Pocket Plane Group

BG2 Completed Mods => Virtue => Topic started by: maidros on July 03, 2006, 08:24:43 PM

Title: A short review
Post by: maidros on July 03, 2006, 08:24:43 PM
Virtue is an interesting mod, which seeks to separate reputation from virtue.  This is a very sensible alteration to make.  Further, your characters react to virtue, rather
than reputation, which is again an excellent idea.  It is very logical that Edwin would be happy to have a high reputation (I think he would love people to be speaking of his greatness, even if he were thought a hero).  Similarly, I never visualised Viconia to endlessly whine about how surfacers are stupid (okay, she might think surfacers are stupid, but this is a generic observation for her, regardless of their reputation).  On the other hand, certain virtuous actions might excite a protest from her. 

Does this mean that Virtue is perfect and that I would install it whenever I play BG.  Well, not quite.  The problem with Virtue is not so much the mod itself, as the environment in which it is working.  Virtue makes it very hard to roleplay a neutral character.  BG essentially gives only a good path and an evil path, in most of its quests - there is no neutral path.  If a neutral character keeps choosing the good path, s/he will end up turned to a `good' character.  The only way to remain neutral is to compsnsate your good actions, by evil actions.  In other words, neutral is being written as a function of good-evil.  Forcing neutral characters to perpetrate evil deeds to remain neutral is a rather restrictive feature.  Neutrality is as much a choice, as good and evil.  It is a little unfair to think of neutrality as a sum total of good and evil.  One way to enhance Virtue, would be to permit neutral choices to be made in the quests (but mayhap, this comes in the Questpack part?).  For ex - in the Windspear quest, one way for a `neutral' ending might be to talk to Conster, get the quest to obtain the deed for the Windspear lands from Garren Windspear.  Now return to Garren Windspear, tell him about the `ransom' sought, and either persuade him to give up the deed to the land, or buy it from him.  Return to Conster and pay the ransom, and free Windspear's kid. 

But to continue - there are a few occasions where I thought that the player should lose virtue, but does not.
1) Running the Shadow Thief guildhall - why is there no loss of virtue when you send out your underlings to rob/extort from the general Athkathlan populace?  Each time you send out your thugs to rob the people, your virtue should fall by 1.
2) Pick pocketing various people - is this a virtuous act, that it entails no consequences?  Okay, it may not be completely evil, but nevertheless, I thought it should register some consequences, when perpetrated repeatedly.
Title: Re: A short review
Post by: SixOfSpades on July 05, 2006, 01:39:39 AM
Theft is a Chaotic action, but not necessarily Evil. Stealing from the poor would be Evil, but pickpocketing the rich wouldn't even put a dent in their fortunes. Dealing in slaves (which you have the opportunity to do) would be Evil, but blackmail seems to me to be a pretty Neutral action, since a cunning blackmailer operating in town is a pretty good motivator for people not to do anything that might be worthy of blackmail.