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Underdeveloped Storylines: Which Sidequest do You Think Deserved More Love?

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  • SharGuidesMyHandSharGuidesMyHand Member Posts: 2,579


    Laurel the paladin (BG1) - she says she'll see you again later, but never does! Always drove me crazy.

    That guy Hafiz who describes his dream to you - Never explained.

    Having said this, though, to some extent, I like the fact that some things are left "unresolved" - it gives you room to use your own imagination.

    How about the ever mysterious The Surgeon in the Lighthouse area in BG1? Always wanted to hear more from that guy.
    There is an expansion of The Surgeon's story with NPC project or unfinished business (can't remember which).

    He's the brother of Daevaron in the Cloakwood Mine and is trying to make ammends for not stopping his brother when he had the chance and knew he was evil.
    Are you sure that this isn't mentioned in un-modded BG1 as well? I seem to remember some reference to his being Daevorn's brother and/or a search for redemption.
    [Deleted User]
  • LudovikHLudovikH Member Posts: 46
    edited April 2018
    jastey said:

    ThacoBell said:

    The guared compound was going to be part of the slavers stuff. The Versus Books strategy guide even called that encounter the "Slave Lords".

    It is worth noting that some of the enemies you encounter in the Guarded Compound had names in common with some of the Slave Lords from the A-series of 1E modules. The rogue Ketta & the cleric Stalman in the Guarded Compound would seem to be based on the modules' thief "Slippery" Ketta & cleric Stalman Klim . I don't recall that any of the other enemies in the Guarded Compound have as close a connection to the module Slave Lords, which I consider a pity - the A-series was a huge part of my original AD&D experience & whipping the Slave Lords once & for all in BG2 would have been a dream come true. ;)

    That is very interesting - I don't know the modules. Would you say that Ketta and Sion are supposed to be the Slave Lords in BGII, too? (I always thought the compound is empty and they are just some guards or somesuch).

    Very interesting in this regard, too: in the dialogue with Sion, there is a falsed-out reply option "I have heard of you Slave Lords and I intend to rid the earth of your evil." (repaired by Baldurdash if the PC found the evidence note against Roenal in the Nalia quest). So, originally in BGII the Guarded Compound was supposed to be the slavery headquarters.

    Now, all we need is more clues to get there, make Sion and Ketta some nobles who are behind all this, place a list of nobles involved into the slave trades and fights behind the Copper Coronet that can be handed to Brylanna or Caiptain Brega, and this would be a real quest!
    This quest appears in the Sandrah mod when you pick the note from the slaver captain in the slum ship. Sion and Ketta accidentally give away the involvement with those slavers when you confront them with that letter. After that scene, the rest of the compound appears like a slaver base, even if no more evidence is found. Everybody is just fighting.

    And Viconia, she is from Menzoberranzan, and that town often has rivalled Ust Natha. She does good to keep a low profile and stay in the protagonist's shadow. She is not really at home in that town but in enemy territory of sorts and not better off if discovered in the company of surfacers.
    BTW there was a mod which put some deVir captives in a cage in Ust Natha and they blamed Viconia as a traitor. I don't know which mod it was.
    StummvonBordwehrmashedtaters
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Another one is the Twisted Rune. The tanner in the docks is apparently connected. I don't know if its mod added or not, but threatining his contact in the Umar Hills makes him mention them.
    Notabarbiegirltbone1[Deleted User]
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    edited April 2018
    ThacoBell said:

    Another one is the Twisted Rune. The tanner in the docks is apparently connected. I don't know if its mod added or not, but threatining his contact in the Umar Hills makes him mention them.

    There is also a hidden (not used) reply option inside the Twisted Rune compount mentioning Koshi (one of the guards in the Guarded Compound). Baldurdash activated that one, too, with a note added to Koshi.
    So, the Guarded Compound was supposed to be related to the slavers and the Twisted Rune to the Guarded Compound. :) If you say the tanner is connected, too, then this is interesting, indeed. Maybe they all played with forces beyond their power.

