                     Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal
                           /------------------\
                           | Ascension 1.4.13 |
                           \------------------/
                     David Gaider <davidg@bioware.com>
                           Design, Bioware corp.

                        Packaged as a WeiDU Mod by:
		  Westley Weimer <weimer@cs.berkeley.edu>

                 http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~weimer/bgate


		Table of Contents
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I. 	About
II. 	Installation
III.    Component 1:    Ascension
IV.     Component 2:    Tougher Abazigal
V.      Component 3:    Tougher Demogorgon
VI.     Component 4:    Tougher Gromnir
VII.    Component 5:    Tougher Illasera
VIII.   Component 6:    Tougher Yaga-Shura
IX.	Bugs
X.	Thanks
XI.     FAQ (Spoilers)
XII.	Changes

		Section I. About
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is David Gaider's Ascension Mod repackaged in WeiDU format by Westley
Weimer. All praise for the content goes to Gaider, all blame for any bugs
goes to Weimer. Parts of the Ascension Mod were also written by the IEEAIS
group. 

Loosely, the Ascension mod rewrites the ending to Throne of Bhaal to
contain (1) additional roleplaying aspects and (2) a much better final
battle. See Section III for more details. 

David Gaider's original words (from his READMEs) are inserted here to
explain the mods. You can find his original documents in the
"ascension\readmes" folder. 

This mod is Ascension version 1.41 with the Ravager.CRE hitpoint fix, the
SPPR509 "magic resistance = untargetable" fix, Dyara's "not dying" fix,
Quitch's "self-wilting contingency" fix, the Baldurdash Mordenkainen sword
fix, the Compton "Imoen ToB Banter" fix, Gaider's improved Tamah, and the
"tougher illasera has speed boots" modification. 


		Section II. Installation
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BGII with the Throne of Bhaal expansion is required. Ascension/WeiDU should
install correctly over any other mods (cross fingers). In particular, it
will work fine for the other common WeiDU mods (e.g., the Solaufein
Romance, the Kelsey Romance, the Tashia Romance, the Thief Stronghold). See
the webpage for details. 

Unzip the main ZIP file into your BGII main directory. This is normally:
        C:\Program Files\Black Isle\BGII - SoA\

Run (click on) "Setup-Ascension.exe". 

First, pick your favorite language. Currently American English, German,
French and Spanish are available. Note that the language you pick does
*not* have to be the same language as your main BGII installation. 

Then choose which components you would like to install. You may always
uninstall them later by re-running "Setup-Ascension.exe". Special note: You
should only uninstall or upgrade the most recently-installed WeiDU mod. 

You do *not* need to start a new game to take advantage of anything you
installed. However, Ascension works best if you start with a saved game
*before* you have confronted Balthazar. It doesn't really make sense to
load up a pre-ascension saved game in which you have already fought
Balthazar: you're missing half the fun. 

*** ADDITIONAL WARNING!  The mod involves changes to the battles in the
*** last chapter of Throne of Bhaal that often have many more enemies and
*** spell effects going off on-screen than are found normally in the
*** official release of the expansion.  Even if your computer conforms to
*** the min specs for ToB, it MAY NOT be enough to run the Ascension.  Min
*** spec machines may chug severely or even crash when too much is
*** occurring on-screen.  There is nothing I can do about this.  Use your
*** own judgment. 
  

		Section III. Ascension 
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[ Gaider's description ] 

Well, here it is.  It's taken about four months to put this together...two
months longer than I had expected, but I think the results are worth it.
Unlike the previous mods that I've worked on for Throne of Bhaal (the
"improved" battle series), the Ascension isn't all about making the combat
more challenging.  It's about making the ending to Throne of Bhaal longer,
[more fun] and a little more fulfilling.

