From a gamers point of view: yes, ToB is a disaster gameplay wise, but also plot-wise. It feels like an overdragged finale that is there just to fill the space.

As for levels: it suffers from one of the faults of every fantasy game: the backward logic (i.e.: the peasants from the first village a player encounters should just hire guards from the few final villages instead of asking PC for help).
Is there a way to fix it, though? Imagine going to Saradush to kill weak, level 19 guards. You could mow through them and stop only on the higher-level enemies (vampires, bosses). You could probably kill the guards in 1-2 hits (currently it takes about 5 I think, so suddenly the difference seems small). Giants would be more demanding because of their size. Even if the Bhaalspawn is, well, a Bhaalspawn, hacking down something that big would be hard. I'm having issues with giants being resistant to a lot of things or having -10 armour (I'm overexagerrating but I had a situation I kept missing a giant. How can you even manage that? Thing is freakin' big). They should have a lot of HP, sure, but their level shouldn't be too high. Foot soldiers don't tend to be overbuffed much.

One thing I have to say about the dragons in this game is that they could kick Firekraag's ass easily, and the red dragon was supposed to be unstoppable. I know it's all to make the game 'equal challenge' but the logic is lost.

I like the idea of breaking the game apart and rebuilding it. I also would like a chance to really use the pocket plane to travel (mostly because it seems visiting Candlekeep just before going for the Throne would give it a cinematic feel. "Look at the past, look what you've become, look what you are going for" sort of thing).

It feels too much like a bad dungeon crawl, too. Saradush? Sewercrawl. Yaga Shura place? Dungeon. Abazigal? Dungeon... The dungeons were also sometimes confusing, included a lot of circling through the same areas (maybe some would call it puzzles, but I call it trial and error).

Anyway I'm all for this project. I'd love to see ToB reworked (in a decade. I mean, those things take time. I bet it'd take years but it would be worth it).

One thing that would be a major issue are all the NPC mods that have ToB content. Oops...

Actually the lip height could be like that - some people have high lips - but the face is very, extremely narrow, even for an elf. At least it's how it looks to me... his cheekbones aren't pronounced either, something I always would associate with elven people - maybe make his face a bit more like a triangle (it's very slim-oval now)

though anything beats the original, imho

I totally agree. In fact, most of BG 1 portraits make me cry tears of 'how they could even do that'. Xan is the worst, probably. He looks like he has a moustache.

you could always go for something in the middle, give him a bit triangle face but not to the point of hitting the 'ELF' standard. (to be honest I never considered the standards to be a major rule. I bet there are elves that don't have high cheeks, tilted eyes or a perfect nose)
I think making his face a wee bit wider will fix it. I may be wrong, it's just a painter's reflex.

...did I really just read through all of the "Shepard Likes" comics without seeing so much as a vague reference to probing Uranus?

I am Commander Sheppard and this is my saddest fact on the Citadel

Hello and welcome to a little F.A.Q!

General Information
What is this then?
Miles is a new NPC we intend to add into the game, while trying to make him something of a new experience instead of making him 'just another romancable character'. (did you know romanceable, romancable and romance-able aren't even words? I learn something every day). Miles aside, it will also include other NPC's (one joinable under certain circumstances), quests, moose, and a good dose of humour.

Who is he?
Miles is a half-elven thief born and raised in Athkhatla, though that does not necessarily mean he spent his entire life in the City of Coin. Oh, and he stabs people sometimes.

WeiDU?
Yep.

So what about compatibility?
It's too early to say. This will be updated as we go.
Vivi here! As far as the coding goes, every step that I know to take to help with compatibility has been and will be taken, but we won't know if there will be any crazy interferences with Obscure Mod X until much later in the future.

Does this mod have content for ToB?
Miles has content for both SoA and ToB. In fact we're not going to end SoA with any definite resolution, as some side quests will carry over to ToB and also some quests you do in SoA unlock secret silly things in ToB. In short: we treat SoA and ToB as one game.

Will he have crossmod content?
As soon as the mod has been properly developed, we will consider doing crossmod content.

What languages are you planning to include?
English for now. We'll think about translations later, when the mod is finished.

Is he going to be voiced?
Yes. Not only Miles, but also a few other characters will be voiced.

What will be his rating?
Tough question. Considering the amount of jokes of mature nature I'd say M, but seeing how every teenager will get it, we can say T. We will consult, analyze and update this if need be.
There won't be lengthy descriptions of reaction of PC's loins and things that people do between the sheets, in case you're curious.


