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Your favorite NPC for personality alone? + NPC mods discussion

QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
Not a power-gaming discussion.

Which Baldur's Gate 1 NPC is your favorite for their personality, character, et cetera? You can list out, say, three or even five if you want. Explain yourself and your reasoning if you'd like!

[ This is for research purposes, to be real. As the BG1 NPCs are rather shallow (not flat, but shallow), I am finding it rather difficult to write inter party dialogue for my NPC mod without breaking the character of existing NPCs, which is the last thing I wish to do. I will likely be private messaging people about the characters that they like, in the assumption that they are familiar with the characters they like. I have no preference discussing such things with people who have played the BG1 NPC Mod and those who haven't. ]
Post edited by Quartz on
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Comments

  • SharGuidesMyHandSharGuidesMyHand Member Posts: 2,579
    edited April 2015
    Safana - Charming, seductive, playful, and manipulative - the ultimate man-trap.

    Kivan - Basically Clint Eastwood with a bow.

    Viconia - Probably my favorite persona in the game - a charming, mysterious, and even somewhat seductive veneer, but with flashes of something sinister underneath (I hate how BG2 basically turned her into just a nasty, loud-mouth b*tch).

    Shar-Teel - The man-hating ultra-feminist.

    Dynaheir - I can't exactly explain why I like her - something about her arrogance and dominering personality I suppose (ironically, the very reasons that most people dislike her).

    Although I do play using certain components of the BG Project (i.e: relocating NPCs, certain romances), I don't like the main component that adds banters to all of the NPCs, because I prefer that many of them remain mysterious and allow you to form your own interpretations of them.

    Post edited by SharGuidesMyHand on
    QuartzJuliusBorisovdunbarBelgarathMTH
  • MhamzaMhamza Member Posts: 228
    Yeslick and Kivan. Two revenge driven NPCs but are yet so very different. I like Kivan mainly because of the same reason already stated above and Yeslick because of his solemness and his quiet dignity in spite of everything that's happened to him.
    BlackravenQuartzJuliusBorisov
  • CaptRoryCaptRory Member Posts: 1,660
    Viconia and Alora are my favorites, especially in the same party. I never really used Edwin or Yeslick so I can't speak about them.

    I love that Viconia is in a really dire place. Yes, she's evil. Yes, she's a Drow. But she isn't actually guilty of anything which I feel is a very important qualifier to be summarily executed. Then in the second game she's romanceable and redeemable, I love taking her with a human paladin. (+20 Double Entendre Points)

    Alora has this adorable bubbly personality and she's fun to have around and her banters play off of Viconia.
    JuliusBorisovdunbar
  • Son_of_ImoenSon_of_Imoen Member Posts: 1,806
    Xan - as he's so much like me

    Alora - her cheerfulness often lifts my mood
    Fiendish_WarriorJuliusBorisovBelgarathMTH
  • JarrakulJarrakul Member Posts: 2,029
    Jaheira: She's stubborn, no-nonsense, strongly moral, and has a tongue so sharp it should do slashing damage.

    Minsc: Come on. It's Minsc. Do I really have to explain?

    Mazzy: Her unfailing nobility and politeness is kind of inspiring, honestly.
    NonnahswriterJuliusBorisovBelgarathMTHFenghoang
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Fhjull Forked-Tongue will always be my number one. Can't beat that poisonous mouth of his!




    On second place comes Ravel Puzzlewell. Closely followed by Nordom Whistleklik.

    But if we're stricktly speaking about the Baldur's Gate franchise here, then my vote for the NPC with my favourite personality traits goes to Narcillicus Harwilliger Neen.
    Montresor_SP
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited April 2015
    Kivan. For (as SharGuidesMyHand pointed out) being basically Clint Eastwood with a bow :)
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    Very interesting reads so far! Thank you. :)

    For clarification, I am making a NPC mod … the character is going to have a few discussions with the existing NPCs, thus what I said.

