Dark Side of the Sword Coast Review
Originally created by TeamBG, Dark Side of the Sword Coast (DSotSC, June 2000) is a large-scale mod for Baldur's Gate 1 Original and Tales of the Sword Coast (v.5512), which are BioWare cRPGs of 1998-99.
Dark Side of the Sword Coast is the best mod ever made for an Infinity Engine game; DSotSC offers a better gaming experience than BG2 SCS, which is the most overrated tactics mod in cRPG History. Best of all, DSotSC runs on the original BG1 engine. SCS doesn't, never has and never will.
I would say Dark Side is one of the few historically significant Infinity Engine mods: it was released three months before BioWare released Baldur's Gate 2, and seven years before SCS.
That means DSotSC was built before the BG2 newbies came along, and before the existence of newbie GUI modding tools that subsequent BG2 mods were built with.
Yet even in 2023, DSotSC remains the best mod made for the Infinity Engine.
Dark Side of the Sword Coast Features
Dark Side adds new quests, areas, companions, monsters, items and arcane and divine spells to the original campaign, also (optionally) increasing the level cap to 40. Thus, the devs of Dark Side are justified in calling it an "unofficial expansion".
The story of the original Baldur's Gate walkthrough remains unchanged; think of Dark Side as an add-in expansion along the lines of TotSC. More or less straight off the bat, you will notice a few different monsters (goblins, orcs, bugbears), new items and spells (e.g, from High Hedge and Mulahey), and a new companion who is found in the wilderness area south of Beregost (Bub Snikt).
As you advance the main quest, other prospective companions will be added to the gameworld (e.g, Keiria Silverstring) and you will find more new items and spells (e.g, from Davaeorn and Sorcerous Sundries).
The level 40 cap changes how we look at Baldur's Gate classes and Baldur's Gate companions. This is NOT an experience point cap, it's a level cap. This results in, for example:
- Fighter (34) Mage (27) Thief (40)
- Fighter (34) Mage (27) Cleric (37)
The level 40 cap is a bit extreme, though. I recommend not leveling above 20 or even sticking with the original 161,000 XP cap (which makes DSotSC a challenge).
If we level to 40, THAC0 can reach the -20s. And we get hit die for each level. So someone like Kagain BG1 can end up with a hit point pool approaching 400. Saving throws also continue to improve, and spellcasters get many more spell slots.
In addition, Multi- and dual-classed characters are much more attractive than single-class ones (if we're going to bother leveling more than usual).
The ability to reach Grandmastery at 9th Fighter level means Fighter BG1 pulls further ahead of Ranger and Paladin, who may only Specialize in a weapon. Thus, the former can get 3 ApR with melee weapons and 4 ApR with bows (or 4 ApR/5 ApR hasted). Max ApR for melee weapons in DSotSC is 4.5 (5 hasted).
Dark Side's inclusion of new arcane and divine spells, circles 1-9 inclusive, are game-changing. You probably won't break into circles greater than 7, but having access to spells like Chaotic Commands, Tenser's Transformation and Daer'Ragh's Aura Cleansing is going to give you a good enough boost in power, anyway.
In addition, Multi- and dual-classed characters are much more attractive than single-class ones (if we're going to bother leveling more than usual).
The ability to reach Grandmastery at 9th Fighter level means Fighter BG1 pulls further ahead of Ranger and Paladin, who may only Specialize in a weapon. Thus, the former can get 3 ApR with melee weapons and 4 ApR with bows (or 4 ApR/5 ApR hasted). Max ApR for melee weapons in DSotSC is 4.5 (5 hasted).
Dark Side's inclusion of new arcane and divine spells, circles 1-9 inclusive, are game-changing. You probably won't break into circles greater than 7, but having access to spells like Chaotic Commands, Tenser's Transformation and Daer'Ragh's Aura Cleansing is going to give you a good enough boost in power, anyway.
If you do break above 7, expect to be able to gate in Doomsayers, wield Black Blade of Disaster and unleash the likes of Incendiary Cloud, Infernal Combustion Enigma, Wail of the Banshee and Power Word: Kill.
cf. DSotSC Arcane Spells and DSotSC Divine Spells.
A lot of work has gone into DSotSC. Aside from what I've enumerated above, the devs have bothered to write detailed journal entries, companion histories, banters, and item and spell descriptions. The style of writing is also in keeping with BG1 and AD&D 2nd Edition cRPGs; in other words, it manages not to sound too modern or "current gen".
• Why did you play DSotSC in the original BG1 engine? Why not Tutu, BGT or EE? Because that is how it is meant to be played. Plus, I prefer the game-balancing limitations of the original BG1 engine. Not just that, but I prefer the aesthetics; for example, the sprites, paperdolls and sound effects. cf. BG1 vs BG2.
