Entertaining party to have with the npc project?

Vigilark

Anyone recommend a main party to have for the most entertainment? I figure I want Minsc, but I'm not wild about the mage/wiz gal he is with. Should I keep her with him or is it ok to let her die like I usually do lol? I didn't know if there's scripted dialog between the two.

My character is a chaotic good fighter btw. What party do you prefer with the npc project? I'm very early in the game and so far Imoen has had a lot to say. Jaheira too. I just dumped Mongoren and Xan is it? The two evil characters you meet first. They didn't seem to have much to say like Jaheria and Imoen.

Vigilark

Or, is it ok to let Khalid die? I usually do that. Don't like him.

Aedan

Imoen has many dialogues.
Same goes for the couples Minsc/Dynaheir, Jaheira/Khalid, Xzar/Montaron and Skie/Eldoth.
Coran and Safana work good as well.
If you choose the couple Minsc/Dynaheir, Edwin would be a nice addition.
If you choose the couple Skie/Eldoth, Garrick would be a nice addition.
Kivan talks a lot (his writer, Domi, developed a good friendship for him).

Vigilark

by good friendship with Kivan, you mean between him and your main character?

Gallowglass

Since your protagonist is allegedly Good, I'd regard it as highly questionable to lead either Dynaheir or Khalid to their deaths deliberately, although I'd have no such qualms with an Evil protagonist. However, that's just my interpretation, it's your choice to role-play the alignments as you see fit.

Vigilark

Hi gallow. I'm referring to the npc project which is a mod, not sure if you are aware of that or not.

I always lead Khalid and Dyna to their deaths lol to make room for more enjoyable characters. I've kept Khalid alive so far. He hasn't ran off scared yet to my surprise.

Gallowglass

Aha, yes, silly me, I overlooked that you do specify NPC Project, which does add such banters. Sorry, I'll go delete the first paragraph of my original comment, which isn't relevant when using that mod ... done.

I'll stand by the remaining paragraph, though: I don't think deliberately killing off your fellow Good guys is what a Good protagonist would do. IMO; YMMV.

Vigilark

Well, my character doesn't kill them, my character is like, drunk and passed out while they happen to wonder into a pack of gnolls or hobgoblins or whatever Think I let montoren kill Khalid years ago.

Have you used the npc project mod? What was your main party?

Aedan

Vigilark said:

by good friendship with Kivan, you mean between him and your main character?

Yes!

Grum

Is there any way at all to get this on the Iphone? Such as moving all game documents to my computer, getting the mod and moving it back? It sounds great...as NPC banters are the only reason for taking them and banters just don't happen vanilla...

BelgarathMTH

You'll miss a ton of dialogue between Dynaheir and your main character if you off her, because

she will start to fall in love with you. (Not sure about racial requirements, but you do have to be good.) Since you don't like her, I suppose you'd shoot her down before it went too far. It's a sweet romance, though, and you might warm up to her if you got to know her fully realized NPC Project personality.

There are also several good extended dialogues between her and Minsc.

Vigilark

Don't know anything about Iphones Grum, hope you get to play it with the mod tho someday. Breathes whole new life to the game.

Thanks for the feedback Bel. I have been leaning towards keeping her alive this time around. On my way to get her now, just picked up Minsc. I didn't read the spoiler, prefer to find out what happens while I play

Ravenslight

Just a thought for anyone who wishes to keep one of the paired characters without the other. I often send Dynaheir or Khalid into a house in Nashkel to “visit friends.” If you reform your party while they are in there and the rest of your party are still outside, it will switch to your main outside and the unwanted party member will stay in the house. Alive for the rest of the game, but no longer troubling you. Just make sure that it is a house that you will never need to visit again.

Vigilark

Ravenslight said:

Just a thought for anyone who wishes to keep one of the paired characters without the other. I often send Dynaheir or Khalid into a house in Nashkel to “visit friends.” If you reform your party while they are in there and the rest of your party are still outside, it will switch to your main outside and the unwanted party member will stay in the house. Alive for the rest of the game, but no longer troubling you. Just make sure that it is a house that you will never need to visit again.

Will this keep the dialog going with the npc project? Meaning will you still see Khalid's comments with Jaheria even if he isn't in the party? I figure no, but thought I'd ask.

Ravenslight

No, but the singles will still have some banter with some of the others.

AstroBryGuy

Grum said:

Is there any way at all to get this on the Iphone? Such as moving all game documents to my computer, getting the mod and moving it back? It sounds great...as NPC banters are the only reason for taking them and banters just don't happen vanilla...

