Thanks for the support Berelinde, KIrving.

You should take a look at the definition and background info of Charisma and decide whether your character has these qualities. There are lots of varying definitions, but the most common attributes of charasma are listed in several dictionaries:

*Leadership - Others see you as a natural leader; you easily take charge.
*Persuasion - You are easily able to convince others to do what you want or believe in your point of view.
*Personal Magnatism - Others are draws to you.
*Likeability - Others can not help but like you.

If you character has high charisma she should have some or all of these characteristics. Hope this helped.

To tell the truth I think it would be refreshing.  There are some prickly, intense, arrogant, and annoying NPC's available in BG2.  They all have their charm (I even warmed up to Anomen after a while) but I think it would be nice to have an NPC who gets along with almost everyone.  

Of course, it depends on the player, but I also think charname would welcome a father figure since he/she was almost an orphan and Gorian has been dead for some time.

I swear, if she's ever actually released for BG1, she will most probably be released for BG2 one day as well. :3 Thanks for the kind words!

Well thats good to hear!  And you're welcome; newbies got to stick together.  

For the record, as part of his friendship, Riysler would also comment extensively on Charname's romantic entanglements, especially with Aerie and Jaheira. Riysler takes an almost paternal view of Aerie, though it wouldn't be a friendship track per se and he takes a similar view of Nalia, and he's an old friend of Jaheira-I'm seriously considering writing Riysler's lore as he being the priest who married Khalid and Jaheira. It isn't Riysler's style to be critical of Charname, but as I've said, he may rebuke Charname when he/she makes decisions he disagrees with.

What if Charname is a girl?  Have any ideas about how he'd react to her romance with Anomen?  What about if she were romancing Darian?  I'm sure you'd have some insight into that relationship, considering.  

I really like this concept you've made! You've put a lot of thought into it too. She sounds like she would be a lot of fun to have in the party. Makes me wish I still owned BG1 lol!

A difference of opinion I suppose. In real life I like to surround myself with people who will challenge me. People tend to take themselves much too seriously and I respect anyone who can bring me down a notch with a good dose of humor.

No offense taken.

But he really isn't out for attention. He settles down after a while, he is just one of those people who likes to see how far he can push people. He respects characters who will put him in his place.

Jaheira, for example, distrusts him for a long time and reacts very negatively to his advances. But after a while she realizes that he says a lot of things he doesn't mean and means a lot of thigs he doesn't say. They won't ever be buddies, but they will come to respect each other as efficient warriors who can be relied upon when it counts (in battle).

You're right of course, and I can see why you would think that. One thing to consider though; he does it TO annoy you, and he's not really "your man" yet. It would take almost the whole game to get him to commit.

Its in his nature to create emotional chaos. He probably does it partly to keep people off balance and partly to see how they will react. He will test each character in the party. Flirting with the women (who he is secretly not really intereted in) even when he knows he will be rejected is just one way he pushes the people around him. He will challenge the men in the party as well (although in different ways!) lol.

Sounds really interesting. Am I detecting some horrible Resident Evilesque event in his past?

You say he thinks of Jaheira as a "My Dear". How does he react to Viconia?

Im glad Darian won't be delayed, but I do hope you end up making one of these characters a reality sometime in the future. I really like the idea of Riysler. It must be really hard for him to attack charname even if he/she sides with Bohdi; he must feel VERY strongly about the undead.

I've been writing more to flesh out Khail's personality. Khails is pretty outrageous, and he will flirt maddeningly with any female characters in the party. Below is a banter of his first attempt at Jaheira:


Jaheira Banter 1 - Fresh Air:


Khail: Ahhhh... Fresh air! It is a fine day to be outside! Don't you agree Jaheira?

Jaheira: You do not need to ask; you are well aware of my love of nature. Though, I am somewhat surprised that you share the sentiment. You seem rather fond of the city and all of its... diversions.

Khail: Jaheira, my dear, No man worth his sword is unfond of diversions. And yet, I find myself attracted to this wilderness. It is both dangerous and beautiful.

Jaheira: Indeed it is; I would not underestimate it were I you. Your city wiles will not help you here.

Khail: Oh, I don't know about that... My sword is as sharp beneath the stars as it is in Athkatla's alleys.

Jaheira: I suggest you keep it sheathed lest you get cut.

Khail: Hah! I shall indeed. The clever hunter lies in wait.


Any feedback?

