How to make a PRC in NWN2

[Aniril_Telin]

Things you will need

• .TLK editor (I use Killer TLK editor v3.0)
• .2da editor (NWN_2da editor "For NWN/NWN2")
• NWN2 Toolset working

After you have determined what it is you want to make you will need the following files easiest to use existing content .2da's if you wish to include them in an ongoing pack like Sundren however for this example we'll use vanilla.

most of the files will be found in c:\Programfiles(x86)\Atari\neverwinternights2\data \2da\2da

classes.2da (you will be working with this the most at the beginning)
feats.2da (if you want to make custom feats, if not then you will want this for reference.)
spells.2da (again you will need this for reference at the very least)
packages.2da (if you are feeling ambitious and wish to make preset packages, you will want this file.)
cls_bfeat_* (pick one to get the bonus feat template or you can build it yourself if you're really that bored.)
cls_feat_* (same as the bonus feat only you will be working in here a LOT)
cls_savthr_* (again need the template for the spreadsheet)
cls_skills_* (Template again)
dialog.tlk (a copy, to be placed in your documents neverwinternights2 install directory, not the program files one.)
(armor).uti file if you want to give your class a nice look in the character creator.

any custom icons you wish to use for spells/feats/class/bclass at 40x40 pixels in .tga format.

you will also need to have an includes .nss (script file) to make any new content... you know work.

Feats.2da

http://nwn2.wikia.com/wiki/Feat.2da almost forgot this one.
Important: Some of the lines reference eachother by line number you will need to remove the same number of buffer lines as you add to to ensure you do not cause conflicts with lines following.

Classes.2da

http://nwn2.wikia.com/wiki/Classes.2da this is a good reference for this file.

The fields are listed in a fairly simple manner on the wiki and shouldn't need detailing here. If you have any questions however feel free to post them on this forum.

Spells.2da

http://nwn2.wikia.com/wiki/Spells.2da same as above with the exception that is will get a tiny bit more complicated with the inclusions of feats needing scripts. as they will need to be referenced here.
Important: Some of the lines reference eachother by line number you will need to remove the same number of buffer lines as you add to to ensure you do not cause conflicts with lines following.

Packages.2da

ok, no easy link at my fingertips for this one sadly.

Label: (reference name of the class variant)
Name: (.tlk line reference for the name you wish to appear)
Description: (.tlk line reference for the variant description)
Class ID: (line number of the class from classes.2da)
Attribute: (the main attribute for the variant to raise on the suggested)
Gold: (starter cash, typicaly controlled by modual **** in most cases)
School: (wizards school 0-8 Gen,Abj,Con,Div,Enc,Evo,Ill,Nec,Tra)
Domain 1/2: (line reference from domains.2da)
Associate: (no clue will edit when I find out)
SpellPref2da: (2da file to pull the random selections list from each variant)
Featpref2da: (same but for feats each variant will need its own)
Skillpref2da: (again 2da file)
Equip2da: (Haven't messed with this file, used to not having starter gear.)
Soundset: (voiceset number from soundset.2da line)
Playerclass: (0-1 true/false statement playable or not)

cls_bfeat_*

A simple spreadsheet to select at what level the class recieves bonus feats if at all.

cls_feat_*

http://nwn2.wikia.com/wiki/Cls_feat_*.2da
Be attentive of your reference numbers here.

cls_savthr_*

Here is where you will assign the savings throws by level, same as it would be in PnP books.

cls_skills_*

Skill Label: Name of the skill
Skill Index: Line number from Skills.2da
Class Skill: 0-1 true/false statement

Dialog.tlk

This file is possibly the most important for your new classes appearance, and has boat loads of lines. find an unused section, or scroll way the hell to the bottom and input your data as you go along, the references for all your text in game will be pulled from here. (including spell/feat descriptions)

I hope this crash course is helpful, I'll be happy to look up or answer any questions that come up. (no I am not going to explain how to script here.)

But one script, the includes, you will need a reference in the includes .nss for anything referenced by scripts.

example:

const int CLASS_TYPE_* = (line number);

this is where the scripts pull that information for script lines like:

GetLevelByClass == (CLASS_TYPE_PALADIN) etc

the same will go for feats and spells you may need to call in scripts.

also, ensure your script has the #include (includefilename) so the script can recognize the reference.

[Doubtful]

Cool beans!

