[geh4th]

Hi there. I have a few questions and comments regarding Bristlelick. Please forgive me if these have been asked before; I didn't see anything related but I don't necessarily catch all topics and posts when browsing. Nothing here should be spoiler-ish as far as I can tell.

First off, I think a Gnoll NPC is a fascinating concept, and I'm enjoying having Bristlelick in the party. It makes one think outside the box. The banters have been excellent; I commend you for a job well done.

Second, for Bristlelick's weapons, I'm curious about a couple of things. His kit limits his weapon usage such that he can't gain proficiency in slings, yet he has one that he can't even un-equip and suffers the non-proficient penalty to use it. Is this intended behavior?

Third, Bull-Tall's sword is supposed to be a bastard sword based on the description, but it looks more like a short sword judging by the damage output (1d6 base damage.) Is this intended or is it an error?

Disclaimer: I am playing a heavily modded game, so if these weapons & proficiencies actually behave properly and the mods I'm running are messing things up, please just let me know and I'll withdraw the questions. I am fully aware that using numerous mods do cause conflicts, I just don't know if these are examples of that, or actual issues that need to be pointed out.

Last...while I haven't completed BGEE & SoD with Bristlelick (thus I don't know what his remaining storyline might be), I gather that there is no BG2EE version, and I was wondering if you have any plans to make one. I realize he may not fit in Amn or the SoA/ToB storyline thematically, but he's a great NPC and I would like to think that he'd be an excellent and interesting addition to the later parts of the campaign.

[Lava]

Hi! I'm glad you're enjoying the mod!

Second, for Bristlelick's weapons, I'm curious about a couple of things. His kit limits his weapon usage such that he can't gain proficiency in slings, yet he has one that he can't even un-equip and suffers the non-proficient penalty to use it. Is this intended behavior?

He can't get proficiency in slings? Hmm, I think he should be available to. I will check it, if that's true, then it shouldn't be really difficult to fix.

Third, Bull-Tall's sword is supposed to be a bastard sword based on the description, but it looks more like a short sword judging by the damage output (1d6 base damage.) Is this intended or is it an error?

I'll also check that. I presume that by look you mean "the stats suggest", right? If you mean the animation itself... well, that's not something I can change and it's also connected to the limits you yourself mentioned. Sadly, gnoll animations do not include all weapons, but only those that "normal gnolls" usually use. Anyway, I will check that.

Last...while I haven't completed BGEE & SoD with Bristlelick (thus I don't know what his remaining storyline might be), I gather that there is no BG2EE version, and I was wondering if you have any plans to make one. I realize he may not fit in Amn or the SoA/ToB storyline thematically, but he's a great NPC and I would like to think that he'd be an excellent and interesting addition to the later parts of the campaign.

Sorry to say that, but I'm not planning on writing BG2(EE) content for Bristlelick. He is one of those companion that need to continue their own story. But worry not, as there are many BG2EE companions that aren't available in BG1EE/SoD and can join in BG2EE. Not long ago I released Lhannd, Fyalvara, and Dvaradime. If you'd rather work with some more unusual NPCs, there is Will (wraith) or Afu-Zuuvi (kobold, he's part of the Whin Hill mod), or Wilson (expanded by Wilson Chronicles). If you want someone more direct than these, check out Fhaugy, the half-orc monk.

As I said, at some point I will check out the things you mentioned, but that may take a while. Cheers!

[geh4th]

I also just discoverered that I can't equip Bristlelick with a magic throwing axe that I just acquired for him. The kit description shows that he's explicitly able to gain proficiency in Axes (and I gave him a point there), but there is no slot that allows me to remove the current weapon to place the axe there instead. 

He has his halberd, Bull-Tall's sword, his fist, and the aforementioned sling in the four weapon slots, and I can't change anything.

[Lava]

If he can get proficiency in axes, then that's a mistake. He may only use these specific items he has (however, I am pretty sure the halberd gets better later on). As I said, that is because limits of the gnoll animation: it cannot display other weapons properly AND I believe there is no way to make specific warrior to be able to use only specific, limited types of weapons. That is why he has his personal set of weapons and cannot use other weapons. That's kinda the problem with unusual NPCs that use animations that are mostly unavailable to joinable chararacters and/or the main character.

[geh4th]

Gnoll Bruiser kit disadvantages...

First item shows "May only allocate proficiency slots in the following weapons: Halberds, Bastard Swords, and Axes." 
Second item shows "May not allocate any proficiency slots in the Single-Weapon and Two-Weapon styles."

I was able to give him a point in Axes. The idea was to give him throwing axes as an alternative ranged weapon to the sling that he can't get proficiency in...


