Best Custom NPC?

Alson · Post by **Alson** » Wed May 01, 2002 6:38 am

Who is, in your opinion, the best custom NPC?
The canidates are:
1) Kelsey The Sorcerer
2) Tashia The Sorceress
3) Sola The Drow Fighter/Mage.

IMHO, Kelsey's the best, cuz he's the most interactive of them.
Who is your pick?

PS
where can i get all the AI patches and improvments?
I installed all the stuff from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IEEAIS/ , but i can't seem to find the rest (i.e. the improved Twisted Ruin and Guarded Compound). Can somone post a link or a download for them?

jcompton · Post by **jcompton** » Wed May 01, 2002 9:14 am

Originally posted by Alson
where can i get all the AI patches and improvments?
I installed all the stuff from http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IEEAIS/ , but i can't seem to find the rest (i.e. the improved Twisted Ruin and Guarded Compound). Can somone post a link or a download for them?

Actually, those two AI patches (and several others) are optional installs in the Solaufein MOD pack. In fact, you can download Solaufein JUST to get those, and not actually do Solaufein NPC if you don't want to. So for AI/general game improvement fans, Solaufein is probably the "best" NPC download.

The really nice thing about a "vote" like this is that Kelsey, Tashia, and Solaufein all coexist in the same game very very happily. You don't HAVE to choose. Yes, Kelsey and Tashia are both sorcerers (hey, we started first!

) but even that provides some interesting tactical possibilities.

But thank you for the support.

Baldursgate Fan · Post by **Baldursgate Fan** » Wed May 01, 2002 9:23 am

Re: Re: Best Custom NPC?

Originally posted by jcompton

But thank you for the support.

Thank you for creating them.

Littiz · Post by **Littiz** » Wed May 01, 2002 11:39 am

-Tashia is well done, voiced (not original sounds though),
and fun. Plus, she has those lovable comments overhead now
and then (not normal dialogs), as when she wakes up...
Once she told Jaheira "hey, you know, you snore!!"
Short but fun banter followed!

-Kelsey is surely the most complete, all is original too.
Not played it yet, but will do.
It's clear that a lot of work was spent here, plus several
people are involved.
I'm expecting much from this one!

-Sola, they say he has very good dialogs. I've not reached him yet,
but two things are really annoying: he has almost NO sounds,
and BY DEFAULT tries to romance EVERYONE...
In any case, it's A MUST, if only for the improved AI and fights.

But, as JCompton says, you can have all of them at the same time...

Alson · Post by **Alson** » Wed May 01, 2002 12:39 pm

Re: Re: Best Custom NPC?

Originally posted by jcompton

Actually, those two AI patches (and several others) are optional installs in the Solaufein MOD pack. In fact, you can download Solaufein JUST to get those, and not actually do Solaufein NPC if you don't want to. So for AI/general game improvement fans, Solaufein is probably the "best" NPC download.

Don't worry.
I'm pleased with Kelsey, and i play a Fighter/Mage myself, so...
Kelsey beats Sola for me, with no offense for the Sola makers, i'm sure they did great work

also

bullions27 · Post by **bullions27** » Wed May 01, 2002 1:06 pm

RE:

They were okay. None of them impressed me as far as character depth goes but the Solaufein mod is a definite must for the number of improved challenges. I have to give proper cheers for the work done on that.

I haven't tried Tashia yet but Kelsey is pretty much a cliched character I've seen and read countless times. No offense to the creator of the mod. I know it takes a lot of work and effort to create a mod and I'll praise you for that but I just didn't enjoy using him. He's the good alternative to Edwin, if you don't have any sort of mage, and I suppose an alternative to Anomen as well.

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Wed May 01, 2002 1:21 pm

ok, thinking of downloading sola, to go with tashia and bun bun...

but BOO2 IS a must!!!!

DO YOU NEED MINSC FOR HIM????

pls answer....

and heard something about solas rewards, do you have to romance him...ick..to get the rewards, (like moonblade and something about light ray thingie???)

who i pick to go with this party will be very important...rather take jahiera or korgy or mazzie rather than minsc if I lose another party slot to sola...

help!!!

