Actually, according to the dictionary (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Decembuary), Decembuary can be not only the period between December 27 and January 25 but also a much shorter period between Christmas and New Years, for e.g. "we will have our Decembuary feast on the 26th".
So, there's still a big hope that the "Adventure Y will come as a Santa's gift.
This may be the place to report that, a couple of hours ago (in a thread about Hexxat), Andrew Foley (one of the Overhaul writing team) remarked that "... Prior to Adventure Y, she was my second favourite of the non-vanilla NPCs ...".
I interpret that remark as confirmation that Adventure Y definitely includes at least one new playable NPC (i.e. whichever character has now displaced Hexxat from being Andrew's second favourite). But no, he gave no further clue about this new character.
@Gallowglass It's a good point but still there's a chance that one of the existing EE NPCs (Dorn, Rasaad, Neera) will perform so greatly in the Adventure Y, that Andrew has tipped him to be the best. In the end, we put an NPC in our memory and heart because of their deeds, not their name. Maybe the Adventure Y will be even bloodier than you thought!
What I can conclude from that quote for sure is that they have at least created the story of this Adventure already because when the story and the details are unknown you can't say you like the deeds of this or that NPC in this story.
Yes, @bengoshi, I agree that yours is a possible alternative interpretation, but the "new NPC" interpretation seems more likely to me than a dramatic performance-change in one of the existing NPCs. Well, we'll see for ourselves eventually, I trust.
... one of the existing EE NPCs (Dorn, Rasaad, Neera) ...
And don't forget Baeloth as well! Adventure Y could turn out to be a continuation of Baeloth's story, somehow connecting BP1 into the main sequence of BG1+2 (rather like the way that Neera's ToB quest connects BP2 into the main sequence). Actually, hmmm, now that I'm thinking about it, this seems to me a plausible idea for what Adventure Y might be: the surface exit from the Black Pits, where Najim sends the BP1 party after their victory, might turn out to be somewhere near Boareskyr Bridge, etc., etc. When it was officially confirmed that Baeloth would not be continuing into BG2ee, the statement said something to the effect that Baeloth "was busy with another project" and that's never really been explained further, so Adventure Y could potentially be the explanation.
My only fear is that Adventure Y will be 'stand alone' like Black Pits (where you have to select it from the title menu), rather than seamlessly implemented in to the game so that it all flows smoothly and doesn't break the flow of the story. If it is an adventure that takes place between the two games, it should just follow on after you complete BG1.
I think adventure Y should be 1 of 2 thing: 1. A continue adventure after BG1 complete after killing Sarevok. 2. It should be something like Tob when you finished one game but to continue you gotta choose to continue and it not something one have to do.
Perhaps we may be able to continue our BG1ee finishing party into Adventure Y, and maybe it can be made a fairly smooth transition, but one thing we can be pretty sure about is that it won't let us then carry on the BG1ee finishing party into BG2ee - sorry, @dreamrider. The starting team for BG2ee is pretty much set in stone by Overhaul's contractual commitment to preserve original content.
However, it seems to me more likely that Adventure Y will involve the BG2 starting party (because the devs know who that will be, i.e. the "canon party") rather than the BG1 finishing party (because the devs don't know who that might be). Developing for an unknown choice of party requires a lot of conditional actions and dialogues for everyone who might be in the party, whereas developing for a known party is much easier (and cheaper).
What might be ideal would be for Adventure Y to start off with the BG1ee finishing party, but then (for some plausible story reasons which they will devise) certain personnel changes become obligatory as Adventure Y progresses, so that you always have the canon party at the end, thereby tying neatly into the beginning of BG2ee (and belatedly explaining the long-standing mystery of why the canon party are who they are).
