Thank you all for your support. I have some bad news, however. I will be leaving the modding forums as of today. This means both Zeke and The Crimson Guard will not be released. I'm sorry. Farewell!

Aww I wanted to know more about Sero. With a name that cool, I want to know more. But I guess I have to wait.

Er, thank you.

Oh, I'm sorry I saw this post kind of late. I really only check TeamBG by now for stuff related to my mods. But I saw you registered there. Okay, the suggestion.

Hey... It was a long time I didn't come here and then I saw this mod.... Can I give a suggestion? Maybe it will be useless or someone already told you but... Since he will not be able to have much time to talk I suggest to make almost all banters with the pc like PCinitiated for example when you press on him to talk you would choose:

Have you something to say? (for friendship talks)
You look like wanted to tell me something (for romance)

And devide the dialgues for chapters as for example in the second chap he has only five banters and after them he just say 'Maybe later' and get new 3 banters in chap 3.
I don't know if you played to the NPCmod for IceWindDale2 but in that game all character talked as they do in BG but because of the engine there were a great risck of loosing some dialogues so there were a way to force a certain numbers of dialogues for chapter.
I think this mod need something like that, I don't know how to do it but mine maybe is justan useless late suggestion (I know I would be a good Xan frien)

Player initiated lovetalks and friendtalks? I suppose it's possible to include some Unlike banters that fire randomly, the love- and friend talks are fired with a timer: after a certain amount on real life time has passed, and he is in human form (usually). I will have to give Zeke a thorough playtest to see how it would affect gameplay. I don't expect to get everything right the first time. I wouldn't want players to miss certain talks.

Zeke (Leopard Love) isn't out yet, but feel free to Crossgoth him too.

I have two suggestions. I have no doubt they have already been made, but at present I'm unable to browse through the whole forum. My first suggestion is to make female dwarves keep their paperdoll, but use the female gnome/halfling avatar. Right now they use the male avatar and it drives me nuts! IWD1 had them as female gnomes/halflings, so why not BG2? And the second suggestion is make female gnome mages look like females, not bald and bearded.

I'm sorry if this topic is useless, but there you have my 2gp.

This mod is now hosted at TeamBG: Leopard Love

This mod is now found over at TeamBG: The Crimson Guard

Finally a computer with internet! I swear, my inbox was about to burst! The tour is going well enough, only a couple dozen mess-ups. We're all having a good time, however, so I'm happy. Dead tired and can't wait to sleep in my own bed, but happy.

Well, this mod sounds awesome. And yay, another male who will romance males. Not enough of those, if you ask me.

I didn't read a whole lot about the nature of the curse, but I did see someone say that it sounded a lot like lycanthropy to them. This curse reminds me of the curse Kelemvore suffered before his cure and then ascention to Godhood. Kelemvore turned into a black panther, but he was by no means a lycanthrope.

By the way, the portraits are very tasty.

Do not apologize for having to be away for a time, most mods for BG take ages upon ages and we are all used to waiting for the good stuff, and this mod sounds very much like its going to be some of the good stuff. I do wish I had seen this sooner though so that you could see my post before you left. Ah well, it will be waiting here for you when you return, so that you can see you have another encouraging fan. :-D

Hello Suspiria! Thank you for your interest. I am happy Zeke appeals to you, and I agree! There should me more manlove in Faerun. Someone else has already mentioned the Kelemvor "condition", and while I know little about that, I did not think of Zeke's condition as true lycanthropy. It has different origins. What those are is a secret for now, lest I spoil too much. Worry not, Zeke isn't a god or anything. But I suppose the effects of his conditions are akin to lycanthropy.

Best of luck on your tour!

And...oh my. Nix did some incredible work with the portraits.

Thank you Ipsissimus! Yes, Nix's art is magic. I admit that human Zeke's right eye (left eye actually, but right in the picture) looks a little odd to me at first glance, but upon closer inspection of the whole portrait, I don't see it anymore. I guess it's just my imagination.

Hihi! Today I'm leaving for a UK tour, so I won't be around for a while. My deepest apologies to everyone.

Thanks! I appreciate it. The home situations seem to have returned to normal, though I do have a tour coming up, which means no time for modding.

I've written dialogue for Lando, did some early coding to get him into the game, created creature files for him and the regular Crimson Guard soldiers, and outfitted them with new items. The regular soldiers will use Crimson equipment that's almost almost equal to regular or +1 weapons and armour. Only the elites have special equipment.

I've been doing some coding and some testing, despite some tough situations at home.

I've updated the first post. He has portraits now, thanks to Nix!

Rawrrr... look at that handsome guy. Thanks so much!!! It was more then worth the wait!

