Veteran IWD 2 players know that the original design intent was to reduce experience for higher-level parties, to the point where many killed monsters give no XP at all. The mod community didn't like this, and suggested that overriding the XP tables in Moncrate.2DA would provide XP for all kills. But I am finding that it doesn't work that way. After a long period of playing other games, I returned to IWD and started a new party, with the Moncrate file suitably adjusted. EXP went down as expected when it was supposed to (as you go from 7th to 8th to 9th level in the Ice Temple, those Crystal Golems become worth substantially less). But after achieving 11th lvl and heading into the Underdark, I discovered I was still not getting XP for the Fire Beetles and the Ice Trolls. None, nada. And then to test the concept I took an 18th lvl character and started a new game, to discover I was getting no XP for the goblins in Targos (but there were more of them in keeping with the "scaling" feature that adds more enemies to low-level encounters for high-level parties).

This is really annoying. There are dozens of posts on the Internet assuring one and all that simply modifying Moncrate will give experience for all kills. I just don't enjoy wasting a bunch of monsters for nothing, you know (which is an objection I have to the new Pillars of Eternity, but that's another story).

So far as I can tell, the file name is spelled correctly, the numbers are correct, and if the Internet assurances are correct I should be getting XP for those kills. Has anyone seen this in their own games? I note that, interestingly, the Hook Horrors were providing 137 XP per kill (all-11th lvl party), even though the Moncrate file does not contain that number at 11th level or anywhere. Leaving me to think something is NOT being overriden that should be.

Ah, that mystery solved. For whatever reason I had Moncrate saved as a .txt file. It needs to be a regular file like the others in Override.

-- Mal