    I personally am definitely in the Xzar, Kivan, Xan boat.
    elminsterjackjackMortiannaJuliusBorisov
  • toolargtoolarg Member Posts: 179
    edited April 2015
    Shar-Teel: She's basically "twitter feminist: the NPC". It's kinda funny, maybe she's based on Valerie Solanas, the freak that tried to kill Andy Warhol.
    Keldorn: it's good to have a battle hardened old wise man by your side.
    Jan: I like his stories.
    MortiannaJuliusBorisov
  • jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
    Always and forever Xzar!
    QuartzJuliusBorisovMortianna
  • GallowglassGallowglass Member Posts: 3,356
    It's a difficult choice, but of the BG1 NPCs I rather like Branwen. She's honest, reliable, honourable ... I like those qualities IRL, and I like them in-game too.
    CaptRorySharGuidesMyHandQuartzJuliusBorisov
  • SchneidendSchneidend Member Posts: 3,190
    Jaheira. Her "oh omnipresent authority figure" line has been tickling my funny bone since I was a kid.
    CaptRoryJuliusBorisovFenghoang
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    I like many characters, from the personality point of view. Xzar, Montaron, Shar-Teel, Dorn, Jaheira, Yoshimo, Jan Jansen, Kivan, Yeslick...

    But if I'm asked which character is the closest to what I think is my own personality, I'd say ... Haer'Dalis.

    Haer'Dalis has a view on life that could be described as, "If the world is destined to one day end, why not enjoy it while you can?"

    As a lover of flight and freedom Haer'Dalis hates slavery and being enslaved with an unholy passion.

    So, a bard, a poet, a vagabond, constantly wandering from one place (in his case, one plane) to another in search of fun, adventure, chaos, and entropy...
    wubbleBelgarathMTH
  • wubblewubble Member Posts: 3,156
    When I was a kid I would have said Minsc without hesitation (because of pure buttkicking awesomeness).

    I guess I'm still a child at heart. :smiley:
    CaptRory
  • dunbardunbar Member Posts: 1,603
    Viconia. It's difficult for me to find a reason not to include her in my party and I've picked her as a travelling companion more than any other npc. Obviously she's not easy to find early in BG1 and I certainly don't pick her for her stats, I just find her character fascinating, challenging and very 'real' (and I've learnt by now how to use her as a very effective party member).
    QuartzCaptRory
  • recklessheartrecklessheart Member Posts: 692
    Dynaheir is excellent. She is a good-aligned character, yet is flawed 3-dimensionally with an obviously haughty and presumptuous personality as a result of her esteemed standing in Rasheman as a 'witch'. Due to her social and cultural heritage, it would make sense that Dynaheir would speak down to others or expect finer things for herself, even while she endeavours to do good things in her quest.

    Jaheira is awesome, but if you need reference for that, I would look to Baldur's Gate 2, and then remember that she was probably even more hard-line and less self-reflective about her views in BG1 because she hadn't faced the hardship of losing her husband.
    QuartzCaptRory
  • HeindrichHeindrich Member, Moderator Posts: 2,959
    @bengoshi Quartz asked about BG1 NPCs. ;p

    That said, all the BG1 NPCs are pretty much silent, like an empty canvass, without the BG1NPC mod and/or what you learn about them in BG2.

    But focusing on BG1 here and taking the BG1NPC mod content into consideration, my favourite companion is probably Yeslick and his interaction with Imoen. I know some people find Imoen to be annoying, immature, playful etc... but that is how I think of her at the start of BG1. She is a sheltered (in some respects) teenage girl who hasn't undergone the life threatening and traumatizing events about to unfold. So Yeslick being a "grandpa" figure and generally being grim (he has experienced a lot of crap already), determined and wise (he is the oldest in the party by quite a margin) seemed to fit very well.
    JuliusBorisovBelgarathMTH
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    Heindrich said:

    @bengoshi Quartz asked about BG1 NPCs. ;p

    I still think that I can reflect my view on one of BG2 NPCs because he represents the traits I like in the NPC.

    Also, @Jarrakul mentioned Mazzy , @toolarg mentioned Keldorn and Jan here:)
  • shawneshawne Member Posts: 3,239
    Most of BG1's NPCs have the same core problem: there's content in the game that could have helped them defy the stereotypes they seem to present, but without the added depth of something like BG1NPC, they never get the opportunity.

    Shar-Teel, for example, is very much the "man-hating she-beast", but then you find out her father is Angelo and you wonder if she might actually have a reason to think the way she does, but you never find that out. Xzar and Montaron seem to hate each other almost as much as they hate Harpers, but if you take Xzar's "I never loved you!" at face value (which, admittedly, it's Xzar) then there's something more to that dynamic. Edwin comes off as pure cliche - pompous, blustering, full of himself - but the encounter with the Red Wizards in the eastern forest shows you how low in the food chain he really is.