One way of approaching it, based on my previous speculation about connecting BP1 to the BG saga, would be like this:- i. (Opening cutscene) After defeating Sarevok, we've gone to recuperate with a long rest in the Three Old Kegs (where in BG1ee we said we'd rest "at adventure's end"), but one morning we find the bar alive with rumours about a new series of "bandit raids" in the area around Baldur's Gate, except that this time the "bandits" are kidnappers who appear to be specifically targetting adventurers, and the only clue is that the kidnappers have repeatedly been overheard mentioning "the Black Pits". ii. (Action starts) In the bar of the Three Old Kegs with our BG1ee finishing party, Baeloth comes in looking for us (if he's not already in the party) and persuades us to help him investigate what's happening at his old stomping ground. iii. Baeloth reveals that the surface location of the Black Pits is somewhere in the Boareskyr Bridge/Dragonspear Castle area, and (scripted action) leads us around the corner to the Black Dragon Gate, where he persuades the guard to unseal the outer gate and instead seal the inner gate behind us. iv. Baeloth will teleport ahead to await our arrival (unless he's a party member), and the party will set out along the Trade Way from Black Dragon Gate, then across the Fields of the Dead and through the Troll Claw Hills (so there's scope for some lively encounters along the way, unless this journey is skipped over as another cutscene). v. On arrival, the party finds Baeloth (if he had teleported ahead) and discovers that the Black Pits haven't been wrecked in Baeloth's absence, but instead are back in business under new management (I'm not sure who - yuan-ti, maybe?), who are in control because they hold an item which subverts Najim's geas so that he obeys them instead of Baeloth. vi. Our task will now be either (Evil) to help Baeloth regain control of Najim (and thereby of the Black Pits) or (Good) to close the place down permanently by freeing Najim, so (either alignment) we fight our way into the Black Pits to confront the new management (leaving Baeloth outside unless he's a party member). vii. We find various adventurers (the kidnap victims) held captive inside as unwilling gladiators, with an unlockable cell (we loot the key somewhere nearby) holding members of the canon party who aren't already in our current party (or empty if we happen be exactly the canon party), and a locked cell (which we can't unlock) holding a few others. viii. We can talk to any captives in the unlocked cell (i.e. canon party members) and can recruit them, but we can't recruit those in the locked cell. ix. Anyone who came with us who isn't also in the canon party (even if dismissed from our party) will get captured during our various struggles against the minions of the new management (and put in the locked cell, not with the canon party members). x. Anyone in the locked cell who has a cameo role in BG2ee (e.g. Xzar, Coran, etc.) will at some later point (either in a cutscene or during play) manage to escape (perhaps their cell will get damaged as we fight), but they'll escape to the outside world (and so are not available to join us). xi. Anyone in the locked cell who has no cameo role in BG2ee may variously escape to the outside with the cameo characters, or die, or perhaps even be rescued by us but refuse to join, but in any case they won't join us, and in Baeloth's case (if he came inside as a party member) he'll eventually insist on leaving us and retreating outside. xii. As others are successively captured, the only replacements available to our party will be the canon party members, so we end up with the canon party. xiii. Once the canon party is complete (and we probably shouldn't be allowed to progress until we have all of them), we'll finally succeed in chasing out the new management, who escape to the surface, but we follow and finish the fight in an epic battle, thereby obtaining the item which subverts Najim's geas. xiv. We find Baeloth, at which point Najim also appears because we're holding his control item, and we'll have the choice either (Evil) to give the control item to Baeloth (so he's back in control of Najim, and they go inside to take charge) or (Good) to give the control item to Najim himself (thereby freeing him, so he returns to his own plane, leaving Baeloth with no way to operate the Black Pits - at which point Baeloth will probably either attack us or run away), and either way that completes Adventure Y. xv. (Closing cutscene) Again we've gone to the Three Old Kegs for a nice long rest, this time with the canon party and thinking that maybe this time we're really "at adventure's end", but after a while we start hearing yet more rumours, this time talking of more trouble brewing with Amn, even though it's now months since we solved the iron crisis, so we decide to head south and take a look ...
TL;DR - it's possible to develop a tolerably-consistent plotline which ties together the end of BG1, the aftermath of BP1, and the start of BG2.
Of course I've no idea whether whatever the devs are actually doing with Adventure Y bears even the slightest resemblance to my concept here, but I quite enjoyed the exercise of thinking through a way it could potentially be done.
I reckon that the one huge stumbling-block to any linking-piece between BG1 and BG2 is what happens to all the lovely XP which you ought to be earning during the new material? You don't gain any XP between BG1 and BG2, but you can't ask RPG players to play a nil-XP game. I can't think of a way around that, so I'll be fascinated to see how Overhaul address this problem.
