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About this mod
Want Scratch and Shovel to scale with your characters? Want them to be of some use later but not be overpowered? This mod might be for you.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
-
Translations
- Spanish
- Russian
- Mandarin
- French
- Changelogs
- Donations
Now also available for download in the ingame mod browser and mod.io
Related Mods:
Overview of Changes
TL;DR: Start out with some needed QoL, get cool stuff at 5 and 10
All companions level along with you. They are still very easily defeated, but now you can re-summon them at any time (outside combat). Their utility will make them very useful, even if you can't go in and attack with them.
All
Scratch
Shovel
If you use my Rebalance - Level 1 Spells mod, Shovel's vicious mockery will also chain to additional targets.
Shovel will now also say a line at EVERY spell cast (not when using her melee attack or Throw Stone).
Us
Boo
Nimbus
Frequently Asked Questions and General Knowledge
Any compatibility notes or load order advice?
I have an issue with the mod not working properly, what now?
How do I report a bug?
Can you add/remove/modify a section of your mod just for me or upload it as a seperate version?
What about feedback and ideas?
Related Mods:
- Justice For Nessa - Recruit Nessa after freeing her from Yurgir, a powerful displacer beast that levels with you and gets stronger as she completes "hunts"
- Other Mods from Syrchalis
Overview of Changes
TL;DR: Start out with some needed QoL, get cool stuff at 5 and 10
All companions level along with you. They are still very easily defeated, but now you can re-summon them at any time (outside combat). Their utility will make them very useful, even if you can't go in and attack with them.
All
- Level alongside you
- When summoned, sync their level up to yours
- Gain health based on your level
- Gain proficiency in stealth
- Disengage as bonus action (except "Us")
- Gain attack roll bonus based on your highest ability modifier (other than Constitution)
- At Level 5 and 10, unlock an array of upgrades (10/12 for Us)
- All summons are available without a cooldown now, but can not be summoned in combat
- Scratch and Shovel are no longer considered "familiars", so you can summon them together on the same character and still use 'Find Familiar' in addition
- Shovel, Us and Nimbus will now wander around the camp
Scratch
- Base Health: 9 + 1 per Level
- Proficiency in DEX, CON Saving Throws, Perception and Stealth
- "Help" as bonus action
- Level 5: Extra Attack, Inciting Howl (+3m movement to anyone in a large radius), +2 to all abilities +1.5m Movement, +3m Jump Distance and +1 AC
- Level 10: Alert feat, Inspire Ally (buff an ally by adding proficiency bonus to attack and damage roll for one attack), +2 to all abilities, +1 all Saving Throws, +1.5m Movement, +3m Jump Distance and +1 AC
- Scratch's ability to find things can be toggled off
Shovel
- Base Health: 11 + 1 per Level
- Bonus Health: +2 at levels 5 and 10
- Proficiency in DEX, WIS Saving Throws and Stealth
- Starts with Vicious Mockery, Minor Firebolt, Minor Acidsplash
- +1 Spell Save DC if any of your mental abilities is above 17 (INT/WIS/CHA)
- Melee attack deals double damage as force damage if you attack from Invisibility
- Level 5: Scare affects 2 targets and has increased range, unlocks Minor Bone Chill, Minor Bursting Sinew and Stone Throw (with custom icon), unlocks Burning Hands (Short Rest CD), +2 to all abilities, +1 AC
- Level 10: Scare affects 3 targets and has increased range, gain War Magic (extra attack after Cantrip, works with Throw Rock), Burning Hands has a larger range and no more cooldown, +2 to all abilities, +1 AC, also gain Minor Fireball once per Long Rest
- Cantrips, Claws and Throw Stone scale with level in damage
If you use my Rebalance - Level 1 Spells mod, Shovel's vicious mockery will also chain to additional targets.
Shovel will now also say a line at EVERY spell cast (not when using her melee attack or Throw Stone).
