Well This is Awkward, eh Keldorn? (Maybe Nonessential Spoiler?)
Ashiel
Member Posts: 254
So I recently decided to re-roll and do a BG II run after rebalancing certain aspects of the game by modding .2da files. A fresh start if you will. So I decided to pick up Keldorn just to steal his armor before I dumped him off as his house and decided to rescue Viconia on the way there (just to enjoy him banter a bit before I give him the boot). For some reason I decided to cast Detect Evil...
I'd say the results were pretty awkward for Keldorn. :P
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Anyone else got some fun/funny/interesting screenshots to share, or care to talk about this one (or any facet of the situation that led to this one)? :P
I'd say the results were pretty awkward for Keldorn. :P
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Anyone else got some fun/funny/interesting screenshots to share, or care to talk about this one (or any facet of the situation that led to this one)? :P
6
Comments
Of course, I've always been a little skeptical of Viconia's evil. Don't get me wrong, she has a chip on her shoulder and an obvious lack of empathy for others, but she's about as close to be neutral as you could get while still being evil I think (she makes no attempts at harming others, shows more self control than most of the "good" guys, and Minsc and Boo like her - so she can't be all bad! :P).
Fortunately I believe in D&D good, which includes altruism, respect for life, and concern for the dignity of others, and that means Viconia is now in my party with my Paladin.
*hovers away*
But yeah, no paladin should be so comfortable with the idea of unlawful mob lynchings performed by evil clerics (hello, Beshabans!), so the whole scenario is bizarre. I'd call it Lawful Stupid, but it's not even really lawful.
@Ashiel - did you mod some of those alignments? Because last I checked, two of the fanatics register as evil, but the third was an (insane) elven ranger.
Erm, unless you're a male beholder... Wait, do you guys HAVE genders?!
Edit: i agree, the original writers were not aware that shar is a very evil deity... Her forgetfulness is not really mercy; it's very similar to offering opiates to the traumatized.
Speaking of Viconia...
I'm kind of feeling like I won't really need another single-classed cleric in the party but I think I want to keep Viconia around just 'cause I like her character. I'm thinking about changing her to a fighter/cleric or ranger/cleric or mage/cleric using an editor since I'm already going to be editing her anyway (see below). What do you guys think?
Notes For Consideration
I edited a lot of the .2da files in BG I & II and drastically changed the feel of the game. Here's some of the major adjustments that have been made so you guys can help me decide what class to make her in instead of a plain cleric.
1.) Warrior classes do not get extra attacks through specialization. Instead you get +1 attack at 4th, 9th, and 14th level. Specialization provides bonuses to hit and damage as shown below.
* = Proficient
** = +1 Hit / +2 Dmg / -1 speed
*** = +2 Hit / +4 Dmg / -2 speed
**** = +3 Hit / +6 Dmg / -3 speed
***** = +4 Hit / +8 Dmg / -4 speed
As normal only Fighters (and certain kits) can achieve more than ** in any weapon category.
2.) Paladins & Rangers begin casting spells at 4th level and reach 5th level spells (Paladins eventually use Righteous Magic, Rangers get Ironskins, essentially). This makes Paladins & Rangers more hybridized (in my experiences they still don't steal the show because 6th & 7th level spells are awesome, and Fighters have superior damage).
3.) All classes have had their THAC0 modified.
Warrior's decrease their THAC0 by 100% of their level (THAC0 0 @ 20th)
Priests and Thieves decrease their THAC0 by 75% of their level (THAC0 0 @ 27th)
Mages decrease their THAC0 by 50% of their level (THAC0 0 @ 40th)
4.) Classes do not roll HP but instead begin with maximum HP for 1st level and then average HP thereafter.
Warriors get 10 HP + 5.5 / level.
Priests/Thieves get 8 + 4.5 / level.
Mages get 6 + 3.5 / level.
5.) All classes receive the same modifiers to HP regardless of class. For example, a dwarf cleric with a 19 Constitution will have a lot more HP than a Cleric with 16 Con. Additionally, all characters have a natural regeneration rate that allows them to heal over time as shown in the spoiler.
Constitution Score | Regeneration Time (in real time)
Con 1 = 1hp / 20 minutes
Con 2 = 1hp / 17.3 minutes
Con 3 = 1hp / 15.6 minutes
Con 4 = 1hp / 13.3 minutes
Con 5 = 1hp / 12 minutes
Con 6 = 1hp / 10.6 minutes
Con 7 = 1hp / 9.3 minutes
Con 8 = 1hp / 8 minutes
Con 9 = 1hp / 6.6 minutes
Con 10 = 1hp / 6 minutes
Con 11 = 1hp / 5.3 minutes
Con 12 = 1hp / 4.6 minutes
Con 13 = 1hp / 4 minutes
Con 14 = 1hp / 3.3 minutes
Con 15 = 1hp / 2.6 minutes
Con 16 = 1hp / 2.3 minutes
Con 17 = 1hp / 2 minutes
Con 18 = 1hp / 1.6 minutes
Con 19 = 1hp / 1.3 minutes
Con 20 = 1hp / 1 minute
Con 21 = 1.2hp / 1 minute
Con 22 = 1.5hp / 1 minute
Con 23 = 2hp / 1 minute
Con 24 = 3hp / 1 minute
Con 25 = 6hp / 1 minute
6.) All full-casting classes (IE - mages, clerics, druids) get their next spell level at each odd numbered level (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 15th, and 17th level). Mages get a couple bonus spells each level (I wanted to tie this into Int, granting bonus spells to mages for high Int like Clerics do with Wisdom, but you can't do that with .2da files :P). Bard spell progression also improved (gains new spell level every 3 class levels: 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th).