I understand that this is due to limitations from the game engine; are halberds and large swords the only weapons that Gnolls have animations for? Do they have the necessary animations for a sling?

[Lava]

Gnoll Bruiser kit disadvantages...

First item shows "May only allocate proficiency slots in the following weapons: Halberds, Bastard Swords, and Axes." 
Second item shows "May not allocate any proficiency slots in the Single-Weapon and Two-Weapon styles."

I think me and TheArtisan (who worked on the kit) were testing Axes at some point, we didn't manage to make it work fine and not... awkward. Will check that along with other things when I get to updating this mod.

I understand that this is due to limitations from the game engine; are halberds and large swords the only weapons that Gnolls have animations for? Do they have the necessary animations for a sling?

Sadly, yes. You will see that all in-game gnolls attack with halberds and swords (actually short swords, I think? But I made sure his sword simply uses shortsword animation rather than long sword animation). There is no sling animation but it doesn't bug too much, however it will not show the weapon animation anywhere and it may look a bit as if he was throwing those stones rather than they were shot from a sling. But it was that or leaving him without any ranged weapon.

[geh4th]

I'd like to suggest that you consider altering the THAC0 thresholds for Bristle's halberd to 75%/50%/25%, rather than the current 50%/25%/10% that it currently shows. In my experience, there's going to be almost no chance at all that he'll be below 10% HP without either immediately healing or dying within the next few seconds, before getting in any further melee hits.

As an example, at level 8 (my current level for Bristle), he's going to have anywhere from 72 HP (average of 5 HP per die) to 112 HP (max progression.) Having a 10% threshold means that he would have to be down to less than 7 or 11 HP respectively, and that level of damage the next hit on him is likely to be lethal. I just don't see that as any sort of reasonable opportunity to get the +4 benefit from the weapon ability.

[Lava]

No, that's the point. Even without the upgrade, the halberd has regular +2 AND that becomes +3 when below 50% and +4 below 25% and +5 below 10%. That halberd improves later on and has base +3, +4 when below 50%, +5 when below 25%, and +6 when below 10%. 

The standard bonus to THAC0 and the one he gains when hurt stack. There is also Pack Tactics he gains later on, which can give him another +2 THAC0. It's the point for that final improvement to be super rare, when he's almost dead.

[geh4th]

Found an interesting mod interaction: Bristle amusingly can use some of the various types of "war dog" equipment provided by the "Grey the Dog" mod. For example, War Dog Ankheg Plate Armor and War Dog's Bracers of Expertise are both wearable by Bristle. 

My take is that this is a problem with those items, not with Bristle. The items each have a 'not usable by' list, which includes all of the normal races (Dwarf/Elf/Gnome/Half-Orc/Half-Elf/Halfling/Human are listed), which didn't expect us to have a Gnoll party member. 

I just thought it would be useful for you to be aware of this.

[Lava]

I find it kinda funny that a gnoll may use dog armor, heh. Thanks for letting me know!

[Lava]

geh4th -- I update the mod, the proficiencies are fixed (no axes, you can now pick sling as well as proper weapon styles: 2-handed weapon style and single weapon style). Furthermore, I made Bull-Tall's sword a bit better (+1 DMG and +1THAC0, additional +2 AC vs humans).

[geh4th]

Thanks for the update and responses. 

I may have mis-stated my commentary on the sword. It's not that it didn't have useful abilities - it already did - but that the BASE damage of the sword is 1d6 (in my game anyhow), rather than as a 'normal' bastard sword's 2d4. As it stands, this is effectively a short sword, for damage purposes. I did verify that it isn't merely a text error - the weapon is really delivering 1d6 damage, plus modifiers.

I have a mod component installed that alters bastard swords to have 1d10 damage, but this isn't applying to Bull-Tall's sword. Another mod component makes bastard swords usable both 1-handed and 2-handed, but this weapon can't do that either. 

These factors suggest that the problem is that the game isn't recognizing Bull-Tall's sword as a bastard sword at all. 

For what it's worth, the halberd is fine, and he's a real monster with it (pun intended.) As things stand, I have no need to use the sword since I'm not really interested in the abilities it provides, even if it did normal damage. I am far enough into my campaign that I won't be re-loading my mods anytime soon, but Bristle is a favorite now and will see time in the party in future playthroughs as well.

[Lava]

Hey! I know what you mean, but it's some other mod that's affecting damage of your Bristle. I checked it and it's fine:



As for the changes I made: I just decided that with this the sword may become a tiny bit more useful.

I'm glad you like the mod that much!

[geh4th]

Okay, I suspected as much. Thank you for verifying it's good in the core mod, that is all that counts.