Maybe you don't need any of them, but if you're interested, I can probably send them to you. Sorcerer's Place Collection is over at G3, and Volcanic Armoury is located here. I don't know the location or status of the other mods, except for the BWL ones, which is down for now. RPGDungeon has removed their item pack, too.

Preview!

Edwin: Indulge me, feline. How did you get yourself into this pathetic predicament?
Zeke: I...don't know why I should tell you, Edwin.
Edwin: (Hmpf. Secretive fool...) You should inform me because we travel together. I have the right to know. Besides, secrets will get you nowhere.
Zeke: If that is true...why are you being so secretive yourself?
Edwin: Edwin Odesseiron does not have secrets. Merely a lack of competent companions with more intelligence and skill than the average simple baboon.
Zeke: If I'm so unworthy, then I suppose I really don't have to share.
Edwin: Bah. Keep it to yourself if you must, puss. I will unfold this matter sooner or later anyhow, and make you regret this choice.

Minsc: Friend Ezekiel! You have returned! But wait, where is your cat?
Zeke: Oh, he's...sleeping. Yeah.
Minsc: Boo finds it curious that you let your cat do most of the fighting. You are a strong warrior yourself. You should fight alongside your animal companion! Like Minsc and Boo!
Zeke: I... (shakes head) I take turns with him, so neither of us gets too tired.
Minsc: So that is why! It pleases Boo that you take such good care of your companion. I think he is a little envious, maybe. Don't worry little Boo, Minsc would never do anything bad to you!

(Minsc is so cute when he's oblivious like that )

It's not much, but there you have it.

That's what I suspected, but it's better to ask than risk bugging my game. Thanks.

Ahh good, I can use those to get the right dimensions!

Hello! I'm curious to know the portrait dimensions of Icewind Dale 1 & 2. You know, width x height. Apparently my BG portraits don't work well in IWD2.

Okay, so I got the set. I just installed IWD and Heart of Winter. I'm guessing I need to install the latest HoW patch instead of the standard IWD one....just like TotSC and ToB fully patch the standard BG1 and BG2 games also. Is this correct?

You sure do have loads of ideas, Eric. Are you listing every RP/RPG character you ever came up with, or is this merely a small fraction? Looks good though.

This mod is now found over at TeamBG: The Crimson Guard


First of all, forgive me if any of this sounds off. I'm immensely sleepy at the moment.

When I'm taking small breaks away from Zeke, I have been writing up something else, inspired by the old Vandal Hearts game that I replayed recently. I really liked the Crimson Guard, an anti-terrorism force, fighting the rebel forces (the heroes). They're so cruel and corrupt. So I thought, why not add them to Baldur's Gate? Maybe they could hunt Bhaalspawn by default, or maybe they'll only come after the PC if the reputation is below a certain point. Whichever solution works best.

So that means at least 5 hostile encounters, each featuring a Crimson Guard elite.

• Lando Height - The Hitman
  
• Dallas Magnar - The Juggernaught
  
• Kurtz Morrison - The Warmaster
  
• Sabina Doom - The Valkyrie
  
• Kane Spites - The Assassin

Other enemies would include "standard" crimson soldiers, archers, clerics and mages. The idea is to let a standard party attack the party first, and after one or several battles, Lando's team appears. All enemies should be killed, but there is a chance Lando will surrender if he has xx% HP left, provided he's not slaughtered. The player can choose to kill him anyway, take him prisoner, trust him and have him join, or send him away (possibly encountering him as enemy again in the battle with Kane). The "prisoner" and "trust" paths will branch seperately, and will lead to a different relationship with him. Generally the prisoner path is less nice, though the player may decide to trust him at a certain point.

Prisoner path -------------------------------->
Trust path -------------------------------->
Prisoner/Trust path ----------> Trust ------------->

I'm not planning on making Lando a romance option, though. He will have plenty of development otherwise. Let's reveal more about him, shall we?

Strength: 15
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 11

Naturally he's male, and he's a human of Lawful Evil alignment and Fallen Ranger class, and he's 25 years old. He's specialized in bows and can also use shortswords if needed. Like the other Crimson Guard elites, he has custom Crimson platemail and weapons. Lando's custom weapon is the Killbow, a longbow +2 that adds 1 additional lightning damage. His Crimson plate gives him additional resistance to ranged/piercing weapons, and allows for a "Improved Invisibility" spell once/day.

He is the newest addition to the elites, and the most inexperienced one. Usually Crimson Guards are a tight team, although Lando would rather live than stay true to them, and so he surrenders to the Bhaalspawn. Lando shows some of his harsh and evil Crimson Guard attitude in his personality. He has no desire of being redeemed. He is who he is.