The Gameplay
Race, class, stats, alignment?
He's a half-elven thief (true class) of Chaotic Neutral alignment.
Str: 14
Dex: 19
Con: 13
Int: 11
Wis: 12
Cha: 10

When and where will I find him?
Very early in the game - in fact he will be in a bit of trouble near the Adventurer's Mart just after the prologue's Château Irenicus dungeon crawl. (In short: from Chapter 1. You don't have to start Chapter 2 and go back for him to appear - he's there from the start.)

Will it be possible to leave him to wait somewhere?
If it's not the middle of nowhere, Miles may be willing to wait a day or two in an inn or within the safe walls of any city. If he is kicked out without PC asking to 'wait here', he'll go back to the Adventurer's Mart.
Don't leave him waiting too long if you want to enjoy romance path. He'll miss you for only so long before moving on with his personal life.

How about quests?
There will be Miles-related quests as well as missions for other NPCs (including his crazy aunt, Al). Quests happen in SoA and ToB. Some quests from SoA will reach a logical explanation and final resolution in ToB, so playing both games will be recommended.

Any alignment/reputation restrictions?
He'll stick around no matter what. He'll *complain* but he won't ditch you just because you're having a very bad murder-filled week -- alignment doesn't matter, so long as you're not looking for the romance. Read 'Romance related info' below for details.

What about his equipment?
He won't have any awesome shiny weapons, but he starts with an armour that he won't part with. It will be later on possible to upgrade it with a little help of Cromwell... unless he points you to someone else.



The Character
What's Miles like?
Awesome, can't you tell already?
But really, he's a cheerful guy with a slight kleptomaniac problem and major nature paranoia. Best judge yourself based on the previews to be supplied soon.

Why would he want to join my party in the first place?
Trust us -- as soon as you meet him, it won't be a mystery.

Friendship and Romance included, right?
There are total of 3 different paths: Friendship, Friends with Benefits, and Lovers. All will have dialogues, PiDs and Interjections as well as an Epilogue which alters depending on what PC says and does.

What is his full name anyway?
Just 'Miles'. If he has a surname, he haven't told me yet. I'll be sure to share if that ever happens.

Wait. Nature paranoia? Won't that be a problem?
It already is a problem. He will complain about going out into wilderness, but he's a man. He can get it together. For the most part. He may have a negative morale modifier when in certain areas, balanced with a positive morale boost when in cities and villages, it's still an open discussion.
Also be weary of walking too close to moose. It may trigger dialogues from time to time.
Same goes for squirrels.
Now that you have this knowledge, we can only hope you won't torture him with it.

How about other NPCs? Will he have interjections and the like?
Most definitely. He likes to talk. And while he won't pull a Cartman and declare 'Screw you guys, I'm going home' when you accept people into your party, he may have extensive quarrels with some. He won't kill anyone just for having a different opinion, though.
He has a problem with bards. Just saying.



Romance related info
Any restrictions?
Yes - first and foremost, he likes women. A lot. He'll only romance elves, half-elves and humans and PC's race may affect some dialogues. Not in some racist way, though. He's not a full-bred elf to be picky.
Also he will not romance Bhaalspawn of extreme alignment (not lawful good or chaotic evil), bards, paladins, and monks; as well as the following kits: barbarians, wild mages, berserkers, beast masters, and shapeshifters. (He's nature-paranoid, remember that.)
And amazon women freak him out. Rule of thumb: if your character's class is known for crushing men with their pinky fingers, being a shining pillar of justice, or summoning (accidentally or otherwise) hoards of squirrels, don't even go there.

That is a lot of restrictions.
That's not a question.
But yeah. It all makes sense for his character. He's not a perfect, all-tolerating guy.

Wait, you said nature-paranoid, but the list doesn't speak about druids...why is it okay for him to romance a druid but not a beast master?
Good question. Druids may be in for all sorts of surprises.
I would put the word romance in quotes for the exact reasons you're thinking about right now, though.

How long is the romance?
Pretty long. The total number of LTs is still subject to change, I like to write a lot. However, you can safely assume every path will have +40 dialogues of varying length across SoA and ToB (plus situation-dialogues and the like).

PiDs, flirts, randomness?
Yes.

What about romantic conflicts?
Obviously, there are going to be some, but don't get too excited about any heated battles over the fair hand of the lovely maiden Bhaalspawn -- Miles isn't the jealous type. That doesn't mean you can slap him around and treat him poorly without consequence, however.



Miscellaneous
Will he quote poetry?
No.

But...
No.

Will he woo the PC like there is no tomorrow?
He'll drop a joke every other minute. He won't fall to his knees and kiss the rim of her robe, or anything like that.
He "woos" in his own way, really. It doesn't exactly fall in line with romance novel standards, but it's not like he's stale or standoffish.

