.)

#11 phordicus

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Posted 15 June 2009 - 04:17 PM

sorry about the acronyms. modding forces its own jargon!
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