Best NPCs for my character concept
sffrrrom
Member Posts: 60
Okay, I'm planning a playthrough of BGII:EE with a human F "Neutral" Ken->Mage. For purposes of RP, assume she's a F/M; I just don't like how F/Ms work in general and esp. in non-solo run throughs.
The character concept occurred to me as I was driving one day, and I thought that despite the fact that BGII comes off, to me at least, as a fairly light-hearted game, its really pretty dark. Maybe this is because while I love the isometric presentation, it does rely on the writing to convey pretty much all the emotions in - I don't really feel too upset by Irenicus torturing me in the beginning. Now Rielev on the other hand scares the bejeezus out of me.
Anyway, I tried to come up with a character concept that started with a relatively blank slate at the start of BG 1, and see how they would feel at the start of BGII, and I realized, man does a lot of terrible stuff happen to the PC.
Spoilers, obviously.
1. Gorion gets brutally murdered in front of you and you flee in terror and desire not to be similarly chest ventilated.
2. If I remember correctly, the first people you're likely to meet after Imoen are Xzar and Montaron...Um, yeah. Plus, even if you like them, they meet a not-so-great fate in BGII at the hands of Harpers.
3. Assassins hound you constantly throughout much of BG1.
4. Khalid and Jaheira join you (so you get some guidance/replacement parental figures; hey, a positive event!).
5. IIRC a whole bunch of Candlekeep people you grew up with get murdered and replaced by dopplegangers, which is enough all by itself to **** with your mind.
6. At least temporarily, you're framed and arrested in BG and have to cooperate with a child-murderer and perhaps worse to escape, thus helping him escape.
7. BG culminates in you killing, in a brutal knock-down drag out brawl, your "brother."
Oh, and by the way, all of this happens to you because you're the spawn of the God of Murder which, by the way, you had zero choice in.
Then, BG II opens with:
1. You being kidnapped and tortured.
2. One half of your pseudo parental replacement being tortured to death (whoops, so much for that positive event!).
3. Your (theoretically) constant childhood companion, who made it all the way through the assassins and other stuff in BG, being at best kidnapped and imprisoned.
So I'm guessing by this point the PC is seriously messed up. I can't see them realistically being any kind of "good" figure, unless they really are a hero/saint; they just have zero constancy in their life and terrible things keep happening to them, besides an inborn desire to basically murder. So while I'm not designing a deliberately evil character, I do see the PC as someone, by BGII, with a lot of bitterness and hate, serious trust issues, and a temper, and someone who starts to believe the only thing they're good at is killing - and maybe starts to embrace that.
As an example, I don't see the PC as the type to, say participate in poisoning the Druids; why would she, there's nothing in it for her, really, and surely the bad-guy whose name escapes me there can't be trusted, and is condescending besides. The PC would do everything possible to get back Garrick's kid, just to spit in Firkraag's face as much as possible. But the PC also would probably not give two damns about Hendak, or the cursed Amaunator people, and would gut Mencar Pebblecrusher.
Now, given that concept, what NPCs do you think would make sense?
Imoen: Definitely a connection and trust there, and I think it would make sense the PC would feel motivated to rescue her. But I'm not sure exactly what mindset the PC would be in by the time she makes it to her. Plus there's the part where she has no content for all the stuff pre Ch 4. Is her dialogue in ToB fixed by EE?
Minsc: Nope. PC has no patience for a deranged do-gooder ranger w/ miniature giant space hamster.
Jaheira: This one is interesting to me. Potential love interest (with tweak, obv), that might make sense if I also use a mod to allow me to choose some of the harsher options without breaking it. Wouldn't be the most stable of romances, but the PC isn't exactly stable. Plus I think the harper quests and possible responses really fit in the well with the theme of the PC. But Jaheira, despite her alignment, is really a goody-two-shoes.
Yoshimo: Well, the PC has trust issues, so I'm not quite sure why she'd let him come along given the meeting circumstances. But the mid-game twist would fit delightfully; might be worth it just for that.
Aerie: Lulz.
Anomen: My PC would absolutely murder him. Actually, is there an option that leads to violence at all with him in his initial dialogues? IIRC he just leaves. Pity.
Edwin: Personally, I think he's hilarious, and my PC might too. I don't know that he fits or doesn't fit, but he's definitely a potential inclusion.
