337 replies to this topic

[Kellen]

I think one of the main reasons people make Elves over Humans is because we are humans, and thus to play ourselves in a game is not nearly as interesting as playing nearly immortal beings who have the looks and grace of angels. Half-Elves get the whole tortured no one likes me, which can add a dimension for lazy players.

Half-Orcs Halflings Dwarves and Gnomes are often looked to as just a boring I'm guessing it may also have to do with the fact that there's so few portraits for these races, as opposed to others, or that they are less physically appealing.

I find it interesting that both Dwarves and Gnomes gain magic resistance but almost no one wants to play them.

Just some thoughts

[berelinde]

When the time came to make an NPC, I wrote one who was completely and entirely human, complete with all human fallibilities. This was only partially laziness. Sure, it was easier to write about something I understand, but I also happen to like humans.

[Justyn Kase]

I think my biggest issue with the whole "let me make an elf" thing is the fact it's been done... over and over and over again.

Yes, your character can be a tortured spirit, but how many elven story-lines have already gone that route? Except for the Dragonlance saga, you never heard much about humans (course, Dragonlance was all about the humans... oh, and Tanis... yes, I am a pre-Cataclysm guy).

Don't get me wrong, I like the dandelion-eaters as much as the next guy, but there's that whole unaging thing to me... they live for hundreds of years, and they are often portrayed as a bit arrogant when they are older. Personally, who wants to always be near an arrogant person? I have to WORK with people like that?
It'd be like living with a bunch of Lumbergs (wonders how many people get that).

Hmm... maybe I should just stop this subject now, because this is a Mod Idea area and I'm really wanting to get off in a tangent, so I might move the whole "Elf" discussion elsewhere...


I've been thinking about a Dwarf monk to place on the board. Wait, can dwarves be monks in BG2? Danggit, I so can't remember right now...

[Kellen]

In BG2 traditionally only Humans can be monks and Paladins. Shadowkeeper and NI can likely change that.

[Menelanna]

alrighty well I have an NPC mod idea. only problem is I do not know how to mod. But here she is.

Name: Enelya Ta'rin
race: Elf
Gender: Female
Class: Cleric
Stats:
Str: 15
Dex: 10
Con: 11
Int: 14
Wis: 17
Cha: 17

special equipment: Sword of Corellon (clerics of Corellon do use swords)
dunno what it can do just yet.

Bio:

When asked about her past Enelya looks wistfully to the sky. She states that she was raised in a by priests of Corellon in a seclueded temple. She became a devoted follower of Corellon at a younge age. When she nearing adulthood Corellon came to her in a dream. Since that day she has been one of Corellon's Chosen and has proudly served him.
She says she is now on a mission to do her god's will. But will not give any details aside from the fact that she seeks a man named Elrohir.

Genral Info:

She would be CG. Romanable by elves, half-elfs and humans of good alignment. She will not travel with a half-orc (Corellon does not exactly like those with orc blood) or an evil person.
She would have a quest. She is seeking a traitor of the elves named Elrohir, who was once her lover. Depending on how the PC advises Enelya would decided weather Elrohir can be redeemed or not.


I have her much more thought out than this. I am even planning on writting a full story about her. I just thought I would put the idea out there.

[Azkyroth]

alrighty well I have an NPC mod idea. only problem is I do not know how to mod. But here she is.

Name: Enelya Ta'rin
race: Elf

Bad timing. ;/

I think one of the main reasons people make Elves over Humans is because we are humans, and thus to play ourselves in a game is not nearly as interesting as playing nearly immortal beings who have the looks and grace of angels. Half-Elves get the whole tortured no one likes me, which can add a dimension for lazy players.

With Arkalian, I don't entirely remember why I settled on half-elf originally, but her storyline quickly wrote itself in a fashion where it simply wouldn't work any other way. Half-elves' status as societal outcasts doesn't help her relations to the average person much, but the main factor there is her history as a person.

Half-Orcs Halflings Dwarves and Gnomes are often looked to as just a boring I'm guessing it may also have to do with the fact that there's so few portraits for these races, as opposed to others, or that they are less physically appealing.

I'm sure the less nuanced personalities and limited class selections the D&D developers wrote them with don't help much. The other NPC I'm considering making, though, is a dwarven fighter/thief.

[edited for quasi-spoilers]

Edited by Azkyroth, 12 February 2007 - 01:49 AM.

[berelinde]

You know, Menelanna, you could learn to write code. A mod NPC is 98% dialogue coding, and that isn't all that bad.

[Menelanna]

You know, Menelanna, you could learn to write code. A mod NPC is 98% dialogue coding, and that isn't all that bad.

only problem...no time to learn it.

[Kellen]

Actually I've looked over dialog coding and it seems quite simple. If you have 10-15 min you could probably read over the tutorials on it and figure it out quite easily.

[berelinde]

I don't know if it's quite *that* easy. I'm not saying that to discourage you, by any means. It is definitely doable, and doesn't have to be assimilated all at once. But I don't want anyone to feel frustrated if they try and don't get it right away.

[Kellen]

I'm keeping my hopes up. What really worries me is once I get beyond simple banter.

