BG EE (1 and 2) Mods You'd Recommend?
Heindrich
Member, Moderator Posts: 2,959
Context of questions:
I have just completed my first full saga BG playthrough, using BG EE for BG 1, BG 2 Vanilla (GoG) for SoA and ToB.
I was planning a second playthrough with BG EE and BG 2 EE, and didn't really consider mods in much seriousness, and don't know anything about them beyond a few names I've heard mentioned in General Discussion, including SCS, Ascension and Unfinished Business.
I just saw @booinyoureyes' comment regarding NPC mods, from
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/29108/npcs-you-enjoy (page 3)
... which got me reading about some of the mods on Pocket Plane Group.
I was initially curious about Kelsey, cos although I don't ever intend to play a female PC, it would be nice to add more content for Imoen, whose vanilla content is disappointingly sparse, given how central she is to the main plot. (I understand this is because she was supposed to die in Spellhold.)
However, I am very hesitant to add another NPC into my game, since I am already spoilt for choice and cannot fit in everybody I want.
So what I am really interested is maybe installing a select few reliable, stable and compatible mods that would enhance the core game, without necessarily changing the experience or adding much new content.
Specifically I am interested in the following:
My Modding Objectives
1) Having played BG 2, I'm gonna find BG 1 companions really mute... I can live with it, but it would be nice if they had banters like in BG 2. Not necessarily leading to any serious consequences or further quests, just more well-written and immersive banters like those in BG 2.
2) A more fleshed out Imoen. I feel like she has SO much potential that is never quite realised in the vanilla game.
3) A lot of the BG 2 quests feel kinda incomplete... there's lots of 'doors to nowhere' and you never find out things like Torgal's Stronger, Kalah's Benefactor, Twisted Rune, The Guarded Compound etc... This is the one case where I don't mind extra content to fill in the gaps. However I don't want to find insanely difficult encounters and/or game-breaking loot from any additional content.
4) I hesitate to ask for this, even if it is available, but I'd like to have more inter-party banters, particularly those capturing the development of friendships and rivalries. The reason I hesitate is that I worry if/how they can be consistent from BG 1 to BG 2... and the BG 2 early game is already banter-heavy, and I don't want to interrupted every 5 minutes with a banter. However, after Chapter 2, even BG 2 becomes kinda quiet, and the Aerie romance (which I still intend to do) is mostly silent until ToB. So basically more banter, but ideally spread out over the entire game, rather than an overly busy Chapter 2 giving way to silence.
5) I have heard of BGT, where the whole trilogy plays in one game, which would seem kinda cool. I am pretty sure that it's not been adapted for EE yet, as I right in this assumption?
6) I am open to other suggestions... I am a RP-driven player who wants to enrich the vanilla experience, but stability and mutual compatibility between different mods is crucial, both in a technical sense, and RP-sense. My IT skills are very limited in comparison to some of you computer wizards out here, and I'd hate to suffer a game-breaking bug somewhere deep in a playthrough (which I might record as a LP), and find myself unable to troubleshoot it due to limited understanding of the game's inner workings.
I have just completed my first full saga BG playthrough, using BG EE for BG 1, BG 2 Vanilla (GoG) for SoA and ToB.
I was planning a second playthrough with BG EE and BG 2 EE, and didn't really consider mods in much seriousness, and don't know anything about them beyond a few names I've heard mentioned in General Discussion, including SCS, Ascension and Unfinished Business.
I just saw @booinyoureyes' comment regarding NPC mods, from
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/29108/npcs-you-enjoy (page 3)
... which got me reading about some of the mods on Pocket Plane Group.
I was initially curious about Kelsey, cos although I don't ever intend to play a female PC, it would be nice to add more content for Imoen, whose vanilla content is disappointingly sparse, given how central she is to the main plot. (I understand this is because she was supposed to die in Spellhold.)
However, I am very hesitant to add another NPC into my game, since I am already spoilt for choice and cannot fit in everybody I want.
So what I am really interested is maybe installing a select few reliable, stable and compatible mods that would enhance the core game, without necessarily changing the experience or adding much new content.
Specifically I am interested in the following:
My Modding Objectives
1) Having played BG 2, I'm gonna find BG 1 companions really mute... I can live with it, but it would be nice if they had banters like in BG 2. Not necessarily leading to any serious consequences or further quests, just more well-written and immersive banters like those in BG 2.
