NPC for BGT, BG:EE(SoD), BGII:EE, and EET
by jastey and Rabain
Original idea for a dog companion, first kit draft with special abilities, first portrait: Rabain Everything else: jastey
Please note: so far, the mod only includes BG1 and SoD content officially. Grey shows up in BGII and has an ecnounter like quest atthe Promenade, but otherwise BGII content is not done yet.
Grey is a full-fledged joinable NPC, but still a real dog. The only magic on him is his enchanted collar that gives 1 AC bonus. He has sensible interjections (Woof!), NPC banters (mostly NPC dialogues about him with the PC), a click dialogue (PID) if the PC feels like playing fetch or just needs someone to talk to. There are dialogue options that reflect the game story and I'll promise: Grey will always listen to your PC's woes. Grey initiates no dialogues so there is no friendship track and - I am really sorry, but no romance. Not even for Shapeshifters. In BG1 there are two small quests, both available in BG city. The quests are also available and solvable without Grey in party. In SoD there is one quest that starts after talking to Belegarm and will be resolved in the big coalition camp. Where appropriate, Grey can be told to "search" for missing persons, in BG1 Brage and farmer Brun's son, in SoD the five missing refugees, Skie, Safana's quest, and also Brage's quest (via crossmod). This is realized so it doesn't spoil the quests too much, though, so do not expect too much help.
Some ideas take time. For Grey this was from 2005 when Rabain first brainstormed about a dog companion - something mundane and non-magical, a silent and loyal friend (and additional inventory) for a PC that would otherwise go solo-ing. It was the time of the violet-eyed half-demon half-god planar elven mod NPCs that seemed to form themselves everywhere all over the modding communities (most of them just ideas even back then). Firstly meant as a mere BGII companion, I was instantly thrilled by the idea. Rabain made a first portrait which is the current one with a red bandana and worked on a first kit that would allow a dog NPC to level up and not use the common items while I played some fetch with Grey and Minsc. Then we hit a wall with the old engine, partly because we were both not too experienced in what is possible. Then ToBEx happened, although Grey also works without it, and the EE happened, although Grey also works fine on BGT, and BeamDog's Wilson showed me the solution to the most glaring problem (I won't tell because it's not a real problem if you know how to solve it - ok, I mean the Drow transformation in Underdark), then the mod dwelled on my HD, I wanted Grey to be a companion for the whole trilogy, had some ideas and started writing occasionally, and here we are.
Grey cannot be send to wait somewhere. If he is in party, he is in party. He can be sent back to Jondalar but that will be final. If you need the party slot for someone else, Grey can be kicked out of the party and told to "stay close", then he will follow as a "familiar" or, as I call it "7th party member". If in 7th party member mode he needs to join the group from time to time to level up. See below for more info on 7th party member mode. To rejoin the group, talk to him and tell him you need "access to (his) inventory", and he will rejoin as a full party member. If you time this accordingly, the moment he is in group before any other kicked out NPC reaches the PC for his post-kickout dialogue is sufficient to let Grey level up and rearrange his items, without having to finally kick out any other party NPC to achieve this. (Unless those just leave without a follow-up dialogue, of course.)
Grey's claws will update to more powerful versions when he levels up (not every level). To improve his teeth force, items need to be used that can be found and bought throughout the game. Without a tooth enforcer, the engine will treat his attacks with the first hand like fist attacks ("bar handed".)
Grey can be selected and given commands, as well as told to use quick slot items. He needs to join from time to time so he can level up. He cannot die while following as a 7th party member, but will remain at 1 HP. If Grey's HP fall to 1 HP during a fight, he will pass out. Healing him then will not change this. His alignment will change to "neutral" so enemies stop attacking him. Once the fight is over, he will regain consciousness, be healed fully, and rejoin the party as an ally/familiar. The full healing might be seen as a cheat, but it's one way to fix the engine behavior (not to call it bug) with Grey dying upon rejoining if his HP are too low.
The 1 HP drop out can be prevented if Grey is healed in time during a fight. If told to he will give a warning before his HP drop too low, but this seems to be buggy in BGT.