    Also, I've always had ambivalent feelings about Imoen: mechanically, she's the flattest character in the game simply because she was implemented last and has the fewest opportunities to really express herself (this is where the value of BG1NPC can't be overstated). At the same time, I feel like she could've been the hero of her own story if not for CHARNAME; and, in fact, if you were going to canonize "Baldur's Gate" as a linear narrative, she would've made a much better protagonist than Abdel Adrian...
    BelgarathMTHJarrakulQuartzLoldrup
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    Garrick: Happily young and naive. He is a character that is ready to explore the world and have it mold him into who he is suppose to be.

    Branwen: Warrior cleric who is in admiration of her God. Embraces Violence, but still level headed with a good redemption plot woven in.

    Coran: mostly because he is one of he most fleshed out characters already in the original with a couple of quest, but he is definately a swashbuckling adventurer. He is Garrick after a few misadventure years.
    BelgarathMTHQuartzGrumJuliusBorisov
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    edited April 2015
    Certainly some interesting reads thus far, keep it going … Thank you!

    (Sidenote: @bengoshi , why follow suit with people who were too lazy to read the first post? :P )

    I guess another problem is regarding the BG1 NPC mod. Some people are ardently in favor of its use at all times, while others go without because it interprets a character in a way they do not like, and others still like both with and without. Point being: I want to craft my mod such that I include a few interactions between my character and the other NPCs -- and I want to do it such that if someone downloads my mod without the BG1 NPC project installed, it is not glaring. On the other hand, I want to do it such that if someone has the BG1 NPC project installed, my character doesn't seem like the quiet one.

    So I'm looking for some input on this front. What does the happy medium look like? What would people like? Should I just go along with the BG1 NPC project, assuming most people who will download my NPC mod will have that installed as well? (I must admit I don't like the idea of leaving "vanilla" players in the dark.)

    (Sidenote: this thread http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/33414/thoughts-on-npc-project-mod is veryyyyy interesting, thank you @SharGuidesMyHand )
    Post edited by Quartz on
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  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100
    Yeslick.

    He's suffered so much, but he really takes it in stride. He warns against senseless violence, refuses to directly attack Rieltar (even though that one man personally betrayed him), likely because it isn't the wise thing to do. He never complains, wines, moans, or publicly feels sorry for himself. He is just there, helping his friends and comrades, and offering sage advice (and some mining songs) when needed.

    A must for any good-aligned party!


    Personally I think that the canon party should be:

    Imoen (you are forced to meet her)
    Jaheira and Khalid (Gorion, his note, and Elminster all tell you to go meet them!)
    Xan (you find him in the Nashkel mines, and his plot is about uncovering the iron throne)
    Yeslick (you find him in the cloakwood mines, and he has more than enough reason to take down the iron throne)
    Quartz[Deleted User]JuliusBorisov
  • MortiannaMortianna Member Posts: 1,356
    Quartz said:

    Very interesting reads so far! Thank you. :)

    For clarification, I am making a NPC mod … the character is going to have a few discussions with the existing NPCs, thus what I said.

    That's cool, too. ^.^ My desire for an alternate BG1 NPC mod with different dialogues must have clouded my interpretation of your OP.

    So, any hints on the class of the NPC you're making?
    QuartzJuliusBorisov
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  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    edited April 2015
    @Grum I whole-heartedly agree with that canon party.

    BG1 NPCs are memorable -- not deep. :3

    Kivan and Xan are my favourites. They're both on missions and I can only imagine how they must feel. They also both never give up (despite Xan implying he wants to).

    You could always make 2 versions of the mod? One with appropriate amounts of dialogue for BG1 (ie. a very small amount) and one with lots of dialogue for the fan fiction version.

    It's always interesting when a post has three very separate clauses and I actually agree with all three!

    Yes, I am definitely considering the two-version approach. This would allow me the most artistic freedom, I suppose, while still having a good result that doesn't rub people the wrong way.
    Mortianna said:

    That's cool, too. ^.^ My desire for an alternate BG1 NPC mod with different dialogues must have clouded my interpretation of your OP.

    So, any hints on the class of the NPC you're making?

    Filling in a few holes. There isn't a Good-aligned bard. Two bard kits are not represented.
    GrumJuliusBorisovMortianna
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