Dream sequence BG1 vs BG2 (spoiler alert)

the_spyder

So, to start off with I am not suggesting a change in BG1 what so ever. I think it is perfectly fine as it stands and would not in any way promote that the Overhaul folks make this type of change but......

In an alternate reality...... While playing BG2 just now it struck me that the 'Dream sequences' that you go through early on are actually interactive. You make dialogue choices which actually effect the way the "Conversation" goes. This strikes me as a pretty neat innovation over the ones in BG1. I was thinking that, since the dream sequence in BG1 is a personal choice and not 'Necessarily' representative of the entire party (you could be an evil Bhaalspawn in a party of goodies for example), if we had been given the choice to guide the dreams by choices from our inner monologue instead of our reputation, that might have been a better way to dictate the powers and the dreams you get.

Once again, I am not proposing a change to the existing game. merely musing. What do you guys think?

redline

Personally, I'd be fine with it if you were suggesting a change -- I think this would be a great idea. The original dream sequences were an instance of the game putting you in a very RP-worthy scenario, then taking control away from you; a frustrating thing, for a game where people put so much effort into defining their character's personality.

I think your suggestion would be welcome not just because it corrects that, but because it also allows for possible expansion: if we're given a dialog, why restrict us to only two choices? The current dreams only let us either ignore Bhaal outright (good) or defy him by being EVEN AWESOMER (evil). More interactivity might open up the possibility of neutral choices, or even obediently evil ones.

Ultimately I think this would qualify as changing original content, so I don't think Overhaul could make the change regardless. It's a neat idea, though, and if some modding miracle could pull it off, I'd be excited for it.

lunar

I think a change could be nice. In BG2, there are dialogue options in dreams, but with no consequences. When dream Irenicus tries to tempt you with power, no matter what you choose, nothing happens in game, just the dream sequence changes slightly. You get no power or bonus or nothing. For RP purposes it is cool but a little consequence could make it better.

In contrast, BG1 dreams give you powers, which affect your gameplay greatly, but no choice of interaction in the dream sequence. It is dependent on your party's reputation, which might not reflect your character's personality correctly all the time. A chaotic evil character can get a good power since he did a few quests and got a reputation boost just before the dream, and a lawful good character can get evil power if he made a blunder and killed a commoner entirely accidentaly. (stray fireball, wild surge, script auto attacking, etc.)

ajwz

The dream sequences in bg1 are infinitely better than the dream sequences in bg2 on account of the fact that they are skippable.