    @LudovikH Putting a note about the Slave Lords on the slave Captain in the ship is one of the obvious ways to open this quest, yes. It leads to the same outcome as what Baldurdash did / what is hidden in the game.
    I am thinking about expanding this to a closure of some sort where some of the noble b*stards have to account for it, too. Not too much can be expected, though - it's Athkatla we are talking about. I'm surprised the PC doesn't get into some sort of assassin trouble after eliminating the slave market...
    ThacoBellNotabarbiegirl
  • JoenSoJoenSo Member Posts: 910
    Wasn't there an old thread here about a great Athkatlan conspiracy and theories of how the mindflayers, the Twisted Rune, the slavers, Tazok and the guarded compound were all connected?
    ThacoBellStummvonBordwehrNotabarbiegirl
  • LudovikHLudovikH Member Posts: 46
    edited April 2018
    JoenSo said:

    Wasn't there an old thread here about a great Athkatlan conspiracy and theories of how the mindflayers, the Twisted Rune, the slavers, Tazok and the guarded compound were all connected?

    Loose ends are one thing. Trying to tie them all together in one big knot is another. Not everything in the world is connected with everything else. These speculations are nice food for a forum but may ruin the game if implemented when you try to match everything and close every unfinished business. Some room for imagination should remain.
    [Deleted User]
  • LudovikHLudovikH Member Posts: 46
    jastey said:

    ThacoBell said:

    Another one is the Twisted Rune. The tanner in the docks is apparently connected. I don't know if its mod added or not, but threatining his contact in the Umar Hills makes him mention them.

    There is also a hidden (not used) reply option inside the Twisted Rune compount mentioning Koshi (one of the guards in the Guarded Compound). Baldurdash activated that one, too, with a note added to Koshi.
    So, the Guarded Compound was supposed to be related to the slavers and the Twisted Rune to the Guarded Compound. :) If you say the tanner is connected, too, then this is interesting, indeed. Maybe they all played with forces beyond their power.

    @LudovikH Putting a note about the Slave Lords on the slave Captain in the ship is one of the obvious ways to open this quest, yes. It leads to the same outcome as what Baldurdash did / what is hidden in the game.
    I am thinking about expanding this to a closure of some sort where some of the noble b*stards have to account for it, too. Not too much can be expected, though - it's Athkatla we are talking about. I'm surprised the PC doesn't get into some sort of assassin trouble after eliminating the slave market...
    The *slaver problem* of Athkatla has in some way to remain unresolved, at least during SoA. Many sidequests and NPC mods make use of it. Some days ago I had to free my companion Amber from some slavers who kidnapped the tiefling girl for a special customer.
    Maybe EET opens a possibility to solve the problem. You can have a quest or crusade from a later chapter when all the other mod contents has played out. The protagonist can revisit the town and initiate some changes. You will be powerful enough by that time.
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    LudovikH said:

    The *slaver problem* of Athkatla has in some way to remain unresolved, at least during SoA. Many sidequests and NPC mods make use of it. Some days ago I had to free my companion Amber from some slavers who kidnapped the tiefling girl for a special customer.
    Maybe EET opens a possibility to solve the problem. You can have a quest or crusade from a later chapter when all the other mod contents has played out. The protagonist can revisit the town and initiate some changes. You will be powerful enough by that time.

    Oh, I don't think the PC could ever rid Athkatla of slavery, not permanently. (And I surely am not planning on doing a quest that would be incompatible by design with x other mods.)
    Actually, I don't think that having godlike powers will help the PC anything in fighting corruption and organised crime in Athkatla. It's easier to fight off an opponent and his henchmen, sure, but I am sure new criminal overlords will pop up, because the overal structure of society will not change.

    The only thing my quest idea will change to the current game content is:
    A. the player not only fights everyone in the Guarded Compound but also knows it was the Slave Lords (and cen report this to Magistrate Brylanna /Captain Brega)
    B. there will be Evidence about other people involved into this crime.

    A. is no problem for mods that still deal with slavers. Just because one head in one city was cut off doesn't mean there won't be other slavers.
    B. is the real problem, I think, as it might interfere with several quest lines: Nalia's quest doesn't make sense if Roenal's name pops up too soon in this context, as might other quest lines (e.g. Anomen's if we agree on that Saerk would be involved in slavery, too). I am still pondering about this. One solution would be an encrypted list of customers the PC would have to hand over to Captain Brega. I like this idea a lot, because it would also explain why the PC doesn't see any result of his findings during SoA...

    ThacoBellNotabarbiegirl
  • CamDawgCamDawg Member, Developer Posts: 3,438

    Honestly, the strongholds in general could stood to have had more meat on them. Some were better than others but most of them were just kind of there once you acquired them.

    The problem here is that they're so uneven. The de'Arnise stronghold has eight (IIRC) events, even if some of them are just dialogue. The druid stronghold is just pitiful.


    Laurel the paladin (BG1) - she says she'll see you again later, but never does! Always drove me crazy.