2) A more fleshed out Imoen. I feel like she has SO much potential that is never quite realised in the vanilla game.
3) A lot of the BG 2 quests feel kinda incomplete... there's lots of 'doors to nowhere' and you never find out things like Torgal's Stronger, Kalah's Benefactor, Twisted Rune, The Guarded Compound etc... This is the one case where I don't mind extra content to fill in the gaps. However I don't want to find insanely difficult encounters and/or game-breaking loot from any additional content.
4) I hesitate to ask for this, even if it is available, but I'd like to have more inter-party banters, particularly those capturing the development of friendships and rivalries. The reason I hesitate is that I worry if/how they can be consistent from BG 1 to BG 2... and the BG 2 early game is already banter-heavy, and I don't want to interrupted every 5 minutes with a banter. However, after Chapter 2, even BG 2 becomes kinda quiet, and the Aerie romance (which I still intend to do) is mostly silent until ToB. So basically more banter, but ideally spread out over the entire game, rather than an overly busy Chapter 2 giving way to silence.
5) I have heard of BGT, where the whole trilogy plays in one game, which would seem kinda cool. I am pretty sure that it's not been adapted for EE yet, as I right in this assumption?
6) I am open to other suggestions... I am a RP-driven player who wants to enrich the vanilla experience, but stability and mutual compatibility between different mods is crucial, both in a technical sense, and RP-sense. My IT skills are very limited in comparison to some of you computer wizards out here, and I'd hate to suffer a game-breaking bug somewhere deep in a playthrough (which I might record as a LP), and find myself unable to troubleshoot it due to limited understanding of the game's inner workings.
4
Comments
BG1 NPC Project is the best mod evah. It adds banters and character development to BG1, while taking much of BG2's story into account (Imoen uses magic). In fact, if you like Imoen, it makes Imoen the Number One most awesome NPC in the game, with the most banters that are all loveable and very, very in character. She really, really feels like your sister. It also adds 3 romances for each gender (Branwen, Shar-Teel and an incredible Dynaheir romance for dudes, and a Coran, Xan and Ajantis for females).
The Dynaheir one has gotten rave reviews, and is quite good. I've tried the Xan and Ajantis ones, but never completed. I highly recommend it. Each character gets BG2 style interjections, banters and development. Honestly, it was a chore to beat BG1EE without it.
And there is the problem: it is not yet *fully* compatible. @shin has been working hard at it and I hear he has a version that is working very well, but testing isn't complete yet.
As far as BG2? I gave you my favorite NPCs on the other thread, and I think you should try Kelsey out. He is pretty well done, and since you are a fellow Imoen lover, you might enjoy his romance with her (they are both gingers... yet somehow not evil). Angelo is another good one with a lot of content, same with Xan.
Also HIGHLY recommended is Unfinished Business for BG2. It adds a couple things that were left unfinished from some of the original developers of the game! Kalah from the Circus, for example has a proper conclusion. Also, I saw your character hated Yoshimo after the geas thing... if you install this mod you may think differently about his character. I'm not sure if you did anything with his heart after killing him, but that part is very nicely expanded upon in this mod.
For adventures, I was a big fan of Tortured Souls, a mod that added a girlfriend for Yoshimo and made it possible to break his geas. You even get to travel to Kara-Tur! It also adds some secret content with Minsc. As you can tell, I'm a big Yoshimo fan...
There are a couple adventure mods at Spellhold Studios that i've recently tried... and they are
GREAT FUN, haha!". I recommend Dungeon Crawl (will meet awesome Beholder and Lich selling cheese... literally and figuratively), Tales of the Deep Garden (totally weird but interesting), I Shall Never Forget (a fun mystery), Return to Brynnlaw (you can go back!) and finally... The Sellswords! The Sellswords is awesome if you read RA Salvatore as a kid, or if you just like the Underdark. You go to a drow city and have some really cool, creative adventures.
Finally, if you love banter (as I do) there are two extended banter mods out there that add additional dialogues to the game! Also there is a fix pack that allows for more interjections (sometimes if an NPC is not in view during a conversation they will not interject... so lame to miss some). These Banter Packs are pretty good (not as good as BG1 NPC Project) but I really enjoy other mods called Friendship Mods
These mods add friendship tracks with some of our favorite, yet more silent NPCs. They exist for Yoshimo, Mazzy, Viconia, Valygar and of course our favorite girl Imoen... plus for Sarevok! You should really try him out, it is a great experience to take him. These mods add interjections at some key moments and make the NPCs feel more like your friends.
