spellholdstudios / check_the_bodies

This mod adds various quests to the BGII part of the game, including new areas, a new city, spells, stores, animations, and items: This is a mini-quest mod, each single quest works as a stand alone quest.

Check The Bodies

A Spellhold Studios mod for Baldur's Gate II, ToB, Baldur's Gate Trilogy, BG2:EE and EET

Author: Charles Bisson
Mod Website: Spellhold Studios
Mod Forum: Check The Bodies

Read the mod's readme.

Download the mod at Spellhold Studios.

 

Overview • Compatibility • Installation • Components • Credits and Acknowledgements • Version History

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Overview

Check the Bodies adds various quests to the BGII part of the game, including new areas, a new city, spells, stores, animations, and items: This is a mini-quest mod, each single quest works as a stand alone quest. That is to say, if one were to start a new game, play one of my new quests, and finish the game, there should be no problems. Each quest is heavily dependant on a number of random factors: the PC's race, class, alignment, etc., chapter, make up of the party, and so many other factors. It will be impossible for a single character to play through the entire game and get all of Check The Bodies' quests. That is by design. Don't worry, no matter what you choose for a character, you won't miss anything for that character.

For a list of the quests, see "CtB_Quest_List.txt". For Charles Bisson's original notes, please refer to "old_CtB-Readme_old.txt".

Key features:

• More than 20 independent new quests, dozens of class specific quests.
• 160 areas, 15 new areas. 1 new town.
• 1 new NPC.
• 450 new creatures.
• Hundreds of new items.
• 275 spells.
• 25 stores.
• 6 new songs.
• 1 film.

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Compatibility

This mod is designed to work on the following Infinity Engine games: the original Baldur's Gate II (BG2 or just SoA) with or without the Throne of Bhaal (ToB) expansion, Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition (BG2EE), the conversion projects Baldur's Gate Trilogy (BGT) and Enhanced Edition Trilogy (EET).

Check The Bodies is a WeiDU mod, and therefore should be compatible with all WeiDU mods. However, we cannot test every single one. If you encounter any bugs, please report them on the forum!

Classical game players are strongly recommended to download and install the latest version of the BG2 Fixpack before proceeding with the installation of this mod.

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Installation

Notes

If you've previously installed the mod, remove it before extracting the new version. To do this, run setup-ctb.exe, un-install all previously installed components and delete the 📁 ctb folder.

When installing or un-installing, do not close the DOS window by clicking on the X button! Instead, press the Enter key whenever instructed to do so.

Disable any antivirus or other memory-resident software before installing this or any other mod. Some (particularly avast and Norton!) have a tendency to report false positives with mod activity, resulting in failed installs.

Enhanced Editions Note

The Enhanced Editions 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 (if possible) as even after reinstalling the mods, you might not be able to continue with your old savegames. Alternatively, copy the whole game's folder into a new one that can be modded and will stay untouched by game patches. It is important that you install the mod to the language version you are playing the game in. Otherwise, the dialogues of the mod will not show but give error messages.

Windows

Check The Bodies for Windows is distributed as an extractable compressed archive and includes a WeiDU installer.

Extract the contents of the mod archive into the folder of the game you wish to modify (the folder which contains the "CHITIN.KEY" file), using 7zip, WinRAR, or another file compression utility that handles .zip files. On successful extraction, there should be a 📁 ctb folder and a setup-ctb.exe file in your game folder. To install, simply double-click setup-ctb.exe and follow the instructions on screen.

Run setup-ctb.exe in your game folder to reinstall, un-install or otherwise change the components settings.

Mac OS X

Check The Bodies for Mac OS X is distributed is distributed in the same compressed archive and includes a WeiDU installer.

First, extract the files from the archive into your game directory. On successful extraction, there should be a 📁 ctb folder, setup-ctb and setup-ctb.command files in your game folder. To install, simply double-click setup-ctb.command and follow the instructions on screen.

Run setup-ctb.command in your game folder to reinstall, un-install or otherwise change the components settings.

Linux

Check The Bodies for Linux is distributed as a compressed tarball and does not include a WeiDU installer.

Extract the contents of the mod to the folder of the game you wish to modify.