At the time of the tweet it was the worst joke (and still is, in the most literal sense I can think of [after the game's released, remind me and I'll explain that {boy, this post sure has a lot of parentheticals}]). But I came up with one today so gloriously terrible that after inflicting it on Amber I actually felt compelled to apologize.
Perhaps we may be able to continue our BG1ee finishing party into Adventure Y, and maybe it can be made a fairly smooth transition, but one thing we can be pretty sure about is that it won't let us then carry on the BG1ee finishing party into BG2ee - sorry, @dreamrider. The starting team for BG2ee is pretty much set in stone by Overhaul's contractual commitment to preserve original content. However, it seems to me more likely that Adventure Y will involve the BG2 starting party (because the devs know who that will be, i.e. the "canon party") rather than the BG1 finishing party (because the devs don't know who that might be). Developing for an unknown choice of party requires a lot of conditional actions and dialogues for everyone who might be in the party, whereas developing for a known party is much easier (and cheaper). What might be ideal would be for Adventure Y to start off with the BG1ee finishing party, but then (for some plausible story reasons which they will devise) certain personnel changes become obligatory as Adventure Y progresses, so that you always have the canon party at the end, thereby tying neatly into the beginning of BG2ee (and belatedly explaining the long-standing mystery of why the canon party are who they are).
I don't think it fair to have only the canon party when there are lots of NPC's to choose from, also why would people will have to be stuck with those NPC's if one don't like them.
One way of approaching it, based on my previous speculation about connecting BP1 to the BG saga, would be like this:- i. (Opening cutscene) After defeating Sarevok, we've gone to recuperate with a long rest in the Three Old Kegs (where in BG1ee we said we'd rest "at adventure's end"), but one morning we find the bar alive with rumours about a new series of "bandit raids" in the area around Baldur's Gate, except that this time the "bandits" are kidnappers who appear to be specifically targetting adventurers, and the only clue is that the kidnappers have repeatedly been overheard mentioning "the Black Pits". ii. (Action starts) In the bar of the Three Old Kegs with our BG1ee finishing party, Baeloth comes in looking for us (if he's not already in the party) and persuades us to help him investigate what's happening at his old stomping ground. iii. Baeloth reveals that the surface location of the Black Pits is somewhere in the Boareskyr Bridge/Dragonspear Castle area, and (scripted action) leads us around the corner to the Black Dragon Gate, where he persuades the guard to unseal the outer gate and instead seal the inner gate behind us. iv. Baeloth will teleport ahead to await our arrival (unless he's a party member), and the party will set out along the Trade Way from Black Dragon Gate, then across the Fields of the Dead and through the Troll Claw Hills (so there's scope for some lively encounters along the way, unless this journey is skipped over as another cutscene). v. On arrival, the party finds Baeloth (if he had teleported ahead) and discovers that the Black Pits haven't been wrecked in Baeloth's absence, but instead are back in business under new management (I'm not sure who - yuan-ti, maybe?), who are in control because they hold an item which subverts Najim's geas so that he obeys them instead of Baeloth. vi. Our task will now be either (Evil) to help Baeloth regain control of Najim (and thereby of the Black Pits) or (Good) to close the place down permanently by freeing Najim, so (either alignment) we fight our way into the Black Pits to confront the new management (leaving Baeloth outside unless he's a party member). vii. We find various adventurers (the kidnap victims) held captive inside as unwilling gladiators, with an unlockable cell (we loot the key somewhere nearby) holding members of the canon party who aren't already in our current party (or empty if we happen be exactly the canon party), and a locked cell (which we can't unlock) holding a few others.
It sound a bit repetitive of bg1 aka the bandits, of bg2 aka being captive and the black pit and bg2 slaves gladiators. Adventure Y should be and I believe will be more creative then that.
viii. We can talk to any captives in the unlocked cell (i.e. canon party members) and can recruit them, but we can't recruit those in the locked cell. ix. Anyone who came with us who isn't also in the canon party (even if dismissed from our party) will get captured during our various struggles against the minions of the new management (and put in the locked cell, not with the canon party members). x. Anyone in the locked cell who has a cameo role in BG2ee (e.g. Xzar, Coran, etc.) will at some later point (either in a cutscene or during play) manage to escape (perhaps their cell will get damaged as we fight), but they'll escape to the outside world (and so are not available to join us). xi. Anyone in the locked cell who has no cameo role in BG2ee may variously escape to the outside with the cameo characters, or die, or perhaps even be rescued by us but refuse to join, but in any case they won't join us, and in Baeloth's case (if he came inside as a party member) he'll eventually insist on leaving us and retreating outside. xii. As others are successively captured, the only replacements available to our party will be the canon party members, so we end up with the canon party.
