Critique my NPC class selection.

[vagrant_winds]

What would you do differently?

 

For the record, I have the following class tweaks installed ~

Rogue Rebalancing (all)

Sword & Fist (Monk Remix - improves their offense and weakens their defense w/o party buffs)

Ashes of Embers (Wizard Slayer, 8% MR base + 3% MR / level)

Refinements (universal lesser robes, improved HLAs)

BG2 Tweaks (thieving/spell casting in armor)

Level 1 NPCs (universal weapons for all classes)

d0 Tweak (Improved Backstabbing)

 

I also realize my choices leave me without a Thief in the opening dungeon... but what else is Jasper St. Baird there for?

 

Aerie - Cleric/Mage. The class doesn't quite 'feel' right to me, but I'm not sure what would fit better. In all honesty, she doesn't seem like the 'adventuring' type.

 

Anomen - Fighter --> Cleric of Helm. He invokes his god's name enough, but doesn't have the class for some odd reason in the generic game. He's also one of the few NPCs with a dynamic enough personality to logically dual class.

 

Cernd - Totemic Druid. 1 - he never mentions being a Shapeshifter. 2 - he seems a more 'spiritual' Druid.

 

Edwin - Conjurer. Nothing out of place here.

 

Haer'Dalis - Scald. Such a clever Bard with words is sure to have a empowering battlesong while still retaining offensive prowless, no?

 

Imoen - Jester. She pickpockets, casts spells, and pulls pranks on everyone. Perfect fit?

 

Jaheira - Avenger. "Nature, take the life she gave!"

 

Jan - Fighter/Thief. He's an inventor of weapons and illegal goods and a scoundrel, not a primary Mage, nor a swashbuckler type of Thief. This way he can put his own inventions into better offensive use.

 

Keldorn - Inquisitor. I don't feel it's wrong to be an anti-magic Paladin in a city full of corrupt Wizards pulling strings.

 

Korgan - Barbarian. I feel this Dwarf has more rage in him than a normal Beserker could carry.

 

Mazzy - Fighter/Cleric. Is she not religious champion of both her god and righteousness?

 

Minsc - Ranger (w/ Longswords). He already has a berserking innate, so he doesn't need the class. And with how many times he says "Sword, meet Evil!", I question his points in Maces.

 

Nalia - Abjurer. With my tweaks she can use a bow anyways (though won't be any better at it). I never really understood the reasoning of the four Thief levels she starts with, and I question if a Mage who talks about 'protection of the people' should specialize in such protection.

 

Serevock - Berserker. When he gets angry, other people get dead.

 

Valygar - Wizard Slayer. This should be plainly obvious in reasoning.

 

Viconia - Cleric/Thief. Cautious (suspicious), backstabbing, deceptive, and religious.

 

Yoshimo - Kensai (can dual to Thief later if so enlightened). As overpowered as special traps are, I don't feel Yoshi needs to be a 'Thief' to be a 'rogue'... and the class goes well with Katanas anyways.

[Elfen Lied]

yeh i agree with those.

 

i love your reasoning for minsc. thats always bugged me, he starts with points in mace, yet he's always going on about shiny swords, ooh shiny.

[dizzyorange]

Valygar - Wizard Slayer. This should be plainly obvious in reasoning.

 

You know that's a perfect fit. I always wondered what to change Valygar's class to, but never thought of the obvious for some reason.

 

I think Mazzy's a Cavalier all the way. Especially being that there's a dragon in the dungeon you find her in.

 

Otherwise agree with your choices.

[berelinde]

I like to leave Mazzy's class alone. Yeah, I know she's a paladin in her heart of hearts, but I like her weapon mastery.

 

About the only ones I really change are

 

Aerie: straight mage, all the way. I don't find her in-game personality sufficiently clericy.

Edwin: vanilla mage. I dislike specialty mages.

Keldorn: sometimes, I leave him alone, sometimes, I make him a pure-class paladin.

 

I do mess with NPC weapons proficiencies quite a bit, though.

[Gabrielle]

I agree about Mazzy. Leave her as a fighter. Bump up her proficiencies in bow to 5 and you will have someone deadly from afar.

[Elfen Lied]

Edwin: vanilla mage. I dislike specialty mages.

 

Edwin is a specialist mage because Red Wizard is like a specialist mage class right? or somewhat similar. and BG doesnt have Red Wizard as a class, so they made him something else.

[Guest John]

I leave the npc's as they are for the most part. Their game stories and classes fit pretty well. I may change Imoen, Minsc or Valygar for a specific game. I do toy around with weapons and proficiencies than classes.

 

Depending upon the class my pc is going to be, I play Imoen as either a single class thief, a dual class thief/mage or as a single class sorcerer.

 

If I change Minsc's class, it's to either berserker or barbarian. Sometimes I change his weapons because the original choices seem at odds for a ranger who supposedly grew up in what I believe is arid, desert country.

