I remember there was an unreleased mod for BG2 back in the day called the mod for the wicked, which was supposed to kind of make the game more playable as an evil alligned party, adding evil options, NPC's, and stuff like that. Too bad it never came to fruition. Would have been interesting to try out
You can be as evil as you want and buy your reputation. The temple donations in BG function like public relations institutions, much like today's corporate mass media and government lobbying cronies. You pay the temple priests a handsome sum and they'll clear your name in the public sphere. How do you think politicians and too-big-to-fail corporations like Monsanto get away with what they do?
You can also kill the Flaming Fist who is looking for Samuel to get a rep drop. He attacks you if you pick the right/wrong conversation options, so again, it could be self-defense.
Basically you can rep up to 18-20, then get Viconia or Dorn, or both, then rep up to 18 again, then kill the FF on Samuel map, drop to 8. Rep back up to 18, kill the paladin in BG, drop to 8. Rep back up to 18 should take you through most of the rest of the game, depending on your quest choices and charisma.
This method allows you to get almost 30 rep points across the game w/o having the micro-manage your rep with thieving and bribing too much, if at all.
Edit: Just be careful about when you drop your rep - you may want to make sure you have done your Chapter dream first if you want all the "good" dream abilities.
I'm confused. Peter of the North attacked my group, for starters, and I don't remember a REP hit. Anyway, in my game, I'm good with a few evil characters, mostly because it's a new approach for me. I usually play with Minsc, Jaheira their other halves, and Imoen. This time, I have Dorn (to experience his quest), Viconia (to see what all the fuss about her alleged awesomeness is about) and spent some time with Shar-Teel.
Making a mistake in Candlekeep, I ended up killing a guard and starting with low rep. It crept into the 15 range, before Dorn cut down an innocent. We've been hanging out in the nine range. Anyway, I haven't found the evil NPC's to be much (if any) of an upgrade. Minsc isn't quite as good as Dorn, but it's definitely close enough. Khalid is, with extra long sword stars, a fair trade for Shar-Teel. I didn't see much difference between Branwen and Viconia (unfair to compare to Jaheira, who's double-classed).
Anyway, I'm enjoying the different feel of this game. I didn't have room for Coran, or Safana, so I still have untried NPC's and approaches.
well...and i'm not proud of this. i had dorn in the party, we hit 18 rep and he left to FAI
so i murdered mr. "so hard to find, decent folk nowadays"
yes thantalyr, it is
but on the bright side -10 rep, back to 10 rep! i can picture the puzzlement on dorn's face, "you were too goody-good for me, but then it was like I felt a great disturbance, as if a voice suddenly cried out in terror, and was suddenly silenced. I hope something terrible has happened. Let's go!"
Peter of the North is breeding Wyverns as guards for the Cloakwood Mines for the Iron Throne. There should be no rep hit.
I think artificial_sunlight means the person who gives you the Boots of the North, who is an innocent running from a polar bear, and just confused him with Peter of the North due to the boots' name
Peter of the North is breeding Wyverns as guards for the Cloakwood Mines for the Iron Throne. There should be no rep hit.
I think artificial_sunlight means the person who gives you the Boots of the North, who is an innocent running from a polar bear, and just confused him with Peter of the North due to the boots' name
His name is Mr. Polarbeartank, named after his favorite past time when charmed.
Anyway, I haven't found the evil NPC's to be much (if any) of an upgrade. Minsc isn't quite as good as Dorn, but it's definitely close enough. Khalid is, with extra long sword stars, a fair trade for Shar-Teel. I didn't see much difference between Branwen and Viconia (unfair to compare to Jaheira, who's double-classed).
IMO, the interesting part of the evil characters isn't that they are "better" but that they are more interesting, and many are more comic, such as Tiax, Edwin, or Xzar. Also, the truly interesting party is one with certain pairings that cause conflict. If you want to make Shar-Teel more fun, try adding Eldoth for a while. They have hilarious banters.
Sample: ELDOTH: Shar-Teel, your lot in life is to bake cookies and bear children, now shut up. SHARTEEL: Eldoth, you're an impotent, degenerate lout, who has delusions of male superiority.
Viconia is much more interesting in a party with Kivan.
Check out Mordeus' banter guide for a lot more detail about who to pair with who.