Why wouldn't they wanna join us ? what reason they have ? except the alignment and reputation that we have. and we will dismiss the party member that we have and choose already to be with us ? those the NPC that we wanted unless there will be new NPCs that we can choose from but I don't think so in this case.
xiii. Once the canon party is complete (and we probably shouldn't be allowed to progress until we have all of them), we'll finally succeed in chasing out the new management, who escape to the surface, but we follow and finish the fight in an epic battle, thereby obtaining the item which subverts Najim's geas. xiv. We find Baeloth, at which point Najim also appears because we're holding his control item, and we'll have the choice either (Evil) to give the control item to Baeloth (so he's back in control of Najim, and they go inside to take charge) or (Good) to give the control item to Najim himself (thereby freeing him, so he returns to his own plane, leaving Baeloth with no way to operate the Black Pits - at which point Baeloth will probably either attack us or run away), and either way that completes Adventure Y. xv. (Closing cutscene) Again we've gone to the Three Old Kegs for a nice long rest, this time with the canon party and thinking that maybe this time we're really "at adventure's end", but after a while we start hearing yet more rumours, this time talking of more trouble brewing with Amn, even though it's now months since we solved the iron crisis, so we decide to head south and take a look ...
TL;DR - it's possible to develop a tolerably-consistent plotline which ties together the end of BG1, the aftermath of BP1, and the start of BG2.
Of course I've no idea whether whatever the devs are actually doing with Adventure Y bears even the slightest resemblance to my concept here, but I quite enjoyed the exercise of thinking through a way it could potentially be done.
I reckon that the one huge stumbling-block to any linking-piece between BG1 and BG2 is what happens to all the lovely XP which you ought to be earning during the new material? You don't gain any XP between BG1 and BG2, but you can't ask RPG players to play a nil-XP game. I can't think of a way around that, so I'll be fascinated to see how Overhaul address this problem.
Well nice try you got there but you had few flaw here and there.
I don't think it fair to have only the canon party when there are lots of NPC's to choose from, also why would people will have to be stuck with those NPC's if one don't like them.
I agree that it may well not be "fair", and it certainly wouldn't be everyone's preferred choice, but the canon party are already pre-determined by the situation at the start of BG2. My intention was to think of a mechanism to explain how we arrive inevitably at that fixed result, precisely in spite of player preferences (which would usually not lead to the result required for story continuity).
It sound a bit repetitive of bg1 aka the bandits, of bg2 aka being captive and the black pit and bg2 slaves gladiators. Adventure Y should be and I believe will be more creative then that.
Agreed, my outline re-uses existing plot devices. I did that deliberately for the purposes of this exercise, to be sure of staying within the established style of the story.
Obviously Overhaul have more creative freedom than I allowed myself.
Why wouldn't they wanna join us ? what reason they have ? except the alignment and reputation that we have. and we will dismiss the party member that we have and choose already to be with us ?
I didn't go into that much detail. Obviously individual characters could have various reasons (such as alignment) for refusing to join us, and in any case where the writer can't think of a plausible individual reason for refusal, then that can be one of the ones who "gets killed" or "escapes to the outside".
The point is that we're trying to arrive at a fixed result, i.e. the canon party, so that the segue into BG2 is seamless. It's therefore necessary that all other party choices are excluded, one way or another.
I understand your intention about the NPC's but I wanted to point it out that it will be weak choice to let us just have the canon party in this grand adventure, and also the reuse of same stuff over and over again people won't like it. I believe that there is another way to make the bridge to the canon party and the beginning of BG2
Assume the spell/mechanism with which Irenicus ultimately captures the party is, in part, an XP drainer. Proceed from there.