 

It's not obvious to me that Valygar should be a wizard slayer. He talks very lovingly about his father's love of the wilderness and, IIRC, how he Valygar grew up enjoying it. Moreover, in game he has the family cabin which is patrolled by other ranges solicitous of his privacy. Given his other comments, it is very believable to me that he became a stalker because that would allow him to combine his love of the wilderness with the skills he presumably would have learned to track down his parents. Plus, although he talks about his dislike and distrust of magic users, I don't remember him ever explicitly saying that he went after them. If I do change Valygar's class, I keep him as a ranger type.

 

What does strike an off note for me is that Bioware chose his enemy to be golems, and, to top it off, he doesn't even have proficiency in a blunt weapon to fight them. I usually change his enemy to some undead type of monster because he has had to face these types of monsters on a personal level and his weapon choices from spears to something else. For whatever reason, I just can't see a stalker as specializing in spears; it boggles my mind

 

John

[Demivrgvs]

Cernd: Totemic Druid. Shapeshifter is the worst of all druid's classes for him in my opinion.

Imoen: Swashbuckler-Mage. Swashbuckler fits perfectly her personality and i can't see her backstabbing someone. Bard or Blade are either good for her but they limit her usefullness (a thief is a must have in every party) and i always take her along for roleplaying reasons.

Minsc: Barbarian with proficiencies in two-handed sword, two-handed weapon style and axe (usefull even as ranged weapons).

Nalia: here i've some serious trouble. Thief-Mage is the one that most fit her...Illusionist can be fun and powerful but thieves' skills are in her background and dialogues too.

Valygar: Stalker is the most appropriate class for his background and even being able to cast some wizard spells makes sense for him. I change his favored enemy to liches and move ++ from spear to scimitar.

Viconia: Thief/Cleric. Pure Cleric is fine but this way you have a more interesting character to use and it fits her just as well. My only complains are the lack of voiced lines for thievery actions and that some thieves' skills doesn't goes well with her personality (most of all pickpocketing). I suppose another good choice could be Fighter/Cleric.

[Hide and Seek]

What's the deal with Minsc and Maces? Well, this is a shot in the dark, but I first thought it had something to do with Minsc's new favored enemies, the Vampires. I remember my first run of BGII, the Vampires gave me no small amount of trouble, and the Negative Plane Protection Spell was a given. Minsc, skilled in Maces, wielded the Mace of Disruption, and scattered undead like hamsters.. or something. To make my point, I thought it was for beginners, who really had trouble with the undead scourges. (Who didn't go with Minsc in their first run?)

 

And what is this I hear about Refinement and Improved HLA?

 

Onwards:

 

Anomen: Should have been a pure-class fighter with the ability to dual-class into cleric.

 

Imoen: I found it sad that she was not allowed to remain a pure-class Thief. Sure, maybe she became a Mage due to her Bhaal Taint, but still. She was the master scout back in the BG days.

 

Korgan: While I really understand and see him as a Barbarian, I just cannot imagine the grumpy little Dwarf without his fullplate.

[vagrant_winds]

I always though Minc was a Ranger, w/ a Berserking ability, a Demonic/Fell Racial Enemy, and who wielded Longswords and two-handed Swords. "Sword meet Evil" after all.

 

And when I noticed the "Two Witches for the price of one Ranger!" line in the Turnabout dialog files, changing that to be incorrect would just make me sad.

 

And what is this I hear about Refinement and Improved HLA?

 

It's an old mod at Spellhold Studios, and a bloody good one if you don't feel like dabbing into custom kits to make your high powered characters special. All kits and multi classes have at least one HLA that's specific to them and only them, on top of different HLA for each general class. Yes, Paladins no longer use the Warrior pool and Sorcerers' HLA are completely different than Mages'.

[Elfen Lied]

I always though Minc was a Ranger, w/ a Berserking ability, a Demonic/Fell Racial Enemy, and who wielded Longswords and two-handed Swords. "Sword meet Evil" after all.

 

thats how ive always viewed/played him.

 

What's the deal with Minsc and Maces? Well, this is a shot in the dark, but I first thought it had something to do with Minsc's new favored enemies, the Vampires. I remember my first run of BGII, the Vampires gave me no small amount of trouble, and the Negative Plane Protection Spell was a given. Minsc, skilled in Maces, wielded the Mace of Disruption, and scattered undead like hamsters.. or something. To make my point, I thought it was for beginners, who really had trouble with the undead scourges. (Who didn't go with Minsc in their first run?)

 

seems a little bit like this yeh, his racial enemy is Vampire, mace of disruption is good against vampires, and he is proficient with maces. though prehaps that could have given him at least one proficiency point is one of the swords. long sword, bastard sword, but i suppose you would probably just give him a two handed sword and let him go nuts, but i like giving him say daystar+equilizer or anything combination of longswords.

 

Minsc + Lilarcor, man thats a fun combination.

[vagrant_winds]

Minsc + Lilarcor, man thats a fun combination.

 

May we thank our kind modders for the Banter Pack mod. ^_^