Expanded Mage Stronghold

The Expanded Mage Stronghold mod is a stripped-down, modernized, and rebalanced BG2:EE and EET version of the old Planar Sphere Mod.
The big arch-sorcerer quest-line of the classic mod has been removed, and the remaining content polished (overpowered items nerfed etc.)
==Triggering==
After completing the canonical Mage Stronghold quests, the Expanded Mage Stronghold quests begin once Gorion's Ward returns to the Planar Sphere after at least 8 hours have passed, or if they sleep in the Sphere for at least 8 hours.
Upon triggering, Teos appears in the entry hall of the Planar Sphere. Speaking to him reveals he has a new offer; to use your sphere as the new Athkatla Academy of Magic. If you agree, you are given the Cowled Wizard Badge, a (currently unidentified) magic amulet.
==New Residents==
After agreeing, the Welcome Room (where the Solamnic Knights were originally found) becomes occupied by several new figures; Teos, three Tutors, an Examiner, a Cowled Enforcer and Vortel, a Rakshasa who acts as a merchant.
Apprentices and Tutors can now be found scattered throughout the various rooms on the top level of the Sphere. They can be interacted with, but are just generic NPCs.
In the Aquatic Room, an eccentric Conjurer named Wielter can be found with several generic demons.
The Rune Room contains two students using golem "Test Dummies" to practice powerful combat spells. Don't get too close to the golems, or you may take damage.
==Miniquests==
After speaking to Teos once in the Welcome Room, do so again and he will tell you that the Cowled Wizards have lost a powerful magical artifact, one being warded by Mystra herself, when its wardings blew up their research facility. He sends you to retrieve it from a Red Wizard spy, who is hiding in Waukeen's Promenade. This spy can be found in the Den of the Seven Vales; when spoken to, they will attack, and a Red Wizard will teleport in. These two mages are very high level, and can even cast 10th level spells like Comet! The traitorous Cowled Wizard is worth 15,000 EXP and drops an Amulet of 5% Magic Resistance, Robe of the Neutral Archmagi, a Cloak of Non-Detection, a Ring of the Princes, 2 scrolls of Spell Trigger, a scroll of Disintegrate, a Staff Spear, 500 gold pieces, and the Artifact that Teos sent you for. The Red Wizard is worth 30,000 EXP and drops Amulet of Spell Warding, Robe of the Evil Archmagi, Cloak of the Shield, a Red Wizard Ring, a Ring of the Princes, a Wand of Sleep, a Wand of Polymorphing, Red Wizard Orders, a Martial Staff, and 2000 gold pieces. Upon returning to Teos, you will receive 5,000 EXP and watch a cutscene as the Cowled Wizards attempt to unward the Artifact, only to produce... a rabbit. An ordinary rabbit. At this, you kick Teos out of the Sphere, although the rest of the students and tutors remain behind.
When you speak to one Tutor in the Welcome Room, they will ask you retrieve a Scroll of Magic Missile so they can copy it for the students. Retrieve it, and earn 1,000 EXP.
When you speak to the Examiner, he will ask you to assess a quarter of students. If you agree, you will need to speak to each in turn. All will die, horribly, but you will earn 10,000 EXP for each of them. The female on the right will summon a Nabassu as she dies, so be prepared to fight it!
When you speak to the Cowled Enforcer, they will ask you to hunt down and assassinate a member of the staff that they claim is secretly a spy for the Red Wizards of Thay. They will ask you to hunt down Inchantra, who they claim is in one of the far rooms beyond the control room. She can be found in the Mushroom Grove; upon entry, she accuses Gorion's Ward of being a Thayvian spy named Varius and attacks, even if the player tries to reason with her. She drops an Adventurer's Robe, a Dagger, a Potion of Retrieval, and two magic rings; the Circlet of Infernal Shielding and the Tutor's Ring. Naturally, the Cowled Enforcer reveals himself to be the real Thayvian spy, Varius, and sheds his disguise before attacking as a Rune Assassin. When slain, he is worth 4,500 EXP and drops leather armor, a Short Sword +1, a Potion of Extra Healing, and a Jasper Gem.
In the Golem Room, a baatazu will claim to have been given permission to practice in the Planar Sphere with several diabolic apprentices, but is being magically restrained by protective wards for obvious reasons. It asks you to use a Scroll of Steal Spell to steal the spells being used to restrain it from Wielter. After doing this, he will declare that the spell is tied to Wielter's lifeforce, and the Cowled Wizard must be slain to break the wards; since he cannot do so himself without breaking contract. The player can either agree for a larger reward, or refuse. If they refuse, the baatezu turns hostile and attacks; if killed, it's worth 16,000 EXP. If they kill Wielter, he is worth 8,000 EXP and drops 451 Gold Pieces, Barrier Robes, a Staff Mace, a Ring of Fire Resistance, Bracers of Defense AC 8, and Scrolls of Cacofiend and Gate. The baatezu will reward the player for this act with 60,000 EXP, the custom spells Melectar's Spell Regeneration and Blood to Acid, and the magical amulet Avernus Ward.
