[Ideation+collaboration] Shadows and Embers NPC Mod
saox
Member Posts: 108
Hi,
I have been playing these beautiful games (BG1,BG2,IWD1,PT) ever since they came out and been heavily modding other games, writing scenarios, scripts, programming games and enjoying good writing, often such where the characters are nuanced, have dilemmas, face difficult choices, past regrets, emotional depth and where we get to witness their growth.
We all also know how IWD lacks NPCs, banters and interactions. My idea for this mod came after replaying the game another time with the existing NPC mod which is really great, yet for my taste I found it lacked some darker elements, more "grey" characters and deeper development of each of the 5 characters.
I have:
- character development outline through banters and dialogues with the main character,
- initial dialogues,
- items (8)
Ideas:
- of up to 6 special abilities per character that are acquired over time
- for 1-2 new areas that could be added to the game
- for settlement defense / survival chapter exploring new tactics
Below, the character presentations without spoilers on what the Dale will make them face. Each of them will have average stats, reflecting how normal and mortal they are, offering a challenging (non-power-gamy) experience through Icewind Dale.
Edrik Ashmantle, Human Fighter
Bio:
"Edrik Ashmantle once bore the burden of command along the northern marches, a commander known for holding the line when others would break.
Steel-willed and sharp-eyed, he earned his position through discipline and endurance, leading from the front with shield locked and blade steady.
When a remote settlement fell under sudden siege, Edrik ordered a measured evacuation - securing the mountain pass to save the many rather than squander lives in a futile stand.
The decision was sound by every tenet of war, yet the time it required doomed those who could not flee, and their voices haunt his quiet hours.
Praised by his superiors and spared any formal blame, Edrik carries the weight nonetheless, questioning the absolutes he once trusted and learning that right and wrong rarely stand so cleanly opposed.
He came to Easthaven without proclamation or purpose spoken aloud, taking no title and offering no claim to authority.
Though he does not refuse those who ask for aid, neither does he seek to lead - choosing instead the uncertain path of a man who would act when needed, yet leave the choosing to others.
But fate has a cruel fondness for unfinished reckonings, and Edrik cannot shake the feeling that the next hard decision is already drawing near..."
Morlun, Human Rogue (Thief or Bard)
Bio:
"Morlun has always insisted that fate marked him for greatness, though the world had so far failed to notice. Once apprenticed to a minor arcanist of dubious reputation, he abandoned formal study after declaring his master "an obstacle". Since then he survived by slipping purses and secrets. His magic, though modest in power and rarely exhibited is always delivered with theatrical confidence. Those who listen to his stories closely might suspect they conceal a restless hunger to prove himself worthy of the destiny he so loudly proclaim.
He came north chasing rumor - a scrap of parchment hinting at something buried beneath the ice, something overlooked by lesser minds - and thus found himself in Easthaven's tavern, tracing frost-bitten trade routes by candlelight while caravans stamped snow from their boots..."
Old Jix, Gnome Illusionist
Bio:
"Old Jix arrived to the North selling enchanted junk and unsolicited advice, claiming retirement from anything heroic - a life he had so long ago and one he claims he forgot most of. His journey to Easthaven began when he sneezed mid-incantation while demonstrating an "unbreakable" invisibility spell to a skeptical merchant, accidentally teleporting himself into a widow's pickled root cellar three hundred miles north. During the two weeks it took him to find the cellar door (it was behind a very convincing shelf), he discovered that fermenting certain roots with residual illusion magic caused reality to hiccup in fascinating and occasionally terrifying ways. He emerged with seventeen jars of experimental concoctions, a newfound life purpose, and a restraining order from the widow. Those who knew him in his youth speak of a brilliant war-illusionist who once held a garrison of orcs at bay with nothing but phantoms and sharp words, though Jix insists they must be thinking of someone taller. He settled in Easthaven claiming the cold preserves his roots perfectly and because, as he puts it, "nobody runs this far north unless they're chasing something or being chased, and I fit right in either way." His nights are spent scribbling scroll formulae and muttering about the "universal pickling constant," a theory he claims will revolutionize magic if only the vegetables would cooperate. When pressed about his past heroics, his eyes grow distant for just a moment before he launches into a completely unrelated story about a talking badger he once knew - though whether the deflection hides pride or pain, none can say."
I would love to do this together with someone, who could enrich with new points of views, ideas and help with some parts of the work to make it a pleasant co-creative experience! Open to hearing your thoughts!