BG1NPC Project won't work without adding the dialog to the DIALOG.TLK file, so you can't just move the contents of the override folder. If you are running iOS 8.2 or earlier, there is apparently a way to get it to work. NOTE: It's a little convoluted.

http://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/633000/#Comment_633000

However, as of iOS 8.3, you can't transfer files using tools like iFunBox due to a change in how iOS manages sandbox security settings (basically, Apple broke apps like iFunBox). So, this method won't work for now.

http://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/647542/#Comment_647542

AstroBryGuy

Vigilark said:

Anyone recommend a main party to have for the most entertainment? I figure I want Minsc, but I'm not wild about the mage/wiz gal he is with. Should I keep her with him or is it ok to let her die like I usually do lol? I didn't know if there's scripted dialog between the two.

My character is a chaotic good fighter btw. What party do you prefer with the npc project? I'm very early in the game and so far Imoen has had a lot to say. Jaheira too. I just dumped Mongoren and Xan is it? The two evil characters you meet first. They didn't seem to have much to say like Jaheria and Imoen.

"Montaron and Xzar"

BG1NPC makes Imoen come alive! You won't be able to play without it (or her!).

Garrick is a lot of fun with BG1NPC, especially for an NPC who is not a very popular choice otherwise.

Vigilark

AstroBryGuy said:

Vigilark said:

Anyone recommend a main party to have for the most entertainment? I figure I want Minsc, but I'm not wild about the mage/wiz gal he is with. Should I keep her with him or is it ok to let her die like I usually do lol? I didn't know if there's scripted dialog between the two.

My character is a chaotic good fighter btw. What party do you prefer with the npc project? I'm very early in the game and so far Imoen has had a lot to say. Jaheira too. I just dumped Mongoren and Xan is it? The two evil characters you meet first. They didn't seem to have much to say like Jaheria and Imoen.

"Montaron and Xzar"

BG1NPC makes Imoen come alive! You won't be able to play without it (or her!).

Garrick is a lot of fun with BG1NPC, especially for an NPC who is not a very popular choice otherwise.

Surprised I couldn't remember their names as much as I've played this game. I never use them long though. Yeah, I noticed Imoen has a lot to say, she's a keeper.

Just had a funny interaction with Minsc losing Boo and Jaheira I enjoyed

Erstarrung

You should definitely keep Dynaheir on a good-aligned playthrough - BG1NPC gave her a wonderful and amiable personality.

Having Kivan in my party had me almost uninstalling BG1NPC. The writer obviously took Carth Onasi's character as a basis and decided he was not whiny enough. So despite the 'original' Kivan was a rather harsh character (just listen to his soundfiles), with BG1NPC, he is now an ever-lamenting, whimpering cissy.

All other characters I tried so far were quite nice (with Dynaheir, Xan, the trio Garrick, Eldoth, Skie, and the duo Montaron, Xzar being realy good).

Vigilark

sound files? I haven't noticed any new sounds other than music.

AstroBryGuy

Erstarrung is referring to Kivan's soundfiles in the base game, not soundfiles added by BG1NPC. The mod adds no spoken dialog lines.

Ravenslight

It’s always difficult to give advice when it comes to recommending NPCs to other people. It always depends on your party composition and most of all, your own tastes. What one person likes in an NPC, others might not like. You will always get differing opinions depending on what the person offering the opinion likes.

I personally enjoy what the NPC project did with Kivan, Minsc, Jaheira, Khalid, Xan, Coran, Ajantis and Imoen the most. But I think they improved all of them from the base game versions.

Vigilark

Think I'm gonna travel around with everyone for a bit at least. this makes my main npcs weaker though:( I like comedy and romance most out of the dialog.

Vigilark

AstroBryGuy said:

Erstarrung is referring to Kivan's soundfiles in the base game, not soundfiles added by BG1NPC. The mod adds no spoken dialog lines.

K, I don't remember him being whiny or whatever the previous person stated. He sort of reminded me of Clint Eastwood voice wise. I usually don't use Kivan long though.

Blackraven

Imo the entire NPC pack is very well done. The mod really captures the spirit of the different NPCs and builds on it.

I agree with others that most of the coupled NPC are best enjoyed together. But if you insist in breaking up a pair, I'd say @Ravenslight's solution is the most elegant one. You could also install SCS, and pick only the 'Better NPC management' component (if you're not interested in the other, difficulty-enhancing components). This mod component allows you to split up pairs and send any NPC you dismiss from the party to an inn, much like in BG2.
The 'Move NPCs to more convenient locations' SCS component is also recommendable as it allows you to recruit NPCs like Tiax, Quayle and Alora - a cute NPC for a good party - as early as in Chapter 2. Without mods these NPCs only become available in Baldur's Gate.

As to nice companions for your PC, maybe you could ask yourself: apart from their good alignment, what kind of guy/girl is your Charname? For example, does your Charname have the empathy and patience for tormented souls, or is he or she more a fun-loving type that specifically seeks like-minded companions? Is Charname a law-abiding citizen, or are hey comfortable with thievery? This could help you form a good party because there are way too many interesting party combinations with good banter.

Vigilark

Blackraven said:

Imo the entire NPC pack is very well done. The mod really captures the spirit of the different NPCs and builds on it.