    She was afraid of gibberlings. Gibberlings!

    But my Charname does feel a bit knackered after a while, there should be a dialog option,

    "Here Vicky, reckon you can take on this one for me, I could do with a break".

    Are you sure that this isn't mentioned in un-modded BG1 as well? I seem to remember some reference to his being Daevorn's brother and/or a search for redemption.

    Yeah, this is vanilla BG.
    LudovikH said:

    BTW there was a mod which put some deVir captives in a cage in Ust Natha and they blamed Viconia as a traitor. I don't know which mod it was.

    The captives are in vanilla BG2 (upstairs from the bar) and are from Viconia's house, but they don't mention Viconia IIRC.
    UnderstandMouseMagicNotabarbiegirltbone1[Deleted User]
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Now I would love a mod that tied together the Slavers, guarded compund, and the Twisted Rune in a nice little quest chain. Hopefully someone does one that is not EET required. I see a lot of neat ideas end up packaged in EET megamods, which just kills me.
  • mashedtatersmashedtaters Member Posts: 2,266
    jastey said:

    I always wished that Viconia would actually have said something when you visited Ust Natha. It is her home. You could have met an old rival of hers or she could have at least warned you about Phaere’s mom.
    But instead she’s wandering about as lost as you are, struggling to find a way back to the surface.

    Viconia is from Menzoberranzan. At least that she tells in BG1 if charmed:
    I come from the city of Menzoberranzan. My family was slaughtered, and I was forced to flee to the surface. When I reached the realms of light, the traitor Lolth abandoned me. I would have been lost had it not been for the divine Shar! She took me in and gave me the will and strength to survive! It makes me so happy that I have found friends such as you to make my acclimatization to the surface a little easier.
    @jastey

    Really? Weird, I could have sworn she said she was from Ust Natha in her lovetalks.

    I feel my whole world has been a lie...
  • LudovikHLudovikH Member Posts: 46
    ThacoBell said:

    Now I would love a mod that tied together the Slavers, guarded compund, and the Twisted Rune in a nice little quest chain. Hopefully someone does one that is not EET required. I see a lot of neat ideas end up packaged in EET megamods, which just kills me.

    Too bad.
    "Secrets of Amn" has this in its tp2:
    REQUIRE_PREDICATE GAME_IS ~eet~ ~This mod is for EET only~

    And by any right it may be even called a megamod as it pulls a number of unresolved issues into a common plot, including the Rune and the Compound and some others.
  • lroumenlroumen Member Posts: 2,508
    You can use EET to install only 1 mod.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    edited April 2018
    I'm not ineterested in megamods, and every one of the interesting EET projects seems to be bundled in with one. And I find being able to travel and re-travel to any location, even after it would be impossible at a certain point in the story to be immersion destroying.
  • NotabarbiegirlNotabarbiegirl Member Posts: 141

    jastey said:

    Oh, and with Romantic Encounters you can have sex with him (which isn't saying much because with the RE mod, you can have sex with just about anybody, it's all you do)

    Sorry for the OT but with the BG1RE there are also several bitter/sweet quests with absolutely no sex involved. Just sayin'.

    You're right, didn't mean to diss the mod, it's very mixed. :)

    But my Charname does feel a bit knackered after a while, there should be a dialog option,

    "Here Vicky, reckon you can take on this one for me, I could do with a break".
    :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
    The Mod opened up a lot of; "Ifs" in the story line, some of them were Interesting, some were Whoa.

    As a Beta for that Mod: I have enough of a sense of humor to find that funny.

    If you have good Rappaport with her: "sighs; fine, I was getting bored, or my whip dose need some use". If not then : " Iblith, I will not lower myself taking you cast offs"

    Much Love to @jastey , and the others a G3, they kept the BG series Alive for all of us. Can you imagine what would have not been if not for them?
    UnderstandMouseMagicmashedtaters
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    Winski Perorate

    He was the devil on Sarevok's right shoulder, whispering in his ear. His mysterious entrance into your brother's life is described only in Sarevok's diary. He's left to die at the end of BG1, but would be a really interesting character if he tried to advise you the same way he advised Sarevok.

    He'd be a great addition to Throne of Bhaal. If evil, he'd help Sarevok cultivate you into a man worthy of taking the Throne of Bhaal. If good, perhaps he'd advise you under false pretenses, much like Melissan.
    ThacoBell[Deleted User]
  • SharGuidesMyHandSharGuidesMyHand Member Posts: 2,579
    edited April 2018

    We're missing a big one: the epilogue to Shadows of Amn. Who were the seven Bhaal worshipers at the table? The Five only had... well, five.

