IWD NPC: character profiles

[berelinde]

I agree with the four males and two females ratio. It sounds about right to me. I'll be a lot happier with the lineup once the alternate starting classes are in place, though, so I wouldn't have to have a mage PC.

[stnemele]

Having tons of writing to do is never fun, but gutting it out is always worth it.

Never fun? Ha! Try coding(strictly coding, no writing) two NPC mods sometime, and you'll be writing like no tomorrow, and enjoying it like hell.

Seriously, if I viewed modding as a tedious job that must be finished at all costs, I wouldn't be doing it.

Coding....?!*runs and cowers in a corner* I know the writing like no tomorrow (because there usually is not since I'll spent 12 hours writing and not know it). But coding....*shudder* It all gets so confusing....Of course, I've never tried it before, and if I ever do get inspired to actually write a mod (doubtful because it's hard to be really when it comes to certain things), I would not cringe from the idea and actually try to learn...but weidu scares me. I tried it once...that didn't go too well....

Oh, well. This is why YOU do the mods and play them and enjoy!

[redrake]

Females are better suited for bards instead of fighters.

And you should consider making a dwarf. What's IWD without dwarves?

[theacefes]

Females are better suited for bards instead of fighters.

And you should consider making a dwarf. What's IWD without dwarves?

Original.

[Kulyok]

I don't play dwarves - they are too haughty and mysterious for me. Jason likes dwarves - have you tried deArnise romance yet?

And if you think women ain't well suited for fighters, try Auren Aseph, while you're at it.

[CORVIS TERRIBLE MOUNTAIN GOD]

Females are better suited for bards instead of fighters.

And you should consider making a dwarf. What's IWD without dwarves?

Original.

wouldn't so muh apply that term to a party full of elves and humans.

Not that I really care, D&D races are dull as shit and I don't think I've ever seen a dwarf NPC in any game ever whose personality wasn't 80% I AM A DWARF.

[Beetle]

I agree with the four males and two females ratio. It sounds about right to me. I'll be a lot happier with the lineup once the alternate starting classes are in place, though, so I wouldn't have to have a mage PC.

Especially since the PC has to stay in the first slot. That could be painful for a mage.

[jcompton]

Just use the formation with the first member in the middle (unless that's not in IWD for some reason?), or right-click and spin the formation deployment.

[Odd-Eye]

Hi guys, can I just say that this is EXACTLY what I always felt IWD was lacking, sure creating one's own party is fun but you miss the interesting characters and camaraderie of BG2 style NPCs.
I think the proposed names are fine personally, just remember "were all like in a forgotten realm and like omnisexual and stuff"  . In all seriousness though, good luck, I'd be happy to test or help with the mod if you need anyone to as I think its a brilliant idea. Personally I think a dwarf would make a really good addition as it seems like hardy dwarves would thrive in harsh, cold wildernesses (think mithral hall everyone). And when I played through IWD I really liked the snow-shrouded dwarf portraits that came with it. Maybe you could mix up the norm and make it a female dwarf? You seem to have the npc personalities in mind though and it will make them more interesting if you really have a feel for their characters. Either way though good luck, can't wait to give this mod a go.

[Kulyok]

Thank you, and welcome to PPG.

By the way, there's IWD2 NPC Project over at G3. Though there're no dwarves there, either, I'm afraid, but the mod is interesting, and some of the characters are fantastic.

As for help, yes, there might be a call for playtesters soon enough(keep an eye on the forums!) and I put an ad for voice actors yesterday.

[Annatar]

I'd really love to see some portraits for these npcs.
I think I saw some teeny-tiny ones in the preview topic, but they may have just been placeholders for all I know.
Did you already have some pictures which inspired the characters, or do you get a feel for their personalities first and then get a portraits specially made to suit the way they look in your imagination?

[Kulyok]

I'd rather not say anything, yet, because I don't want anyone to feel committed or obliged. But I would love to have portraits in IWD style for the final release, yes.

(And, yes, these are placeholders in Screenshots topic, though I've gotten used to them by now, with so much testing and all. )

[Iguana-on-a-stick]

The idea for this mod sounds very interesting. I liked the IWD2 NPC project a lot, it added tons to the game. IWD1 certainly can use one also.

