Banter Party?

Ishel · Post by **Ishel** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 11:55 am

Alright, I'm about to start a new game, and I'm thinking about which party to take. I don't care about power or classes (I like arcane casters though), since I'll manage just fine anyway. What I want is interesting banters (I have BanterPack, of course). And a party of 5 persons max (including me)

Two characters I would prefer to take with me are Imoen (story feels silly without her) and Kelsey. So, any suggestions? What other (*preferably* non-mod) NPCs can I throw in to make things a bit more interesting? I have two/(three) slots open, though I could perhaps drop Kelsey to open up another one.
Oh, and my character is male.

EDIT: doh, typo in the thread name -_-

SP101 · Post by **SP101** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 1:59 pm

Well, Kelsey have some good banters with Keto, so I would recommend adding her to the party.

So far we have this :

PC
Kelsey
Keto
Imoen

One empty slot left, and it should be filled with a Fighter, a Cleric or a Druid. I would (personnaly) add Mazzy to the Party, and play a Fighter/Cleric, but that's only my opinion.

Ishel · Post by **Ishel** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:17 pm

Hmm.. Keto. I think it's a pity that she has no ToB content, but she *does* seem promising. And thank whoever is to thank for the fact that she isn't romancable. Now *that's* refreshing

I don't really like Mazzy as a character, not sure why. And besides, I want at least one person who isn't good in the party. My character is CN, in such a way that he actually does have a strange personal code of honour, but his choices and morals seem almost alien to others. So it would be nice to have someone who could understand the other half of my decisions

EDIT: and somehow I get the feeling that Keto wouldn't reall fit in my party/with my character.. wat *is* her personality like anyway?

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 2:17 pm

You might want to consider both the Banter Packs and the Crossmod Banter Pack. The former adds dialogs among standard NPCs, and the latter adds banters among new NPCs. There's a discussion of both mods up on the Pocket Plane Group site. I'm using both mods, now, with a party that includes 3 imported NPCs and 2 Bioware standards (plus my PC).

Also, check our stickies on well-balanced mods and mod references.

Ishel · Post by **Ishel** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:00 pm

Nah, I'm going to skip the Crossmods Banter Pack for now, since I don't plan on using any of the NPCs it deals with, at least not this playthrough. I am actually beginning to get a feel for for the following party:

Ishel (me, thief/mage (mostly illusion spells, so no Horrid Wiltings from me)
Kelsey
Imoen
Keto
Minsc

And yes, I'll be missing my healers. But hey, that'll be a challenge. Or perhaps I could take Anomen.. he seems to have quite a few interesting banters with Keto, and I like
**SPOILER

the idea of getting him to become CN. It would certainly be wiser from the tactical point of view. Is it worth it, getting anomen CN? Or isn't it all that interesting?

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:05 pm

Personally, I've never cared much for Anomen, either as a character, or for his stats. I'm using Jaheira, but then, I'm also playing a cleric (for the first time). It would be an interesting challenge to completely do without a cleric, given the problems with the undead that pop up later.

Ishel · Post by **Ishel** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:11 pm

The fact that his nickname is Annoymen says enough

Well, I made up my mind: it'll be the party I mentioned, and I'll be doing at least one more playthrough for all those other cool NPCs

Daystar will be my friend, together with hold undead.

CaptRory · Post by **CaptRory** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 5:52 pm

Jan Jansen is great for crazy banter. The long rambling stories are great. My standard group is comprised of PC, Jaheira, Minsc, Aerie, Jan, Viconia. Prolly not the best banter group but has some great moments.

Minerva · Post by **Minerva** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 6:16 pm

I like banter between Valygar and Mazzy, actually.
If it is my game, I will drop Minsc for Valygar (I found Stalker kit is usuful), and Mazzy who I change into fighter/cleric.

Or, get Anomen for the great conversation with Kelsey, and enjoy him being kicked around.

...Then, I drop them both (romantically) when I get Solaufein.

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 7:44 pm

Yes, CaptRory, Jan's banter is fantastic. I also recommend hiim for ToB, where he refers to a certain enormously powerful, evil fighter you can add to your team as "Binky."

