83 replies to this topic

[vilkacis]

Now if anyone has criticism, don't be shy now.

Too much description text. BG2 doesn't use it, so it sticks out like a sore thumb; if you necessarily have to use it, it should be extremely rare.

Do not assume that the protagonist would be embarrassed over a story like that, give the player options if you want a PC reaction.

Also, I don't remember if they mention anything about when it happened, but unless they do, that event is likely to have taken place before Imoen arrived, since it really doesn't really seem like something a 10+ years old kid would do.


Oh, and replace "she" with <PRO_HESHE> for the protagonist; "her" should be <PRO_HISHER>. Check this for a full list.

[Yuwakusha]

Now if anyone has criticism, don't be shy now.

Too much description text. BG2 doesn't use it, so it sticks out like a sore thumb; if you necessarily have to use it, it should be extremely rare.

Do not assume that the protagonist would be embarrassed over a story like that, give the player options if you want a PC reaction.

Also, I don't remember if they mention anything about when it happened, but unless they do, that event is likely to have taken place before Imoen arrived, since it really doesn't really seem like something a 10+ years old kid would do.


Oh, and replace "she" with <PRO_HESHE> for the protagonist; "her" should be <PRO_HISHER>. Check this for a full list.

Heh, I agree with you. That is one of two banters with the "descriptive text" and it's two long to really be a banter, so maybe a talk or something? I originally *did* have options and varitations for different kinds of <CHARNAME>s but I thought that that would unnecessarily complicate the banter so I cut them out. I try and rewrite it tonight.

You must be physchic to know I was looking for that list. Many thanks!

Oh and this is a rather offhand question, but I'm ignorant so could someone please inform me what a "Forcetalk" is? I assume it's something involving the PID menu but I'm not sure.

[vilkacis]

it's two long to really be a banter, so maybe a talk or something?

What's the difference?

You could always have an option to cut it short if you're worried about length.

Imoen: Have I told you about...
PC option: How about STFU and walk faster if you have the energy to run your mouth. (goto 1)
PC option: Childhood stories omg yay! (goto 2)
1 -> Imoen: Spoilsport. (END)
2 -> Imoen: This reminds me of that time with the gnomes and the pixies and the strawberry jam and... (etc)

I originally *did* have options and varitations for different kinds of <CHARNAME>s but I thought that that would unnecessarily complicate the banter so I cut them out. I try and rewrite it tonight.

Yeah, it seems like assuming things about the PC is the worst sin you can commit in BG modding. People tend to throw hissyfits if you dare misrepresent their pet PC and make them look less AWESOME^TM than they're supposed to be. Even if you do add player options, it doesn't have to be that complicated - just a couple of lines this way or that.

Oh and this is a rather offhand question, but I'm ignorant so could someone please inform me what a "Forcetalk" is? I assume it's something involving the PID menu but I'm not sure.

Just the act of "manually" talking to the character, but I think it's mostly used when you're doing it to something you're beating on in order to prevent them from going hostile. WIth joinable NPCs, people tend to use PID/"flirts"/whatever instead.

[Yuwakusha]

Well, after an incredibly busy month consisting of my laptop sporadically breaking on me on and off, having to send it in to be fixed, and a trip to Seattle I've been rather busy. I'm currently focusing on banters and have 9 of the 12 Bioware NPC's written and complete and I will move onto the other half of interjections and lovetalks.

Here are some banters:


Viconia: I find it strange that you do not possess the bloodlust when it comes to my kin. Were you born like that or is your nature truly so simplistic and foolhardy?
Srilorin: Are you looking to give me a reason now Viconia? I am not a broadminded construct, nor some sanctimonious, self righteous paladin. I have my own thoughts on your kind. Thoughts which would otherwise gain me feasible scorn and contempt among my less unbiased people.
Srilorin: The drow choose to remain in the petty civil wars, betrayal, and brew of unbounded hatred. They have never harmed me or my loved ones, so why cling to a single prejudice labeling dark elves as unquestionably evil? There are exceptions to every race: and the drow are no different.
Viconia: We are the very embodiment of evil Srilorin. We sacrifice those of our own House to gain prestige and power. We murder and slaughter innocent children and your kin alike in cold blood for sport. Our hearts are nonexistent, useless things as ineffectual as emotions.
Srilorin: Your fabled black skin is nothing but an outward façade: a veneer that hides the true motives that lurk within your heart and a physical trait which repels the surfacers like a torch immersed in water.
Srilorin: You are drow, yet you are not. You choose to emulate their ways at times to attain to the best possible advantages, yet I don?t see you attacking everything within your sight simply because you disagree with their gender.
Viconia: All trust is foolish male: letting your guard down around me is to die and it would be in your best interests to remember that lesson thoroughly. I may yet plunge a hidden dagger into heart when you least expect it. I am undecided.
Srilorin: When and if that day ever comes, I will be ready, don?t you fret.
Viconia: Watch your back closely male. It just might come sooner than you anticipate.