Some people like the ending to Throne of Bhaal well enough, I guess.  I
liked it well enough (I did a lot of the work on it, after all), but I
remember wishing that we had had the time to tinker with it more.  At
Bioware we never seemed to have enough time to tinker with the Infinity
Engine scripting language as much as I might have liked.  With better AI
and some leisurely time spent considering various options, the ending might
have been more fully realized.  That's a game designer's fantasy,
obviously, especially when you're working within the time-frame of an
expansion (which must come out while the game's still on peoples'
hard-drives)...but seeing as a mod like this can be done in one's spare
time, it doesn't have to be.  Consider this my offering of what might have
been.  You might not necessarily like it better...heck, you might not even
like it at all...but I think it shows off what the Infinity Engine can do
when stretched to its limit and offers a bit more bite to Throne of Bhaal's
climax for those who think that's not a bad idea.

The whole thing started on Black Isle's BG2 message boards.  A friend of
mine, Kevin Dorner (who runs an excellent site called Baldurdash at
http://members.home.net/mrkevvy/ ...definitely check it out), had expressed
a bit of disappointment at the fact that he had had no choice but to fight
the strongest member of the Five, Balthazar.  Balthazar was a Lawful Good
monk, after all, and wouldn't a charismatic and heroic Lawful Good
character be able to maybe talk some sense into him?  He suggested that it
would have been better to offer a non-fighting alternative or, hey, how
about getting Balthazar to fight with you in the final battle?

Another poster (alas, I forget who exactly) offered another idea that it
would have been a great idea if the Five had been resurrected in the final
battle...that it would be cool to face them all at once.  And I
agreed...that was a very interesting idea.

So the Ascension was born.  At first it was just a bit of extra dialogue
for Balthazar and some work on the final battle, itself...but it's turned
into a lot more than was expected.  Try it out.  If you like it, super!  If
you don't, that's OK too.  Just remember two things:

1) this is NOT an official Bioware product and Bioware does not support it.
I work for Bioware, but I've done this on my own time.  If you encounter a
bug or some other problem with the mod, please refer to the Technical
Problems portion of the ReadMe...don't go to the Bioware message boards and
post your problem there.  If you do, people I work with will come down to
my office and frown at me and that would be bad.

2) Even if you really, really like what this mod has done, please don't say
things like 'this is how it should have been' or somesuch.  I didn't have
any deadlines or economic realities to face, here...nor do I think it would
be realistic to expect to be allowed to spend four extra months (the entire
expansion took six) to tinker and play with a section of the game that
lasts maybe a few hours.  I'm proud of how Throne of Bhaal turned out and
the work the team did on it and I think almost any game, with a little love
and a doubled development time, could be a bit better (or
over-designed...take your pick).

Enough about that.  Onto the game, itself.

The mod mostly affects the end part of the game, starting at the very end
of Chapter 9 when you meet with Balthazar and climaxing at the site of the
ascension in the Throne of Bhaal.  In case you are planning on re-playing
the whole expansion, you should be aware of a couple of things that affect
the game beyond this section:

1) The Slayer form that the player picks up in Spellhold all the way back
in BG2 now upgrades.  It does so when you exceed 2 million, 4 million and 6
million XP.  The upgrades get considerably stronger and deadlier, and one
big change you will notice is that occasionally you will lose control over
yourself.  The Slayer can sometimes go berserk and will attack the nearest
target...this can last one round or go on for several...although there will
always be a respite in the very last round before you take too much damage.
The last upgrade gives the player the option to become the Ravager...the
ultimate incarnation of murder...which is incredibly powerful but also the
most difficult form to control.  Once the mod is installed, these upgrades
are available in both BG2 and ToB.

2) Imoen and Sarevok have some dialogues with the PC in ToB that are fairly
important.  For Imoen, it involves her growing taint and she gets some
Bhaalspawn abilities.  For Sarevok, it involves the chance of him changing
alignment.  In ToB these were completely random...but since their stories
come up in the Ascension, I thought it was important that these be seen.
There are now event-based timers that will spur Imoen and Sarevok to speak
their dialogues if they haven't already done so.  If you play through the
game, you will get them all very  naturally.  If, however, you load up the
mod and you have played through the game and NOT gotten them here's the
warning...if you wait a minute they will start speaking all of their
dialogues with about 15 seconds in-between.  It might seem a bit
rapid-fire, but at least you'll have seen them.

