//////  Corthala Romantique  \\\\\\\

Tender love and care for one silent, brooding type

For Baldur's Gate II -- SoA and ToB (BGII, BGT, BGII:EE, EET)

by Domi, Beyshaliban, Caetlyn, Meira, jastey

Version 5


1.  About
2.  Content
3.  Installation
4.  Count Corthala
5.  Hints for romancing Valygar
6.  Compatibility and possible conflicts
7.  Credits
8.  Version history
9.  Links
10. Copyright



1.  About
Originally a part of the TeamBG mod 'Tortured Souls', the romance had a short-lived history as stand-alone part of said mod. When support for the stand-alone Valygar romance was abandoned, Beyshaliban volunteered to make it a WeiDU mod.  

The original path and speed of the romance was altered and Domi wrote a lot of additional lovetalks, flirts and banters.  

ToB content was added and the mod reached beta status in 2005. The SoA part was still under revision then. Aside from that, an expansion to the Sphere Quest was added.  You will meet an interesting not joinable NPC, a character from Valygar's past, based on Domi's story Biographer's Notes: Valygar. ( http://gibberlings3.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=1628 )

In 2018, the mod was fully recoded and revised by jastey, with Domi's blessings.



2.  Content
The Mod Corthala Romantique adds a romance for female PCs (no short races) of good or neutral alignment (no chaotic neutral) or female druids. To proceed with the romance, the reputation has to be above 13.

The mod also adds friendship talks for the SoA part of the game for PCs that do not fulfill the romance criteria. For ToB, all dialogues added are for romance, only.

Also added are banters with other NPCs and interjections, for romance and non-romance case.

As a second, optional component, the "bathing flirt" can be installed for the romance -  there was a time back then where NPCs were supposed to have at least one, romantic-encounter-like bathing flirt, "Kelsey-style". Although being a very romantic and humorous encounter, it was made an own install option because reply options and PC reactions are not always freely chosable. The content does not exceed teen rating. 

The third, independently installable component introduces a quest to let the sphere be guarded or be sealed forever by a friend of Valygar, Leonora. The quest can be installed and played without the romance.
The quest to close the sphere might trigger while the sphere quests are still running. Just tell Valygar that it has to wait.

Disclaimer:  
The romance focuses on emotions rather than actions.  However, there are actions, directly and implied.  Nothing that goes further than what is already in the game.  Still, keep in mind that Baldur's Gate II was rated TEEN when first released.  




3.  Installation

BGII:EE
If you use BGII Enhanced Edition from GOG or Steam, you need to prepare your game with modmerge before installing any mods:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/50441/modmerge-merge-your-steam-gog-zip-based-dlc-into-something-weidu-nearinfinity-dltcep-can-use/p1

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. 

For EET, install this mod to the BGII:EE folder after the EET transformation (i.e. somewhere after EET_main.exe) but before running the final EET-end.exe.

-Windows

Make sure you back up your dialog.tlk file (and dialogf.tlk, if it exists), just to be sure.
Extract the contents of the archive to your game's main directory (BGII - SoA).

Run the "Setup-CorthalaRomantique.exe" program by double-clicking it.

Confirm installation of the components you want to have in your game. The needed files will be extracted to the override folder. 

In case there is a problem with installation, please send an email or post in one of the appropriate forums at the Gibberlings III Forum ( http://gibberlings3.net/forums/index.php ).




4.  Count Corthala

Author's note:
For this mod Valygar Corthala has been provided with extended background and past connections, which are not mentioned in the unmodded game.  Call it writer's artistic license if you wish. 


 

5. Hints for romancing Valygar

Valygar will romance female Bhaalspawns of human, elven, half-elven, or half-orcish origin of good or neutral (no chaotic neutral) alignment, or if the PC (female and of the appropriate races) is a druid.
At some point, the reputation has to be at least 14 (SoA) or 9 (ToB) to proceed. 

The romance takes time so let him join the group as soon as possible.  

There should be no problem arising from your personal playing style. The dialogues are coded so that they can flow freely, without rest banters clogging up the whole cycle. Beside the normal cycle, all event-based dialogues or rest banters will play once their conditions are fulfilled. In case you play fast and they are missed, the overall romance should not be stalled but proceed without hickups.
For the ToB cycle, there is one dialogue that needs to be triggered inside the Pocketplane. There is no timer so it should play without problems at one of the many visits there.

The romance will count as "committed" once Valygar gives the PC a necklace. The PC will have to state that she loves Valygar to come this far. At this point, al other BioWare/BeamDog romances will be switched off (Anomen, Rasaad, Dorn, Hexxat). Wait until this to see the obligatory Bodhi abduction. 

You can flirt with Valygar by click-talking him (PID - player initiated dialogue, romance only). The content of the flirts will change as the romance proceeds. 

Note: For all who remember the beta versions, there are changes in the romance. Firstly, the PC's matching conditions are different (no more CHA requirements). Also, having Merella's journal is no longer necessary to start the romance. 




6.  Compatibility and possible conflicts

Compatibility: Corthala Romantique is coded using WeiDU and should be techincally compatible with most other WeiDU mods. 

Content-wise:

IEP Valygar Friendship mod: The mods were made compatible in the following way: If both mods are installed, the CR romance will kill the IEP Friendship talks, but the IEP talks will kill the CR Friendship talks (in case of no romance). Note: some NPC banter and interjections of the CR mod will still play even if the CR friendship talks are disabled.