BUT I MUST HAVE BOO 2!!!!!

bullions27 · Post by **bullions27** » Wed May 01, 2002 1:28 pm

RE:

??!!!!

Boo2? Where did you find this mod? Teambg??

jcompton · Post by **jcompton** » Wed May 01, 2002 2:11 pm

You will need to have Minsc and Jan in the party in order for Solaufein to conjure up "Boo 2" but after that you can dump Minsc if you are so inclined.

bullions27: Boo 2 is a (silly) part of the Solaufein mod.

And as far as Kelsey goes...well, if I set out to make the "perfect boyfriend" I would have failed anyway. I make no bones of the fact that Kelsey is based on a character sketch I wrote at 2 AM back in August...if he did not improve from then to now, of course, then I didn't do a very good job.

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Wed May 01, 2002 2:17 pm

oh ick...minsc and jan...can i dump jan???

this means I will have bun bun, aerie, minsc tashia and sola....

but no room for immie!!!

grrr.....

how do you get boo 2???

this will make my party serioulsy mage heavy, no tanks, playable, but who will wear all the cool plate armor i get??

besides, really lay in the guilt dumping immie...

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Wed May 01, 2002 2:30 pm

ok, this time will tak party of major hurt lots...

bun bun, of course, may post ver 4 later, mostly cosmetic changes...
tank...still up in air, maybe mazzie....

aerie. duh...
tashia
sola
immie...

will play with boo 2 later...

but i just want to see that cute little fuzzie wuzzie version2, with the cool d gate ability...giggle...

how do you conjure boo2??may get minsc and jan just to see boo 2 in a throwaway game...so if you have minsc and jan in party with sola, he will conjure him up???

hmmm, after underdark, can make a throw away game, and dump aerie, see boo 2 and then go back to main game...

minsc is so good as archer kit...but need a tank for wearing all the cool armor...wait...use any item!!!

giggle, minsc with holy avenger or robes of vecna...can you see it???

nah, use any item is a bun bun perk only....but wait, keep red dragon plate as trophy, and good armor in tob for minsc...

black dragon scale is pretty nice too...

ok, will make minsc archer as before..he really kills a lot with that kit...and racial enemy vampires is great, though might change to demons...

demons, I hate demons...

Alson · Post by **Alson** » Wed May 01, 2002 2:37 pm

Still, Kelsey is a 16MB mod, while Tashia and Sola are both less the 1MB

It seems it is the most invested one...
and with Jan, Korgan and Minsc in my party, i do need a char with some connection to reality

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Wed May 01, 2002 3:33 pm

korgan is the most grounded and connected to reality type person in soa!!!

first, hes short, so hes near the ground...

and his bloodlust is totally like the hack and slash and shoot the cripples style of play most of us use...

i jsut have a tendency to torture him...made him lawful good once, and aside from his hitting on mazzy..freaked me out, let me tell you..he was cool with it...just wanted to kill more...

ok, does anyone know if you can get the cool sola rewards if you dont sleep with him??? ickkkk...

btw, does anybody think besides me that tashia is much more interesting than any of the regular girls in soa??

dont even mention annoweenie...oops...forgto my regular imprison anoweenie duty after underdark...giggle...

GNGSpam · Post by **GNGSpam** » Wed May 01, 2002 4:02 pm

Korgans just badass, he easily has the "coolest" dialogues in the game

Alson · Post by **Alson** » Fri May 03, 2002 4:40 am

Any more Kelsey fans is here?

