Number 11. KIM -by Grenouillebleue and maintained by Akadis at G3- A swashbuckling thief npc you can pick up at thiefs guild if you side with Aran Linval. Moderately bug free but keep fresh saves handy if you romance her-she will throw tons of puzzles/riddles at you and is touchy if you irk her the wrong way on romance replies. She works best with someone of mid lvl goodness-rep neither too high or too low. Basically you cant go wrong trying a solid fighting thief/hot french chick. SoA content only.
Number 10. KETO -by Victoria Joyner aka "Blue", Jason Compton, Bonnie Rutledge and friends at Pocket Plane (PP). Keto is a bard found in the five flagons inn. If you enjoy using Haer'Dalis you will enjoy her. Her stats are avg and she performs as a bard should-the points that really make her stand out is her level of involvement -interaction wise, and personal quests that wrap up in chapter six. A "fun" charector that isnt over blanced, she works best with good groups. Non romanciable as I recall but a feel-good bard npc for a change of pace over Haer'Dalis. SoA content only at this time.
Number 9. TYRIS FLARE -by Grim Squeaker at G3. A tribute to the old Golden Axe game, Tyris Flare is redone as a BG2 npc with back story to explain her presence in the game. Shes a duel class fighter/mage with good skills in long sword, an excellent voice actress and is romancable. Shes not needy/clingly/bitchy like the vanillia npcs are and can work as either a good back up fighter or mage. Great portrait too!-only drawback is SoA content only atm--would have loved to see her in ToB with quests/speaking parts, etc. Havent yet found a bug with her either. Warning about her romance-she can be a bit rough--mild adult content(but fun!). She is an amazon after all.... O.o
Number 8. KELSEY -by Jason Compton and Bonnie Rutledge at PP. Another solid addon, Kelsey is the original answer to girl gamers romance option -esp if you hate Anomen. Hes a sorcerer, very solid, isnt psycho, has quests, supports the main charector without overshadowing him, banters alot, and was very bug free. The mods portrait was kinda Meh to me, but easy enough to shadowkeeper whatever pic you want in that regards. For extra fun, include Anomen in the party too if you are a girl and do the romance.
Kelsey makes an excellent caster for any good party; sorcerers are very flexable too -less spells but can cast they ones they do know alot, just not infravision lol. SoA and ToB content available. Recommend using 'getting rid of anomen' addon too for maximum enjoyment.
Number 7&6. NINAFER AND CALLISTO -by Solaufein at Chosen of Mystra(CoM). Part of the Undying Mod, Ninafer is an elven fighter/mage multiclass -provides a stable seconday tank/caster with fair stats and background story. Callisto though stole the show and rank 6 spot though by being friggin bad ass. Uses voice clips from the Xena tv show, she is protrayed here in the bg2 world as much the same evil villian she was in Xena -an evil warlord. She mysteriously decides to follow the main charector around on his/her quests and can be picked up very early in the game. Shes a fighter -beserker subclass and can work with good or evil parties (try her with aerie if you really want to have fun). I wont give away spoilers but she will give you a fun bg2 experience and unexpected ending to her story. Callisto suffers one drawback you need to know about-she hates drow. She wont work with any drow npc at all-keep that in mind when makeing a party. Both npcs are part of the undying mod, which is very bug free, gives new shopkeepers, items, quests, and encounters. I highly recommend this mod even if you dont like the 2 npcs. SoA content only atm I believe.
Number 5. TASHIA -by Tashia and lord Ernie of spellhold studios(shs). To me, Tashia was the female equivelent of Kelsey, a good, solid Sorcerer npc you can pick up fairly early in the Trademeet inn. Shes romancable, works in both Soa and ToB content, has a good voice actress, witty riddles/poems/love talks and works best with a good group. Shes getting over an Ex BF, so has some issues in that regards, but otherwise was fun to play. She comes with a pet panther/magic item she can use once per day that was kinda overpowered but not more so than the upgraded spider figurine and/or horn of the vahalla. Her lovetalk music was very nice, and while she had one or two bugs I saw, overall shes enjoyable to the point where she has multiple replay vaule. SoA and Tob Content.