But I'm a bit concerned about the choice of classes. With 4 fighter types and a bard... you have no decent mage and no healer. (paladins and rangers don't count.) IWD was quite a difficult game in my recollection. Not as difficult as IWD2 perhaps, but some parts I really struggled. And that was with a much more balanced party. I think the game would be incredibly difficult if you played either without healing or without a decent spellcaster. (though I admit that in my case I'm biased in that I almost always play magic-heavy parties with preferably 3 arcane spellcasters in them.) The stuff in the alternate classes thread will help if it can be implemented, though.

Edit: Karin is a female name in Dutch also. The English equivalent is Karen. But I see the name was changed to Korin in the initial post... that sounds much better to me either way.

[Kulyok]

It will be implemented, of course. You'll have a choice of two healers(Nella can be dual-classed into a druid or a cleric right away, and Korin can become a ranger/cleric, which makes a lot of sense, given his background), and two mages(Severn will be able to become either a fighter/mage, or a pure mage, and Teri may become a multiclass thief/mage, or a fighter/thief/mage), besides your PC.

[Alastair]

This mod sounds pimp-tastic.  Just what I wanted for IWD, will install for sure.

Thanks Kulyok!

[close2myheart]

Heya ! 

Finally. More male NPCs than the female  so 'Horay!!' to that 

I Haven't played IWD before coz I red it somewhere that the game lacks chatty npcs like in BG2  (although I'm curious about the game itself and wanting to play it but I just can't stand 'silent parties'  ) So I'll definitelly be downloading this mod once it's done, Kulyok!  (Have the IWD cd at hand already  )

Btw, if it's not too much to ask...
Can you make all the NPCs as a romance option?  (yeah i know i'm greedy) 
Pretty please?   

[Alatariel]

Hahaha. I can only share close2myheart's sentiment. At least ONE mod where the female players are priviliged would be nice.

[Imoen]

Alatariel, one of my Baldur's Gate characters has that name.  How ool.

So how many romance options are there?  Two for each?

[Kulyok]

You must have access to the beta testing room now, so feel free to ask these questions there. I won't give an answer here until the mod's release, though.

[Imoen]

Oh okay, I'll be sure to ask questions in there then.  Thanks!

[Tokeloshe]

This team needs a spellcaster, and something a little bit different. Particularly alignment wise.

Maybe a lawful evil gnomish lawyer sent North to investigate insurance claims?

[evilsofa]

For those concerned about the classes chosen and whether they make a party strong enough to play through the game:

If you follow the Dan Simpson FAQ (and if you haven't seen it, you should), Dan's recommended party is:

Human     Male     Paladin (to take advantage of the Pale Justice sword)
Human     Male     Fighter dualled to Conjurer at level 3)
Human     Female   Bard (to identify items and cast Magic Missile)
Half-Elf     Female   Cleric/Ranger
Human     Female   Fighter (using Halberds!)
Halfling     Male     Fighter/Thief

Looking familiar yet?  Ignore the gender, which is purely roleplaying, which is the point of this mod.  If we match up Dan's party to the party in this mod, we get:

Human Paladin = Holvir (exact match)
Human Fighter/Conjurer = player's choice
Human Bard = Severn (exact match)
Half-Elf Cleric/Ranger = Korin (install the alternate cleric/ranger class for Korin.  The race is even correct.)
Human Fighter = Nella (exact match)
Halfling Fighter/Thief = Teri (who is actually Half-Elf instead of Halfling, the only race mismatch)

[Cal Jones]

Typically, I prefer my main character to be a fighter. If s/he's going to sit in the front ranks, then that makes sense, to me at least. The only character I choosed to modify was Nella, who is a fighter/cleric in my game. I really needed a healer and I prefer Korin as a pure ranger. I thought about Severn as a mage but his story makes little sense unless he's a bard, so I left him as one and haven't regretted it (he gets a lot of kills with his crossbow when he's run out of spells). Sure he can't cast higher level spells except from scrolls, but IMHO I don't think he needs to.