Who is Biff the Understudy?

TheAmazingOopah · Post by **TheAmazingOopah** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 5:31 am

Just a few minutes ago, I came across one of the probably most weirdest bugs of the game.
I had just arrived in Nashkel and I decided to dump Khalid & Jaheira temporarily at the millitairy quarters of the Amnish soldiers. After I had revived Branwen from being a stone figure, I went back to K & J because of some items they still had.
When I had ditched them, I only threw out Jaheira, meaning that only she would say something to me and that Khalid automaticly would leave my party too. So now, I talked to Jaheira and they both came into my party. However, Khalid had lost all the items I gave him and only had the items he standardly has when you pick him up at the Friendly Arm Inn. This was a bit annoying, because I just had gave him 20 Arrows +1, which are quite valuable at the moment. So I decided to reload, and to talk to Khalid instead of Jaheira: maybe that would make a difference. Now this is where the strange thing happended.
Khalid said to me just the same things he would say when you would talk to him at the beginning of the game at the Friendly Arm Inn ('I regognize you... I see Gorion is not with you...' etc.). However, instead that Jaheira would join the conversation, a totally new person appeared behind Khalid: a human warrior with blue clothes, called Biff the Understudy. He would start saying the things Jaheira normally would say, and if you would agree the both to join you would get Khalid & Biff the Understudy in your team! However, Biff has no picture (just a big quotation mark), no voice set, no allignment and no weapon profincies. Also, all his abillities are set to 9, meaning that he is a very weak NPC.
Then I threw Biff out, and instead of saying something 'Jaheira-like' he said something like 'See ya later, ladies'. Therefore, I guess that this is just a character you meet later in the game (Baldur's Gate perhaps?) and who accidently landed through a glitch earlier in the game.
This isn't a serious bug, just a bit strange. Did this ever happened to someone else? And could someone tell who this character excactly is? I am sorry that I made the story so complicated, but I hope you got the idea.

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 5:56 am

Biff is not a bug; he's a feature. He fills in for NPCs who are absent when the game calls for them to recite lines. For example, when you first meet Khalid and Jaheira, both of them have dialogue. But if one of them is unable to speak the appropriate lines, Biff will step in. Even though Jaheira was technically present because she was in your party, the AI script did not allow her to speak the lines she would have spoken if she had been outside of your party with Khalid. So Biff showed up. As you discovered, he's not intended to be a permanent party member; he's just a generic human.

However, it is strange that Khalid was spawned in his original form after you dismissed him from your party. I don't think that's a bug, though; I think the wrong variable came into play by accident because you tried to override the script that Khalid and Jaheira follow when you kick one of them out of your party. It's not nice to fool the game engine.

TheAmazingOopah · Post by **TheAmazingOopah** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 5:58 am

Sorry...

Thanks for the information

Patrick · Post by **Patrick** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 5:51 pm

SPOILER
highlight to read
Bif the understudy is also in the sequal BG2. As a plot type NPC. Wierd people.

DarkAngel · Post by **DarkAngel** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 8:32 am

i created slythe once(that assassin in the undercellar) and biff talked instead of krystin. it must be true what vondondu sais.

TheAmazingOopah · Post by **TheAmazingOopah** » Sat Jan 29, 2005 11:15 am

Portalbendarwinden

Well, since this board is already about a "goofy, mysterious character", I would like to know if anyone can tell me who excactly Portalbendarwinden is. It is an old man, who you will find in the area north of Nashkel and who starts saying things about your aura and about his bad health... but he doesn't really seem to add something to the story. Is he part of the TotSC expansion? (which I have installed) Something to do with Durlag's Tower perhaps?

Coot · Post by **Coot** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 3:14 am

No, this is all there is to him. I figure he's one npc who was part of quest that never got finished.

Andyr · Post by **Andyr** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 8:29 am

Yeh, he's just some weird guy who chats then leaves... There's a good few others about, such as the suicidial nobleman near Candlekeep. And Maple Willow Aspen.

Wayfarer · Post by **Wayfarer** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 1:01 pm

[QUOTE=TheAmazingOopah]Well, since this board is already about a "goofy, mysterious character", I would like to know if anyone can tell me who excactly Portalbendarwinden is. It is an old man, who you will find in the area north of Nashkel and who starts saying things about your aura and about his bad health... but he doesn't really seem to add something to the story. Is he part of the TotSC expansion? (which I have installed) Something to do with Durlag's Tower perhaps?[/QUOTE]

Well, he hints at the player's true nature, which is the story, really.

The Great Hairy · Post by **The Great Hairy** » Sun Jan 30, 2005 6:21 pm

Like Andyr says, there are a heap of weird and wonderful NPCs scattered all over the Baldur's Gate region. Like Daryl, Daryl and the other guy. The ogre mage looking for his dog. Etc., etc. Part of the joy of the game, really!

Cheers,
TGHO

Erenor · Post by **Erenor** » Fri Feb 18, 2005 4:05 pm

Biff the Understudy just seems to show up as a bug when something goes wrong and someone is missing from the game screen. It's kinda neat that the game developers actually created a character to fill in when something else is missing to keep the game moving and from freezing up. Some of the NPCs have to just be the game designers having a bit of fun,though. A bunch of inside jokes we don't get are probably included all over the place. I'd name some annoying character after an annoying relative, for instance. The Ogre Mage and Rufie with his Chew Toy are one of my favorite little side quests. The description of the Chew Toy is just really funny.