[MOD] Valerie NPC for BG:EE, BGT & TuTu
LiamEsler
Member Posts: 1,859
Valerie is the first full-featured NPC for BG:EE, also compatible with BGT & TuTu, by Tempest over at SHS -- we hope you enjoy her! Let us know what you think.
With tensions rising between Baldur's Gate and Amn, and rumors of unnatural disasters plaguing Amnish territory on the Sword Coast, the Cowled Wizards of Amn have become involved in the looming conflict. Dedicated to controlling the use of magic in Amn and destroying magical threats to that nation, on the Sword Coast they act in support of the Amnish army. And with the rumors of demons in the mines of Nashkel, one young Cowled Wizard has taken it upon herself to learn the truth of the matter. Adventurers willing to work with a Cowled Wizard will find a willing ally in their Nashkel investigations and beyond.
This mod includes:
* A friendship with flirtation opportunities for PCs of any race, alignment, and gender with a reputation of at least 10.
* Player-initiated dialogue.
* Banters with the Bioware NPCs.
* Numerous interjections and comments on the world of Baldur's Gate.
* The beginning of a character and relationship that will eventually return in Baldur's Gate II with new developments and opportunities.
* An original portrait drawn by the highly talented Hannah Wallace.
Download link
Forum link
With tensions rising between Baldur's Gate and Amn, and rumors of unnatural disasters plaguing Amnish territory on the Sword Coast, the Cowled Wizards of Amn have become involved in the looming conflict. Dedicated to controlling the use of magic in Amn and destroying magical threats to that nation, on the Sword Coast they act in support of the Amnish army. And with the rumors of demons in the mines of Nashkel, one young Cowled Wizard has taken it upon herself to learn the truth of the matter. Adventurers willing to work with a Cowled Wizard will find a willing ally in their Nashkel investigations and beyond.
This mod includes:
* A friendship with flirtation opportunities for PCs of any race, alignment, and gender with a reputation of at least 10.
* Player-initiated dialogue.
* Banters with the Bioware NPCs.
* Numerous interjections and comments on the world of Baldur's Gate.
* The beginning of a character and relationship that will eventually return in Baldur's Gate II with new developments and opportunities.
* An original portrait drawn by the highly talented Hannah Wallace.
Download link
Forum link
Post edited by LiamEsler on
5
Comments
I don't usually use NPCs from mods but this one actually got me interested.
BTW @Tempest need some inspiration with flirting ideas according to http://www.shsforums.net/topic/55648-bg2-now-seeking-flirt-ideas/
Perhaps some girls from our forum can help him(her?) out with this one. Especially taking into account that romance option will be available only for female charname..
@Jalily? @LadyRhian? Perhaps some one could give some hints regarding flirting to @Tempest coz I am actually quite dumb in this department and amazed why my wife picked me
Name: Valerie Lysander
Race: Human (home nation: Amn)
Alignment: Lawful Good
Class: Sorcerer
Stats
STR: 10
DEX: 14
CON: 8
INT: 16
WIS: 14
CHA: 17
________
Total: 79
Starting Spells (assuming level 2): Magic Missile, Sleep
Background:
Valerie is a member of one of the most enigmatic and most distrusted organizations in her home nation of Amn: the Cowled Wizards. Often regarded as corrupt if not outright sinister and malevolent, Valerie represents a very different side to the organization. Magic is dangerous, and so are those who wield it. For the good and safety of everyone in Amn, the Cowled Wizards control the use of magic in that nation and strive to protect the citizens of Amn from magic and those who wield it. Mad necromancers, ill-considered experiments, and deadly arcane beasts are all very real dangers. Even among the Cowled Wizards, however, Valerie is unusual. She is a sorceress, born with the native ability to manipulate and channel magical energy. Unlike many such people, Valerie seeks to understand and control her condition, and use it to defend a people that distrust her almost as much as the things she fights.