There are some more, but I'm sure this is more than enough for you to sort through for now. Hope you try some out and enjoy the experience!
1. For some reason there was a problem that didn't allow for each Imoen interjection in Throne of Bhaal to trigger. Apparently she had some more lines that were lost due to a spelling error. I'm not sure if BG2EE fixed this or not, and I've actually never played with this installed before. Sounds intriguing
2. This is actually the one that fixes the interjections mistakes. For example, apparently sometimes Irenicus will Derp out and not realize Yoshimo is in your party (again, not sure if corrected in EE)
There are a couple fun things that make your life easier too (Bottomless Bags of Holding, Cromwell can build items that Cespenar could if you find the pieces in Watcher's Keep)
You can also have a multiple strongholds part, which would fit Jin since he is both a fighter and a mage.
Here it is: http://www.gibberlings3.net/bg2tweaks/content.php
also: it can add a portrait for...
There is also a related workaround for the Ascension mod (that involves installing it through Big Picture), but that also requires some modding insight. It's a bit of a shame really that two of the arguably most important mods for their respective sections of the series still aren't fully ready. No other mods, with the possible exception of SCS, add as much to the game experience imo.
Other than that, @booinyoureyes makes some good suggestions. I'd also advice you to take a day or two and simply browse through the mods offered at Gibberlings 3, Spellhold Studios and Pocketplane - you'll get an idea of what's out there while being inspired to contemplate what kind of game you would want/enjoy.
I made a small mod for BG:EE that gave allows you to bump into Aerie at the Nashkel Carnival. There's a small quest to get her to tell you about herself, although obviously you already know if you've played BG2. It wasn't quite finished, and I was going to add a cameo for Mazzy next but didn't get around to it. I use it now to console Aerie into the party, since she's a better cleric/mage than her uncle.
Right now though, I'm working on extra content for Aerie in BG2. There's a few encounters and some banters, mostly between Aerie and Imoen. Not romance, if that's what your dirty minds are thinking. They do kiss at one point, but it should be obvious that it's a joke and they're playing...
I'd welcome some ideas and suggestions though. Giving Aerie her wings back isn't really in the cards at the moment, at least in Shadows in Amn (maybe temporarily at some later date). But I've got to think of what kind of reward to give Aerie for her quest. Right now, I'm thinking a small stat boost (like +1 DEX, INT, WIS... nothing much), and a unique item, and maybe a second or slighter better item if you're romancing her. But what should the nature of this item be... Avariel are famed for their glass, which is more like a transparent metal, so maybe some kind of glass weapon or jewellery. It should be comparable to other unique items you get as rewards, although obviously I don't want it to be overpowered... decisions, decisions...
Still, going with your specifics...
I'm trying not to recommend too many NPC mods, because as you said there are still a lot of NPCs you want to play with in BG1/2, but in BG1 you might have better experience downloading mods because they'll have banters with the various NPCs as the NPC project isn't out yet. Thus, I'm recommending Isra over at Spellhold Studios, a Paladin of Sune. She'll have a friendship track with the PC, and banter with the various NPCs. And, er, fight with Dorn, but what would you expect from a paladin? There's also Valerie, a Lawful Good Sorceress of Torm. She doesn't have interactions with the BGEE NPC's, but she banters once with everyone else, and she'll also banter with Isra if you install Isra last. Gavin is another mod I would recommend, but I don't think he's quite working for BGEE yet.
(Also, play my mod when it comes out. It'll be fun, I swear.)
What is working is three friendship tracks, for the male romancables of the sadly not updated NPC project. Xan friendship is over at Pocketplane Group, Ajantis friendship is over at http://kerzenburg.baldurs-gate.eu/downloads.php?id=61 , and there's a Coran friendship over at Gibberlings3, but I'm not sure if Coran's working with BGEE yet. What this means is that every so often, the boys will look at you and banter at you about stuff relating to their lives, thoughts, gods, careers, and whatever. Sort of like the romance tracks in BG2, but these are specifically friendship (though amusingly, those three are the guys romancable in the BG1NPC project, which hopefully will soon be working for BG1- it's amazing, it changes BG1 so completely with it installed).
If you can get it working, Baldurs Gate 1 Unfinished Business at Pocketplane Group adds a lot of little things- like Kivan recognizing Traxok, Branwen recognizing Tranzig, Shar-Teel acknowledging Angelo, as well as attempts to figure out how the iron was tainted and so on.