Jan: You know Srilorin ole? boy, you remind me of one of my dear mother?s cousins once removed by the name of Lilly.
Srilorin: Who would have guessed? Though with your dysfunctional family tree, that hardly comes as a surprise.
Jan: Oh yes, yes indeed my friend. Poor cousin Lilly because it?s such a pity what happened to her. She fell in love with an elf you know. He was about your size as a matter of fact. But he worshipped Sune. Anyway, she was off turnip picking one day just outside of Uncle Bilgor?s turnip greenhouse when she met Fallusuligor.
Srilorin: Jan, silence yourself immedia?
Jan: ?we eventually got over Fallusuligor and there was a great wedding. One of the biggest Jansen events since, well, I can?t remember. There was turnip beer and people were getting wildly drunk and throwing up in vases, jumping out of windows. But sadly even after all of the wonderful festivities and red hot monkey loving they were divorced the next day. Things wouldn?t... fit if you get my meaning. Tragic since they made such a comely couple and by my insane Uncle Spanky?s spectacles did Lilly have the loveliest set of brea?
Srilorin: I hope there was a moral or partial significance to that insufferable nonsense or my immaculately clean blade might become stained with your blood. A pity since I just sharpened it last evening.
Jan: Moral significance? Why, I was merely commenting on your height, speaking of which that reminds me of another relative?
Srilorin: Count yourself fortunate that your diminutive stature has kept your neck intact.
Jan: My my my that?s a rather icy looking glare you seem to be giving me right now. Always so grumpy and just like my Aunt Camelia-Cuddle was when she lost her?
Srilorin: Enough Jan. We are done conversing.



Aerie: ?Oh , look! A rainbow, there in the sky!
Srilorin: Beautiful is it not? You have a beguiling smile Aerie. It becomes you far more than that frown you seem to favor.
Aerie: (Giggle) You?you are too kind Srilorin. T-thank you.



Nalia: What in the name of the gods were you doing Srilorin?! You nearly broke that poor old man?s jaw! I demand that you go and repent!
Srilorin: Had I known that noble women prefer unwashed peasants leering down their gowns so brazenly, I would have refrained myself. My apologies.
Nalia: Now I can only hope this escapade wasn?t out of jealousy?
Srilorin: Be not a fool human. I do not have such time to idly waste. I wager I?d not enjoy spending it having my eyes riveted to your chest like a quivering, lovesick cow.
Nalia: I don?t know why I bothered speaking to you in the first place, I should have simply kept my comment to myself had I know you would react so volatile.
Srilorin: In that instance woman, you are correct.


Ehhhh. These are more serious ones I guess. I will post some other stuff in a couple days.


P.S. Everybody have a great 2009 and don't end up with a hangover like I did.

[Thanatos.]

red hot monkey loving?!?!?!

I lol'd so hard xD They're brilliant

[Yuwakusha]

red hot monkey loving?!?!?!

I lol'd so hard xD They're brilliant

Thanks dear. I'll take that as a vote of confidence.

[Yuwakusha]

A couple days my arse. Progress is that I am about 85% complete with all the banters, and I am well...randomly alternating between things when I have an idea.

Here are two more banters (hope they aren't *too bad*!)


Srilorin: Imoen, was that a spell of Burning Hands that I saw you practicing earlier today?
Imoen: Why yes, yes it was. What of it? I had no idea you were familiar with the reagents and incantations.
Srilorin: Are you aware, that if you close your fingers vaguely, but still keep your thumbs touching and palms apart, you can focus and direct that spell a further distance? However, there is a disadvantage in that you will lose much of your radius of exposure.
Imoen: Now where the heck did you learn that?
Srilorin: Just some drivel that I remember Tolgerias blathering incoherently about. Not that it was of much benefit to one such as I, but you ought to try it sometime. See if it works.
Imoen: (Grin) Heh I will. Thanks for expanding my already extensive spellbook. Now I have even more things to remember you slave driver!
Srilorin: It was my pleasure Imoen. I?m glad my hours of torment spent in that dusty library were not wasted abortively.