Us
- Base Health: 21 + 1 per Level
- Health is increased by 10 at Level 10
- When gained as a summon, does no longer have "Devour Intellect"
- Instead now has "Devour Physical Ability" and "Devour Mental Ability"
- They steal 2 of the corresponding 3 stats and give the target disadvantage on saving throws on these stats
- Gains +2 to all abilties on Level 10 and 12, +1 Spell Save DC and +1 AC
- Unlocks "Telekinetic Pull" at 10, similar to Priestess Gut's ability
- Unlocks "Telekinetic Push" at 12
- Synaptic Discharge is untouched and can target two targets at Level 12
Boo
- Base Health: 20 + 1 per Level
- Normal Bite attack can cause Off-Balance
- Has an infected Bite that deals Necrotic damage and can impact Constitution
- Both bites use Minsc's spell DC
Nimbus
- Base Health: 15 + 3 per Level
- Gained Alert Feat
- Omen is now a CHA save
- Omen and Umbral Tangle now use your spell save DC
- Learns Shadow Bite at Level 9, a ranged bite which deals necrotic damage and can also apply Omen, usable for a bonus action (he gains this instead of simply learning Extra Attack, which is less fun/interesting)
- Umbral Tangle damage is now that of a D6 cantrip (becomes 3d6 at 10)
- Ominous Bite deals 3d4 damage, scaling up to 3d8 (or 3d10 if you have mods that allow you to go past 12) - yes this is a little lower than vanilla at level 6
- The roll logic order for the omens is changed, this MAY make Fire appear more often than Acid
- Omens are no longer applied to allies, to prevent cheesing sorcery points (you should get a lot more via legitimate combat now though)
Frequently Asked Questions and General Knowledge
Any compatibility notes or load order advice?
Spoiler:
Show
- If you are using Unlock Level Curve it must be loaded before this mod as it overwrites all Wild Shapes and will overwrite the changes to Cat Wild Shape
- It is always recommended to use Compatibility Framework
- Load Community Library as one of your first mods (top of the list, lowest number) and Compatibility Framework as one of the last mods, with most mods inbetween the two
I have an issue with the mod not working properly, what now?
Spoiler:
If you have an issue with my mod, many problems are solved by going through regular troubleshooting steps. Alternatively you can search the comments for keywords (CTRL+F) to find answers.
General Troubleshooting:
Show
If you have an issue with my mod, many problems are solved by going through regular troubleshooting steps. Alternatively you can search the comments for keywords (CTRL+F) to find answers.
General Troubleshooting:
- Are you using BG3MM? If you are using Vortex, highly consider using BG3MM instead - Vortex is a mod manager that encompasses many many games, it cannot be developed to suit every need of every game. BG3MM is made specifically for Baldurs Gate 3, with all settings, bugfixes and options you could want.
- Try different load orders: Move the mod to the top of your list (below dependencies and other similar mods, e.g. ImpUI), if that doesn't work, try moving it to the bottom of the list
- Check for Dependencies: - most of my mods have no dependencies, but Compatibility Framework can solve a lot of mod interaction problems
- Test in Isolation: Remove all other mods and see if the issue persists
- Check comments: Go to the comments page and see if anyone has similar issues - maybe they already found the problem, or sometimes an issue arises, it is known and you just have to wait for an update
- Write a bug report: Only write a bug report if you have done the above steps. Bug reports are not there for me to 1 on 1 troubleshoot your mod issues. If you write a bug report, adhere to the basics of how to write a bug report, or I will delete it
How do I report a bug?
Spoiler:
First, bug reports are to report bugs with the mod, not to report compatibility issues with other mods or to troubleshoot your personal problems with getting the mod to work.
To write a bug report, head to the "bugs" tab and go through the following steps:
If a bug report fails to contain the above, it will be deleted. Sometimes it is not possible to provide all of the above - I can identify those situations (e.g. a hard to reproduce bug).
Since I started modding BG3, almost every bug report lacked vital information that could have been provided from the start if some effort was put into it and I had to question that information out of the reporter. That is time wasted on my part that I could have spent fixing the issue instead.