I have been playing these beautiful games (BG1,BG2,IWD1,PT) ever since they came out and been heavily modding other games, writing scenarios, scripts, programming games and enjoying good writing, often such where the characters are nuanced, have dilemmas, face difficult choices, past regrets, emotional depth and where we get to witness their growth.
We all also know how IWD lacks NPCs, banters and interactions. My idea for this mod came after replaying the game another time with the existing NPC mod which is really great, yet for my taste I found it lacked some darker elements, more "grey" characters and deeper development of each of the 5 characters.
I have:
- character development outline through banters and dialogues with the main character,
- initial dialogues,
- items (8)
Ideas:
- of up to 6 special abilities per character that are acquired over time
- for 1-2 new areas that could be added to the game
- for settlement defense / survival chapter exploring new tactics
Below, the character presentations without spoilers on what the Dale will make them face. Each of them will have average stats, reflecting how normal and mortal they are, offering a challenging (non-power-gamy) experience through Icewind Dale.
Edrik Ashmantle, Human Fighter
Bio:
"Edrik Ashmantle once bore the burden of command along the northern marches, a commander known for holding the line when others would break.
Steel-willed and sharp-eyed, he earned his position through discipline and endurance, leading from the front with shield locked and blade steady.
When a remote settlement fell under sudden siege, Edrik ordered a measured evacuation - securing the mountain pass to save the many rather than squander lives in a futile stand.
The decision was sound by every tenet of war, yet the time it required doomed those who could not flee, and their voices haunt his quiet hours.
Praised by his superiors and spared any formal blame, Edrik carries the weight nonetheless, questioning the absolutes he once trusted and learning that right and wrong rarely stand so cleanly opposed.
He came to Easthaven without proclamation or purpose spoken aloud, taking no title and offering no claim to authority.
Though he does not refuse those who ask for aid, neither does he seek to lead - choosing instead the uncertain path of a man who would act when needed, yet leave the choosing to others.
But fate has a cruel fondness for unfinished reckonings, and Edrik cannot shake the feeling that the next hard decision is already drawing near..."
Morlun, Human Rogue (Thief or Bard)
Bio:
"Morlun has always insisted that fate marked him for greatness, though the world had so far failed to notice. Once apprenticed to a minor arcanist of dubious reputation, he abandoned formal study after declaring his master "an obstacle". Since then he survived by slipping purses and secrets. His magic, though modest in power and rarely exhibited is always delivered with theatrical confidence. Those who listen to his stories closely might suspect they conceal a restless hunger to prove himself worthy of the destiny he so loudly proclaim.
He came north chasing rumor - a scrap of parchment hinting at something buried beneath the ice, something overlooked by lesser minds - and thus found himself in Easthaven's tavern, tracing frost-bitten trade routes by candlelight while caravans stamped snow from their boots..."
Old Jix, Gnome Illusionist
Bio:
"Old Jix arrived to the North selling enchanted junk and unsolicited advice, claiming retirement from anything heroic - a life he had so long ago and one he claims he forgot most of. His journey to Easthaven began when he sneezed mid-incantation while demonstrating an "unbreakable" invisibility spell to a skeptical merchant, accidentally teleporting himself into a widow's pickled root cellar three hundred miles north. During the two weeks it took him to find the cellar door (it was behind a very convincing shelf), he discovered that fermenting certain roots with residual illusion magic caused reality to hiccup in fascinating and occasionally terrifying ways. He emerged with seventeen jars of experimental concoctions, a newfound life purpose, and a restraining order from the widow. Those who knew him in his youth speak of a brilliant war-illusionist who once held a garrison of orcs at bay with nothing but phantoms and sharp words, though Jix insists they must be thinking of someone taller. He settled in Easthaven claiming the cold preserves his roots perfectly and because, as he puts it, "nobody runs this far north unless they're chasing something or being chased, and I fit right in either way." His nights are spent scribbling scroll formulae and muttering about the "universal pickling constant," a theory he claims will revolutionize magic if only the vegetables would cooperate. When pressed about his past heroics, his eyes grow distant for just a moment before he launches into a completely unrelated story about a talking badger he once knew - though whether the deflection hides pride or pain, none can say."
I would love to do this together with someone, who could enrich with new points of views, ideas and help with some parts of the work to make it a pleasant co-creative experience! Open to hearing your thoughts!
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