Nalia: Srilorin may I ask you somethin?
Srilorin: No.
Nalia: But I have not even?
Srilorin: No.
Nalia: (Angrily) You know Srilorin, you rival even Isaea Roenall. You are both supercilious, cocky, and manipulative bastards!
Srilorin: And our cheeky noble girl is learning some more extroverted vocabulary. It isn?t becoming for a lady to hurl such fastidious words at her superiors you know.
Nalia: Argh! You are so incredibly exasperating and galling! I should slap you right now!
Srilorin: Unless you?d enjoy a spanking, I?d advise you not to. The last woman who attempted such a thing found herself in a rather?uncompromising position.
Nalia: Your innuendo is low and dismal, even for a peasant Srilorin. You disgust me!
Srilorin: (Snort) Oh my dear Nalia, whatever were *you* thinking? For once I meant my words with genuine truth, do all young virginal noblewomen happen to have such *imaginative* minds like yours? Mind you I could be a bit more demonstrative if you enjoy such?things.
Nalia: (Blush) I was wrong you about you. You are even worse than Isaea. Just leave me alone.



Annnnnnd yes. Here are flirts.

(Stare at Srilorin.)
(His features are chiseled, containing the firmness and vigor of youth, yet you know better. His eyes gleam both with age and experience, hinting at the sinister and horrifying knowledge lurking just below their depths.)


(Stare at Srilorin.)
(Srilorin?s attention seems to be occupied elsewhere and you take a brief moment to study him.)
(His eyes dart to and fro with alertness, casually but carefully studying his surroundings. His amber irises are framed in long lashes that give him a boyish sweetness that seems delicate and completely incongruent with the rest of his battle hardened countenance.)


(Kiss Srilorin's cheek.)
(You swiftly press a kiss upon his cheek and he grabs your chin smoothly, gently turning you to meet his eyes and he smiles. ?Thank you <CHARNAME>.?)


(Hug Srilorin.)

(He stands awkwardly in your embrace and you feel him stiffen as you slip your arms around him. Guilty at the fact that you have made him uncomfortable you turn away. Before you can, he grabs your hand pulling you swiftly backwards, wrapping his arms firmly around you.)
(His hands rest gently on your lower back, fingers tracing repetitive circles on your skin causing enticing shivers to waft slowly and deliciously up the length of your spine.)
(As the moments pass, he seems to realize how dangerously intimate your seemingly innocent embrace had become, and he abruptly releases you without further commentary.)


A PC initiated flirt with options. Yay.


Srilorin: (Oddly enough, Srilorin welcomes your touch for once holding your hand in his own, his thumb traces idle patterns of the back of your palm.)
PC: (You laugh mischievously.) Your hands are like rubbing a piece of Greenwood bark straight from the tree itself! You need some lotion sweetheart, and at once! (SEE TREEBARK)
PC: (You say nothing and continue to hold his hand, smiling as you do.) (SEE SMILE)
PC: (Blush profusely and release his hand.) (SEE BLUSH)

TREEBARK
Srilorin: That?s what happens when you wield a sword for one hundred and twenty nine years without respite my dear.

SMILE
Srilorin: (He gazes into your eyes and holds your hand for a brief second longer before releasing it and returning his attentions to previous places.)

BLUSH
Srilorin: (He raises an eyebrow in an inquisitive manner before returning his attentions to previous places.)

Please forgive my bad format on this one.


And last but not least, here is one that is initiated by him.
Srilorin: (He pulls you into a firm embrace resting his cheek upon the top of your head, his hair spilling all around you in a scarlet veil.)
Srilorin: You are my life, my only love <CHARNAME>. Don?t ever forget that.

And yes, this reaction obviously comes waaaaaaaaaaaaaay later.


These were oddly the hardest things to write and not due to lack of imagination. I tried my best to account for all types of <CHARNAME>'s and keep "You feel" statements out of them completely, since I know that it really bothers people when others dictate how their <CHARNAME> feels. But if you have criticism of any kind, please do not hesitate to tell me.

[Yuwakusha]

Since I have people continuously asking about his stats, I figured I should post my revisions. These stats are most likely what I will be sticking to.

Class: Kensai
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Strength: 18/95
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 15
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 13
Charisma: 14

And again if you think any of this is too overpowered or should change, I wanna know!


STAT TOTAL=84

And he will have two personal items. A greatsword and a ring, both were from his parents.

Love?s Bane
This is Srilorin?s greatsword, a weapon passed down to him from his father. The weapon itself is quite impressive and has many unusual rumors attached to it. Supposedly when liked and respected by others around it, the sword taps into the power of the personality and persona, giving it a surreal edge in combat. However, if the wielder is disliked or hated by his surroundings, the sword is said to be too heavy to lift or even budge. Much larger than standard two-handed swords, it requires a vast amount of strength to use it comfortably.

STATISTICS:
THAC0: +2 Bonus
Damage: 1D10 + 2
Damage Type: Slashing
Weight: 45
Speed Factor: 2
Proficiency Type: Two-Handed Sword
Type: 2-Handed
Requires:
15 Strength
12 Charisma
Only Usable By:
Srilorin



Srilorin?s Ring
A simple silver ring with elven runes carved into it. This ring was given to Srilorin as an infant by his parents to protect him from danger.
STATISTICS
Equipped Abilities: Negative Plane Protection


And as for the special abilities that I had posted previously, the only thing that I am even considering would be a beginning Spell Resistance of 3 that increased by 1 every four levels. I'll mull it over.

