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[NPC mod] Ashar

Pustak_StropowyPustak_Stropowy Member Posts: 23
edited August 2021 in BGII:EE Mods
image


When asked about her past, ASHAR snaps, "What does it matter now?" and flicks her hand dismissively. Nevertheless, she starts to incoherently relate her tale. She was raised in the Sword Mountains, north of Waterdeep. In this place, a powerful warrior called Dagon Iron Shield created a country which gathered local half-orc tribes. Ashar served in Dagon's personal guard. She talks with a great respect for him, praising his skills, honor, and fair deeds. However, two years ago, Iron Shield was killed by his power-hungry son. Most of Dagon's supporters were forced to flee or be killed or, as Ashar was, be sold into a slavery.




This modification adds a new, joinable NPC to Baldur's Gate II: a half-orc barbarian named Ashar.

Ashar can be found near the Copper Cornet's entrance, right after the death of the tavern's owner, Lehtinan.

The modification offers about 20 dialogues with the PC, a modest romance, as well as many interactions, comments, and banters with all BGII NPCs.

Ashar is aggressive, plainspoken, but also a bit confused woman. Fell free to say what you will, during talks with her, there aren't any "correct" or "incorrect" answers. However, be aware, because your words and deeds may have a great impact on Ashar's character.

Great thanks to: Damianus_NT, Lava Del'Vortel and Vinci for their help in testing and creating the modification!

Special thanks to Geddoe, who have taught Ashar how to speak English correctly. Thank you for your great proofreading job!

Have a good game and any comments are welcome! :)

Additional information:
- The modification is compatible with both the "old" game version (Throne of Bhaal expansion pack is required) and Enhanced Edition.
- Her "friendship path" talks activate approximately once per hour, check Readme file for full list of dialogs.
- Romance can be started after "friendship path" dialogs, in the Underdark. Check Readme file for more information.
- Ashar should be joined to your party in II or III game chapter. You will miss much of the modification content, if you join her later.
- For now, the modification doesn't have any content for the Throne of Bhaal expansion.
-To install the modification you need to extract Setup-AsharNPC.exe and AsharNPC folder into your game folder, double-click Setup-AsharNPC.exe and follow the instructions.
- English and Polish language versions included.


Post edited by Pustak_Stropowy on
AedanCaszidyLavaDelVortelMateoFrozenMirandelMantis37EekanImpbooinyoureyesSharGuidesMyHandZaghoulfluke13mashedtaters[Deleted User]Fina92BlackravenWresAcifer
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Comments

  • AedanAedan Member, Translator (NDA) Posts: 8,550
    Congratulations for this release! Well done!
    booinyoureyes
  • Pustak_StropowyPustak_Stropowy Member Posts: 23
    edited April 2018
    Well, I hope you will like Ashar :) If somebody play my modification I would be grateful for comments.

    In case of any problems with Spellhold Studios, you can download Ashar also form there:

    DOWNLOAD 2

    Post edited by Pustak_Stropowy on
  • Pustak_StropowyPustak_Stropowy Member Posts: 23
    Not even a single comment? Ah, that's really encouraging :/

    Hey, maybe this isn't the most complex and sophisticated modification in the history of BGII (and it was never meant to be). But Ashar talks, banters, fights and works fine, without bugs, all you need is to download, install and play.

    I think dozens of hours of work deserve some feedback...
  • RVNSRVNS Member Posts: 285
    I tell you what. I would be happy to give Ashar a go! ill play her now! She seems fun. Ill even right a little review when I am done.
  • RVNSRVNS Member Posts: 285
    Any npcs that she particularly banters with more than others?
  • Pustak_StropowyPustak_Stropowy Member Posts: 23
    I'm glad to hear it :)
    RVNS said:

    Any npcs that she particularly banters with more than others?