Show
First, bug reports are to report bugs with the mod, not to report compatibility issues with other mods or to troubleshoot your personal problems with getting the mod to work.
To write a bug report, head to the "bugs" tab and go through the following steps:
- Describe the issue - what happens, when does it happen, in which section of the game, what fight, what enemy, what dialog, etc.
- Describe the intended behavior - how does what happens differ from what you expected?
- Reproduction - What steps have to be taken to make the issue occur? Does it only happen in a specific mod configuration? Only in a specific order of actions?
- Troubleshooting done - What steps have you taken to try to fix the issue on your end?
- Visual Evidence - Provide screenshots or short videos, sometimes those can say a lot more than words or show something you struggle to describe
If a bug report fails to contain the above, it will be deleted. Sometimes it is not possible to provide all of the above - I can identify those situations (e.g. a hard to reproduce bug).
Since I started modding BG3, almost every bug report lacked vital information that could have been provided from the start if some effort was put into it and I had to question that information out of the reporter. That is time wasted on my part that I could have spent fixing the issue instead.
Can you add/remove/modify a section of your mod just for me or upload it as a seperate version?
Spoiler:
No.
Only if you are willing to pay me at an hourly rate. My mods take usually between 20 and 200 hours to make. Depending on what you are asking it can take several hours to create.
Additionally, every upload of a mod takes me a few minutes, due to the poor interface of the mod websites, writing changelogs and modifying images/description can add up to an hour. A seperate version doubles the normal workload from the moment I create it for EVERY future upload from that point onward. Every change, bugfix or new feature has to be mirrored into the new version and the entire upload process has to be repeated.
Are you willing to pay for that? Because I do not get anything out of a seperate version personally, it is just more tedious work for me.
Remember, at the end, we modders mod for ourselves first and only then decide to share our creations - which means putting work into something we don't intend using ourselves goes against the entire spirit and motivation of modding - motivation that has to be substituted somehow (e.g. by money).
We are not a company that creates a product for profit. We are passionate players that create and modify parts of the game and share it, so others can benefit from our work as well. Often players forget this and treat modders like they treat the company that developed the game.
You payed a company money to provide you a working product, with certain features advertised, you are entitled to certain things in that relationship.
With modders, you didn't do anything for us, we did something for you by going through the effort of making an account, uploading our work, modifying and bug-fixing our work to make it usable for people other than ourselves, creating mod images, descriptions, thumbnails etc. to show what the mod does - all work we wouldn't have done if we kept the mod to ourselves.
Why write this and risk sounding hostile?
I have gotten too many comments by people demanding things, asking in a not-so-polite manner for features or changes or just lacking the slightest hint of self-reflection. Or self-proclaimed balance experts that insist only their idea of what the mod should be is valid.
Comments like asking me to change the name of my mod (that over 50.000 people use) for one person because they refuse to use BG3MM and the in-game mod manager sorts mods alphabetically, in order for their load order to work. If that wasn't outrageous enough, the request was wrong, as the current name already put it in the correct order and renaming it would have resulted in a wrong load order.
They weren't hostile, but the sheer lack of thinking before making such a request is reflected regularly in comments and I am not thrilled to deal with it on a daily basis.
Show
No.
Only if you are willing to pay me at an hourly rate. My mods take usually between 20 and 200 hours to make. Depending on what you are asking it can take several hours to create.
Additionally, every upload of a mod takes me a few minutes, due to the poor interface of the mod websites, writing changelogs and modifying images/description can add up to an hour. A seperate version doubles the normal workload from the moment I create it for EVERY future upload from that point onward. Every change, bugfix or new feature has to be mirrored into the new version and the entire upload process has to be repeated.
Are you willing to pay for that? Because I do not get anything out of a seperate version personally, it is just more tedious work for me.
Remember, at the end, we modders mod for ourselves first and only then decide to share our creations - which means putting work into something we don't intend using ourselves goes against the entire spirit and motivation of modding - motivation that has to be substituted somehow (e.g. by money).