Ughh. Yes, okay, I agree that this could be a way to explain the known outcome, but it'd be horribly deus ex machina and glaringly retro-fitted. (Of course the entire exercise is about retro-fitting, but it shouldn't be so blatant!) Nevertheless, I can't think of anything better, so your suggestion suffices as a "working hypothesis".
However, I sincerely hope that Overhaul have thought of a far more elegant solution ... after all, they're the ones who are getting paid for it!
I reckon that the one huge stumbling-block to any linking-piece between BG1 and BG2 is what happens to all the lovely XP which you ought to be earning during the new material? You don't gain any XP between BG1 and BG2, but you can't ask RPG players to play a nil-XP game. I can't think of a way around that, so I'll be fascinated to see how Overhaul address this problem.
Why not allow the player to keep the XP they earn? BG2 handles importing a character with greater than BG1's XP cap just fine. As long as the XP awards for Adventure Y are more on the BG1 level than BG2, it shouldn't even affect balance much, considering that before you get very far in BG2 even 20k XP becomes negligible.
Why not allow the player to keep the XP they earn? BG2 handles importing a character with greater than BG1's XP cap just fine. As long as the XP awards for Adventure Y are more on the BG1 level than BG2, it shouldn't even affect balance much, considering that before you get very far in BG2 even 20k XP becomes negligible.
I agree and would favour this, but I think it was confirmed (somewhere I can't remember) that Overhaul aren't allowed (by their contract) to monkey with the existing starting conditions (presumably including XP) in BG2ee. Your protagonist might perhaps be allowed more XP (since your protagonist isn't part of what Bioware originally created), but the other surviving members of the canon party (Jaheira, Minsc, Imoen) are original content and therefore (as I understand it) are set in stone. So what happens to the XP they gain in Adventure Y?
I look to Overhaul for a satisfying solution, but to me it seems a tough problem.
There is multiple versions of most playable NPCs for different XP levels. So the XP shouldnt matter much. Changing starting xp probably wont matter much.
I agree and would favour this, but I think it was confirmed (somewhere I can't remember) that Overhaul aren't allowed (by their contract) to monkey with the existing starting conditions (presumably including XP) in BG2ee. Your protagonist might perhaps be allowed more XP (since your protagonist isn't part of what Bioware originally created), but the other surviving members of the canon party (Jaheira, Minsc, Imoen) are original content and therefore (as I understand it) are set in stone. So what happens to the XP they gain in Adventure Y?
Same thing that happens to any other difference between where those characters are at the end of BG1 and the start of BG2. Take Imoen, for example. Some players dual-class her at various levels other players keep her as a straight thief the end result is that she rarely is at the same XP/level/class make-up that she starts at in BG2. If players can deal with that, I think they can deal with those npcs "missing" XP from adventure Y.
According to this we can assume two things: Adv. Y storyline is now in the finish (or ready to sail?), and there is a fairly big chance, that it won't contain a female dwarven bard Npc.
I didn't mean judge in the negative sense... I meant 'just because it has female physical appearance it doesn't mean it's biologically female'. Google conchita!
Why not allow the player to keep the XP they earn? BG2 handles importing a character with greater than BG1's XP cap just fine. As long as the XP awards for Adventure Y are more on the BG1 level than BG2, it shouldn't even affect balance much, considering that before you get very far in BG2 even 20k XP becomes negligible.
I agree and would favour this, but I think it was confirmed (somewhere I can't remember) that Overhaul aren't allowed (by their contract) to monkey with the existing starting conditions (presumably including XP) in BG2ee. Your protagonist might perhaps be allowed more XP (since your protagonist isn't part of what Bioware originally created), but the other surviving members of the canon party (Jaheira, Minsc, Imoen) are original content and therefore (as I understand it) are set in stone. So what happens to the XP they gain in Adventure Y?
I look to Overhaul for a satisfying solution, but to me it seems a tough problem.
At the end of my BG1:EE run, Minsc had 161,000 XP, because I hadn't installed any mods so my party was resting comfortably on the XP cap.