Download the latest version of WeiDU for Linux from WeiDU.org and copy WeiDU and WeInstall to /usr/bin. Following that, open a terminal, cd to your game installation directory, run tolower and answer 'Y' to both queries. You can avoid running the second option (linux.ini) if you've already ran it once in the same directory. To save time, the archive is already tolowered, so there's no need to run the first option (lowercasing file names) either if you've extracted only this mod since the last time you lowercased file names. If you're unsure, running tolower and choosing both options is the safe bet.

To install, run WeInstall setup-ctb in your game folder. Then run wine BGMain.exe and start playing.

Note for Complete Un-installation

In addition to the methods above for removing individual components, you can completely un-install the mod using setup-ctb --uninstall at the command line to remove all components without wading through prompts.

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Components

The installer includes the following components. The number of each is the component DESIGNATED number which gives it a fixed install position, lets other components and mods detect it and allows automated installers to specify component choices.
All optional components require the main component (they need to since it's the one that installs new content).

0. Check the Bodies: main component

This component installs the mod itself.

1. Candlekeep Chores

This component adds the so called "Candlekeep Chores" which will trigger inside the library of Irenicus' Dungeon. The PC will be back in Candlekeep, remembering his/her chores during his normal life in Candlekeep. These chores have to be executed in length if the component "Candlekeep Chores Fast Foreward" is not installed. Each finished chore will grant the PC an ability.

2. Candlekeep Chores Fast Forward (by hlidskialf)

This component requires the Candlekeep Chores component to be installed. It gives the possibility to shorten the Candlekeep Chores and allows you to bypass all the chores and lectures during the initial part of the Check the Bodies mod while still retaining the options for the various abilities that you had the opportunity to learn.

When you speak to Gorion after first appearing in Candlekeep, just ask him to "skip" the lectures and chores. It should work at almost any point along the days of chores, so long as they are not done for the day. The rest should be pretty straightfoward. I left in CBisson's rebuilt cutscenes from BG1 as I respect the work he did for the mod, as well as it's just a cool series of flashbacks. I hope this will help others enjoy the mod without having to endure the labors of childhood in a cRPG.

3. Other Improvements

This component patches the main component with some improvements:

• Change the entrances of AR0404.are to the original position.
• Change Yusef's name to Yassir, because Yusef is Surayas brother.
• Start the pirate quest in Athkathla at the gates by level 10.

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Credits and Acknowledgements

Original author: Charles Bisson
Candlekeep Chores Fast Forward: hlidskialf
Coders: Charles Bisson (original installer), King Diamond (WeiDU revision), Ikky (EE Conversion) and Weigo (all in one)

Special Acknowledgements to:

• Spellhold Studios team for hosting the mod (Forums).

• The creators of the Baldur's Gate series: Bioware and Black Isle Studios.

• Braño (aka Valiant, Slovakia): New Worldmap, Website and additional Hlondeth area modeling.

• Kevin Dorner: Baldurdash Bug-Fixes.

• Check The Bodies title: I hate to admit it, but I didn't come up with it... Thanks Aernor!

• Voice Actors:

  • The Cowled Wizard: Bob Dupuis, TheWizard
  • Captain Deudermont and ElfSapate: Gregg notmrt Kincaid

• Portrait for Rynn taken from The Portrait Portal (Karse never mailed me back, so these were taken without permission).

• The Spellfire Play comes straight from Ed Greenwood's book, Spellfire. (I don't know the copyright information as I'm typing this.)

• The 'Tis Pity She's A Wench' play is based on John Ford's play 'Tis Pity She's A Whore', and I don't have the copyright info on that either.

• Candlekeep's music taken from The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, copyright 2001.

• Captain Deudermont's stories:

  • Arrival in Waterdeep taken from Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
  • A Fantastic Voyage taken from Passage To Dawn by R.A. Salvatore
  • The Sea Sprite's Crew also taken from Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian

• Additional material taken from IE Games: BGI, IWDI, IWDII.

• WeiDU Installation Assistance provided by JCompton and Wes Weimer. Thanks guys!

• WeiDU bug testing provided by Andrew. Thanks!

• Further bug fixing: Hoppy, White Agnus, Weigo, Roxanne, jastey.

• Spanish translation: Ancalagon el Negro, Artemis, Chrono66, Lisandro, Melkor, Riojano2002, Serpol, ¿Quién si no?.

• Italian translation: Ilot (in collaboration with Arcangelo and Andrea C.).

• German translation: Leonardo Watson.

• French translation: Morkhan, La Voix 2 la Sagesse and Asa (of the d'Oghmatiques).