I agree with others that most of the coupled NPC are best enjoyed together. But if you insist in breaking up a pair, I'd say @Ravenslight's solution is the most elegant one. You could also install SCS, and pick only the 'Better NPC management' component (if you're not interested in the other, difficulty-enhancing components). This mod component allows you to split up pairs and send any NPC you dismiss from the party to an inn, much like in BG2.
The 'Move NPCs to more convenient locations' SCS component is also recommendable as it allows you to recruit NPCs like Tiax, Quayle and Alora - a cute NPC for a good party - as early as in Chapter 2. Without mods these NPCs only become available in Baldur's Gate.

As to nice companions for your PC, maybe you could ask yourself: apart from their good alignment, what kind of guy/girl is your Charname? For example, does your Charname have the empathy and patience for tormented souls, or is he or she more a fun-loving type that specifically seeks like-minded companions? Is Charname a law-abiding citizen, or are hey comfortable with thievery? This could help you form a good party because there are way too many interesting party combinations with good banter.

Yes, I have that. It's great, tho I felt a little guilty having Eldoth be lvl 3 already when me and the others were just lvl 1.

I don't roleplay much. I like to explore as much of the games content as possible. I do a lot of reloading to see different outcomes etc. I roleplayed with this game more in the past, but could never beat the last expansion boss in bg2 doing that. My party and character were weak I'm guessing, because the rest of the game was a breeze after some familiarity with it.

Thalamond

Ye goody goodies make me sick!

Play a proper team of evil characters! Edwin is cool and funny, Shar-Teel is willing and brutal, Kagain is not so talkative but he still hates the damn forests of pansy elves, Viconia is cool too but sunlight doesn't agree with her even in the summer. Finally, either take Eldoth, Dorn, or Safana or simply one of the neutral characters.

Erstarrung

Vigilark said:

AstroBryGuy said:

Erstarrung is referring to Kivan's soundfiles in the base game, not soundfiles added by BG1NPC. The mod adds no spoken dialog lines.

K, I don't remember him being whiny or whatever the previous person stated. He sort of reminded me of Clint Eastwood voice wise. I usually don't use Kivan long though.

That was exactly what I, aka the previous person, meant. While in the base, unmodded game, Kivan was obviously designed as a harsh (Clint-Eastwood-like, as you say) person, BG1NPC changed him into an incredibly whiny (and in my humble opinion: incredibly annoying) character, whose dialogue is like "It seems to become a bright day, the sun is shining." - "Oh no, that reminds me of me and Deheriana bathing in the sun... *snivel*.", "Tonight one can see a lot of stars with that cloudless sky." - "Oh no, that reminds me of me and Deheriana taking that night walk... *sob*.", "Let's rest at that grove, yonder." - "Oh no, that reminds me of me and Deheriana holding hands standing next to a tree... *cry*." Boy, was I glad when Kivan ran out of dialogue lines!

The other characters are formidable, though. So, for me, it's basically 'anybody but Kivan'.

By the way, if you play the game again as a neutral or evil character, try Xan, Shar-Teel, Eldoth, Garrick, and Skie for a lot of interesting interaction between your companions...

Blucher

When I set up the framework of collaboration in the BG1NPC Project, I picked out (IMO) the best (at the the time) people to be the "character czar/ina" for each NPC. (The original plan was a solo endeavor, but the amount of work soon became too daunting.) The person might not have been the best strictly speaking from a creative writing standpoint, but they were the most passionate about their (respective) character(s). And I had approached each each after a great deal of consideration and observation of their posts on Usenet and various other web forums.

In addition to all the technical responsibilities, I chose Imoen (and did a large part of her dialogue). I had plans to make her the most chatty of all the NPCs combined. Unfortunately, my mother was dying of cancer at the time and I had to orphan the mod. FORTUNATELY wonderfully talented people like Domi, Andyr, etc. stepped up and took over and saw the mod to completion. For which I am incredibly grateful and humbly appreciative.

Anyway, what I am getting to (sorry, I'm a little drunk) is that one person's Kivan might be whiny, while another's is endearingly sentimental and/or romantic.

I Just wanted to stand up and defend each person's contribution to the BG1NPC Project mod. It was a monumental amount of work for everyone involved.

EDIT: This is a drunken, semi-coherent mess, but I'll leave it as a warning to others not to drink and post...

SmilingSword

In my most recent run, I've been trying out a bunch of NPC's I hardly ever pick up. Note I always keep Imoen, because she seems to talk to almost everybody all the time. This run Coran has been a joy to have around and Yeslick of all dwarves turned out to be a lot of fun. I also used to kill off Khalid, but he is actually really cool to have around with NPC project, so keep him if your set on using Jaheira.

Mikey205

The canon party is pretty good so Imoen, Khalid (he makes a great tank), Jaheira, Minsc and Dynaheir.. Dynaheir romance is very good too and fits very nicely as part of overall storyline.