3) For those who have picked up the mod where the Bhaalspawn powers that
the player obtains after the challenges in ToB were put back in, this mod
contains them as well.  After each challenge in the pocket plane you will
receive extra abilities. [ Weimer: you will also receive a journal entry
detailing exactly what each ability is. ] If you're loading up a saved game
from before you installed, this will not occur.  If you don't want it, it's
not really a big deal: delete the AR4500.bcs file from your Override
directory.

4) This mod replaces in full the Improved Balthazar mod.  The new Balthazar
is probably just as powerful...but a lot smarter and less cheesy...that is,
if you fight him.

If you have an appropriate save game, the best place to start up the mod is
right before you go into Balthazar's stronghold in Amkethran (after
completing both Sendai's and Abazigal's enclave).  If you're using your
Final Save right before you go into Chapter 10, that's OK too...but you
won't see any of the new dialogue with Balthazar from earlier.

The highlights of the Ascension, itself, are:

* extended Balthazar sequence: Balthazar has a lot more to discuss with you
  when you meet him in his stronghold.  He's a Lawful Good monk determined
  to destroy Bhaal and his evil essence forever, even in himself...but,
  depending on your own nature, you may be able to talk him into forgoing a
  battle or even fighting Melissan at your side.  This is, however, not an
  easy thing to do.

* Irenicus & Bodhi: if you've read the 'thanks' column, you may have come
  across mention of Irenicus and Bodhi and thought 'what the?!'.  Don't
  worry, it will all make sense.  And for those of you who wouldn't think
  of pairing up with a goody two-shoes pansy like Balthazar, there's
  another opportunity for an ally in the final battle here, as well.

* a totally redone final battle: the battle at the Throne of Bhaal has been
  completely redone, from start to finish.  Gone are the Elemental Princes
  and the multiple battles with Melissan and her Slayer Shadows.  Melissan
  has been completely re-done, and the allies she brings to bear against
  you make this a whole new fight.

* scaleable AI: I wish I could remove the things where the Difficulty
  slider actually changes the rules of the game.  Easy still makes everyone
  do half damage, and Insane still makes everyone do double damage.
  Nothing I can do about that.  What I have done, however, is scaled the AI
  more according to the difficulty level.  Core is about as difficult as
  one can get and still have the true D&D rules.  If tough battles aren't
  your thing, set it to Normal or Easy...you will face [fewer] opponents
  and they will have access to less of their powers and spells (or use them
  less often).  If you want a bigger challenge, try Hard or Insane...it
  will set you against more opponents who do greater damage and less
  resources to work with.

* better AI: a lot of work has gone into the AI of the opponents you'll
  face.  You can often disrupt their spells, but they'll work at preventing
  you from being able to.  They are still immune to stuff that's
  appropriate, but the stuff they aren't immune to they will try and deal
  with when you use it on them.  They'll target appropriate opponents with
  the appropriate attacks and generally use their abilities wisely.
  Melissan is still a power-house...but she's practically a demigod...the
  fight against her this time is much more tactical and you've got to
  figure out how to weaken her before you can take her down.

* some new epilogues: not all of the epilogues have changed, but some of
  them have been lengthened to what they had been originally written as.  A
  couple have changed completely, and a few new ones have been added.


		Section IV. Tougher Abazigal 
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In David Gaider's words: "Some of the posters were recommending a
multiple-dragon battle, so I added in some smaller drakes and a purple
dragon into the Abazigal fight.  The AI has been tweaked heavily as well,
blending in the mobility of Draconis (whom many thought was tougher than
his father).  It's quite the fight, now...NOT for the faint of heart...but
I'm told it's quite fun."


		Section V. Tougher Demogorgon 
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This mod restores the difficulty of the Demogorgon battle to what was
originally planned before it was "toned down" for game balance reasons.


		Section VI. Tougher Gromnir 
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In David Gaider's words: "It's just a little spruce-up to a fight that I
thought was a little boring...it makes Gromnir a bit more formidable and
gives both him and the other Bhaalspawn with him some extra abilities and
better scripting.  I'm told it's of moderate difficulty but quite fun."