When Veraka got imported into BG2:EE, Minsc joined the party with 900,000 XP, while I was still at 161,000. Goodness gracious Minsc, what adventures have you and Boo been up to? Killed a few dragons? Single-handedly slain an army of ogres next to an army of gnolls next to an army of xvarts next to an army of tasloi, then turned in the quest rewards? I don't think current implementation is going to be a problem really, as I doubt Adventure Y would push me past 900,000 XP.
@kaguana In the long established DnD fantasy melieu upon which BG is based, female dwarves usually (always?) have beards and are hard to distinguish from males.
Comments
So, there's still a big hope that the "Adventure Y will come as a Santa's gift.
I interpret that remark as confirmation that Adventure Y definitely includes at least one new playable NPC (i.e. whichever character has now displaced Hexxat from being Andrew's second favourite). But no, he gave no further clue about this new character.
Just thought y'all would like to know this.
What I can conclude from that quote for sure is that they have at least created the story of this Adventure already because when the story and the details are unknown you can't say you like the deeds of this or that NPC in this story.
...and that it is suitably adventury. (Sorry...a little.)
1. A continue adventure after BG1 complete after killing Sarevok.
2. It should be something like Tob when you finished one game but to continue you gotta choose to continue and it not something one have to do.
However, it seems to me more likely that Adventure Y will involve the BG2 starting party (because the devs know who that will be, i.e. the "canon party") rather than the BG1 finishing party (because the devs don't know who that might be). Developing for an unknown choice of party requires a lot of conditional actions and dialogues for everyone who might be in the party, whereas developing for a known party is much easier (and cheaper).
What might be ideal would be for Adventure Y to start off with the BG1ee finishing party, but then (for some plausible story reasons which they will devise) certain personnel changes become obligatory as Adventure Y progresses, so that you always have the canon party at the end, thereby tying neatly into the beginning of BG2ee (and belatedly explaining the long-standing mystery of why the canon party are who they are).
One way of approaching it, based on my previous speculation about connecting BP1 to the BG saga, would be like this:-
i. (Opening cutscene) After defeating Sarevok, we've gone to recuperate with a long rest in the Three Old Kegs (where in BG1ee we said we'd rest "at adventure's end"), but one morning we find the bar alive with rumours about a new series of "bandit raids" in the area around Baldur's Gate, except that this time the "bandits" are kidnappers who appear to be specifically targetting adventurers, and the only clue is that the kidnappers have repeatedly been overheard mentioning "the Black Pits".
ii. (Action starts) In the bar of the Three Old Kegs with our BG1ee finishing party, Baeloth comes in looking for us (if he's not already in the party) and persuades us to help him investigate what's happening at his old stomping ground.
iii. Baeloth reveals that the surface location of the Black Pits is somewhere in the Boareskyr Bridge/Dragonspear Castle area, and (scripted action) leads us around the corner to the Black Dragon Gate, where he persuades the guard to unseal the outer gate and instead seal the inner gate behind us.
iv. Baeloth will teleport ahead to await our arrival (unless he's a party member), and the party will set out along the Trade Way from Black Dragon Gate, then across the Fields of the Dead and through the Troll Claw Hills (so there's scope for some lively encounters along the way, unless this journey is skipped over as another cutscene).
v. On arrival, the party finds Baeloth (if he had teleported ahead) and discovers that the Black Pits haven't been wrecked in Baeloth's absence, but instead are back in business under new management (I'm not sure who - yuan-ti, maybe?), who are in control because they hold an item which subverts Najim's geas so that he obeys them instead of Baeloth.
vi. Our task will now be either (Evil) to help Baeloth regain control of Najim (and thereby of the Black Pits) or (Good) to close the place down permanently by freeing Najim, so (either alignment) we fight our way into the Black Pits to confront the new management (leaving Baeloth outside unless he's a party member).
vii. We find various adventurers (the kidnap victims) held captive inside as unwilling gladiators, with an unlockable cell (we loot the key somewhere nearby) holding members of the canon party who aren't already in our current party (or empty if we happen be exactly the canon party), and a locked cell (which we can't unlock) holding a few others.
viii. We can talk to any captives in the unlocked cell (i.e. canon party members) and can recruit them, but we can't recruit those in the locked cell.
ix. Anyone who came with us who isn't also in the canon party (even if dismissed from our party) will get captured during our various struggles against the minions of the new management (and put in the locked cell, not with the canon party members).