We are not a company that creates a product for profit. We are passionate players that create and modify parts of the game and share it, so others can benefit from our work as well. Often players forget this and treat modders like they treat the company that developed the game.
You payed a company money to provide you a working product, with certain features advertised, you are entitled to certain things in that relationship.
With modders, you didn't do anything for us, we did something for you by going through the effort of making an account, uploading our work, modifying and bug-fixing our work to make it usable for people other than ourselves, creating mod images, descriptions, thumbnails etc. to show what the mod does - all work we wouldn't have done if we kept the mod to ourselves.
Why write this and risk sounding hostile?
I have gotten too many comments by people demanding things, asking in a not-so-polite manner for features or changes or just lacking the slightest hint of self-reflection. Or self-proclaimed balance experts that insist only their idea of what the mod should be is valid.
Comments like asking me to change the name of my mod (that over 50.000 people use) for one person because they refuse to use BG3MM and the in-game mod manager sorts mods alphabetically, in order for their load order to work. If that wasn't outrageous enough, the request was wrong, as the current name already put it in the correct order and renaming it would have resulted in a wrong load order.
They weren't hostile, but the sheer lack of thinking before making such a request is reflected regularly in comments and I am not thrilled to deal with it on a daily basis.
What about feedback and ideas?
Spoiler:
Lets end this section on a positive note: I enjoy receiving constructive feedback and ideas. Many features of my mods were born entirely out of questions, feedback and ideas from users here on Nexus Mods. Even saying you feel like something isn't quite as it should (too strong/weak/situational) is useful, as long as you can accept if I don't see it that way, or that it may be that way in your mod setup, but maybe doesn't apply to the majority of users.
It can absolutely happen that a feature of my mods is entirely too strong or weak in your game - when for most people it is perfectly balanced. So is the nature of modded games. Without in-game mod settings it is impossible to balance mods in a way they fit perfectly into every setup. Even with settings it can be tricky (see my RimWorld mods for example).
That said, feel free to ask for things that add to the mod. Features many would enjoy, that do not impact the already existing features of the mod.
To clarify - take my Druid Wildshape Items mod as example. It took by far the most time to create of all of my mods. Regularly I have someone asking - and I will paraphrase to bring my point across: "Hey, can you make a version without all the cool stuff you spent 200 hours on and just with the vanilla items working in Wild Shape? Also maintain and update that version. Also I'm not paying you or giving you anything in return. Thanks."
It may not be what they wrote, but it is what they meant and what it comes down to if I was to entertain the idea.
All I'm asking for here is, think a second before you write something in the comments what you are actually asking off of me.
Show
Lets end this section on a positive note: I enjoy receiving constructive feedback and ideas. Many features of my mods were born entirely out of questions, feedback and ideas from users here on Nexus Mods. Even saying you feel like something isn't quite as it should (too strong/weak/situational) is useful, as long as you can accept if I don't see it that way, or that it may be that way in your mod setup, but maybe doesn't apply to the majority of users.
It can absolutely happen that a feature of my mods is entirely too strong or weak in your game - when for most people it is perfectly balanced. So is the nature of modded games. Without in-game mod settings it is impossible to balance mods in a way they fit perfectly into every setup. Even with settings it can be tricky (see my RimWorld mods for example).
That said, feel free to ask for things that add to the mod. Features many would enjoy, that do not impact the already existing features of the mod.
To clarify - take my Druid Wildshape Items mod as example. It took by far the most time to create of all of my mods. Regularly I have someone asking - and I will paraphrase to bring my point across: "Hey, can you make a version without all the cool stuff you spent 200 hours on and just with the vanilla items working in Wild Shape? Also maintain and update that version. Also I'm not paying you or giving you anything in return. Thanks."
It may not be what they wrote, but it is what they meant and what it comes down to if I was to entertain the idea.
All I'm asking for here is, think a second before you write something in the comments what you are actually asking off of me.