137 replies to this topic

[Thanatos.]

haHA! He sounds like a real Vanilla NPC, like he should have been built in with it, not a mod

[Azkyroth]

Since this thread hasn't been so active lately (okay, I've gotten spoiled but Cason is jealous of Esiriak for all the activity in that thread ) I've decided to show of one of my new banters and, hopefully, get some feedback on it.

JAN: "Tell me, Cason... how do you get your hair like that?"
CASON: "Well, I..."
JAN: "You see, it reminds me of my uncle Billobs. 'Stinking Billo' they called him. Never took a bath in his life, that one. Awful smell, really, but an amazing juggler..."
CASON: "Eh, is there a point to this not-quite-fascinating story, Jan?"
JAN: "But of course! Uncle Billobs fondness for barbers was only slightly higher then his fondness for water. Afraid they would cut of his head instead of his hair. Personally, I think he got them confused with barbarians but..."
CASON: "Still not seeing any point at the horizon."
JAN: "Right. Anyway... ol' Billobs combined reluctance for bathing and grooming led to his hair looking just like yours. Of course, no one would confuse you two, not with that huge nose of his. I remember..."
CASON: "I keep my hair because I like it that way. And I don't stink, I bathe annually."
JAN: "I wouldn't dream of insulting a pirate. Not after what happened to my nephew, Faddo Jansen. But your aroma seem to be on the nostril stimulating side of things lately."
CASON: "Bah, if I had a keel I would haul you under it for that comment, Jansen."
JAN: "Then I praise Garl Glittergold for the astonishing lack of keels around here."

Other finished banters include such highlights as Cason actually trying to appologize for something but failing due to inexperience and self-image, Imoen getting a peak at the truth behind all those romantic stories about pirates the bards in Candlekeep told her and Cernd preaching balance to someone who'd rather kick the scales over board then make them balanced. (Sale pitches aren't really my thing, so sue me. ).

This seems a little too direct for Jan. It probably needs about 50-60% more lines.

[Lykainon]

haHA! He sounds like a real Vanilla NPC, like he should have been built in with it, not a mod

That's certainly not the worst compliment I've gotten, thanks.

This seems a little too direct for Jan. It probably needs about 50-60% more lines.

I was worried he might have kept it a little short. Oh well, I'll try to expand his lines a little. He's pretty fun to write, that one.

[Thanatos.]

Read some of mine with Esiriak

[Lykainon]

Read some of mine with Esiriak

While I've been following the discussion, I admit I haven't read much of his dialogues. I'll go do that now. Seems fair and all.

[Lykainon]

I tried prolonging Jan's existing lines but that was hard to do without a total rewrite of them so I added some more instead. The banter might seem a little like two banters smashed together but I'll work on making the transition between the first and second part smoother.

JAN: "Tell me, Cason... how do you get your hair like that?"
CASON: "Well, I..."
JAN: "You see, it reminds me of my uncle Billobs. 'Stinking Billo' they called him. Never took a bath in his life, that one. Awful smell, really, but an amazing juggler..."
CASON: "Eh, is there a point to this not-quite-fascinating story, Jan?"
JAN: "But of course! Uncle Billobs fondness for barbers was only slightly higher then his fondness for water. Afraid they would cut of his head instead of his hair. Personally, I think he got them confused with barbarians but..."
CASON: "Still not seeing any point at the horizon."
JAN: "Right. Anyway... ol' Billobs combined reluctance for bathing and grooming led to his hair looking just like yours. Of course, no one would confuse you two, not with that huge nose of his. I remember..."
CASON: "I keep my hair because I like it that way. And I don't stink, I bathe annually."
JAN: "I wouldn't dream of insulting a pirate. Not after what happened to my nephew, Faddo Jansen. But your aroma seem to be on the nostril stimulating side of things lately."
CASON: "Bah, if I had a keel I would haul you under it for that comment, Jansen."
JAN: "Then I praise Garl Glittergold for the astonishing lack of keels around here. That's not the first time he's looking out for the Jansens' you know. 'Tis was a winter some fifty odd years ago and my grandfather was out sowing winter turnips. Suddenly he turns around, and what does he see? To his suprise it's..."
CASON: "His future grandson shapeshifted into a bloody pulp for never knowing when to stop?"
JAN: "Eh? No, it was the salad."
CASON: "..."
CASON: "The salad?"
JAN: "Aye, jealous of the turnips for their ability to prosper at winter, the salad had risen against my poor grandfather. They called him 'Steak-and-turnips-hold-the-salad'-Jansen after that. I wouldn't have been here today if grandpa hadn't got hold of his hedge shears and..."
CASON: "Ah, I'm sure it's a most fascinating story, Jan, but... <CHARNAME> wanted to see me about something. Let's save the epic conclusion for later, shall we?"

[witya]

It's a good one, I like it. ^^

Btw, you don't neccesarely have to write a long banter or a story for Jan. Sometimes (very rarely) he keeps it short. Well, only against Edwin, it seems he doesn't like the Red Wizard. xD

[Lykainon]

What do you people think? Too cliché for Haer'dalis to call our favorite pirate NPC (well, our only pirate NPC if you wanna get technical) a parrot?

[witya]

What do you people think? Too cliché for Haer'dalis to call our favorite pirate NPC (well, our only pirate NPC if you wanna get technical) a parrot?

Nah, it's just "reserved" for Yoshimo. ^^ Though he calls several npcs "hound". And parrot is not overused anyway. ^^ Just try to find something that fits his personality or has something to do with his appearance.