And finally, my favorite (besides the BGNPC project) mod for BG1: Baldur's Gate Mini Quests and Encounters. You'll want to download Open Beta 9 from the forums, http://forums.gibberlings3.net/index.php?showforum=148 - don't worry, I tested it, and didn't run in to any bugs.
Finally, I know you didn't want to install a difficulty enhancer, but you might want to install Sword Coast Stratagems at Gibberlings3 for one reason: NPC's Wait at Inns (I think that's in SCS, anyway). If you don't have NPC's wait at inns, half the time when you dismiss NPC's in BG1, they take off to never be seen again- save for the BGEE crowd. With this component installed, they'll instead park themselves at a nearby inn so you can go back and re-recruit them later if you so desire.
BG2! This is where things get really long.
Our first stop, Immy. There are two mods that have romances for Imoen: Kelsey at PPG and Gavin at Gibberlings3. Unfortunately, Gavin's ToB content and Imoen romance isn't quite complete yet (or BGEE compatable), so for your next playthrough, I'd install Kelsey, and then take Gavin along for the one after that where hopefully he'll be finished. Both are good, decent guys who have a lot going for them and who I would approve of dating baby sister- or my PC, for that matter, as they are an option for a female NPC as well.
I know you didn't want many NPC mods, but I am just going to put out a small torch for Xan, if you ended up taking him along as one of your casters in BG1. When you hear people talk about Xan on the forums, you're probably mostly hearing us gals talk about his two romance tracks, but he also has an excellent friendship track for guys and non-elven gals (or elf gals who are otherwise uninterested). He can definitely come brooding along with you, seeming like your gloomy, miserable, but surprisingly best and most supportive friend through it all. There are very good mods for Kivan and Ajantis as well, carrying them through, but the first isn't updated for BGEE and the second doesn't have ToB content. On that same page, Isra the BG1 mod has a BG2 version, but it doesn't have ToB content, either.
Unfortunately, most mods for romancable gals for guys don't have ToB content. About the only one I can think of is Dace at Spellhold Studios, and she may be a bit chaotic for JS. Fun, though. There is Branwen at Pocketplane Group, who is one of my favorite romances for guys... but I wouldn't recommend playing her until you've played her BG1 romance in the BG1NPC project.
Let's jump back to Imoen. Pocketplane Group has a quest mod that can be done with her, or without her, but one she has a definite bit of content for- Back to Brynnlaw. Basically, you head back to the pirate isles and Imoen gets some closure.
There's also three other quest mods there workable with BGEE: Assassins (probably a bit evil for you- I think you can skip it), Spellswords (another adventure in a drow city- I think you can do this one fairly goodishly, but the premise is a bit iffy), and Unfinished Business (which everyone should play once or twice- warning, though, that Haer'Dalis quest seems a bit buggy at the moment, though I've ran everything else before without any bugs).
Also at Pocketplane Group are the Banter Packs (adds more banter in to the game, all of it in character, in my opinion) and the Flirt Packs (which basically allows you to casually, hug, kiss, and otherwise flirt with Aerie, Jaheira, Viconia, or Anomen- and them to do the same to you). Both are basically 'musts' for my game.
We're still sort of talking about Imoen, right? Let's run back over to Spellhold Studios then, and look over at http://www.shsforums.net/forum/353-npc-iep/. The NPC IEP project adds more banters in to the game, then it adds friendship tracks for Yoshimo, Imoen, Mazzy, Viconia, and Sarevok. I haven't played Vicky's yet, but I've played all the others, and they're quite good.
How about some more Quest Mods, with beautiful scenery? Lava's Colors of Infinity mods are lovely: sadly, Yvette isn't currently compatable with BG2EE, or I'd be recommending her as a romance for you to try- I think from what I've heard you commenting on, you'd really like her. Still, working with BGEE is I Shall Never Forget and Tales of Deep Gardens. Innershade and White Queen I don't think are compilable, but well, maybe someday. You can get them http://www.shsforums.net/files/category/106-colours-of-infinity/ .
As for fun 'expansion mods', install a shoe merchant. No, I'm serious. http://www.shsforums.net/files/category/96-auroras-shoes-and-boots/ Aurora's Shoes and Boots adds a merchant to the bridge district who will banter once with each NPC, tell you all different kinds of gossip, sell you shoes, and on occasion, upgrade a pair of boots for you. What more do you need out of life? If you want, you can also take her along as a ToB NPC, though that component isn't required. (Make sure to install the 5a patch after installing the main file.)