    Number of banters may vary a bit, it depends on events in the game, but:
    Anomen - 4
    Nalia - 2
    Aerie - 3
    Jaheira - 4
    Korgan - 2
    Keldorn - 3
    Minsc and Boo - 2
    HaerDalis - 3
    Cernd - 1
    Edwin - 1
    Valygar - 3
    Mazzy - 4
    Yoshimo - 2
    Imoen - 2
    Viconia - 3
    Jan - 1 (sadly, I don't drink enough to write good dialogs for him ;) )
    Dorn - 2
    Rasaad - 2
    Hexxat - 1
    Neera - 1


  • RVNSRVNS Member Posts: 285
    Mod content is solid so far. I acquired her and we are taking on the Nalia quest now. She seems balanced. No special overpowering equipment and has fairly lengthy talks. I will continue to update as I go. Very enjoyable so far.
    Aedansmeagolheart
  • MateoFrozenMateoFrozen Member Posts: 82
    @Pustak_Stropowy
    I will play the mod, but still waiting for final 2.5 then i will comment this NPC.
  • LucasIDKn8LucasIDKn8 Member Posts: 25
    Sound's like a cool MOD, why doesn't she have any banters with Wilson the bear though? She could threaten to eat him :D
    DJKajuru
  • Pustak_StropowyPustak_Stropowy Member Posts: 23

    Sound's like a cool MOD, why doesn't she have any banters with Wilson the bear though? She could threaten to eat him :D

    Heh, I think she will get along with Wilson well, without any banters ;)

    @Pustak_Stropowy
    I will play the mod, but still waiting for final 2.5 then i will comment this NPC.

    2.5 patch for BGII? Lets hope Beamdog will make it fast :)
    MateoFrozen
  • RVNSRVNS Member Posts: 285
    Will there be any throne of bhaal mod additions? The mod was enjoyable!
  • Pustak_StropowyPustak_Stropowy Member Posts: 23
    Good to hear that somebody tried out my modification and enjoyed it.

    ToB? Well, sadly it's a lot of work, but... maybe (just maybe!) if more people play my mod (and give positive feedback), this will mobilize me to create ToB content, who knows? :smiley:

    But, if you can't wait and you want to know what will happen to Ashar after ToB :smile:
    I like happy endings, so probably everything will go according to her plan (which she shared with PC during the conversation in the Underdark).

  • BookwormOtakuBookwormOtaku Member Posts: 8
    Well, after my current BG1 playthrough I'll be playing BG2 next and intend to try this mod out on it, especially if there's ToB content planned.
  • SharGuidesMyHandSharGuidesMyHand Member Posts: 2,579
    Are there any restrictions on who she can romance?
  • Pustak_StropowyPustak_Stropowy Member Posts: 23

    Are there any restrictions on who she can romance?

    There are plenty - Ashar is not an easy chick :)
    But, long story short:

    -PC male, half-orc or human
    -Any good, pure neutral, or lawful neutral PC character
    -Try to follow a path of "goodness" during the game
    -Romance can be started during the chapter V
    -No other confirmed romance (with the NPC from the game)


    If you try out my modification, I will be grateful for any comments.

  • SharGuidesMyHandSharGuidesMyHand Member Posts: 2,579
    I just wanted to say that I haven't had THAT much of a chance to try out your mod yet, but I do like what I've played of it so far.
  • Pustak_StropowyPustak_Stropowy Member Posts: 23
    Thanks!
    If you play more, I would love to hear longer review :)
    I think Ashar has some interesting dialogues, so you shouldn't be disappointed :)
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    Hi Pustak - I've been looking for a female fighter-ish mod so I'd love to play your mod but I'll wait for ToB content because I'm a completionist xD
  • Pustak_StropowyPustak_Stropowy Member Posts: 23
    DJKajuru, truth be told, ToB content is in very wip stage aaaaand... I will take a long time to finish it.

    So, please, maybe you could try out Ashar now.
    Then tell me If you liked her and maybe this will motivate me to finish the mod :smiley:
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    Deal, I'm testing it right now with a random character and will give ya a review.
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    Alright @Pustak_Stropowy , I haven't played it entirely but here's my review *so far*:

    Portrait and Voice: C+
    I know you've got a custom portrait for her but I did change it to the "female half orc" portrait from BGEE , which suits her as well and is more polished. Her voice is an original soundset from IWD2 , and honestly I prefer that rather than the possibility of amateurish voice recording.

    Personality: B-
    Pustak, you've done a good job portraying Ashar's low intelligence and wisdom, I mean, she doesn't act "dumb" like Minsc, but she does sound simple and direct in the way she acts and talks. However , I gave her a B- because it gave me the impression that you've written two Ashanas:

    One who speaks to CHARNAME is a very simple, generic way , which even though may be consistent for her own character it did not seem plausible for a player whose character would enjoy at least trying to dig more information from her. I don't know how far these dynamics go because I haven't finished SoA, yet.