[Jarno Mikkola]

Well, I really can't say to with forum this post would be the most appropriate, but let me try this one.

The idea of this mod/char/item is that as one goes though the Athkatla graveyard, and dig up the man in the grave, the one will find a skull that asks a little help. Not only that but he needs his body back, so the one will have too get it to him. It's somewhere in Athkatla and after having restored him, he can join, but a problem arises, after with the one gets a certain kind of ring. Or actually he'll have to have it made.

Name: The Beheaded Bard
Alignment:Chaotic Neutral
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Class: Bard
Stats:
Str: 15
Dex: 18
Con: 11
Int: 3
Wis: 3
Cha: 21

As he has a few( ) disadvantages, cause he really doesn't use his head, he has very strong ability to summon fear in his opponents, being dead and all.
Favorite Quote: So why did I loose my head, whell I wasn't really funny anymore.

Edited by Jarno Mikkola, 19 February 2007 - 06:14 AM.

[Kellen]

Name: Brynja
Alignment: LE/NE
Race: Half-Orc
Gender: Female
Class: Fighter/Thief
Deity: Loviatar

Stats:
Str: 17
Dex: 14 (I know)
Con: 14
Int: 16
Wis: 12
Cha: 14

At first appearances Brynja is a stupid, brutish Half-Orc, and indeed it is an image she tries hard to keep. She listens more than she talks , and when she does it reveals what looks like the barest understanding of the common tongue (think of 9 int from NWN). She will seem little more than a meat shield.

But in truth she is very smart, and her act is only to lure her companions off guard. Brynja is a worshiper of Loviatar, Mistress of Pain. And while physical pain is all well and good, it is the pain of the mind that she tries so hard to inflict. It is for this goal that Brynja lives, to inflict the most pain. And she travels that she might get closer to those she wishes to hurt.


Unfortunately I can't think of her as being anything but a villain, who plays as a friend. Afterall she tries to hurt everyone, including the PC, and doesn't make friends. It's possible that she would be able to be converted(not the right word) to the PC's side and become a better weapon against his enemies, (But at that point I get fuzzy, because though she can act more intelligent with the pc and companions, she would still have a desire to bring pain to the minds of others. And at that point I'm not sure how she would.) I'm not sure she could ever actually work in BG2, but if someone else can figure it out better, good for them, and you have my applause.

[Celestine]

If anyone wants dialogs to be coded, I'm willing to help but bearing in mind that, I'm still a newbie at coding so I can code only simple dialogs. I'm learning though, so hopefully with more practice I can get improve.

[Rabain]

Likewise, if anyone is interested in writing Tamoko I'd be more than happy to code!

She's a girl, she's a cleric, she kicks ass...

[Freedan the Eternal]

Here's on that's not an elf! Though please forgive me if my geography of Faerun leaves something to be desired in his bio.

Name: Alastor
Race: Human
Alignment: Chaotic Nuetral
Class: Black Guard (I know it defies the rules, but bear with me through until the end)

Stats:
STR: 18/06
DEX: 16
CON: 14
INT: 13
WIS: 12
CHA: 16

Weapon Skills:
Long Sword ++
Crossbow ++
Single Weapon Style ++
I THINK that's the right number of prof. for near the start of SoA.

Bio:
Alastor is the son of a noble family in Waterdeep, but he has long since shed all ties with his family, and has lived on his own for the most part since his teenage years. Though he does not usually talk about it, his father was a fairly successful merchant, but also a drunk and a womanizer, and was known for beating his wife. One night, while particularly soused, Alastor feared for his mother's life, and when his father grabbed a fire-poker, Alastor stepped in to protect her. Alastor accidentally killed his father in the ensuing fight. In a panic, his mother told him to pack and shipped him south, to Baldur's Gate. The ship never made it, as it was attacked by pirates, and Alastor was thrown overboard during the fight.

When he woke up, he found that he had drifted up upon the coast somewhere. With his money and luggage gone, he was ready to give up. He decided at that moment that he did not care for anything. Not that he had killed his drunken father, or that he had been shipped away from the only life he knew, or even that he was penniless and likely to starve. In not caring, his salvation appeared. A god that would never reveal him or herself took pity on Alastor, and guided a merchant caravan to him, saving his life. Alastor also found that the god had granted him powers to defend himself, similar to the infamous Black Guards', but he could use them as he pleased. He saw Baldur's Gate, and journeyed across much of the continant, sometimes alone, sometimes in company. Some lands know him as a hero, and others a villain. His actions seem to be wild and unpredictable, and sometimes even contradict themselves.

On his 21st birthday, a weapon blessed by the god appeared to him, and it has never left his side since. Alastor still does not know which god's blessing he has earned, but truth be told, he doesn't care. He travels to Amn now, hoping for something interesting to occur.

Personality:
As summed up in the bio, Alastor doesn't really care what happens. He doesn't mind being a good guy, and he doesn't mind being a villain. He tends to talk a lot of trash, and put down his friends and enemies alike. He never touches alcohol, however, and is respectful of women, though he simply glares someone into silence if they ask about his family. He speaks perfect English (common), does not slur, and is experienced to life on the road. He also has a weakness for young children. If one is in trouble or needs help, he does no hesitate to do so, though he will not speak about his reasons for doing so.

