Why No Bhaalspawn Mod Companions? (Definite Spoilers)

Elrandir

This has been plaguing my thoughts for the past day or so. Why aren't there more modded companions that are Bhaalspawn themselves?

You have Imoen, but what about others? Sarevok doesn't count, since when you get him he's no longer one. I feel this would be a common idea, but I haven't seen any. (Could just be me, though) It kind of goes along with the terrible "I'm soooo special!" kind of NPC mod, but it's not so overwhelmingly obnoxious that it would make for a bad mod. (though it could certainly be made bad through poor writing)

I imagine the majority of such NPCs would be good, since good Bhaalspawn joining together for safety, strength, and kinship would make more sense than evil ones, who would probably only like to find other Bhaalspawn so they could kill them. Of course you could make ones that challenge you but when you beat them they beg you to spare them and then join you so they can become more powerful. I'm sure there are plenty of other good ideas people could come up with to explain why an evil Bhaalspawn would join you. I think the writing that applies to you and Imoen (mostly you, of course) could be stupendous if it included the modded NPC. And depending on the alignment, you could have some very interesting dialogue at the end of ToB, even with an extra final battle, perhaps. Basically, I thought it was a nifty idea that might spawn some interesting discussion\ideas.

booinyoureyes

I think it might over-complicate the end of the game somewhat, which is maybe why it has been avoided. It kinda reminds me of the Highlander movie where the character from the film series and the character of the television series team up... but "there can be only one"
I think it could definitely work if done well though. They avoided the above problem with Imoen just fine. It would be kind of interesting to see this happen.
Also there are two possibilities: a new character entirely or maybe an existing Bhaalspawn (I'm looking at you Balthazaar).

Elrandir

@booinyoureyes‌ I would've thought the same, if it weren't for Imoen.

I actually thought of Balthazaar as well. I think it would be nice to have a 20+ CHA or WIS based method of convincing him to join you. Whether through pretty words or wise logical facts. I think it should definitely require very high abilities though. Like I said, 20+. 20+ for either of those isn't terribly hard unless you're not a priest\dump stat CHA. I don't think the other abilities would work for convincing him of anything. =p

One could even make an argument for the other members of the 5 from ToB. I'm sure someone could write a convincing and logical mod for why you can join with the more evil members. More power for everyone, perhaps?

booinyoureyes

Plus if you let him become the new Lord of Murder instead, you can start calling him Bhaalthazaar.

Elrandir

That pun was positively delightful. +1 for you, fine sir.

Necomancer

If ToB were longer I would absolutely love a mod where you go around gathering your own Bhaalspawn to combat Melissan's five. Sadly its a bit too short for this, unless it became a massive side quest, and even then the game is too short for much interaction between them unless it happens near constantly in a annoying manner.

It ToB was made today I'd even go so far as to suggest the company making it hold a contest where people submit their player made bhaalspawn, along with background and personality, and they pick five to put in game, but then I'm playing the "What if..." game again.

Elrandir

@Necomancer‌ Hey, the what if game is a lot of fun! Both those ideas are awesome. You don't even necessarily need to have five, since with Imoen you already have two out of the six slots filled.

Necomancer

@Elrandir In this case I'd like to bring up the subject of a human barbarian bhaalspawn who viciously murders people but attempts to direct his rage to good causes and righteous retribution because he knows deep inside hes a monster but still has a moral strength about him.

...Yeah um. I may have given this mod some thought already...What? I got alot of free time to think at work.

ChildofBhaal599

@Elrandir about balthazar you can get him to join you if you have the ascension mod. he will join you if you are good and have enough charisma (takes more than being a rep 20, I have to equip the human influence ring) while Bodhi will join you if you are evil, I am not sure which you get as neutral. this is a counterbalance to the increased difficulty of ascension's final battle, but he plays a bit like summons. he loves to ignore your order at times and do things on his own, so he isn't exactly like an NPC in your party under your control. he even gets his own ending too so that is cool.

Kamigoroshi

Personally I wouldn't like the idea of a bhaalspawn companion. But on the other side... I might enjoy having an Loviatarspawn, Talonaspawn, or Aurilspawn around.

SionIV

People don't like mods where the NPC is more important than the main character. This would be incredible hard to do without turning that NPC into a mary sue who steals the entire spotlight.

booinyoureyes

Necomancer said:

If ToB were longer I would absolutely love a mod where you go around gathering your own Bhaalspawn to combat Melissan's five.

Music montage time!

SionIV said:

People don't like mods where the NPC is more important than the main character. This would be incredible hard to do without turning that NPC into a mary sue who steals the entire spotlight.

You could just make the character a Bhaalspawn with no interest in becoming the new Lord of Murder. Maybe a nerdy Bhaalspawn who knows alot about the lore but isn't much help in a fight. Like a unkitted bard (or a NEW kit!) that you meet in Saradush. On the run from the five, and has some nice info to help you out while not exactly having the stuff to replace Bhaal.

CrevsDaak

booinyoureyes said:

SionIV said:

People don't like mods where the NPC is more important than the main character. This would be incredible hard to do without turning that NPC into a mary sue who steals the entire spotlight.

You could just make the character a Bhaalspawn with no interest in becoming the new Lord of Murder. Maybe a nerdy Bhaalspawn who knows alot about the lore but isn't much help in a fight. Like a unkitted bard (or a NEW kit!) that you meet in Saradush. On the run from the five, and has some nice info to help you out while not exactly having the stuff to replace Bhaal.

Oooohh, sounds good! But it should need to be compatible with Ascension since it's the only way I can play ToB (without making it a cake walk and cursing).
A Bard with 10/15/12/16/17/14 might do that very well!

Elrandir

@Necomancer‌ Sounds like a great idea!

@ChildofBhaal599‌ Really? That's interesting. May have to give that a try someday.

@SionIV‌ Yes, but I don't see them as necessarily being more important than the main character, just someone with similar importance. I imagine most of the characters would happily give up leadership to you, and plenty of them wouldn't be stealing the spotlight. In fact, I see it as somewhat hard for them to steal the spotlight unless it's a really poorly written mod.