79 replies to this topic

[Jarley]

First, hello everyone! I'm new here. The reason I've joined is that I've been thinking about creating my own mod for BG2. So, here's my idea.

Dalayna (doesn't have stats yet), cleric (since I think there's too few of them in the game), elven by the looks of her.

She's found in the Planar Prison.

She is seemingly elven, at least by the looks of her. She has the ears and she's about the right size. Her skin is nearly white and looks like she'd never been in the sun. She is an accomplished cleric who appears to have lost her faith, if she had one to begin with. She has large, almost black eyes and long black hair that falls lifelessly on her back. Her eyes are dim and hold no spark of hope, fears or love.

She's going to be romanceable but it's going to take a bit of work. No normal 'it's going to be alright' 'love exists' 'life is good' is going to change her mind. She's lived long enough to see through such words.

There are many questions when it comes to her - is she truly an elf or something else entirely? What made her lose her faith? Why does she always assume the worst of everyone?

Feel free to ask questions and I'll answer to the best of my ability. This is the first mod I'll ever be writing so it'll take a lot of time but I should be able to understand modding once I get into it.

[vilkacis]

'sup yo, and welcome to SHS.

The obvious comment would be that the game already has three female elven clerics (or close enough) who will all be trying to get into the PC's pants - while it's certainly not enough to put me off the idea, any race that doesn't look like an elf would probably be a better idea, IMO.

Second, how does she cast spells if she has lost her faith? An arcanist doesn't need to believe in anyone but himself, but a priest isn't going to be using magic without praying to someone, and I'm pretty sure they generally have to mean it, too.

The third concern is that she's not going to be easy to get to. While not necessary, a somewhat more accessible area would probably help.

Edited by vilkacis, 08 July 2008 - 12:36 PM.

[Azkyroth]

It wouldn't be too difficult to remove her spellcasting power via a scripted effect that would in turn be removed after a quest was completed...but in that case I don't think many players would take her along unless she was unusually compellingly written and interesting to talk with.

On the other hand...I think the point about class variety is well taken.

(As an aside, did anyone ever figure out why ALL of the romanceable Bioware characters are priest-types?)

(...and the first person to reference "time spent on their knees" gets a Polar Ray between the eyes )

[Crazee]

I always assumed that Bioware had them all as priests because a) priests are smexy and b) it's likely you need a priest in your party, so you're pretty much garunteed to get a romance. The logic is flawed (and not to mention non-exsistant) but that's my take on it.

I really like the sound of her personality - grim and hopeless. To be fair, she could always work like a dual classed character, who stopped gaining levels in Cleric before switching to some other class (Fighter? Mage?).

[vilkacis]

(As an aside, did anyone ever figure out why ALL of the romanceable Bioware characters are priest-types?)

I think it's generally assumed that Bioware believed players would think clerics = healbots = boring and wouldn't want to play one themselves, so a cleric NPC would be a welcome addition to almost any party and most players would automatically end up with at least one romanceable character in the group. ...or something like that, anyway.

(Edit: ninja'd.)

Edited by vilkacis, 09 July 2008 - 01:00 AM.

[berelinde]

(As an aside, did anyone ever figure out why ALL of the romanceable Bioware characters are priest-types?)

I'm probably looking into this too deeply, and I suspect the sentimentality of this response is going to make more than a few people roll their eyes, but here goes.

It's always possible that the qualities that make someone a cleric might predispose him or her to romance.

Faerun has scores of gods, benevolent or otherwise, but the writers and the players themselves typically come from Earth (there are some I'm not so sure about...), which doesn't quite have Faerun's diversity. While it is definitely unfair to lump all religions together, there are definitely some common elements. Google "comparative religions" or read anything by Joseph Campbell if this is the kind of thing that interests you. One of these commonalities is the tendency of religion to focus on human behavior and human relationships. A cleric who is thinking about other people and the ways that they interact with each other just might be drawn toward someone he or she perceives as a kindred spirit. In other words, that person might be more receptive to the subtle nuances that make each person unique. Understanding another soul might be the first step to love.

And then there's the cleric's devotion to something that is bigger than he or she is. Once you get beyond the necessity of procreation, relationships are always more than just two people who occupy the same space at least part of the time. Biology itself takes care of the physical side of things, but once you start thinking about the spiritual and emotional elements of a relationship, who's better for that than someone who is already used to dealing with the infinite?

Or it might just be because the dev's knew the PC was going to take an arrow in the gut sooner or later, and would want a cleric along anyway.

[Daulmakan]

I think it's generally assumed that Bioware believed players would think clerics = healbots = boring and wouldn't want to play one themselves, so a cleric NPC would be a welcome addition to almost any party and most players would automatically end up with at least one romanceable character in the group. ...or something like that, anyway.

That sounds plausible.

[Azkyroth]

It's always possible that the qualities that make someone a cleric might predispose him or her to romance.

Faerun clearly isn't earth. O.o

As for Dalayna...Jarley, I understand if you don't want to give out too many spoilers, but if you gave us a better sense of what you envision for this character's progression as regards her former faith, I could let you know how feasible it is under the game mechanics (feel free to PM me if you prefer).

[Jarley]

Ah, thank you everyone for your answers. Since this is my first project, the character is still quite undeveloped but I have decided some things. And ta, Azkyroth, for your help with her class. So, here we go.

Dalayna

Race: Human
Class: Totemic druid
Alignment: True Neutral

I still haven't totally decided what her stats should be, but I took a bit of time and when a-rolling. So, here we go.