Number 4. FADE -by Mistress Elysia and Silmarien of spellhold studios(shs). Oh Fade, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
. Fade is without a doubt, my favorite thief mod out there. Shes a tiefling rogue (unkitted) found in Aran Linvals area of the shadowthieves hideout. Working with the shadowthieves opens her up to you. She hates slavers with a passion, wears tight leather and is a hot redhead with a good heart. Fun romance option of course, and works well with a good party that doesnt mind a rogue with kleptomania. I found FADE to be very bug free but occasionally had a problem with some spawns, and the quest to "unvampire" her in chapter six was very difficult if you dont know where to go. All in all though, I strongly recommend her as a very fun rogue mod you can use again and again for BG2 runs. SoA content only atm (cant wait for tob content though).Number 3. YASRAENA -by Nethrin & Sillara of CoM. Yasraena is a female Drow fighter you can find at the exit of the opening dungeon. She comes equiped with 2 custom short swords and excellent skills to use them. Unlike most drow, shes good, so will work best with non evil groups of course. She has some quests, lots of interactions with the vanilla npcs, and has a fairly good story line. She isnt romancable though (that maybe a little unclear the first time through). Shes not completely bug free-but have tried her in multiple runs and overall is workable. Her weapons will upgrade in tob which is handy. She has one of the best portraits of all npcs Ive seen thus far, and is voice acted fairly well. A very good stright tank mod if you are tired of Minsc for a good based party. SoA and ToB content.
Number 2. TSUJATHA -by Sillara of the Tamari (CoM). Tsujatha is my favorite caster mod hands down. Hes a elf from another world than that of Fauraun, an evil necromancer who will romance good females(!).
He has no problems using the powers of death and darkness, but he holds in high regard those who promote honor and virtue-truely a paradigm. For maximum play vaule, use a female main coupled with lawful good priest or paladin class and do his romance. He can work with most evil vanilla npcs (not all though -be careful) and especially well with lawful good types like Keldorn. Hes such an interesting mix of evil and virtue that I find him enjoyable, playthrough after playthrough. He provides a good quest, mix of powers and commentaries that hes sure to enhance anyones game time and again. No bugs that Ive found; he reminds me of what Darth Vader would be if he was in the bg2 universe--a being absolutely evil yet with a trace of honor and nobility you cant help respect. SoA and ToB content.
Number 1. Sarelith -Sillara and Nethrin (CoM). What can I say? Sarelith is hands down the best npc mod I personally have ever used for bg2 and tob. I enjoy Sillara & Nethrin's scripting style-Sarelith is amazingly complex and deep-almost bug free and so fun to play again and again. A 15 year old paladin of Tyr that is romancable-most contraversy is on this point alone. But if you can over look this and remember its a game, she is extremely fun. What really makes this mod work isnt her stats/gear/skill sets -all of which are subpar, but her amazing social interactions and storyline. She will interact with you and the party -alot!- but thats part of her charm. For me, npc interaction is the heart and soul of the baldurs gate series; it already has a great story of its own, but the intereactions of your party is part of that experience, and in this regards, Sarelith is professionally integrated into your story. I keep coming back to her time after time and I never get tired of her when making a party; the best "feel good" mod out there. Its not without its flaws I'll admit, but Ill take Sarelith over other mods out there any day of the week, making her my number 1 mod pick of all time! SoA & ToB content.
Quick facts-havent played all mods out there (yet); I usually run x2 npcs though soa/tob twice before I feel I can comment on them. I still got on my to-do list for bg2 the following npcs--
Kido, Ariena, Xulaye, the Luxleys, Kiven and Deheriana, Nah'Taniel, Chloe, Amber, Nikitalleria, Valen, and Solaufein. The favorite 11 list is of course just my opinion, and you are free to agree or disagree as you wish. These arent full reviews of course, just my personal favorites list I recommend to other gamers. If I got mod credits wrong btw, I do appologize now.
-Midnight
Mod Reviewer
Edited by K'aeloree, 25 June 2010 - 05:17 PM.
Title edit.