One last jump, over to Gibberlings3. Personally, I always have Romantic Encounters installed, but if you're planning on roleplaying a committed relationship with Aerie, that's probably not necessary (though it can be fun). Wheels of Prophecy is interesting, but ToB probably isn't so stale to you that you need it yet. So I'm just going to recommend the BG2 Tweak Pack. Little, stupid things, like allow gems to stack in your inventory or arrows to stack up to 999 rather then 20 or however stupid little amount the game tries to convince me they should stack up to... honestly, I don't think I could play without those anymore. I just played an archer NPC through BG1, and she used up somewhere around 3000 arrows totally in game play. If I had to do that in stacks of 40 or whatever at a time, I might have strangled my game. Somehow.
Phew.
Note however for Heindrich: Unfinished Business and BG1 NPC Project clash in three areas (both have added content for the same moments)
1. Kagain quest fix (you probably don't care since he's a fat evil dwarf)
2. Branwen and Tranzig
3. Kivan and Tazok
...I actually like him a fair bit, though he has no personality. The BG1NPC's don't usually, sadly.
We got two atypical halflings in Mazzy and Monty, a crazy, evil gnome, but each dwarf was a drinking, violent, walking Scottish stereotype.
Eldoth, hate!
A mod I forgot: http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1022-neera-expansion/ Neera Expansion, for BG1. Basically, it just adds a couple more flirtatious talks to Neera, and allows you the opportunity to flirt with her (it also has options to open her up to girls, or Rasaad to males, but you don't have to install those if you don't want to). You planned on maybe making JS crush on her before moving on to Aerie, right? This allows you to play out said crush a bit more, if you so desire.
Since Ascencion is not ready yet (we all know @Cuv is a genius, but still even he can't makes wonders in a day, and Ascension's files/codes look like 2' box full of all the different LEGO pieces while other mods look like a 2x4 LEGO brick, simple and easy, while Ascension........... Around 600 files, the original wasn't even WeiDU, the names are intuitive and they miss the modding signature so don't install much thing after Ascension) you can only try it in vanilla BG2:ToB, if you install SCS after that (it won't spoil the Ascension install, I am sure of it), you'll have a battle that might make your head explode and crash your game.
Ascension + SCS (and the exploits besides that feeling the UI gives me
I've realised a problem that probably means modding my game isn't going to work any time soon... I am currently playing a great MP game with othe forumites. I guess mods will cause a problem for that unless we all happened to have the exact same setup?
None-the-less, it'd be good to do gain an awareness and understanding of mods for the future.
@booinyoureyes
Like I said, I probably won't be playing a heavily modded game (especially multiple mods from multiple sources that might not be tested for mutual compatibility) any time soon. However some of the ones you mentioned to sound interesting. Are the Friendship mods compatible with EE?
You know... In addition to not getting my Jaheira content, which I just posted about, I fear my Imoen might've been especially quiet cos her script might've been messed up somehow. I got one or two banters with her in ToB which seemed a bit outta place, and maybe more appropriate for Chapter 6.
Do you have a rough estimate for when NPC project will be ready for official release? That sounds exactly like what I want actually, though I'd be willing to wait rather than 'wing it' and hope it doesn't break in the middle of a run. Like I said, not really IT competent enough to troubleshoot if I run into a problem.
Aerie in BG 1? As a cameo or recruitable NPC? I'm not sure how to implement it and yet keep it RP accurate for BG 2... unless she's just performing in the circus, or caged, which would be kinda sad to see
More Aerie and Imoen banter would be great! I love them both, and Imoen was sadly mute most of the time.
As for a flavoured item for Aerie... How about a familiar? I know an actual familiar is probably too problematic to implement, but you can always create a Boo-like item for Aerie. Something cute and sweet, that's too shy/scared to leave Aerie's pack. She was awfully squishy, to the extent that I had to give her Cloak of Mirroring just so didn't insta-die each time somebody threw a random Horrid Wilting, so a small hp boost would be nice.
I also try to roleplay Aerie's altruism by giving her mostly enchantment, utility and illusionary spells. (i.e. mostly non-lethal stuff)... I wasn't religiously strict about it, but as an example, her spell sequencers were all for party protection/buffs (helping others), Charname's (F/M) was all but self-buffing, and Imoen's was all offensive firepower. It would be nice if whatever items you gave her reflected this too.
