Skip to content

The most natural BG2 protagonist

2»

Comments

  • MoonheartMoonheart Member Posts: 520
    edited March 2016
    I didn't read @JLee calling your concept stupid, or failing to offer his/her help, and it seems to me that he/she comprehended what you are trying to do fine, but just disagrees with you...because what you are trying to do is completely subjective based on another person's perception. Which is the point of this, and my previous post.

    I suggest you an experiment: try one time, when your girlfriend/wife is struggling to chose a robe for diner, to tell her "Anything would work. I feel you don't understand the raison d'etre of clothes"
    Then, look her face, and try to explain her you are trying to be helpful and you're not calling her stupid...

    If you want to extend the experiment, you can also try, once she started to express her "disagreement" on the help you are bringing, to explain her she's not being "excellent" toward you... and then after all those things, also try to convaince her to pursue the former idea to go diner outside...

    Post edited by Moonheart on
    Durenas
  • RaduzielRaduziel Member Posts: 4,714
    edited March 2016
    Nah.
    Post edited by Raduziel on
    Gotural
  • NuinNuin Member Posts: 451
    edited March 2016
    Somehow I always envisioned the canon PC as non-Lawful. Otherwise, I have no idea how he manages to stand being around an intelligent kleptomaniac sister, an ultra-strong berzerker who believes in the existence of imaginary animals plus his hyper assertive wychalarn charge, and a smartass druid and her fighter husband who jumps at just about anything,
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited March 2016
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
    Jarrakulbooinyoureyes
  • Tad_Has_A_Cold_OliveTad_Has_A_Cold_Olive Member Posts: 183
    Nuin wrote: »
    Somehow I always envisioned the canon PC as non-Lawful. Otherwise, I have no idea how he manages to stand being around an intelligent kleptomaniac sister, an ultra-strong berzerker who believes in the existence of imaginary animals plus his hyper assertive wychalarn charge, and a smartass druid and her fighter husband who jumps at just about anything,

    Well, someone's got to keep them all organized and pointed in the right direction.
    Philhelm
  • sluckerssluckers Member Posts: 280
    I think it's reasonable that the nature of Candlekeep could also provide incentive for charname to be totally different. If you spend your childhood couped up in a castle you might end up growing to resent it and try to forge your own way. Charname may devide they've had more than their fair share of buildings and walls and people and go the way of the beastmaster, existing in the wild. Or perhaps, never being a good student, charname strikes out on a journey of discovering the best in life, which is freedom, one night stands, self-determination and bonking heads. Thus a barbarian-like figure is born. And while much of charname's education comes from Gorion, there's nothing to eliminate the possibility that they took preference to learning from the many travelers who visited, particularly the regulars. Traveling monks, druids, rangers or anyone.

    Except for the shapeshifter. The only way I can see that working is if there was an incident with a strange wolf who somehow got into the courtyard. Charname, being young, went out to go see and pet the cute little doggy. Though the watchers did arrive to put old yeller down, charname was scratched.

    Then things started changing. Deepening voice, powerful new urges, hair growing in unexpected places... yep, charname got lycanthropy. Now, lycanthropy is kind of a big deal. It's not like a piece of spinach in your teeth that you can hide by shielding your mouth with your hand. People tend to notice the whole wolf thing.

    So Gorion, being dear old dad, contacted a friend in the Cloakwood to come down and help you out with your condition.
    dradam[Deleted User]Grum
  • UnderstandMouseMagicUnderstandMouseMagic Member Posts: 2,147
    Charname is 20yo when the game starts.
    That's not a child.

    What is Gorion offering, money or otherwise to the authorities who run Candlekeep, for this unproductive adult to carry on living at their leisure in Candlekeep?

    If you are going for realism, then consideration has to be given as to how Charname will be expected to earn a living post Gorion.

    Unless Charname is going to inherit.
    Is Gorion rich?

    Grummashedtaters
  • MoonheartMoonheart Member Posts: 520
    Every class can be explained and justified. But more you have to stretch the story, and invent external events to justify it, less it's "natural"
    Grumsemiticgoddess
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    @UnderstandMouseMagic You already started the game with at least 100 gp and get filthy rich very soon. Even the 100 gp would be enough to live for a year or more.
  • dradamdradam Member Posts: 9
    NB: I'm primarily addressing the Monk being an 'unnatural choice' of main character which I've seen here and in other threads before. Oh, and wall of text incoming, take cover.

    Story wise I think most classes can make sense as previously mentioned, though some choices do take a bit of headcannon to work. I didn't like the DMM bio of "Oh a group of monks just happened to visit candlekeep and you learned a bit from them". Better than nothing, but seemed too superficial/easy. I also think this type of bio is why most people here view the monk as an unnatural choice for the PC. I used real world history and my character's personality (super ambitious and competitive), to justify her class. Her being a 'monk' (unarmed fighting badass) isn't just an accident of circumstance, it's part of the character. I won't get into it here but I find the notions of class in this game incredibly restrictive, and I think this is part of why people have trouble with justifying some classes.

