Like many of you I've also 'accidentally joined the Dozens' in my current (first) playthrough. I agree with some of you that this is slightly illogical even in a game where our choices can have unforeseen and potentially unwanted consequences (which I really applaud Obsidian for doing). I've been playing cRPGs since the 90s and I've always believed myself to be an attentive reader when it came to quests and such. However here, as a person who knew very little about the game before I started (I only read a couple pages of the Collector's Book to learn a few basic facts about the setting, but other than that I knew almost nothing about the story of the game. As such, I didn't even know there would be factions to choose from in Defiance Bay NOR what those factions would be. I entered the city, exploring around Copperlane and as many of you stumbled upon the Adventure Hall, which I assumed was a neutral establishment where the Dozens hang out (and NOT the HQ of the Dozens). So when I got the first job from Wenan I assumed it was just another contract and I glossed over the fact (yes, I'll admit it) that he warns me (rather subtly) that it may affect my standing with them. I didn't do the quest, simply continued exploring the city. Not until MANY HOURS LATER did I realize that accepting that contract was essentially joining / allying closely with the Dozens (that, the conversation does NOT imply). Anyway, I was frustrated by this fact as by then I discovered and learned more about the other factions and decided I wish to join House Doemenel. I completed their first tasks and was about to receive the quest from their leader when he said: 'Nope, sorry you're too close with the Dozens'. I was shocked... I haven't done anything for them save the armor quest for Osric. This frustrated me and to be honest (if a bit overzealous) it kinda ruined my playthrough. I resented the fact that I accidentally robbed myself of the choice of faction in the game. As I was MANY hours ahead of entering the city, reloading seemed like too much of a sacrifice so I searched the internet for ANY way to 'leave the Dozen'. Either by removing the Bronze Beneath the Lake quest or changing faction reputations. I played around with console commands (to no avail), tried killing all members of the Dozens- nothing. Then somewhere on one of the forums someone mentioned altering the .conversation game files but never elaborated on what to change (and he was talking about it from the Knights perspective). That person (whose username escapes me) mentioned only 'ExpressionComponents'. With that knowledge I embarked on my last ditch desperate attempt to 'fix' my problem and save my immersion in the game (call me petty, but I could not stomach being associated with the Dozens). I analyzed Gedmar's conversation file and after a few hours I found what I was looking for. Good news- it WORKS. After this change I successfully managed to trigger the Changing of the Guard quest in my playthrough, even though I had Bronze Beneath the Lake. I decided to share it with the community, since I'm sure many- like me, are really pissed about being accidental Dozens loyalists. *BE WARNED! * What I am about to describe involves editing the game files. It may bug your game/saves or lead to unforeseen circumstances. *ATTEMPT AT YOUR OWN RISK* How to trigger the Changing of the Guard quest (while having either Bronze Beneath the Lake and/or Winds of Steel active): 1. Find the '04_cv_edmar_doemenel.conversation' file (found in the Pillars of eternity folder \ PillarsOfEternity_data \ conversations \ 04_defiance_bay_brackenbury). 2. Make a backup copy of the file in case something goes wrong. 3. Open it using Notepad. 4. Search the document for: <string>n_MercenaryHire_State</string> 5. Below that line you should see:
<string>GreaterThan</string> <string>0</string>
Change <string>0</string>'= to <string>1</string> What this does is it eliminates the restriction for this quest being open to you if you ACCEPTED the Bronze Beneath the Lake quest. If the String is 0- you don't have the quest, if the string is 1- you do. So if the condition is set to 'Greater than 1' then just having the quest won't impact the availability of the Doemenel Quest. (IF you instead have the Winds of Steel quest for the Knights the procedure is the same but you have to search the document for: <string>n_Clyver_Quest_Stage</string> ) 6. Save the file. *ADDITIONAL WARNING* I have no idea how this may influence the later quests related to the hearings as honestly I haven't reached that point yet. As such I suggest either doing everything else and leaving these two quests for last (which is what I intend to do) and testing it fully then. In that way if it messes you up and leaves you with being unable to be sponsored, you can revert to an earlier save without losing too much progress. If someone else tries this before me and it causes no conflicts down the line- let us know! =P