There's another option now that the Helmet of Opposite Alignment is legitimately ingame. Jam that on the head of your most evil party member and watch (laughing) as they lead a righteous crusade against wrongdoing.
There's another option now that the Helmet of Opposite Alignment is legitimately ingame. Jam that on the head of your most evil party member and watch (laughing) as they lead a righteous crusade against wrongdoing.
I used to play all-alignment runs of Baldur's Gate, if you'll accept the phrasing. I find it much more interesting to play mixed parties now though: 3 good, 2 neutral, 1 evil is often a composition I find myself pulling, or the inverse if my NPC alignment is evil rather than good or neutral. This is in both BG1 & BG2, I might add.
You get much more dynamic party banters this way, I find. You get plenty of intriguing conflict drama dialogue, and also a lot of humour. For example, including BG2's Paladin and Druid in the same party leads to a series of philosophical banters - and some surprisingly funny dialogue - that people who play all-good parties will always miss out on. Similarly, Viconia and Valygar, Jaheira and Nalia (in fact Jaheira and everybody), and everybody with Jan Jansen are all dialogues worth exploring and enjoying. It's always good to mix it up. Salad bowl, people!
As for how you manage it, that can be a little trickier. Come BG2, I guess you can use the Slayer form if you are desperate. In BG1 I found killing the Cloud Peak Dryad rather than protecting her tree was always a good shout with little ramifications, and arguably a bit more realistic than butchering a charmed civilian in the middle of Nashkel.
Comments
They whine. They whine all the day. T_T
Basically you can rep up to 18-20, then get Viconia or Dorn, or both, then rep up to 18 again, then kill the FF on Samuel map, drop to 8. Rep back up to 18, kill the paladin in BG, drop to 8. Rep back up to 18 should take you through most of the rest of the game, depending on your quest choices and charisma.
This method allows you to get almost 30 rep points across the game w/o having the micro-manage your rep with thieving and bribing too much, if at all.
Edit: Just be careful about when you drop your rep - you may want to make sure you have done your Chapter dream first if you want all the "good" dream abilities.
Making a mistake in Candlekeep, I ended up killing a guard and starting with low rep. It crept into the 15 range, before Dorn cut down an innocent. We've been hanging out in the nine range. Anyway, I haven't found the evil NPC's to be much (if any) of an upgrade. Minsc isn't quite as good as Dorn, but it's definitely close enough. Khalid is, with extra long sword stars, a fair trade for Shar-Teel. I didn't see much difference between Branwen and Viconia (unfair to compare to Jaheira, who's double-classed).
Anyway, I'm enjoying the different feel of this game. I didn't have room for Coran, or Safana, so I still have untried NPC's and approaches.
so i murdered mr. "so hard to find, decent folk nowadays"
yes thantalyr, it is
but on the bright side -10 rep, back to 10 rep! i can picture the puzzlement on dorn's face, "you were too goody-good for me, but then it was like I felt a great disturbance, as if a voice suddenly cried out in terror, and was suddenly silenced. I hope something terrible has happened. Let's go!"
Sample:
ELDOTH: Shar-Teel, your lot in life is to bake cookies and bear children, now shut up.
SHARTEEL: Eldoth, you're an impotent, degenerate lout, who has delusions of male superiority.
Viconia is much more interesting in a party with Kivan.
Check out Mordeus' banter guide for a lot more detail about who to pair with who.
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/12045/npc-interaction-and-banter-guide-ok-finished/p1
Finally Kivan will come over to the dark side.
You get much more dynamic party banters this way, I find. You get plenty of intriguing conflict drama dialogue, and also a lot of humour. For example, including BG2's Paladin and Druid in the same party leads to a series of philosophical banters - and some surprisingly funny dialogue - that people who play all-good parties will always miss out on. Similarly, Viconia and Valygar, Jaheira and Nalia (in fact Jaheira and everybody), and everybody with Jan Jansen are all dialogues worth exploring and enjoying. It's always good to mix it up. Salad bowl, people!
As for how you manage it, that can be a little trickier. Come BG2, I guess you can use the Slayer form if you are desperate. In BG1 I found killing the Cloud Peak Dryad rather than protecting her tree was always a good shout with little ramifications, and arguably a bit more realistic than butchering a charmed civilian in the middle of Nashkel.
"And somebody kick the Gnome!" is one of my favorites.