		Section VII. Tougher Illasera 
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In David Gaider's words: "It is not very high difficulty...as a battle
right at the beginning of the game shouldn't be...but it does make Illasera
a credible opponent and member of the Five. She's a ranger/archer now,
which was her original concept before we were forced to make the battle
much, much easier (since people could potentially meet her with a single,
newly-created sorcerer...and since the fight was unavoidable, those who
couldn't get past it would be quite frustrated).  This version makes it so
that you always meet the tougher Illasera as well as all her companions, so
those who go into ToB with a weak character might want to stick with the
original version."

Weimer's comments: Despite what Gaider is saying, the Tougher Illasera
battle is widely regarded as insanely difficult (although certain tactics,
like the shield of reflection, physical mirror or a mordy jail can make it
too simple). It's much harder than the Yaga-Shura or Gromnir fights. 

NOTE: This Tougher Illasera *will* drop boots of speed, much like the
original. 


		Section VIII. Tougher Yaga-Shura 
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In David Gaider's words: "This mod makes the last fight with Yaga-Shura a
bit more of a tussle... the army spawns have been increased in number and
given better AI (as well as had some low-level mages and clerics thrown
into the mix).  Yaga-Shura himself has been given some better powers and
AI, including his lieutenants...and his invulnerability slowly wears off
during the course of the battle with him, making this fight a bit trickier.
One caution: a couple of times crashes were reported soon after Yaga-Shura
re-appears.  I was not able to verify if this was due to a specific bug or
due to too much graphic overload, but it does seem to be rare regardless."


		Section IX. Bugs
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please tell Weimer (*not* Gaider) about any bugs you find in this mod. If
they turn out to be true Ascension bugs (and not problems with the
packaging) I will pass them along, but I don't want people spamming Gaider
with a bunch of things that aren't his fault. 

[ Gaider writes: ]

First off, like I said way back in the beginning, this is NOT an official
product of Bioware or Interplay.  Do not contact them for support for this
mod or post messages at the Interplay or Bioware message boards asking for
such.  As well, should you have the Ascension installed and have a problem
elsewhere in your game, chances are they will not help you.  They
might...but be kind enough to tell them if you have third-party mods
installed...and if they figure that's probably the reason, then they can
tell you so.  If you report a problem and they find out afterwards that you
have a third-party mod, they will not be pleased...at you or at me, so
please spare me the grief.  :)

If you have a problem with the game, or would just like to comment on it,
drop me a line at davidg@bioware.com.  It sometimes takes me awhile to get
on top of my e-mail, so please be patient if there's some trouble.  Be
aware, too, that since I don't have programmers who can de-bug the mod,
there's always the chance that I might not be able to solve the problem
you're having.


Q: Sometimes the Five refuse to die in the final battle. They stay at
Near-Death, even if you use Ctrl-Y. 

A: Dyara's reply:

  Hmmm, you´re the first one who encountered this with the fix installed.

  The next time try to play with debug mode on. If it happens again you can
  check the "death variable":

  CLUAConsole:GetGlobal("DeathScriptSend","AR6200")

  If the value is '1' you can set it back to '0' with

  CLUAConsole:SetGlobal("DeathScriptSend","AR6200",0)

  After this she should die immediatly.

  If "DeathScriptSend" was '0' then it´s another problem that's independent
  from my fix.

  The variables for the other Five are

  DeathScriptAbaz
  DeathScriptGrom
  DeathScriptIlla
  DeathScriptSare
  DeathScriptSend
  DeathScriptYaga



		Section X. Thanks
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[ Gaider's Thanks: ]

Unlike the Improved Battles, I didn't do [Ascension] on my own.  I could
have, maybe...but it wouldn't have contained nearly as much and I bet it
wouldn't work half as well.  Allow me to take a moment to thank some people
who really deserve it.