Ishel · Post by **Ishel** » Tue Jan 10, 2006 9:30 pm

<grins> ..Binky.

I need to play the game with Jan in my party at least once, it seems. This sounds hilarious.

Well, Valygar clearly isn't an option, since he's not insane, and I want at least one weirdo in the party. In this case, Minsc

Oh and by the way, before you ever think of starting a game with no healer: don't underestimate it. I never realised how much you use healing, since I almost always cast my healing spells during rest. Those simple healing potions are quite valuable now! Most of the time I've 2/3 of my HP Max. It certainly gives the game a different feel.. suddenly someone nearly killing you becomes quite a big deal; you won't be feeling all fresh and healthy the next morning

I am positively impressed by Kelsey and Keto; they feel very 'natural' in BG. Damn, if these are so good, others are bound to be excellent as well! I'll be playing this game for the rest of my life if I ever want to completely exhaust all its potential

EDIT: Fable, I'm not sure if you can do this, but if you can, please correct the typo in this post's name. It's annoying and it makes me feel stupid..
EDIT2: Thanks ^ ^

CFM · Post by **CFM** » Wed Jan 11, 2006 12:24 pm

Good pairs

I have no experience in mods of any kind. I've only been thru BG2/ToB once, using 7 of the 17 NPCs, and would rather exhust the other 'vanilla' NPCs before moving on to the 'mod' NPCs.

Since I hope to someday play again, I always give thoughts as to what dudes would be in my next group. I downloaded an "NPC Interactions" guide that has all the 'vanilla' banter between all 17 'vanilla' NPCs. I used it just to get an idea of what NPCs would be good to have together, based on the amount of dialogue between each pair.

Some of the more interesting, most-dialogue NPC pairs:
Aerie & Haer'Dalis (especially if romancing Aerie)
Korgan & Mazzy
Mazzy & Valygar
Anomen & Keldorn
Jan & everyone

I agree with Ishel, about exhausting this game's potential: banter mods, NPC mods, in addition to the vanilla game... 20 years from now I'll have a second computer, saved from the turn of the century, with the sole purpose of running BG2.

Ishel · Post by **Ishel** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:08 pm

Ah, I was actually looking for a list such as this one.. ah well, my current party is interesting enough. The only combi of your list that I tried for myself is Aerie & Haer'dalis. It's interesting enough, if you can stand Aerie.

**Light Spoiler

And as a big plus it allows you to get rid of Aerie without feeling too bad about it (I never, ever managed to kick her out of my party after she joins. She does her "do I really have to go"-thing and I go all soft and 'aww'-y and she can stay. I'm such a weakling

)

Say, CFM, where did you find that list? Not that I actually want to read it, but I could use it as an indication of the amount of banter that a certain party would end up having.

CFM · Post by **CFM** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 12:57 pm

Here is the link for the "BG2: SoA & ToB NPC Interactions Guide":

http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/index_tips.php

The Interactions Guide is the seventh download from the top. It has all (or seemingly all) of the internal party interactions between each of the vanilla NPCs (ToB included).

It does NOT have the 4 romance dialogues (except some Aerie/PC/H'D). But I downloaded a Romance Guide from Sorcerers.net to help me get through the Jaheira romance. In addition to how to use CLUA commands to monitor and fix things, it also has most of the romance dialogues. This Romance Guide can also be found in the BG2 section of Sorcerers.net, in one of the subsections (top-right portion of the link posted above).

Also, the Interactions Guide does NOT have the dialogues when, in various areas of the game, various NPCs will pipe up and comment on the current goings-on. Bummer.

I figure you need to play BG2 at least four times just to come close to seeing all the different NPC interactions and comments. Since I'll be lucky to get thru it even a second time, I'll probably never have the pleasure with several of them. If you've never gotten around to hanging with a certain NPC, or a combination of two particular NPCs, the Interactions Guide is an entertaining way to see what you're missing. "If a tree falls in a forest, does anyone care?"

Enjoy.