Safana and NPC Project
Yamcha
Member Posts: 486
in BG:EE Mods
This is an NPC I never recruited before (normally Imoen fills the thief slot), so I kicked Kivan out in her favour.
So far I'm not impressed, she's weak and as I already have 2 thieves in my party, she has no access to the good stuff.
She's trying hard to support the grp with her 2 traps and ranged battle though,
But the real disappointment are the banters. A tiny dialog after completing the pirate cave, and no other interactions since then.
I'm running with Imoen, Viconia, Neera and Kagain.
Is anything good still coming, or is she the red headed stepchild of the NPC-P ?
So far I'm not impressed, she's weak and as I already have 2 thieves in my party, she has no access to the good stuff.
She's trying hard to support the grp with her 2 traps and ranged battle though,
But the real disappointment are the banters. A tiny dialog after completing the pirate cave, and no other interactions since then.
I'm running with Imoen, Viconia, Neera and Kagain.
Is anything good still coming, or is she the red headed stepchild of the NPC-P ?
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Haven't really used her that much as I can't seem to bring myself to boot Imoen of my party after I started using the NPC project.
She is my favourite NPC, but I sometimes feel she gets left out a lot, lol. I like her character archetype
The NPC Project is such a great mod (probably my favourite mod for BGEE), and I dont want to insinuate that I am not satisfied, because really I love it.
I just thought I would ask about Safana seeing as I like her so much and her role appears to be extended in SoD, maybe she could get a bit more banter or a quest in BGEE through the NPC Project?
*Crosses finger*
Can you link it?
http://www.davelevy.info/Downloads/mBN_RG_SharTeel.html
I will go search, though- I could have sworn someone had a Safana romance. Perhaps it was one of those ones that never got out of the "help I can't seem to figure out dialog syntax" stages. I will poke about and see what I can find in the archives.
I have two words for them - and those words are not "merry christmas". Welcome to the interwebz.
On the Safana front, I am sorry to report no luck.
I did find out *why* Safana gets left out - her story arc is already "ended" in BG2, so the only folks dealing with her deal with her through Coran. So I think the modders who have dealt with things only set her up as a foil to their PC<>Coran romances; I see mostly BG2 stuff. No BG1 stuff. I have references in my archives to two attempts to start BG Safana content-addition mods, but neither got past the draft stage before being dropped - in one case, the person moved on to other games, and in the other I think the writer decided it just was not a character that most folk would use. They cited the dexterity factor and having both Imoen and Safana seemed unlikely.
Sounds like it might be something you might like to try writing, though - lots of great inspirational materials to draw from out there for this trope. I say go for it - writing is an interesting challenge. Just write for your own fun, and there are plenty of us around to help you code it into the game.
That said, there's a grain of truth to the notion that some mods are simply better-written than others: characters like Tsujatha and Saerileth are deeply, fundamentally problematic in ways that have nothing to do with "Baldur's Gate", while someone like Kelsey or Valen is - at the very least - better-suited to the game they're meant to be participating in.
One example that always helps me consider the differences is ToB epilogues; compare the length of Viconia's romance ending
to, say, one of Isra's (random example, no offense meant to Rhaella):
Sometimes there's wisdom in using ten words when the temptation is to use twenty. I understand why it happens - NPC mods are every bit the modder's character as their Bhaalspawn, and I can imagine it's difficult not to just gush endlessly about their adventures - but at the same time, this is part of why so many of them are seen as subpar. It's not so bad to leave some things to the imagination...
What you said does make sense, it's a pity but I can understand why Safana isn't focused on.
I honestly don't think I have the skills to write anything half way decent, lol...I have exactly 0 creative bones in my body xD
Longer discussion here because I am just poking around, but it is thread-cluttering so spoilered...
I don't have a problem with folks posting actual reviews, or even saying what they don't like about a mod. I don't tend to, simply because I know that even the worst mod out there took someone trying something new, whacking their head against the wall repeatedly to get it to install, then to get it to work... Fanfic and NPC stuff often does fall victim to self-insertion, MarySue|Stu, taking over the story, etc. And the "less is more" that pro writers (sometimes) learn is tough to expect from fan writing (the derivation of fan is from fanatic, I think).
It was just is tough to see folks making assumptions about a person's worth or sanity because they wrote something and shared it. I even agree with some of the stuff that I ran into. My answer is to just not play the mod; no harm no foul!
I should remember that for some folks, "having fun" involves the same behaviors found in GenChat in any MMORPG.
@Madrict - no worries - it was fun to research the "old days". As far as "0 creative bones', the thing is, you might surprise yourself. But I do understand. I can't write lines or banters for the NPC's I don't really get into.