WOW... thanks! That's a alot of information! And thanks for taking the time to talk a mod noob through all the options. The ones that really jump out at me are:
1) The Banter packs and Flirt packs from Pocket Planes Group. I actually saw them when I looked through Kelsey, but I didn't see 'compatible with BG EE', so I assumed that they weren't. I guess my assumption was incorrect?
I assume the extra banter is just on-screen script? I wouldn't think it's realistic to expect the modders to hire the original voice actors, lol... and I'd find it quite immersion breaking if they used different ones to voice the same characters.
2) What are you working on?
3) Some of the BG 1 options u mentioned are tempting... but won't they clash with each other? I kinda feel that it might be safer to just wait for BG NPC project, since every seem to have good things to say about it... And although I like some of the characters mentioned, and would like to give Imoen a boyfriend :P I really wanna try out more of the existing characters first. I've only really used the canon party for any significant period in BG 1, and I would like to have Kivan and Neera for the core party next time, plus Yeslick and maybe Ajantis for parts of it.
4) An shoe merchant? LOL... Tord/Lilly Black would have loved that one! She kept so many pairs of boots (including all the Boots of Speed the party found) in her inventory, and refused to share with her companions.
5) Actually does BG 2EE include Joulev? I've just noticed that I never had him in my LP... If not, a mod for him would be nice... I like that +1 APR and poisoning +3 Ninja-to lol.
So:
No BG1 NPC
No Ascension
No TS
Basically the two best mods are not available...
However, everything else will NOT ruin your game as far as I can see (I have htem ALL installed and beat SoA without a single bug)
At least get the Banter Packs and Friendship mods... all of them. Totally worth it. I'd also recommend Kelsey.
I'd also highly recommend Rogue Rebalancing and the Tweaks (make your life easier).
So at bare minimum I'd say you should get the banter packs and Kelsey, plus some of the tweaks (you can choose what parts you want)
Go here for
1. List of mods
2. Download links!
3. Installation Order!!!!
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/23726/bgii-ee-compatible-mod-list/p1 for BG2
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/6967/bgee-mod-compatibility-thread/p1 for BG1
PS: The adventures are also completely optional and stand-alone, but I'm sure you have enough material with this being only your second shot at the game! I'd still install Dungeon Crawl at least (get super awesome loots from a secrete store run by a friendly Lich and Beholder. They sell cheese. Literally)
I love your mace and shield depiction of her... but I've alway imagined Aerie to be a quarterstaff user, who rarely actually fights with it. Really close up fighting is brutal, and not very graceful, and not very... Aerie, or at least how I imagine her. I think I gave her the Staff of Air for the early game, (Air somewhat related to flying) and then Staff of Magi, cos the Spelltrap allows me to give Charname the Cloak of Mirroring and work more effectively as a frontline tank. She also got the Robe of Vecna until Imoen got Timestop, and then Imoen could make better use of it, and Aerie got Robe of Good Archmage.
Anyway I deviate. In terms of her item... I'd prefer an item that helps the party as a whole, rather than just herself. If you intend it to be a ToB item, then maybe a necklace/ring +2 AC and Saves, and a charge of Greater Restoration once a day? (So u can use it without fatigue). If a lower level item... maybe a +1 AC/Saves and Protection from Evil once a day.
I suppose I also have to think of gear and a possible unique item for the main villain in her quest who can be got to sooner... he's a slaver/torturer who's obsessed with and been searching for a certain artifact for years (that artifact isn't usable though). For slavers, blunt weapons seem most appropriate, or things that cast charm or domination type spells.
So far I had no real issues with bugs. There were few little things that I didn't like much, but that were my fault as those were all adjustable - like improved trolls that didn't die to flame or acid arrows. All it did was forcing my mages to stockpile fire spells, I prefer more versatile spell books, and I like to enforce more realistic resting, like once per dungeon.
There was but a one game breaking bug - I'm unable to enter slums at night, or make it through forced cut-scenes once you enter the slums for the first time. Fix was easy though, I made vanilla install in different directory, and I use is to bypass those issues, due to override folder and saves being in different location,, I can easily access my saves. Even mod NPCs in my party works, they just give 'invalid line 1456' when clicked.
As I said, I've been modding BG1/2 for years, and only once have I ran in to a serious bug- that Questpack bug. That's due to some old coding that Aurora doesn't like, and hopefully will be fixed when one of them is next updated.
