Your thoughts about NPC's

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I didn't see any topics on this so I made one. Post your thoughts on NPC's.

I think Minsc class is messed up because

1: Minsc doesn't have the Wisdom to be a ranger

2: In Minsc's bio he says he's a berserker warrior (which should automactically make him a Fighter not a Ranger)

And that's my thought's about Minsc.

 

Minsc got hit on the head when Dynaheir was kidnapped the first time which explains his low wisdom score.

If you read up on Rasheman, where Minsc is from, a wychalarn (Rashemi witch) has a cohort; a male berserker as a bodyguard of sorts. Different regions in Faerun have different descriptions of classes. Minsc is probably a Rashemi ranger and one of the special abilities this type of ranger gets is the ablility to berserk. Let Dynaheir die in a fight and watch Minsc lose it.

 

Still think he fits more the type of Barbarian/berserker"

 

Jeez how weak was Minsc then!?!?! I mean c'mon how come when the PC get's his/her head smashed he/she doesn't lose ability scores, why should Minsc???

*EDIT* Don't go on about the PC is a Bhaalspawn cause everyone else except Imoen got their heads smashed and they didn't lose ability scores.

 

There's a mod out somewhere that changes Minsc into a berserker, but if you want it for BG1 you'd need Tutu, which we aren't allowed to discuss here.

 

Oh, I wouldn't dream of bringing in the trite Bhaalspawn bs. Minsc was more than likely raging while fighting off all those gnolls and, well, raging isn't known for remembering every detail. Getting the crap beat out of you by a dozen or so gnolls can make anyone loopy. Not that anything I'm saying here is canon, except for his getting hit on the head (he tells you that himself), merely my ideas as to why his wisdom score is 8.

What's the deal with the guy jumping off the cliff outside Candlekeep? Don't recall his name off hand, but wtf? I mean, there're plenty of NPCs who just tell you info about the area or someone important, but this guy is going to jump. Is it an alignment test or what?

 

kuemper: Random fun/obscurity

one of the reaons i love this game.

 

I thought that's what Kolssed was for. Very obscure gamer reference to Desslock.

 

Minsc should be a Fighter with a berserker kit in BG2. In BG1 he should be a pure fighter.

Additional thought on NPCs

All NPC should have a minimum of a Con of 16. I think that should be standard throughout all of the BG series, unless the Dex. of the NPC is 18 or greater.

[ September 08, 2005, 19:38: Message edited by: Silver Knight ]

 

@kuemper
True about Desslock. I'm all for gamer references but BGII/ToB went WAY to far with the names. It got a little ridiculous (I can think 4 instances of the top of my head). Sometimes the random little things get a little much.

 

They should make the evil characters less rude and obnoxious. Just because you're evil doesn't always mean that you're incapable of carrying on a normal conversation. It's true that rudeness is not limited to evil characters (Jaheira anyone?) and that some evil characters (in this game Eldoth and Viconia spring to mind) are better than others. But once you finish this game, you have to wait until Throne of Bhaal (!!!!!!) before you meet another NPC who acts like he has intelligence and charisma scores greater than 5!

(Actually, his intelligence and charisma scores are both greater than 14.)

 

If Minsc wasn't a Ranger, there would be no Boo. Boo is the mighty animal companion of Minsc, I say that's more than reason enough for Minsc to be Ranger. Low wis score or not

 

I agree with Olimikrig

 

Not necessary true olimikrig. His hamster is just a hamster. If his pet was some exotic animal or some animal that would be a lot harder to tame than maybe his ranger status would be a different nature. If he had a wolf, bear, of a stronger animal than a hamster I would agree with you. But since it is only a hamster I would say his Ranger class is not really a class suited for Minsc.

On a side note I would like to see more neutral characters both in BG1 and BG2. You don't see many of them and the ones you do either are more Good or Evil and not Neuatral.

 

@Western Paladin:
Very wise and true words!

NPCs, huh... I think Tiax is more annoying than funny And I'm kinda sad that Monty didn't live to *really* be in SoA. Him and Xzar were a funny pair, hehe. In fact, I'd say Tiax is only fun if you take Quayle with you at the same time. And when they're bantering with each other, which I usually can't wait for so I make them talk, grrr.

 

@Silver Knight - So what do you consider proper animal companions for rangers? Only those strong enough to fight hand-to-claw like the bear and the wolf? Some companions are not used for direct fighting - the smaller birds, snakes and rodents are just as affective in aiding their ranger.

There's no proof of Boo being an ordinary animal, but there's no proof he's a miniature, giant space hamster either. What we do know is giant space hamsters *exist* and they definitely are not normal, domesticated animals by any means. All we know of Boo is what Minsc tells us. You do know rangers and their animal companions share a telepathic bond, right?

 

Why are so many of them so late in the game? Alora, Tiax, and Quayle are such characters, but you can't get to them until Chapter 5! And Coran is so awesome (one of my favs), but you don't get him until Chapter 4! Yeslick might even have been worth a look too, as a dwarven F/C, if you could meet him before the mines.

Yet on the other side, a crap NPC like Shar-Teel can be gotten right away! Yeslick I usually warn to get out of the mines, but if it were Shar-Teel down there I'd pass her by without a second glance and let her drown every time.

I know there's a mod that moves them, but it wreaks havoc with their quests. You still have to wait until Chapter 4 to get Coran or he'll leave because you can't go wyvern-hunting yet. Same goes with Faldorn and the Cloakwood Mines. It also happens with Eldoth needing to kidnap Skie, which can't happen until Chapter 5.

I got some problems with their normal placement too. Why is Eldoth so deep in the Cloakwood when his objective is in Baldur's Gate? He should be right outside (where you find Quayle) attempting to hire people to help kidnap Skie. And while Edwin is certainly smart enough to recruit in Nashkel, the same can hardly be said for Minsc. Why isn't he already at the Gnoll Fortress trying to break down the gates?

Where are Montaron and Xzar going? They couldn't possibly be coming from Candlekeep, so they have to be going the other way, which means they took a wrong turn at that ENORMOUS obelisk-like signpost on their way to Nashkel. Maybe Monty or Xzar on their own would be that careless, but the both of them together are supposed to balance out. And how the heck doesn't Tiax ever get arrested (at least for 'disturbing the peace') when he's constantly ranting his evil delusions right outside FFHQ!?

Even in BG2 they...
/me trails off at the sound of heavy draconic footsteps

 

Ooh! Noo! Keep ranting! Rant about Tiax! And bad placement! I so agree!

 

Okay, I will. Having some of the 'loose' NPCs in FAI certainly wouldn't hurt. Tiax or Quayle, for example. Both of them have nothing better to do than sit around waiting for a group to join, so why not do it where it's more convenient to a just-starting-up group of adventurers? Such a group would be a lot more likely to accept a new member than any of the firmly cemented parties (the two groups from the Helm and Cloak come to mind) that could make it all the way to the city of Baldur's Gate.

And not that I mind the b*tch being out in the boondocks, but why would Shar-Teel be so far away from civilization when she's looking for some guy to challenge? You'd think she'd be in the heart of some city, challenging any male to dare and take her on so that she might spit them on her sword.

I say someone should make a more intelligent version of the "All NPCs at the Beginning" mod called the "All NPCs Where they F***ing Make Sense" mod!

 

@Fel - You might want to check out this little mod

NPCs at Start

As I haven't played with it yet, I don't know if it still has the 'quest' problems you described.