Mod Request: A Duergar or Swirfneblin Companion for BG2 EE

Wutan1988

Hi Guys,

first of all i want to say that this is not a simple Mod Request and i don't know if anyone would like to pick up on my Suggestion and i might be a bit biased as well cause judging by my Profile Picture it should come as no Surprise that i am a huge fan of Shorty Races especially Dwarfs.

In recent years we saw a spike in NPC Mods and NPC Related Mods providing the Community with more Dwarf/Halfling and Gnome Companions which makes me really Happy. Don't get me wrong Elves are fine and dandy but we have so many Mods about them now that i think there is still a few Niches in NPC Mods which would be nice to be filled.

Looking through all kind of NPC Mods the last couple of Weeks i realised that there are no Swirfneblin or Duergar Companions available for BGEE, BG2 EE SoA or Throne of Bhaal. I found Pfaug the Duergar NPC for SoD but i am not sure if the Mod is still maintained and i found an Older Mod from LavaDelVortel called Swylif Thicc which adds a Deep Gnome Sorcerer to ToB but i think it's on hold for now.

Especially for Evil Male Dwarf/Gnome/Halfling Protagonist there is a lack of a female Evil Dwarf/Gnome/Halfling Romance Option.

If i may and somebody is interested to pick it up someday i would wish for an Evil Female Duergar or Swirfneblin NPC preferably implemented in BG2 EE.

Unfortunately i don't see to get the grip on Modding (I even failed to get NearInfinity installed lol) so i would have tried it myself but i think we have way more talented Modders in the Community which provide High Quality Content i could never provide.

A female Duergar worshipping Deep Duerra would be partically nice. Since she lives on the Surface she would be an Outcast and maybe try to redeem herself in some way to be able to rejoin her Clan. I always wondered why in Chapter Six in the Underdark there are basically no Duergar Strongholds. We have the Drow City and the Swirfneblin Village and only 2 Duergar Merchants just at the start of Chapter 6. Maybe the new NPC could help defend a small Duergar Hideout against the Mindflayers cause after all they are the Archenemies of the Duergar and enslaved them for Generations.

Since Duergar don't have an Aversion against Arcane Magic the new NPC could be some kind of Spellcaster. Maybe a Single Class cause we don't really have a Shorty Race Singe Class Wizard available to use. Jan Jansen for example is a Multiclass.

In terms of Balance maybe the new NPC could have Poison Immunity, being able to cast Invisibility once per day and have the passive trait to get 5 point in Detect Illusion each Level up to a Max of 100 Points in it up to Level 20? The Enlarge Ability is one of the the Special Racial Abilities of the Duergar but for a Spellslinger of some sorts a Strength Enhancing Ability would not make Sense. For a Fighter/Thief on the other Hand and with the Duergar's Speciality in Stealth it would be a powerfull Combination. Maybe she can find Hidden Treasures in Rifts of Rock Formations because of her excellent Knowledge in Stonework?

I found a few Portraits for Duergar on the Internet and maybe it would make sense to give her a Portrait wearing Cowl like Viconia wears it to cover hear Identity from the other Races living on the Surface?

Since Duergar hate Shield Dwarfs a Romance with a Dwarf Protagonist could start really rocky but as time goes on she could develop trust and maybe even an Alignement Shift would be possible?

Anyway that's what i wanted to say and to bring a bit more Attention to the in my Opinion more Niche and underrepresented Dwarf Races and Romance Options.

Cheers guys and if i gave some of you maybe a bit of Inspiration for a New Project or something else i am happy about it cause that's all i can do cause i am not really talented.

Endarire

@Wutan1988
Tipun's subrace mod lets you make PCs of various subraces like Duergar and Deep Gnome. It's at least sort of what you wanted.

Wutan1988

Endarire wrote: »

@Wutan1988
Tipun's subrace mod lets you make PCs of various subraces like Duergar and Deep Gnome. It's at least sort of what you wanted.

Hi Thank you for the Suggestion

I already tried Tipun's Subrace Mod and overall i really like it especially how the Subrace Menu was implemented in the Character Creation Screen.

As far as i know the Racial Traits are directly from NWN2 right?

The Swirfneblin and Drow look very powerfull but unfortunately the Dwarf Races (Gold Dwarf) and Duergar got the Short End of the Stick i think

GOLD DWARF In a time when the dwarven race is in sad decline, the gold dwarves of the Realms received a divine gift from Moradin, the Soul Forger. The father of the dwarven gods granted the Thunder Blessing upon his people, resulting in a slow growth of the gold dwarf population. Though its effects may not be felt for decades, gold dwarves are already starting to re-establish themselves in the Realms as shrewd traders and proud, if somewhat haughty, warriors.

Advantages: +1 Charisma +2 dodge bonus against giants +1 +1 racial bonus to attack rolls against aberrations, the bizarre creatures that live in the Underdark

Disadvantages: -1 Dexterity

The Charisma Bonus sadly doesn't make up for the Penalty in Dex since Dwarves already get a -1 Penalty that kind of makes them worse in terms of Combat Capability then the Standard Dwarf and most Dwarves are designed to go into Melee since they are not allowed to be Mages or does the Mod allow Duergar or Gold Dwarf to be some kind of Arcane Spellcasters? I don't know that.

The +1 racial bonus against aberrations is of no use i think because i don't remember that Aberrations exist in BG2 beside the one in the Tank in Ust Natha right?

GRAY DWARF Also known as duergar, the gray dwarves of the Forgotten Realms live even deeper underground than their shield dwarf and gold dwarf cousins. The duergar share little in common with other dwarves and practice slavery in their monstrous subterranean cities. Often motivated by greed and a thirst for power, gray dwarves are known throughout the Realms as devious, efficient warriors. Duergar almost always have gray hair and skin.

Advantages: +10 racial bonus on Search checks to notice unusual stonework, such as sliding walls, secret doors, stonework traps and new construction +1 racial bonus to saving throws against spells and spell-like effects +20 racial bonus on Move Silently checks. Gray dwarves excel in stealthy movement. +2 dodge bonus against giants Invisibility 1/day Darkvision

Disadvantages: -2 Charisma (-1 if Charisma is less than 3) Light Blindness: -1 THAC0 and save throws in daylight Gets only 90% of experience

It's mentioned that Duergars are known in the Realms as efficent Warriors but the Advantages only really apply to Thief Classes sadly and i don't know how the Move Silently Check is implemented in BG and the Search Check Bonus seems kind of irrelevant. The +1 Racial Bonus against Saving Throws and the once per Day Invisibility is nice of course but the -2 Modifier to Charisma effectively reduced each Stat Roll at Character Creation by 2 points.

But the real Dilemma for me is the -10 % Experience Gain which can add up quit quickly over the course of a Trilogy Run. In my opinion the Disadvantages are to much in terms what you get when i compare it with Drow which gets way better Boni.

I would always think when i play a Duergar Dwarfen Defender that i would gimp myself and that i should have played a Normal Dwarf instead

When i would have to rebalance it i would give the Duergar Poison Immunity (good for BG1, ok for BG2), Once per day Invisibility and maybe the Enlarge Ability which can buff the Strength of the Duergar for maybe a Duration of 3 Rounds + 1 Round per Level? and the +1 Saving Throw Boni.

For Disadvantages: The same as before or even -15% Experience.

In my Mind that would be more Balanced and more interesting as well. I thought about Modding that myself but like i said i am an absolute Noob when it comes to that and even had problems installing Near Infinity

Thank you for your suggestion

It's overall a really nice Subrace Mod and the best i have seen so far but the Dwarves are kinda underwhelming to be honest