Sir, I salute you.

[Aniril_Telin]

Glad I could help, I will add a tutorial on the .2da editor shortcuts later if you like.

[Aniril_Telin]

.2da manipulation

The editor I use has a few options available to it:

File, Row, Column, Clipboard, Find, Replace, Compare, Options and Help

the focus here will be on the Row and clipboard options:

When selected on the row number both of these options become available, Row will allow you to delete a row, copy and append or insert. Inserts will place below the currently selected row, append will place at the bottom of the file.

Clipboard is the manner I prefer to do this, using row for deletions and additions as needed. however either option woks, the clipboard however will allow you to transfer rows between files so long as they have the same number of columns.

In my post above I used 2da/2da as the source for the .2da files. The feats and classes files from this do not have all of the possible columns available to them, and you may need to use the more recent updated .2da's for easy transference for use in pre-existing modules.

The editor will look for the most recently opened directory to save to regardless of how many instances you have opened, so give heed to where it is trying to save your edited file to. To limit complications with this, I keep the files I am editing in a separate folder so i don't accidentally over-write an original.

For ease of access, I also set the .2da file extension to be automatically opened with the editor as loading the editor separately for each instance I need to reference is time consuming. Keeping these files consolidated rather than having multiple overriding instances and duplications will help with overall performance. I have not as yet tested to see if it will read properly if I pull the original content out of the .2da's that are in override to help limit possible conflicts. (assuming those entries have not been altered in the 2da)

If I think of any more useful information to add to this thread I will add it as we go along.

[Cornuto]

Tlkedit2 works for .tlks, .2das, .haks, .bics, pretty much anything.

I like it.

[Cornuto]

http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view...s.detail&id=15

[Aniril_Telin]

hmm might give that a go, sure... consolidation is my friend.

Ooo I like!

[Aniril_Telin]

Back to the game and this wonderful community. Some of the bugs I have seen reported lately could be addressed by this tutorial, though some extended explanation may be required. If so, feel free to drop me a pm and I will get you wonderful people the information.

[Orlitoq]

Should this be stickied somewhere?

[Jhickey]

I wish I understood how to even read this post. I would assume that this is also how to do custom classes as well, but I could be way off base.

[Aniril_Telin]

I wrote this up on request by Doubtful a long time ago, it is written with the assumption you have some experience with the creation tools and the file system used in NWN2. This is an overview of the fields and filed needing to be created and or modified for the creation of custom classes, yes.

[Clangeddin]

Thank you very much for this thread, it helped me a lot with my homebrew patch.
Since I am reworking all classes, I had this idea of overhauling the Pale Master into an "animal companion" class, where said companion is a skeletal knight that grows in power with class level (pretty much it upgrades into a stronger undead 3 times with feats similar to the Dyno companion feat).
I have made all the changes in the feat,class,hen_companion,spell 2das and even made the blueprints for the new companions, but whenever I use the "Summon undead minion" ability I made, it casts the "Summon animal companion" spell but nothing happens and no companions appears. I also do not get the choice of naming the companion like all companion classes do whenever they obtain the ability.
Apparently I must have done something wrong, if it's not too much to ask, do you know how it is possible to make custom animal companions from scratch and tie them successfully to other classes like Kaedrin with the Spirit Shaman? I have found a tutorial on the vault, but it seems limited to NWN1 only if I'm not mistaken.

[Aniril_Telin]

That's an interesting subject and not something I have experimented with myself, but would be fun to tinker with. I'll see if I can figure it out and post a tutorial with the steps if I do. That may takes some time to get around to doing though, alternately if you wanted to pm me the files you are working with in an override format, I would be happy to have a look at it and see if I can figure out what is going wrong.

[Clangeddin]

Thank you for the assistance.
I have uploaded my "homebrew" patch (with override and dialog files) at the following link:

http://www.datafilehost.com/d/212324d3

It's a "work in progress" so it will appear unfinished, with lots of inconsistencies ecc, but everything that concerns the Pale Master should be there.
Since I have changed the requirements to unlock the class, make sure to read the new class description (that part in the dialog file is done)

In the 2DA folder you can find the class specific 2das, whereas in the Core2DA you'll find the more generic ones (such as class.2da, feat.2da, ecc...)

[Aniril_Telin]

Got it, will fiddle with this and see what I can come up with for you.