• Russian translation: aerie-ru.info team.

• Everyone else from the The Gibberlings Three, Spellhold Studios forums, and the other Infinity Engine gaming and modding communities who offered their help and support.

I really hope I don't forget anyone- if I do, you can slap me with a wet towel.

Programs/tools used in creation:

• WeiDU, by Wes Weimer, the bigg and Wisp.
• Near Infinity, by Jon Olav Hauglid, FredSRichardson, and Argent77.
• Infinity Explorer, by Dmitry Jemerov / bigmoshi.
• DLTCEP, by Avenger.
• IESDP, maintained by igi and lynx.
• IE Tileset Map Editor for Infinity Games, by Theo De Moree.
• TISpack by Per Olofsson.
• BAM Workshop, by Glenn Flansburg.
• BAMWorkshop 2, by Andrew Bridges.
• Notepad++, by the Notepad++ team, Don Ho, and the spellcheck plug-in.
• WeiDU Notepad++ Highlighters , by Argent77.

Copyright Information

Check The Bodies is not developed, supported, or endorsed by BioWare™ or Interplay/BlackIsle, Overhaul, Beamdog or the Wizards of the Coast. It was developed by Charles Bisson, based on material from the game Baldur's Gate II and its expansion.

All mod content is ©Charles Bisson.

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal © TSR, Inc. The BioWare Infinity Engine is © BioWare Corp. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners.

This mod was created to be freely enjoyed by all Baldur's Gate II players, and its content is free of rights. However, it should not be sold, published, compiled or redistributed in any form without the consent of the author.

Please note that any and all redistribution and/or hosting of this mod is prohibited without permission from the author.

If there are any copyright issues or this statement needs revision, then please contact me and advise me what to do about it. Most notably, if you see any artwork in this mod that might conflict with Copyright rules, please let me know as soon as possible, and I will remove the conflicting content immediately.

The modding community for the Infinity Engine has been going strong for more than 10 years now, and is the culmination of thousands of unpaid modding hours by fellow fans of the game. Modders produce their best work and players get the best, well-supported mods when we all work together.

There are two big ways to upset this harmony. One is to claim someone else's work as your own. The second is to host and redistribute a mod without permission from the author(s).

Be kind to your fellow players and modders. Don't do either.

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Version History

For a full Version History please refer to the file "CtB-Version.txt" in CtB/text/.

In development

• Fixed Trans0404 trigger name.
• Fixed Druidic Circle on EET map.
• Support for BP-BGT-Worldmap v13.

Version 3.0 (by Weigo and jastey)

• Added ctb.ini metadata file to support AL|EN's "Project Infinity".
• Added DESIGNATED numbers and "check_the_bodies", "ctb_candlekeep_chores", "ctb_candlekeep_chores_ff" and "ctb_improvements" component LABELS.
• (BGT) no rep loss if wearing Cloak of Scalps.
• (BGT) removed item checks from baldur.bcs which caused lags.
• (BGT) removed chapter increase from aptp2500.baf.
• (BGT) removed OnCreation() from various baf files (BWPFix).
• (BGT) adjusted level checks for PC in various baf files (BWPFix).
• (BGT) corrected entries in links.tbl (BWPFix).
• Patching of AR0300.bcs should work always.
• iconv dlls added so non-english versions do not freeze on EE-games (thanks to Roxanne).
• Re-inserted journal entry into CBSFMESS.D.
• Removed unused files scripts/append/nAR2500.baf, scripts/append/oAR2500.baf.
• Portraits removed due to missing copyright.
• aptp0500.BAF: Door "DOOR0504" will be closed accordingly.
• Wedding quests debugged.
• Added missing evaluate to install-arescripts.tpa.
• Added component "Other Improvements":
  • Change the entrances to the original position.
  • Pirate Quest in Athkatla will be available for non-fighters at level 11 (instead of 14).
  • Change Yusef's name to Yassir, because Yusef is Surayas brother.
• Corrected tra files.
• Wrote a new ctb-readme-english.html readme file.
• Renamed mod folder and tp2 to CtB.
• Included Linux and Mac Os X versions in the same package (thanks AL|EN's Infinity Auto Packager tool!).
• Uploaded mod to official SpellHold Studios GitHub mirror account.