BTW - i've heard Tashia comes with an amazing item.
Can someone post its description?
Thnx.

gnomethingy · Post by **gnomethingy** » Fri May 03, 2002 8:45 am

Tashia comes with all too much good stuff.. ring o' acuity and amulet of metaspell influence ploooos this figurine thingy thats immune to all magic and time stop, but he is a bit of a sod in combat.. and I think she has a whine if he dies, canna remember

The only beef I have with any o' the custom npc's is as follows

Kelseys cloak - too good an item to start the game with
Tashia romance quest reward - badly though out and its just too good, multiple of the same item and im not talking about long swords.. amulets of power and other things of that nature
Solufein's late pick up - he is only in your party for such a short time. True there is no other way to implement this, bit that doesnt mean I wont whine

Good things I have to say about custom npc's follows

Kelsey - very sparkly, as shiny and professional as the original npc's
Tashia - best romance, amusing dialogues aplenty.. that one about the shoes, cought me off gaurd (you will have to play it to find out)
Solufein - FINNALY A MAGE WITH A HALF DECENT SPELL BOOK! A FIGHER WITH PROF's IN POWERFULL EASY TO GET WEAPONS!!!
I love that you dont need to go plodding round half the known world to find spells for this guy, and he uses long swords and flails dual weilded.. so easy to equip

I wonder if any one has seen this page.. two new npc's a bein made so maybe take a look.. assasins both of em and both romancable, Personaly a single class theif npc would be a good thing, even if they do only get 15 points per lvl

http://hometown.aol.com/dannyco9/calscar.html

Alson · Post by **Alson** » Fri May 03, 2002 10:53 am

Immune to magic and Timestop ?!?!
Many cheesy quest rewards?!?!

Sorry guys (and User moslty

) but that is big minus for me...
All the game's NPC are very balanced - and Tashia should be balanced too...

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Fri May 03, 2002 11:10 am

i think tashia is not unbalanced...unbalanced is MY attempt to give bun bun timestop immunity, which ended up with finmel, which is also a min hp 1 item, and makes you unkillable,...grrr..thus no fun.

peanut, thats what i call tashias pet spirit cat, is not seriously overpowered...if you look under creature brwoser, you will note its only weapons are spirit snake bite, which does poison damage, but only attacks as +2 weapon, i think...spirit aminmals are like inv stalkers, heavy on defense but light on offense, unlike swords, which are heavy on offense but light on defense...and having a single, summon in the game immune to tiemstop is not too unbalanceing, this at least gives you soemthing to do while waiting out the timestop..and its still deathspellable, so if youhave tob liches and mages, their scritp will deathspell it.

whats this about kelseys cloak???

i really like tashia, having two sorcs make for easier battles, and this opens up a lot of tactical flexability for fighter led parties...a sorc will beat edwin and any other mage, excpet possibly aerie, every time...

jcompton · Post by **jcompton** » Fri May 03, 2002 12:54 pm

Originally posted by gnomethingy

Kelseys cloak - too good an item to start the game with

For the unitiated, Kelsey's cloak does the following:

+1 AC

+1 saves

+1 CON (takes him up to 16, so it's basically a free HP per level)

20% MR

+1 1st level casting slot

+1 2nd level casting slot

Casts Fireshield Green (acid protection/retaliation damage) once per day

This is not intended to make Kelsey overwhelming--it's basically a "bribe" to get you to take him in your party, rather than rolling your own sorcerer. It's a lot to put in one item, but none of the individual pieces is all that outrageous, and I think even the sum of its parts is still reasonable.

Basically, we wanted to come up with a way to keep Kelsey from being an easy murder victim. Even with all that, he's STILL likely to fall to a backstab if you let his stoneskins get depleted, or to a Horrid Wilting if you get close enough to a lich. (The MR gives him a chance in hell of surviving that, which was the point.)

The rest of the magic items we added as part of the Kelsey MOD are QUITE balanced, in my opinion.

If I worked for Bioware and I shipped Kelsey WITH BG2, I imagine the item would have indeed been less powerful, but since we're trying to get people to break the mold of how they've been playing the game these past 18 months, a little inducement seemed appropriate.

And believe it or not, some of our beta testers believed the item was still _under_ powered. There was a lot of debate as to whether his Fireshield Green should be always-on (like Keldorn's Hallowed Redeemer), for instance.

And hey, I DID write a backstory for it.

Bruce Lee · Post by **Bruce Lee** » Fri May 03, 2002 2:11 pm

Is it undroppable? I have UAI