Yes, definitely signature styles are always more interesting than generics.
Just be careful you don't twist their backs into the snaky-range. ^^

Yes you're very right; I have a tendancy to give them funny backs. The archer I drew turned anorexic while I wasn't paying attention lol. It't why I'm studying anatomy right now, trying to fix those little problems.

Must say, you've got an interesting style with drawing your females, Unmei. ^^

I do? Thanks, I hope its a good thing lol. I really like how you draw most of your characters in action poses.

You're right Berelinde. I get caught up in the small stuff sometimes.

And I haven't tried Hubblepot I'll have to give him a go lol.

Wow Whatbrick, you beat me to it lol... Well here's my version of Galsic's archer:



I tried to draw a Silent Hill one too, but I'm not talented enough to draw a missing jaw lol:



And here's my submission:

I think it does. I can always change it later! Looks like its time to do some more writing.

Code as you go huh? This is probably a good idea. I think I'll do some more brainstorming, and if I can flesh out my idea enough, I start writing/coding this.

And thanks for the tips vilkacis. Do you think this sounds more reasonable for stats?

STR 14, DEX 16, CON 16, WIS 10, INT 12, CHA 14

If I was you I would just start writing dialogue in the BG2 format and see how much you come up with before you run out of steam.

A lot of modders and regulars around here will be happy to help you out with the coding side of things, it's the actual content that tends to be the biggest slowdown. Funnily enough most people think it is the coding that puts people off but really once you get used to the basics it's pretty straight forward. Coding all the conditions might seem problematic but that too can be resolved fairly easily so long as you outline what you want clearly in a post here.

BG2 format:

NPC SAY ~something~
Player Reply Option 1
Player Reply Option 2
Player Reply Option 3

NPC Reply to Option 1 SAYS ~something else~
Player Reply Option 1
Player Reply Option 2
Player Reply Option 3

NPC Reply to Option 2 SAYS ~something else entirely~
Player Reply Option 1
Player Reply Option 2
Player Reply Option 3

etc

Or at least that's the basic premise.

You'll find that for some people it's not as easy as it seems to write in this format. You always have to be thinking: the player must be able to reply and I cannot put words in their mouth (as in it is generally unacceptable to have a Player Reply with only one option to choose).

Thanks for the tips! I'll keep it in mind. I think I have the way of writing mostly figured out. I did a sample dialogue in my Khail NPC brainstorming session. It looked right to me, but then again, I always think I'm right until someone comes along and corrects me lol.

I do not mean to discourage you, but do not underestimate the amount of work that comes with a (fully designed and outlined) NPC mod. I can't find jcompton's quote, but it went something like "start coding with something easy, see your text in the game, and jump up and down in excitement"
I strongly recommend WeiDU and it's readme, which has a lot of examples in it.

And here a link to my Ajantis mod in progress (threads in English are marked as such): http://www.rosenrank...ex.php?board=68
Thank you for your interest!

I'm not underestimating the work it takes to create an npc mod. I'm just brainstorming right now. I know it would be much harder, but I think it would also hold my interest much longer. Plus coding comes kind of naturally to me. I write html, css, and a little bit of java, php, and vb lol. I'm not underestimating Weidu, but I think I could do it if I was passionate about the project.

And yeah, I'll definitely be checking out your Ajantis mod.

I really like the sound of this. It has promise.

Yeah... Its not very good but I did my best lol. I dont usually draw guys.



And here's mine:

It doesn't sound like a bad idea in my opinon.
And it could be possible to implement, undoubtly complicated tho.

Good thinking Unmei, maybe ambitous, but good thinking nonetheless.
And I'm sure there'll be people willing to help out if you decide to go ahead with this.
I know I would.

Anyways there's just my opinion. Its all a lot of work regardless.

Thanks for that. If I were to write any mod I would undoubtedly need help lol. I have no experience.

I've put a lot of thought into this and decided that this is probably unrealistic for my first project. Maybe I'll come back to it when I have a better idea of what writing a mod really takes. I am thinking about doing an NPC mod. Possibly even more work than this, but there are a lot more resources on how to do it, and it sounds like even more fun lol.

Do you write mods? Any advice?

This feedback is so helpful lol. I wouldnt have thought of half of these things.