[berelinde]

Kensai fighters cannot wear armor, so that 10 dexterity is really going to make life tough for him. Kensai are dex fighters, not strength fighters, so that maxed out strength isn't really going to help him all that much. If it were me, I'd knock the strength back to 16, drop the wisdom, intelligence, and charisma by two points each, and give him a higher dex.

Now for the hypercritical part. I'm not thrilled with the Imoen banter. I'm not fond of NPCs "teaching" canon NPCs skills they already know, especially in an area where the mod NPC would have no training at all. Taking this trend to its sarcastic conclusion, will he also teach Keldorn how to smite evil or give Anomen a few pointers on getting more oomph out of his "turn undead" feat?

[Yuwakusha]

Kensai fighters cannot wear armor, so that 10 dexterity is really going to make life tough for him. Kensai are dex fighters, not strength fighters, so that maxed out strength isn't really going to help him all that much. If it were me, I'd knock the strength back to 16, drop the wisdom, intelligence, and charisma by two points each, and give him a higher dex.

Now for the hypercritical part. I'm not thrilled with the Imoen banter. I'm not fond of NPCs "teaching" canon NPCs skills they already know, especially in an area where the mod NPC would have no training at all. Taking this trend to its sarcastic conclusion, will he also teach Keldorn how to smite evil or give Anomen a few pointers on getting more oomph out of his "turn undead" feat?

The extremely low dexterity was in place in the instance that I would give him a 18/00 or 18/95 strength simply for balance. I didn't want him to have uber strength and then be able to withstand and dodge everything thrown at him, and then the equipment on top of that woot! (And to think I had all of those abilities in the beginning...) So something like this?

Strength: 16
Dexterity: 15
Consitution: 15
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom:11
Charisma: 12

Better?

And as for Imoen's banter, I forgot to type two lines in the banter so I can rewrite it. My intention was not for him to necessarily "teach" Imoen Burning Hands, but if you're forced to sit in a library, study wizard lore, and are partially trained by wizards for half your life you might pick up a thing or two. But I clearly see what you mean.

And like always, thank you Berelinde and others for criticism.

[Azkyroth]

My advice would be, don't have him teach any mage NPCs spells unless they're ones you've made up for the mod (or ones from PnP which are pretty obscure) and you have an explanation for why he knows them and the others don't already.

[Thanatos.]

Or you could throw together a trigger that only initiates the banter if Imoen doesn't know the spell "Burning Hands".

[Icendoan]

You could (shakily) make it initiate only after she casts Burning Hands, with SpellCast()

Icen

[Yuwakusha]

Well, Imoen actually doesn't come with Burning Hands as a previously learned spell. She would have to scribe it, copy it, etc. This could be somewhat of a floating thing that is triggered if she actually does learn it. How would you write the check for a spell?

[Azkyroth]

Well, Imoen actually doesn't come with Burning Hands as a previously learned spell. She would have to scribe it, copy it, etc. This could be somewhat of a floating thing that is triggered if she actually does learn it. How would you write the check for a spell?

Modify the Burning Hands scroll's "scribe spell" use to set a variable, and check for it in the script.

[berelinde]

You can do that? Sorry, I'm mostly a dialogue coder, so some of the scarier bits of modding arcana are lost on me. I didn't know you could modify a game function like "scribe scroll". Interesting.

But would that set the variable whenever any character learned to scribe a scroll?

[Azkyroth]

You can do that? Sorry, I'm mostly a dialogue coder, so some of the scarier bits of modding arcana are lost on me. I didn't know you could modify a game function like "scribe scroll". Interesting.

But would that set the variable whenever any character learned to scribe a scroll?

The feature of a scroll that allows you to copy the spell it contains to your spellbook is an "extended header" just like the feature that allows a weapon to attack. Much as you can add a "cold damage" opcode to a weapon's attack ability, you can add a "set global" opcode to the individual scroll's "scribe scroll" ability. I haven't actually tested it but it should work.

[berelinde]

Sounds like you know what you're talking about, anyway, but that would set the global if Edwin scribed the scroll, too, or a mage PC. Still, it's better than nothing. At least somebody would have learned burning hands.

[Azkyroth]

Sounds like you know what you're talking about, anyway, but that would set the global if Edwin scribed the scroll, too, or a mage PC. Still, it's better than nothing. At least somebody would have learned burning hands.

It could also set a local variable for Imoen, which her scripting and/or dialogues would check for.

[Icendoan]

Though, still, SpellCast() would be more fitting for the dialogue and, imho, cleaner.

Icen