Rogue Rebalancing
A Spellhold Studios mod
Author: aVENGER | Forum | Mod homepage | Version: 4.80
Introduction | Compatibility notes | Installation | Components | FAQ | Version history | Credits | Legal Notice | Contact info

Introduction

The Rogue Rebalancing mod is a gameplay modification for Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal which strives to bring the Rogues (Bards and Thieves) of BG2 closer to their Pen and Paper AD&D counterparts. The mod is divided into multiple components all of which can be installed separately and are completely independent of each other. In so far, Rogue Rebalancing can restore proper dual-wielding skills to Bards and Thieves, revise the Bard and Thief kits and their respective high level ability tables, restore the proper PnP spell progression table for Bards, add more items useful for Rogues to the game, slightly revise the thievery aspect of the game, enhance the Shadow Thief quests related to Bodhi's tasks in Chapter 2 and introduce a new challenging encounter with a group of Cyric's followers in Chapter 6. Detailed documentation for each of the mod's components can be found in their respective readme files.

Note: In order to experience all of the new content introduced by this mod it is recommended to start a new game after installing it.
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Compatibility notes

The Rogue Rebalancing mod should be compatible with most other WeiDU mods. Unless otherwise instructed, always install Rogue Rebalancing after any other mods in order to ensure maximum compatibility. Specific compatibility issues for each component are listed in their respective readme files.

Note: If you intend to install Rogue Rebalancing alongside other mods please consult the Compatibility Guide beforehand. Furthermore, since aTweaks and Rogue Rebalancing share certain resources, it's very important to always install aTweaks last. To emphasize the point, never install any component of Rogue Rebalancing after aTweaks.
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Installation

This mod is packaged and installed with WeiDU.

Windows

The primary Windows distribution of Rogue Rebalancing comes as a self-extracting WinRAR archive. To start the installation procedure, simply double click on the self-extracting archive and point the installer to your Baldur's Gate 2 folder (default path C:\Program Files\Black Isle\BGII - SoA\). In case you are installing this mod for a BG1Tutu or a BGT game point the installer to your BG1Tutu/BGT folder instead. Before starting the installation procedure make sure that neither Baldur's Gate 2 nor any third-party editors such as Shadow Keeper and Infinity Explorer are currently running. After installing the mod you can re-run "setup-rr.exe" in your BG2 folder to reinstall, uninstall or otherwise change its components.

Other systems (Linux, Mac)

The primary Rogue Rebalancing distribution for non-Windows systems is a standard, platform-independent .zip archive. To use it you also need to download a copy of WeiDU. Place the WeiDU and WeInstall binaries on your path. If you don't already have one it is recommended you create a directory in your home directory, add that directory to your path and place your binaries there. If you are on Linux, or another case-sensitive environment, you also need the tolower binary.

Extract the Rogue Rebalancing archive to your game-installation directory. Open a terminal in your installation directory. Run tolower if you need to. Issue the command WeInstall rr and follow the instructions.

Note: This mod requires that Baldur's Gate 2 and its Throne of Bhaal expansion as well as the latest official patch (version 26498) are installed on your system. The components "Simple Thief Script" and "Simple Bard Script" are excepted and can also be installed on Icewind Dale and Icewind Dale II.
You are strongly recommended to also download and install the G3 BG2 Fixpack before proceeding with the installation of this mod.
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Components

Proper dual-wielding implementation for Thieves and Bards

This component will allow all rogues (Bards, Thieves and their respective Kits and Multi-Classes) to assign up to three points into "Two Weapon Fighting Style", as per PnP rules.
More information

Thief kit revisions

This component will modify all Thief kits and make them match their PnP counterparts more closely. In summary, Assassins can no longer be good aligned and receive an innate bonus to saving throws vs. poison, a faster backstab progression as well as a new Death Attack ability at higher levels, the Bounty Hunters' special snares have been replaced with Alchemical Traps and they can now coat their weapons in Paralytic Toxin while Swashbucklers now use the Fighter's THAC0 table when wielding melee weapons.
More information

Thief High Level Ability revisions

This component will revise the Thief High Level Ability table by replacing all magic-based HLAs with new abilities which are more fitting for the Thief class. Furthermore, some of the non-magical Thief HLAs will be modified in order to match their PnP counterparts more closely. In effect, Scribe Scrolls will be replaced with Crippling Strike, Time Trap will be replaced with Acid Trap, Greater Evasion will be replaced with Danger Sense while Evasion and Alchemy now work more akin to their PnP counterparts.
More information

Proper racial adjustments for thieving skills

This component will restore the proper PnP AD&D racial adjustments for thieving skills. For the most part, the adjustment values were correctly implemented in BG2, however, the base 10% chance to Detect Illusions was missing for all races and a few entries for Elves, Half-Elves, Halfling and Half-Orcs were inaccurate.
More information

Bard Kit revisions

This component will modify all Bard kits and make them match their PnP counterparts more closely. In summary, the kits now get additional benefits but also receive new disadvantages which make them more distinctive from each other. Furthermore, the battlesongs of all kits have been modified and their hearing range has been extended slightly above the visual range of the performing Bard.
More information

