Morgane NPC mod - progress reports, questions etc. go here for now

[Ieldra]

Hi all,

 

this is to announce that I'm working on a new NPC mod. Since this is my first serious attempt to do anything more than fiddle with details, I hope I will be able to finish it. For anyone who wants to have a look at the very basic version, PM me your mail address and I'll send the 400K over. I'm also looking for some help (see the end of this post). Here are the details:

 

Basics:

Name: Morgane (pronounce as if French or German, both are acceptable)

Characteristics: CG female human Diviner

 

(detail of a work by Rowiel (based on a photo by Wyldangel).

Many thanks to the artists for their permission to use their work!)

 

Currently realized features:

-A dramatic entrance very early in the game

-A starting dialogue that fits her personality and her planned story

-Will join any non-evil PC

-Fully playable, but still no banters or interjections

-Three pieces of personal equipment

-Two new spells

 

Planned features

-Banters and interjections, of course

-A romance for male, non-evil humans, half-elves or elves with INT and WIS 12+ (no priests, see below for the reason)

-A two-part personal quest, which may conflict with the PC's

-More new spells

-Item upgrades

-Voicing (if I find anyone who wants to do it)

 

Character concept:

Morgane is a human from another world, who is escaping from a powerful being of an undisclosed nature. She is a Diviner in more than her magic, since she can often sense things hidden to others, which is the reason she's now hunted. You may be able to find out more about all that.

At first meeting, it becomes completely clear that she's a foreigner. She's wearing a black tunic made of a thick glossy material unknown so far, and her signature black boots. She has black, straight hair, a pale complexion and almost colorless eyes. No, she is not a vampire....

Morgane is calm, detached to the point of appearing mysterious, and not given to easy trust. She's also laconic in conversation (I needed to compromise somewhat in the starting dialogue, but I'd like to transform this feature intact into the game). A major part of her personality is that she distrusts gods - the evil ones more than the others, but basically all of them. Her ability to sense the hidden, and her interest in uncovering the schemes of gods, is one reason for her interest in <CHARNAME>, who will meet her accidentally very early in the game.

Morgane has, if not her own agenda (at least not within BG2, which should remain <CHARNAME>'s story), her own interest and her own backstory, which will cross <CHARNAME>'s in a way connected to the main plot. While she might take a romantic interest in <CHARNAME>, there will be a possible sequence of events which will make her <CHARNAME>'s enemy - and these possibilities are not mutually exclusive.

And one other thing: Morgane is blind. Yes. She cannot see. At least not with her eyes. She makes up for this in part by a special sense (with no gameplay effect, but necessary for an adventuring character), but she's really no use in conventional combat (did you know that blindness gives -10 to hit instead of -4 as in the spell info?).

 

Meeting Morgane:

No need to look for her. Just start a new game. If you haven't found her after 5 minutes it is very probably a bug. If, for some reason, you don't want her to join immediately, you will meet her again in a very good inn if you weren't threatening or condescending in the first meeting.

You really need to start a new game. This mod makes changes to AR0602, and even games saved immediately after the introductory cutscene will have it in the savegame and not load the modded area. Maybe there will be a version where you meet her later some time, but I'd have to write a completely new starting dialogue... there are more important things do to now.

 

Looking for some help:

I'm getting into the technical stuff nicely, but the amount of work for a fully-fledged NPC is staggering. So I'm looking for someone who feels able to write some banters for Morgane. I find the most difficult part of writing is getting into the personalities of the NPCs, especially those I don't play with often. Also, English isn't my native language, so there may be difficulties getting the writing right. Morgane should have a somewhat formal style of speaking sometimes bordering on the stilted.

Once I get most of the writing done, there will be big matter of voicing. I'm the wrong gender to do it myself, apart from having not the slightest idea of how do even start.

 

The next step:

I'll need to change Yoshimo's starting dialogue first since Morgane's appearance may result in some inconsistencies, then I'll go on to the interjections. As you can imagine from this description, she'll have quite a lot to say during the Cult of the Eyeless quest...

[theacefes]

Is there no way to meet her without starting a new game?

[Ieldra]

Is there no way to meet her without starting a new game?

You can, of course, always cheat her in, but then you won't see her arriving in style, and her starting dialogue is based on her appearance in CI. Furthermore, her appearance in the city depends on your answers at a regular first meeting.

 

BTW, another starting location is hard to find. Any location where I could transfer the existing scene without having to rewrite almost the whole initial meeting needs to meet some rare conditions: Indoors and dark; no neutrals or enemies in the room, but enemies likely to be in the next; likely to be travelled by the party early while not easy to get out of; and last but not least, unused by other mods.

[Rastor]

Is there no way to meet her without starting a new game?

You can, of course, always cheat her in, but then you won't see her arriving in style, and her starting dialogue is based on her appearance in CI. Furthermore, her appearance in the city depends on your answers at a regular first meeting.

 

BTW, another starting location is hard to find. Any location where I could transfer the existing scene without having to rewrite almost the whole initial meeting needs to meet some rare conditions: Indoors and dark; no neutrals or enemies in the room, but enemies likely to be in the next; likely to be travelled by the party early while not easy to get out of; and last but not least, unused by other mods.

 

Why does it have to be unused by other mods?