HD: Ehhh...I don't my PC would ever really allow him to join? PC might murder the wizard, grab the stone, help with the portal, and maybe even (bit of a stretch) go after them out of anger when they're snatched, but that's about it.
Jan: No. PC has no time for turnip peddlers. PC will probably have his ass thrown in jail.
Keldorn: Super-lulz.
Korgan: Hm. I like that he's uncomplicated and a nasty killing machine. But he also has a nasty habit of gutting his own teammates. But he fits the PCs temperament pretty closely. But maybe too closely?
Nalia: Must...resist...urge to murder...right away. Must...get quest...then murder Countess...then murder Nalia...so hard not to murder immediately...
Viconia: This one is another difficult call. PC might see her as a kindred spirit, always being betrayed. But drow are notoriously untrustworthy. But PC would have some guarantee of trustworthiness since everyone else wants to burn her at the stake. As much as I'd like a cleric, I think she might not make the cut.
Cernd: No. Stop talking like that.
Mazzy: Super-duper lulz. I'm not entirely sure I can even think of a reason my PC would want to do the Umar questline at all; PC isn't motivated by altruism or greed, and Shade Lord hasn't shafted her in any way, so...
Valygar: I kind of thought this might make sense; he's a pretty edgy dude, plus the PC would definitely side with him over the CW after she finds out what a crap job she's been given. But he hates wizards, and really would NOT trust the PC. (Plus, I find him to not have very much personality; I feel like he has fewer banters or something).
Rasaad: Haven't played with him, but doesn't seem like he'd work. But maybe? I don't know enough about him. Definitely would conflict with some evil characters, I'm guessing.
Neera: No, just did a duo run with her (was a lot of fun; there were probably some spiders).
Dorn: I really like his voice acting, and haven't tried him out, and would like to. He's a wee bit snuper-evil for the PC, who might balk at the initial quest. I also don't know how the romance would potentially fit. I'm guessing that aside from the initial quest, most of his reactions/interjections might suit the PC well.
Hexxat: Also haven't tried her much. Well, the initial recruiting is a bit of a stretch, because it's sort of manipulative. But I guess it isn't really, so much as preys on the PCs curiosity. And other than that I have to imagine they'd get along well and I think her quest probably fits the right themes. No idea about romance.
Mr. ToB: With geas, mos' def.
So that leaves me with Imoen, Yoshi, Jaheira, Edwin, Korgan, Viccy, Dorn, and Hexxat as potentials. Imoen and Yoshi can be swapped, and Imoen and Mr. ToB come late. I wouldn't have both Viccy and Jaheira, and I might not even have either.
So does anyone whose played with the new NPCs more or just remembers particular banters, etc., have some thoughts as to who goes best?
The character concept occurred to me as I was driving one day, and I thought that despite the fact that BGII comes off, to me at least, as a fairly light-hearted game, its really pretty dark. Maybe this is because while I love the isometric presentation, it does rely on the writing to convey pretty much all the emotions in - I don't really feel too upset by Irenicus torturing me in the beginning. Now Rielev on the other hand scares the bejeezus out of me.
Anyway, I tried to come up with a character concept that started with a relatively blank slate at the start of BG 1, and see how they would feel at the start of BGII, and I realized, man does a lot of terrible stuff happen to the PC.
Spoilers, obviously.
1. Gorion gets brutally murdered in front of you and you flee in terror and desire not to be similarly chest ventilated.
2. If I remember correctly, the first people you're likely to meet after Imoen are Xzar and Montaron...Um, yeah. Plus, even if you like them, they meet a not-so-great fate in BGII at the hands of Harpers.
3. Assassins hound you constantly throughout much of BG1.
4. Khalid and Jaheira join you (so you get some guidance/replacement parental figures; hey, a positive event!).
5. IIRC a whole bunch of Candlekeep people you grew up with get murdered and replaced by dopplegangers, which is enough all by itself to **** with your mind.
6. At least temporarily, you're framed and arrested in BG and have to cooperate with a child-murderer and perhaps worse to escape, thus helping him escape.
7. BG culminates in you killing, in a brutal knock-down drag out brawl, your "brother."
Oh, and by the way, all of this happens to you because you're the spawn of the God of Murder which, by the way, you had zero choice in.
Then, BG II opens with:
1. You being kidnapped and tortured.
2. One half of your pseudo parental replacement being tortured to death (whoops, so much for that positive event!).
3. Your (theoretically) constant childhood companion, who made it all the way through the assassins and other stuff in BG, being at best kidnapped and imprisoned.
