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[WIP] Aura, a gnome artificer NPC for BG2:EE

 TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277
edited June 2019 in BGII:EE Mods
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Aura's portrait was created by myself with assets from Creative Commons licensed stock images

Race: Gnome
Class: Artificer (Thief kit) alternate: illusionist/artificer, priestess/artificer
Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: 8
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 19
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 15

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When asked about her past, AURA informs you that she was born Aurelia Minerva Evie Glimmershine of Anchoril, Lantan, the third daughter within a large gnomish family of two elder sisters, a younger brother, and twin baby siblings. From a young age, Aura displayed a natural talent in invention and craft and was inducted by her parents to the Sambaran College of Artificers. Quickly recognized as a prodigy by her tutors, she was recommended to the most prestigous and specialized academies of Lantan to be taught the nation's most respected disciplines. Aura's interest in magic, sparked by her brother's innate arcane talents, also drove her to learn the art of runecasting. After completing her studies and reaching adulthood, Aura left home with the blessing of her family to explore various lands and pursue knowledge in the outer world. During one such travel to the Far East, she was shipwrecked and struck with amnesia, awakening under the shelter of a priestess in Mikedono, one of the major islands of Kozakura. She remained in Kozakura, adapting to the foreign culture as her memories gradually returned over the years before her guardian's death led her to leave Kozakura and return to Faerûn. During her time in Athkatla she gained the goodwill of the Jansen family and became a guest in their household, where she has continued to practice her craft. Despite this, she is eager to be back on the road, where her talents can be put to practical use.

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Aura can be befriended by any protagonist so long as the party's reputation exceeds 8. To begin a romance with Aura, the protagonist must fulfill the following prerequisites:
  • Female
  • Non-evil
  • 12+ Intelligence
  • 10+ Charisma
  • 9+ Reputation

Whether or not Aura knows the protagonist from BG1 or SoD does not affect candidacy, although acknowledging a prior relationship initiates the romance upon first meeting - otherwise, romance is begun through showing interest in the initial friendship talks.

If the party reputation falls below 9, both friendship and romance dialogues are halted until reputation exceeds the threshold again.

Should neither Aura or Imoen be in a romance by Throne of Bhaal, they will initiate a semi-romantic dialogue branch with each other.

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Regardless of whether or not Aura is in the party, the workshop is available as an area where magical items may be created or upgraded. In order to upgrade an item, the appropriate schematic must be found first. A few schematics are available from the start, while others must be discovered throughout Amn.

In Throne of Bhaal, the Pocket Plane acts as a substitute for the workshop.

The automaton is also able to be upgraded while in the workshop at the cost of resources, which may include gold, magical items, scrolls, or gems. Basic upgrades include the following:
  • Augmented Blade - add an enchantment level to the automaton's attack
  • Weapon of Impact - enhance the automaton's crushing weapon damage and stun chance
  • Keen Edge - enhance the automaton's slashing weapon damage and critical chance
  • Reinforced Plating - enhance the automaton's armor class and physical resistance
  • Anti-Magic Shielding - enhance the automaton's saving throws and magic resistance
  • Self-Repairing Thaumaturgy - enhance the automaton's hit points and regeneration rate

Additionally, special upgrades may be discovered and applied. These include the Teleport, Golem Haste, Golem Slow and Gas Cloud abilities, as well as others.

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Soon after Aura joins the party, she will gain access to the Create Autocannon ability. With this ability, an artificer may attempt to create a Lantanese Autocannon in the targeted location. The success of the ability is dependent on the artificer's Set Traps skill. This autocannon will become active upon an enemy creature entering its range. The autocannon is immobile and attacks five times per round with fiery missiles dealing 1d3+1 damage per missile with a +6 enchantment. Automatons have a 5% chance per round of becoming charged, granting a +4 bonus to THAC0 and doubling their attacks per round for six seconds.

For each 15 points of Set Traps above 100 from the artificer, autocannons gain a +1 bonus to THAC0 and +5 bonus hit points. Once activated, autocannons last for two turns.

Aura begins with a single use of the ability per day, and does not gain more with levels. Instead, additional autocannons may be acquired at various stages of the game, allowing her to use the ability more often. A maximum of six uses per day is possible. While autocannons may not be upgraded in the same manner as automatons, certain items may modify them, from increasing their accuracy to changing their damage type.