As for BG1NPC project, you may wish to wait for it. Kivan especially has a pretty decent series of talks in it that are pretty sweet (if a bit overly talkative of him). At the moment, though, BG1NPC project does not have the characters interact with Neera, Dorn, Rasaad, or Baeloth, and I don't think there are plans to add that due to most of the authors of BG1NPC project moving on from the game.
Another issue I've thought of is that... if I was to be critical of the banters, then it's that they all happen too quickly. Everyone is awfully chatty in Chapter 2... and then it all kinda just stops, for the most part. So I hope the mods are better paced, instead of just making Chapter 2 a constant 'pause and read' and then running out of stuff later on. I was playing BG 2 Vanilla (from GoG). It had Deirdre, but I don't recall ever finding Joulev. I certainly did talk to every named NPC when I first went to the Copper Coronet, but I may have missed him if he showed up later. Like I never noticed that some merchants get new stock after the Underdark.
As for mods clashing, rest assured, I would not recommend the Imoen Romance to you. I do not hate you, thus I would not recommend that to you.
As for other mods clashing, there are only two cases where I think it is possible, and neither would be open to you playing male protagonists- the Sarevok Friendship and Sarevok Romance, and the Yoshimo Friendship and Yoshimo Romance (both of those Yoshimo mods are going to clash with the Yoshimo for the full game mod being built at gibberlings3, but that's not currently out). In this case, Sarevok's mods recognize each other: the friendship will not trigger until you have turned down the romance (which means you actually have to turn it on, reject him, and then go on for the friendship to trigger), but I do think the Yoshimo mods will both run at the same time and leave you with a confusing mess of friendship and romantic dialogs. But considering your feelings, I doubt you want to romance Yoshimo... though his friendship path is quite good, and I personally find his state more sad then anything. He did it all for his sister, after all.
As with banters, what happens is they're triggered to go off, say, one every 45 minutes of game time. Also, none play at all in the Underdark. The longer you take in Chapter 2, the more likely you'll run out of banters by the time you get done to that. Also, the longer you don't switch party members, the less banters you see overall- if you're constantly switching your party along, there are more banters, obviously. There's really nothing that can be done about that, besides adding more banters to the game.
Honestly, I play the game so fast now, that I actually have to install the part of Banter Pack that makes the banters run faster.
Okay, BG1 Mods install order!
++ Baldur's Gate Mini Quests and Encounters (http://forums.gibberlings3.net/index.php?showforum=148 - Adds around seven or so minor quests to the game, including a fallen paladin you can help find some peace, a love-lorn half-orc, a mix up with some egg deliveries, a man turned in to a slime, and perhaps a bit more I'm forgetting. Simple, but fun stuff, with plenty of NPC interjections. Make sure to download the beta.)
++ Try putting Coutelier's BG2 Aerie Cameo here (http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/20073 - I've never personally run with it, but it looks good, and I trust that with the help he had in that thread as to not overwrite anything it'll work fine.)
++ Here is where you would install BG Unfinished Business from Pocketplane Group (However, warning... while I've seen many people say it works fine, *I* personally get crashes when I use it. I would wait till a optimized for BGEE component comes out. Also, if by that time BGNPC project is also out, you'll want to skip the following components: Angelo Notices Shar-Teel, Finishable Kagain Caravan Quest, Coran and the Wyverns, Kivan and Tazok, Branwen and Tranzig )
++ Here is where you would install BG1NPC Project from Gibberlings 3 (Not currently compatible, and may take months before it is compatible. There's a lot of work to be done on it before it's ready for BGEE, and many of the people who used to work on it have moved on.)
++ Xan Friendship Mod for BGEE (http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/index.php?option=content&task=blogcategory&id=134&Itemid=94 - Read down the side of the page, it's '[DOWNLOAD THIS FOR BG:EE] XanBG1Friend v8 for BG:EE BETA - Mirror 1'. This adds friendship banters with Xan, and is one of the only things on this page that will work.)
++ Ajantis Expansion (http://kerzenburg.baldurs-gate.eu/downloads.php?id=61 - This adds friendship banters for Ajantis. Sadly, I don't think Coran and Garrick's expansions are compatible with BGEE yet, but if they were, installing them around here is good.)
++ Neera Expansion (http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1022-neera-expansion/ - Adds some flirts and extra dialogs with Neera, and opens up her and Rasaad's romances to same-genders if wanted.)
