[NPC Mod] Noamuth, Noa, Kyorlin, Qu'lith & Plynn come to Amn! [In Progress]
Icecreamtub
Member Posts: 547
THIS POST CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS.
Welcome! My name is Cinnamon and I am the sole Author & Creator of this Mod.
I am receiving advice from others.
Otherwise it's a solo job until further notice.
Feedback is encouraged, please comment below!
Thank you and have a wonderful day! 
All Artwork is done by the gorgeous Artastrophe© on DeviantArt!
Please do not redistribute these images without our combined consent.
They are commissioned pieces specifically for this Mod.
I'm funding this entirely out of my own pocket!
One of many reasons why it is taking a loooong time.
Quality Art ain't cheap and nor is paying for Voice Actors & people's tuition on Modding.
Not to mention nobody sticks around forever, as hard as that is to swallow.
Current Mod Status: Work in Progress!
- If people feel like this Mod is gonna take too long, I am more than happy to release a beta-sort of play testing launch where one character is available at a time.
- I'd really appreciate feedback on each of these characters and whether or not they are too strong or too weak in certain areas, or over-all. Please don't be shy and let me know your bluntest thoughts!
- I can add a book to translate Drow to Common if people need it. Would be available in Noamuth/Plynn/Noa/Qu'lith's Inventory. (Kyorlin only speaks Common.)
- With all these creative intentions, I will be placing unique nerfs to some of the kits. (Like Use All Item being maybe being removed from my Mageling Bard.) This should be doable, but everything on this page is a "To-Do-If-Doable" list and will be changed if it is not.
- You can only have one of these characters with the Mod, they are not designed with having all of them in the same party. You cannot pick up the Assassin, Bard, Cavalier or Shaman until you complete the associated quest to pick one of them. You'll start by meeting Noamuth. I am currently still deciding whether he should be found in Copper Coronet, The Bridge District, The Docks or Accessed through a specific area outside of the City. Feedback on this could help hasten a decision. Eventually after enough time has past after you keep him around, you'll unlock a personal quest where you have to help him out. This leads to choosing one of 5 characters: Noamuth, Noa, Kyorlin, Plynn or Qu'lith. The decision is totally yours - Adding replay-ability, too! (Or you can just save the game before finishing the quest, the options are all up to the individual!)
- When these NPCs do get released, please do so with a new game, as they interact with certain quests and plot points, you'll miss some big back story if you've already beaten/played through most of Amn. (Also, it will bug if you don't start a new game!)
- Their personal quest ties in with the Underdark, just to clarify.
- This is mainly focusing on being an immersive role-play Mod. Some things may seem a little different than the usual though do not fret! It's nothing huge or majorly silly, mostly inconsequential background stuff that helps flesh out the entire Mod. This means the characters adventure and tell their story - So the items should go in-toe with this sort of storytelling. Hopefully this clears things up for everyone! I hope I'm not spoiling too much here...
- Please take note this is my first NPC Mod, and it's going to be quite big, but I am heavily and whole-heartedly invested in this!
- If there's anything you didn't like the look of, or do enjoy, please let me know. I am 100% open to feedback and totally comfortable changing things as my viewpoint might not be compatible with what's known as "Baldurization".
- It is highly likely that I will have to make a Forum post on Gibberlings for people to download the full Mod once it is finished. Please make sure to keep an eye out for post updates linking to such things!
Screenshot(s)
This Screenshot does not represent their final-product HP values, this is only to showcase what their most highly probable confirmed colours/Class Appearance are!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Qu'lith
"Personality":
Crazed, Bloodlusted and unintelligent (does not speak Common.) He will behave essentially like a beast-like Companion, you will have choices to teach him Common words and be allowed to make him more "House-Trained" in terms of socialising and understand when it is appropriate to kill, but only if you want him to. You do not have to do anything, you can just choose to leave him to his cruel ways. Since he does not speak Common, I will add a book translating the dialogues for the player. (Viconia might also be able to help you.)
Kit:
Assassin: Level 8+
I'd like to plan my own personal Kit - Otherwise he'll just be an Assassin>Fighter Dual to limit the insane backstab
Chaotic Evil
Grey Orc + Drow (Dorc?)
Starts with:
Dagger & Hide Armor.
Pips:
Dagger: +
Crossbow: +
Single Weapon: +
Thief Ability:
PP: 20
Open Locks: 20
Find Traps: 5
Hide: 100
Silently: 30
Set Traps: 40
Stats:
19
17
14
1
3
3
Total Roll: 57
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plynn
"Personality":
Narcissistic (Self-Obsessed), Womaniser (In the sense that he's a douche-bag and the Women love it) and a Humorous-type Bard. (Though his jokes are borderline insulting.)