STR: 14
DEX: 16
CON: 14
INT: 14
WIS: 12
CHA: 17

In the roll her CON and INT were both 16 but I thought that was a bit too high.

And here's her premilinary bio: When asked about her past, DALAYNA blinks her ever-emotionless eyes. Her reply, when it comes, is a few hasty words about her first husband. She is obviously avoiding the subject which leaves you wondering how many marriages exactly has she had and why all of them lasted such short a time. The lack of expression on her youthful face offers you no answers.

(So, changed to human. It doesn't actually change her character that much. Also, feel free to note if you think there is something wrong with her stats. And please do not mind my possible writing errors since English is not my mother tongue.)

Edited by Jarley, 10 July 2008 - 04:24 PM.

[Crazee]

I'm glad you decided to change her to a human. I seem to have picked up an irrational dislike for elves, so I'm happy that the change hasn't really been too much of a hassle. The class change is also interesting. I thought druids had to receive their spells from the Gods too, though?

As for the stats, they're a little high. Players love to poke holes in things like that, even though they have litte to no relevance in the game. Myself, when I'm making my PC, I will roll for hours, even if I only play the character for half an hour, so I'm hardly one to talk. Still, unless there's a reason for it, I'd up the Wisdom, and lower the Intelligence. Thing is, if it's in accordance with her character and personality, then don't change it just because. Leave it as it is. The strength could do with a lowering, as well, but that's just me.

Good luck.

[Jarley]

Yes, I think druids need to have a deity they follow. In Dalayna's case this is, though, more of a bond than an actual divinity.

Lets just say that she's kind of a learned person so I could up her wisdom but I really don't want to make her overpowered in any way.

Thank you for your comment

[Azkyroth]

In at least some settings, priests can apparently receive their powers through a connection with an abstract principle as well as with a personal deity. This makes even more sense for Druids, who revere "nature" first and foremost, and seem to follow specific gods of the natural world second.

As for WIS, most of the practical effects it was supposed to have weren't implemented properly (IE, saving throw bonuses) so it's more of a characterization factor than others. Players, however, are likely to be a little put off if she doesn't act and talk in a way that's consistent with her stats. It can be hard to write high-WIS characters (Cernd's writing, for instance, suffered - torturously - from the popular misconception equating "wisdom" with "Zen-ishness").

Her CHA is more worrisome from a characterization standpoint. It seems difficult to believe that most people in the world would find a person as world-weary and cold as your comments depict her all that inspiring or charming. What exactly did you have in mind there?

Edited by Azkyroth, 10 July 2008 - 05:15 PM.

[jcompton]

She is obviously avoiding the subject which leaves you wondering how many marriages exactly has she had and why all of them lasted such short a time.

It leaves me doing no such thing.

Nobody actually reads the in-game biographies, but you'd better be thinking long and hard about just why people are interested in pursuing the mysteries of your character. It will not be "because you tell them to."

[Jarley]

Sorry about that, I know it still requires a lot of work. Those rollings were mostly to test what a druid could be. I've given it a bit of thought and decided she'd have lower stats in the beginning. The problem is, no one'd take a druid with CHA 9 along and she's not all that charismatic to begin with. So she should be 11, 12 at the most, I think and when her quests are finished, she'd get a raise.

But yeah, I'll be asking for help if I don't figure out how that's done.

And for the bio...it's just the first one, not the final.

HAve to admit that I was a bit put down at first but decided to see this thing through since I've always given up too easily.

[berelinde]

(Edit: This is all intended as constructive commentary! I know you just said that what you posted is a first draft, but why not form some good habits now?)

Just letting you know that some players have sensitivities to phrases like "leaves you wondering" and "makes you feel". Because, as JC points out in a previous post, the player might be thinking/feeling something completely different. Some players react to it negatively.

It can usually be reworded to avoid imposing your will as a writer on the player.

She is obviously avoiding the subject which leaves you wondering how many marriages exactly has she had and why all of them lasted such short a time.

That could be written as "She mutters something vague about marriages and rapidly changes the subject." The player would get the idea that 1) there's been more than one marriage and 2) she doesn't want to talk about it. As long as you don't *tell* the player that he should be curious, he'll be perfectly happy to be so on his own.

But yeah, I don't know how many people actually read bios, especially when they are more than a couple sentences.

Edited by berelinde, 10 July 2008 - 06:59 PM.

[Azkyroth]

But yeah, I don't know how many people actually read bios, especially when they are more than a couple sentences.

...there are people who don't?

[berelinde]

Um... me. I've read the description of the NPC on the webpage already. That's all I need, really. That, and I'd rather form my own opinions over the course of the game by listening to what the NPC is saying. There's no rush.

[theacefes]

*shrug* I like reading bios but that's only because I don't devote a ton of time to the npc's webpage/D files before I play the mod. I just play it to try it out. Also, I've done all the game's quests anyway so it's not like I have anything important to do.

[Jarley]

Ah, sorry, it's my bad if I sound a bit off there. All help is of course appreciated and if I sound ungrateful, then I'm sorry about that 'cause I don't mean it so. It's just a thing that's a bit hard for me to deal with.

[theacefes]

Hey it's your mod and you're doing it for yourself. It's always a pro to take into consideration the advice others give you but once it stops being fun, I 'd say it's a good time to put it aside until you feel up to it.

You're doing good . Keep it up.