One of the Rare Rasaad Fans?
batjelly
Member Posts: 25
I don't see a lot of love for the monk, so thought I'd mention it. I'm doing my first good playthrough with Neera and Rasaad all the way. When I do chaotic evil next, I'll take Dorn.
Having fun with Rasaad came as a surprise to me. When I first read about him, I thought, ugh, another romanceable lawful good human (don't we already have Anomen?), pity us girls. I've never played a monk though, so he was recruited. Since I also bought BG:EE on iPad, he was the only NPC available.
Though he's squishy in BG:EE, I think he's epic in BG2:EE! Now we're in TOB and his AC is down to -17. With all his resistances, I send him into the heart of all my battles along with all the AOE spells.
After Dragon Age, Skyrim et al, it's not easy to create NPCs without annoying or cheesy lines, so I really appreciate his polite soundset. And the accent! Him being romantically retarded is rather cute (sorry Aerie, just stick with Haerdalis). I love making him the butt of all CHARNAME's jokes by selecting the third dialogue options during his quests.
Rasaad aside, I'm also loving Neera! She's the life of my party in BG2:EE! Sometimes she's the only mage I have to rely on ... maybe that's why I have so many random NPC deaths ... I'm definitely going to download her on iPad or simply purchase the PC version as well for BG:EE. Oh, I have to say that, unfortunately, the game is not meant to be played on tablets. Too buggy. I'd only recommend the iPad version for traveling, since it loads so quickly and you can easily swap between apps.
THANK YOU though to the developers for reviving BG, whatever device they're on! I'll still buy all of them!
Having fun with Rasaad came as a surprise to me. When I first read about him, I thought, ugh, another romanceable lawful good human (don't we already have Anomen?), pity us girls. I've never played a monk though, so he was recruited. Since I also bought BG:EE on iPad, he was the only NPC available.
Though he's squishy in BG:EE, I think he's epic in BG2:EE! Now we're in TOB and his AC is down to -17. With all his resistances, I send him into the heart of all my battles along with all the AOE spells.
After Dragon Age, Skyrim et al, it's not easy to create NPCs without annoying or cheesy lines, so I really appreciate his polite soundset. And the accent! Him being romantically retarded is rather cute (sorry Aerie, just stick with Haerdalis). I love making him the butt of all CHARNAME's jokes by selecting the third dialogue options during his quests.
Rasaad aside, I'm also loving Neera! She's the life of my party in BG2:EE! Sometimes she's the only mage I have to rely on ... maybe that's why I have so many random NPC deaths ... I'm definitely going to download her on iPad or simply purchase the PC version as well for BG:EE. Oh, I have to say that, unfortunately, the game is not meant to be played on tablets. Too buggy. I'd only recommend the iPad version for traveling, since it loads so quickly and you can easily swap between apps.
THANK YOU though to the developers for reviving BG, whatever device they're on! I'll still buy all of them!
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Comments
He's my favorite of the new NPCs, though I also really really like Neera. I love how he fits in perfectly with the rest of the cast. He really feels like a Bioware NPC in a very good way, and fits into the world seamlessly, despite being a unique class. His soundset and the writing help in this regard. I appreciate that a lot. I think he succeeds at complementing the cast because he doesn't try too hard to be the newest unique snowflake, while still being different enough (kitted monk with his own new adventures) to stand out to a degree.
Its weird that we seem to be in the minority. I found Rasaad to be the most interesting one of the new NPCs, along with Neera, since his conflict is relatable. Where I find Dorn and Hexxat kinda simple in their desires, Rasaad's needs and motivations are more complex. Even Neera is a kind of character many have seen before (the sorcerer in Neverwinter Nights 2 reminds me of her a bit, though I only briefly played that game).
The problem here is,as you said, it is difficult to write characters that are interesting without sounding cheesy (I think some of Neera's lines like "chill out" are a bit out of place and cheesy). Some cheese is good for comic relief (like Minsc and Jan!) but in order to take a character seriously this can not go too far. I think Bioware did a good job in this regard with Keldorn, who was a character who could very easily have fallen into all the common stereotypes about paladins, yet was written well as a straight crusading hero without needing a bunch of quirks and eccentricities to be interesting.
The fact that Beamdog can do the same with a character years later speaks volumes about their abilities. I really hope they take on another different kind of character, like a barbarian or a bard, for a downloadable content NPC.
I love how Rasaad doesn't need to be too edgy or too goofy to still be loveable and memorable.
While he was one of the last NPCs I recruited for my party (I think I got Anomen, Keldorn and I think maybe even Valygar first) he's equal to everyone but my PC in kills. I noticed he still takes plenty of hits, but that's because he and my PC would reach the "party" before everyone else did. The only issues they have combined (early ToB, just got to Saradush) is the major things like Level Drain and Imprisonment. Poor Anomen is always stuck having to use his lesser restorations and always be exhausted.
In hindsight, Anomen with the Boots of Speed would have been a better option.
All things considered, keep an eye out in the next few days. I'm debating when I want to right my Wizard Slayer Retrospective (with things I've learned etc) and Rasaad, being of a similar use + my characters romance, will have a decent section about him.
PS: Rasaad also makes me wanna roll a PC Monk (prolly either unkitted or DMM), to experience what one with great stats would be like. I expect the babysitting won't be as bad, or at least I hope so.
So... Keldorn, Valygar and a Wizard Slayer PC? Your party HATES magic
Its interesting that you would put yourself through the struggle of using a wizard slayer. I actually always thought that wizard slayer would be a more fitting class for Valygar than stalker, considering his character. Is a wizard slayer really as bad as they say it is?
If you plan/know what you're doing ahead of time and know what you are? BGEE was rather fun, but I wish I'd gotten points into Dual-Wield sooner. Too many others NPCs make better tanks than a WS due to various BGEE equipment, that the wizard slayer can't. That said, if you stick a wizard slayer on any caster that can't cast Level 6 Arcane spells or higher, you can effectively ignore them with the rest of your party, provided you have a True Sight or other illusion dispel running (invis purge in a nice handy one).
Sorry, I'll keep this brief actually, so I can save most of it for the topic.
BGEE: Bad? Not really, irritating when you start seeing some of the magic items you CAN'T equip that would make you more effective at your job, but still letting you giggle when casters are stuck on repeated spell failure.
BG2EE: I think the 10-15 range is the real sweet spot for Wizard Slayers, but as you get higher and you get closer and closer to HLAs, Carsomyr, etc you really do need mages and/or Keldorn in order to do anything. I ran without a mage once I picked up Rasaad, and couldn't do any dragons or anything until I got Imoen back for my party. Imoen and Keldorn really make me feel superfolous in the grand scheme. That said, more detail will be coming in the thread. Debating if I want to make it a 3 part thread (BGEE, BG2EE and BGTOBEE) or not, simply because I feel that they each have different points to them.
I do like Rasaad but his quests in ToB need to redone as it feels like the DM just wanted to finish the story but didn't write a good ending.
At this level and with all the magical items, base stats don't really matter anymore. Rasaad was like a madman tanking his way through the new scenery and neverending battles without any babysitting other than pointing him at the right target.
Story-wise, it probably wouldn't have bothered me so much if he had been just another NPC with a sarky attitude. Seriously, he's one of the most pleasant, genuinely nice characters, especially in BG2. Despite his own internal demons, he's quite the saint to our dysfunctional party members, even kind to Viconia, and that means a lot if you consider her romance conflict in TOB and how differently everyone else sees her. You just want the best closure for such a nice guy.