Insofar as sorcerers are typical among the Cowled Wizards, Valerie's background is not uncommon. Born to a middle-to-lower-class family in Athkatla, Valerie was cast out of her family in fear when her magical abilities manifested, and she was subsequently taken in by the Cowled Wizards as a ward, later an apprentice. Intellectually capable in her own right, Valerie excelled at her studies and arcane tests, and has recently completed her apprenticeship to be granted the mantle of a true Cowled Wizard of Amn. Her first assignment has been to accompany the Amnish forces sent to Nashkel. There are rumors of demons in the mines, and Valerie is there to lend arcane support to the troops. More importantly, she is there to confirm or deny the rumors that the creatures in the Nashkel mines are demons. The Cowled Wizards doubt that there actually are demons in the mines, but if there are, the Cowled Wizards and potentially the Order of the Radiant Heart will move in and purge the mines by force.
Unfortunately, with the garrison paralyzed in the absence of Commander Brage, Valerie has been left to wait in Nashkel. Yet people are dying in the mines and relations between Amn and Baldur's Gate are continuing to decline. An adventuring party willing to approach a Cowled Wizard of Amn is liable to find a willing ally in solving the crisis in the mines, and perhaps the crisis on the Sword Coast beyond...
Personality:
The place of the strong is between the weak and those who would prey upon them. A Cowled Wizard may not be the classic image of a follower of Torm, but Valerie has a strong sense of loyalty, duty, and obligation to the people of Amn - an obligation that she acknowledges can be difficult, given how wary the Amnish are of magic in general and sorcery in particular. Valerie herself isn't certain whether her gifts are a blessing or a curse, and her feelings about magic are deeply conflicted. All the same, she tries not to dwell on it, and is, in all honesty, an introvert and a bit of a bookworm - Valerie is methodical and studious, a far cry from the usual stereotype of a sorceress. Likewise, her personality tends towards the even-tempered in most circumstances, preferring to try to understand people rather than condemn them.
Friendship:
Valerie has a friendship track of 15-17 talks for a PC with a reputation of at least 10 - her first talk skips if you recruit her after clearing the Nashkel Mines, and a later dialogue will only occur if she was present to see something unusual and disturbing in the Cloakwood Mines that she will promise to research in her own time. Valerie's friendship is phased with the plot, and certain plot events must occur for the next phase of the friendship to proceed - it begins with clearing the Nashkel Mines, then clearing the bandit camps, clearing the Cloakwood Mines, and escaping the return to Candlekeep trigger additional arcs. This keeps the friendship at pace with the plot to a degree and ensures Valerie has something to contribute throughout the game. As a whole, the friendship arc primarily covers Valerie learning about life outside Amn, her own observations of and research into the potential source of the PC's powers (not to worry - her best guess is that the PC is a latent sorcerer or warlock whose powers are emerging), and ultimately, reflections, hopeful and otherwise, on just how deep the rabbit hole goes...
Romance:
Valerie is not a romance option. She is planned to be in Baldur's Gate 2, but for now she is not ready for a relationship. The PC can flirt with her in many of the friendtalks to mostly little avail, though a female human, half-elf, half-orc, elf, or dwarf PC will meet with greater interest from her.
Planned Components
1. Valerie NPC for Baldur's Gate 1 Tutu. A Baldur's Gate 2 extension of her and further developments are intended later.
2. Friendship track for PCs regardless of race or alignment, though reputation must be kept above 10. Valerie will not befriend someone she judges to be of poor character.
3. Extensive banters with the Bioware characters and interjections.
4. Just to clarify, there will be no romance with Valerie. At least, not in Baldur's Gate 1. There will be opportunities to flirt with her, but they will go nowhere. Things may change in Baldur's Gate 2, however...
For her part, Valerie is intended to fit into a predominately good-aligned party. She does not get along well with the majority of evil NPCs.