That sounds pretty un-romantic. Is it really a romance mod?
Yes. Just not the extensively romantic one. People can love without yelling 'I love <CHARNAME>' at every corner. There are many other ways to show affection and fondness. Honestly, hugs are better than talking about being hugged.

And who are YOU people?
Silvi, the writer and Vivi, the coder and resident awesomeness specialist -- here, take my card.

Anything else?
You're welcome to drop by our forum for info and cookies. Information about the Walking Through Faerun mod, which will go with Miles, can be found there. As well as some other funsies. Silvivi Team Forum

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. And thou shalt receive answers as we bestow them onto thee in text adorned with pretty colours.

Here's a preview of NPC's portraits for your consideration:

Miles:


and Alastria, Miles' aunt, with Sir Nomnuts, her beloved squirrel familiar:


Art by me. Done in hours of toil, sweat, blood and tears. Well, I'm over-dramatizing. But don't steal or no cookies for you.

Druid-specific Love Talk


IF~~MilesLT03D
SAY~Do you really like wilderness that much?~
++~ I do. Nature is beautiful.~ + 3.01druid
++~ It’s powerful. Even if you don’t like it, you have to respect its strength.~ + 3.02druid
END

IF~~3.01druid
SAY~Scary, more like. I much prefer the cities.~
++~ You’re actually afraid of nature? Even of little critters? ~ + 3.02adruid
++~ Is that why you became a thief?~+ 3.03druid
++~ There is nothing scary about nature. ~+ 3.04druid
END

IF~~ 3.02druid
SAY~~I prefer the cities, thank you very much.~
++~ You’re actually afraid of nature? Even of little critters? ~ + 3.02adruid
++~ Is that why you became a thief?~+ 3.03druid
++~ There is nothing scary about nature. ~+ 3.04druid
END

IF~~ 3.02adruid
SAY~Especially of the little critters. Those things are mean, they can sneak up on you and hit you with a nasty club and carry you off, all the way looking cute and fluffy…~
=~Okay, maybe I went a little bit too far. Let’s just say I’m not comfortable in the wild.~
++~ But you’re a half-elf. Part of you belong to the wild.~+ 3.02bdruid
++~ Is that why you became a thief?~+ 3.03druid
++~ There is nothing scary about nature. ~+ 3.04druid
END

IF~~ 3.02bdruid
SAY~A much bigger part of me prefers not to belong to nature at all.~
++~ Is that why you became a thief?~+ 3.03druid
++~ Odd example of a half-elf you are. Very odd.~ + 3.02cdruid
END

IF~~ 3.02cdruid
SAY~Because all elves have to love trees? May I point out the existende of drow?~

++ ~ I suppose… is that why you became a thief? To avoid wilderness? + 3.03druid
++~ That was a weak argument there – drow are not natural, thief. + 3.02ddruid
END

IF~~ 3.02ddruid
SAY~ They seem to exist, though and I don’t think they’re undead. Seems pretty natural. ~
=~ I prefer to be a thief and stay in the city… though becoming a thief was never my decision. It’s my life – that and telling jokes, of course.~
++ ~Why not become a bard then? ~+ 3.05druid
++~ You became a thief because you had to? ~+3.05adruid
END

IF~~ 3.03druid
SAY~Being a thief isn’t my profession. It’s my life. That and telling jokes.~
++ ~Why not become a bard then? ~+ 3.05druid
++~ You became a thief because you had to? ~+3.05adruid
END

IF~~ 3.04druid
SAY~Animals, moose, plants, deep water, weather, critters… I’d say there is plenty of scary things that fall into the ‘nature’ category.~
++~ There are a lot of scary things in the city. If you’re afraid of everything, why did you become a thief?~+ 3.03druid
++~ You are actually afraid of *critters*?~ + 3.02adruid
++~ Moose? ~ + 3.04adruid
END

IF~~ 3.04adruid
SAY~Mooses? Er, moosi? Hm. Meese? No I’m pretty sure it was moose. They’re like sheep. They can sneak up on you in great numbers and you don’t even notice because it’s still just ‘moose’ and ‘sheep’.~
=~Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best argument. Let’s just say I’m not comfortable in the wild.~
++~ But you’re a half-elf. Part of you belong to the wild.~+ 3.02bdruid
++~ Is that why you became a thief? ~+ 3.03druid
END

IF~~ 3.05druid
SAY~A *bard*!? No. Just no. I found out I’m way too intelligent to be one. I don’t love my own voice and I wouldn’t be able to sing happy songs when someone is charging at me with a sword. I prefer to get behind people and stab them in the back.~
=~ Being a thief has countless other perks, too.~
IF~~ + 3.06druid
END