x. Anyone in the locked cell who has a cameo role in BG2ee (e.g. Xzar, Coran, etc.) will at some later point (either in a cutscene or during play) manage to escape (perhaps their cell will get damaged as we fight), but they'll escape to the outside world (and so are not available to join us).
xi. Anyone in the locked cell who has no cameo role in BG2ee may variously escape to the outside with the cameo characters, or die, or perhaps even be rescued by us but refuse to join, but in any case they won't join us, and in Baeloth's case (if he came inside as a party member) he'll eventually insist on leaving us and retreating outside.
xii. As others are successively captured, the only replacements available to our party will be the canon party members, so we end up with the canon party.
xiii. Once the canon party is complete (and we probably shouldn't be allowed to progress until we have all of them), we'll finally succeed in chasing out the new management, who escape to the surface, but we follow and finish the fight in an epic battle, thereby obtaining the item which subverts Najim's geas.
xiv. We find Baeloth, at which point Najim also appears because we're holding his control item, and we'll have the choice either (Evil) to give the control item to Baeloth (so he's back in control of Najim, and they go inside to take charge) or (Good) to give the control item to Najim himself (thereby freeing him, so he returns to his own plane, leaving Baeloth with no way to operate the Black Pits - at which point Baeloth will probably either attack us or run away), and either way that completes Adventure Y.
xv. (Closing cutscene) Again we've gone to the Three Old Kegs for a nice long rest, this time with the canon party and thinking that maybe this time we're really "at adventure's end", but after a while we start hearing yet more rumours, this time talking of more trouble brewing with Amn, even though it's now months since we solved the iron crisis, so we decide to head south and take a look ...
TL;DR - it's possible to develop a tolerably-consistent plotline which ties together the end of BG1, the aftermath of BP1, and the start of BG2.
Of course I've no idea whether whatever the devs are actually doing with Adventure Y bears even the slightest resemblance to my concept here, but I quite enjoyed the exercise of thinking through a way it could potentially be done.
I reckon that the one huge stumbling-block to any linking-piece between BG1 and BG2 is what happens to all the lovely XP which you ought to be earning during the new material? You don't gain any XP between BG1 and BG2, but you can't ask RPG players to play a nil-XP game. I can't think of a way around that, so I'll be fascinated to see how Overhaul address this problem.
I don't think it fair to have only the canon party when there are lots of NPC's to choose from, also why would people will have to be stuck with those NPC's if one don't like them.
Obviously Overhaul have more creative freedom than I allowed myself. I didn't go into that much detail. Obviously individual characters could have various reasons (such as alignment) for refusing to join us, and in any case where the writer can't think of a plausible individual reason for refusal, then that can be one of the ones who "gets killed" or "escapes to the outside".
The point is that we're trying to arrive at a fixed result, i.e. the canon party, so that the segue into BG2 is seamless. It's therefore necessary that all other party choices are excluded, one way or another. Thanks. I think the major flaw is the re-hashing of existing plot devices, I reckon the other weaknesses could be explained away in the writing.
I'm sure Overhaul will invoke more original plot devices!
I understand your intention about the NPC's but I wanted to point it out that it will be weak choice to let us just have the canon party in this grand adventure, and also the reuse of same stuff over and over again people won't like it. I believe that there is another way to make the bridge to the canon party and the beginning of BG2 They need to have so it will be a success
However, I sincerely hope that Overhaul have thought of a far more elegant solution ... after all, they're the ones who are getting paid for it!
The best of the wurst?
I look to Overhaul for a satisfying solution, but to me it seems a tough problem.
When Veraka got imported into BG2:EE, Minsc joined the party with 900,000 XP, while I was still at 161,000. Goodness gracious Minsc, what adventures have you and Boo been up to? Killed a few dragons? Single-handedly slain an army of ogres next to an army of gnolls next to an army of xvarts next to an army of tasloi, then turned in the quest rewards? I don't think current implementation is going to be a problem really, as I doubt Adventure Y would push me past 900,000 XP.
In the long established DnD fantasy melieu upon which BG is based, female dwarves usually (always?) have beards and are hard to distinguish from males.