52 replies to this topic

[Azkyroth]

Is this all you guys ever do is go off topic?

In public, at any rate...

For my own part, I've always found Oversight and a couple of the Quest Packs extremely rewarding. ^.^

Edited by Azkyroth, 05 October 2007 - 04:35 PM.

[theacefes]

Flirt Pack, Keto.

My first and still favorite mods.

[leahnkain]

Maybe I am bias, but I think Classic Adventures is well worth a try.

[cmorgan]

I am biased, partisan, and thoroughly one-sided for saying so, but for always-install-never-play-without content bearing/quest gving mods, male protagonist, my favorites are

BG = The BG1 NPC Project (Dynaheir's Romance in Tutu or BGT)

On this one I am less personally biased, but I have a really tough time playing without her (and I hate that I can't have her humor and stories in ToB, and part of me really wishes that she would stop being a friend and be romanceable even though I know that wouldspoil the whole thing, just like Moonlighting or Remington Steele)

BG2 = Keto

[theacefes]

This should probably go in the CA forum.

I thought it was fun and new. Part of the reason I love TCs is that there is an all new story and I don't know what's going to happen. (Everytime I play through BG2 I'm hoping maybe Bodhi will make a new twist on the game that Bioware hid and never revealed to us but it never happens)

But Keto is still my favorite NPC.

I feel odd playing my own mods for fun, so I don't normally do it.

[Tempest]

I'd say Tutu in combination with the BG1 Npc Project is one of the best mod combinations out there at the moment, but for purely BG2, Fade remains my favorite mod.

[Miss Sakaki]

Depends what you want, really. Tutu is fabulous. I haven't played it all the way through, so I haven't experienced the romances, but I liked what I saw of the BG1NPC pack - it really brings the BG1 NPCs to life.

Modded-NPC-wise for BG2, I'd recommend Sarah and Amber at G3 - they're both great for either a friendship or a romance.

For quests or other enhancements, I'd go for Virtue, Unfinished Business, BG2 Banter Pack, and various bits and pieces of the Quest Pack. The NPC kitpack is also cool.

[Toxeus]

BG1 - Sword Coast Stratagems
BG2 - Sword Coast Stratagems II
It's a must have for every new run

[leahnkain]

This should probably go in the CA forum.

I thought it was fun and new. Part of the reason I love TCs is that there is an all new story and I don't know what's going to happen.

Thanks! I haven't played BG for a long time, even with new NPC's the storyline is basically the same. Classic Adventures is made for the BGommunity to enjoy. A completely Bhaal and Boo free storyline. It is worth a try.

[Solar's Harper]

A completely Bhaal and Boo free storyline. It is worth a try.

What!? No Mr Minature Giant Space Fuzzy Wuzzy is going to make a cameo appearance later on? Me sad now...

[Gabrielle]

Classic Adventures is made for the BGommunity to enjoy. A completely Bhaal and Boo free storyline. It is worth a try.

A total conversion?

[Chevalier]

Classic Adventures is made for the BGommunity to enjoy. A completely Bhaal and Boo free storyline. It is worth a try.

A total conversion?

Yes, and it is a GREAT mod!!!!!!! Play it, you will love it!!!

[Pandæmonium]

What, no love for Saerileth? All the more for me then.
She's not quite perfect, but she's consistently written, and well. That really counts for a lot.
I've not played a whole campaign without her yet.

I'm looking forward to Classic Adventures, but I don't want to install it until it's finished, rather than play through it piecemeal. Thankfully I've still got plenty of other mods to keep my attention in the meantime.

[berelinde]

Saerileth has the ability to provoke strong feelings in players, good or bad. There might be a few who feel neutral toward her, but most folks seem to polarize one way or the other.

Taken one way, this can be a sign of a quality NPC. After all, one of the biggest letdowns for an NPC modder is that a player had no opinion after playing the mod, because that means he didn't manage to breathe life into his NPC. Sure, praise is nice, but criticism based on emotional response isn't so bad either. At least the modder was able to invoke some kind of feeling.