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Q: When will the mod be complete?
A: Ideally, mid-2019 (June or July). However, depending on circumstances it may be pushed to as late as October. I will strive to make sure an early version of the mod is released before next year though.
Q: Where can Aura be found?
A: In her workshop, an extension of the Jansen residence.
Q: Are there quests available?
A: Yes. Two major quests and two minor quests in SoA, one major quest in ToB. Note that the minor quests do not require Aura's presence, but some of the items are only useful for her, or need to be brought to her first.
Q: How mature is the general contents of the mod?
A: The mod's writing is overall suitable for all audiences, with no explicit sexual content or overly coarse language. Psychologically, the writing may potentially get a little dark at places, but nothing worse than a T.
Q: How mature is the romantic content of the mod?
A: Again, nothing explicit. If anything, the romance will be more generally suitable than the rest of the writing.
Q: Will Aura get along with the rest of the party?
A: Yes, very much so. Aura's a sweetheart that tries to make peace with anyone who's not an enemy, so even the evil party members will tolerate her at worst. The only one who is actively malicious to her is Dorn, but it won't escalate to conflict. She is leery of Wilson, though.
Q: Are there specific party members worth taking along with Aura?
A: Yes. She'll have extensive timer-based dialogues with Aerie and Yoshimo, not to mention the potential romance with Imoen in Throne of Bhaal. Additionally, Aerie, Yoshimo, Jan, Imoen, Valygar and Neera each gain unique bonuses (not necessarily items) should they be in the party long enough. Also, Wilson is worth taking for the conflict alone.
Q: If I break up with Aura in Throne of Bhaal, will she still start a romance with Imoen?
A: No. You must break up with her in Shadows of Amn.
Q: Will there be flirts?
A: Yes.
Q: How will the romance conflicts work?
A: Romance conflicts will be unique to the NPC. Each individual NPC will conflict at a certain stage of their respective romance.
Q: Will she have a Bodhi-abduction event?
A: No. Something will happen, but it's not what you'll expect.
Q: Will she have multiple epilogues?
A: Yes. Romance and quest resolutions will factor into the resultant epilogue.
Q: Will Aura's chosen class during installation affect dialogue?
A: There will be differences in certain dialogues should Aura be installed as a mage/artificer or cleric/artificer, but nothing major.
Q: Will the mod be EET-compatible on release?
A: Yes. I have that ability now. I am awesome.
Q: Will there be crossmod on release?
A: Confirmed with my own NPC mods (Sirene, Pai'Na, and every future NPC) and Lava Del'Vortel's (Yvette, Foundling, Quayle, Skie, Verr'Sza). Aura will also have comments and interjections for Colours of Infinity, Southern Edge and Ooze’s Lounge.
Post edited by TheArtisan on
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Comments

  •  TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277
    Reserved for future use.
  •  TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277
    Reserved for future use.
  • southfla79southfla79 Member Posts: 214
    oooooh can't wait!
    Caszidy
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    It's great to see BGII part progressing!
    And I love the title colour in that post!
    ilduderino
  •  TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277
    Yes... Progress, ha ha ha... feels like I’m pushing a rock up a hill at times. *sigh*
    CaszidyRaduzielSaber83ilduderino
  • ilduderinoilduderino Member Posts: 773
    Based upon playing with her in BG and her class options, she is likely to become a “canon” party member on my playthroughs ?
  • masteralephmasteraleph Member Posts: 270
    Really, really looking forward to this.

    Is there any additional dialogue specifically for (female) gnomes planned? I'm thinking a Cleric/Illusionist might be in my future if so.
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    I'm also looking forward to this, particularly if she is a full-time thief, or at least multi-classed like Jan Jansen. It's surprisingly hard to find a good, reliable thief.

    Oh, out of curiosity, what's her position on turnips? ;)

  •  TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277
    @Maurvir

    Ambivalence. She’s more partial towards radishes, personally.

    Bonus trivia: she’s a vegetarian.
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    I'm hoping this mod is going well, as I am really looking forward to it. I would ask if there will be cross-mod support for Isra, as I have really enjoyed her in my current party.
  •  TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277
    @Maurvir

    I... well, I'm not going to say no, but I will just say that I've been kind of isolated from the NPC modding group, as sparse as it is, and am not that open with communicating in general so this hasn't been particularly high on my priority list. I especially want to make sure the mod has some semblance of being ready first so I don't have crossmod just sitting there for months before I finally get something out there. I'm just going to give a half-answer here and say 'maybe'.
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    Fair enough, and I suppose only having one mod-added romanceable NPC in a party is probably for the best. Good luck on finishing it.
    Antipatiko
  • RhaellaRhaella Member, Developer Posts: 178
    @AionZ, I'd be happy to do crossmod at some point, if you'd like. Been meaning to get in touch for a while, but I've been horrifically lazy about crossmod since getting back into modding.
  •  TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277
    @Rhaella

    Awesome :smiley: We can PM each other whenever it's convenient.
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666
    well i kinda been wanting sirene and isra to have cross mod for forever now.
  • Silverhammer66Silverhammer66 Member Posts: 1
    This looks awesome! How's it coming? It's cool to see more of a steampunk vibe inserted into the game.
    Isewein
  •  TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277
    @Silverhammer66

    This is at the very top of my priority list.

    On another note I wish I could get her a more rounded soundset. For some reason I can’t stop imagining an RP-accent.
  • IseweinIsewein Member Posts: 521
    Hear hear, another sweetheart for Imoen? She can join the fray with Kelsey, Gavin, Chloe and Aerie, all quarreling over their very own piece of pink. :D I do love that idea though - I've always thought of Imoen as a second protagonist.