Bard: Level 8+ [Going to be making a customised Bard Kit]
Neutral Evil
Grey Orc + Drow (Dorc?)
He is designed in mind for Evil Parties, but you might find use for him with other characters, you never know until you look!
Unique Change: Use Any Item will be removed. Most of his HLA (High Level Abilities) on the Thieving side will most likely be removed, I may add in a specific HLA for Plynn.
Starts with:
Mirror (Off-Hand) [Undroppable, cannot be removed]:
Special Ability: Reflected Image once per day.
Additional Effects: +1 to 2nd, 3rd & 4th level spells.
[Note: I'm probably going to try and add in a spell level cap of up to 7th]
Pips:
Crossbow +
Bastard Sword +
Dart +
Single Weapon +
Stats:
11
12
10
18
12
15
Total Roll: 78
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Kyorlin
"Personality":
Kind hearted, Justice-Focused and Protector of the people, has a soft spot for "weaker" individuals.
Cavalier: Level 8+
Lawful Good
Grey Orc + Drow (Dorc?)
Starts with:
Spear, War Hammer, Medium Shield, Leather Armor.
Pips:
War Hammer ++
Spear ++
Sword & Shield ++
Stats:
16
8
16
12
14
17
Total Roll: 83
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noa
"Personality":Naive, Impressionable and Loyal to CHARNAME. (Extremely Loyal!) Think of him as someone like Imoen in the aspect that he cannot leave the party from Reputation issues or Plot conflicts. He also speaks in 50/50 Common/Drow. Sort of like how "Spanglish" works in that it's not a strictly English or Spanish sentence(Drowglish?)
Shaman: Level 8+
Will have Ranger Innates - Since Ranger>Shaman isn't legal in the game.
Chaotic Good
Grey Orc + Drow (Dorc?)
Starts with:
Shortbow +2:
Does not fire arrows, instead fires Magic for 1-9 damage. Only has one attack per round, Bow cannot be removed.
Firing the bow causes him to lose -2 Hit points per arrow.
Range 85, behaves as a Longbow mechanically using Shortbow proficiency for his Thac0.
Pips:
Shortbow: ++
Club: +
Stats:
13
16
14
10
14
10
Total Roll: 77
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noamuth
or 
(Feedback would be nice on this)"Personality":
Cynical and blunt. Will usually give very minimal input and behave as he sees fit.
Swashbuckler: Level 8+
Hidden Alignment
Hidden Racial
Starts with:
Amulet (Unremovable), Ninja-To x2 & Studded Leather Armor.
Pips:
Ninja/Waki/Scim: ++
Two Weapon Style: +++
Thief Ability:
Locks:80
Find Traps: 90
Detect Illusions: 55
Stats:
14
17
13
9
8
7
Total Roll: 68
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If you read this far, thank you! It means a lot to me! It really does!
Final Note: Just to give an idea on what the hell is going on with this Mod and why there are so many characters - The entire pack is supposed to focus on a "What does it look like to have Multiple Souls in one body and what does it look like in the Forgotten Realms setting, Baldur's Gate? And just how do I go about making it seem realistic enough to immerse yourself in the story?".
I want to try and capture what it feels like in a fantasy setting, the best and worst parts! (Since you are an Omni-Present figure within the game, you get the bonus of being able to see first-hand the conversations between all the characters. I think this is a really interesting concept to use for this kind of story!)
Post edited by Icecreamtub on
9
Comments
Basically, for ability score, you can compare total rolls with other NPCs.
The first one has no personal special skills, if you compare him to Coran (A F/T as well) he is slightly less good in terms of stats. However if I am not mistaken you made a fighter dualed into an assassin (kit) which is illegal and might be considered as the unique ability of your character. Thus I would say it is about as powerful as it should be.
As for its personal item, well, it's pretty fine, though if you are going to make a mod or a unique item, making it very unique instead of a clone of Human flesh could be good. Balance-wise, if only this character can equip it it is alright.
Your second character is alright stat-wise as well.
Its amulet is very powerful however, and Edwin, in comparison, has only 74 total roll (The average NPC with no OP item has 80 to 85), so you might want to tune down the stats of your bard. The rest is overall fine in my opinion
Custom NPC Mod.
Yeah I know Fighter/Assassin is illegal lol. But he doesn't have anything really going for him and Assassins feel bland with nothing but a x3-x7 backstab.