A tutor next to a puddle of slime on the walkway linking the Rune Room and the Navigator's Room begs for your assistance in restoring the former student to their former self, which requires a Scroll of Remove Curse and a Necklace of Form Stability. Doing so gains you 2,000 EXP and three scrolls bearing three new custom spells; the level 8 spells Mordenkainen's Forceful Hammer and Tereledra's Pocket Army, and the level 3 spell Otiluke's Intangible Filter.
Melicamp can be found in the Bastion, and he proudly proclaims that he has abandoned his former teacher Thalantyr to become a Cowled Wizard. If the player describes Thalantyr as a wise and capable teacher, the indignant Melicamp will teleport away. If they ask what Melicamp is doing here, he will explain he is studying the cursed bracers that turned him into a chicken back in Baldur's Gate, asserting he can undo their magic. Although Gorion's Ward warns that he's making a dangerous gamble, Melicamp won't be dissuaded and tries his spell. Naturally, it goes wrong and he is turned into a chicken again, and is reduced to asking Gorion's Ward to send for Thalantyr via his tutor, who can be found in the Welcome Room. Once the tutor has been spoken to, return to Melicamp and speak to him; Thalantyr will teleport in and, after some polite discussion, take Melicamp back to Baldur's Gate to cure him and try to knock some sense into him. The party will receive 50,000 EXP; in dialogue, Thalantyr will claim to give Gorion's Ward some Netheril scroll-relics he discovered, but these do not appear in the player's inventory. The item codes referenced in the dialogue ("Psqevis" and "Psqkcf") do not refer to any actual items. They may be some of the custom spells cut from the Extended Version of the mod.
In the Navigator's Room, the player will find a number of apprentices, led by Assistant Scott, and a Cowled Wizard named "The Professor". If the player speaks to the Professor, he explains he intends to open a portal to Sigil, and he cannot be dissuaded from this, instead casting his spell. This results in Assistant Scott and three apprentices being apparently gruesomely killed, whereupon a narrator asserts that in fact they have actually been transported elsewhere in the multiverse, but you will need to wait for a new version to find out where, and suggesting that you email the mod's creator. This is apparently one of the questlines from the original version of this mod that was never finished. The party gains 525 EXP for each of the four casualties, for a total of 2,100 EXP.
There is also a somewhat hidden Astral Projection of a Mage figure named "Inferno", apparently from Sigil. This projection is only found if you explore the shadowy side passages just before the bridge in the caverns. Speak with the projection, and later, after 24 hours or three resting cycles have passed, speak with him again for new dialogue options. Depending on what you choose to say to Inferno, you could have an epic fight with this creature, and gain a powerful item if victorious. You could also be destroyed by a unique Spell called Abyssal Fury. Inferno's projection is worth 25,000 XP. Inferno is highly resistant to many forms of damage, even without spells or buffs. He also likes to cast a dangerous bolt of electricity or two. 
About a week or so after owning the Planar Sphere, and having completed all of the initial quests inside, if you enter your stronghold an apprentice will tell you that the spere has been invaded by a band of plundering adventurers. But not to worry, as you have some dialogue with the unwanted interlopers, a group of your apprentices' teleport in to assist you. Unfortunately, they botch their spell casts and hurt or kill themselves, much to the amusement of the outlaw band. It is now up to you to defeat these evil adventurers. 
Later on, maybe a week later, if you visit your Sphere, the attending apprentice greets you again and sounds the alarm that yet another group of invaders seeks to destroy your Stronghold. This time it is a group of Fanatics, who's agenda is to abolish all magic. After some potentially amusing dialogue with the Fanatics, where you can point out that the Fanatics themselves appear to have no problem utilizing magical items in their zeal to destroy magic - there seems to be no way to avoid bloodshed. The group becomes Hostile. Should you defeat them, there is more unique and mundane loot available. The Fanatics are high level and competent melee fighters. 
After returning from the Underdark, you might be lucky or unlucky enough to end up battling some enchanted brooms. It depends on who you speak with and the dialogue options. These Brooms are much tougher than battling Mordenkainen's Swords, by far. It could provide significant reward for significant risk.
==Mod screenshot gaallery==
Expanded Mage Stronghold.png|Expanded Mage Stronghold screenshot - One of many encounters that occur when returning to your Planar Sphere. A group of powerful anti-mage Fanatic's attack.
EMS_1.jpg|Degrodel from BG1 fame makes claim to the PC's Stronghold Sphere in Chapter 6. Hostilities ensue.
EMS_2.jpg|The mage summons his "Helmet Horror" minions for support. Pictured is the SCS mod revising the mage's AI scripts.
EMS_3.jpg|Several waves of gated and summoned creatures are conjured. A Dark Planetar and two Efreeti are added to his forces.
EMS_4.jpg|And even more summoning, with an Earth, Wind, and Fire theme - elemental style.
==External links==
*GitHub - Magestronghold
Category:Quest mods