    Maybe you might want to consider only writing it for ToB? The last part of the Trilogy doesn't feel like the right place for burgeoning romance to me, and all the other mods I mentioned somehow situate their Imoen romanced in ToB already. For variety's sake, wouldn't it be nice if this were to be a consistent relationship, maybe starting from SoD on? It would give a nice motivation for her to stick around in BG2 and surely make for interesting character development. Just my two pence. :)
  •  TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277
    Isewein wrote: »
    For variety's sake, wouldn't it be nice if this were to be a consistent relationship, maybe starting from SoD on? It would give a nice motivation for her to stick around in BG2 and surely make for interesting character development. Just my two pence. :)
    That would be hard and not very fun to write given Imoen is not a party member in SoD.

    Let me put things this way: the possibility of a proper relationship will only take place in ToB, but the undertones are present before that.
    Isewein
  • IseweinIsewein Member Posts: 521
    edited June 2019
    Sounds good enough to me! I don't know, I feel it would be interesting to have the establishment a relationship take place off-screen for once ... too many romances focus on that and leave no room for the actual thing. And by ToB so many crazy things are happening all around the party that I find it more fitting to narratively focus on companionship rather than sweet, mushy romance. :p
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666
    Isewein wrote: »
    Hear hear, another sweetheart for Imoen? She can join the fray with Kelsey, Gavin, Chloe and Aerie, all quarreling over their very own piece of pink. :D I do love that idea though - I've always thought of Imoen as a second protagonist.

    the funny thing about that is i was actually planning on doing an all female party and everyone haveing a romance. charname/sarah auren/nalia imoen/aerie. alot of love there.
  • Saber83Saber83 Member Posts: 94
    Isewein wrote: »
    Sounds good enough to me! I don't know, I feel it would be interesting to have the establishment a relationship take place off-screen for once ... too many romances focus on that and leave no room for the actual thing. And by ToB so many crazy things are happening all around the party that I find it more fitting to narratively focus on companionship rather than sweet, mushy romance. :p

    Maybe I'm not remembering it correctly, but this is kind of the feeling I got in the TOB part of Jaheira's romance, most of the major trouble with the Harpers is dealt with and you can kind of just focus on being together.

    Really looking forward to this mod when it's done.
    Isewein
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666
    thats kinda how alot of the tob romances feel minus the wraith scene.
    Saber83
  • IseweinIsewein Member Posts: 521
    Yes that's what I meant. I like that. It's just some mod romances seem to only develop in ToB (especially all those Imoen ones, for obvious reasons ;) ), so I thought it could be nice to have a more stable relationship, Bioware-style.
  • MaurvirMaurvir Member Posts: 1,090
    When, exactly, are you supposed to romance anyone in ToB? It's one boss battle after another. Saradush is under siege, so I'm imaging it might be a bit hard to relax there, the wilderness is almost non-existent (though there is that one cool oasis), and Amkethran? Talk about lust in the dust.

    ToB should have been larger in scope to support a realistic romance and not just a fling.
    Isewein
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666
    they tend to happpen in the in between sections and in the pocket plane. i believe bioware's intention was for you to do watcher's keep if you wanted to see the banters with out an accelerator.
  • Saber83Saber83 Member Posts: 94
    megamike15 wrote: »
    they tend to happpen in the in between sections and in the pocket plane. i believe bioware's intention was for you to do watcher's keep if you wanted to see the banters with out an accelerator.

    Also, from my point of view at least and like I have mentioned previously, a lot of the hard work has been done already. And to me the romance chats that do happen are enough, given everything that happens in the game. Of course, most of my BG2 runs are so modded as to be unrecognisable.

    @AionZ Recently started a playthrough of Aura in BG1. Absolutely loving her so far, and am now even more excited for the BG2 version.
    megamike15
  •  TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277
    edited June 2019
    I have something I would like opinions on. For those who don't want to be spoiled on anything, I've hidden it in spoilers:
    Below is a case of Aura interjecting in an original interaction, namely the Aerie-Korgan conflict. Just so you know (in the EEs at least) Aerie actually does NOT leave permanently, but returns to the circus and as far as I can tell can be picked up again with no more conflicts. If Aerie and Aura have talked a little to initiate their friendship, Aura can stop Aerie from leaving and give Korgan a piece of her mind, leading to this conversation:
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    The question is this: Is this an acceptably in-character reaction from Korgan? Bear in mind he does not dislike Aura prior to this, and it would be more out of character for Aura to remain silent while Korgan essentially bullies Aerie out of the group. However, it wouldn't lead Aura to leave herself or have a true conflict with Korgan, either, since she doesn't really hate him all that much. I normally wouldn't have issues writing stuff like this, but some people take issue whenever a mod NPC gets a 'win' over the original NPCs. There'll be someone who says "There's no way Korgan would just back off from being glared at" but I can't see this interaction going that much differently. She's not going to attack or threaten him. Korgan is capable of showing some respect to people who stand up to themselves. Maybe it needs to go on a bit longer? Share your thoughts.
    megamike15
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