I would usually do Assassin/Fighter as it's legal, buuuuut I'd rather he was an Assassin with the Assassin play style.
It's not an actual clone of Human Flesh, it'll probably be a weaker variant exclusive to him as a quest run.
Yeah, I kinda came to the conclusion a Bard having +2 per level on top of (late-game) Use Any Item + Wanderous Gloves + Double rings was too much, so I'm testing it out with +1 2nd-6th level and +3 at 1st-level, with his Robe giving +1 to 4th, might remove that though as it stacks too much with other items giving him way too many stoneskins.
Edwin is kinda ridiculous imo, I'm trying to design a weaker version but with a Bard kit.
All the characters have 82-84 & 89 stat rolls only. (89 because one is a Paladin).
-This post is now outdated, stats are now in the 60-87 range.-
Publish.
@lunar
What specifically is OP about them? +1 spells for all levels? Specific critiques help me fix it up better.
To help give a better idea, Bards dont get access to 7th-9th level spells, and don't have anywhere near as many slots per level. So that's about 14-17 with 7th-9th alone as slots you don't gain access to as a Bard. So, because of this, I thought it would be nicer to have a Bard who is able at magic and has better 1-6 selection, but the other Mages in the game have the same amount as him, except they gain access to 7th-9th spells.
So I personally do not see how the items are OP. The sword is basically a copy of Xan's Moonflair in terms of effects/AC gain, the Bard also only has 1 pip in BaSw so his Thac0 is pretty terrible at all levels.
However you are right that bards are not power house casters anyway. So that item may be okay. But together with all other items, it is a bit much. Xan has the moonblade. Edwin has his special amulet that gives spell slots. Your bard has two of them together plus a stoneskin armor.
I did check out all the gears (and I mean all) that give extra spells. He has less/similiar to a standard specialist mage, so he honestly doesn't overshadow anyone, just has on-par selection for the same level as a normal mage, whilst paying attention to the fact Bards level up 2 or so levels faster.
Remember that he has 6 con, this means his hp is around 40-120 at max level.
The stoneskins do not refresh - It is literally 3 skins, it's just a tester for the moment to see how it plays out. It is highly unlikely to stay as that's really weird. He doesn't have them both; Edwin gets +3 spells per level. My Bard only gets +1 (like a normal specialist mage), and +3 at 1st level. I put +3 at 1st level because Bard's feel like they lack in terms of scaling for 1st level, I may make other quest orientated items so that he doesnt get an instant +3, but obtains the maximum +3 at the right time.
If you take Wonderous & Both rings, you basically turn him into a specialist mage with 12 INT, but you're most likely going to be giving these rings to Nalia/Imoen/Aerie/Edwin/Haer'Dalis/PC over my Bard anyway, as they get more spells than he does. He can also only gain access to those rings really late into AMN/Early TOB with Use Any item, so I personally don't see how it's too much since Bard's are basically just a Half Thief+Half Mage, without the actual meat of their kits, only retaining the insane lore. He is designed to be a Mage as a Bard, so it's supposed to have a fair amount of selection. The trade off, to me, is that he has weak defences and loses access to 7th and higher spells.
I also forgot to point out that this isn't a mod where you can go straight pick up the Assassin/Bard/Paladin/Shaman right off the bat, their items are a little buffed because by the time you get them, most of your party will have good gears around +2 or even higher if you got them faster. The quests are time-locked to prevent instant access.
But that's just it, he'd only overshadow a PC in terms of spellcasting - everything else the PC would shut this Bard down massively, since it's a Generalist Bard with extra spells levels. ;p
I'm just finding it a little difficult to stat role Orc+Drow race NPCs, since the stats are a little on the high side for those races, whilst also balancing my class ideas for each.
@mashedtaters
Perhaps giving what you might consider an npc with an op'd ability a glaring weakness to balance it out might help. I don't mean giving a mage a 6 strength, because mages don't really need strength, and it just ends up being annoying due to carrying capactiy. But consider Keldorn... great strength, great con, not great dex. Or Viconia, great wisdom, great dex, not great con. It should be a weakness that hurts the character enough to be noticeable in what is important to them, but not annoying. Maybe even something that lends itself to a certain unique strategy. I think your bard's con is a pretty good weakness, but I doubt it balances out the extra spell every level thing.
The other option is just erring on the side of caution. There's nothing wrong with making a character slightly weaker than the vanilla npcs. (Obviously you don't want a fighter with 10 in every stat, but you get the idea).