The Idea:
Alastor would have three different friendship tracks, one for each main alignment of the PC, and would also be romancable by Good or Evil aligned female PCs (No nuetral here.). Each of the tracks would be completely different from the others. A possible example would be that in the Good romance track, he would likely have discussions with the PC about what the purpose of the way she clings to justice and right was, and would perhaps would attempt to sway her away from such "silly notions," while at the same time there is something incredibly intriguing about her that draws him to her, and she would be able to sway him toward her beliefs and make him care whether he lives or dies for the first time in his life since he left Waterdeep, and the possible reverse would hold true for the evil romance. There's no redeeming to this one. It would be trying to get through the shield of "not caring" that encases his heart. This would be reflected by a good PC getting him to shift his alignment to Chaotic Good, while an evil PC would go the other direction.

In the actual dialogues, Alastor could likely be compared with the Edwin romance (which I love) in the way he will occasionally put the PC down and insult her, but her being able to slam him right back would be a possible option, and may even have a better effect sometimes than being nice would, but it should be completable both ways. Plus, Alastor would not volunteer to talk about his past, as he has completely seperated himself from his family and does not enjoy speaking of it. If you want to hear it from his mouth, you'd have to drag it out of him. At the same time, he's not one who complains terribly much about the world or his life, because, as we've stated before, he doesn't care. No whining here.

Alastor would naturally banter with everyone, but the ones I picture him having the most talks with would be Jaheira, Imoen, Keldorn, and Mazzy. Jaheira in particular, though, as for some reason I picture her almost as a mother figure to the PC and Imoen after Gorion's death, though she treats them more as equals than children. Alastor would see this resemblence and it would cause problems between the two, but not to the point of trading blows over it.

Some Footnotes:
The idea of Alastor is actually based off an old PnP character I used to play, with the same name and a similar bio and personality, and was also a Chaotic Nuetral Black Guard. The PnP Alastor spoke with a British accent and and generally acted like he didn't care about his companions, but would watch out for them. He was the kind of guy that acted like a jerk, wanted everyone to think he was a jerk, and probably really was a jerk, but he watched out for his friends.

A few memorable quotes:
"Well, if I want something done right, it's obvious I have to kill my friends before they try to help."

Talking to a paladin lecturing him on justice etc:
"Hey, you better wipe your mouth. You're spewing s***e again."

"You know, I've never seen a dwarf wear a helmet without horns. I wonder if I could toss one like a pitchfork."

"'Scuse me, can I borrow this sledgehammer? Nothing important, just going to bash in a certain long-winded paladin's face."


If someone would actually like to do the coding for Al, I can do the writing. I don't know jack about coding, and would likely give up on the character long before he was finished if I attempted.

Edited by Freedan the Eternal, 30 March 2007 - 01:13 PM.

[Azkyroth]

Re: Brynja,

Hmm. This character might be worth making, but as I understand it servants of Loviatar are for the most part humans or half-elves. Why a half-orc, specifically?

Also, I can positively say that as described (or even if she worships Loviatar) she and my NPC Arkalian will come to blows. x.x

She might work well as a non-joinable, perhaps invovled in a quest of some sort?

Edited by Azkyroth, 31 March 2007 - 04:08 PM.

[Kellen]

She is large, brutish, and very not Elfy in the slightest bit. She acts like an average Half-Orc, and Loviatar came from her great desire to make pain.

Well I'm pretty sure she wouldn't really get along with pretty much anyone. Some would bring it to blows(Anomen, Mazzy, Edwin, maybe Keldorn, probably Jaheira), while others would just sort of break down(Aerie, or Immy being prime suspects).

As said I couldn't figure out how to integrate her into the party properly. She was created during one of my rare "GRR!" moments. Probably why she is up here.

[Brandolyn]

I have a suggestion for an un-joinable NPC character mod. I don?t know the first thing about modding, so I?m just throwing this up for grabs if anyone thinks it has merit. I was reading through older posts and came upon the "Conflict with Bhaal-Hunters" post. While it didn?t appeal to my style of play, I think the general concept is great. My thinking was a single NPC Assassin ?Bhaal Hunter?, a Boba Fett kind of character that follows you through the entire trilogy attempting to assassinate the PC at various stages. Some random thoughts on the matter:

Be randomly spawned, say, once each chapter so PC would never know when to expect it to increase replay value.

She/He can incorporate dialog at each appearance that gives the PC bits and pieces of his/her story.  

Dialog options that lead to resolution, either a final showdown or some peaceful resolution, something in the vein of The Operative from Firefly

Should probably be able to choose between PC and other Bhaal Spawn NPC party members as primary targets at random in each appearance for variety and consistency

Would have to be able to automatically flee before being killed to ensure consistency in constant reappearance

Increases in ability proportionately to the PC and party increase in power to always provide a challenge

Anyone think this is worthy of further development?

-Brandolyn-

[Azkyroth]

That spurious "l" in the title had been buggin' me forever O.o