has anyone else tried this?

[XUSIA]

i have played thru a couple of times in both single & multi player modes and find that i enjoy the banter in single player but some of the characters are not who i would like to use. i decided to try changing them thru shadowkeeper and came up with some interesting results.

nalia changed her to a thief dualed to a cleric (hence her need to help everyone)
valygar changed him to a wizard slayer (due to his hatred of mages & magic)
minsc changed him to a berserker (hell, he already has rage)

in some games to better suit my playing style (power) i changed jaheira to a thief/cleric, imoen to a sorceror, valygar to an archer, minsc to a beserker.
self undead hunter dual swinging axes
minsc berserker dual swinging l swords (and mace disrupt for undead)
keldorn inquistor 2handed sword & crossbow
valygar archer long bow, halberd & katana
jaheira thief/cleric sling & flail, hammer, mace
imoen sorceror staff & spells

with this i have two unbelievable tanks
two ranged fighters that can pack a punch in tight quarters
a mage for spells and jaheira running around healing everyone
and checking for traps

so far i am in chapter 3 (have completed every task except for liches & shangalar) and am playing on the hardest setting and am not walking thru easily....and i am enjoying myself.

so back to my question, has anyone else done anything like this? have you come up with any interesting combinations?

[VonDondu]

I've edited NPCs nearly every time I've played SoA/ToB.

As you say, Minsc makes a natural Berserker. He's also good as a Barbarian. Imoen can be almost anything--Swashbuckler, specialist Mage, Sorcerer, Wild Mage, dual-class Thief, Kensai/Mage (if you edit her Strength), etc. I usually make Aerie a Cleric/Illusionist, but I've also made her a single-class Illusionist and a single-class Cleric. I've made Yoshimo a 7th Level Kensai dualled to a Thief, and I usually make Haer'Dalis a Swashbuckler. I once made Mazzy a Cavalier; I've also made her an Archer. I once tried to make Valygar a Wizard Slayer since it makes sense, as you say, but I quickly grew frustrated with that class and changed him back to a Stalker. I've made Anomen a 9th Level Berserker dualled to a Cleric (which was really awesome). I've made Nalia a single-class Conjurer and a 9th Level Thief dualled to a Mage. In my last game, I changed Viconia to a Fighter/Cleric for reasons of party balance (I was inspired by Yasraena).

I haven't changed Keldorn since I like the Inquisitor kit, and I don't see any reason to change Korgan, since the Berserker kit is best for him. I don't usuallt play with Edwin and Cernd, but I don't see any reason to change them, either. (Edwin would be very powerful as a Sorcerer, but it doesn't really suit him--he loves spellbooks too much.) I haven't changed Jaheira, either, but she would make a good Cleric/Ranger if you changed her alignment. (I usually change her alignment anyway to make her shut up.)

I once played a game using three characters of my own (a Blade, a Skald, and a Jester), and they were all children of Bhaal. They all started with special innate abilities, and they were all able to transform into the Slayer. Haer'Dalis, Aerie, and Imoen were also in the party. They certainly produced a lot of Magic Missiles and Melf's Minute Meteors.

[KaaH]

One point of warning (at least happens to one of my games) if you change stats, alignments race or profession the NPC specific weapons, armor,... (e.g. Keldorns' or Valygars' armor) may not be usable by them anymore. Romances my break, Jaheira -> Ranger/Cleric was a no go others may be affected, too.

[Raven_Song]

There is a mod that makes Cernd a totemic druid (with slightly higj stats)

There is also a Blucher mod that starts some NPC's at level 1 but with access experience allowing you to select the proficiencies and skills. Oh and it offers a choice of classes and means you don't need Shadow Keeper. Haven't tried it myself yet though. Anyway here are the possible changes

Imoen...
a: Thief
b: Assassin
c: Swashbuckler
d: Multi Thief/Mage
e: Wild Mage
f: Sorceress

Mazzy...
a: Paladin
b: Cavalier
c: Undead Hunter

Cernd...
a: Monk(!) & Monk w/original stats.
b: Totemic
c: Avenger
d: Druid

Nalia...
a: Conjurer
b: Illusionist
c: Wild Mage
d: Sorceress
e: Multi Fighter/Mage

Jaheira...
a: Cleric/Ranger

Minsc...
a: Barbarian (w/ & w/o Boo in the normal inventory slot)
b: Berserker (w/ & w/o Boo in the normal inventory slot)

Anomen...
a: Paladin
b: Cavalier

Valygar...
a: Wizard Slayer
b: Kensai

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Bumping this since I just installed Level 1 NPCs. So far my changes are...

Anomen - Priest of Helm. Would have preferred a fighter/Priest of Helm dual, but while L1NPCs allows for multi-class kits it still doesn't let you dual-class to a kit, or set up a pre-existing dual-class, so a pure-class Priest it is. It just makes sense to me that an actual priest of Helm would use the Priest of Helm kit, with the added bonus of getting True Sight and his Turn Undead skill leveling faster - I'm not much of a fan of the evil variety but for a good or neutral character TU is great. Also, now when Haer'Dalis makes fun of Ano's lame combat style it makes sense, rather than HD deriding someone with better battle skills than him. It's not like it'd take a great warrior to rout a bunch of hill giants anyway, especially from behind a squad of fellow warriors...