If you are definitely set on the extra spell every level, perhaps lowering his/her strength and dex as well, so that he can only be a powerhouse in casting bardic spells? As it is, he's definitely more powerful than Haer'dalis. Besides, lower stats are very easily corrected using eekeeper by those players who like op'd npcs. Messing with innate abilities for the uninitiated, I have found, can sometimes introduce bugs, so doing such by players who don't like op'd npcs may not be considered ideal by those players. You can't please everyone, though.
You could also use those lowered stats as a tool to flesh out the npc's personality.
I think your paladin is great because of his average con. Haven't seen that yet, should be interesting. I don't see anything wrong with the illegal assassin/fighter dual class order. BG already does illegal stuff (Anomen). Don't know enough about the shaman to comment. The swashbuckler seems ok, but still a little stronger than most single class thieves.
Also, is there a reason that all your npcs have 19 dex?
For me personally, I know how to role a CHARNAME/Full party in terms of stats without them being too ridiculous, but NPC mods feel a lot different, since the NPCs are pretty weak in a lot of odd areas that you wouldn't normally consider. (Like as you pointed out, Viconia's weak con)
Bengoshi seems to be keeping his eye on my mod posts haha.
I'm currently trying to figure out where a Mage Bard's weakness outside of Con should be. He has to have 16 INT or he can't cast spells, given his personality I'm designing, he should have an average Wisdom, so I might tone it a few points down.
The Dexterity 19 on everyone thing is something I completely overlooked. They originally all started out with the exact same stats - But I've been doing it all over since. Like, originally my assassin/fighter had 18 wisdom (LOL), so now he has high str, dex, average con, but 4 in every other stat. I do need to change his kit from Fighter/Assassin, it being illegal isn't the problem - Him obtaining GM in any weapon is a serious issue for me when it comes to how he can basically do anything - Which isn't a good idea. I want him to be an Assassin who is also not crappy and doesn't sit around waiting for HiS to backstab/invisibility. He's designed to be a professional murderer, so with that in mind I don't personally want him having a grey area in hitting stuff and also don't want him being able to hit anything with ease but being hit and magic will be his downfall. I might add that he is susceptible to all forms of magic as a drawback.
I'm still tuning the stats, but what I currently did yesterday was really chop everyone's stats (except Paladin), so I will be scratching up and then editing this post when it's finalised - So check back in an hour or so if I still haven't done it when you see this post.
Yeah, I'm trying to design her as a Support styled Paladin who has good combat abilities but definitely shouldn't be front-lining for extended periods outside of battling demons.
Unfortunately, the Swashbuckler is always going to come across as strong, since Swashbucklers are far superior to single-thieves anyway. I also need to give some kind of reason for him to be considered over everyone else, so my current idea, subject to change as always, is to currently make him a combat orientated Thief.
Also, these characters are all Drow+Gray Orc combinations, so their Dex/Str is designed to be a little stronger, with each NPC having a more dominate part of their race combination. (Assassin being almost entirely Orcish, but the Bard being more Drowish with Orc features)
Edit:
Shamans are basically Totemic Druids(?) with the ability to use Shortbows and have Druidic spells but cast them and select them per level as a Sorcerer-Type. So, think of a Sorcerer-Type Druid with access to Shortbows and a special ability that allows them to basically be self-stunned to summon uncontrollable and random spirit animals, which is where my reference to Totem Druid comes in.
Stat update is finished.
Edit: Along with proficiencies being changed for Swashbuckler & Assassin.
Thanks for your call! Enjoy: https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/681589/#Comment_681589 and https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/681590/#Comment_681590
Yup, those are them. Thanks!
@Icecreamtub
I saw your changes you made to Qu'lith. Just curious, what is the RP reason his/her mental stats are so low? I don't think that you have posted anything about his/her background. Those stats make me picture something like a construct, or an invalid, or possibly some sort of automaton, like a killing machine. Could be a very interestingly implemented story, and I'm excited to hear it. Although if you don't want to give spoilers, that's ok.
I haven't had a chance to look anymore, although I saw the universal 19 dex was toned down. I am looking forward to this mod. I have never heard of Dorcs.
Are they all going to be together in a party? Or is it more like you pick up some based on your alignment.
I actually plan on making a Construct-type NPC Mod at some point. PoE's Devil of Caroc got me good, that and I really like well-made construct NPCs. But no, Qu'Lith is not a construct.
I'm not going to give out too much here, buuuut, his INT/WIS is so low because he's illiterate and doesn't speak Common. He speaks an illiterate version of Drow (or maybe Orcish, I have yet to decide). He focuses purely on killing and has no capacity for anything else. He's basically completely insane, hence Chaotic Neutral.