NPC-Strongholds: The quest to close the sphere might trigger while the sphere quests are still running. Just tell Valygar that it has to wait.

Extended Sphere Quest / Mage Stronghold Mod: The quest to close the sphere might trigger while the sphere quests are still running. Just tell Valygar that it has to wait.

Romantic Ecounters, components "Valygar Romance, by Kulyok" and "Valygar Romance ToB, by Kulyok": technically, the two mods are compatible. Content-wise, I don't think it's a good idea to have two romances play together, as they paint slightly different pictures of Valygar and might make him sound like he has a bad short-time memory. 

Tortured Souls: the mod is not compatible with the mod Tortured Souls that still contains an own version of the Valygar romance.

Unfinished Business, component Suna Seni/Valygar Relationship: install this UB component first to make those two mods compatible. Note: The current love affair of Valygar and Suna Seni will be tuned down to a past love. For this, three lines of UB's Valygar's dialogue are tuned down so he no longer calls Suna his love. Additionally, there will be a follow-up dialogue in case of PC-Valygar romance.




7.  Credits

Modding Team:
Beyshaliban, Caetlyn, Domi

Romance Writer
Domi

Romance Coder
Beyshaliban

Additional Writers
Beyshaliban, Caetlyn, Meira

Edits and recoding of v1 
jastey



///
Credits of the first beta:
Testers 
There have been a lot, and without them this would not have been possible.  If we forgot someone, do not hesitate to point it out!  

Bren, Shian, Sillara of the Tamari, Grjgorij, Nebukad 

A special thank you goes to 
* Bren for providing an outstanding compatibility list
* Grjgorj for finding a bug I knew was there.  
* Nebukad for providing a solution to the Tree Of Life problem (though it is not coded and tested yet in Beta 2)
* Jason Compton for patience with newbie modder and providing a voice for Valygar (separate download in the final release!)
* Sebastian Conrad for tips to improve the volume of voiced lines
* Ana (Immortality) for the cool mod banner
///




8. Version History

Version 5
-English version proofread by RavenBlack.

Version 4
-adapted crossmod to changed folder structure of UB.
-ToB Wraith encounter should play until the end.
-Removed Restcheck syntax as it was outdated.
-added globally unique LABELs and instal order syntax to support Project Infinity.
-added libiconv-1.9.2-1-src.7z for licenxe info.

Version 3 (1st of December 2019):
-prevented the "Merella is dead" dialogue to fire sooner than first LT (no NVLOR in first LT if Merella was already dead upon joining)

Version 2 (10th of February 2019):
-compatibility with IEP Valygar Friendship if both mods are installed: CR Romance kills IEP Friendship, but IEP Friendship kills CR friendship talks in case of no romance.
-fixed bug where Valygar's "Tree of life" dialogue would fire randomly elsewhere
-(ToB) Forest talk about not being on Amketharan's dusty streets any more will only fire after party was in Amkethran
-Valygar will no longer mention the name "Veldrin" before Adalon says it
-typo corrections
-renamed setup-corthalaromantique.tp2 -> corthalaromantique.tp2
-added corthalaromantique.ini with mod info
-update to WeiDU v246

Version 1:
-Valygar will react to PID in Underdark (no more "has nothing to say to you")

Version 0.5 Beta (31st March 2018):
-the variable "ValygarRomanceActive" (original game variable to enable the UB Valygar hidden romance content) will also be reset if romance breaks in ToB

Version 0.4 Beta (31st March 2018):
-complete recode and edits to make the romance more consitent and less restricted in-game, and also banter more in-character
-romance match conditions changed. Valygar now romances female PC (human, elf, half-elf, halforc) of good or neutral alignment (no chaotic neutral) or female druid of all alignments 
-bathing flirt and quest made optional components
-removed portraits as they were of unclear copyright status
-audio was removed: available set was incomplete and clips cut at the end.
-Inquisitor/Rogue rest dialogue removed.


Beta 3. released internally for testing 2005
Beta 2:  released 22nd of August 2004
Beta 1:  released 22nd of February 2004




9.  Links

Corthala Romantique forum: https://www.gibberlings3.net/forums/topic/29306-corthala-romantique-valygar-romance/

Gibberlings Three Forum
http://gibberlings3.net/forums/index.php

Spellhold Studios Forum
http://www.shsforums.net/

WeiDU
http://forums.pocketplane.net/index.php/board,44.0.html
http://weidu.org

Near Infinity
https://github.com/Argent77/NearInfinity/releases/tag/v2.1-20180205

Infinity Explorer
http://infexp.sourceforge.net

DLTCEP: 
http://www.teambg.net/~avenger/ 

grepWin			
http://tools.stefankueng.com/grepWin.html

WinMerge		
http://winmerge.org/




10.  Copyright

used poems:

-"La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad" by John Keats

-"To my Heart, bidding it have no Fear" by W.B. Yeats

=================================================================================
Corthala Romantique Mod for Baldur's Gate II 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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REDISTRIBUTION NOTE: Corthala Romantique Mod was created to be freely enjoyed by all 
Baldur's Gate II players. Please do not mirror the mod without permission of G3 administration. Technical, compatibility, and bugfixing updates welcome if contributed to the official download with approval of G3 administration.
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