how about a 'Kill Imoen Dead' mod?

Contemplative_Hamster

Hello

How much work would it take to create a mod that kills off Imoen right off the bat in BG2(ee), say somewhere in Irenicus' dungeon or as an act of spite by Irenicus himself at the Promenade AND THEN SHE IS NEVER REFERENCED AGAIN IN DIALOGUE OPTIONS FOR THE REST OF THE GAME? Move up the "I've got part of yer soul, Charname, neener neener" line of inquiry or "I'll get you for all the torture/deaths you've caused Irenicus you bastard", or something else so that I want to chase after Irenicus, but take her out of the game. She can do a "Ghost of Christmas Past" /narrator voice during the Slayer dreams with Bhaal, if rewriting that entire section is too much work, but I just want a game where she's not in the picture as my quest object (so often to be immediately abandoned in a trapped maze for lack of room in my party or in my heart).

I mean, sure, you can have her conveniently walk into a series of Fireballs once you recriut her in Chapter Four or so, but it's just not the same. The minimally acceptable option would be a scorched earth tactic where Irencicus kills her just before you get to her, but ideally she goes the way of Dynaheir, right from the outset.

I am actually being serious here. Could this be done? Would anyone be willing to do it?

TheArtisan

Short answer: How about no. kidding! just kidding!

Serious answer: Doing this would screw with the plot so badly, my sympathies towards anyone who would actually try it. Even if you didn't give two damns about Imoen, her Bhaalspawn soul is a rather important plot point for SoA. I wouldn't touch this with a twenty-foot pole just because of the amount of re-scripting it would require.

God

Long ago, before BG2:EE was even a thing, I used to work on a little SoA mod that made some changes to the storyline and tailored it to accommodate a solo character.
The opening cutscene was changed so that Imoen would explode to reveal a hostile doppelganger. Upon leaving the dungeon, Charname and Joneleth would be taken in by the Cowled Wizards, and the game would fast-forward through to Spellhold, skipping all of Gaelan's unbearable cooing, with Imoen's part being replaced in cutscenes by Charname. One super kool thing was that I was able to leave David Warner's voice acting mostly intact, and it still made sense so long as Charname was female. And, essentially, the game began with access to the entire gameworld, Spellhold serving as a home base of sorts after reclaiming it from Jonny. Was kinda awesome, and almost release-ready.
Unbearably, a flood hit my datacentre a while back and wiped my only backup of this, along with a host of other Infinity Engine and Aurora Engine mods. Oh well. Will somehow include these ideas in a remake of the BG series if I'm ever licensed to do one

A skilled modder could likely create something in the lines of what you had in mind. Willingness might be the tricky part, though. It's a grand task to erase a character who is referenced as widely as Imoen throughout the game. And she's present in most cutscenes, which can be quite tricky to amend.

Contemplative_Hamster

God said:

Long ago, before BG2:EE was even a thing, I used to work on a little SoA mod [...] Was kinda awesome, and almost release-ready. Unbearably, a flood hit my datacentre a while back and wiped my only backup of this [...] Oh well. Will somehow include these ideas in a remake [...] if I'm ever licensed to do one

Dear @God , I have SO many theological questions right now....

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

chimeric

Hmm. A thought: instead of removing Imoen, might it not be both easier and more interesting to replace her, and references to her in dialogues and scripts, with another, custom NPC that the protagonist might have a reason to want to rescue or find? This might be someone who knows secrets of the Bhaal destiny; but since Irenicus is about that, too, it might be better to introduce a stranger with a different enigmatic promise. This promise does not have to concern the Bhaal business (it's not like the world revolves around that). It might just be a potential for magical power or knowledge, or this man or woman may be a member of Amn's ruling elite. Rescue one of Amn's rulers and become a general or a duke - not a bad reason to do it.

If this stranger appears in the Irenicus dungeon instead of Imoen as someone the party met a short time ago, then it may actually be a welcome surprise in the sequel - a rare moment of real mystery - instead of the incestuous familiarity of the company of Imoen, Minsc, Jaheira... Then, after he or she is whisked away to Spellhold, the main character would have a more convincing, less exploitative pair of motives to gather that 15000 gold - revenge on Irenicus or a free decision to find this man or woman.

The problem with BG2 is that it assumes that the player needs to be forced into quests. It doesn't bother to give interesting reasons to go on quests. In effect, the game lacks a plot - it only simulates it.

Vis-a-vis scripts, cutscenes etc. this character could step in whenever Imoen does, just have different dialogue. Most of Warner's lines could still serve, too, with a little editing (to replace "you will take the girl" etc.). He/she need not even be a party NPC after the rescue. And as for Imoen, with this approach she would not have to die or be a pest, but could be found somewhere in Athkatla, perhaps with a separate plot of her own.