[Edit] Forgot to mention his CHA is also low because he's a maniac killer, so this naturally makes him pretty off-putting to everyone, mainly because he doesn't clean his weapons or gear. That's about as much as I want to give out for now, but definitely plenty to get on with, haha!
[Edit] I will be nice enough to add a few books detailing what Qu'lith is actually saying so that the player can translate and obtain his quest items as he directs you.
The story for these characters existence is interesting, however, each character does come with their own background as well as their reason for being in Amn. Their personal items won't actually be with them (except Noa), you'll be given a quest to go pick up their stuff.
Goodbye Universal 19 Dex looool!
Well, I read up some stuff (I've always wanted to make a Orc/Drow breed and I wanted their skin colour to be a light grey.) and in all seriousness, it's apparent that in D&D Grey Orcs and Drow actually get on really well, so I can make all of this lore and logical now.
For now, they are all separate and designed to fit into certain alignments, but generally there won't be too many issues with other NPCs (except Qu'lith, obviously, he'll be a lot of trouble for non-evil). However, since V2.0 includes Single player having a fully customised party, if people wanted them to come as a full CHARNAME + All five characters, it could certainly be looked into and done for anyone who wants them as an entire family-package, since they are very much aware of each other. Hehe.
Multi-Kits are really hard to implement, from experience. I fiddled around with Multi-Class combinations and the game doesn't seem to take very well to it with EEKeeper. So, my idea for now is to make a new Thief kit for the game, which makes it a Swashbuckler+Assassin combo, since that's basically what I want him to have in terms of stats and rolls, whilst keeping the x3-x7 backstab. Perhaps with Shadowdancer's innate combat hiding, but not sure if I would want that on a 19 Str Swash-Sin.
I've got a lot of work to be doing with this mod and I'm learning everything as I make it, so it might take months or not very long at all, I have all day everyday to put work into this Mod and there are lots of friendly people around to answer any questions I have, which definitely makes this process easier. I think my biggest struggle is going to be doing all 5 of these guys all by myself haha.
An interesting bit of information, I have @artastrophe doing all of the portraits for each of these NPCs.
Full credit and serious thanks goes out to her for being so lovely and kind as to allow me to commission 5 portraits! Cannot thank her enough for this! Her work is brilliant and beautiful, I'm so lucky to have her as the Artist behind this Mod! She's such a doll<3
I look forward to it.
Yeah he's the kinda dude that bathes in the killing.
literally
Still working on character stats.
Still trying to learn WeiDU [iwhirbv!!]
Short "personalities" added in.
Qu'lith warnings attached.
The Main Post has been cleaned up so that it is a little easier on the eyes.
Added Character Portrait Concepts (Unfinished).
Character Stats have been tweaked.
Proficiency Points altered.
Stat Changes:
Qu'lith:
Proficiencies changed to +Dagger, +Crossbow, +Single Weapon Style.
Plynn:
STR: 12 is now 11.
+Shortbow is now +Crossbow, +Dagger is now +Dart.
Character Portraits are now live!!!
The Main Post has been tweaked slightly.
@JuliusBorisov
@CaloNord
@Shandyr
It's gonna take me a while to get it done, I might have to switch things up a little and package out the characters one-by-one and when I'm done, make it a full thing, otherwise the expense might kill everyone...
Oh, and if anyone wants to help, I wouldn't say no. ^^;
That's exactly what I need! I test out every change I make before finalising and then some, but every version of the game is different, or unpatched, so helping out with testing would be great!
@Artemius_I
Thanks Arti~ I'll be sure to post any questions I have in the future!
If there's anyone who can/knows of someone/someway to create unique portraits for in-game items within the Infinity Engine, please let me know!
And if anyone would like to make a voice over for any of the characters, I wouldn't say no to sampling the sounds for a match! (Paid for, of course.) Still looking for Voice Actors (as I do plan this to be a very detailed Mod, top to bottom, but those will most likely come long after the Mod is published to the Public. (No sound is better than waiting for hundreds of lines!)
Really, really sorry that I've not given this post much attention, it's a lot of work and I'm pretty terrible and slow-paced (Procrastination!) at this sort of stuff. Oopsies... :< (Also had to take a break due to personal issues, sorry!)
BUT I am still 210% dedicated to publishing this Mod when it's finally done! Got a lot to figure out so please bear with me.
Will be picking the pace up and editing the main post with all the changes I've made. (Pips, Biographies, cleaning the post up better, ect ect.)
Stay tuned, Cinnamon out~