There's a little message board on Yahoo called IEEAIS (Infinity Engine
Enemy AI Scripting) that is dedicated to improving the AI used by enemies
in the IE games.  Make the enemies not only smarter and therefore more fun
to play against, but also smart enough that they don't need all those
cheats (uninterruptable spells, lots of immunities, etc.)...and also smart
enough that cheesy tactics on the part of the player don't work against
them.  If this interests you, you can find the group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IEEAIS.

At any rate, I have the warmest thanks to send out to the guys on this
board for helping out in the biggest way.  Not only did they offer advice
on how to take my AI scripting to the next level, but actively QA'd the mod
and added content.  I'd like to name everyone, but allow me to give
particular thanks (in no particular order) to:

* Lorne Ledger (aka Cuvieronius) - for being the biggest Balthazar booster
  (even writing Balthazar's epilogue), as well as being tireless and
  reliable in his support and QA testing right back to my Improved battle
  mods.

* Quitch - for writing not only Bodhi's epilogue but also her dialogue in
  the mod in its entirety, also a great tester and really a big nag who
  kept insisting that the mod be tested fully and not come out too early.

* Xyx - who I shall dub the 'grammar nazi' (although Tom Kenney runs a
  close second and almost drove me bug-eyed when he and Quitch began
  debating the merits of the Bodhi dialogue down to the ifs, ands and
  buts...but, then, grammar has always been my bane and without these guys
  you would find Balthazar saying things like 'surrendre' and 'alright' and
  such).  Xyx also scripted Bodhi in both her enemy and allied forms.
  Bunches of my own scripts are also based on (if not copied outright) from
  his, especially the 'cast-n-attack'...ideally, I'd like to think I
  credited him in each instance, but I don't think I did.

* Spork - who provided the scripting for the Fallen Solar as well as
  Irenicus, which ended up being a spectacular piece of work.  His scripts
  also provided the base for lots of my own work.

* Crusade - another great tester at IEEAIS, who came late but offered some
* great insight into the final battles (especially the Hard and Insane
* versions) and was very reliable.

* Vulgar Zildrah and Kensai Ryu - First off, a big thanks to VZ and KR for
  their support and for giving permission that I use their Detectable
  Spells v1.2 in my mod.  This is a very handy tool for any IE scripter
  that gives you the ability to detect when many spells are being used, an
  ability that never before existed and limited the AI.  There's a seperate
  ReadMe in the mod for Detectable Spells...and for those of you who are
  interested, you can find updates at the IEEAIS site.  I have to throw out
  KR as yet another person whose scripting knowledge taught me a lot (the
  Bodhi script was originally his and re-done by Xyx)...he also happens to
  be the person who enlightened us on how to alter the epilogues.

Aside from the IEEAIS, I have a few other specific thanks to make:

* Since I didn't use Bioware's IE utilities to work on the mod, a big
  thanks to the editing community at TeamBG (check them out at
  www.TeamBG.com) for advice on using the various editors made by members
  of the community.  A big thanks to TL (Gustov Montessi) for working on
  the IETMC especially for this mod...while I ended up not putting out the
  mod in .tbg format, that may happen very soon.  The majority of this mod
  was [originally created] using IDU 1.0.4a (updated by Paul Victorey aka
  Cat specifically for my use...thanks, Cat!) and IEEP v1.0.9 build 39,
  made by TL...awesome work on the utilities, guys. 

* Kevin Dorner, naturally, not only for his support but for his own
  tireless work on BG2, fixing bugs long after we at Bio could continue to
  do so.  Since Bio hasn't done it yet, if there's any industry types out
  there, do yourselves a favor: HIRE THIS MAN.

* the posters at Black Isle's BG2 message boards, for their support and
  fanaticism and general surliness.

[ Weimer's Thanks: ]

I would like to take a moment to thank my friends in the BG2 modding scene.
Gebhard Blucher, the sine quo non of tactics. Jason Compton, the soul of
roleplaying. Laura Uerling, who gets all the jokes and makes some of her
own. Ghreyfain, Quitch and Michael Lyashenko for WeiDU suggestions and
support from the front-lines. Luciana and Falk for giving so freely of
their time. Be well. 

Thanks to Dyara for her exceptional help with Ascension in general.