So why would you take him along after he just attacked you? He promises to help you with information on your new enemies, as well as help you defeat them. The Crimson Guards are likely to come after Lando anyway, if he chooses to betray them, so it has to be done sooner or later...and by himself, Lando has no chance. If you send him away, Lando is still a Crimson Guard member and will fight against you later in Kane's battle (after being punished quite horribly ).

Some random trivia about Lando:

• As a fallen ranger, he cannot stealth or cast spells, but he has some tracking experience. He's good at finding stuff and people.
  
• He doesn't drink alcohol. Intoxicating him is a bad idea.
  
• He used to have a romantic relationship, which ended when he was "persuaded" to join the Crimson Guard.
  
• Lando seems to care more for animals than he does for people. They soothe him.

Following is some information on the other Crimson Guard elites.

Kane is the team captain and a heartless Neutral Evil bastard, the son of the goverment official (Hel Spites in Vandal Hearts) who commands the Crimson Guard. He's an excellent warrior, wielding his scimitar Caliburn alongide a Crimson tower shield. His nickname may imply he is an assassin (as in the rogue), but he's simply a highly effective murder machine.

Sabina is the only elf in the team, also Neutral Evil. She is highly trained at using arcane magicks, along with her crossbow the Rune Bow, making her the only mage among the elites, and Lando's superior in archery. Like Kane, she possesses a cruel streak and loves to taunt her opponents. Her Crimson plate is exceptionally light and allows her to cast spells while wearing it.

Kurtz is a Lawful Evil monk, team strategist, as well as the calmest member of the Crimson Guard. This does not make him any less dangerous, however. He is swift and nible, attacking with fist, foot, and poisoned daggers. He is the only Crimson Guard member who doesn't wear platemail, but rather a magically enchanted Crimson monk robe.

Dallas is the team's hothead and juggernaught, though perhaps not the brightest fellow around. He gets enraged easily, and although he is slow, he is capable of dealing immense blows with his halberd Bloodied Axe. Out of all Crimson Guard members, this Chaotic Evil dwarf has the highest constitution, health and defense, and an offense strength that is equal to Kane's. His Crimson plate gives him resistance to magic.

Fortunately I don't have to write this alone. I found some help, but I'd always welcome more as in proofreaders, playtesters, and perhaps some coding and scripting help. I have already commissioned a portrait over at the resource request.

Any feedback, comments are welcome! Always nice to hear another's opinion. Though I'll answer one obvious question here now, and that's no, Leopard love will not be put on hold. In fact, I'm finishing it up as we speak. It will be released first.

Awww no imports. That's too bad. Thanks though.

*hugs and slips £10 in hand*

Good points are brought up, though I never said he was a rapist. To me that borders on the hedonistic cruelty of Neutral Evil, and he's not very motivated to be evil.

Hence the question mark. I was asking, not assuming.

In fact, he's just got something about him that has gotten him luck with some women.

I wonder what that something is, I wonder?

The story of his bastard child is not a rape story either. A human woman, a youthful knight is lost near an orcish camp and would surely have been cut down if Zungmar hadn't directed her a safe escape. She was... greatful to say the least.

It can happen, but it seems like a rather slutty way to thank a random orc for guiding her away from an encampment, especially because she's a knight. Is she Sunite, or does she do every helpful orc, ogre and bugbear she comes across?

That's not to say he's a wuss and that he doesn't care about everything. He's just learned growing up that asking too many questions or too much doubt will get you hurt or dead in orc society.

I'm glad to read where it comes from.

To say he cares about nothing is perhaps too literal, though perhaps I set myself up for it. The more he stays with the party, the more he opens up a bit to them due to the fact that they're accepting him in spite of his race. His attraction for characters is not a sadistic thing either. For the most part, he is lonely, especially as an orc without a god or a tribe to call his own.

As he learns about the Bhaal heritage of your character, he may wonder about it and realize that she's different too and thus, a similarity can be found in their difference from the norm.

As such, most of his npc romances fail since they're not impressed by his strength mixed with his humbleness. The more I think on it, they probably all should, but could stir up some interesting romance issues.

I understand this too. Just be careful and try not to make him too popular. It takes spotlight away from the other NPC's and the PC, and it would make me (and others) wonder what all those Faerunian girls see in this orc, instead of any other inhabitant of the Realms. Seeing an orc surrounded by a dozen girls swooning and drooling over him makes my eyes roll. I don't care how big he is.

Unfortunately, my harddrive is broken and I need a new one... fun, so most of my data I don't know if its salvagable. Not that I had much data, but reinstalling all the needed mods is always choresome.... another story alltogether

Of course, the whole thing might need a backburner for a bit. I do have other ideas that might be a bit easier to manage

Backup you should have, young padawan...