So it might be worthwhile to give the mod a try, to see which one it's going to be for you.

[Tempest]

Don't confuse "no opinion" with "neutrality", though. For example, I am basically neutral towards Saerileth, but that's because I have very mixed feelings about her-she's a wonderful character and polished to a mirror shine, but she's also Mary Sue-ish and one-dimensional. Great character for what she is, but there's no depth to her at all. So in the bottom line, I'm ambivalent about her.

I have to second Berelinde's comment about a real "no opinion" being the worst response a player can give a modder. There are some mod npc's whom I have a very strong desire to stab in the eyes with a spork, but it's to their writers' credit that they can provoke that degree of reaction. Probably not the *kind* of reaction they had in mind, but equal in magnitude to someone who absolutely loves the character. For a classic Bioware example of this sort of thing, you need look no further than Anomen. Some love him to bits, some want to murder him, very very few just say "Eh." This makes Anomen, in my opinion, one of Bioware's best-written characters.

[Gabrielle]

Saerileth is just awesome.

[KIrving]

There are some mod npc's whom I have a very strong desire to stab in the eyes with a spork, but it's to their writers' credit that they can provoke that degree of reaction. Probably not the *kind* of reaction they had in mind, but equal in magnitude to someone who absolutely loves the character. For a classic Bioware example of this sort of thing, you need look no further than Anomen. Some love him to bits, some want to murder him, very very few just say "Eh." This makes Anomen, in my opinion, one of Bioware's best-written characters.

I will always have a soft spot for Anomen and I also find it difficult not to romance him as the romanced Anomen manages to seem, eventually, like a decent person. Also he just seems to need to be romanced, somewhat akin to a community service.

As for being one of the best written, my opinion definitely differs. I believe the writers and developers did the character and the players a great disservice by not having a consistent vision for Anomen from the beginning, and following it through. The cobbled together romance that is supposed to be 'everything' for every female pc, including the fall from grace, for those pc's of a neutral or evil alignment. The occassional sweetness in the romance and then the horrible jarring effect of some of his banters with other npc's. These things, for me, make him appear only adequately written. He could have been so much more or, at the very least, less like a patchwork doll that the writers occasionally liked to cuddle and then stick pins in.

Perhaps I'm, now, just too spoiled by all the great npc mods out there.

I'll also recommend BG1npc project and Gavin. Lots of fun.
For BG2 - Romantic Encounters

[Eric P.]

Saerileth is an extremely impressive mod package, and works flawlessly *knock wood...ouch, my head!* in my temperamental configuration. I'm surprised at how little time it can take (in game time) for her and the protagonist to romance each other, as was the case during my last test game, in which my protagonist was a Cavalier with a high CHA score. She was very much taken with him from their first meeting She's a strong asset to a party, as long as they act honorably, and her rescue quest is very enjoyable if, like me, you enjoy planar travel (and don't object to Planescape). The whole package is mighty impressive!

So, there's a vote in favor of the Saerileth mod.

Happy gaming,
Eric

[Zyraen]

Saerileth was one of the mods that inspired me initially I say initially, once I got over the first rush of romancing her (OMG her portrait was sooo... wow *swoons* ) and looked at the writing aspect of the mod, I found myself a little turned off by how quickly she takes to the PC. I guess appearances, especially mine, count a lot to that that little Paladin

[VIIIofSwords]

Best mods? Well, in my case, the best for me (a completely different list from my favorite mods, mind you) right now include CA, Fade, various Quest Packs, Unfinished Business, Sarah, and Beyond The Law.

Saerileth is a good NPC for a while. She was fun at the start and her personality was quite interesting to start out with. It was great having her along for several runs, but after a while, she started to get dull. By the fifth time I had her along, even if I wasn't romancing her then, I had the urge to strangle her. Her adherence to honor and law started to rub me the wrong way after the wonder of her portrait and having her along wore off.

On a side note, I actually prefer one of the alternates to the default portrait.

Edited by VIIIofSwords, 08 January 2008 - 07:43 PM.