    Here is how I RPed Nyl, my Dark Moon Monk:

    First things first, how did Nyl learn unarmed fighting at all? Simple: knights, warriors of any kind in the real world middle ages were taught how to grapple. It wasn't all just swords and lances. People learned how to fight, part of fighting is knowing the basics of fighting, footwork, gauging distance, timing, basic biomechanics. Any martial artist of any kind has to learn these things. A surprising amount of skill and knowledge in fighting is transferable from weapon to weapon and martial art to martial art. The 'generalities of fighting' if you will. I don't find it too great a leap to imagine the Watchers learned this stuff too, otherwise they would be awful fighters. They would also learn what to do when they don't have a weapon, grappling and the like.

    Armoured knights of the period were probably the most likely to learn this in fact since you can't exactly cut through plate armor with a sword and they were the military elite. Often times they would end up grappling, or at the very least, incorporating grappling techniques with their sword/poleaxe in an effort to get their opponent on the ground, then stick them with the stabby bit of their backup weapon (often a rondel dagger) in the neck or some other gap in their armor. Or just bash their head in with their sword's handle (google halfswording and murderstroke)

    My reasoning is that while learning to use weapons (as shown by her proficiency points), Nyl expressed an extreme interest in the unarmed aspect of her training with the watchers because she wanted to BE a weapon. She wanted to be the strongest person possible and saw the best way of doing that as being able to kick people around, literally. Think of her as a not over the top and not annoying as hell Vegeta from DBZ. Highly competitive and ambitious. She sparred with watchers her whole life as a result and got to a point where she could hold her own even without a weapon. Nyl, pride of Candlekeep. She COULD wear a plate suit and smack people around with a poleaxe or something, but doesn't because that's not how she wants to win. Her being a 'Monk' isn't some special secret kung fu master fighting style from the far east. She's just a superhuman (by birth) fighter with a specific (and personal) philosophy to back it up.

    Next the "Dark Moon" part of Nyl's class. I just didn't use any DMM specific kit abilities until I did Rasaad's side quest. There are dialog options presented that hint at you wanting to learn from these DMMs. So quite simply, Nyl watched, and copied. Sprinkle in a little 'child of murder' Bhaalspawn spice and presto, DMM main character that makes some sense in the context of the setting.

    Pardon the long and slightly off topic rambling. It's sunday, I'm day drinking, and I want to take Nyl through SoD and BG2 yesterday.
    Grum
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    Nuin wrote: »
    an ultra-strong berzerker who believes in the existence of imaginary animals

    How dare you!
  • ArchaosArchaos Member Posts: 1,421
    edited March 2016
    Bard, Mage (Thief/Mage or Cleric/Mage) or Sorcerer seem like the most natural choices for CHARNAME.

    There's a temple to Oghma inside. Oghma is the god of mages, bards and loremasters.
    Bard is an obvious choice.
    Mage (Thief/Mage, Cleric/Mage) because Oghma and his temple, again.
    Sorcerer because of Bhaal's essence mostly.

    I'd go:
    Male
    Human
    True Neutral/Lawful Neutral
    Bard (perhaps Blade)

    Male seems a bit more natural because:
    -Males got more romances in the past. By extension, it seems more tailored to male PCs.
    -Brother vs Brother seems a bit more natural and "classic" than Sister vs Brother.
    -Two Bhaalspawn females in Candlekeep seems a bit one-sided to me.
    -A male and female Bhaalspawn being friends in Candlekeep seems also more balanced, from a story-telling perspective.
    -Small detail, but since the canon party is Minsc, Dynaheir, Khalid, Jaheira, Imoen and male Charname again brings a balanced party of 3 male and 3 female characters.

    Basically, if I was writing a story, I'd go with "a brother and a sister" (or vice versa) than "two sisters", is by what I mean more natural and balanced.


    Human because Bhaal was human, Imoen is human, Gorion is human and Sarevok is human.
    Human is just the most default and go-to race and fits with the above. Another natural choice.

    While I'm a firm supporter of the 3E retconned explanation that elves (and other races) grow physically the same as humans, it's when they reach their mentioned age that they are mature enough and decide to adventure.
    It makes far more sense, story-wise, biology-wise and practicality-wise and gives you more options for a character background.


    True or Lawful Neutral because Gorion was Lawful Good. Bhaal was Lawful Evil. Oghma is True Neutral. The monks in Candlekeep are probably the same.
    Being influenced by all the above, would make someone somewhere between Bhaal and Gorion (Lawful Neutral) or Oghma and his dogma/philosophy (True Neutral).


    Blade Bard because they would be trained by the guard, influenced a bit from Imoen, taught in magic and lore by Gorion and since their destiny is violent, learning how to fight well makes more sense than being a Nordic-like Skald or a jester fool.
    The Blade description also mentions that they are expert adventurers. Which CHARNAME becomes quickly enough.

    Bhaal was also a Fighter/Thief. Add Mage training into the mix for the reasons above, and you have a Human Fighter/Mage/Thief or Blade for Humans.

    Also, since they are likely to be Lawful, they would be hesitant to be as good at stealing (Blade dis) and since they are quite inexperienced and young, it's unlikely that they are as good as older, adventuring and more experienced Bards.
    Books can only make you experienced in Lore only to a point. Mages are surrounded by books and still aren't as much Loremasters as Bards are.

    High Charisma is also very fitting and natural for a protagonist and leader among a group.


    TL;DR:
    Human
    Male
    (Lawful) Neutral
    Blade Bard

    Rigel
Sign In or Register to comment.