Now, if you mean you want her to have flirts, doesn't that sort of conflict with the "no romance in BG1" thing? But have her express admiration for the player's decisiveness, good heart (when you do something that results in Reputation gain) and so on. Am I totally off base on this, or should I continue?
And yes, male PCs can flirt with Valerie as well, but she will turn them down flat. Generally speaking, if you meet her BG2 romance requirements, she'll respond positively: female, not a gnome or halfling (note: elves and dwarves will *not* be able to complete the romance in BG2), non-evil alignment, and a reputation of 12 or higher.
Also, Valerie does not have any banters with the EE-specific NPCs, nor can I provide a timetable to add such banters. I have zero intention of purchasing EE or actively supporting its specific features.
Finally, if you wish to contact me or discuss the mod, please do so at SHS using the provided link to Valerie's forum. Someone made me aware of this topic and so I created an account to answer the concerns raised in this thread, but don't expect me to check this thread or these forums with any regularity.
There is no easy answer to this problem, and I have elected to treat the PC as a mature adult regardless of his or her species. Either way, an elf or dwarf will live centuries longer than Valerie. She does find elf and dwarf women attractive, but she will terminate the relationship in BG2 before it commits due to the lifespan issue.
Halflings and gnomes: Valerie simply does not find these races attractive. Both races average 3 feet tall or less, and Valerie is upwards of 6 feet tall, if sparing in build. She would find it extremely awkward and uncomfortable to engage in a romantic relationship in either race, and politely shoots down any flirtation from a gnome or halfling.
Finally, I am significantly more active at Spellhold Studios than here. I created an account here only to answer concerns raised in this thread, and will be able to answer questions and comments regularly and much more quickly if posted to Valerie's Spellhold Studios forum.
And she can also be attracted to the goodness the CHARNAME displays, wondering how hard it must be to overcome her parentage and the part of Bhaal's Godhood inside her (which, true to its nature, wants the character to seize power). The fact that CHARNAME is overcoming such a handicap would probably be quite heartening to Valerie- CHARNAME has it so much worse than she does, and yet manages to hold her head up, do good and even radiate goodness- she can find that very attractive and arousing (given where they are in their relationship), not to mention inspirational. Confession of her feelings and attraction should probably come at some point where CHARNAME is "bloody, but unbowed" by what they have been through-perhaps after being propositioned by the female Drow in Ust Natha (especially if CHARNAME turns the other Drow down= Valerie knows it would have been easy to pretend to cement their cover, but seeing CHARNAME be true to her Principles...could be a catalyst to confessing how she feels, and nobody in a Drow City is going to question two female Drow kissing (or perhaps the disguise is a turn-off to her, which is another idea...).
I'll do my best to get out a new version either today or tomorrow which includes a string-fixer in her PID, so that you can reinstall and force-talk her to fix the issue.
1) Go into your BG:EE directory, open the "valerie" folder and delete the "backup" folder inside it.
2) Open bgee_install_valerie_setup.bat and install Valerie.
3) Open your savegame, select just Valerie, and hit the "K" key. This should fix her soundset and name.
The license thing, Valerie does indeed talk about. Her interpretation is that you're not buying a license: you're bribing an official for a license right now rather than paying a much smaller sum but needing to sit through months of classes and examinations to prove that you won't be a danger to society. Valerie doesn't really approve, but, well, it's Athkatla.
As for the dynamics of the physical attraction, Valerie makes it clear even in BG1, once you get to know her, that if the PC meets her requirements, Valerie is deeply attracted to the PC, both as a beautiful woman and as a noble spirit. Come BG2, however, the PC has to work some to get Valerie to open up to the idea of a relationship, as Valerie regards the PC as far out of her league and thinks the PC deserves someone better. I'm looking for ideas for the actual flirts, not the relationship itself.
@limalama45: Glad you're enjoying it, and I did have fun writing Valerie's banters with Ajantis in cooperation with Jastey.
@Tempest I have only had a few but look forward to more to come in BG2