 

There is an empty room in Firkraag's lair that meets all of your requirements that I can see. There's no reason why you can't give her two starting dialogues, depending on where she first meets the player.

[jcompton]

Why does it have to be unused by other mods?

 

What, you think an other-worldly character should be forced to share the spotlight? Pish and tosh.

[Ieldra]

Why does it have to be unused by other mods?

What would you say if she appeared, say, in the same room as the Lich in the Docks from the Tactics mod... Oh yes, she could appear there after the lich was dead. Then I'd need to code for the presence/non presence of the Tactics mod. Great Yes, I *could* do that, but do I want to? No. Places with a single other mod NPC wouldn't be a problem since I could always pretend they're allies, but they mostly don't fit my requirements.

 

There is an empty room in Firkraag's lair that meets all of your requirements that I can see. There's no reason why you can't give her two starting dialogues, depending on where she first meets the player.

Firkraag's lair? All right, I suppose my standards of "most parties go there early" are more strict than yours, or I'm in a minority with usually staying in the city as long as possible.... BTW, which one is it? The room after the orc archers?

 

However it will go, if I find a place that feels right I'll consider writing an alternative starting dialogue. But with 95% of my work still before me, forgive me if I do those things first that don't exist even once.

 

@jcompton:

You say it most succintly!

[berelinde]

From a technical perspective AR0602 presents a host of challenges. There are a whole slew of things going on in the first few moments of the game, and fiddling with it can really hose your installation. JC did a masterful job with DBG, of course, but I can think of a few mods that have not handled it so adroitly.

 

The character concept is flamboyant, of course, but depending on where you go from there, it can still be well done.

 

OK, what can I say, I like human NPCs. It does make a change from elves! (Not that I have anything against elves, but for the most populous race on Faerun, there is a surprising lack of humans in the game.)

[Guest John]

At the CC, what about that storage room west of Lethihan (sp?) and Bernard? Not very big, but AFAIK not used by any of the mods I've seen. Or, for a big splash, the Promenade seems as good a place as any

 

FWIW, I tend to focus on the circus, then liberating the CC and then moving around the city or outsdie depending upon whom my pc has met.

 

Anyway, good luck. I forget, did you say she would be romance-able? It would be nice to meet a romance-able female NPC who is not a thief and has a good alignment. I think I've only seen one mod with such a character (Saerileth).

 

John

[theacefes]

Ahem.

[Simbul]

And one other thing: Morgane is blind. Yes. She cannot see. At least not with her eyes.

That does remind me of Star Wars' Miraluka race Is this intentional or just a coincidence?

[Ieldra]

@berelinde:

Flamboyant, is it ? Don't we all want to make something different? Well, the writing *is* a bit of a challenge...there is more need of narrative infixes than in most other mods, and the romance by necessity needs to convey the less verbal aspects just right. After I had started with this, I'd come to appreciate what Bioware managed to convey with a few words - even if the characters themselves are often not so interesting.

 

@John

One thing I want to avoid at all costs is to place yet another NPC somewhere in, or around, the CC - in my mega-mod install the place is so crowded I can barely see whom I will speak to by the next mouseclick.

As for the paths through chapter 2, the only overland quest most parties will do early, IMO, is De'Arnise keep, since Nalia won't wait long. If I could change the time of day upon first entering the area, the lower right corner of the Keep map might serve...

 

Yes, Morgane will be romanceable. I've already written two lovetalks, and I think it will work. BTW, fighters and rogues (including bards, rangers and paladins) are similar in the number or realized mod NPCs, and almost monopolize the scene, although the picture gets less one-sided if you only count the romanceable ones (two sorcerers, two specialist mages). My decision was influenced by the lack of female romanceable arcane spellcasters (afaik, there's only Tashia) and some inspirations from literature and film.

 

 

That does remind me of Star Wars' Miraluka race. Is this intentional or just a coincidence?

Err...what??? (meaning, it is a coincidence. I'm not so good in Star Wars lore)

[Simbul]

Err...what??? (meaning, it is a coincidence)

Oh, it doesn't matter, really It's just that there's a race in Star Wars PnP with a concept of being physically blind but having an ability to see with the Force. Your character just reminded me of that race.

Just a coincidence, then, fair enough

[Ieldra]

Oh, it doesn't matter, really It's just that there's a race in Star Wars PnP with a concept of being physically blind but having an ability to see with the Force. Your character just reminded me of that race.

It's not unreasonable, since she has this sense that enables her to target others with her magic...

 

...and closely related to this matter, there is a bug in the version 0.1 some people got from me: the real blindness state makes a character unable to target anyone with spells at a distance, so she would always cast at melee range. Since she wouldn't be any use in the game that way, I've removed the "real" blindness state and applied all the other effects separately, including the icon.

[Domi]

Hmm, I remember seeing two gorgeous portraits once for a blind female NPC and her bodyguard at Spellhold. Would it be the same mod?

 

At any rate, good luck!

[Ieldra]

Hmm, I remember seeing two gorgeous portraits once for a blind female NPC and her bodyguard at Spellhold. Would it be the same mod?

No, definitely not. This is all new, and all my own stuff (except for the portrait, which I hopefully will be able to make official later this week). Now that you mention it, I've probably read about those two you mentioned as well at some time, but I searched SHS right now and didn't find anything. Strange....