    The other Ashana that you've written appears and shines when it comes to party banters. I've seen modders that are okay with writing their own material but when it's about banters that include official NPC's they just screw up . Not the case here, from the party banters that I've seen you it is quite clear that you've put a lot of effort into making them *believable*. It really felt like something that either Anomen, Yoshimo or Viconia would say to a female half orc (Jaheira not so much, but I guess it's harder to capture her nuances). I applaud you for that and should there be a ToB version I will definitely plan on having her around for a full playthrough.


    Implementation: C+
    Ashana can be found at the Copper Coronet's entrance right after Hendak's freeing the slaves quest is completed so she can be added quite early. I gave her a C+ for the personality reasons I mentioned above: there's is nothing wrong with her lines, but they did feel BG1-ish , like "this is who I am, can I join your party". As I said, nothing wrong with that but in SoA these kinds of dialogue can get really overshadowed by the original ones , and as I mentioned before you did capture well the writing from SoA, specially when it comes to banters. In my opinion the key for writing these dialogues is to estabilish a personality without overshadowing the other characters too much, something that even Beamdog seems to fail when writing some of their characters.

    Power: B+
    Ashana is a half orc barbarian with STR 17, DEX 17 and CON 17. Nothing powergamey (which I'm glad for !) and she can work well as a tank and damage dealer.

    ToB: Not yet, but you definitely should!

    So I guess that is it so far. You may have noticed that I'm the kind of player who really loves banters and dialogues, and would rather have a balanced character than a powergamey one , so you're on the right track! Thank you for your efforts and I'll definitely give it a try when ToB version comes.

    Pustak_StropowyZaghoulBlackraven
  • Pustak_StropowyPustak_Stropowy Member Posts: 23
    edited June 2018
    DJKajuru, thanks, it's very comprehensive and useful review!
    DJKajuru said:

    I don't know how far these dynamics go because I haven't finished SoA, yet.

    I think I know what you mean and I have good news: her later dialogs are much more "expanded".
    First, it's because I was leaning how to write dialogs during this mod creation, so later talks are probably better than early ones :wink: but also, it was intentional - Amn is a foreign land for Ashar, she feels lost and that's why she is a bit withdrawn at the beginning.

    So, you shouldn't be disappointed and I hope you will play more :)
    ZaghoulDJKajuru
  • CamDawgCamDawg Member, Developer Posts: 3,438
    The current version (v13) throws an error:

    235981014_4554471631263831_7389611228797692589_n.png

    Essentially, you can't make tra calls with the VERSION string since the tra files don't get loaded until later. Just change it to a ~v13~ or somesuch.
    SharGuidesMyHandPustak_Stropowy
  • Pustak_StropowyPustak_Stropowy Member Posts: 23
    CamDawg, it's strange, I never saw this problem before during my test installations. But I have changed this line in tp2 file, now it should be ok.

    Could You download and check this repaired version? - https://we.tl/t-DZXrM8VELk
    I will update it on SHS if everything works.
    Thanks for help.
  • EndarireEndarire Member Posts: 1,512
    @Pustak_Stropowy
    While you're updating this mod, may we get this mod made natively EET compatible? The newest EET version for EE 2.6 has discouraged even more BG:EE only mods from installing before EET.

    Thankee!
  • parmenides14parmenides14 Member Posts: 11
    @Pustak_Stropowy
    Ashar is awesome! I particularly like her theme music too. Thanks for this mod!
  • MinosMinos Member Posts: 3
    Excellent mod. Are there plans for ToB content?
  • Pustak_StropowyPustak_Stropowy Member Posts: 23
    Minos wrote: »
    Excellent mod. Are there plans for ToB content?

    Sadly no - I tried to write ToB contents, but I gave up. Let's say that Ashar returned to Sword Mountains to fulfill her plans and you can take Serevok in her place ;)
    Good to know you like my mod, thanks :)
  • EndarireEndarire Member Posts: 1,512
    @Pustak_Stropowy
    According to my tests with the EET mod auto converter, Ashar is EET compatible. Enjoy, all!
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