Bard High Level Ability revisions

This component will remove all Traps and other Thief-specific HLAs from the Bard High Level Ability table and replace them with new abilities which are more fitting for the Bard class. These new HLAs are: Mass Charm, Sound Burst, Enthralling Melody, Lingering Song, Resonating Weapon and Sound Barrier. Furthermore, the Magic Flute, Scribe Scrolls and Alchemy HLAs will be revised and each Bard kit will get a unique version of the Enhanced Battlesong HLA.
More information

Proper spell progression for Bards

This component will restore the proper PnP AD&D spell progression to Bards, effectively granting them the ability to cast 7th and 8th level spells once they reach the appropriate experience levels.
More information

Additional equipment for Thieves and Bards

This component adds more magic items suitable for Thieves and Bards (bucklers, bardic instruments, hoods, cowls, ioun stones...etc.) to the game and modifies the Short Sword of Backstabbing in order to bring it closer to its PnP counterpart. Most of the new equipment can be purchased from Marina, the Black Market merchant, who resides on the main floor of the Shadow Thief guildhall in Athkatla's Dock District. Besides adding new equipment, this component also restores several lost items from BG1 (i.e. the Dagger of Venom and Kiel's Buckler). In return, a few of the new items are also available in the BG1 portion of the game for BG1Tutu and BGT players. Finally, a small quest involving Arledrian (the fence who resides on the top floor of Gaelan Bayle's house) will be added as well.
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Upgradeable equipment

Baldur's Gate 2 allows Cromwell (the dwarven blacksmith who lives in the Docks District of Atkhatla) and Cespenar (the imp servant who resides in the Pocket Plane) to upgrade and improve certain magical items by fusing them with additional ingredients. This component expands upon that feature and allows these characters to upgrade some of the items which are added or modified by various components of the Rogue Rebalancing mod.
More information

Revised thievery

This component will slightly revise the thievery aspect of the game. Firstly, it will allow all merchants whose dialogue implies that their wares are stolen to buy fenced goods. Secondly, it will prevent PC thieves from stealing from any merchants who can buy fenced goods in order to close the "infinite money" exploit. Thirdly, this component will prevent the effects of thievery potions from stacking (in case of multiple uses) and can optionally replace them with their corresponding PnP counterparts. Lastly, this component will standardize the reactions of neutral characters who have witnessed a theft and prevent animals and incapacitated characters from calling the guards.
Note: On platforms that support it, this component uses TobEx to enable otherwise non-functional engine features.
More information

Chosen of Cyric encounter

This component will add a challenging encounter with a hostile party belonging to the Chosen of Cyric (a fanatical order of Cyric's most devoted followers) to the game. The encounter takes place in Chapter 6, after the final confrontation with Bodhi. It can be resolved through diplomacy, insight, intimidation or combat depending on your preference and your character's abilities. The combat portion of the encounter is balanced for a six-person party with an experience range of 2,950,000 to 4,000,000 XP. Defeating the Chosen of Cyric in direct combat yields several magic items which are most suitable for Thieves and Bards.
More information

Shadow Thief improvements

This component enhances the AI and the combat prowess of all Shadow Thief opponents which the party faces after siding with Bodhi at the end of Chapter 2. At the same time, it introduces a special stealth path which allows the player to avoid all combat encounters with the Shadow Thieves save for the final battle with Aran Linvail and his personal guards. Furthermore, it allows single-classed Thief protagonists to side with Bodhi in Chapter 2. Finally, this component also improves the AI of the Shadow Thief allies which come to the party's aid in Chapter 6 in case the player sides with Aran Linvail and requests his assistance.
More information

BG2-style icons for RR content

This component will replace the NWN/IWD style icons which Rogue Rebalancing assigns to certain items and special abilities with an alternative set of icons created by Daulmakan. The icons provided by this component match the style that was used in the original game.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need the Throne of Bhaal expansion and the latest official patch in order to play this mod?
A: Yes, the Throne of Bhaal expansion as well as the latest official patch (version 26498) are both required in order to play this mod.

Q: Do I need one of the unofficial fixpacks in order to play this mod?
A: It is strongly recommended to download and install the G3 BG2 Fixpack before installing this mod.

Q: Can I use the Baldurdash fixpack instead?
A: Possibly, but since Baldurdash doesn't fix some of the recently discovered bugs, certain issues may arise in that combination.

Q: I've found a bug in Rogue Rebalancing. What should I do?
A: Visit the Bug Report thread on the Rogue Rebalancing forum and follow the instructions provided there.

Q: I've found a compatibility issue between Rogue Rebalancing and another mod. What should I do?
A: Visit the Compatibility thread on the Rogue Rebalancing forum and follow the instructions provided there.

Q: I'd like to translate Rogue Rebalancing into a different language. How should I do that?
A: Visit the Translation thread on the Rogue Rebalancing forum and follow the instructions provided there.