    JoenSo said:

    We're missing a big one: the epilogue to Shadows of Amn. Who were the seven Bhaal worshipers at the table? The Five only had... well, five.

    I think I've posted this before, but I've always had the conspiracy theory that they are the tutors from Candlekeep. They have the robes and they apparently could have acted "long before now". So they are secretly a Bhaal cult that has raised and taught you to wreak havoc across the lands. But now you've become too powerful.
    Funny, I've always thought that they were clearly Cowled Wizards, who always look to keep anything that becomes too powerful (especially "deviants" like Charname) in check, and the ending was intended to set up a final confrontation between you and them in the 3rd installment, which obviously never played out.

    I also wouldn't rule out that they were intended to be Chanters like the ones you originally see in Candlekeep, who follow the Bhaalspawn prophecy very closely. Perhaps the ending was implying that the entire series would come full circle with you returning to Candlekeep - but of course, that never played out either.

    semiticgoddess[Deleted User]
  • LudovikHLudovikH Member Posts: 46


    Here's one I've always wondered about: Does Voleta Stiletto pull through?






    Sure, she says she'll "be all right," but I've always wondered if she was just putting on a brave face. A quick cameo in BG2 would've put my mind at ease.

    Standard answer:
    - EET
    - megamod
    Yes, she recovers and appears in later quests that lead you back to the maze.
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    LudovikH said:


    Standard answer:
    - EET
    - megamod

    "Standard Answer"? It's still Sandrah Saga. Sandrah Saga =/= EET megamodinstall. EET megamodinstall =/= Sandrah Saga.

    Yes, the Sandrah mod adds a lot of content and quest closures and additions. It also adds an all-dominant NPC you have to take along, which is a great drawback.

    ThacoBellbooinyoureyesMirandel
  • LudovikHLudovikH Member Posts: 46
    jastey said:

    LudovikH said:


    Standard answer:
    - EET
    - megamod

    "Standard Answer"? It's still Sandrah Saga. Sandrah Saga =/= EET megamodinstall. EET megamodinstall =/= Sandrah Saga.

    Yes, the Sandrah mod adds a lot of content and quest closures and additions. It also adds an all-dominant NPC you have to take along, which is a great drawback.

    I was not referring to any specific mod. There are several.
    I was just joking to the guy who hates EET and megamods to show him that all his wishes could come true if he forgot his prejudice.
    I think for Voleta you just need someone with healing skills in the party to restore her. The quest that made me meet her again was related to Amber (another mod NPC) if I remember right.
  • jasteyjastey Member Posts: 2,669
    LudovikH said:

    I was not referring to any specific mod. There are several.
    I was just joking to the guy who hates EET and megamods to show him that all his wishes could come true if he forgot his prejudice.
    I think for Voleta you just need someone with healing skills in the party to restore her. The quest that made me meet her again was related to Amber (another mod NPC) if I remember right.

    Amber is a BGII mod and doesn't even have an official EE version, so I am pretty sure it doesn't add content that leads you back into BG's maze. No, The only mod - so far - that connects BGII with BG1 areas would be Sandrah, as far as I know, thus my conclusion. But I agree that it's difficult to know which mod adds which content, especially if you play an EET mega mod install with a lot of mods listed in the compatibility list.
  • LudovikHLudovikH Member Posts: 46
    jastey said:

    LudovikH said:

    I was not referring to any specific mod. There are several.
    I was just joking to the guy who hates EET and megamods to show him that all his wishes could come true if he forgot his prejudice.
    I think for Voleta you just need someone with healing skills in the party to restore her. The quest that made me meet her again was related to Amber (another mod NPC) if I remember right.

    Amber is a BGII mod and doesn't even have an official EE version, so I am pretty sure it doesn't add content that leads you back into BG's maze. No, The only mod - so far - that connects BGII with BG1 areas would be Sandrah, as far as I know, thus my conclusion. But I agree that it's difficult to know which mod adds which content, especially if you play an EET mega mod install with a lot of mods listed in the compatibility list.
    I use Amber from the EET compatibility list. It has some more content and even a component for ToB by now. But I also have Sandrah in my party with her, so it's hard to tell who adds what. They interact a lot and there is so much new content in EET from all the new mods. I recognize a lot of stuff I know from classic games I played with many mods but EET has much more that is new.
    I better not comment more, EET is not much liked by you folks.
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