So I'm guessing by this point the PC is seriously messed up. I can't see them realistically being any kind of "good" figure, unless they really are a hero/saint; they just have zero constancy in their life and terrible things keep happening to them, besides an inborn desire to basically murder. So while I'm not designing a deliberately evil character, I do see the PC as someone, by BGII, with a lot of bitterness and hate, serious trust issues, and a temper, and someone who starts to believe the only thing they're good at is killing - and maybe starts to embrace that.
As an example, I don't see the PC as the type to, say participate in poisoning the Druids; why would she, there's nothing in it for her, really, and surely the bad-guy whose name escapes me there can't be trusted, and is condescending besides. The PC would do everything possible to get back Garrick's kid, just to spit in Firkraag's face as much as possible. But the PC also would probably not give two damns about Hendak, or the cursed Amaunator people, and would gut Mencar Pebblecrusher.
Now, given that concept, what NPCs do you think would make sense?
Imoen: Definitely a connection and trust there, and I think it would make sense the PC would feel motivated to rescue her. But I'm not sure exactly what mindset the PC would be in by the time she makes it to her. Plus there's the part where she has no content for all the stuff pre Ch 4. Is her dialogue in ToB fixed by EE?
Minsc: Nope. PC has no patience for a deranged do-gooder ranger w/ miniature giant space hamster.
Jaheira: This one is interesting to me. Potential love interest (with tweak, obv), that might make sense if I also use a mod to allow me to choose some of the harsher options without breaking it. Wouldn't be the most stable of romances, but the PC isn't exactly stable. Plus I think the harper quests and possible responses really fit in the well with the theme of the PC. But Jaheira, despite her alignment, is really a goody-two-shoes.
Yoshimo: Well, the PC has trust issues, so I'm not quite sure why she'd let him come along given the meeting circumstances. But the mid-game twist would fit delightfully; might be worth it just for that.
Aerie: Lulz.
Anomen: My PC would absolutely murder him. Actually, is there an option that leads to violence at all with him in his initial dialogues? IIRC he just leaves. Pity.
Edwin: Personally, I think he's hilarious, and my PC might too. I don't know that he fits or doesn't fit, but he's definitely a potential inclusion.
HD: Ehhh...I don't my PC would ever really allow him to join? PC might murder the wizard, grab the stone, help with the portal, and maybe even (bit of a stretch) go after them out of anger when they're snatched, but that's about it.
Jan: No. PC has no time for turnip peddlers. PC will probably have his ass thrown in jail.
Keldorn: Super-lulz.
Korgan: Hm. I like that he's uncomplicated and a nasty killing machine. But he also has a nasty habit of gutting his own teammates. But he fits the PCs temperament pretty closely. But maybe too closely?
Nalia: Must...resist...urge to murder...right away. Must...get quest...then murder Countess...then murder Nalia...so hard not to murder immediately...
Viconia: This one is another difficult call. PC might see her as a kindred spirit, always being betrayed. But drow are notoriously untrustworthy. But PC would have some guarantee of trustworthiness since everyone else wants to burn her at the stake. As much as I'd like a cleric, I think she might not make the cut.
Cernd: No. Stop talking like that.
Mazzy: Super-duper lulz. I'm not entirely sure I can even think of a reason my PC would want to do the Umar questline at all; PC isn't motivated by altruism or greed, and Shade Lord hasn't shafted her in any way, so...
Valygar: I kind of thought this might make sense; he's a pretty edgy dude, plus the PC would definitely side with him over the CW after she finds out what a crap job she's been given. But he hates wizards, and really would NOT trust the PC. (Plus, I find him to not have very much personality; I feel like he has fewer banters or something).
Rasaad: Haven't played with him, but doesn't seem like he'd work. But maybe? I don't know enough about him. Definitely would conflict with some evil characters, I'm guessing.
Neera: No, just did a duo run with her (was a lot of fun; there were probably some spiders).
Dorn: I really like his voice acting, and haven't tried him out, and would like to. He's a wee bit snuper-evil for the PC, who might balk at the initial quest. I also don't know how the romance would potentially fit. I'm guessing that aside from the initial quest, most of his reactions/interjections might suit the PC well.