IF~~ 3.05adruid
SAY~Something like that. It’s survival of the fittest on the streets and how can you get food if you are too small to earn for it? ~
IF~~ + 3.06druid
END

IF~~ 3.06druid
SAY~One way or another, I’ll remember to avoid being caught looking through your things. I don’t fancy wild animals attacking me for that.~
++~ You’re actually telling me you’re going to steal my things? ~ + 3.07druid
++~ I’ll make sure to summon a legion of battle-ready squirrels to protect my things.~+ 3.07adruid
END

IF~~ 3.07druid
SAY~Of course not. I’ll just have a look around. Your journal seems to be an interesting goal to begin with.~
++ ~Don’t you dare.~+ 3.08druid
++~ You can expect nature’s wrath for that.~+ 3.08adruid
END

IF~~ 3.07adruid
SAY~I’m sure they’ll have to leave to eat or take a leak. I’ll wait for a crack in those heavy squirrel defenses before attacking. Your journal seems to be an interesting war spoil to acquire.~
++ ~That's why I said 'legion', Miles. Someone will always be on watch. *Always*.~ +3.08bdruid
++~ Don’t you dare. ~ +3.08druid
++~ You can expect nature’s wrath for that. ~ +3.08adruid
END

IF~~ 3.08druid
SAY~Be not afraid, <CHARNAME>. I was kidding. (Something in the way he winks at you and leaves you be afterwards tells you he was definitely *not* kidding.)~
IF~~ EXIT
END

IF~~ 3.08adruid
SAY~I always expect nature’s wrath. ~
IF~~ + 3.08druid
END


IF ~~ 3.08bdruid
SAY ~...don't say "always" like that ever again. Gave me the creeps...~
IF~~ + 3.08druid

Any progress here? >w> I'm waiting for this mod. *sits and waits*

To me the 2nd looks better, because it can be improved and seems to be on the right track. Good job with the shape, it looks elven already.

He may look like a child because the face is now small and his cheeks may have a wee bit too much curl to them. Try giving him a real, pronounced, male jaw, it could help. Also, see how the hands are shaded? The face doesn't have any of the shadow colours, which is why it may look glued on. Try adding some shadows to the face, some darker brown shadow below eyes, nose and cheek-gaunt should make him look older and more melancholic
And a question: the side of his right jaw (left on the picture) looks a bit odd (the part to the side of the lips is shaded, but the shadow breaks halfway up the face).

Basically its kinda like if you played ME:2 but never played ME:1 or never imported your ME:1 save who does Shepard start out with on the ship?  Is it Ashley or Kaiden?  I honestly dont know heh but I assume they would do something like that whoever they think was the most played origin...whatever race / sex /origin combo seems the best or what not...And in this case like I said id bet it would be the Human Noble origin (male).  I mean afterall all the DA:O commercials and what not were of a human who seemed to be a warrior...But then again like I said I could be wrong about the whole thing!  

I actually played ME2 before ME1 so Bioware made decisions for me. I think if you play female shepard you get to keep Kaidan and if you are a make shapard you get to keep Ashley. Turns out I didn't save the Council. Not that I cared much ;p Basically, if you don't import the game from ME1, Bioware kinda punishes you by not giving you the best ending possible.

Wouldn't it be cheap if you could get the best ending possible without playing the game? Hell it's rewarding to see even small missions yield small cutscenes. Kept some of them are buggy.

I'm not sure I like the idea of Dragon Age 2 so early after the release of DA:O and it's horrible 'Awakening' extension. We shall see, I suppose.
Bet it will look horrible on PS3 again. DA:O on PS3 = fail of the year.

Wow that DOES help a lot - his face doesn't look weirdly thin. I think the shadow on the left side is an effect of a mimic crease, but it looks strange...
(Speaking of mimic creases - they should be added. I mean he looks too baby-smooth faced for a guy who worries constantly. Bags under eyes, creases on forehead maybe. The like.)

Cheers!
Level capacity is something I liked about the first NWN, it set limit on 20 for the base game and 30 for the HotU extension, I believe -> no godly levels for everyone.
It feels weird to lead a party of demigods at the end of ToB... They could overpower a small country with just the 6 of them... >_>'

Changing the level of monsters sounds interesting, actually, since the game wouldn't be a speed cruzin' level gaining. But you know what we'd miss? The additional abilities ToB gave. Instead of being able to pick 3-4 we'd end up with 1, that's kinda sad. Still, I'd rather deal with that than strive to accept weird game logic of 30 level guards.
But it could also erase any challenge, which wouldn't be good. A good balancing between would be for example give the giants amazing amounts of HP or add new enemies (I always found it weird that they only sent mercenaries after you just after you leave Saradush... don't you think they would at least summon a demon or two? I'm not saying an army of tanar'ri, but a Gate summoned balor would be a nice addition). Also I will never believe that the dragon in front of the entrance to Abazigal's lair had to be that overpowered. It was a YOUNG dragon, those are easy to kill. He shouldn't have a spell to make him INVISIBLE, that's just amazingly retarded. Instead he should have a few buff wyverns, maybe a mage or two at his beck and call.