For a first interlude, Grey can be met inside Candlekeep at the side of Jondalar. Jondalar will have an extra line referring to the PC's friendship with Grey. If Jondalar is not present (because a "tutors begone" mod is installed) Grey will just sit at is place. Grey will join the group after Imoen once the ambush scene is over and the PC finds themself at the Lion's Way area. Note: It is assumed that Imoen is in the group, at least for this short moment. Since she joins automatically and Grey follows directly after, this should normally be the case.
-Remove Tutors in Candlekeep tweak (SCS?): compatible. Although the first scene in Candlekeep is a nice touch to get a feeling about how the PC and Grey are connected (or rather, how Grey connected to them), this scene does not have to play for Grey to turn up later. If Jondalar is not present (i.e. removed by a tweak mod), Grey will just be in Candlekeep during the prologue saying "woof" if talked to.
Jarl's Adventure Pack: Grey needs to be installed after JAP.
Install this mod as late as possible after all other mods that add interjections, i.e. NPC mods or mods that add content to NPCs. Nothing game-breaking will happen if the mod is installed sooner, it might just be weird in case Grey's reaction do not show in game where he should have sniffed out a monster because other NPCs interject (and might change the course of the dialogue) before him.
As an NPC mod, this mod should be installed after quest mods and before tweak mods.
There is crossmod content included in the mod which should show if the install order suggestions are being followed.
Shortly after Grey joined, Jondalar and Erik will make an appearance to look where Grey went.
Grey needs own items. He will come with basic war dog equipment, better equipment can be found and bought throughout the game: there are items, armor, and weapons to be found for Grey explicitely. The file items.txt lists those and also where they can be found. There are two War Dog Armorers available, each on the two carnivals in the game (Nashkell and BG city, with mapnotes).
Grey will learn to sniff out lesser doppelgangers. This is more for the reason that I think he should be able to, not because I think it's overly useful in the game where some encounters with doppelgangers are supposed to be a surprise. Therefore, I decided that he can't sniff out greater doppelgangers so the most crucial deceptions in the game will not be spoiled.
Without ToBEx, Grey will be able to use some maces and boots in BGT. Install ToBEx to restrict these items for Grey.
Especially for BGT but also for the EE games, Grey will be able to use (or at least equip) some items/weapons. Just play around those (or use them if it doesn't disturb you).
In some game cutscenes, Grey might be visible at places where he shouldn't be. I'm not sure how to solve this.
Paper doll: currently, the wolf paper doll is added to the MDOG animation (renamed to MDOGINV.BAM). In case this leads to any compatibility problems, let me know.
Grey has no clear fog of war effect, so when following as 7th party member, he might "vanish" behind the line of sight. Rearranging the whole group's position should bring him back at the PC's side. (The reason is that the engines cannot handle more than 8 creatures with CFoW - and that includes the 6 party members and cutscene spies.)
Unzip the folder "c#greythedog" and the "setup-c#greythedog.exe" into your game folder (BG:EE/SOD/BG2/BGT/BGII:EE/EET) directory. Double click the "setup-c#greythedog.exe" and follow the instructions onscreen. Make sure the game is not running while installing the mod. Do not run more than one mod setup at a time. Close the command window after installation by pressing "Enter" (not clicking on the red cross.)
Currently, only the Windows version of the mod exists. Using the correct install method, it should be working on MAC OS X and Linux installs, too.
For BGT, install ToBEx to restrict Grey from using some maces and boots.
If you use BG Enhanced Edition from GOG or Steam, you need to prepare your game before installing any mods with DLC merger (or modmerge), link below.
NOTE: BG(II):EE are actively supported games. Please note that every patch update will wipe your current mod setup! If in the middle of a modded game you might want to delay the patch update as even after reinstalling the mods, you might not be able to continue with your old savegames.
If you have installation problems or encounter any bugs, please post your bug report in one of the forum
Acifer: Portrait edit with dark bandana (original by Rabain was red), alpha testing
WeiDU (formerly: http://www.weidu.org) BAM Workshop
WinMerge hex to decimal converter: http://www.binaryhexconverter.com/hex-to-decimal-converter
Modding communities, tutorials and technical assistance:
Further Links:
(deprecated but still functional tool for mod merging: Modmerge
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Grey the Dog NPC Mod is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. This mod is also not developed, supported, or endorsed by BioWare, Black Isle Studios, Interplay Entertainment Corp., Overhaul Games or Beamdog. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners.
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