ToB needs a Revamp

[WildGirlMods]

Hello all!  While I've played BGII forever, I've just discovered modding myself.  I'm not very good at it yet, but it's lots of fun.  And you all are awesome for figuring this stuff out and putting it out there for people like me to enjoy.  Now it's time I give back to the community.

So we all know ToB isn't very good; the plot somehow manages to be disjointed and too linear at the same time.  Any new characters are hardly characters at all.  And the poor, poor fourth wall.  So, I want to improve it. 

I've started with the opening sequence in Suldanesselar.  Now you don't get obnoxious messages over your head telling you how to play the game.  You get a conversation with Ellesime that at least makes sense.  And you don't get jerked around teleported all over the place.

Let me know if this interests anyone at all.  I'm very open to ideas and helpful suggestions.  A word of warning, however; I am flaky and may stop modding after a month or two.  So get it while it's hot!

You can find what I've done so far at http://sites.google.com/site/bgiimods/

Thanks!

[Kulyok]

Hey, welcome to PPG,

If you want, check the Longer Road mod - it has a conversation with Ellesime at the beginning, too. And Wheels of Prophecy mod - it has some ToB improvements(besides those that Ascension/Turnabout make).

[WildGirlMods]

Conflicts!  Just like a real mod.    Thanks for the welcome and the heads up!  I've made it so Longer Road and my changes work together.  I've yet to check out Wheels of Prophecy.  They change a little in Sudanessalar (I found the same extended ancients sequence they did!) so that needs doing.

[Kaeloree]

Just so you know, that area's called the "grove of the ancients" or something like that; Suldanessellar is the city itself.

</loregeek>

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

[WildGirlMods]

Oops, sorry about that.  Better stay on my toes; I don't want any burning cannon destruction in the the mod! 

[WildGirlMods]

So I've done a little sleuthing on the boards about what people might like to see done to ToB.  ( http://forums.pocketplane.net/index.php/topic,20876.0.html, http://forums.pocketplane.net/index.php/topic,25744.0.html )  Some people have given up on it entirely.  Luckily for the rest of us, I'm having fun messing around with code so at least something will get done.  My overarching ideas (strongly informed by the posts sited) can be found here. http://sites.google.com/site/bgiimods/ideas/   I'll probably get beta 2 up in the next few days. 

[GeN1e]

2)  Improving the Places
 D) Pocket Plane
  iii)  Fix the Gorion/CHARNAME's mother backstory -- unreliable narrator OK

Even if it was an error in storytelling, it still fits well. Gorion was a Harper after all.

[Kulyok]

I hated Gorion after that confession. I mean, okay, PC's mother WAS a black priestess, but it still was PC's mother! Like Mordaunt in "20 years later": "She was my mother!"

[WildGirlMods]

Here's the story I always told myself: Gorion loved the PC's mom before she worshiped Bhaal.  (Maybe she turned to Bhaal because she was misguided, maybe because she was murderous in her heart.)  Then the Harpers call a raid on the temple where all the children are to be killed.  (Maybe they even knew about it because of Gorion's connection to Mom.)  Gorion now knows how evil Mom is and is forced to kill her.  And of all the children left alive, he takes hers away with him -- because he still loves the woman she was (or thought she was.)  See?  Isn't that dramatic?  I find that much more satisfying than "the letter is all a lie" or "ToB messed it up." 

But I understand not everyone likes my vision.  So I want to put a bit of the unreliable narrator in there:  can we believe either Gorion or Mom?  They each have a version of history they want to be right.  It's not up to me to decided what really happened, but I do want to make this more than a ret-con.

Oh, and I should have put this under "Improving the Characterization."  *goes to fix her outline*

[WildGirlMods]

Throne of Bhaal Revisited beta 2 has been released!  Now the pocket plane doesn't take to straight inside Saradush, and Saradush itself is more interesting.  A work in progress, look for more in the next week or so.

Relevant links:
Forum:  http://forums.chosenofmystra.net/index.php?board=101.0
Homepage with download link: http://sites.google.com/site/bgiimods/