Imoen - Swashbuckler/Mage dual, dualled at level 7 as per usual with thief points sunk in Open Locks, Find Traps, and to a lesser extent Pickpocket (50). With her poor stealth skills and low backstab multiplier I never use Immy for backstabbing, so the AC and THAC0/damage bonuses are a worthwhile trade-off IMO.

Nalia - Swashbuckler 4/Mage dual. Same idea as Imoen, only with more of an emphasis on Open Locks and Pick Pocket as befits her background.

Mazzy - Paladin, no kit. If Aerie can be a Mage/Cleric multi then Mazzy should be able to be a paladin dammit. Dialogs where characters point out she's not really a paladin can be explained away by her not being accepted into an official order due to institutionalised racism in said. Would have gone for Cavalier but she has a personal shortbow, so vanilla paladin it is.

Minsc - Barbarian. Do sorta miss his being able to wear plate armor and cast Armor of Faith, but he really is better suited as a barbarian character-wise - his culture venerates berserkers, the love of nature still fits, and the fast movement suits his leap-blindly-into-the-fray combat style. Also, it means I have to use some of the mid-range armors which I never seem to use otherwise, and until he gets the damage resistance bonuses (i.e. incentive to keep him in the party until high levels) keeping him alive is a bit trickier thanks to a higher AC and no self-buffing. Considered using the Berserker fighter kit, but I'm doing Tutu as well and made Khalid a henpecked berserker instead.

Viconia - Fighter-Cleric multi. Still has weak CON and STR, but does a bit better on the HP count, and as one of my favourite characters I wanted her to be a bit more useful at high levels. The main loss here is the weaker Turn Undead, but I'm not a fan of the evil TU anyway and the option for Harm + Critical Strike and Armor of Faith + Hardiness later on more than makes up for it. Also, as revealed in her romance, prior to meeting the PC (i.e at really low levels) Viccy made it solo through the underdark as a wanted fugitive without any priest spells - IMO that's pretty hardcore and a Cleric stripped of spellcasting probably couldn't pull it off.

Valygar - Wizard Slayer/Thief multi, with thief points invested in Hide in Shadows, Move Silently, Set Traps, and Detect Illusions. Valygar has a few distinguishing features character wise - he hates wizards/magic, he can't wear armor above studded leather, and he backstabs. It doesn't make sense to me that as a magic-hater he'd become the only ranger class that casts mage spells, and aside from a general love of nature and a country retreat there isn't really much about him that screams 'ranger' - even Viconia appreciates the forest of Tethyr and she's a cleric from the underdark. On the other hand, he comes with his own custom armor and weapon, which as a wizard slayer he can still use just fine, and which are both thief-compatible so he can still hide in shadows and backstab (eventually with a better multiplier). Likewise, thief traps are both non-magical and go through most spell protections, so it makes sense he'd be interested in exploiting them, and detecting illusions would likewise be a desirable skill for a dedicated mage-killer. In terms of character development, if you keep him in a party with a good-aligned spellcaster he slowly becomes more tolerant of magic and magic-users, especially in ToB, which is conveniently around the time he can get Use Any Item, thus making him far more attractive as a long-term party member without breaking character.

And Xan is a Wild Mage, just to reinforce the futility of his meaningless existence.

[QuenGalad]

Wow, you've found a way to make Valygar an even more attractive party member? :laugh: Seriously, i'm a sucker for rangers.

What you got here makes sense, altough i always understood it was his family's trait to be gifted in magic and he inherited some of it, hence the mage spells, the kit being only an extension of the npc. After all, people don't actually select kits in Faerun, do they? I agree he could be more 'rangerish', though he's just generally underdeveloped. Pity.

And i've always wanted to try Viconia as a cleric/thief, but she'd still be unable to use daggers and other sharp pointy things, which is quite a disappointment since it would suit her really nicely. Maybe i'd even like her then. Nalia is a great swashbuckler/mage, since she couldn't really backstab anyone, and Imoen wears any bard kit really well.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Next run through might have to be a Mazzy and Valygar party, I figure by mid ToB and with some magic resistance boosting gear he should be at or near totally immune to magic, and with the option of Hiding in Shadows and using Whirlwind for 100% spell failure to boot.

Yeah, rangers rule. Ironically I'm now ranger-less, so might give the Kivan NPC mod a bash for some elf archery goodness.

[willsanders84]

Does all the editing make anyone else feel a little *dirty*?

[Edar Macilrille]

I like feeling dirty, perhaps I should edit a bit. I really like Minsc, but he would be a better Barbarian than Ranger- in fact he is a barbarian, Rasheman being full of them...