• Which version is better - 1.04 or 1.06? Both claim to work with BG v.5512 but 1.06 suffers from various aesthetic glitches, game-breaking bugs, lock-ups and CTDs. For example, blessing Otho's mace causes it to become invisible in your inventory. When you click on where it's supposed to be, the game crashes. Also, the portraits in 1.06 are inferior.
A lot of work has gone into DSotSC. Aside from what I've enumerated above, the devs have bothered to write detailed journal entries, companion histories, banters, and item and spell descriptions. The style of writing is also in keeping with BG1 and AD&D 2nd Edition cRPGs; in other words, it manages not to sound too modern or "current gen".
• Why did you play DSotSC in the original BG1 engine? Why not Tutu, BGT or EE? Because that is how it is meant to be played. Plus, I prefer the game-balancing limitations of the original BG1 engine. Not just that, but I prefer the aesthetics; for example, the sprites, paperdolls and sound effects. cf. BG1 vs BG2.
• Which version is better - 1.04 or 1.06? Both claim to work with BG v.5512 but 1.06 suffers from various aesthetic glitches, game-breaking bugs, lock-ups and CTDs. For example, blessing Otho's mace causes it to become invisible in your inventory. When you click on where it's supposed to be, the game crashes. Also, the portraits in 1.06 are inferior.
• While doubled from original BG1, BG1:TotSC global variables are capped at just 1024. Does this cause problems with quest mods such as DSotSC? I encountered no issues in v.5512. And that was with Dark Horizons, Stone of Askavar and the Grey Clan installed as well (see compatibility notes). If you have any problems, try installing the Global Variables Extender.
• Is DSotSC compatible with fixpacks? The readme states that DSotSC is not compatible with the Baldurdash Fixpack. Thus, it is not compatible with the BG2 Fixpack either.
• Is DSotSC compatible with fixpacks? The readme states that DSotSC is not compatible with the Baldurdash Fixpack. Thus, it is not compatible with the BG2 Fixpack either.
DSotSC Original Credits (TeamBG)
- Founding Father: Ken Baker
- Original Concept: Roach
- Story: CúChoinneach and Roach
- Design: CúChoinneach
- Sounds: Grog
- Misc: All custom item/spell makers
- Made possible by TeamBG utilities and lots of hex editing
DSotSC Announcement & Release Date
- First Announced: May 23, 2000
- First Released (v.1.0): June 3, 2000
Ah, I remember that some months after I got my internet connection installed (somewhere around 2003), my friend told me that there exists a 'mysterious' unofficial expansion to Baldur's Gate. I've found and read an article about this 'Dark Side of the Sword Coast' expansion. The author of the article warned about possible issues and that the whole game would have to be reinstalled if something went wrong. I was really curious and worried at the same time, because I wanted to try that expansion, but at the same time I didn't want to break my favourite game.
ReplyDeleteFinally I decided to try it out. It took me very long to download such file back then and I was praying that it will work. Fortunately all went well and I ventured forth to the unknown. There were some strange things about this mod, but overall I enjoyed the extended and more challenging game (maybe apart that never-ending dungeon).
Some time later I discovered 'Northern Tales of the Sword Coast' made by Aurelinus, which further expanded on DSotSC. For quite a while I thought that this was the 'ultimate' way to play BG. I remember very fondly some of the challenges, locations, secrets and items to this day. I even took part in beta-tesing NTotSC version 3.00, which was separated from DSotSC and sadly was never finished (I still got the files on my PC).
So, yeah DSotSC is a great mod, definately prefer that style, which fits the original game, instead of adding romances and other silly 'modern' stuff.
Thanks for commenting, Tuth.
DeleteI also tried DSotSC when it first came out; and yes, I was also afraid of breaking my BG install. Back then, we didn't have access to multiple installs of BG through VirtualBox WinXP guests. Moreover, back then - and people might find this difficult to imagine :P - I was much more of a purist / hardliner than I am now, so I was entirely against mods, but DSotSC was getting lots of positive feedback, and everyone was trying it out. It was the original DSotSC that I tried, before the mod was Weiduized. I wasn't able to find the original version online, when I recently checked.
Anyway, I remember getting frustrated by the difficulty of the mod (the spectral, cadaverous and skeletal undead; the lich), and not getting far as a result. The mod was also more CTD-prone and bug-ridden than it is now, so that turned me off.
These days, I think DSotSC remains the best large-scale add-in mod for the original BG. Mods that have come out later are of much smaller scale; for example, The Grey Clan largely consists of set-piece battles within pre-existing ARs or duplicates thereof (though it's certainly an entertaining romp).
Credit to modders for making their mods work on the original BG. And yes, making them fit the tone and lore of the original campaign, and the FRCS body of literature, from which even BG2 departed (while BG, BG2 and ToB officially constitute the three-part Bhaalspawn Saga, I play BG and BG2 independently of one another due to the profound differences in their campaign design, and tone).