Once the file is reloaded, I can level them back up to where they were for their XP values, make any level-based choices (such as proficiencies) with all the new changes taking effect (effectively rebooting them).
FR Wiki: Shar.
I need to find her a robe though. She's still kinda nekkid. I'm sure she will be a worthy addition to our cause (and we'll need it since it's a no-reload game :P).
This makes me wonder. Anyone else ever change the class composition of NPCs in BG I or II so you can have the party you want without losing out on all that sweet banter?
EDIT: I found a scroll of Friends in the circus tent, so I laughed and gave it to Viconia. After nearly being BBQed at the stake I figured it couldn't hurt her to know that spell. XD
Champions of Ruin and Lords of Darkness both paint a specifically dark picture of the many sects of her church, especially the Monks of the Dark Moon. She's a better liar than Cyric was, and more power hungry. She's good at snatching portfolios. The biggest advantage her church has is being less restricted/predictable than Bane's while being managed coherently than Talos or Cyric.
That being said, last I checked your alignment doesn't have to match your deity's. Viconia could be Neutral aligned and stile be a Sharite (guessing that's what you'd call a follower of Shar? Or maybe a Shard? :P).
I'm a little bummed nobody had an suggestions for how to spec Viconia, but I'm having a blast with her as a mage/cleric. So much fun with her in fact it's a wonder that she wasn't one to begin with (again with the goddess of dark magic and all that). Looking at her stats, she actually seems like a great candidate for mage/cleric (she has poor Strength and Constitution, 19 Dexterity, 16 Intelligence, 18 Wisdom, and 14 Charisma). The 18 Wisdom will do double-duty in enhancing her priest side and also making sure she isn't murdering my party with Wish later. :P
Furthermore I really hope someone makes that HUD mod for BG:EE, hah!
It is common for them to be clerics amongst the nobility, and female nobles in Menzoberranzan are expected to become clerics, though there are exceptions even there.
It's also very interesting to learn more about Shar. Like I said, I've read precious few FR novels (though I read Homeland in its entirety in a single sitting) and all I have for reference on a lot of the FR material is what I've seen in Baldur's Gate, my 3E Forgotten Realms books, Neverwinter Nights, and the FR Wiki. None of which paint Shar as particularly evil (I don't mean they don't paint her as evil, but they mention her in a way that makes her seem no more evil than any random evil deity in Faerun. I'd dare say the FR wiki makes Cyric sound infinitely more evil thar Shar herself. There's also the oddity that apparently Shar accepts good-aligned clerics into her service albeit rarely*); so these insights are very amusing to me.
Good-Aligned Clerics of Shar? v
^ The last sentence mentions "non-evil, non-neutral" clerics in the church, which leaves only lawful, chaotic, and good clerics of Shar, whom presumably still count Shar as their patron goddess. Citation is from The Parched Sea (1991)
@Quartz - Yeah I love this UI/HUD.
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#PlaythroughNews
Well I played through a little further and I'm mulling over whether or not to rush off to Irenicus' dungeon. Jan's Pickpocket skill is high enough I could make all the money I ever need by selling wands I've picked up, but I've only really liberated the Coronet and the De'Arnese Hold (which I did mostly to get Flail of Ages because I really love that weapon and it will be my Paladin's main until I fell a certain red dragon); and I dare say that Cleric/Mage Viccy is quickly becoming a favorite in the party. I've saddled her with spells that are "drow-themed" such as Blindness, Web, and Horror. Besides Melf's Meteors, I haven't given her any damage spells (but I play with some of the G3 mods, one of which applies a penalty on saves for spells for every 5 levels above the minimum level to cast the spell, so low level spells can still see some use in the game; right now Viconia has blindness and horror at -1 I think).
Thinking about going to rescue Mazzy and meet up with Valygar, or perhaps to continue the slaver missions (and pickup Larlicor), or possibly go do the quest for Lord Fiirkraag. Decisions decisions.
Then, you know, he'd have 3.
Just my take on the issue. Individual perceptions will vary, which kind of makes sense with gods.
Some hours later in my playthrough and my party's getting pretty strong. This is my Paladin getting ready to take on the Paladin Stronghold quest and begin preparations to go get the Carsomyr. I'm worried about it though. Though my party has been pretty effective thus far (Viconia is a beast with those minute meteors, and my Paladin crushes things with the flail of ages), this game is still quite rough on the martials even with all the rebalancing tweaks. Given I'm trying to do this with as few reloads as possible, I'm really quite concerned about fighting Firkraag.
Managed to slip enough treasure under the radar to get the Shield of Balduran without alerting Valen to my presence (15,000+ gp and she shows up and everyone wants you to go-go-go!), so I had a fairly large amount of gold and then sold off some spare weapons and armors I found adventuring. Oh if Keldorn had only gotten to see how amazingly useful that dark skinned beauty is in furthering the cause for righteousness. Now that I've got the shield, the flail of ages+3, and the azure edge, I'm probably going to tackle the Unseeing Eye before running off to face any dragons (it's a shame you can't take the artifact weapon from the unseeing eye quest out, 'cause I'd totally blast Firkraag with it :P).
I'm trying to decide where to head off after that. I could perhaps rescue Mazzy Fenton, or do the Thieves' Guild quest line, or perhaps give one of my PCs a vacation and do Korgan's quest in the undercity. Or I could just begin the quest to go rescue Imoen (Jan's Pickpocket skill is 200, so it would be trivial to garner the funds to make the voyage), and it has been so long since I played through the post-Athkatla stuff I scarcely remember Spellhold or anything after it. Decisions decisions. I'm taking suggestions.
Now, if your mages aren't at least 9th level, I think doing another quest or two first might be pretty well advised. The Trademeet line is good for outfitting Jaheira in particular, and Haer'Dalis's questline has the first available fair of boots of speed, which is just generally great.