++ Mur'Neth NPC (http://www.gibberlings3.net/murneth/index.php - You're not going to want him, but I list him for completeness sake, as he's fully compatible with BGEE. He's a CE thief investigating the Nashkel ore poisoning.)
++ Valerie NPC (http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1041-valerie/ - A LG sorceress investigating the rumors of conflict between Baldur's Gate and Amn.)
++ Isra NPC (http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1042-isra/ - A LG paladin seeking to help Prism, who can be talked in to investigating the mines with you. As a side note, probably my favorite BG1 NPC- I very much recommend her, and she banters twice I think with every NPC (but Dorn, who she just fights with, and Baeloth, who no one cares about).)
++ This is generally the place where you'd install any NPC mod, but only those are compatible right now (Other ones of note are Finch, White, Gavin, but none of them are ready for BGEE yet. In general, it doesn't matter what order you install NPCs, save for this- you want to install Valerie and Gavin before Isra, as Isra will cross-mod with them if you do it that way. Gavin is another one of my favorite NPCs, but... as said, not ready yet.)
++ If you want a portrait mod, install it here, but be very careful (I have no recommendation for this, as I'm fine with the in game portraits, but most of them are compatible with BGEE. The keyword is most. The ones that aren't compatible will completely crash your game if you try to play them. So, um, if you find one you like, ask if it's compatible before you install it!)
++ BP Series Scripts (http://www.shsforums.net/files/file/1025-bp-series-party-ai-for-bg/ - What this is is (I hate double is's) a series of scripts for your NPC's that are actually useful. It'll have characters switch between ranged and melee intelligently, cast spells intelligently, and basically act like they have brains- far smarter then the regular scripts, and thus meaning you have to micromanage less. You don't need them, but they certainly make the game less stressful, and I wouldn't play SCS without them.)
++ BG2 Tweak Pack (http://www.gibberlings3.net/bg2tweaks/index.php - Yes, it says BG2, but it works for BGEE. Everything seems to work but the following components: 2H Bastard Swords, 2H Katanas, and Shapeshifter Rebalancing, so don't install any of them. Also, things like the Happy Patch and Romance Cheats will not effect BGEE NPC's, though you're unlikely to need either of them, so this is sort of pointless of me to tell you.)
++ Sword Coast Strategiums (http://www.gibberlings3.net/scs/ - I don't know if you'll want it or not, though a few components actually make the game easier (more consistent breach, more realistic wolves and dogs). Still, it's compatable with BGEE, and I find it fun to play, so I figured I'd list it. It looks like the move characters to inns component is not there (I wonder where it is?) but the components of allowing to separate NPC pairs is still there, if you decide you need a Jaheira but not a Khalid (or vice-versa) but don't feel like killing off one of the poor dears.)
All of these should be compatible, work together, and not explode your game. Unless Coutelier's mod is doing something I don't know about, but I'm doubting that.
There are a few kit mods that are sort of compatable, but it's so hard to dig through to find what kit is and what kit isn't and you're happy with you're kensai/mage idea, so I didn't bother to do that, honestly. If you want to install kits mods, you'd probably want to put them after BP Series Scripts and before BG2 Tweak Pack. If you see one that looks interesting to you, just ask if it's compatable, and everyone can take a look around.
BG2's list is already in install order goodness, but I can write one of my recommended favorites + things I think you'd want, if you desire, when I stop being lazy. Right now, being lazy sounds like a good idea to me.
Thanks! I will keep this safely bookmarked. I certainly will look to mod my next playthrough of BG EE, but probably not with all the above. Like I said, keeping it relatively simple to begin with, so certainly no SCS. I don't like using cheese and I don't like using min/max'd characters, so I wanna have a fighting chance given all the ways I will penalise myself anyway.
It's a shame about the BG 1 NPC project mod... It is probably the one that I was most drawn to on first impressions. I wish I was IT-literate enough to contribute, but alas I can only sit and wish... lol
I have no intentions to install an Imoen romance mod, since I see her as Charname's sister figure.
As for BG 2 EE, that's gonna be even further in the future. I won't object if u do recommend ur favourites
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/38254/bg1-unfinished-business-v14-beta-with-bgee-compatibility-updated-2015-02-28/p1
Have you played the game a lot before? I think unless you have quite a few playthroughs under your belt, there is so much content and replayability in the core game that you don't really need a lot of new mod content.