Q: What are the exact benefits of a Luck bonus?
A: For every point of Luck, the character receives a +1 bonus to the minimum damage caused by his weapons (up to the normal maximum damage of the weapons) and a +1 bonus to hit. Furthermore, each point of Luck also reduces the damage from offensive spells by 1 dice roll (i.e. a character with 1 Luck would receive 10d5 damage from a Fireball instead of 10d6). Multiple Luck bonuses are cumulative and stack with each other. These bonuses are not visible on the character record screen but they do show up in the combat log.

Q: I have a question about Rogue Rebalancing which is not covered by this FAQ. What should I do?
A: Visit the Rogue Rebalancing forum and post your question there.

Note: You don't need to register on the Spellhold Studios forums in order to post there.
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Version History

v4.80 - January 31, 2015
  • Update French translation.
  • Update Spanish translation.
  • Update Italian translation.
  • Compatibility with IWD: EE.
  • Fix many string errors on BG: EE and IWD: EE.
  • Fix journal issues on BGII: EE.
  • Add descriptions for kit abilities on EE-type games.
  • You can no longer steal from merchants on EE-type games, on account of an engine bug.
  • Revised Pickpocketing works on BG: EE and BGII: EE.
v4.71 - May 8, 2014
  • Update Italian translation.
  • Update Russian translation.
  • DS' CDDETECT.SPL is created from a spell.
v4.70 - April 13, 2014
  • Update DS to a more recent version.
  • The component "Proper dual-wielding implementation for Thieves and Bards" affects EE's Shadowdancer and mod-added Rogue kits.
  • Failing to steal and talking your way out of it does not mess up NumTimesTalkedTo() triggers, up to NumTimesTalkedTo(10). Thanks to Ardanis for suggesting a solution.
  • Fix bad string references on BG:EE for harps, ioun stones and hoods.
  • The guard in the Chosen of Cyric cutscene always dies.
v4.66 - November 18, 2013
  • Jesters have their correct kit description.
v4.65 - November 17, 2013
  • Update to WeiDU 236.
v4.64 - November 15, 2013
  • Update the fixes to kit.ids
  • Move the main readme to rr/doc/
  • The English, French, German, Italian and Spanish item descriptions do not have redundant usability information on BG: EE and BGII: EE.
  • Updates to make the mod compatible with the latest known changes to BG: EE and BGII: EE.
v4.63 - August 26, 2013
  • Make changes to DS to get around a compatibility issue with SCS.
v4.62 - June 7, 2013
  • New projectiles and secondary types no longer use the file rr#eval.2da as an intermediary.
  • Fix a bug with effects being added in the wrong order.
v4.61 - April 5, 2013
  • Add a Polish translation by Clan Children of Bhaal - BoRo & Kinski.
v4.60 - March 3, 2013
  • Blades properly gain access to the Whirlwind HLA when Refinements is also installed.
  • Revised TRA setup.
  • The Revised Thievery component has been made partially compatible with platforms for which ToBEx is not available.
  • Compatibility with BGEE for all relevant components.
  • Updated the French translation.
v4.51 - September 17, 2012
  • Updated the Russian, French and Spanish translations.
  • Setting the global variable fl#RRNoMislead to 1 keeps Aran and Zaeron from using the Mislead spell. See the respective readmes of the Shadow Thief Improvements and Chosen of Cyric components for more information.
v4.50 - July 16, 2012
  • Assassins now start with a backstab multiplier of x3 at level 1. Their maximum backstab multiplier is still x7 but they now reach it earlier (at level 17)
  • Added the "BG2-style icons for RR content" component (courtesy of Daulmakan)
  • The Abishai Hide is now properly classified as Hide Armor and can be worn by Avenger druids
  • The description of Kiel's Buckler will no longer be altered if Item Revisions is detected
  • Venduris and Zaeron will no longer waste their attacks on Mordenkainen's Swords and other targets immune to physical damage
  • The exact benefits of the Luck bonus (provided by certain items) are now explained in the FAQ section of the main Readme
v4.48 - March 25, 2012
  • The "Proper dual-wielding implementation for Thieves and Bards" and "Proper racial adjustments for thieving skills" components can now be installed on SoA-only games
  • The Boots of the Fox are now usable by Wizard Slayers
  • One of the dialogue paths related to healing Arledrian after the battle in the crypts was erroneously granting the party 2 reputation points instead of just one
  • Most components should now install properly on IWD-in-BG2
  • Rogue Rebalancing now uses ENGINE_IS to determine the type of your installation (i.e. BG2-SoA, ToB, BGT... etc.)
  • Upgraded to TobEx Beta 0023
  • The Scribe Scrolls ability now takes into account Dimension Door scrolls added by Tutu, BGT, D0 Tweaks, Spell Revisions and aTweaks
  • Unified the change-log and moved it to the main readme
Previous versions
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Credits

Mod authors:

  • aVENGER

The creators of the Baldur's Gate series:


Tools Used in the creation of this mod:


Special thanks:


Translation team:


Beta testers:

  • Longinus, T.G. Maestro, Caedwyr, Daulmakan, Toxeus, SirLancelot, Shaitan and cmorgan
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Legal Notice:

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Contact Info:

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