Personally I also find the final fight uneventful. You just repeat the same procedure 3 times.... wish there was something more epic towards the end (the Hell challenges in SoA were quite interesting and fed the plot nicely. why is ToB so disappointing in that matter?).
Expanding the challenges in Pocket Plane also sounds good. They were way too short/easy. In fact I think each challenge should lead you into some other area, not just be a small round room. But maybe I'm picky?
Anyway, again I wrote a lot when I intended to just write a few words... darn.

.... also, damn a Red Dragon worth 26k? that's like lock-picking 12 locks or learning about 10 spells from scrolls in BG2... XD
dayum...

Brown? ;3; why brown! Man if only it was purple...

any chances for a purple one?

btw Vorcha should go die too.

It was a good try, honestly. Made the face look better immedietly.

I agree on the ear and I also know why they seem too high: in the original picture his face was shown in a bit top-down view, while on the remodelled version his face is not tilted in any way. There is nothing you can do if you're only photomanipulating, maybe aside finding a better face model. (I don't do photomanips for that very reason XD I prefer to paint portraits myself).

(moving the ears down makes it seem like his ears are very low on his head compared to his hair... or is it just me?)

I think his neck isn't a problem: it's covered by the robe, like a medieval turtleneck and his arms are raised up. (fun activity: do that pose - i.e. rise your arms above your head - and check if your neck is prominent)

Pass the booze bro.

Agreed there, Cykuta, the only 'riddle' in Watcher's keep I remember (sort of) enjoying was the 4 mages' laboratories ( I think that was 2nd or 3rd level of the keep). Others - yeah, golems, demons, monsters.
I still love SoA's Spellhold riddles more than Watcher's Keep challenges.

Actually I bet there is a way to edit Watcher's Keep to send monsters at you if you fail to complete a riddle or do something wrong instead of *always* sending out monsters.

After reading all the posts in the topic again, I get the feeling that most agree ToB misses either balance or side quests that wouldn't be directly tied to the main plot. My question: is there someone brave enough to do it? It does seem like a lot of planning/work/writing/scripting/testing/map-planning/frustration/blood/toil/torment/satisfaction at the end.

So I painted over the picture (it was small, so the quality isn't too good)

Can't fix the ears at all and the face ain't symmetrical because I suck. And yeah I moved one of the ears soo low XD

anyway I only wanted to show what I meant about the shape of the face itself and the shading. Ignore the ear fail.

Aww. We'll settle for peach juice then.

(HAHHAHA oh god I don't drink plushies. It's inhumane!)

What I want to know is if there is an alfa that needs testing. Because if yes, I want to help >w>

The bright line would have to be incorporated with the shadows and a reflex should be added to his clothes to mark where the light bounces off on the part of the face that is 'in the dark'. It's very hard to do in a few minutes so I just drew a light line ;_; I'm lazy like that. And ye, I'd probably add more colours to the shadow-side, maybe add another light source to liven it up.

(another fun activity: stand so that your side of the face is in the dark, but allow some light to shine behind you and observe how you have a line of light along jawline)

Hmm he does look young... Elves are supposed to be ageless though - how would one mark the passing of time? (any ideas people?)

I know I added little net-creases and a bunch of mimic-creases when I drew Miles' portrait, which made him look older, but I'm really not sure what to suggest what Plasmocat can do with Xan, since he's a full-blood elf...

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU bless you!

I agree, the size of the portrait makes it very difficult to show shading. Hence the need of backlight to show the edge of face etc. XD wish BG2 had bigger portraits sometimes.
luck with the pic, I hope I helped instead of being annoying c:

you spoiled the good ol ink

belts

*snort*

also

an adapted version of the Mass Effect conversation wheel plus a fully voiced main character.

Maker protect us.

Troika games went bankrupt after Bloodlines (which is a shame, that's one of the best RPGs I ever played) so I'm not sure there will be another PC game. Unless another game company is planning to do it?

Hahahahahaha XD thank you for making my day complete. XD
Love how sex ensues no matter the question 'should it be solved by sex'.