Remove "Human" from New Characters Written Dialog (The Voice Actors Don't Say It)

Melicamp

Certain new characters have voice acting (which is great!). I've noticed several of them have the word "human" in their written dialog, but the voice actor doesn't say it. Its likely because the protagonist isn't necessarily human. My question is - why include it at all? One such sequence is when you first speak to Dorn in the Friendly Arm. There's really no need for the word there, and the voice actor does not say it.

An even more quizzical inclusion of "Human" is when Ekendor the Red Wizard addresses you as Human during Neera's encounter. Um... isn't he a human too? Kind of odd. It in this instance could also be dropped and the statement would make sense.

ajwz

I think there is already race token, so I think this is a good idea

Madhax

Yeah, this bugs me. There are plenty of general epithets that can be applied to the PC, such as "Gorion's Ward" or later "Bhaalspawn".

A particular instance that this bugs me in is the recruitment event for Dorn. After the battle, he says "Wait, are you [CHARNAME]?", and his voice actor only says "Wait, are you...?", which is just silly. Dorn should say "Wait, are you Gorion's Ward?", or "Wait, are you the traveler from Candlekeep?", or something. The voice actor trailing off like that seems sloppy.

In other words, to expand on @Melicamp's request, I'd prefer to only see these tokens in lines that aren't voice-acted. For the voice-acted lines, find something that applies to all PCs and stick with it, like Shepard in Mass Effect.

lansounet

This is fine for me, and AFAIK this is in line with BG2 voiced lines whenever there is a token used.

Jalily

They already use race tokens; that's why their voice actors don't say the word. Try playing a character who isn't human. Actually, Baeloth is the only new NPC who specifies race ("rivvil"—human). This was noticed before he was added to the release, but his lines had already been recorded.

As for "Gorion's Ward" and "Bhaalspawn," there's no way for most characters who just met you to know that, and it makes no sense in The Black Pits (where the race token is also used extensively). The use of the character's race as a form of address is meant to show a dismissive attitude without outright insulting them, although I agree it is strange when both races are the same.

KingGhidorah

Madhax said:

A particular instance that this bugs me in is the recruitment event for Dorn. After the battle, he says "Wait, are you [CHARNAME]?", and his voice actor only says "Wait, are you...?", which is just silly. Dorn should say "Wait, are you Gorion's Ward?", or "Wait, are you the traveler from Candlekeep?", or something. The voice actor trailing off like that seems sloppy.

Dorn has likely heard about you beacause everyone and their mom on the sword coast have had bounty notices with 's name on it...

Madhax

@Jalily
Well, I wouldn't want it to be used in the Black Pits, of course. But are you sure it couldn't theoretically be used in BG1/2EE? Post-Nashkel, many people along the Sword Coast have heard of the protagonist, as evidenced by Officer Vai appearing and Elminster's interest. Obviously they shouldn't start calling you "Bhaalspawn" until much later in the saga, but "Gorion's Ward" might work. It's not a big deal, though.

@KingGhodorah
I know why Dorn knows the PC's name. My issue is that the voiced line awkwardly trails off, since obviously the PC's name isn't voiced.