Special thanks to Dyara and Falk Swoboda for the German translation. 

Special thanks to Ly Meng, Archange de la Redemption, for the French
translation. 

Special thanks to Nerk, Thamar, Tadhik, Antielminster and Artemis Entreri
of Clan REO (http://clanreo.ionichost.com) for the Spanish translation.



		Section XI. FAQ (Spoilers)
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: How can I convince Balthazar to join me?

A: Be of Good or Neutral alignment (rumors indicate that you can do it with
Evil if you are very wise and charismatic). Have a reputation greater than
18.  Have a Wisdom greater than 15 (drink a potion for 18, having 19 is
even better).  Have a Charisma greater than 15. Pick the right dialogue
options. 


Q: How can I convince Bodhi to join me? 

A: You cannot be of Good alignment and your reputation must be less than
12. If you have a high Charisma (around 15) she offerws to join you,
otherwise you must ask.  Pick the right dialogue options.  Also, Balthazar
cannot have joined you :-). If your Wisdom is greater than 15, you can get
out of promising her your soul. 


		Section XII. Changes
		~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Ascension/WeiDU v0
  This is was my in-house alpha testing version. 
    + Forgot to include a description for Sarevok's +4 blade of chaos. 
    + Added two of the Bhaalpowers as special abilities instead of applying
      them as spells.
    + Forgot to copy over any of the creatures. Doh!
    + Linkage problem between FINSOL01 and FINMEL01
    + Fixed a double-bio problem with some characters

* Ascension/WeiDU v1
  This is the initial WeiDU release, based on Ascension v1.4 and WeiDU 40. 
    + Change the state labels in the D files so as to avoid conflicting
      with state numbers.
    + Add a description for Sendai's Potion. Thanks, Dyara. 
    + Added Dyara's "not dying" fix. 
    + Added Dyara's german translation gender-based epilogues. 
    + PPGUY02 @8 and @9 merged
    + All embedded NULLs removed from the TRA files. 
    + Added Dyara's German translation. 
    + Tougher Illasera drops boots of speed, just like original Illasera.

* Ascension/WeiDU v2
  This is the second Asc/WeiDU release. 
    + Really include the Ravager Bugfix this time. 
    + Fixed a bug where the Tougher Fights would overwrite Asc files. 

* Ascension/WeiDU v3
    + Give SAREV25A state 1 an extra transition (people were running into a
      bug where no valid transitions were available.) 

* Ascension/WeiDU v4
    + Newer WeiDU. 
    + Upgrade to Improved Abazigal v1.1 (thanks Azaelus)

* Ascension/WeiDU v5
    + French Translation by Ly Meng included. 

* Ascension/WeiDU v6
    + As per Quitch's suggestion, the Chain Contingency of Irenicus in the
      final battle now targets himself instead of illegally going after
      the nearest enemy. 

* Ascension/WeiDU v7
    + Include the fixed Mordy sword instead of the old broken one with the
      greenstone amulet.

* Ascension/WeiDU v8
    + New version number scheme (thanks, Quitch). 
    + Includes Jason Compton's Imoen ToB banter dialogue fix. 
    + Upgrade to the latest WeiDU.

* Ascension/WeiDU v1.4.9
    + Include Gaider's 12/02/2001 improved Tamah (Amethyst Dragon) in the
      Improved Abazigal battle. Thanks to Ishan for bringing it to my
      attention. 

* Ascension/WeiDU v1.4.10
    + New ImmyFix from JC. And again. 
    + Typo: "prehaps" -> "perhaps", Quitch/Compton fix. 

* Ascension/WeiDU v1.4.11
    + New Spanish translation by Clan REO. 

* Ascension/WeiDU v1.4.12
    + Typo: "ascension", fixed by Compton. 
    + Balthazar (balth2.d) now uses COPY_TRANS, fixed by Compton.

* Ascension/WeiDU v1.4.13
    + Epilogue typos fixed by Luca. 
    + AR6200 Imoen Epilogue fix by Compton. 
    + Other typos fixed by Azaelus. 