Hexxat: Also haven't tried her much. Well, the initial recruiting is a bit of a stretch, because it's sort of manipulative. But I guess it isn't really, so much as preys on the PCs curiosity. And other than that I have to imagine they'd get along well and I think her quest probably fits the right themes. No idea about romance.
Mr. ToB: With geas, mos' def.
So that leaves me with Imoen, Yoshi, Jaheira, Edwin, Korgan, Viccy, Dorn, and Hexxat as potentials. Imoen and Yoshi can be swapped, and Imoen and Mr. ToB come late. I wouldn't have both Viccy and Jaheira, and I might not even have either.
So does anyone whose played with the new NPCs more or just remembers particular banters, etc., have some thoughts as to who goes best?
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Comments
Although...
Hexxat's rather trustworthy, I think. She openly "puts her life in your hands," so she's obviously risking a lot by sticking with you. Then again...
Also, is your PC a male or female? I'm pretty sure I read female, but the mention of romancing Jaheira confused me. Lol. Anyway, Hexxat's lesbian, so if you pick a female Charname, you'll get some extra content with her. I haven't played it yet though, so I'm unsure how it develops.
I think between Jaheira and Viconia, Jaheira would be the better option for this character. She's known Jaheira for most of her life and has shared many struggles with her, so a natural bond of trust has formed there. Viconia, on the other hand, is a notorious liar, and while she may have trust-issues of her own dealing with the surface-dwellers, she's still a stranger in comparison to Jaheira. Your PC knows little to nothing about her. I'd say rescue her from burning at the stake, but after that, she's on her own.
And the PC is female; was thinking about installing the tweak pack to let her romance Jaheira, but honestly, I don't want to romance her - I just think some of the content there would be a really good fit. Like the big meeting with all the harpers, where they try to imprison you because they think you're evil would fit well, I think. But the rest of the content really wouldn't. So forget that.
So I'm thinking PC, Jaheira, and Hexxat are definite. Hexxat sort of even has a commonality there, with being forcibly turned and then everyone hating her for what she is.
I'll add in Dorn until I decide he doesn't fit, since I really haven't tried him out. Whenever they make me choose, probably going with Hexxat, but try them both out until then.
That leaves two slots for Edwin, Korgan, or Yoshi. I know I want to add in Imoen, and that argues for Yoshi, and possibly against Edwin for balance reasons. Admittedly, my PC was pretty desperate when Yoshi popped up, and since then he hasn't proved untrustworthy.
So that leaves a decision. Korgan, or Edwin? Korgan fills a role better. They both betray their former partners/employers, making them both suspect. Edwin is funnier, and I'm kind of hoping he has some funny banters with Hexxat at least?
I'm running Dorn and Korgan in the frontline right now, and they tear things apart together. Depending on whether you want to keep your PC in the back casting spells or in the front melee-combat, you could choose either Edwin or Korgan to suit the opposite need. Thinking like your character, Edwin might be easier to keep tabs on than Korgan, since he mutters all his evil plans to overthrow you aloud. Plus you could always save Korgan for later if you decide to drop Dorn.
I'm starting to lean towards Korgan. I don't see why my PC would put up with Edwin's condescension.
Korgan would never kill any teammates provided they aren't weak/lose their usefulness, he actually states this in a banter. Of course that's also assuming they aren't goodies who would constantly annoy him, but that's not the case for this PC of yours.
Viconia's life has been saved by you TWICE, I sincerely doubt she would ever consider betraying you...she literally is a damn drow on the surface that has no one else to turn to, and betraying you would mean death to her.
Dorn wouldn't betray you provided you show him who's the man. Hexxat literally puts her life in your hands so yeah, trust.
And frankly, Jan's not chaotic neutral as in "constantly changing his actions based on what he feels like at the moment". I doubt he'd ever betray any pc provided you didn't anger him, which would take quite a lot. He is a bit too happy for your character I guess.
Edwin's the type of guy that would easily kill you all assuming it did not fit his goals anymore, and of course assuming he had the means to do so and a better offer somewhere else.
Right now I'm doing both Dorn and Hexxat's romances, since they haven't forced me to pick yet. On the whole I think I like Dorn slightly better, but if he actually does what Nonnah says my PC would absolutely execute him. So that doesn't bode well for his future. Only problem is I kind of don't want to have to abandon Hexxat's romance to get to that point, esp. if it's just gonna end with me beheading him. So I'll probably pix Hexxat and try to EEKeeper Dorn's romance to still be working.