As for the no strings attached, yes that is what Khail is looking for at first. In fact, it might annoy the pc to see him flirt outrageously with any pretty females who join the party. Even Mazzy will get some action, although I doubt she would respond favorably. And because he is no strings attached up until things get really involved, you can kick him out repeatedly to your hearts content without breaking the romance. Really, if you want someone who is faithful and dedicated Khail is not the right guy. Once he admits to himself his feelings for the pc he will be grudgingly faithful, and 100% deddicated to her. But you will have to put up with... A LOT to get to that point lol! Also, charname will be able to have concurrent romances with anyone else, and participate in the Romantic Encounters all the way until the turning point, which will come closer to the end of the game.

As for the stats and money, it looks like I need some help in that department. Advice? What do you think his stats should be? He has to be physically much better than average (a slow mercenary is a dead mercenary) and he has to have at least better than average charisma. He is no mathmetician, but he isnt dumb. Also, for the money, what is a good price? I made it pretty low because I dont want it to interfere with someone useing this mod. Its part of the story, but I dont want it to be a road block.

So far, it sounds like people kind of like this idea of mine lol. I think I might go ahead and try to do it. I have never made a mod before so advice is more than welcome.

Thanks for all the help so far!

Doing my best to be helpful, I'll give you a quick analysis of what worked for me.
Pro:
-- I like the idea that he will give gnomes etc. a fair chance. It's a nice change.
(Though I seldom play as a gnome.)
Quite reasonable done, too. They just need to be pretty enough.
-- I find his a bit high, but I can live with that.
-- His biography is both funny and witty.

Con:
--I'm not really fond of the weekly fee.
As he's a mercenary, it makes sense, but while he's in the party he shares it with all members.
Where should it go? Doesn't it simply vanish, when you use a script?

Neutral:
-- Stats. I find his Intelligence and Charisma to be a bit high, but there might be a reason behind it.
Even if not I can live with it. Just a comment.
-- Korgan is a mercenary, too. He charges only on party entering.

Overall, I rather like him.
He seems to be funny and a bit more reasonable in his goals, money, than most NPCs.
That I like him is admittedly not all that flattering as I collect NPC like other people artwork, but I am
always happy to get another one for my collection.
But it could be a long way until he's done, when you have really planned two quests for him.
Though, don't let that discourage you. Good luck with it.

PS: This post was written rather late. I'm asking for lenience here. Don't kill me, if I don't make sense.

Thank you so much for your advice! You make some really good points. Stats are pretty negotiable at this point but I do want him to have a little better than average charisma. Its kind of part of his personality. He is so funny and easy to get along with that you forget how dangerous and unpredictable he can be. He'll definitely throw you some curve balls, and you'll just have to make it work.

I never did use Korgan; I didnt like his attitude lol. So I didnt remember he was a mercenary or what his price is. I kind of want to do the weekly price as part of his story line, but I could lower the price. I wasn't sure how much was reasonable. Also, the money does disappear but its because he's doing something secret with it. Every once and a while he'll buy himself something nice.

I love the idea of a weekly or even biweekly charge.

However, I would prefer him to not be romanceable. Maybe a friendship...but if he's such a hard core mercenary, don't you think perhaps he'd be too self centered to care about another that deeply? (Think Canderous from KOTOR)

He would have a friendship too, so you wouldnt have to pursue the romance if you didnt want to. I wouldn't call him a "Hard Core" mercenary either. He does the same thing the rest of the party does, only he makes sure he gets paid. In fact compaired to charname's conquests he's probably got it easy lol! He is pretty self centered, and thats one of the things that he would struggle with. He might betray you just to prove to himself that he can. (I don't know that, I haven't gotten that far yet lol).

I like the idea of another romance! It shows even the hardest toughest guy can fall in love!

I do find the idea of a weekly payment. But what would happen if somehow the party did not have enough gold? I also think that if he does fall in love with the PC that he should drop the payment and just stay with her.

He will EVENTUALLY drop the price. But that is one thing that he will struggle with the most. The price is more of a symbol to him. It reminds him of where his priorities are, and keeps charname at a distance. He doesnt have any dark and tragic past like many bioware and mod npc's, but he does need the money for something important. Giving that up would mean to put his trust into charname. If the party does not have enough money he will tell a warning, and leave if you dont pay him after a while. You can always go back and pick him back up without breaking the romance. Still, I wouldnt want this to be an issue, so if people think its better, the price can be lower.

I really appreciate everyone's feedback! I would love to hear more, even if you think its a dumb idea. At least then I will know not to do it.