[Lykainon]

Nah, it's just "reserved" for Yoshimo. ^^ Though he calls several npcs "hound". And parrot is not overused anyway. ^^ Just try to find something that fits his personality or has something to do with his appearance.

Yeah, I noticed it was used on Yoshi but at the same time I counted to something like three swans so I figured another parrot would be okay.

I'll give it some more thought though, I'm not really sure which bird would fit Carson's personality the best...

[witya]

Just ask yourself, what is the main trait of his personality? Greed? Selfishness? Many traits have a symbolic animal.

[Lykainon]

Just ask yourself, what is the main trait of his personality? Greed? Selfishness? Many traits have a symbolic animal.

True. If I'm looking at the animal kingdom in general, I'd say he's most like a cat. Smart, sneaky, selfish and pretty amoral.

Keep in mind that I really like cats (as well as being the proud owner of two small, strange ninja-cats), I just happen to like them for pretty much these exact traits. They're so human...

[witya]

Just ask yourself, what is the main trait of his personality? Greed? Selfishness? Many traits have a symbolic animal.

True. If I'm looking at the animal kingdom in general, I'd say he's most like a cat. Smart, sneaky, selfish and pretty amoral.

Keep in mind that I really like cats (as well as being the proud owner of two small, strange ninja-cats), I just happen to like them for pretty much these exact traits. They're so human...

I love'em too, have 3 cats in the house. ^^ If he's really cat-like, then you don't need to stick to birdnames. How about "sea cat"?

[Lykainon]

Just ask yourself, what is the main trait of his personality? Greed? Selfishness? Many traits have a symbolic animal.

True. If I'm looking at the animal kingdom in general, I'd say he's most like a cat. Smart, sneaky, selfish and pretty amoral.

Keep in mind that I really like cats (as well as being the proud owner of two small, strange ninja-cats), I just happen to like them for pretty much these exact traits. They're so human...

I love'em too, have 3 cats in the house. ^^ If he's really cat-like, then you don't need to stick to birdnames. How about "sea cat"?

Or catfish?

To show that the mod is progressing (albeit somewhat slowly), here is another banter sample.

CASON:"Minsc, I can't help but notice that you're pretty fond of bashing evil."
MINSC: "Oh yes! If evil dares show it's ugly head Minsc and Boo will be there to hit it's butt 'til it goes away!"
CASON: "Ah, so tell me this then... how do you know who is evil? Us shady folks are pretty good at hiding our dirty deeds under the carpet."
MINSC: "Minsc sometimes get fooled by the evildoers tricky tricks but none have yet fooled Boo. He sees through their lies so that evil can be punished."
CASON: "How... interesting. So, what does Boo the deceit-detecting rodent think of me then?"
MINSC: "Boo does not like being called a rodent but he will forgive you. He says you are a dandy addition to our cause. I do not understand what it means but Minsc trust the wisdom of Boo."
CASON: "Dandy, eh? I've been called worse I suppose. Express my gratitude in whatever way pleases a Giant Midget Space Hamster or whatever he's supposed to be."
MINSC: "Boo tells me I should take offense to that although his reasons are unclear."
CASON: "Really now? Perhaps there is some truth to your claims to his wisdom after all."
MINSC: "Of course there is! Boo rivals the gods themselves in his wisdom and knowledge."
CASON: "Most certainly."
CASON: "Eh, Minsc. It seems as if he's found some undoubtedly wise reason to raid our supplies."
MINSC: "No! Protect Minsc's rations! Shoo, Boo! Shoo!"

[Thanatos.]

I lol'd

[Lykainon]

I lol'd

Thanks, gnomish lol:ings are always neat. I'm trying to keep the banters balanced between pure ridiculousness and somewhat more serious discussions but hopefully even the serious ones will bring a laughter or two. Cason and myself has at least one thing in common, we're completely unable to stay serious, no matter the topic.

Also, if anyone's curious about my progress. I'm currently aiming for at least two banters with each Bioware NPC and I'd say I'm about 2/3's there. Once I'm done with this I'll put some work into his quest (pretty much planned out but not coded at all), his interjections (hardly planned out at all, much less coded), his two custom items (both created but one isn't working at all and another is working but screwing up other stuff) and pretty much everything else I can imagine for him. After that, I'll probably write more banters. Somewhere in the middle (or after) all this, I'll probably create a store with more custom items. It won't be overpowering weapons and the like but rather some useful magical and/or alchemical gadgets.

[Lykainon]

Would Minsc really tell Boo to shoo? Usually he's very protective of the little guy. Just a small thing, no need to pay any attention to me.

I was unsure of this myself (still am, actually). I guess the considerable part of my soul that will always remain about six years old just found the sound of "Shoo, Boo! Shoo!" too intriguing not to use. Still, we can all shout at our friends at times, even if they are wise miniature giant space hamsters, so perhaps it isn't impossible (Boo was going for the food after all and Minsc strikes me as a big eater).

[Lykainon]

I was unsure of this myself (still am, actually). I guess the considerable part of my soul that will always remain about six years old just found the sound of "Shoo, Boo! Shoo!" too intriguing not to use. Still, we can all shout at our friends at times, even if they are wise miniature giant space hamsters, so perhaps it isn't impossible (Boo was going for the food after all and Minsc strikes me as a big eater).

Oh, good answer. I suppose I am too oblivious for my own good.

Perhaps, but you probably shouldn't base your perceptions regarding your obliviousness on anything I say (or, well, write) at the moment. I haven't slept tonight (it's 10:25 am here) which makes me into something of a crazy, speeded demon at times. In the best possible way, of course.