Version 2.2 (by Weigo)

• Named mod folder and tp2 CtBEE.
• EET compatibility (EE compatibility by Ikki).
• (EE) no rep loss if wearing Cloak of Scalps.
• (EE) removed item checks from baldur.bcs which caused lags.
• (EE) removed chapter increase from aptp2500.baf.
• (EE) removed OnCreation() from various baf files (BWPFix).
• (EE) adjusted level checks for PC in various baf files (BWPFix).
• Typo corrections (BWPFix).
• Corrected timer "CbValiantReforges" to "CbValiantReforgesTimer" in CBHLVLNT.D.
• Updated WeiDU installer to v246.

Version 1.0

• Initial release.

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check_the_bodies's Issues

oBG2 installation failed if bg2-fixpack is not installed

As BG2-Fixpack is required to be installed before CtB, I would suggest to FAIL the installation if the fixpack is not installed on classic engine. Now the installation fails with some errors related to TRIGGER.IDS file, so it was misleading that the issue is with the current code base.

Iconv

The CtBEE/bin/win32/iconv folder
needs to be replaced with the one contained here
iconv.zip

Check the bodies crash: could https://github.com/SpellholdStudios/Check_the_Bodies/tree/HANDLE_CHARSETS be turned into a new release?

I ran into the same issue as sersafir:

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/75748/mod-spotlight-check-the-bodies/p2

Unfortunately none of my character has timestop yet so the messenger keeps on
ending my gameplay. Could a new release of CtB be made and linked in from github?
I don't know how to apply a patch manually. I can re-install and re-play fine.

Text is in wrong format

report: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/1202318/#Comment_1202318

Worldmap issues (perhaps, but then again perhaps not)

I'll soon redo another run, using a slightly different installation order. Check the bodies
had some issues before so I am not sure whether to skip it or not when I redo.

But I just read the beamdog forum again:

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/82810/check-the-bodies-mod-worldmap-issues

This guy also ran into a worldmap issue potentially. Does Check the Bodies install a
quest where one has to grab ice from a mountain or pay some 35.000 gold to obtain
a cabin or something? I get the message "the world map has been updated" but when
I check no new area appears. I assume it would be on the bottom right where there
are mountains, so if this is the case then I think I may have run into a similar issue as
the person on beamdog forum described, but perhaps it is caused by another mod,
so not the fault of CtB. No idea yet.

I'll also need to find an alternative to weidu.exe because manual installation is WAY
too slow and some components conflict with others (for instance, Tactics remix or
something like that conflicts with Dusk NPC mod to some extent, where the docks
area has new enemies, and one locked-area at where Dusk's friend NPCs usually
spawn. That is one vampire lich; initially I did not know that when clicking on
"yes" this would cause a problem lateron. Tactics remix is both fun but also problematic,
for instance I never managed to defeat the dragon in the improved irenicus challenge.
Anyway I digress; I think there is some worldmap issue, perhaps with another map -
always hard to find out where it is, but if anyone else finds this out, please document
it somewhere. It may eventually help to resolve these issues with worldmaps. Getting
the proper installation order right can be very difficult.)

Missing part of fix

You accepted only part of my fix, leaving out the most important part (applicable to both blocks)

GlobalGT("CbAreaWard_3542_Opened","GLOBAL",1)
OR(12)

documention of spells

The mods adds 275 new spells, but the readme does not go into detail

New release?

Last release is from 2020. Would it be possible to add a new release of this mod?

I think I ran into a bug with regards to Check the Bodies, Saerk Farrahd's banquet invitation

So first, here is my installation of mods in 1:1 fashion:

- Every_mod_and_dog                                # 01
- Tower_of_Deception                               # 02
- Assassinations                                   # 03
- The_Sellswords                                   # 04
- Tales_of_the_Deep_Gardens                        # 05
- Innershade                                       # 06
- The_White_Queen                                  # 07, should come after Tales of the Deep Garden.
- I_Shall_Never_Forget                             # 08
- Romantic_Encounters                              # 09
- Back_to_Brynnlaw                                 # 10
- Trials_of_the_Luremaster_mod                     # 11
- BridgesBlock                                     # 12
- Southern_Edge                                    # 13
- The_Ooze_Lounge                                  # 14
- Tangled_Oak_Isle                                 # 15
- lucy-the-wyvern                                  # 17
- Eilistraee                                       # 18
- Skip_Chateau_Irenicus                            # 19
- Dusk_Aldant                                      # 20
- Fishing_for_Trouble                              # 21
- The_Dreadful_Tales_In_Love_Undeath               # 22
- The_Dreadful_Tales_Juniper_and_the_Stone_Leech   # 23
- Reunion_mod                                      # 24
- willowisp                                        # 25
- Sirene-NPC                                       # 26
- Alabaster_Sands                                  # 27
- Heroes_Thieves_and_Moneylenders                  # 28
- Tales_of_Anegh                                   # 29
- Ascalons-questpack                               # 30
- wheels                                           # 31
- Isra_NPC                                         # 32
- The_journey_to_the_Whin_Hill                     # 33
- Dark_Tidings                                     # 34
- forgotten-armament                               # 35
- Unfinished_Business                              # 36; Should come late, but before cliffkey. Contains Artemis Entreri and the kidnapping of Boo.
- Quest_Pack                                       # 37 Should come after "Unfinished Business".
- Unofficial_Item_Pack                             # 38
- Made_in_Heaven_mod                               # 39
- Check_the_Bodies                                 # 39; also installs the Saerk Farrahd's banquet invitation. This one crashed the game in September 2023, so I moved this mod downwards.
- A_mod_for_the_orderly                            # 40 This is cliffkey. Should come fairly late.
- Tactics_Remix                                    # 41
- Tweaks_Anthology                                 # 42; should come last

I actually installed check the bodies at position 17 or so, but ran into an issue
just today. Often installing some mods lateron works very well. Tweaks
Anthology I installed earlier but that caused issues, so installing it
late worked much better.

At any rate ...

So, I believe the mod Check the Bodies includes a Saerk Farrahd's banquet invitation.
This one causes me issues.

I am finishing up the quest where you have to help the temple and slay a
beholder and what not. Upon emerging, the prophets start to fight in
the temple district. Then some girl shows up from another quest; and
then the messenger comes in and sends an invitation. I click on the
finish/continue, but the whole game freezes and does not continue
past this point, so I am stuck.

I then tried to uninstall check the bodies, but weidu kind of wants to
uninstall and re-install everything. The invitation still got in (I think
weidu shows its age finally). I then tried to re-install the check the
bodies mod but that didn't fix the game-freeze situation.

I should say I have another problem with another mod, where you
have this gnome kensai in the docks area and when you go up,
it also freezes. Normally it works, so some mod-combination
messes things up. :(

Always hard to see which issue is caused by what.

At any rate, I googled for issues and I actually found someone
else reporting the same bug I encountered:

"I ended up deleting the mod, it kept crashing my game when the messenger arrived to invite my character to some girl’s coming-out party. Kind of a shame because the content is excellent. I have version 3.0, is there an update to the mod that fixes that bug?"

The user is here:

https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/75748/mod-spotlight-check-the-bodies

(I don't have an account on beamdog; I find github issue trackers sooooo much easier and more convenient to use.)

weidu also has issues with the chat-irenicus mod or so, at the least in cmd.exe I always
get some annoying delays and I have to hit enter. weidu is really not good at handling
multiple mods. I tried to install that other engine or something, but that one did not
even work at all. :/ :\

Perhaps the chat-irenicus mod causes side effects. I need to re-visit the installation
order eventually.

Anyway, just here reporting that error with the messenger. I don't know if anyone
is maintaining the code or changing anything; on the webforum there was one who
responded to look into it but I don't know if anything has been done about it.

Perhaps, if anyone reads this, the messenger could be changed. Or that particular
component not be installed at all (the installation of this mod via the setup .exe file
is a bit weird, could be more detailed).

A partial work around if the bug can not be fixed would be for the messenger to
spawn at a slight distance, so I can run away from him crashing the game. :P

Unfortunately the code seems to always hit my character, triggering the invitation,
even when I try to run away with boots of the cheetah. Anyway just reporting
the same bug (I think).

[feature request] Starting CtB Chores at the start of ToB

Repost of request @ SHS: http://www.shsforums.net/topic/61114-starting-ctb-chores-at-the-start-of-tob/

In mind for players who start a new game in Throne of Bhaal...

I'm requesting either an addition to the base mod or a separate component: to trigger the Chores flashback (together with the option to Fast Forward them) at the start of ToB, either
AR4000 (Spirit Heads Grove)
or
AR3000 (Watcher's Keep) + Chapter 8(?) to accommodate the option [Make Watchers' Keep accessible between SoA and ToB] from SCS.